After a two-year hiatus since the conclusion of his bestselling manga My Hero Academia, creator Kohei Horikoshi has returned with a new one-shot story titled Quit Laughing, Shijima. Published in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, the work is presented as a horror story, but it ultimately delivers a supernatural adventure that, while engaging, falls short of the genre's highest standards.
The manga is set in the fictional seaside town of Konoshiro City. The narrative follows Azumi, a high school student who can see grotesque humanoid figures in the bay. His quiet life is disrupted when one of these creatures appears to target Shijima, a popular girl in town, leading to her subsequent disappearance. The plot thickens as it's revealed that Shijima has been designated as a sacrifice to a bay-dwelling entity that ensures the town's prosperity, a grim tradition kept alive by a few select families.
While the premise and Horikoshi's signature character designs, including the unsettling monsters, are strong hooks, the story quickly adopts familiar tropes. The narrative follows a path well-trodden by works like The Wicker Man and Midsommar, where a seemingly idyllic community harbors dark secrets. The story presents Shijima as accepting her fate as an honor, and Azumi's intervention, culminating in his declaration of love and defeat of the monster, feels more like a prelude to a supernatural action series than a pure horror tale.
True to Japanese urban horror traditions, the story attempts to blend the mundane with the supernatural. The psychological aspect of Shijima being coerced by her town and family into accepting her role as a sacrifice is a particularly brutal element. This aspect, where the supernatural is used to explore twisted facets of the ordinary, is a hallmark of effective horror. However, this psychological depth is not fully realized as the story's core.
Instead, the one-shot concludes with Azumi adopting a vigilante-like stance, mirroring Deku from My Hero Academia, poised to confront similar oppressive traditions. This ending strongly suggests the potential for a new series, and despite its deviation from traditional horror, the emotional resonance and character dynamics align with Horikoshi's strengths. The story is ultimately more successful as a supernatural action pilot, showcasing Horikoshi's knack for emotional storytelling, rather than a dedicated horror piece.
Horikoshi's return with Quit Laughing, Shijima offers fans a glimpse of his artistic capabilities beyond My Hero Academia, delivering an emotionally charged supernatural narrative that, while perhaps not achieving true horror, is nonetheless an exciting continuation of his storytelling prowess.