The story follows Teru Momijiyama as the Japanese hero Shy as she fights alongside the heroes of the earth to ward off evil and keep world peace, all while learning to control her severe shyness and to deal with the fears and uncertainties that come with being a hero. She is accompanied by fellow hero colleagues: Stardust, Century, Lady Black, Meng Long, and her closest friend and mentor, Spirits.
As the world was on the brink of a Third World War, superheroes appeared around the globe to restore order and bring about a new era of world peace. After the threat of war ended, each hero returned to a country to help with domestic matters, where they were quickly accepted by their respective citizens. To better communicate with each other, all heroes meet at the Heroes' Hideout (ヒーローたちの隠れ家が, Hīrōtachi no Kakurega), a space station used to oversee and discuss matters back on Earth. Much of the power and story in Shy deals with people and their "heart", which is either protected by the heroes or manipulated by the villains. Every hero is equipped with a pair of Heart Conversion Bracelets (天心輪, Tenshinrin) that allow them to transform their appearance from civilian to hero and communicate with others in any language. When a hero syncs their heart with the bracelets, they become the source of each hero's power and abilities by storing "Heart Power" for use when seen fit. The stronger one's conviction and determination is, the more powerful one can become. If a hero's Heart Power runs out, they return to their civilian form. On the other hand, the villains can manipulate a heart by forcing a person to wear a special type of ring, which are connected back to their leader, as a result of the rings being made from parts of his heart. These rings have the power to draw out the deepest, most extreme feelings in one's heart, which can manifest as black crystals on their body. This kind of heart also has the ability to create a domain of a variable size, like a personal utopia.
Plot
Teru Momijiyama is Japan's hero representative, who goes by the hero name "Shy" as a result of her extreme shyness. At first, despite all of her best efforts, a combination of a failed public speaking appearance at an amusement park where she also failed at rescuing a passenger from a roller coaster accident, forced her to lose her powers and go into isolation for a month after the public blamed her for causing injuries to said passenger. This results in her later regaining her powers and most of her confidence after a pep talk from her hero friend Spirits and from seeing a boy's determination to save victims from a burning building. Now, with renewed determination, while battling through her personal shortcomings, improving to become a better, more confident hero, and fighting alongside her hero colleagues from around the globe, she defends the world against Amalareiks (アマラリルク, Amarariruku), an evil villainous organization that appeared soon after the world was at peace after the threat of world war ended. The group was created by Stigma, their leader, in order to further his dreams of an ideal world made just for children.
Teru is the main protagonist of the story. She was chosen to be Japan's hero while still attending junior high school. As her hero name implies, she is very shy to a near crippling degree. Despite this, she works tirelessly as her country's representative. As the hero Shy, she wears a white bodysuit with a white eye visor, twin-tailed hood, and gas mask. She travels with a robotic hero partner, N-Villio (エヌ・ヴィリオ, Enu-Virio), whom she calls "Ebio" (えびお), since it looks like a shrimp.[Jp. 1] She has the ability to turn her Heart Power from her Heart Conversion Bracelets into flames.
Pepesha is Teru's friend and mentor and is very close with Teru to the point where she can be overly protective of her at times. Although she is an alcoholic who likes drinking Russian vodka, a habit that she picked up from her mother, she is still seen by others as a very dependable person. As the hero Spirits, she wears a black bodysuit under a turtlenecked blue shirt, and has a utility belt at her waist. Her Heart Conversion Bracelets allow her to manipulate gasses and turn her own body into smoke. She has the ability to fly.
David Wonder Jones (ディヴィー・ワンダー・ジョン, Divī Wandā Jon) / Stardust (スターダスト, Sutādasuto)
In addition to being a rock star and philanthropist, David is the founder of Black Cross, an international aid organization. Even though he comes across as charitable, he is known by his hero peers as a heartless and apathetic person who has been known to use drastic and unethical means while going about his heroism. As the hero Stardust, he wears a full black bodysuit with a star in the middle, he has slicked back blonde hair, and he wears a pair of red-framed glasses. With his Heart Conversion Bracelets, he has the ability to control the flow of whatever is around him, which he can use to redirect incoming attacks. He is exceptionally skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
Adam Rockwell (アダム・ロックウェル, Adamu Rokkuweru) / Century (センチュリー, Senchurī)
Adam is a hero as well as a military colonel. He has a serious personality and a high sense of pride as a hero. He has a muscular build, is always working out, and is someone who seems to be sensitive about his health. As the hero Century, he wears a white and red bodysuit with horns on his mask. Like Spirits, he has the ability to fly.
Pilse Dunant (ピルツ・デュナン, Pirutsu Dyunan) / Lady Black (レディ・ブラック, Redi Burakku)
Pilse has the power to heal others. Because of this, she is a nursing student and member a of Black Cross. She uses artificial legs due to losing both of them in a past accident. Although she tends to have a bit of a sharp tongue and a bad temper, she cares about those that she helps. As the hero Lady Black, she wears a black dress with a white top, sports black framed-shades, and carries around a red handbag. She can produce a long black bandage from her Heart Conversion Bracelets.
