MANGA REVIEW | "Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria!" - Volume One
Whelp, it was bound to happen. Cells at Work! is a focus on the entire body deep in its job of caring for the person it’s powering. Naturally that would mean there’d be a trip somewhere down the line to the intestine area, meaning a plethora of poop jokes would be in the cards. What I didn’t expect was that its visit would be painted as a romantic shojo comedy, in the form of Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria!
Neo Bacteria! focuses on the good bacteria within the intestines fighting against the bad to keep the body healthy. However there is a goal that these good bacteria have: to help their host confess their feelings to the boy she likes. In order to do that, the body must fend off against the bad bacteria that causes facial blemishes, vomiting, and even diarrhea. As the bacteria deal with the threats inside, the host body outside must come to terms with her health and heart.
One of the strong aspects of this spinoff is that readers get a chance to get to know the person this bacteria is trying to keep healthy. A third-year in high school, Ayumu Yukki is dealing with lovesickness, something the bacteria can’t aid in fixing. After overhearing her crush’s taste in women, Ayumu starts to eat less than before, which causes her body to become more constipated than healthy. Meanwhile she begins to break out on her face, as well as deal with anxiety revolving around graduation.
This gives readers of Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria! the opportunity to see why the internal organs may be acting the way they do. Where Cells at Work! Code Black focuses on the grossness of an unhealthy body, this spinoff instead focuses on impulse changes that can cause more harm than good. Watching as the good bacteria battle against the kind that causes wanton pooping and regurgitation is pretty entertaining, as it turns the rom-com mentality upside-down with straight-up nasty humor.
However there is a major flaw with the spinoff’s visual presentation. At times, author Haruyuki Yoshida gets some of the shojo look right, especially when it’s focused on Ayumu’s story. Sadly, when it switches to the intestines, the visual style looks more like chicken scratch than a final draft of a manga chapter. To be blunt, it’s ugly to look at, to the point where it might cause some to feel discomfort in their eyes and bowels.
Volume One of Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria! has some good qualities, especially in its writing. Yet looking at how it’s showcased, one can’t help but feel like someone else should’ve taken care of the art while Yoshida focused on the story. There’s some solid entertainment here, but how one stomachs the drawings will vary from person to person. In laymen’s terms: Cells at Work! Neo Bacteria! has room for improvement, so long as it purges Yoshida’s drawing skills for someone else’s.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Tomo Tran of Kodansha Manga
