Kohei Horikoshi's Horror One-Shot 'Quit Laughing Shijima' Published in Weekly Shonen Jump
My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi returns to the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump for the first time since the series ended with chapter 430 in August 2024. The mangaka's new horror one-shot “Quit Laughing Shijima” was published in issue 15 of the magazine on March 10, 2025. According to Anime Corner, this work is his first in the magazine since the My Hero Academia finale.
The one-shot revolves around Shijima, a girl who never laughs. While telling the story of characters who try to make her laugh, Horikoshi quickly turns a humorous start into dark suspense. Shijima's inability to laugh forms the basis of the supernatural tension in the story; the master's exaggerated character expressions create an interesting contrast with the horror atmosphere. The one-shot also reached readers the same day via Shueisha's digital platform Manga Plus.
After projects like Barrage and Oumagadoki Doubutsuen, Horikoshi made a major breakthrough with My Hero Academia, which began in 2014. After a decade of serialization, the series surpassed 100 million copies worldwide, becoming a global phenomenon and reaching millions of fans with its anime adaptation. This new one-shot shows that Horikoshi does not intend to be confined to his main series and continues to try his hand at different genres.
Short works offer mangaka an important space to test new story ideas with low risk. Quit Laughing Shijima is also seen as a precursor to a larger project that Horikoshi might consider in the future. For now, there is no official announcement of a new series; however, the mangaka's swift return to the magazine after his ten-year legendary series raises fans' expectations. Whatever Horikoshi's next step is, all eyes are now on Weekly Shonen Jump.
