The cells are dealing with the aftermath of a devastating battle in the eighth and final volume of Cells at Work! Code Black. They’ve got their work cut out for them if they want the body to become healthy again.
This volume contains chapters forty-two to forty-eight, the final chapter.
Front cover of the eighth and final volume of Cells at Work! Code Black, featuring White Blood Cell and Red Blood Cell
THE WAR FOR HEALTH!
After a vicious battle, the body has finally subjugated ghastly cancer. But the damage has been done. Sensing weakness, bacteria and viruses attack the body. Distrust and confusion pit cells against one another. Can the body do what is necessary to create a healthy environment and avoid cancer’s recurrence? The grief and horror of Cells at Work!: CODE BLACK reach their dramatic climax in this, the last volume of the series!
So we finally come to the end of the story of Cells at Work! Code Black, and it starts with things still looking pretty grim after the battle against cancer. There’s still plenty that can and does go wrong whilst the body is recovering.
In some cases, new cells are even forced into action early. New Platelets, for example, but we also happen to meet a new Naive T Cell. Many of the old guard are still present; you know, the ones who have managed to survive up to this point.
Having seen the state of the body, many of the cells struggle to push on. Much of this volume has Red Blood Cell going around the body, checking up on various cells.
It’s not just antigens that are a problem; the body’s own cells can even prove to be a threat if left unchecked. That particular thread ties in with the aforementioned Naive T Cell.
Cells at Work! Code Black has always been about cells overcoming the odds. They suffer through plenty of darkness, and have their low moments. It takes someone to stand up and assure them that things will get better to have them keep moving forward. Except the battle against cancer had many casualties, and there might no longer be someone who can fulfil that type of role.
The way the series ends feels fitting for. I won’t go into detail, but I will say that it does pretty decently convey the messages that have been prevalent from the very first chapter.
Cells at Work! Code Black was a fun take on the Cells at Work! formula. A much darker take that certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the main Cells at Work! manga and several other spin-offs are more light-hearted. Well, maybe Cells at Work! isn’t all that light-hearted when it covers things like cancer, but it doesn’t quite reach the same level as Code Black.
Picking up the original Cells at Work! manga on a whim a while back has paid off nicely, with anime adaptations and some pretty fun spinoffs. Code Black is arguably the best of said spin-offs, so I certainly have no regrets about reading it.
Rory Muses 