Hideout - Masasumi Kakizaki
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Hideout is a mental trap, a scream in the dark. Short, sharp, and deeply disturbing, this one-shot drags you into a descent where everything you thought you controlled slips through your fingers. It’s not just a horror story—it’s an inner collapse disguised as a tropical nightmare.
Seichi Kirishima, a writer on the edge, takes his wife on vacation to a paradise island. But the vacation is a lie—he plans to kill her. He hates her. She despises him. Their marriage died long ago, crushed by the loss of their child and the silence they never dared to break. Everything unravels when they enter a cave hidden in the heart of the jungle. Darkness swallows all. Logic. Time. And above all, intent.
What Hideout reveals isn’t just madness—it’s a truth: the buried hatred, the unspoken regrets, the monsters we host in our minds. Deep in the cave lurks a deformed being, a human memory escaped from civilization. But it’s not the enemy—it’s the reflection. And that’s where the manga hits hardest: by making fear a mirror. What you run from is already inside. What you fear is already you.
Masasumi Kakizaki’s artwork is a visual punch. Every page is drenched in black, sweat, and rot. The linework cuts clean, and the paneling suffocates deliberately. Everything is tight, oppressive. Eyes are vacant, mouths scream without sound. You don’t need supernatural monsters—the horror comes from what is too real, too human. And that’s why it lingers.
Hideout doesn’t stretch things out. It’s just one volume. But that one volume—you won’t forget. It leaves the taste of mud in your mouth, a gray light behind your eyes. It’s not a manga meant to entertain. It’s a manga that reminds you: sometimes, the worst cave isn’t the one you explore—it’s the one you avoid inside yourself.