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Cells at Work! Stage Play Reveals Cast, Staff, November Run
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The official website for the stage play of Akane Shimizu's Cells at Work! (Hataraku Saibō) manga revealed cast, staff, and performance dates on Thursday. The play, titled "Tainai Katsugeki Hataraku Saibō" (Internal Action Play Cells at Work!), will run at Tokyo's Theatre 1010 from November 16-25.
The play will star Masanari Wada as White Blood Cell (Neutrophil) and Kanon Nanaki as Red Blood Cell (Erythrocite). Wada has previously had roles in stage productions for works such as Yowamushi Pedal, Hakuōki, Reborn!, and Your Lie in April. Nanaki has had roles in Sailor Moon, Naruto, and Danganronpa stage productions.
Tsuyoshi Kida (Bleach, ClassicaLoid) is directing the play, and Keita Kawajiri (Mob Psycho 100, Nanbaka stage plays) is writing the script.
Kodansha Comics is publishing the manga in English, and it describes the story:
The average human body contains about 60 trillion cells, and each of them has work to do! But when you get injured, viruses or bacteria invade, or when an allergic reaction flares up, everyone from the silent but deadly white blood cells to the brainy neurons has to work together to get through the crisis!
Shimizu launched the Cells at Work! manga in the March 2015 issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Sirius, and Kodansha shipped the fifth compiled volume in Japan last August. The manga has 1.5 million copies in print. Kodansha Comics shipped the manga's fifth volume last November.
The manga ranked on the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook's 2016 list of top graphic novels for male readers. Haruyuki Kichida launched the Hataraku Saikin (Bacteria at Work) spinoff manga in Nakayoshi last April. Moe Sugimoto launched another spinoff manga titled Hatarakanai Saibō (Cells That Don't Work) last July, and Shigemitsu Harada and Issei Hatsuyoshi launched the Hataraku Saibō Black spinoff on June 7.
The manga is inspiring a television anime adaptation that will premiere on July 7. Aniplex of America will stream the series on Crunchyroll.
Sources: "Tainai Katsugeki Hataraku Saibō" play's website, MoCa News
