Reviewed / recced for Vox as part of our One Good Thing series of recommendations for readers. Thank you!

Junji Ito never fails to give us scares.
For Christmas I received two of his latest anthology novels and in between playing dolls and assembling various toys for my daughter read them in the purposeful darkness of my room.
I read as though as I was starved and I was. Junji Ito's been a fixture in my life since my teen years. My formative years.
Ah, you say. No wonder she is this way.
:)))))
Classic Junji, the stories are weird. And disturbing. But really, REALLY weird.
I never look for a bright side in his stories because more often than not there isn't any and that to me reflects life. His stories just often border on the absolute obscene and that's what I love. I mean I want to be scared, I don't want to be scarred. Therapy once a week is enough thanks
If I had to choose a favorite short in this collection it would be...
all of them.
I truly enjoyed every single story and I honestly have to buy the book now so I can enjoy it again and again.
Winter is coming.
And with it it it brings its seasonal ghouls and festive sprites.
I need something to keep me company and warm during the long nights.
Fear is a hell of a partner.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy of my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Junji Ito is one of the masters of horror, and his work continues to frighten readers at every turn. Viz Media’s most recent Junji Ito manga, Venus in the Blind Spot, is yet another reminder of Ito’s talent, one that covers a terrifying range of tales.

This book contains 10 short stories drawn by Junji Ito, a combination of original works and adaptations of classic horror stories. While these stories aren’t connected thematically, it provides a broader look at Ito’s work. While some stories will place a heavier emphasis on body-horror and shock value, others will take a more subdued approach. Ito can convey horror in many different ways, and these stories show that firsthand.

The titular “Venus in the Blind Spot” story is surprisingly short, but is nonetheless memorable. The story centers on a UFO research society, whose members are madly in love with their leader Mariko. That said, Mariko becomes invisible to society members when they are near her, and they begin to suspect that it’s the work of aliens. While many of Ito’s stories focus on the supernatural, “Venus in the Blind Spot” is grounded in the horrors of reality. The society members’ obsession with Mariko is particularly disturbing, as it slowly shifts from admiration to vitriol. Rather than create a monster, Ito has humanity torment itself and crafts a chilling tale in the process.

Among the other notable stories in the book is “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”. When a series of human-shaped holes appear after an earthquake, people are suddenly drawn to the holes that share their likeness. While this story has been popular for many years, in part due to the absurdity of its premise, Ito’s storytelling cannot be understated. When someone enters one of the holes, their body is slowly crushed by the concaving passage. Yet despite certain death, people are still obsessed with entering the holes. This illogical urge is the core of the story’s horror, entrancing the reader with the unpredictable behavior of the characters. Ito has always excelled at bizarre situations, and “The Enigma of Amigara Fault” is a reminder of his talent to make the strange behavior of human nature even more peculiar.

Beyond his signature horror work, Ito also includes “Master Umezz and Me”, which explores his exposure to Kazuo Umezz’s work. Ito has cited Umezz as a huge influence on his work, and this story provides context to Ito’s approach as a creator. Hearing about Ito’s introduction to iconic series like The Drifting Classroom is incredibly interesting, and it’s immediately apparent why Ito resonated so much with Umezz’s series. While this story may not be what readers expect from Ito, it provides a rare insight into his mindset, making his manga all the more fascinating.

Junji Ito’s artwork is iconic. Ito uses his art to bend reality, creating horror by having natural and unnatural elements intertwine. This can best be seen in Ito’s anatomy, which he often manipulates in grotesque ways. Scenes such as the stitched corpses in “Billions Alone” leave a distinct impression, while also setting a baseline for what to expect from Ito. Ito remains the face of horror manga, and Venus in the Blind Spot takes full advantage of his immense talent.

Venus in the Blind Spot is a fantastic read, collecting stories that will surely excite and terrify readers. Fans of Junji Ito’s work will be fully satisfied with the tales showcased, and these stories are also strong entry points for the uninitiated. Don’t place this book in your blind spot, because this shouldn’t be left unread.

