English Dub Review: Cells at Work: Code Black “Excitement, Expansion, and Emptiness”

 

Overview:

If you ever wanted the ins and outs of how getting an erection works but wanted anime characters to teach it to you then look no further. Arousal is not far off and it’s up to our hero and the other RBCs to achieve an erection! Finally, Red Blood Cell is doing a job he can be proud of, furthering the production of other cells. Or is he?

Our Take:

From the preview last week I was really excited for this episode and folks it didn’t disappoint. The funniest episode so far and it’s not even close. My favorite exchange was when Red Blood Cell was asked where he was going and he says “The testes” and they respond “That’s nuts!’. Like c’mon that’s gold. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows in this body though remember. Their diet is poor and they don’t really take care of themselves. So, even reaching an erection is really hard for this body to do.

A lot of the cells are killed when the vessels they are trying to hold open are forcibly closed and crush them. It looks like erectile dysfunction is inevitable. Red Blood Cell won’t let that happen and even convinces his friend not to give up, this is an important job after all. When all of a sudden an unexpected hero arrives in the form of Viagra! Thanks to that they are finally able to achieve an erection and send the sperm cells off to meet the ovum! I honestly never thought I would write that sentence while doing anime reviews but here we are.

Finally, Red Blood Cell has done something he can be proud of. He sent those sperm off to the ovum, but wouldn’t you know another jaded senpai has to come by. He informs him “Ya, know not all sexual activity is for reproduction”, Red Blood Cell is distraught. “You mean we just sent them off to their deaths for no purpose?”, it looks that way Red… Sorry. I honestly didn’t know how to feel after this episode it was awkward but a good awkward. I loved every second of it.

I am constantly in awe of how this show represents different cells and organs. The spermatogonia are represented as babies being raised to go on to be sperm cells. The sperm cells are in what looks like a floaty in a pool and are anxious to leave. This was without a doubt the best episode so far.