Kohei Horikoshi Is Back in Shonen Jump With a Horror Story — And It Is Nothing Like My Hero Academia

Kohei Horikoshi returns to Weekly Shonen Jump on August 10 with DonHorikoshi Is Back in Shonen Jump With a Horror Story — And It Is Nothing Like My Hero Academi...

It has been two years since My Hero Academia reached its manga conclusion.

Now, its creator is returning to Weekly Shonen Jump.

But he is not coming back with another superhero story.

He is coming back with horror.

Kohei Horikoshi's new one-shot, Don't Laugh, Shijima-san (Warawanaide yo Shijima-san), is scheduled to appear in the combined Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #37–38, releasing in Japan on August 10, 2026.

And this is not just a tiny bonus chapter.

The new manga is set to run for 61 pages, giving Horikoshi considerably more space than a typical short one-shot to introduce his new world, characters and unsettling premise.

That alone makes this one of the most interesting Shonen Jump releases of the week.

But the real reason fans should be paying attention is the genre.

Horikoshi is finally doing horror.

From Heroes to Horror

For ten years, Horikoshi's name was practically inseparable from My Hero Academia.

The manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2014 and eventually became one of the magazine's biggest modern franchises.

Its world was built around superheroes, superpowers, villains, large-scale battles and a massive cast of characters.

That makes Don't Laugh, Shijima-san feel like a major departure.

Instead of asking what it takes to become a hero, Horikoshi is asking a much darker question:

What happens when the person smiling at you might be hiding something terrifying?

The new work is officially described as a boy-meets-girl horror story.

That description is simple.

The premise sounds anything but.

Meet Moku-san

The promotional material introduces a mysterious girl known as Moku-san.

At first glance, she appears to be a cheerful girl who is almost always smiling.

But the official description immediately adds another layer:

Does Moku-san, who is always smiling, have a secret?

That single question forms the foundation of the story.

And it is exactly the sort of setup that can make a horror manga work.

There is nothing inherently frightening about someone smiling.

But when the story repeatedly emphasizes that smile, it becomes suspicious.

Why is she always smiling?

What happens when she stops?

And, perhaps most importantly:

What does she know that the protagonist does not?

Horikoshi's Art Could Be Perfect for This

There is an obvious advantage Horikoshi brings into a horror project:

His character designs can be extremely expressive.

During My Hero Academia, he created everything from ordinary-looking teenagers to grotesque villains and unsettling transformations.

He has already demonstrated that he understands how to make a character visually memorable.

Horror gives him an opportunity to push that skill in another direction.

Instead of relying primarily on huge action panels, Horikoshi can use facial expressions, shadows, distorted perspectives and uncomfortable compositions.

A character who looks perfectly normal in one panel can become terrifying simply because something about their expression is slightly wrong.

That could be where Don't Laugh, Shijima-san becomes particularly interesting.

This Is Horikoshi's First Original Manga Since My Hero Academia

The significance of this release goes beyond the story itself.

Don't Laugh, Shijima-san represents Horikoshi's first new original manga work since My Hero Academia concluded.

That makes the one-shot a chance to see what the creator wants to do when he is no longer tied to a decade-long superhero serialization.

For ten years, Horikoshi had to maintain an enormous ongoing story.

He had to manage dozens of characters, multiple storylines, increasingly complicated battles and the expectations surrounding one of Shonen Jump's biggest titles.

A one-shot removes much of that pressure.

He can create a premise.

Build a mystery.

Deliver a twist.

And end the story.

Or, if the concept proves popular enough, potentially leave readers wanting more.

Why a One-Shot Is the Perfect Format

Horror can actually benefit from the one-shot format.

A long-running horror series has to constantly escalate its mysteries.

A one-shot has a different advantage:

it can keep the mystery compact.

Horikoshi has only 61 pages to make readers curious, establish the characters, create tension and deliver whatever ending he has planned.

That limitation could make the story more effective.

There is no need to spend chapters explaining an elaborate fictional universe.

The reader simply meets the characters and enters the situation.

Then something starts feeling wrong.

That is enough.

The Title Is Already a Warning

The title itself is fascinating.