This is a great collection of Junji Ito short stories, perfect for new readers to discover the twisted mind of the master of horror manga. My personal favourites here are Billions Alone, which is a creepy tale about what lengths some people will go to to avoid being lonely; The Licking Woman, which is a fairly basic tale, but the artwork for this one is particularly gruesome; An Unearthly Love, which is an adaptation of a Edogawa Ranpo work and shows one couple's unusual marriage; and my absolute favourite was The Enigma of Amigara Fault, which is the perfect encapsulation of Junji Ito in just a few pages. The art is often tamer here than I have come to expect of some of Ito's longer works, but when it does get horrific, it gets really horrific! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and would recommend it to any Manga fans.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Legendary horror mangaka Junji Ito is best known for acclaimed series such as Tomie, Uzumaki, and Gyo. However, his newest release, Venus In the Blind Spot, offers a collection of several short works from across the writer and illustrator’s renowned career. Ten stories are featured, including seven original pieces from Ito and three adaptations. I will continue by giving a short description and my personal rating of each story.

Billions Alone

The first story in the collection is perhaps the best, and easily the most disturbing. Michio is a young man who hasn’t left his bedroom since the 7th grade. After years of isolation, he is finally brought out of his room when an old love interest shows up at his door and encourages him to attend their class reunion. But meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose targeting large groups and gatherings of people. The killer’s work is easily identifiable: they sew all their victims’ corpses together in large, grotesque displays. The threat of the killer begins to loom over the entire city, and gathering in groups of any size becomes too dangerous. Despite constant encouragement to “come together” by the mysterious Billions Alone Club, the majority of people choose to live in isolation like Michio. “Billions Alone” becomes eerily similar to today’s COVID landscape, replacing an invisible killer disease with a sadistic serial killer who goes unseen and leaves no trace of evidence behind.

Rating – 5/5

The Human Chair

The second tale is an adaptation of Japanese author Edogawa Ranpo’s classic short story of the same name. It tells the story of a woman haunted by a man living inside the chair in her home’s study. She is written off as delirious by her loveless husband, as it appears as though she is the only one to notice the man in the chair. “The Human Chair” is a discomforting, yet thought-provoking story of what it means to be loving and affectionate.

Rating – 4/5

An Unearthly Love

Another adaptation of one of Ranpo’s short stories; Kyoko falls in love with and eventually marries Kadono, who she finds very handsome but is rumored to be an emotionally cold man. Despite this, Kadono appears to show a deep adoration of Kyoko, almost to the point of embellishment. When he begins to sneak off and disappear into the storehouse in the middle of the night, Kyoko suspects that he may be having an affair with another woman—the one he considers his true love.

Rating – 3.5/5

Venus In the Blind Spot

The title story from the collection centers around a UFO enthusiasts club headed by Mariko. Mariko is the only girl in the club, and all the boys are madly in love with her. There’s just one problem: Mariko disappears before every one of their eyes whenever they get close to her. After finding scars on the back of their heads, the boys believe they were abducted and experimented on by aliens. This hysteria combined with their inability to see their “Venus” drives them insane, leading to the downfall of any who dare lay eyes on Mariko.

Rating – 4/5

The Licking Woman

The fifth story follows a community that is terrorized by a ghastly woman with a giant, venomous tongue who licks unsuspecting passersby. Miko, whose fiance and dog were killed by this Licking Woman, makes it her mission to track down and kill the monster before it claims more lives. She captures the woman with the help of a neighborhood watch, but she is merely sent to a psych ward after no proof is found linking her to any murder, and is released after several years. Upon her return, Miko aims to eliminate the Licking Woman to ensure she kills no others, but also for retribution. “The Licking Woman” is a unique monster story with a plethora of creepy, yet fun illustrations.

Rating – 5/5

Master Umezz and Me

“Master Umezz and Me” serves as something of an intermission between all the terrifying stories filling the collection. It is an autobiographical account of how Junji Ito became interested in horror manga as a boy through the works of Kazuo Umezo until he eventually begins to follow in his idol’s footsteps as an adult. Ito recounts how his two older sisters introduced him to Umezo through their love of horror manga, and how he quickly developed an obsession for the author and his writing. There are no real frightening moments in this story, but Ito depicts his boyhood self as gross and malformed at times in his illustrations. In fact, it is actually a relatively comical piece in Ito’s otherwise dark realm of imagination.

