Some of the stories are genuinely terrifying, some are just really weird and some make no sense whatsoever, but the art is definitely creepy and it's worth reading for the genuine chills a few of the stories conjure up.

Junji Ito is by far my favorite mangaka ever. The story telling and expressions in all his work is amazing!! There's 10 stories in this collection so here's my star reviews for each one:

✧ Billions Alone - ★★★★
✧ The Human Chair - ★★★★
✧ An Unearthly Love - ★★★
✧ Venus in the Blind Spot - ★★★★
✧ The Licking Woman - ★★★ ★
✧ Master Umezz and Me - ★★★
✧ How Love Came to Professor Kirida - ★★
✧ The Enigma of Amigara Fault - ★★★★★
✧ The Sad Tale of the Principal Post - ★★★
✧ Keepsake - ★★★★

My overall rating is probably around a 4.5 ★ !!!

Earlier in the summer, a friend recommended the works of Junji Ito to me. And then, coincidentally, I stumbled across this "best of" collection. I am so, so glad that I did. Venus in the Blind Spot has definitely made me want to seek out all of Junji Ito's work, because I need more. His style is the perfect blend of creepy, genius, and outstanding presentation that I feel like I'm always looking for but never quite find. Well, I've finally found it.

I loved reading creepypastas when I was a teenager, spent hours devouring small but terrifying, deliciously creepy stories. This collection feels like going back to that, but with more thought and better presentation. Each of the stories in this collection have their own air about them, their own quirks, but they all share the same thread of uneasiness. The substance and imagery is so unsettling, but utterly compelling. I couldn't stop reading, I'd finish one story and instantly want to consume another. There's just something about this small, chilling type of horror that makes it so fun to take in.

Junji Ito's art is incredible. It compliments his storytelling perfectly. There's a beauty to it, and a simplicity. I never had to look too hard, never felt like I was missing anything if I didn't deeply study each panel. It suited the way I took in these stories wonderfully, the way I wanted more more more the further along each story went. The art built with the stories, the images portraying the same level of horror as the words, if not more. I can still see some of them perfectly while I sit here and type, and they're still just as chilling.

I really enjoyed each and every story in this collection. My personal favorites were Billions Alone, Keepsake, and of course, The Enigma of Amigara Fault. That one seems to be a fan favorite in general, and I can't help but go with with crowd there. I've already gone back and read Amigara Fault a couple more times. It just perfectly illustrates Junji Ito's particular way of slowly building a story, adding one layer at a time, until it all adds up to a breathtaking climax. Each story in this collection has that slow build, some a little more than others, and each one delivers a fantastic ending.

I highly recommend Venus in the Blind Spot to anyone looking to add a bit of a creepy factor to their TBR. This collection is perfect if, like me, you want to binge the whole thing, but it also lends itself well to anyone wanting to take it slow, maybe letting one story at a time sink in. I'll definitely be revisiting this one again and again, especially my favorite stories within it, and I can't wait to start reading more of Junji Ito's work.

This review will go live on NovelKnight on 8/6/20.

I've been a huge Junji Ito fan since I was a kid, and while I love all of his works, I love some more than others. Venus in the Blind Spot is a collection of tales from the famed Horror mangaka, and it's mostly hit with a few misses for me.

I'm trying to change up my reviewing style, so I'll be focusing on what I like about this collection and what I think you'll like with me. First off, arguably the most well known short story is in this collection. The Enigma of Amigara Fault is one of the best examples of Junji Ito's slowly creeping style that pays off with a big in your face horror image at the end. It's just as creepy now as it was when I first read it, granted the "ddr... ddr..." meme that has come about since I first read it does diminish the scary part of it. It's a great story in a tight package.

Some of the stories in this collection were hits, and a few were misses..Out of hits, my favorite is the single slice of life autobiographical story. Junji Ito has a way with slice of life stories that his art adapts to so well. It's a bit creepy, but if you think about it, it's really true to life. My favorite work of his is slice of life series that involve his household and his cats. This story is also seemingly autobiographical in the same way. Great stuff.

So in short, there's a good mix of some well known and some less known stories in this collection. If you like any horror or the feeling of creepypasta, check out this collection, you won't regret it. 4/5 stars.

Thanks to Viz via NetGalley for access to this title in exchange for a straight up honest review.

Junji Ito has done it again! I've been a fan of his work for some time now, and I was so incredibly excited to see I'd been approved for an ARC of this volume. I absolutely adore his representation of body horror, and while his characters are often flat, the stories are haunting enough that the character dimension doesn't affect my love of his work. HIGHLY recommended (but do look up the trigger warnings ahead of time!)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I recently discovered Junji Ito's Tomie and fell in love with his stories! The way he builds a genuinely terrifying tale is remarkable, and when I saw this new collection from him I knew I had to give it a try.

