Now, I'll be the first to admit: I'm lazy. I'm self-absorbed. I get distracted and I have no follow-through. But, now and again, I remember that this blog exists, and, hopefully, those two of you who still stuck with me even though I haven't posted for nearly half a year will appreciate and accept that.
I have picked up Murcielago Volume 1, plus this, but, frankly, I'd much rather enjoy the sexy, violent adventures of state-commissioned executioner Kuroko Koumori on my own time, without having to share them with you. (That being said, pick it up!)
But here I'm going to talk about-you guessed it-Cells at Work.
Does anyone here remember The Metal Men? They're this crappy chemistry-based superhero team made up of shapeshifting metal people. I never liked them, because all their adventures get broken up with tons of crap about what different metals are made up of and how they react with this and that. And who wants a freaking science lesson from their comic books? Batman and things are fine, but it always seems like The Metal Men do more talking and teaching than actual fighting.
(That being said, also avoid Federal Department of Physics. Now, if it was Federal Departments of Psychics, it might be a completely different ball game.)
So sorry for rambling. If you can't already tell from my previous verbosity, I am writing this post while buzzed on Mike's Hard Lemonade. (I didn't even need to tell you that; that's how buzzed I am. I guess alcohol makes me more loquacious in my writing voice, as well as in my speaking voice. Now who's teaching, huh?)
Anyway, I get into The Metal Men because Cells at Work is sort of like that, only more "anime" and more fun. The series follows a cute, moe Red Blood Cell girl as she travels around the body delivering oxygen. However, this body, like all of ours, is constantly under attack by a "Monster of the Week", be it a mere pimple, the mumps or a deadly cancer.
Our action protagonist, a White Blood Cell (referred to by some long science-y name that I can't remember) does physical battle with these threats, all of which are portrayed as grotesque, occasionally humanoid monsters.
And, despite being mere cells, the cast of characters we follow from time to time all have their own unique personalities (or at least quirks) that save this series from being just another walk through a biology textbook. And, yes, it does cut away into little dialogue boxes full of science-y stuff, but a lot of it is stuff we all learned in school years ago. And the stuff that isn't is, at least, interesting to read.
It's more of a "Monster of the Week" series, as I said before, in the vein of something like Sailor Moon or whatever-the-hell-Power-Rangers-we're-up-to, but at least it's a fun, simple art style and concept that's fun to read.
(Even after three volumes, which I sadly can't say for some of the other works I've read through. Usually, I only post after reading only the first volume of a series, but sometimes I think I should go back and return to the series I've already reviewed, to give some insight now that I've read more or have finished them.)
(I think the only one I've really reviewed the whole way through was "No. 6", way back in who-knows-when. So maybe I will.)
But I'm rambling now, and I think, at this point in time, we could all use some shut-eye. Don't want ourselves straining our eyes by staring at a bright, mostly-blank screen for too long, now do we?
