Zashisu Suspense Horror Manga by Masanori Morita Announces Hiatus Until January 2024

This year’s 20th issue of Shueisha’s Grand Jump magazine revealed on Wednesday that Masanori Morita’s Zashisu suspense horror manga will go on hiatus, and will return in January 2024.

The manga centers on middle school teacher Umi Yamauchi, who one day sees a news report of the murder of Yūki Suzuki, his friend from his own middle school years. A few days later, Umi’s girlfriend Tamao Yagisawa, a rookie editor at a literary publication, notices that the murder bears a striking similarity to a plot event in a certain novel that was nominated but failed to win a literary prize.

Masanori Morita launched the manga in Grand Jump in December 2022. Shueisha published the manga’s first compiled book volume on April 18.

Masanori Morita, known for the popular Rookies manga that inspired a live-action television series in 2008 and the Rookies: Graduation film in 2009, has taken a brief hiatus for Zashisu.

His earlier work, Rokudenashi Blues manga, also served as the basis for a 1992 anime film and the Rokudenashi Blues 1993 anime.

Before Zashisu, Morita created the Beshari Gurashi manga, which made its debut in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2005 and concluded in March 2015. Shueisha published 19 compiled book volumes for the series. Additionally, the manga inspired a live-action television series adaptation that premiered in July 2019.

Fans of the Zashisu manga will have to patiently wait until January 2024 for its return as it goes on hiatus for the time being.