An anime adaptation for the action superhero manga SHY by Miki Bukimi was announced in issue #45 of Weekly Shonen Champion on Wednesday. A teaser trailer and key visual were revealed as part of the announcement with studio 8bit (Blue Lock) animating the upcoming series.
Written and illustrated by Bukimi, SHY began serialization in Weekly Shonen Champion magazine in 2019 and has since given readers a lot of content. In the few years that the series has been serialized, SHY has released 15 volumes with the next one set to release on October 6. US-based publisher Yen Press announced they licensed the series in August during Anime Expo with the first volume in English set to release this December.
SHY is one of a few recent Yen Press licenses to receive an anime announcement for 2023. Oshi no Ko, the widely popular and award-winning idol manga created by Aka Akasaka, the same creator of the critically acclaimed Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, is just one of the licenses that received an anime announcement. The official account for SHY posted a tribute video for the series being serialized back in 2019 that you can watch below. The video includes multiple illustrations from the manga.
SHY originated as a 43-page one-shot by Bikumi that ended up winning the Newcomer’s Grand Prize at the 2016 Next Champion contest for up-and-coming manga authors. Other than being nominated in the print category at the 2020 Next Manga Awards, the manga has unfortunately not received much attention in the awards department. SHY is Bukimi’s first major manga publication. But the author also published The Pipe Dream also published under the doujin circle Teshimazu (てぇしむず) back in January of 2016.
Studio 8bit
A relatively smaller animation studio, 8bit is still known for animating some of the biggest names in anime. The studio has animated series such as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, IS: Infinite Stratos, The Fruit of Grisaia, and more importantly, the newly released sports anime Blue Lock, which premieres on October 8.
The studio was first founded in 2008 and has since released a total of 54 projects. SHY is Studio 8bit’s first announced anime series for 2023.
Earth was on the brink of a third World War when super-powered individuals came forth from each country around the globe, ending the conflict and ushering in a new era of relative peace. Among those heroes, Japan is represented by a timid young girl known as “Shy.” She may spend more time worrying about her own shortcomings than she does battling villains, but she’ll show the world that despite it all she still has the heart of a hero!
Manga synopsis via Yen Press
Fans can also check out more of Bukimi’s work over on the author’s official pixiv account.