Isekai, a popular anime subgenre, introduced fans to some of the most notorious villains of all time, often leading to high body counts, Truck-kun. The appearance of Truck-kun typically sets the stage for the events that viewers eagerly anticipate: the plot. However, a transportation manager in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, has voiced some strong opinions about the portrayal of truck in media.
According to the transportation and logistics industry news website Logistics Weekly News, a transportation manager in Shizuoka is upset about how frequent trucks are used to portray traffic accidents in major media. The manager believes that the media often depicts violent deaths, and this type of portrayal is creating a negative perception of the transportation industry.
When I count all the scenes I can remember in which an important character in a story dramatically loses his life in a traffic accident, the main role that effectively heightens the impact is certainly played by large vehicles such as trucks and dump trucks.
via weekly-net.co.jp
The manager pointed out that these depictions can function like subliminal messages, instilling a subconscious fear and aversion toward trucks in viewers. This impact is heightened when viewers emotionally connect with the characters involved. Furthermore, news coverage of serious accidents involving trucks often sensationalizes these incidents, further cementing negative stereotypes.
The manage cites these depictions as the leading cause of “parent blocking” and “wife blocking” in hiring drivers, as families are influenced by these ingrained fears. It all comes to down to ‘subliminal messages’, the unnamed manager states that audiences are “brain washed” in having a fear of trucks and subsequently, their drivers as well.
“In movies, TV dramas, manga, and anime, the car used in scenes where a character dies in a traffic accident is almost always a truck.”
via weekly-net.co.jp
The manger continued to state, that such negative depictions can’t be help due to freedom of expression in media, but that they would love to see a “balance” within major media, and depict the transportation industry in a more positive light.
Some commenters empathized with the manager, and some also express why trucks are prefect to depict a protagonist’s death stating, “If it were a passenger car, the scenes would lack impact. If it were a train, the connotation of suicide would be too strong, and buses are too safe to run over people, suggesting the accident rate for buses are lower than trucks. Others supported the manger’s statements by offering the media creators portray other transport vehicles for a change, while stating that truck were unfortunately the ‘go- to’ vehicles to portray deaths since its a common vehicle to find on streets of Japan.
According to the article, transportation companies remain dedicated to promoting a positive image of drivers and the logistics industry through social media. However, changing the negative perceptions of trucks and the transportation industry portrayed in media, continues to be a significant challenge.
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