Rating – 4/5

How Love Came to Professor Kirida

An adaptation of “How Love Came to Professor Guildea”, the classic short story originally written by English writer Robert Hitchens. Professor Kirida is a celebrated writer who detests love in any way, form, or fashion. He decides to consult the opinion of a priest about a novel he is writing on Christianity. The two quickly begin discussing the role of love in the prosperity of mankind, and whether or not it is beneficial or detrimental. Despite his brilliance, Professor Kirida believes that his hatred for others has led to his success, and believes hate is what pushes humans into the future. Meanwhile, one of his writing students, Hayama, admires Kirida for his writing and seeks his approval and support to no avail. Hayama is withered by Kirida’s disdain for her and decides to take otherworldly measures to make love reach his soul.

Rating – 3.5/5

The Enigma of Amigara Fault

My personal favorite of the collection, this story centers around an unexplained phenomenon where holes shaped like human silhouettes appear on the side of a mountain. Many hike to see for themselves, but others arrive with the suspicion that there is a specific hole for them in the fault. Owaki is a young man who meets Yoshida, a young woman who believes she saw her silhouette in the fault during the news coverage. Owaki begins having foreboding nightmares about the holes, while Yoshido tries to keep her sanity after finding a hole she believes to be shaped like her. Before long people begin crawling into their “assigned” holes, fitting perfectly into the fault and never to be seen again. As pandemonium sweeps the mountainside, the allure of the Amigara Fault becomes stronger and stronger.

Rating – 5/5

The Sad Tale of the Principal Post

By far the shortest story in the collection at just four pages, it tells an odd and unwelcoming story of a family having dinner in their new house. After realizing their patriarch is missing, they begin hearing his cries for help from within the crawlspace. There they discover the grisly truth surrounding the principal support post holding up their grand new home.

Rating – 3/5

Keepsake

The final story begins with the discovery of a crying baby in the grave of a woman who died while pregnant. It is decided that the baby belongs to the woman’s widower, Toyoji, who has since remarried and had another child with his mistress, O-Mitsu. The mistress disapproves but must take the child into their home for the sake of appearances. The boy, named Manjuro, grows up to become sickly and deformed and scares the other children while they play, becoming an outcast. He is also hated with a severe passion by O-Mistu, who constantly berates him and ties him to a post. Soon Manjuro’s true origins are revealed, and O-Mitsu must face the consequences of her inglorious decisions.

Rating – 4/5

Conclusion

Venus In the Blind Spot has several standout moments, and even the comparatively lackluster entries are still compelling. The collection in its entirety is a superb showcase for Ito’s talents as not merely a storyteller, but as a writer who can conjure tense, nerve-racking, and sometimes downright unsettling scenes that are brought to life by his intricate illustrations.

I was unable to review this because it would not open
I am not sure why
i asked for help, but had no contacts
it may be because its past its due date
thank you anyways

Excellent as always. I was excited to read his adaptation of Edogawa Ranpo! I'll definitely be buying this one in print version.

During my interviews with horror comics creators in Funny Book Splatter, one name came up in almost every episode: Junji Ito. I was previously unfamiliar with his work and, as a horror fan, that was a travesty. Ito is a master of horror, creating some of the most terrifying manga the world has ever seen. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to check out Venus in the Blind Spot, a new collection of his work from VIZ Media.

There is an impressive amount of variety in this book. There's no one theme, aside from maybe scaring the crap out of you. The premises for each story are completely unique. Some come from a simple idea, like a man hiding in a chair, and others are truly bizarre, like finding human-shaped holes in a mountain. They all end in a similar point, where you're too terrified to continue, but you have to see it through to the end.

I found myself needing to take breaks while reading Venus in the Blind Spot. Some of the stories are so intense, where the terror reaches such heights that I needed to go watch a sitcom or something to reset. That isn't to say the stories aren't enjoyable. That's the farthest thing from the truth. These are top-notch horror tales. It's hard to pick a favorite in this collection. They are all great, and by great I mean truly unsettling.

