©Shigemitsu Harada, Issei Hatsuyoshiya, Akane Shimizu / KODANSHA

The cover for this year’s 20th issue of Kodansha’s Morning magazine, scheduled to be released on Thursday, include an announcement for Cells at Work! Code Black manga’s anime adaptation.

The announcement also mentioned that the anime adaptation is set to premiere in January 2021, which is also the premiere date for the second season of Cells at Work! anime series.

 

Cells at Work! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu, which has been running in Kodansha’s Monthly Shonen Sirius magazine since January 2015 and currently has five volumes.

The popular manga series has inspired six manga spinoffs: Cells at Work! Bacteria in May 2017, Cells NOT at Work! in September 2017, Cells at Work! Code Black in June 2018, Cells at Work and Friends! in January 2019, Cells at Work! Platelets in May 2019 and Cells at Work! Baby! in October 2019.

 

Aniplex of America, which distributed the anime series in North America, described the anime series:

This is a story about you. A tale about the inside of your body…

According to a new study, the human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells. These cells are hard at work every day within a world that is your body. From the oxygen carrying Red Blood Cells to the bacteria fighting White Blood Cells, Get to know the unsung heroes and the drama that unfolds inside of you!

 

Cells at Work! anime’s second season will be directed by Hirofumi Ogura, who previously worked in the second season of Black Butler, replacing Kenichi Suzuki.

Aside from the director role, the main staff and casts from the previous season will return to the upcoming season, including scriptwriter Yuuko Kakihara and character designer Takahiko Yoshida, which will be produced by David Production.

 

The first season of the anime adaptation premiered in July 2018, which was also aired on ANIMAX Asia on a simulcast basis in Southeast Asia, and has 13 episodes.

The fifth volume of the original manga also inspires a theatrical anime special, titled Cells at Work!! The Strongest Enemy Returns. An uproar in the body’s intestines!, set to be released in Japanese cinemas on September 5.