Best known for his acclaimed action series My Hero Academia, Kohei Horikoshi is praised for his exceptional art style and storytelling skills. Thanks to his exceptional talent, My Hero Academia became one of the most popular Shonen Jump series of all time. Following the bittersweet finale, fans have been awaiting Horikoshi’s comeback, and the creator didn’t disappoint at all. Two years after concluding the main story of his most popular work, the creator returned with a new one-shot in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Titled Quit Laughing, Shijima, the one-shot debuted on August 10th, 2026, and caused quite a lot of buzz thanks to the intriguing premise.
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This comedy horror manga immediately began trending on Shueisha’s official Manga Plus app, where you can read his latest work for free. Following the manga’s debut, Horikoshi shared a gorgeous new visual on his official X handle along with a message encouraging fans to read the one-shot. However, apart from his social media handle, Horikoshi also shared a note for fans along with the one-shot’s release.
My Hero Academia Creator Shared Excitement Over Returning to Shonen Jump
Along with the creators whose chapters were published in the latest issue of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, Horikoshi also shared a note in the Mangaka Musings section. It’s always included in every issue of the magazine, which is only sold in Japan. Since the author’s notes could often include important information, Viz Media has a dedicated section to share the translated message with global readers. Horikoshi was listed in the latest issue’s Mangaka Musings, where he shared, “I’m so happy to be in Jump! Drawing was so fun! Hope you enjoy it!”
While this one-shot doesn’t reveal anything about his official return with a new serialization, at least fans know now that Horikoshi plans to keep working with new stories.
Quit Laughing, Shijima Deserves More Chapters
It goes without saying that Horikoshi’s art style is more than intriguing enough to capture readers’ attention, but even the premise of the one-shot is more than worth a longer serialization. This is also the first time since My Hero Academia‘s debut in 2014 that he has worked on a completely new story. The story takes place in a small coastal town where a new student discovers that a girl named Shijima is always laughing. It doesn’t take long for him to discover the dark secrets of the town, and the girl is at the center of it.
Unfortunately, the 60 pages of the one-shot don’t seem to do justice to the world-building and the potential it holds to flesh out the story as well as the characters. Luckily, it’s not uncommon for Shueisha to extend one-shots if the work receives a good reception from readers and critics. In most cases, one-shots are released to test the waters so the publishers can decide if it’s worth continuing as a full-fledged serialization on WSJ or any other magazine, which already have limited slots. Considering the positive reviews, it’s not completely out of the question for the creator to either extend Quit Laughing, Shijima, or even return with a completely new series before long.
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