Getting cancelled does not have to be the final chapter for a manga creator. Ikuo Hachiya, whose Ice-Head Gill ended after a short Weekly Shonen Jump run, has another story out this month: Yokai Matchmaking Agency.
The new manga takes a supernatural approach to matchmaking, putting a lonely poverty god at the centre of a world where humans and yokai can marry. It runs for 51 pages, making this a compact return rather than a lengthy reading commitment.
The important distinction: this is a one-shot. A new ongoing Hachiya series has not been announced.
A poverty god with an unusual day job
The story follows Jinjin, a poverty god employed at a matchmaking agency based in a graveyard. Pairing people up is his work, but his own existence is hardly overflowing with companionship.
Despite his divine status, Jinjin is not particularly well-liked by either humans or yokai. His job gives him some consolation without resolving his loneliness. Then a middle school girl arrives asking for help, disrupting the routine he has settled into.
That is the central setup: an isolated supernatural figure whose work involves bringing others together, confronted by a request that changes his circumstances. The source describes human-yokai marriages as an ordinary part of this setting, rather than an exceptional event.
Hachiya’s second reported one-shot of 2026
Hachiya’s previous serialisation, Ice-Head Gill, began in Weekly Shonen Jump in June 2023. Its run ended that November at chapter 20.
After a break, he returned in January 2026 with Showmanship. That one-shot followed a high school student who also creates manga, and a classmate seeking advice for a dance performance.
Yokai Matchmaking Agency moves away from that school-and-performance premise and back towards fantasy. Taken together, the two releases show Hachiya trying different stories after his first serialised work ended. They do not, however, establish what his next ongoing project will be.
Could this become a full series?
One-shots give creators space to introduce a concept, demonstrate their storytelling and potentially draw editorial interest. A positive response can sometimes lead to serialisation, but that outcome is not automatic.
ComicBook Anime praises how this particular story introduces its cast and setting within its page limit. That is the outlet’s assessment, not confirmation of a longer run. There is currently no announced serialisation to put on your calendar.
Why it matters for Malaysia and SEA readers
Our take: for readers here who usually discover manga through established hits, this is a useful reminder to look beyond the biggest ongoing titles. A short standalone release offers a way to check out a creator’s new direction without starting a substantial backlog.
The premise also has a clear contrast worth watching: someone who helps others find connection cannot easily find it himself. Whether that can sustain a longer manga remains an open question, but it gives this one-shot an identity beyond being a cancelled creator’s comeback.
ComicBook Anime reports that Ice-Head Gill and Hachiya’s one-shots are available through the official Manga Plus app. Its report does not specify regional access conditions or pricing, so it should not be read as a Malaysia-specific availability guarantee.