Shy (manga)

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. One of those individuals is teenage heroine Teru Momijiyama, Japan's hero representative, who goes by the hero name "Shy." The world is not at peace for long, however, as a new worldwide threat arises in the form of a group of villains who call themselves Amalareiks (アマラリルク, Amarariruku). As she works with the other hero representatives across the globe and as she battles her own personal shortcomings, Shy fights to vanquish this new terror. 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, Amalareiks can manipulate a heart by forcing a person to wear a special type of ring, which are connected back to their leader, Stigma, 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. An Amalareiks heart also has the ability to create a domain of a variable size, an ability used by members Sveta and Hollow, who believe the heart to be a personal utopia.

Teru Momijiyama (紅葉山 テル, Momijiyama Teru) / Shy (シャイ, Shai)

Country: Japan

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. She struggles in many social situations, she harbors low self-esteem, and she doubts her abilities as a hero. After being blamed by the public for injuring a civilian while rescuing them from a broken roller coaster, she becomes overwhelmed by her failure to the point where she disappears for a month, slipping into a deep depression. Despite being controlled by her emotions, 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.

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)

Country: United Kingdom

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. He 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.

Pepesha Andreanof (ペペシャ・アンドレアノワ, Pepesha Andoreanowa) / Spirits (スピリッツ, Supirittsu)

Country: Russia

Pepesha grew up as an orphan in the care of a regional orphange. She is Shy's friend and mentor and is very close with Shy to the point where she can be overly protective of her at times. She was there to lift Shy out of her depression after the roller coaster accident. Despite her being an alcoholic who likes drinking Russian vodka, a habit that she picked up from her mother, she is 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.

Adam Rockwell (アダム・ロックウェル, Adamu Rokkuweru) / Century (センチュリー, Senchurī)

Country: United States

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. When Amalareiks attacked Tokyo by engulfing it in a black void, he took charge of the standby unit at the headquarters. 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)

Country: Switzerland

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)

Country: China

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 tai chi 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 Stein (ゲルム・シュタイン, Gerumu Shutain) / Doktor Schwarz (ドクター・シュヴァルツ, Dokutā Shuvuarutsu)

Country: Germany

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 Materia Renoir (ラールク・マテリア・ルノアール, Rāruku Materia Runoāru) / La Toile (ラヴォワール, Ravowāru)

Country: France

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.

Uni-Lord (天帝 (ユニロード), Yuni-Rōdo)[lower-alpha 1] / Unnie (ユニっち, Yunicchi)

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.

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, and turning their wishes and desires into reality to create his own minions. He bestows names to all of those he creates. Although he looks calm and happy on the outside, in reality, he is a mysterious boy with a ruthless and twisted side. 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 with huge horns, claws, and a tail, clad in a ragged cloak. However, he 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 be "right" by others and having his desired form rejected by the world. He believes that men should be pretty, and clashes with Meng Long, who is pretty but wants to be masculine. 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. After the heroes' battle with Amalareiks in Tokyo, she was taken in by the heroes.

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. When Spirits fought against her and bared her true feelings about her mother, she regained the warmth of her heart from Stigma, passed on information about Amalareiks, and forever vanished in defeat. 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 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, too, like Sveta, regained the warmth of her heart after her sister reached out to her during battle, and with their combined efforts, saved Tokyo, where she disappeared in defeat afterwards. 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.

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. She is the very opposite of Teru: she has no problem talking to others, she likes to meet new people, make new friends, and to be the center of attention. 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.

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]

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 November 8, 2021, eleven volumes have been released.[8]

The manga has been licensed to many 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]