My Hero Academia Creator Kohei Horikoshi Returns With Horror One-Shot
Horikoshi's history of expanding one-shots into serialized works, including My Hero Academia itself, which originated from his 2008 pilot one-shot My Hero, suggests this standalone horror story could develop into a full series.
Key Facts
- Kohei Horikoshi's new one-shot manga Warawanaide yo, Shijima-san (Don't Laugh at Me, Shijima) is a 61-page "boy-meets-girl horror" story.
- The one-shot will be published in the combined 37th and 38th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, which goes on sale in Japan on August 10.
- The one-shot is Horikoshi's first manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump since My Hero Academia concluded in August 2024.
- My Hero Academia ran for ten years after debuting in 2014 and crossed 100 million copies in circulation worldwide in April 2024.
- The same issue of Weekly Shonen Jump will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Osamu Akimoto's KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops with a special feature supervised by horror novelist Settsu.
Reporting from 3 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Corner, Animehunch.
Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, is returning to Weekly Shonen Jump with a new one-shot manga titled Warawanaide yo, Shijima-san (Don't Laugh at Me, Shijima). The 61-page story is described as a "boy-meets-girl horror" manga and will appear in the magazine's combined 37th and 38th issue, which goes on sale in Japan on August 10. Shueisha released a color illustration of the story's protagonists alongside the announcement. The one-shot marks Horikoshi's first manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump since My Hero Academia concluded in August 2024 after a decade-long serialization. During the final arc of My Hero Academia, Horikoshi wrote that he had "a small desire to draw a horror manga," and after the series' final volume shipped in December 2024, he stated he planned to start a new manga "as soon as I possibly can." The same issue of Weekly Shonen Jump will also include a feature celebrating the 50th anniversary of Osamu Akimoto's KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops, with horror novelist Settsu supervising a special article and an illustrated card drawn by Akimoto as a bonus.
The one-shot will feature a center color page in the magazine, and Shueisha has released a promotional illustration ahead of its debut. The story is a departure from the superhero genre Horikoshi is known for, fulfilling an interest he expressed while wrapping up My Hero Academia. "I have a small desire to draw a horror manga," he wrote during the series' final arc. After the final compiled volume of My Hero Academia shipped in December 2024, he added, "I'm planning to start a new manga as soon as I possibly can."
The combined issue also carries a separate commemorative feature for the 50th anniversary of Osamu Akimoto's KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops. Horror novelist Settsu, known for works including About a Certain Place in the Kinki Region and The Mouth Survey, will supervise a special KochiKame article, and Akimoto will contribute an illustrated bonus card. The announcement of the one-shot comes alongside other My Hero Academia-related activity: a short anime inspired by a story Horikoshi wrote for the My Hero Academia Fan Book: Ultra Age debuted at Anime Expo in July and will screen in Japan at the "Character Match Up" event on August 1-2, before streaming in Japan on August 3.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.