Truck-kun

English

Etymology

From truck +‎ -kun.

Proper noun

Truck-kun

1. (chiefly Japanese fiction, fandom slang, humorous) In the isekai genre, a truck that sets off the plot by hitting the protagonist, transporting them into the fantastical setting (typically by killing them in the real world).
   • 2022, Dean Henegar, “The Summoned Life”, in Legendary LitRPG: An All Genres LitRPG Anthology‎^[1], unnumbered page:

     What if I was walking across the street when I was summoned, only to be dropped back in front of a speeding truck. Lots of dodgy stories start with Truck-kun, and I don't want mine to end with it.

   • 2022, Natasha Yglesias, Anime Tarot Deck and Guidebook: Explore the Archetypes, Symbolism, and Magic in Anime‎^[2], page 29:

     While Truck-kun does cause one form of ending—the character is dead in their original world—it's an integral part of the main character's transportation to a new world, one where they can explore, learn, and grow.

   • 2023, Shizuki Fujisawa, translated by Cerridwyn Graffham, The Transcendent One-Sided Love of Yoshida the Catch‎^[3], volume 3, unnumbered page:

     So I figure I might as well chuck a "Truck-kun" into my own story too! Gotta get in while the getting's good!!

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Truck-kun.