«Isuzu ELF is the World's Strongest Truck»

◆ When you're going camping with your friends, but only the frog has a driving license.

While the whole world is intently watching the adventures of powerful nobles fighting against an evil horde bent on wiping humanity and all kinds of amazing superheroes thwarting off a menace that threatens to destroy the entire universe, I couldn't help but feel that the stakes are just too low for me to follow either of those massive franchises.

Because there is something that is more powerful than Thanos, there is an entity capable of annihilating the army of the dead with a single flicker of its eyes.

Headlamps, to be precise. After all, it's a small Japanese delivery truck. Isuzu ELF.

If you read a lot of isekai (transported-to-another-world) stories, you may have noticed that the adventure of the protagonists, destined to become legendary heroes, often starts with the aforementioned heroes being hit by a truck, which is also a common cause of drama in other, more realistic genres of Japanese entertainment. So it only makes sense that a small truck-kun is stronger than the so-called "Ore TUEEE" nigh-invincible heroes. And just like this, a well known Japanese author, Tamazou Yanagi, took this wild idea and ran with it, somehow even getting an official approval of Isuzu, the oldest active automaker in Japan.

"But wait, Kati," — you may say, — "you're a self-proclaimed digital yuri advocate, yet I don't see any girls making out here, only isekai memery". Do not fret, as the most common complaint I've seen about this book is that, despite the title, it's not for the diehard fans of the ever-so-popular wish-fulfillment genre. Isekai fans were quick to call the novel a "de-ochi", when the punchline is dropped pretty early in and the rest is not really fun at all.

And there is a grain of truth to that, as after Nagi, an ordinary but very lonely schoolgirl dreaming of exciting adventures in a parallel world (much like Hazuki from the recently completed and also very yuri-friendly Märchen Mädchen anime), gets thrown into a fantasy dimension and to her own surprise one-shots a dragon with her aluminum-plated summon, the 6th generation Isuzu ELF, the story neither devolves into a parody of one-sided battles, nor does it go too deep or meta with the concept of an all-powerful small delivery vehicle.

◆ There is an actual elf here (not an Isuzu truck), too.

Kreuzwerk, the world Nagi finds herself in, is full of demi-humans, beastmen, and gratuitous German names, but it's also well prepared for visitors from all over the multiverse — after all, only they are able to keep the local monsters in check. And central to helping Reisenders, in other words people summoned to this world, are two lion-eared sisters: Mia, the kind and caring priestess and heiress to the throne, and her younger sibling, the courageous demon-slaying princess Arashi.

And The Truck, being the seventh element standing above the six classic ones like Water or Fire, is a legendary power that shaped the history of Kreuzwerk hundreds of years ago, yet Nagi is simply too embarrassed to use it — what kind of proud hero stands atop of a pile of corpses of a defeated demon army... with a compact white delivery truck by her side? Instead she looks up to Arashi, a truly heroically looking individual wielding a Holy Spear, and strives to become her trusted companion in a way that doesn't involve killing things with a vehicle designed for safely carrying goods.

This is, ultimately, a story about two girls growing closer together through overcoming their own insecurities. One with an extremely low self-esteem, being too embarrassed to use her powers, and the other putting up a front for what she believes is the greater good, yet being too shy to reveal her true character. And having a controversial history with trucks, but one that ultimately brings the two heroines together.

◆ The artist's name (bun150) and art style do resemble another popular light novel illustrator, however unlike Bunbun it's not another "neighbor" (read: secret identity) of abec.

The novel neatly wraps up in one volume, so Tamazou Yanagi, penning light novels for well over a decade, made the right call to avoid describing the inevitably one-sided battles in greater detail here, and instead focused purely on the character development. On strengthening the bond between Nagi and Arashi as they help each other to accept themselves for who they are, not just for the roles they're supposed to perform.

Most of the novel is a comfy slice of life with constant retorts by the main character about trucks being way too out-of-place in a high-fantasy world, a literal living mascot of Isuzu's online service being part of the cast, way too many truck trivia infodumps that neither the protagonist nor the readers ever asked for, and a couple of a surprising scenes along the way. This is light feel-good reading, the author never tries to be too clever with the plot, but makes sure the basics are done right — and the book does hit all the right notes with a heartwarming and satisfying conclusion.

It's common practice in the West to label only romantic relationships as yuri, but for me a strong relationship between two girls is good enough. To borrow the term used by Iori Miyazawa, a sci-fi yuri writer, in the well-known interview, an "unidentified enormous emotion" that brings the characters together is what makes a work yuri. So "Isuzu ELF is the World's Strongest Truck" gets a Kati's Yuri Seal of Approval™. It's funny, easy to get into and, if you don't mind slice of life, it will be a pleasant ride, all thanks to the Smoother Ex transmission and a very efficient D-CORE engine. Yes, if anything, you'll have no trouble landing a job in an Isuzu dealership afterwards.

◆ Note how at 0:13 it shows off a new, safer version of isekai teleportation.

"It's not at all what I expected!" — regularly exclaims the protagonist.

Thank goodness it wasn't!

Oh, and if you ever want more proof that yuri and trucks mix really well...