Don't Laugh, Shijima-san.

It sounds almost like something a character would whisper to another person.

Not:

"Don't look at her."

Not:

"Run away."

But:

"Don't laugh."

That immediately makes the reader wonder why laughing would be dangerous.

And then there is the name Shijima-san.

Who exactly is Shijima?

Is Shijima the protagonist?

Is Shijima the mysterious girl?

Is "Shijima-san" the person being warned?

The title deliberately leaves enough ambiguity for readers to start asking questions before they even open the manga.

The Boy-Meets-Girl Setup Could Be Deceptively Normal

Calling the manga a "boy-meets-girl horror story" is an especially clever description.

The phrase normally suggests romance.

A boy meets a girl.

They become interested in each other.

Something happens.

But adding horror changes the entire expectation.

Instead of asking whether the two characters will fall in love, readers may find themselves asking:

Can the boy trust the girl?

That creates an interesting tension.

The protagonist may initially be attracted to or fascinated by Moku-san.

But the audience already knows something is wrong.

That puts the reader ahead of the protagonist.

And horror often becomes more effective when the audience realizes the danger before the character does.

Horikoshi Has Wanted to Explore Horror Before

This new direction is not completely out of nowhere.

Horikoshi has previously expressed interest in creating horror manga.

That makes Don't Laugh, Shijima-san particularly interesting.

Rather than being a random experiment, the one-shot appears to give him an opportunity to explore a genre he has wanted to tackle.

And after spending so much of his career drawing superheroes and villains, horror gives him an entirely different playground.

He can focus on atmosphere instead of spectacle.

Fear instead of power.

Suspicion instead of combat.

Don't Expect Another My Hero Academia

One mistake would be to look at this new manga and immediately search for similarities to My Hero Academia.

There may be some familiar elements in Horikoshi's art.

That is inevitable.

But the premise is fundamentally different.

There are no indications that Don't Laugh, Shijima-san is connected to the world of heroes, Quirks or U.A.

This is a separate story.

And that is probably the most exciting part.

Horikoshi gets to create something completely new without having to explain how it fits into his previous universe.

Could This Become a New Series?

That is the question many fans will inevitably ask.

Right now, Don't Laugh, Shijima-san is a one-shot.

There has been no confirmed announcement turning it into a serialized manga.

So it would be wrong to present it as the beginning of Horikoshi's next long-running series.

But Shonen Jump has a long history of one-shots becoming full serialization projects.

And Horikoshi himself is a perfect example of how that can happen.

Before My Hero Academia, he created other manga projects and one-shots that helped establish his career.

If Don't Laugh, Shijima-san receives a strong response, it is natural for fans to wonder whether the concept could eventually become something larger.

For now, however, it remains a one-shot.

61 Pages Is a Significant Amount of Space

The confirmed 61-page length is another reason to pay attention.

A story of that length gives Horikoshi enough room to do considerably more than introduce a basic premise.

He can establish the protagonist.

Introduce Moku-san.

Build the atmosphere.

Develop the mystery.

And potentially deliver multiple twists.

The page count also suggests that Shueisha is giving the project meaningful space in the magazine.

It is not simply a tiny promotional extra.

This is a substantial new work.

Why the Timing Is So Interesting

Horikoshi's return comes at an interesting moment for Shonen Jump.

The magazine is constantly searching for its next generation of major hits.

The biggest long-running names inevitably reach their conclusions, leaving space for new creators and new concepts.

A recognizable creator returning with an entirely different genre therefore attracts immediate attention.

Horikoshi already has an enormous audience.

But Don't Laugh, Shijima-san will have to stand on its own.

Readers will not simply be judging it as "the new manga from the creator of My Hero Academia."

They will be asking a much more important question:

Is this actually a good horror story?

Horror Could Reveal a Different Side of Horikoshi

This may ultimately be the most exciting thing about the project.

A creator's biggest series can sometimes hide their other interests.

With My Hero Academia, Horikoshi became known primarily for superhero storytelling.

But his artwork has always shown an interest in strange designs, unsettling characters and darker imagery.

Horror gives him permission to make those elements the main attraction.

