In an attempt to catch up with the reviews I fell behind on in 2020 I am only leaving star rating for the books that I didn't feel incredibly passionate about.

This was an interesting collection of short stories. Those who are fans of horror, graphic novels, and Manga will like this.

Thank you to Viz Media and NetGalley, for the digital ARC!

I am a bit biased and have loved all the material that Junji Ito has released, and have been following their career for a while now.

As such, when I saw there was a new collection, I was eager to read.

This collection contains a mix of Junji Ito's most famous works as well as some new stories. The horror aspect of his work continues to work off the grotesque and the psychological, making these stories into chilling reads.

As always, the artwork is very well done, and their play off the "page turn/jump scare" always works well.

The title story was an interesting one, regarding beauty and the desire of men to control it. Billions Alone contained extremely disturbing and creepy images. The Licking Woman culminated in an ending where I wanted to learn more. Keepsake was disturbing, but kept me intrigued.

And, the famous "Human Chair" and "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" make a reappearance in this collection.

Overall, if you are looking for horror short stories, definitely look at this!

Definitely not for the faint of heart, this new collection of Junji Ito stories continues to live up to Ito's reputation as a king of horror manga. Each story is more fraught and tense than the last, and Ito's art renders each panel in graphic detail, pulling you through each horrifying story.

An excellent collection of horror master Junji Ito's work. This edition contains essentials like "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" and "The Human Chair," as well as lesser known but equally entertaining short pieces like the title story. The translation is excellent — just as one can expect of Viz's Junji Ito titles — and the addition of color to key pages makes this a gorgeous edition.

English-speaking manga fans received a number of treats this year, including the release of Venus In The Blind Spot — a sort of “greatest hits” volume of mangaka and horror master Junji Ito’s most notable work.

If you’re already familiar with Ito, you’ve probably read many, if not all, of the stories within Venus In The Blind Spot; it includes classics like “The Human Chair” (which is a personal favorite of mine), “The Enigma of Amigara Fault,” and of course the titular tale, “Venus In The Blind Spot.” As such, I’d recommend this one more for folks who are just getting into Ito — it’s an excellent introduction to his unique and unsettling brand of horror.

That said, though, it’s still a beautiful volume; notably, it includes a number of full-color pages beyond the standard black-and-white ones, which, uh… well, let’s just say they bring a whole new level of horror to Ito’s illustrations.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, it was short and succinct. Some of the stories were taken from his other works and weren't surprising, and the title story was a bit lackluster.

Over the weekend I finally got to reading Junji Ito’s manga, devouring all three volumes of Uzumaki in as many days. So while I haven’t exactly read enough of this horror master’s work to know what constitutes the “best” of his canon, I will say that the stories collected in Venus in the Blind Spot were mostly enjoyable—and rife with Ito’s trademark body horror ingenuity.

This collection reminded me quite viscerally of when I was kid and I’d read anthologies of horror folklore at my local library (featuring stories like “The Green Ribbon,” about a girl also named Jenny whose fate freaked me out for years). Similarly, I don’t think I’ll be forgetting some of the tales in Venus in the Blind Spot anytime soon.

Thank you NetGalley and VIZ Media for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Billions Alone (★★★☆☆)

20-year-old Michio has been a recluse for the last 7 years when he’s approached by his former classmates to attend a class reunion and coming-of-age ceremony. Except that bodies keep turning up in his town—“group corpses” who’ve been grotesquely stitched together using fishing line.

What a parable about the perils of gathering in groups! (And the gruesome lengths to which a murderous vigilante group will go to enforce social distancing 😅)


The Human Chair (★★★★★)

This is a classic Ito tale (based on the story by Edogawa Ranpo) that I hear about often and finally got a chance to read. A girl stops by a furniture store to request a comfortable, sturdy chair be made for her to work in. The shopkeeper begins to tell her a story within a story (within OUR story) about the origins of a “human chair”—one in which a man sat ensconced and concealed, in order to be close to a woman he had fallen in love with.

I GET THE HYPE.


An Unearthly Love (★★☆☆☆)

Based off another original story by Edogawa Ranpo (aka the seminal Japanese mystery writer who took pen-name inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe), this tells of a woman who marries an emaciated-looking man known to “hate women.” While it doesn’t appear that he hates her, he certainly is strange—sneaking off in the middle of the night to visit a woman who the narrator is convinced is his lover.

As with every Ito story, all is not as it seems! However, the twist to this one was surprisingly feeble. Colour me unimpressed. :(


Venus in the Blind Spot (★★★☆☆)

Mariko Shono is a UFO fanatic who quite literally disappears from view—but only those views of certain men in her life. The collection’s eponymous story references how the lovely Mariko is as beautiful as the Venusian that George Adamski, renowned ufologist (can’t believe I just typed that word), claimed to have conversed with.

Something I’m starting to realize as a recurring theme in Ito’s work is obsessive men pining—and becoming violent—over beautiful women.


The Licking Woman (★★★½)

On warm and humid nights, the Licking Woman attacks unsuspecting travellers with a tongue that quite literally kills. (It makes me SHUDDER to look at, but you gotta appreciate the level of detail that went into capturing each slimy pustule.) Years after the woman’s capture, Miku, a victim who was licked and whose fiancé and dog died as result, is still traumatized.

I’m a little dissatisfied with the ending but utterly enamoured with how gross this story was!


