People who eat, take up extra space, and block the aisles on public trains and buses are the worst, but with help of a magical transit superhero, maybe we can show those people the error of their ways. That’s the strategy employed by YouTube star Mike Diva, who has created a series of PSAs for the Los Angeles Metro that star fellow YouTuber Anna Akana as a Sailor Moon-style enforcer of vehicular etiquette.
The PSAs introduce the character of Super Kind, portrayed by Akana, as a fighter of evil who has a nose for improper transit conduct. In each installment of the series, Super Kind buts heads with her nemesis, Rude Dude, who displays improper train and bus behavior. In one spot, he manspreads; in another, he prevents customers from properly filing into a train car. No matter his offense, Super Kind is there to admonish him with a colorful song-and-dance routine followed by an order-restoring display of her powers.
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The spots, which the LA Metro has been distributing through its Twitter account, feature a style inspired by Japanese commercials and anime. That’s right in Diva’s wheelhouse; the 30-year-old creators biggest hit to date came during the 2016 election cycle, when he imagined a ludicrous Japanese ad for then-candidate Donald Trump.
“Some people in the metro marketing department saw my stuff and thought I would be good for making their metro manners PSAs a little more fun and exciting,” Diva told The Guardian. “I love Japanese commercials. They just don’t hold back with their humor and their craziness—that whole sailor moon vibe and futuristic J-Pop stuff.”
Diva’s version of Metro etiquette education is more novel than, say, an announcement over the bus intercom. The arrival of an actual public transit-riding superhero would be great, but the Super Kind PSAs may be the next best thing.