These short stories are not interconnected in any way, each stands alone, and some worked for me better than others. There are a couple of highlights here that are truly shocking, but others that I feel missed the mark. Definitely a mixed bag.

Overall I think I will be sticking to his more established works in the future, but I am glad I got to read a wider range of his work. This is definitely an author to pick up if you've not experienced his work before, but maybe don't start here... come back to this after you've fallen in love with his very individual version of horror 👻☠️

2 stars from me.

(Review published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 01/08/20, to be posted on other third party sites on the date of publication)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m legit obsessed with his art, it’s so freaking beautiful, aesthetic goals. It started kinda strong but there were a few that I didn’t like but overall a pretty good collection.

#1:3⭐️, I liked the story but I felt the ending was quite abrupt.

#2: 5 ⭐️
Quite a brilliant story, my favorite one, I just don’t know if I got exactly what he meant but nevertheless I loved it.

#3: 3.5/4⭐️
Interesting, I also liked this one

#4: 3.5? maybe 4?! ⭐️
I don’t really know what to think about this one

#5: 3.5 ⭐️
bruh?? wtf?? haha
good but I wanted it more

#6: 1 ⭐️
I was not a fan of this one.

#7: boring tbh, 1.5?! ⭐️

#8: 4 ⭐️
I already read this one in another collection of his, it’s quite good.

#9: 3 ⭐️
I also already read this one.

#10: bizarre lmao
3.5 ⭐️

I had never been a manga reader, but I love horror. I have officially been converted. The stories were extremely compelling and scary and reminded me of episodes of The Twilight Zone. I love Junji Ito's finely detailed illustrations. This far exceeded my expectations.

<b>2.25</b>

<b>Not the best collection</b>, honestly, though there are some interesting back stories that aren't something Ito usually supplies, including him reminiscing over his love of horror manga as a kid. It's understandable to me why he holds Kazuo Umezu in such high regard, but (usually) I think Ito is way better himself. Umezu might just be too campy for me.

I like it when these collections feature the same characters in different stories - Ito does this often - but I wanted more with the female author and felt like her story just ... ended. The other stories are mostly ok but either not long enough or not particularly memorable. <b>The titular story to me was one of the weakest ones,</b> but <i>The Sad Tale of the Principal Post</i> was especially dumb and pointless.

<i>The Enigma of Amigara Fault</i> is still one of the most unsettling stories I've ever read but it's also included at the end of Gyo as a bonus story, though not with the color pages, so I'd already read it.

<b>I think this collection just fell short.</b> It wasn't terrible but if I wasn't a huge fan who reads everything he writes I don't think I would bother with this one at all.

I recently read The Shiver Collection and really enjoyed it a lot. So the moment I saw the new Junji Ito was on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to read it early. I decided since this is a bunch of short stories I will review them one by one and then give my overall view.



Billions Alone - So this was such a great way to start off the short story collection. It's super eerie. It kinda made me think of today's situation in certain ways. Obviously it's completely different situations but had some similarities like not leaving the house and not going out in groups.


Human Chair - So I definitely liked this story more than the last one. I feel it's because chairs are such a big staple in people's lives so it just adds to the situation. I know this couldn't happen but I can see people having nightmares about this. I also couldn't help but think of a scene from the Always Sunny Christmas special.


An Unearthly Love - So this one I didn't feel was as creepy as the other two stories so far. I feel this is something you could see on the show my strange addiction except the ending. However I did like the lines on the last page of the story.


*This story is by Edogawa Ranpo. I just realized that the last story, Human Chair was also by him as well*


Venus In The Blind Spot - Damn this story was super interesting. This one had a sci-fi feel to it which I ended up really enjoying. I have only read one Junji Ito collection but I am curious if more stories involving sci-fi appear. I would say this one also isn't very creepy but is different from the others.


The Licking Woman - This story was a bit disturbing. Imagine a random person coming up and licking you only to cause a horrible disease that could kill you. That is seriously just freaky to think about. Especially with how everything is going on today. Thankfully this isn't real.


Master Umezz and Me - Wow so this was Junji Ito talking about Kauzo Umezu. I had never heard of him before this. I did enjoy that this was a real story drawn out. I thought it was very funny and entertaining. I am very curious about Kauzo Umezu. There was a mention that he made a movie and I'm interested in watching that. I do hope I can find it in America.


How Love Came to Professor Kirida -Well wow that was definitely an interesting story. It has to do with obsession and has a paranormal aspect to it. It's on the creepy but still not as creepy as some of the other stories that are included in this book. I do want to check out the story that this is based off of.


