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Kōji Yamamoto Sings as Cells at Work's Killer T Cell in Parody One-Take Video

Warner Bros. Japan streamed a new promotional video for its upcoming live-action Cells at Work! film last Thursday. The video features a Killer T Cell (as played by Kōji Yamamoto) singing a parody of the children's song “Hataraku Kuruma” (Cars at Work) in a spoof of the popular Japanese YouTube series "The First Take." The video co-stars two Platelets (Maika Pugh and Rana Izutani) and a Nerve Cell (TRF's DJ KOO). It also teases several scenes from the film.

As of press time, the video has garnered 1 million views on YouTube and over 750 comments.

The original children's song “Hataraku Kuruma” initially debuted in the Fuji TV children's program Hirake Ponkikki. The song was commercially released in October 1986. Several versions of “Hataraku Kuruma” have since been released, with one of the most viewed versions uploaded to the Bonbon Academy YouTube channel in August 2023:

The live-action film of Akane Shimizu's Cells at Work! (Hataraku Saibō) manga will premiere in Japan on December 13. The film will have IMAX screenings and 4D screenings (4DX and MX4D) in Japan.

Hideki Takeuchi (live-action Nodame Cantabile, Thermae Romae, Fly Me to Saitama) is directing the film, with a script by Yūichi Tokunaga (live-action Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Liar x Liar, Princess Jellyfish). Warner Bros. Japan is distributing the film. Official HiGE DANdism is performing the theme song "50%."

Shimizu launched the original Cells at Work! manga in the March 2015 issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Sirius magazine, and ended it in January 2021. Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing the manga in English.

The first television anime of the original manga premiered in July 2018. The second season premiered in January 2021, alongside the anime of the Cells at Work! Code Black spinoff manga.

Sources: Cells at Work!'s X/Twitter account, Warner Bros. Japan's YouTube channel via Comic Natalie, Bonbon Academy's YouTube channel