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When we think of anime live-action adaptations, the first one that comes to mind is always Netflix’sOne Piece. Of course, Netflix delivered an extraordinary live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’sOne Piece, and it may havebroken the anime live-action curse.OPLAdeserves every bit of love it has been getting from the community worldwide, but unfortunately, there are some anime live-action adaptations that went unnoticed despite being good.
One such live-action film adaptation isCells at Work, an underrated movie that had a theatrical release in Japan on June 06, 2025. Interestingly, theCells at Worklive-action comes straight from the Japanese creators who understood the essence of the source material, and maybe that is why the film received positive reviews from fans and newcomers alike. Unfortunately, though, despite being a great adaptation, the film remained underrated because of its limited availability. Well, that’s going to change now, as the film is finally set to get released globally.
Cells At Work!Live-Action Will Be Available For Streaming On Netflix
The Film Will Arrive On The Streaming Platform In June
Earlier this month, Warner Bros. Japan confirmed that the live-action adaptation ofCells at Work will arrive on Netflix on July 21, 2025. The film had a theatrical release in Japan last year, and while there were someminorcomplaints, themovie was mostly well-received by the fans.The studio also released a brand-new trailer for the film to hype up its streaming release. There’s hardly any marketing effort for the upcoming film from Netflix, but despite that, the trailer and news caught the attention of anime fans, especially those who are familiar with theCells at Workanime or manga.
Cells at Workis mainly about the anthropomorphized cells of the human body. In the anime and manga, the host, or the human, is irrelevant; instead, it’s the struggles and functioning of the Cells that get the spotlight.A Red Blood Cell and a White Blood Cell take the center stage as the main protagonists, and you go through their journey inside the human body. It’s surely a unique concept, where you see these cells getting human personalities, as they fight against threats that may cause harm to the human host.
It may sound silly, butCells at Workmight compel you to follow a healthy lifestyle. Regardless,Cells at Workis more than justan educational story; it’s an action-packed adventure that features some great fight sequences. The story makes you care about the world established inside the human host, and you actually feel bad when that same world starts to get destroyed just because the human host is addicted to an unhealthy lifestyle.
It’s usually hard to adapt such complex anime or manga concepts into live-action, butjust likeOne PieceLive Action,Cells at Workhandles that complexity quite well. Hideki Takeuchi did a great job as the director of the film, and his direction and vision were complemented by an incredible performance from the cast. The cast, including Mei Nagano and Takeru Satō, does a phenomenal job portraying the Red and White blood cells. So, it’s no wonder thatCells at Workranked number one at the box office in Japan when it released in theaters. Thefilm was a commercial success and earned more than $5 million in the first three days. But now, it’s almost time for the global fandom to find out if the film truly holds up strong against other anime live-action projects.
HowCells At Work!Live-Action Compares To Anime And Manga
It’s The Same Story, But Much Darker
Cells at Workis mostly faithful to the source material; however, it isdifferent in one major and crucial aspect. Apparently, in the anime or the manga, we aren’t introduced to the human host, ever. The live-action, on the other hand, introduces us to the human host as well as his daughter. The man is an alcoholic who finds peace in his unhealthy lifestyle, which gives the cells in his body a lot of trouble. At the same time, his daughter leads a healthy life but succumbs to a deadly disease.
Unlike anime and manga, thelive-action gives us a heartwarming relationship dynamic through the father-daughter duo.It’s great to see the red and white blood cells going through all the trouble to keep the host alive, but the live-action makes the struggle feel more real and empathetic by showing us what the hosts are going through. When you see the daughter lying in the hospital bed, you can actually see her life fading away as the cells do everything in their power to save the host’s body, which is also their home. In the end, theimplementation of the father-daughter relationship helps viewers connect to the story and makes it more personal.