*Based on the story "How Love Come To Professor Guildea" By Robert Hichens*


The Enigma of Amigara Fault - I am actually familiar with this story. I've never read the comic but I think my boyfriend might have watched something reading this or talking about it. Boy is this one creepy. I just want to know where he comes up with these things. He takes something so beautiful, mountains, and makes them extremely terrifying.


The Sad Tale of The Principal Post - Well that was a super quick story. I honestly wasn't excepting it to be so quick but I guess it makes sense rather than have the story drag on. I do wish we got to find out how things actually happened but that's not the case. I feel like this was a little underwhelming and wanted a bit more out of it.


Keepsake - So I enjoyed this story. I felt like it has a very creepy premise. I mean just the thought of something like this happening is crazy and I know couldn't happened but still damn. Junji Ito always thinking up these wild stories. However I just didn't really like any of the characters in the story. There was only one real character I ended up liking.


Overall I enjoyed this collection. I thought it was such an interesting mix of stories. There were stories from another writer that he did the art for. There also was a story that was based off another author's work. He also did a personal story where he was asked to create the manga for a movie another manga artist. He even had a sci-fi story which I ended up enjoying a lot. I just didn't feel as creeped out which I excepting. However I still enjoyed the collection and can't wait to check it out when it officially comes out. I am excited to get a better look at the artwork in person.


*I would just like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

I love Junji Ito. He is one of my favourite Manga artists and I haven't been disappointed by him yet, this short story collection is no different. Venus in the Blind Spot is a solid collection of short but sweet horror stories. Gory, creepy, disturbing, all that juicy stuff. With short story collections it is hard to get a complete collection where every single story is enjoyed equally and so of course I have a few favourites.

Billions Alone - the first story in Venus. This story is just so creepy from the start and I must say very well-timed as it warms about public gatherings. Because of this I found it much easier to be sucked into the story and the dangers of going outside and meeting up with people. I honestly could have read a whole book on that story and would have enjoyed it. I wanted more, but I think Junji Ito knows when to leave it as it is for the best impact.

Human Chair - Yes! This is what I am talking about, this is the kind of depravity I can imagine actually reading about in real life. It was just brilliantly written and the perfect sweet spot of creepy, disturbing and intriguing.

Those two were my top picks, but a mention has to go to some others like Keepsake and An Unearthly Love. Honestly, the title story Venus in the Blind Spot was good, but it wasn't my favourite and because it was the title story I expected it to be the stand out story. The more gruesome and disturbing, but it wasn't.

The collection also included a little autobiographical story about Junji Ito himself, and at first I didn't get that was what it was supposed to be so I kept waiting for it to get creepy before I realised.

In general it was a wonderful collection and I loved a lot of the stories and enjoyed them, all. A definite recommendation to add to your horror collection.

Lastly, thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Thanks to Viz Media and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

A collection of stories from the master of Japanese horror, Junji Ito. This anthology is definitely not for the faint hearted or squeamish. Fans of Ito will find much to enjoy and those new to him will no doubt get a kick out of the weird and wonderful stories and his inimitable artwork.

An all round top class collection, I particularly enjoyed The Human Chair and the title story Venus in the Blind Spot.

Viz Media’s blurb for Venus in the Blind Spot is really weird: it claims this is a “best of” collection of Junji Ito’s stories but, as far as I can tell, only one - maybe two - stories have previously appeared in print before: The Enigma of Amigara Fault and The Sad Tale of the Principal Post possibly both appeared in Dissolving Classroom. So this is a “best of” collection that features almost all-new stories!? The blurb also mentions special colour pages and illustrations from Ito’s latest book, No Longer Human, and it doesn’t. Also, it would’ve been good if the contents page listed in which collections the stories previously appeared, like most “best of” collections do, but seeing as this appears to be nearly all-new material then I can see why it didn’t!

Of the stories collected here - Billions Alone, The Human Chair, An Unearthly Love, Venus in the Blind Spot, The Licking Woman, Master Umezz and Me, How Love Came to Professor Kirida, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, The Sad Tale of the Principal Post, and Keepsake - none were very good.

So here’s the thing with Ito: like HP Lovecraft, Ito is great at producing haunting images of primal horror but, also like Lovecraft, he’s very clumsy, almost amateurish, in incorporating these images into traditional stories. What you’re left with is some genuinely disturbing visions of horror scattered amidst numerous quite dull, predictable and almost laughably goofy stories.

