Shisa gave up the license granted by a magic star. Why would some Chiikawa fans rather see a near-monster tragedy before a happy ending? Spoilers for Chiikawa's Shisa storyline from September–October 2026.
The Shisa arc seems to have settled into a warm ending. Good for him. But here's a terrible fan confession: I wanted him pushed to the brink of becoming a chimera. Not because Shisa deserves suffering. Quite the opposite—his decency would make the horror hurt more. At this point the audience might be the true monster.
What actually happened?
Shisa works at the ramen shop Ro and studies for a fictional qualification connected to drinking alcohol. A wish-granting star hands him a license without the exam he had been preparing for. His dream of toasting with his mentor becomes tangled in guilt and doubt.[1]
On October 13, Shisa cuts up the enchanted license himself.[2] Later scenes suggest that time rewinds and his relationship with his mentor returns to warmth.[3] As of October 19, it feels like an arc ending, though that isn't an official promise that there can be no sequel.
The horror route we didn't get
Chiikawa has always had a frightening side: familiar cute creatures can become something terrifying. The precise rules of chimera transformations remain unclear. There is no confirmed rule linking this license to Shisa becoming a chimera.[4] The following is an imagined alternative.
Shisa cuts the license. The paper vanishes—but his fingers begin to change. He still reports to work the next morning. He hides his hands and assures his mentor everything is fine. Each attempt to act normal makes the situation worse. What began as a qualification story becomes a race to prevent an apprentice from losing his familiar body.
A bowl of ramen is now a horror prop. Who handles complaints about defective wish-granting stars?
Why Shisa, of all characters?
Shisa is hardworking, considerate and devoted to his mentor. He might try to shoulder the entire problem alone rather than worry anybody else. A monster reveal would shock us; watching him keep loving his mentor while his body changes would devastate us.
Picture Shisa growing claws and still worrying about the lunch rush. Please stop. Also, please continue. Horror fandom is a contradictory business.
Tragedy or last-second rescue?
An irreversible transformation would be bleak. A rescue at the very last moment, with his mentor finally noticing, would make all their everyday kindness matter. That's the ending I'd prefer: the threat feels real, but help arrives before the final line is crossed.
The gentle ending has value because Shisa chooses for himself. Yet the horror-loving response remains: save him, absolutely—but open the gates of hell first. The comic is cute. Its readers keep ordering extra suffering.
