A pediatric surgeon in Japan has developed an unusual way to help children facing cancer treatment: an immersive virtual reality game inspired by the hit anime and manga Cells at Work!.
Isamu Saeki of Hiroshima University Hospital began working on the project after discovering the popular series through his young daughter. The idea eventually led to the creation of Cells at Work! VR, a treatment-supporting game designed to help children understand what cancer and anticancer drugs are doing inside their bodies.
According to Hiroshima University, the software was developed over more than three years and allows children to become the protagonists of an adventure inside their own bodies.
Children Fight Cancer Cells Alongside Anime Characters
The VR experience follows children as they explore the human body and battle bacteria and cancer cells alongside characters based on Cells at Work!. Players ultimately defeat cancer cells with the help of anticancer drugs, creating a direct connection between the game and the treatment they are receiving.
The experience consists of four episodes, lasts around 30 minutes, and includes quizzes about how cells function. Seven voice actors from the anime also participated in the project, while Kodansha supported the use of the original series and Hiroshima-based company Be-RISE developed the software.
Saeki, who supervised the game’s story, explained the project’s goal at a Hiroshima University Hospital press briefing.
“I hope that by having fun while playing, children will come to understand that the cells inside their bodies are fighting cancer cells with the help of medicine,”
he said.
“Feel more positive, and benefit from their treatment.”
The project is particularly personal for Saeki, who loved video games as a child and was inspired to become a doctor by a kind pediatrician. His late mother had once allowed him to play games as long as he continued studying.
“I think she had thought I was done with video games a long time ago,”
Saeki told The Asahi Shimbun.
“I wonder what she would tell me if she saw the VR game.”
The software has now been introduced at hospitals across Japan, offering a new way to combine anime, gaming, education, and emotional support for children undergoing difficult cancer treatment.
