Even before Cells at Work premiered in Japan, Red Cross had already collaborated with the then-highly anticipated animé. Last June 2018, Red Cross distributed illustration cards with codes that will enable successful donors to watch the show’s first episode a week before everyone else.
It seems that this collaboration was highly successful, as Red Cross Japan is collaborating with the educational animé once more! The medical humanitarian organization has announced that their new collaboration campaign with Cells at Work will launch on February 25. The first 15,000 successful blood donors will receive an exclusive calendar (seen below) featuring a newly-drawn illustration. More details are still set to be released on the campaign’s launching day.
Written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu, Cells at Work was first serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Shonen Sirius in 2015. It features the anthromorphized cells of the human body, with the story mostly told from the perspective of a clumsy but lovable Red Blood Cell along with her reliable friend Neutrophil, who almost always ends up saving her from pathogens. The animé depicts their daily activities and respective responsibilities as cells in the human body. It was subsequently adapted into animé by David Productions, and was arguably one of the most-talked about shows in 2018. Its success among fans had led to a stage play adaptation that ran last November, and a mobile game entitled Itsudemo Hataraku Saibou, which is now open for pre-registrations.
Source: Crunchyroll