On March 16, the Japanese Government Public Relations YouTube channel released Forever Safety: Doki Doki Cycling – an educational video that aims to teach citizens the importance of bicycle safety by parodying an anime-style dating sim.
Featuring Takeshi Kusao as the voice of three heartthrob police officers (he is known as the Japanese voice of Trunks from Dragon Ball and Hanamichi Sakuragi from Slam Dunk, among others) and Hina Natsume as protagonist Bicycle Noruko (she voices Gran Alegria and South Heroine in Umamusume, as well as several characters in the Nier: Automata Ver1.1a and Pokémon anime series), the four-minute video has already amassed over 1.5 million views.
The traffic rules are introduced through scenes in which Noruko is “caught” accidentally doing something dangerous while riding her bicycle and then being gently scolded by the policemen. Most of the rules introduced in the video are pretty self-explanatory, such as halting at stop signs and corners or wearing a helmet, but a few of them are quite helpful. Cycling on the left side of the road instead of the right, for instance, makes it easier for drivers of bigger vehicles to spot you, as Japan is a left-side driving country. Backing up these rules are accident statistics and penalty information that the handsome police officers explain to a lovestruck Noruko.
Forever Safety Doki Doki Cycling follows the standard spring otome game aesthetic, taking place during a bright spring day amidst falling cherry blossoms. The characters are decidedly older than your standard Japanese highschooler, but they still fall within certain classic archetypes, such as Noruko being a silent protagonist who attracts the attention of all the boys, and the three police officers being a fresh-faced bishounen, a stoic but kind senior, and an overly muscular hunk, respectively.
While the commercial doesn’t provide much in the way of a heart-pounding story or meaningful choices, it does a good job of catching the attention of would-be viewers and informing them about some basic bicycle safety rules and laws. The videos’s creation was likely prompted by the government’s upcoming implementation of a “blue ticket system” on April 1, which allows for quicker processing of bicycle-related offenses while preventing transgressors from getting a criminal record. Given the reactions by Japanese netizens (some of which include fan art of the anime policemen), it’s fair to say that Forever Safety has amassed quite an informed fanbase.
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