Take The Human Chair, one of two Ito adaptations of the Japanese writer Edogawa Ranpo (real name Taro Hirai - Edogawa Ranpo is the Japanification of “Edgar Allan Poe”): it’s creepy that a guy would sew himself into a chair to be sat on by a female writer for hours a day, but the design of the chair, when the back of it was peeled away, showed tiny shelves for cans of food and waste! It’s too silly.

And it’s like that throughout: like the hundreds of naked corpses sewn together in Billions Alone, the giant phallic-like tongue bouncing around the street in The Licking Woman, the man who just happens to find himself trapped under a supporting beam in The Sad Tale of the Principal Post - they’re just too daffy to take seriously. Ito’s stories seem to operate in their own kind of dream/nightmare logic that defies convincing storytelling. These things just are - don’t question them!

Which sounds like hack storytelling, and you could argue that too, but that’s what I like best about Ito: the visions/scenarios themselves are the point - everything else is window-dressing. Also, regardless of his plodding, predictable and absurd storytelling, you’ll never read any horror stories like Junji Ito’s - the stuff in them are unique and the man himself is a true original. And the accompanying art is always fantastic. Though his character designs are constantly recycled, and repetitive for that, the moments when the terror is revealed are almost always chilling to look at, which is great because that’s when they count the most.

If you’ve read Junji Ito’s previous short horror collections, Venus in the Blind Spot is more of the same - no worse, no better. So if you’re a fan, you’ll love this, and if you’re not, this one won’t convince you otherwise. Even though I didn’t think much of this one, I remain into Ito for the art and the quirky, fresh ideas behind the horror stories. Just ignore the bizarre blurb - this is basically a new Ito collection.

A chilling, unsettling collection of horror stories told by a master writer and illustrator of the comics medium.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this in return for a review.

Venus in the Blind Spot is a series of short stories. They were haunting and spooky and the art capsulated the creepy vibes of the story.

Enjoyed some of the stories more than others but that was to be expected.

I have been a fan of Junji Ito's work for a couple of years now. I was impressed with the new short stories in this collection, however, due to the nature of his stylized illustrations, this would not be appropriate to teach in a class for high school. However, as a fan of his work, it very much hit the spot for my dark, psychological reading kick!

Junji Ito is one of the many mangaka that a lot of people recognize. Just after hearing the name, a slew of associated words just pops up into our heads. Well, most of those are related to horror and gore. After all, Ito-sensei is a master of creating skin-crawling scenes and stories. We mean, the stuff that will surely remove our capacity to have a peaceful night’s rest as we shiver and hug our knees for our dear lives. Funny thing is we’re not even exaggerating. Junji Ito is a horror connoisseur if such a profession even existed.

Great collection of Junji Ito's personal horror stories, as well as three adaptations of mystery and horror writers from the turn of the century and one lovely autobiographical snippet where he describes his earliest influences. Some of the panels have been colored -- mostly at the beginning of each tale -- and the contrast between the gentle polychrome of "normal life" and the stark black and white of surreal horror brings out the best in Junji Ito.

The Enigma of Amidara Fault has appeared in many other anthologies, but it fits the tone and theme of this one, focusing on societal pressure, so well that it would have been missed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and VLZ Media for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of this graphic novel for my honest review.

Venus in the Blind Spot by Junji Ito is an amazing "best of" story collection from a true master of horror/ horror manga. I have read some of Junji Ito's collections in the past, so I was very excited to see this and it was an automatic pre-order for me because I love his work. I was familiar with a couple of the stories already, but most of them were new to me. This contains a total of 10 short stories , including a wonderfully adaptation of Rampo Edogawa’s classic horror story “Human Chair.". The first story is "Billions Alone and it was a macabre tale that opened this collection with a bang. The illustrations in this story alone were pretty terrifying. Other notable stories include An UnEarthly Love, Venus in the Blind Spot, The Licking Woman, The Enigma of Amigara, and Keepsake. There were a couple of stories that didn't hold my interest and fell a bit short for me, but that is to be expected when you're reading a collection of short stories. Overall, this is a solid collection with some beautifully horrific images and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror. I rate this a 4/5 stars.

There are several tales within this collection that I know are going to stay with me for a while and are going to make me look at normal things differently from now on, such as shopping for a new chair and cracks within the sides of a mountain. The illustrations' within this manga just add to the overall creepy atmosphere and are perfect additions to the story!!  I received an e-Arc version thanks to NetGalley, so there were sections that were in colour and other sections that were in black and white and honestly, both of these were basically perfect. The added definition and detail in the ones I was able to see in colour just added to the realism to certain aspects, which intensified the overall felling, but the basicness with the black and white, if that's how they're staying, did not take away from the overall felling I got from this.