Akane Shimizu, the creator of the popular Cells at Work! manga series, has concluded her Yellow Flame manga miniseries. The final chapter was published in the May issue of Kodansha’s Good! Afternoon magazine on Monday, April 7, 2025.
What is Yellow Flame about?
Yellow Flame is a short manga series that Shimizu launched in the January 2025 issue of Good! Afternoon magazine, released on January 7, 2025. The manga is described as having themes of “special powers, China, and intense action.” Set in ancient China, the story unfolds two centuries before Christ when China is unified for the first time thanks to the Qin dynasty. Lei, a slave who dreams of freedom, escapes with his mute son during a stormy night and discovers a power within himself.
Publication
The magazine confirmed that Yellow Flame will be published in a compiled book volume.
About Akane Shimizu
Akane Shimizu is a Japanese manga artist best known for creating Cells at Work!, which was serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Shonen Sirius magazine from January 2015 to January 2021.
Cells at Work!
Cells at Work! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akane Shimizu. It features the anthropomorphized cells of a human body, with the two main protagonists being a red blood cell and a white blood cell she frequently encounters.
Cells at Work! Manga
The Cells at Work! manga was serialized in Kodansha’s shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sirius from January 26, 2015, to January 26, 2021. Kodansha collected its chapters in six tankōbon volumes, released from July 9, 2015, to February 9, 2021. Kodansha USA announced that it had licensed Cells at Work! in North America on March 21, 2016.
Cells at Work! Anime
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.
Cells at Work! Spinoffs
Cells at Work! has inspired several spinoff manga, including:
- Cells NOT at Work! by Moe Sugimoto: It follows immature red blood cells (erythroblasts) that do not want to work. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Sirius from July 26, 2017, to November 26, 2021.
- Cells at Work! Code Black, written by Shigemitsu Harada and illustrated by Issei Hatsuyoshi: It is set in a “black” environment of a human body suffering an unhealthy lifestyle. It was serialized in the seinen manga magazine Morning from June 7, 2018, to January 21, 2021.
- Cells at Work and Friends!, written by Kanna Kurono and illustrated by Mio Izumi.
- Cells at Work!: Lady!, written by Harada and illustrated by Akari Otokawa: It is focused on cells in the body of an adult woman. It started in Morning Two on January 22, 2020. The magazine ceased print publication and moved to a digital starting on August 4, 2022.
- Cells at Work! Bacteria!
- Cells at Work!: Neo Bacteria!
- Cells at Work! White Brigade
- Cells at Work! Baby
- Cells at Work! Platelets!
- Cells at Work! Illegal by Kae Hashimoto
- Cells at Work! Muscle by Yū Maeda
- Cells at Work! Cat by Choko Aozora and Meku Kaire
- Cells at Work! Medicine by Koma Warita and Ryō Kuji
Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing several of the spinoff manga in English.
Cells at Work! Live-Action Film
The original Cells at Work! manga and Cells at Work! Code Black are inspiring a live-action film that adapts both manga in one story. The film is set to open in Japan on December 13.
