Interest
Yowamushi Pedal Crew Teaches Bicycle Safety in Public Service Campaign
posted on by Eric Stimson
Although Yowamushi Pedal fans will have to wait until January before the next season of the anime, Chiba Prefecture will provide an additional opportunity for them to see their favorite characters in the meantime — and learn bicycle safety tips in the process.
The prefecture, which borders Tokyo on the east and is the main setting for the Yowamushi Pedal manga and anime, is sponsoring a campaign to encourage safe bike riding using anime's most prominent bicyclists. They will appear in a series of short anime videos teaching safety lessons in a fun way; Chiba-kun, the prefecture's red dog mascot, makes cameo appearances.
The first episode, "Bicycles are Cars' Friends," uses animation from episode four of the television anime. It shows Naruko teaching Onoda that, well, bicycles are car's friends: they use the same signals and the same side of the road. After giving Onoda a safety helmet, he vows to make a circuit of the prefecture. Onoda is dismayed, because the prefecture is bigger than either Tokyo or Osaka. Naruko admits he's unfamiliar with the area as he's from Osaka. He asks if there's any delicious food, and Onoda tells him about the prefecture's specialties: loquats, pears, and peanuts.
Five more installments, teaching us things like how not to ride a bicycle and not to abandon them, will be posted every few weeks. Commercials related to the campaign will be aired at three locations around the prefecture: QVC Marine Field, Fukuda Denshi Arena, and Makuhari Messe. Goods, posters and leaflets featuring the Yowamushi Pedal characters with Chiba-kun will also be produced.
Patlabor the Mobile Police has also participated in a cycling safety campaign.
Source: Yowamushi Pedal official website
