Two years after ending his 10-year journey My Hero Academia, the series has reached more than 100 million copies in global circulation and has become one of the pillars of Weekly Shounen Jump, author Kohei Horikoshi officially marks the return to a completely different genre: "boy-meets-girl" horror.
Quit Laughing, Shijima: the secret behind the smile
A 61-page one-shot, including a color page in the middle, is briefly described by VIZ as: \"Everyone in this strange town seems to admire Shijima, but hidden beneath that is a dark secret...\" This is a notable shift for Horikoshi, from the familiar colorful superhero genre to the dark, chilling atmosphere of psychological horror.
Returning to Jump for the first time since My Hero Academia ended
This is Horikoshi's first manga work to be serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump since My Hero Academia concluded in August 2024. For a decade, My Hero Academia not only launched Horikoshi's career but also inspired numerous anime seasons, theatrical films, games, and spin-off projects. A new anime focusing on the character Eri, a spin-off of the series, also aired just the week before this new one-shot was released, showing that the My Hero Academia legacy continues to be explored alongside the author's new direction.
- Original title: Warawanaide yo Shijima-san
- Number of pages: 61 pages, including color pages in the middle of the story
- Category: "boy-meets-girl" horror
- Release date: August 10, 2026 (Weekly Shounen Jump No. 37/38)
- Read at: MANGA Plus by Shueisha
Same issue: KochiKame 50th anniversary
In the same issue as Horikoshi's one-shot debut, Weekly Shounen Jump also devoted a special commemorative section 50 years classic series KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops by Osamu Akimoto, with supervision from horror novelist Settsu, author of "About a Certain Place in the Kinki Region" and "The Mouth Survey," shows Jump is having a particularly noteworthy week for both traditional shonen and horror fans.
What we know, and what we don't, after the one-shot's debut
My Hero Academia ran from 2014 to August 2024, a full decade, so a two-year gap is not unusual for an author who has just finished a flagship series. According to Anime Corner, this is Horikoshi's first work in Weekly Shonen Jump since then, and the combined issue 37/38 went on sale in Japan on August 10, 2026.
Comic Shop Locator's analysis points out that a one-shot from an author of this stature is often treated as a pilot for something longer, and that MANGA Plus publishing it alongside the print magazine shows Shueisha wants international readers to get it right away. However, none of the sources OtaHub cross-checked say that Quit Laughing, Shijima will be serialized or adapted.
The only thing confirmed right now is that the work has been released: 61 pages, boy-meets-girl horror. Any news about serialization would have to come from Shueisha or Horikoshi himself. According to Critical Hits, weeks after its debut the one-shot was still among the widely read titles on MANGA Plus.
