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I had heard some decent things about this manga and since it has been a good while since I last actually read a horror manga, I was excited to jump in. However, I am sad to say, Hideout really didn't even come close to living up to the high praise I, and I'm sure others, had heard.

To call the story cliché -ridden would be an understatement. Every single thing that happens or is revealed is so predictable that you will be able to guess what is going to happen after the second chapter (if not before that). Now, that is not always a bad thing. ... A good writer, after all, can make any cliché work if the characters or the world they inhabit are compelling enough. Masasumi Kakizaki is not one of those writers. Of course, to be fair, there are only 9 chapters so there is only so much you can do to make people care. But when the characters are as incredibly bland and one-dimensional as the ones written here, well, it's hard to imagine how anyone could do anything other than to immediately stop being invested in them.

The only real bright spot of the manga is Kakizaki's artwork, which is genuinely fantastic. The constant use of black/darkness in the tunnel segments really gave the manga a good sense of tension and claustrophobia. But that really was the only bright spot.

In the end, if you've got half an hour or slightly more to waste then yes give this manga a read, otherwise don't go out of your way to read it.

Despite that fact that this prequel to Jujutsu Kaisen is only 4 chapters long I think that Akutami Gege was able to do just enough to both introduce the reader to the world of JJK and entice them into wanting to read more.

Having already read a good few chapters of JJK I had already been introduced to Maki, Panda and Toge, but it was great to get to spend more time with them as actual main characters. I found Toge to be especially entertaining for me - though maybe that's because I absolutely love his curse words ability. But the stand-out from the cast for ... me was easily Yuta Okkotsu, a lonely, bullied boy who just wants to feel like he has the right to live.I'm not going to spoil it but seeing his development in the last chapter was so fun to read and I can't wait to see him again in the main JJK manga

The story itself is mostly about yuta, as he must go to the Tokyo Jujutsu school because he is a Special Grade Cursed Human who's haunted by a powerful vengeful spirit.I found the story to be enjoyable but nothing to go crazy over. In fact there's not really much to even talk about when its comes tothe plot.

The main appeal for me was Geges fantastic artwork, seeing the creative cursed techniques of the characters and of course getting to see more of the JJK world - as short as it was. So if that's what you're looking for you should defiantly give this short on-shot a read.

I am a massive JoJos fan so when I kept on hearing that this was the weakest part since part 1 I didn't really know what to expect. What part 6 ended up being was a mixed bag that was went from boring to just above average in terms of quality. However, at no point would I ever consider it to be the worst part.

STORY - 7/10.

The story in 'Stone Ocean' had a lot of potential and to its credit it did hook me immediately. There is just enough going on that it stays somewhat interesting and engaging. However, there a number of parts where ... it begins to drag a bit too much highlighted by a lot of stand fights lasting waayyy longer than they should. Its two main weaknesses IMO is the fact that the majority of the story is told within one extremely uninteresting location, which leads to villain of the week type stuff( like part 3) and the ending which i won't say too much about because of spoilers but overall it is a decent enough story.

ART - 9/10.

The art in 'Stone Ocean' is amazing and exactly the level of quality you would expect from Hirohiko Araki. Every character and stand design is extremely creative and unique which ensure, if nothing else, that you'll never get bored with looking at the charters and their stands

Characters - 6/10

The characters in 'Stone Ocean' are by far its weakest part with almost none of them being of the standard I usually expect from JoJo's. That being said I really did enjoy Jolyne as the main character. She is consistently fun, entertaining, smart as hell( in her fights) and completely fearless in her many stand battles.I also loved her character development and getting to see her become more confidant in herself and abilities with great to see. Hermes, who would become one of Jolynes best friends, is another great character and seeing her interactions with Jolyne were never dull. Enrico Pucci is another fantastic character and I looked forward to every time we got to see him.Weather Report has one of my favourite backstories in JoJos and is another character who helps keep the story interesting. Sadly through I couldn't really bring myself to care about any of the other characters in part 6 (with the exception of maybe F.F but even then I didn't think she was anything special) with none of them really offering anything to really grab your attention with their personalities being very bland at least when compared to the side characters of previous parts. Especially when compared to the other parts I think the side villains in particular to be extremely boring, to the point where i would want them to be beaten simply so that the story could move on. The stands battle are as creative as you would expect from JoJos but i would say that some of the battles and stand abilities are way to over-the-top and, frankly, stupid even by JoJos standard.

Enjoyment/Overall - 7/10

While part 6 most certainly does have its strong points -great art, great MC, some really creative stand battles- I feel like its negative point are just too glaring. The biggest issues being too over-the-top stand abilities, forgettable sides characters, and some really bad pacing issues