Instead of designing a villain who needs to look intimidating before a battle, he can design a character who looks harmless until the reader notices something deeply wrong.

That is a completely different kind of storytelling.

The Mystery Around Moku-san Is the Main Hook

At the moment, there is one question that stands above everything else:

What is Moku-san hiding?

The official premise specifically emphasizes her constant smile.

That means the smile is likely to matter.

Perhaps it is simply a character trait.

Perhaps it is connected to the horror.

Or perhaps Horikoshi is deliberately making readers suspicious of something that turns out to be completely different from what they expect.

That last possibility is particularly important.

Good horror does not always rely on the obvious monster.

Sometimes the scariest thing is realizing that your assumptions were wrong.

What We Know So Far

Detail	Information
Title	Don't Laugh, Shijima-san
Japanese Title	Warawanaide yo Shijima-san
Creator	Kohei Horikoshi
Format	One-shot manga
Genre	Boy-meets-girl horror
Length	61 pages
Magazine	Weekly Shonen Jump
Issue	Combined Issue #37–38
Japanese Release	August 10, 2026
Featured Character	Moku-san
Connection to My Hero Academia	None announced

What Readers Should Watch For

When the one-shot arrives, there are several things worth paying attention to.

1. The First Appearance of Moku-san

Her introduction could immediately establish whether the story is psychological horror, supernatural horror or something else.

2. The Meaning of the Smile

The official description repeatedly draws attention to it.

That probably isn't accidental.

3. The Relationship Between the Two Leads

The "boy-meets-girl" description suggests that their relationship is central to the story.

4. Horikoshi's Horror Visuals

This may be the biggest artistic experiment of the entire project.

5. The Ending

One-shots live or die by their endings.

A strong final twist could turn Don't Laugh, Shijima-san into a story fans remember long after reading it.

The Bigger Question: What's Next for Horikoshi?

Even if Don't Laugh, Shijima-san remains a one-shot, its publication could tell us something about Horikoshi's future.

He has already completed one of the biggest manga runs of the modern Shonen Jump era.

He does not necessarily need to immediately begin another ten-year serialization.

He can experiment.

He can publish one-shots.

He can explore horror.

He can develop ideas.

And if one of those ideas eventually becomes his next major series, fans will have watched the process from the beginning.

That makes this release worth following even beyond the 61 pages themselves.

OtakuNaija's Take

The most exciting thing about Don't Laugh, Shijima-san is that it feels like Kohei Horikoshi is stepping outside his comfort zone.

For a decade, he gave readers superheroes.

Now he wants to scare them.

And that could be much more interesting than simply creating another battle manga.

The premise is deliberately simple:

A boy.

A girl.

A smile.

And a secret.

But horror thrives on simple ideas that become increasingly disturbing once the details are revealed.

The 61-page length also gives Horikoshi enough room to build something substantial rather than rushing through a tiny concept.

Whether this becomes a one-time experiment or the beginning of something much larger, August 10 is an important date for Shonen Jump readers.

Because for the first time since My Hero Academia ended, we get to see what Kohei Horikoshi wants to draw when there are no heroes left to save the day.

When Does Don't Laugh, Shijima-san Release?

Kohei Horikoshi's new one-shot is scheduled to appear in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #37–38 on August 10, 2026.

The manga will be 61 pages long.

For readers outside Japan, availability and translation timing may vary depending on the official distribution platform and region.

Until the official release arrives, the safest thing to do is avoid unverified leaks and wait for the legitimate chapter.

The mystery is part of the experience.

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Final Thoughts

Kohei Horikoshi's return to Weekly Shonen Jump is already one of the most interesting manga developments of August.

But the real surprise is the genre.

After spending ten years creating My Hero Academia, Horikoshi is turning toward horror with Don't Laugh, Shijima-san.

The story will introduce readers to Moku-san, a girl whose ever-present smile may be hiding something far more disturbing.

With 61 pages to work with, Horikoshi has plenty of room to create an unsettling standalone story.

And perhaps the most exciting possibility is that we have no idea what his version of horror will actually look like.

The heroes are gone.

The villains are gone.

Now there is only a smile.

And Horikoshi wants us to wonder what is hiding behind it.