Cute and educational! This is the first of five mini episodes (five minutes each) that are included on the Moyashimon DVDs. I always enjoyed the Microbe Theatre segments at the end of the regular episodes, so having a little bit more biological fun and learning is awesome.

Lesson One — “Intestinal Flora”

Summary

The episode starts out in space to give a picture of how small our earth is compared to the vast universe. Microbes are similarly vastly small when compared to normal human sizes. In addition to their small size, there are tons of different types, some able to survive underwater in high-pressure areas and some able to live in the upper atmosphere where there is almost no pressure.

While every little microbe type has its own job and agenda, there is one ultimate goal for most types: to eliminate all other microbes and monopolize the world.

So we get a picture of a warzone of two microbes: chrysogenum versus Aspergillus Oryzae. They battle fiercely like this every day.

However there do exist environments where microbes can coexist peacefully. Where might this be? Well.. in your stomach! The Intestinal Flora…

In your intestines are three types of microbes: good, bad, and opportunistic.

The good microbes protect the body and balance the acidity level; they do good things. Examples are yogurti and bifidum (in yogurt), lactis (in cheese), brevis (in plants), and plantarum (in grains and sauerkraut among other things). Eat lots of these foods that contain the good microbes to keep your body in good health!

The bad microbes live in the decay and waste in your intestines and produce ammonia. They’re also capable of various colon diseases if allowed to fester. There’s werushiki, which can cause diarrhea. Then there’s staphylococcus aureus, which can cause food poisoning.

Now the opportunistic ones, like pseudomonas aeruginosa, are normally neutral and complacent just to exist inside you. But if you happen to get sick, or your immune system falls weak somehow, they’ll take advantage and pursue their personal goals.

So take care of this balanced “flower garden” in your intestines. If you stay healthy, then the bad microbes can’t proliferate long enough to harm you, and the opportunistic ones will stay dormant. And the good microbes will continue to give you a peaceful feeling in your stomach.

Thoughts

This is too cute. It’s shows like this that get people wanting to learn more. I mean, I learned the basics of astrology from playing Final Fantasy Tactics. Evangelion and Xenosaga among others filled me with religious names, themes, and vocabulary. EarthBound on the SNES taught me some basic Greek letters when I was nine years old. If only another game would use the remainder of the alphabet so I could play and learn it; I’m not very proactive in drilling myself otherwise. ^^;

I do hope this gets licensed; there’s hardly reason for it not to. While some content in the main anime isn’t really perfect for American gradeschoolers, it can still be advertised as educational anime. Or at least somebody could argue that not all “Japanese cartoons” are full of sex and violence. This is microbiology, and it’s fun!

~Crisu