You know that feeling you'd get watching a show like Curb Your Enthusiasm, where something is so cringy that you wish it would end? It's so uncomfortable that you almost have to look away. That's the feeling Ito invokes with every story, although it's more of a frightening cringe, like you can't believe this person's body is being twisted and pulled in those directions or what might be lurking within that mysterious box. It's the perfect tone for a horror story.

Ito's artwork is clean and crisp. The characters are well defined and showcase the terror they're feeling well. They often end up in a sort of trance, possessed by the horrors they've witnessed, but are compelled to follow. This parallels our own feelings because you can't look at this and not want to see how it ends.

Some of the pages in this collection are in color, while most are in black-and-white. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to this. Perhaps some segments were colorized for an installment previously published. In most cases, color amplifies the artwork; however, Ito's work has a stoic and powerful quality on its own. It doesn't need any help.

In hindsight, starting my journey into manga with Junji Ito was probably a mistake. It's like watching Citizen Kane as your first movie. Fortunately, there's a lot more to dig into. Venus in the Blind Spot is the latest example of this incredible creator and the absolutely insane scares he's capable of producing. There is nothing else like this out there and it's a delight to read. It's also completely terrifying and I'll be having nightmares for some time, but it's so very worth it.

This collection includes my favorite story ever which is The Enigma Amigara Fault and Human Chair. Every story inside was a banger and I would highly recommend gifting this for any fan of the horror genre.

The story that stuck out the most for me was Billions Alone, which somehow was time perfectly with the coronavirus pandemic. Maybe if people read that story, more people would quarantine and self-isolate stop they have less of a chance of spreading the virus. The propaganda in the story also reminds me of the toxic cult qanon stuff happening now too. I wonder how Junji Ito feels about this story having written it a long time ago and how it reflects the world today.

The oneshot from the title of this manga is great too. I've never read it before but it's a glimpse of how sci-fi and delusion of love of an idol can mix with horrifying results.

Overall, this manga is worth adding to your collection because Ito is a master of psychological horror. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Viz for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Venus in the Blind Spot by Junji Ito

3.75 stars for the overall collection

Hi, this is my first time reading Junji Ito and experiencing his horror manga and I am a fan. Like why did I think his stuff would be so disgusting and traumatizing that I couldn’t read it. Well, I won’t lie the opening story in the horror manga collection will leave some readers traumatized. Think Sally from the Hotel season of American Horror Story when she sews her two lovers to her body because she loves them so much and they die. Yea, the first story is like that but more intense, so if you think that will make you throw up then maybe skip this collection or Junji Ito altogether. I, however, totally am hyped by this new discovery and I’m obsessed. I loved it. The experience was visceral and now I will break down my thoughts on all of the stories.


Billions Alone- 4.5 stars Like I said above this story is like Sally from that season. We follow a guy who has agoraphobia and an old friend reaches out to him and encourages him to come back outside. While this is going on people meeting in organized settings are being kidnapped, murdered, and sewn together in giant intricate spiral patterns all over the city. The main reason I’m not giving this a full five stars is because 40 pages was not long enough and this deserves an entire novel to flesh out the beauty, frustration, and spiraling of a city as well as the main character who is becoming more comfortable going outside amidst the end of the world (at least for this town).

The Human Chair- 3.5 stars This is a chilling story about a story being told to a woman in a shop as she views a chair that once belonged to a famous writer who was being stalked by someone who had sewn themselves into a chair in her home. Horrifying. No, thanks. I liked the concept, but this story was missing a certain something really that makes my horror heart skip some beats.

An Unearthly Love- 3 stars Doll obsessions are not my thing and this one follows a woman married to a man who she thinks is cheating on her. It turns out to be a doll which leads to some complications in their marriage as one would expect. I felt bad for the woman, but like I said, not my kind of story.

Venus in the Blind Spot- 5 stars This story was perfect. It has the allure of being a creepy a UFO story, but it is much more sinister than a simple UFO. This is a story that I barely want to explain because even talking too much about it would give away its brilliance.

The Licking Woman- 4 stars I should’ve disliked this, but it was so weird and tragic. It follows a woman with a giant tongue licking people in the face and causing them to die and the effects this woman has on one woman after her boyfriend and dog die from the encounter. The level of weirdness and that horrifying tongue worked so well for the story.