Li Ming Ming (リー・ミンミン, Rī Minmin) / Meng Long (ミェンロン, Myenron)
Li is a slender teenage boy and a hero with a quiet personality. He is not only bad at fighting, but insecure about not looking as intimidating as other men. He aspires to get stronger, but also wishes he could save those in need without having to fight. Because of his feminine look, most people confuse him for a girl. As the hero Meng Long, he wears a white and black traditional Chinese chiffon-style top. His Heart Conversion Bracelets have the ability to brandish claws from his own Heart Power to put his enemies to sleep for a short while. He also finds himself falling asleep at odd times.
Gelm is the director of the medical department of Black Cross. He works alongside Lady Black. As the hero Doktor Schwarz, he has a beard and wears goggles on his forehead. He has a friendly personality and tends to laughs off the rantings of his assistant.
L'Arc is nicknamed "The Artist of Space". He is a skilled artist hero who also likes playing pranks on people. As the hero La Toile, he wears a white padded jacket and has white hair with a red streak in front. He can be seen carrying art tools. He can change a person's appearance using his art.
Ananda Varma (アナンダ・ヴァルマ, Ananda Varuma) / Nirvana (ニルヴァーナ, Niruvāna)
Ananda is a member of a misfit group of superheroes known as the Shining Six. He knows Teru's sister, the original hero of Japan, Mei Momijiyama, who used the hero name Shine. The Shining Six carry on in Shine's footsteps after her death, as she originally helped to bring the group together. As the hero Nirvana, he wears white pants and a white top with the arms exposed.
Seva Wang-Chai (セーヴァ・ワングチャイ, Sēva Wanguchai) / Indra (インドラ, Indora)
Weibu is a member of the Shining Six. As the hero Pulse, he uses special tools to assist him in battle, such as drones with guns and electric riot control wires. He also has a special "Fatal Wave" move that allows him to manipulate electric fields to control various electronic devices or to be used as a stun gun when his wires are affixed to a human body.
Uni-Lord is a celestial emperor who is the leader of the world's heroes. She lives at the Heroes' Hideout and monitors the world's heroes' activities back on Earth. She is not a hero, but she has strong authority and gives orders to the heroes as a supervisor. Although she exudes an air of nobility, she is soft-spoken and sometimes tells jokes.
Amalareiks
Stigma (スティグマ, Sutiguma)
Stigma is the leader of Amalareiks. His true name is unknown, as "Stigma" is what Uni-Lord and other heroes call him, which he later accepts and uses it for himself. He wishes to create an adult-free world, one fit only for children. To do this, he formed Amalareiks by gathering deceased children, taking their hearts, turning their wishes and desires into reality, and bestowing a name to all his creations. He uses rings which were made from parts of his heart to manipulate the darkness in other peoples' hearts. He can also attack his opponents using dark power crystals.
Thumping (ドキ, Doki)
Thumping is a boy who is mistaken for a girl when Shy and her squad first meet him, because of his love for cute things, and he explodes in a fit of rage. He can tend to be air-headed and simple-minded. He joined Amalareiks because of his experience of being forced to act the way others wanted him to and having his desired form rejected by the world. He believes that men should be pretty. His abilities are unknown, but his horns and claws grow to enormous sizes when his emotions get the best of him.
Kfufu (クフフ, Kufufu)
Kfufu has a signature laugh, where she gets her name from. She refers to herself in third person and likes to play games and jokes with the heroes. She smiles and laughs because she believes she is at peace as long as she does so. She also believes no matter how a person may be feeling, laughter will lead to peace, and was created and desires to fill the world with laughter because of this. She has the ability to attract things to her and store large and small objects in her costume.
Sveta (ツィベタ, Tsibeta)
Sveta was created using Spirits' desires. Her goal is to create a world where children can life a happy life. Her true identity is that of Pepesha's deceased mother, Lenya Andreanof, who died 15 years ago and left Pepesha to an orphanage. Her youthful appearance makes her resemble Spirits as an infant. She has the power to manipulate ice.
Hollow (ウツロ, Utsuro) / Mai Tennoji (天王寺 昧, Ten'nōji Mai)
Hollow is a former shinobi who ran away from her home village of Sōga to join Amalreiks. She abandoned her shinobi training because she does not like to fight and prefers to live a peaceful life. Soon after, her attitude changed and she pierced the heart of her sister with a sword radiating evil power, named "Void". She has the ability to erase minds.
Kirakira (キラキラ) / Aika Kirahoshi (綺羅星 愛歌, Kirahoshi Aika)
Kirakira is an Amalareiks member with a tsundere personality. She instantly falls in love with Teru when the two first meet, wanting to marry her. She then invites Teru to her house, where she tries to convert Teru's heart by revealing one of Stigma's rings to force Teru to put it on as an "engagement ring", so that she will be "hers forever".
