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Another winter Comiket has come and, unfortunately, gone. Though we have to say that fans probably welcome a break after a few days of hustling from booth to booth, and the convenience stores are most definitely glad for some respite. On the other hand, we can only imagine how overwhelmed the cleaning crews must be right now.

If only more fans were more like this sexy, young gentleman; the cleaning crews’ work would be cut by half!

As you might expect from any large event with lengthy lines, the trash tends to pile up. It’s a nearly unavoidable consequence of getting a bunch of people together and making them all wait in the same spot for a few hours. Unfortunately, it seems that at Comiket, the trash doesn’t always make it to a bin. Instead, all too many fans just drop their garbage on the ground, expecting someone else to clean up for them.

Whether this is a general trend among Comiket-goers or just a small-but-filthy minority, we can’t really say. What we can tell you, though, is that one very handsome young man has decided to take the icky problem into his own hands! Instead of grumbling to his friends about how messy people are or tweeting passive-aggressive messages to hashtag DirtyComiketFans, Arata Ito went out and just picked the garbage up himself!

Arata tweeted the photo and message below after a morning of trash collection:

“I heard about how much garbage was tossed on the ground at Comiket, so I’ve been picking it up all morning. It’s a hell of a lot for just one person!”

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Now, while Arata is obviously a pretty cool guy, there’s something else you should know about him: He’s not just some random fan with a “get it done” attitude–he’s an actor with a number of stage, film, and modeling credits to his name. The young man is also a voice actor with C&O Production, so we hope to hear him in some big name anime soon! Oh, and this was the first time Arata had ever been to Comiket–apparently he learned about the trash problem while researching the event. He just decided that someone should do something and brought a few bags along to pick up trash while waiting for a friend.

Arata also described the trashing-gathering activities on his Ameba blog. He happily reported a decrease the amount of trash that he and his new friends picked up on the second and third days of Comiket. Not only did he do a great deed, but he also inspired others to do the same!

If that doesn’t make your heart swell a few sizes, you might be lacking a heart attack. Get that checked out.

Japanese Internet commenters were mostly impressed.

How admirable!

This is amazing!

If only everyone had this kind of disposition, the amount of trash would be much less… Good job!

Isn’t it embarrassing that there are so many people who can’t take their trash to a trash can?

What’s even more amazing is that he separated the trash for recycling too!!

Amazing. I really respect this guy!

It’s kind of regrettable that he posted this picture himself…

Sheesh, there’s just no pleasing some people, is there?

Well, we think it was pretty awesome of Arata to take matters into his own hands. And hopefully he’ll inspire more people to take better care of their trash–not just at Comiket but all over the world. Seriously, if you only make one New Year’s resolution this year, make it to stop littering!

Also, Comiket organizers, we think we found your new spokesperson.

Sources: Byoukan Sunday, C&O Production, Ameba
Image: Twitter