Master Umezz and Me- 2 stars I didn’t care for the art in this one and I wasn’t a fan of the story. It was a biographical reflection on Juji Ito’s love for the writer Umezz and I appreciated the story, but the art was not good.

How Love Came to Professor Kirida- 3 stars This story follows a writer who is being haunted by a girl who loved and respected his feedback. His constant rejection leads to tragedy and her spirit teaches him love. It’s not as uplifting as it sounds lol. I didn’t care for this one, but I liked the plot.

The Enigma of Amigara Fault- 5 stars This story was so horrifying. I can still see the outline of the bodies being stretched in the fault lines for miles. It follows the story of fault shaped bodies being found in a mountain that are the exact shape of people. Horrifying and creepy.
The Sad Tale of the Principal Post- 3 stars This is the most forgettable story in the collection. The concept is there, but the execution isn’t fleshed out for it to be memorable or groundbreaking in the horror genre.

Keepsake- 4.5 stars This story is so gross because it’s about a child who is born from a dead woman and if you get grossed out by SPOILER necrophilia SPOILER then skip this one. I loved the story and how it unfolded. It felt dramatic in the most twisted way.

Overall, this collection is super strong and full of intense and gripping stories. There were a couple that stood out and really stole the show. I think many readers will enjoy this horror short story collection.


Cover Thoughts: OBSESSED. Love it and every time I see it pop up on my Goodreads for an add, I get excited.

Thank you, Netgalley and Viz Media, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful and eerie illustrations as always, a story that I genuinely can't wait to get to customers.

For a lot of people, just seeing Junji Ito’s name on a manga is going to get them to pick it up, so if you are already an Ito fan, this is exactly what you are expecting from the master. Viz has marketed this as a best of collection, which I definitely get. The inclusion of stories like, “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”, probably one of Ito’s most famous and visually iconic shorts, goes to that. But even more than a best of for fans, this collection works great for anyone that wants to get into Ito’s work as an introduction. This collection includes original stories, adaptations, and even some auto biographical work. The concepts and ideas of Ito’s horror are on full display, from body horror to cursed history and ghosts of the past. The collection starts off with the story, “Billions Alone”, and by the second page, with the image of the floating corpses sewn together, the book doesn’t shy away from letting you know what you are in for.

One of the other great things about this collection is that you get to see Ito’s work over a broader stretch of time. You get to see how his skills have matured and focused, as well as seeing how he handles a variety a stories. From longer shorts like “Keepsake” to much shorter bits like, “The Sad Tale of the Principal Post” it highlights what a great range Ito has.

So, if you have never read any of Junji Ito’s previous work, I highly recommend this as an easily accessible entry point. And if you are already a fan of Ito’s work, this is a great collection of familiar and never before translated pieces.

Thanks to Netgalley and Viz Media for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a fan of Junji Ito since one of my friend's tricked me into reading TOMIE VOL. 1. I had no idea what to expect and was simultaneously disgusted and delighted. When I saw VENUS IN THE BLIND SPOT being marketed as a "best of" his work, I knew I had to read it.

This is a collection of more truly disturbing short stories. It has everything from bodies being sewn together, mad experiments, cruel, twisted love, undead babies(???), and more. It had me going back and forth between wanting to throw the book across the room, and flipping pages to see what the hell was going to happen next. Each story has such an abrupt ending, and I was torn between the comfort of it finally being over, and a strong yearning for more details.

It's full of body horror, speculative story lines, monsters, paranormal events, and more than enough gore. Needless to say, it was exactly what I was expecting, and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to the publisher, Viz Media, for providing me with a digital copy of this book via NetGalley. VENUS IN THE BLIND SPOT came out on August 18, 2020, and can be purchased wherever books are sold.

TW: Body horror, stalking, corpse mutilation,sexual assault, extreme gendered violence, animal death




Another manga collection from master of horror, Junji Ito!