Others
Iko Koishikawa (小石川 惟子, Koishikawa Iko)
Iko is a 14-year-old girl who was saved by Shy from a broken roller coaster, although she ended up injuring her leg in the process, which Shy was blamed for. Shortly thereafter, she was saved again by Shy after having her heart manipulated by Stigma, forcing her to wear one of his rings. As she grows closer to Teru, she ends up transferring to her school, as it is closer to her home. She has a younger brother, who was also saved by Shy.
Ai Tennoji (天王寺 曖, Ten'nōji Ai)
Ai is a shinobi and princess of Sōga Village. Unhappy with being sheltered in her home dwelling, she ran away in search of freedom and a longing to see the outside world. She is Mai's older sister, who was stabbed in the heart by her sister's sword. The wound did not kill her, yet it left her deeply injured and caused damage to her motor functions. Like her sister, she carries a sword, named "Purity", which has the power to know the feelings of those who touch it.
Tokimaru (朱鷺丸)
Tokimaru is a fellow shinobi from Sōga Village who is tasked with protecting Ai. He has been friends with Ai and Mai since the three were children, as they all endured the same shinobi training together. At first, he tries to force Ai to return to her village, but later decides to let her do as she wishes, all while still watching over her from afar.
Production
In 2016, Miki wrote and illustrated a 43-page one-shot story entitled "SHY", which won the Newcomer's Grand Prize in Akita Shoten's Next Champion, a contest for up-and-coming manga authors, in the latter half of that year.[3] The one-shot was then published in issue #7 of Weekly Shōnen Champion on January 12, 2017, roughly 2 years before the story received full serialization.[4]
Publication
Shy is written and illustrated by Bukimi Miki.[5] The series has been serialized in Akita Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion since August 1, 2019, in issue #35.[6] Akita Shoten has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 6, 2019.[7] As of August 8, 2022, fifteen volumes have been released.[8]
The manga has been licensed to many other countries in Europe starting in 2020: in France by Kana in September 2020, in Germany by Kazé in October 2020, in Spain by Panini Comics in April 2021, and in Italy by Planet Manga in August 2021.[9][10][1][11] In July 2022, at Anime Expo, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English publication in North America.[12]
What's with That Kid? (あの子の何なのさ, Ano Ko no Nan'nano sa)
Black Star (黒の星, Kuro no Hoshi)
Lady Black (レディ・ブラック, Redi Burakku)
Beyond the Scar Peak (傷ヶ峰を超えて, Sukāpīku o Koete)
Beyond the Bad End (バッドエンドの先, Baddoendo no Saki)
Take Care of Yourself (お大事に, Odaijini)
How to Kill a Gentle Mermaid (やさしい人魚の殺し方, Yasashī Ningyo no Koroshi Kata)
Rain or Shine (レイン・オア・シャイン, Rein oa Shain)
Heroes
Princess in Love (恋するお姫様, Koisuru Ohime-sama)
Night is Coming (夜、来る, Yoru, Kuru)
The Forest of Fear (恐怖の森, Kyōfu no Mori)
I'm Not Afraid (怖くなんてないさ, Kowaku Nante Nai sa)
August 32nd (8月32日, Hachi-gatsu Sanjūni-nichi)
A Bag of Ghost Stories (怪談みみ袋, Kaidan mimi Bukuro)
Forgotten Homework (忘れてた宿題, Wasureteta Shukudai)
War of Attrition (自分戦争, Jibun Sensō)
This incomplete list is frequently updated to include new information.
Reception
Writing for OTAQUEST, Jacob Parker-Dalton compared Shy to a similar manga, Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia, which runs in Shueisha's weekly shōnen publication, Weekly Shōnen Jump. While noting that both manga share similarities on a basic level, such as both protagonists being young rookie superheroes and a planet inhabited by individuals with superpowers, he delved into more of the differences between the two stories. He noted how Shy doesn't have as many heroes compared to My Hero Academia, and also wrote about how darker and more mysterious the main villain is, saying how Stigma "is decidedly darker as they prey upon the darkest parts of the human heart, converting victims into the kind of corrupted monsters that you’d see on a Saturday morning episode of Sailor Moon." And also how he "is decisively more sinister as their identity and motives remain shrouded in mystery." Finally, noting the more serious drama in the story, he writes, "[Shy's] own ineptitude as a hero, caused to some extent by her bashful disposition, might now lead to a tangible loss of human life. The majority of the series’ first volume and major arc deals with this very real human drama, the likes of which probably never would be published in Weekly Shōnen Jump."[28]
Steven Blackburn of Screen Rant praised Shy, calling it an "underrated" manga, also complimenting how the story "expertly delves into the insecurities of both the hero and civilian in original ways that other publishers including DC and Marvel have yet to accomplish."[29]
In 2020, the manga was nominated for the 6th Next Manga Awards in the print manga category.[30]
