Kohei Horikoshi is returning to Weekly Shonen Jump on August 10, 2026, with a 61-page full-color horror one-shot titled Warawanaideyo Shijima-san—roughly "Don't Laugh, Shijima-san"—marking his first new work since My Hero Academia concluded its decade-long run in 2024.
The Announcement
Shueisha confirmed the news on July 29, revealing that the one-shot will debut in Weekly Shonen Jump Double Issue #37-38. At 61 pages—roughly three standard chapters—and fully colored, this isn't a slight return; it's a statement piece. The key visual shows two high-schoolers, a blond boy and a dark-haired girl, seated on a motorbike, though which (if either) is the titular Shijima-san remains unclear. Early comparisons to My Hero Academia character designs, particularly Ochaco Uraraka, have already sparked discussion, but the premise signals a hard genre pivot: this is described as a "boy-meets-girl horror" story, a sharp left turn from the superhero shonen that defined Horikoshi's career.
Why This Now
My Hero Academia wrapped in 2024 after ten years, 42 volumes, and over 100 million copies sold—placing it among the top 25 best-selling manga of all time. The final anime episode, "I Am A Hero Too," airs August 3, 2026, just a week before this one-shot drops. That timing isn't accidental. Shueisha is managing a franchise transition: closing the door on Deku's story while keeping Horikoshi visible in the magazine that made him. The industry has watched this pattern before. Gege Akutami returned to Jump in 2025 with Jujutsu Kaisen: Modulo, a three-volume sequel that wasn't a full serialization but kept the author in rhythm. Horikoshi's one-shot serves a similar function—a low-stakes reentry that reminds readers (and editors) what his linework looks like when it's not drawing Quirk battles.
Deconstruct the Impact
For readers, the immediate impact is access—or lack thereof. One-shots in Jump rarely hit Manga Plus, meaning international fans will likely rely on scanlations or import copies. That's a deliberate friction point: Shueisha protects the magazine's domestic value. For Horikoshi, the 61-page full-color format is a workload flex. Drawing that many colored pages in a weekly schedule (even with assistants) signals stamina, a quiet answer to the question of whether he's burned out after a decade of deadlines. For the horror genre in Jump, it's a rare high-profile entry. The magazine has published horror before—Hell Teacher Nube, Jujutsu Kaisen leans into it—but a pure "boy-meets-girl horror" from a top-tier shonen mangaka is unusual. If it works, it expands what Jump readers expect from the lineup.
The Broader Trend
This fits a wider industry shift: veteran creators using one-shots as serialization auditions. Tite Kubo did it with Burn the Witch before its limited run. Yusei Matsui tested The Elusive Samurai concepts in short form. The economics make sense—magazines get a sales bump from a famous name, creators test ideas without committing to years of grind, and readers get a finished story either way. But there's a tension: My Hero Academia was a generational hit. Anything Horikoshi does next carries impossible expectations. A horror one-shot lowers the bar just enough to be fair. It says "this is an experiment," not "this is the next big thing."
Counterpoint and Skepticism
The skepticism writes itself. Horror in a shonen magazine often struggles to find its footing—too scary for younger readers, not scary enough for horror die-hards. Horikoshi's previous horror flex, the "Summer Vacation Diary" illustration from 2023, was a single image; sustaining dread across 61 pages is a different craft. There's also the My Hero Academia shadow. Fans wanting more Deku, Bakugo, or Todoroki will be disappointed. The visual similarities to Uraraka in the key art suggest Horikoshi's design vocabulary hasn't radically shifted, which could read as creative stagnation or comfortable familiarity depending on your cynicism level. And the Manga Plus absence? That's a real accessibility barrier for the global audience that made My Hero Academia a worldwide phenomenon.
What Comes Next
The one-shot drops August 10. The final My Hero Academia anime episode airs August 3. That week will feel like an era ending and another quietly beginning. Watch the Jump reader surveys—they'll determine whether Warawanaideyo Shijima-san gets a serialization greenlight. Watch Horikoshi's comments in the issue's author notes; he's previously admitted in interviews with fellow mangaka that he "wants to draw" a new series but acknowledges the "burden and struggle" of weekly serialization. If the one-shot lands, a 2027 serialization announcement isn't unrealistic. If it doesn't, he joins the ranks of creators who stepped back after one defining hit—and there's no shame in that either. My Hero Academia already secured his legacy. This is just him drawing what he wants next.
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