Honestly, I've yet to be disappointed by an Ito collection, and this one was no different. The stories were all engaging from the get-go and maintained the same visceral imagery that I've come to expect from the author.
The collection is shocking in the way Ito often is, but if you read enough Ito... well. It's expected, if that makes any sense. I went into this knowing what sorts of situations the characters were likely to get into, and while I wasn't shocked, I did really enjoy each individual tale. Because Ito is so consistent in his craft, it's almost... reassuring? For a moment on reading I felt like I'd gone back in time, sent back to a few years ago when I read Tomie and Enigma for the first time. Speaking of which, I was so pleased to have a chance to read Enigma in a collection as I'd only ever read it online prior.

This time around, some of the stories actually felt allegorical to where we are with COVID, particularly
Billions Alone, a haunting tale of horrors put upon people who have chosen to socially interact
and then
The Licking Woman, in which a horrifying being is wandering about infecting people with a deadly sickness using only her tongue.

If graphic imagery upsets you, this book might not be for you
-BUT-

If you've ever been curious about horror manga but didn't know where to start, this is a great stepping stone.

If you are already an Ito fan, well. I've already said this, but you know what to expect... you'll still enjoy it, I promise!

I definitely have a few specific patrons I'll be recommending this title to.

Before Junji Ito, the closest I got to reading horror manga was Kentaro Miura’s Berserk, which is more in the realm of dark fantasy, but it’s not without horrific imagery, from the graphic violence to the incredibly designed monsters. My introduction to Ito’s bibliography was reading Uzumaki, which literally spirals a small Japanese town into a horrific fate, resulting in a work that is both great and silly. In his latest book, Venus in the Blind Spot, it is a compilation of short stories that predominately focused on Ito’s dark and twisted view on humanity.

This idea of humanity at its worst is shown in the first story “Billions Alone”, in which a young boy who has isolated himself from the outside world for seven years, struggles to connect, whilst people suddenly vanish and reappearing, only to be stitched together as “group corpses”. Considering where we are when it comes to social distancing and self-isolation, this story does seem current as the horror is one of unknown origins and which there is no escape.

As if a human connection couldn’t get any creepier, the next two shorts (both based on original stories by Edogawa Ranpo) show how dangerously close we can be with each other. In “The Human Chair”, when a young writer stops by a furniture store, where the owner tells her the story of another writer from years ago and how she was haunted by someone who was secretly living in a chair in her house. In the other short story “An Unearthly Love”, a marriage starts to slowly fall apart when the wife suspects the husband of being unfaithful.

Over a hundred pages in, Ito presents the best of the bunch, which is the eponymous short, where a group of young men who are members of the Nanzan UFO Research Society, become infatuated with the leader of the discussion, the beautiful Mariko. However, any time any of the males approach her, she vanishes in front of them, but can only her voice. With the ongoing discussion of UFOs, which may have something to do with the member’s shared predicament, there may be an air of silliness, but how Ito unravels the mystery throughout, which leads to a clever and tragic climax.

Some of the stories don’t land as well as they lean into the silliness that I’ve often struggled with Uzumaki, such as “Master Umezz and Me”, about a fanboy obsessing over the books of horror mangaka Kazuo Umezz. Essentially a love letter to the real-life Kazuo Umezu, who was a big influence on Ito, there isn’t anything here that is really scary and more of an excuse for the author to draw a young protagonist looking sickly obsessive over comic books, which I’m sure some readers can relate to.

As a writer, no matter what ideas of horror he can throw at the reader, there can be some repetition in his narratives, which is usually a young protagonist on a search for the truth, only to consumed by a mental or physical demise. What usually saves these stories is Ito’s detailed artwork, which is mostly presented in black-and-white. Whether it is characters looking like they’re going through a psychological breakdown, or the numerous corpses that are morphed that presents genuine body horror, Ito presents images that stay with you and challenging you not to receive nightmares when you’re next sleeping.

Despite Uzumaki being Ito’s most celebrated work, it has this fractured structure that doesn’t work when telling an ongoing narrative, whereas with a short story collection like Venus in the Blind Spot, he’s better at getting his darkly weird ideas in small chunks.

