Horikoshi's Back With Horror: New One-Shot Hits Jump

Kohei Horikoshi isn't staying quiet for long. Fresh off wrapping My Hero Academia after a decade-long run, the creator is jumping straight into new territory with a one-shot horror manga called Don't Laugh, Shijima-san, arriving in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #37/38 on August 10, 2024.

This is a deliberate tonal shift. Where My Hero Academia built itself on superhero spectacle and character growth across ten years, Horikoshi's moving into boy-meets-girl horror territory—a genre pivot that signals he's not retreading familiar ground. The one-shot will get a center color page, the kind of treatment that signals Jump's confidence in what he's bringing.

The timing matters too. This is Horikoshi's first appearance in the magazine since My Hero Academia concluded, making it a proper re-entry rather than a victory lap. MHA left an enormous footprint—multiple anime seasons, films, spin-offs, and games that cemented it as one of the decade's defining shonen properties. That's a lot of momentum to step away from, and the fact that Horikoshi's choosing to experiment with horror suggests he's thinking about what comes next on his own terms.

One-shots from major creators often function as proof of concept. They're testing grounds for ideas that might develop into something bigger, or they're just explorations—a chance to work in a new register without the weight of serialization. With Horikoshi's track record and the platform Jump is giving him, this one will definitely get attention. Whether Don't Laugh, Shijima-san stays a one-off or becomes something more remains to be seen, but the fact that he's swinging at horror right now is the real story.

Source: Anime Corner