Kohei Horikoshi is returning to the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump for the first time since the end of My Hero Academia in 2024 with a new one-shot.
Titled Warawanaide yo, Shijima-san (Don't Laugh, Shijima-san), this new one-shot is described as a boy-meets-girl horror story, marking something of a creative departure for the artist. Even before My Hero Academia, Horikoshi was known almost entirely for action and fantasy thanks to such series as Barrage and Oumagadoki Doubutsuen. It will certainly be interesting to see how he can turn his pen from the neon-colored world of superheroes to the macabre.
To be fair, there were several parts of My Hero Academia that veered into the realm of horror. Aside from the nail-biting tension inherent in high stakes battles that could result in life or death, Tomura Shigaraki increasingly appeared more like a god of death than a regular human as the story went along. Indeed, that panel where Tomura met Midoriya for the first time (pictured above) is downright bone-chilling.
As to what Warawanaide yo, Shijima-san is actually about, no plot synopsis has been provided as of the time of writing. The only thing we have is the key visual used in the header. We'll just have to wait until the one-shot is published in the combined issue 37 and 38 of Weekly Shonen Jump on August 10 to see what Horikoshi has in store.