This volume is a collection of short stories, some of which have been published before, or the first time published for a majority of them. Like much of Ito's other work, these stories are creepy and capitalize on our sense of propriety to give us the heebie-jeebies. In "Billions Alone," there are people being sewn together. "The human chair" has a creepily obsessive love story. "Venus in the blind spot," this volume's namesake, was one of the more creative stories surrounding a woman who disappears when she gets too close to men who adore her. Then, there's "The licking woman," with a monster who has a poisonous tongue. The story of "Master Umezz and me," gives us a glimpse into Ito's own life and his inspiration for writing horror stories. In "How love came to Professor Kirida," an obsessed student violates Kirida's privacy and wishes. "The Enigma of Amigara Fault," tells of weirdly alluring holes that are shaped for specific people. This collection is rounded out with "Keepsake," where a baby is mysteriously born to a dead woman inside her casket.

Some of these stories were really interesting and gave me the heebie-jeebies in the right way. Others had very cliché cop-out endings. I'm not sure if other Ito stories are constructed the same way, but in almost every one of these stories, the twist ending was on the last page. There was hardly any falling action or repercussions to the actions in the story. The "Venus in the Blind Spot" story had a really great set up, but the ending was lackluster and disappointing. The other story that has stayed with me long after reading it was "The Enigma of Amigara Fault," which built up steadily and delivered a creep-factor that was satisfying.

The art is really detailed and definitely embodies the horror. Some illustrative pieces are repeated - several of the women characters look the same across several stories.

This volume is definitely more suitable to mature audiences. There is necrophilia, agalmatophilia, implied rape, adult situations, and some graphic illustrations. VIZ rates this as Teen Plus.

Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grade 12

Junji Ito is simply one of the best creators of horror comics in any language. These are creepy, disturbing stories, that don't rely on twist endings or sudden shocks to create their horror (although he does use those tools well). Venus in the Blind Spot is a "best of" type collection, which means there are no losers in this bunch. Plus you get "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" which always twists my spine the wrong way whenever I read it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Review for publication elsewhere.
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The latest work by Junji Ito is the short story collection, Venus in the Blind Spot. This collection features ten short stories by the horror master that range from personal collections about Ito’s own life to the grotesque horror that he is known for. It also features two adaptions from the Japanese writer, Edogawa Ranpo. Although this collection does have exclusive colored pages that are not normally featured in Ito’s works, the whole collection fell short for me. Some of the stories felt up to the quality that is normal for Ito but some of them were uninteresting and ventured into territories that are not his strong point. To put it bluntly, some of them were plain boring compared to his previous works.

A short look at the stories:

Billions Alone- This story was easily one of the best of the collection. It relies heavily on the plot points and drawings that usually make Ito’s work so horrifying. The image of bodies sewn together was tough to see and the double page color spread was a great visual to kick off the story.

The Human Chair– This is one of the manga adaption that Ito did of Edogawa’s works. Although it was one of the stronger ones of the collection, it seemed almost comically that a chair had a person in it. I was waiting for a twist but it truly was just a chair with a dude in it.

An Unearthly Love– Nothing like a creepy doll story to really make you feel weird.

Venus in the Blind Spot- The titular story left me wanting more. This was one (as far as I can remember) of Ito’s first dips into medical horror and it just didn’t hit quite like his other works have.

The Licking Woman- I wish this one made more sense. It is truly horrific to think about a woman’s tongue licking you and killing you but the ending was not quite what the story built up to.

Master Umezz and Me- This is a personal story by Ito about how much Umezz’s work has influenced his own. A short, sweet read.

How Love Came to Professor Kirida– A grumpy old man gets haunted by the nice girl that he told to buzz off. Nothing too significant here.

The Engima of Amigara Fault– Although I liked this story, it was technically in another collection of his. Can that still be considered a new story for this collection? Ito is able to create the fear of claustrophobia on his pages which truly takes talent.

The Sad Tale of the Principal Post- Another story that appeared in a collection before. Short and perhaps insignificant.

Keepsake- Another one of my favorites of the collection. It really seems that Ito does well at making character designs that have you feel like you need to look away but you also have to see them for yourself.

Although it’s a good collection for his fans, I would not suggest this work as an intro into Ito’s works. However, 2020-21 is seeing quite a few of Ito’s work being produced so keep an eye out for more!

Ito has done it again. This is a fantastic dive into horror with some definitely spine tingling tales to read. Some of the stories were a bit more tame, but ones like the Human Chair and the Enigma of Amigara Fault make up for that ten-fold.