Master Umezz and Me (unrated)

This one took me by surprise because it wasn’t so much a horror story as it was an autobiographical snippet about Ito’s experiences growing up with the work of Kazuo Umezu, a popular Japanese horror manga author, musician, and actor. When Ito grows up, he gets a chance to work with his idol.


How Love Came to Professor Kirida (★★☆☆☆)

This one’s based on the English-language story, “How Love Came to Professor Guildea” by Robert Hichens. Obsessive love abounds; this time, it’s one woman pining after Professor Kirida and another lusting after Father Murchison, a white preacher that Kirida has recruited to learn about Christianity from.

I’m not sure I altogether followed the storyline with this one. Maybe it would’ve been more enjoyable if I’d read the source work?


The Enigma of Amigara Fault (★★★★★)

A great earthquake has left a kilometres-long fault line on Amigara Mountain. The chilling thing? It’s exposed thousands of mysterious, human-shaped holes in the solid rock face—holes that were clearly dug from the inside of the mountain thousands of years ago. Two hikers, Owaki and Yoshida, find themselves drawn along with dozens of others to the fault line and the holes.

Claustrophobia? ACTIVATED.
Creepiness? IMMACULATE.
Hotel? TRIVAGO.


The Sad Tale of the Principal Post (★★☆☆☆)
Th-this looks like the principal post… If you move it just to rescue me, the entire house might fall over.

That’s it. That’s basically the story. 😂 Reminds me of those two-sentence horror stories people like to exchange.

A little underwhelming, imo!


Keepsake (★★★★☆)

This one starts off with a bang: a baby has been discovered within the grave of young master Toyoji’s first wife—a woman who has been dead for nine months. In the time since her death, Toyoji has taken his mistress as his wife and welcomed their first child.

Three years later, the corpse baby—Manjuro—has grown into a creepy toddler with bulging eyes and shrunken lips, when the circumstances of his birth come to light.


AVERAGE RATING: 3.3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this work in exchange for an honest review.
I love Junji Ito's works. This is a collection of some of his well known short stories along with several that I have never seen before.
For me, the standouts were Billions Alone and The Enigma of Amigara Fault, the latter being the very first piece of Junji Ito's work that I ever came across.
Besides being overall creepy, I think I'm constantly most impressed with his endings. They're usually always satisfying or end on a high action note.
Even in what I think is the weakest story in the collection - The Sad Tale of Principal Post, you are left with a mystery.
I will say that while appreciated, the story featuring himself as a child felt a little out of place within the rest of the collection. I do however enjoy how odd and grotesque he illustrates even stories of himself, like he's injecting a bit of his horror weirdness into everything he does.
Overall, a solid read for me. I'll leave a breakdown of what I thought the individual stories felt like for me:
Billions Alone: ****
The Human Chair: *** 1/2
An Unearthly Love: *** 1/2
Venus in the Blind Spot: ****
The Licking Woman: ***
Master Umezz and Me: ***
How I Came to Love Professor Kuroda: *** 1/2
The Enigma of Amigara Fault: *****
The Sad Tale of Principal Post: **
Keepsake: ***

A group of horror stories sure to please most horror enthusiasts. As with most anthologies there were good and satisfactory, but the majority of this collection was good! Great illustrations and as usual please watch out for the 'triggers'. Would recommend to those who like creepy and disturbing horror.

This gorgeous, chilling, and horrific work by Junji Ito is the first I've ever read--and I am so utterly in love with how darkly dangerous and yet intriguing it is. The artwork is vivid, equally grotesque, and beautiful, which only elevates the genre further. I'm left wanting MORE.

Artful horror that's just as chilling mentally as it is visually. This is an experience like no other.

I am certified Junji Ito trash™. I’ll read anything this man puts out. Every once in awhile, a collection will leave me slightly disappointed, but that was not the case with Venus in the Blind Spot.

What I love about Junji is that he makes me so uncomfortable that I can’t help but laugh uncontrollably? Help, this story is so upsetting and vile that my body’s strongest defense is to, giggle! Look! This person has been horribly disfigured! A big tee hee hee! Yes, please squeeze all of the pus out of your blemished face so a woman will drown in your bodily fluids! Amazing! That dude’s turning into a snail? We love to see it!

Anyway. This collection holds one of my all time favorite stories, “The Enigma of Amigara Fault.” It’s one of the first stories I read from him and it left me deeply disturbed and wanting more. I don’t want to give too much away, but if you’re claustrophobic at all, this one will make you sweat.

Some other stories I loved; The Human Chair (ugh, my skin is crawling just typing the title), The Licking Woman (bleck!!!!), and Billions Alone.

If you want to be horribly unsettled or really, just want to feel anything at all, pick this up. It’s October and the time is ripe.

Thanks to VIZ Media and Netgalley for sending this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review.

This eye-opening collection was my first taste of Junji Ito, and what a taste it was! Macabre, inventive and downright weird, these stories are going to stick with me for a long time. They're absolutely horrible - but I want more!

I've been aware of Junji Ito's work for some time, but hadn't read any, so this book seemed a good way to get a taste of his style. If you're unfamiliar with him also, be aware that this volume has material best suited for an adult audience- amongst other things, there is implied rape, necrophilia, and some unusual kinks. There's more disturbing content, but these are the most likely to be triggering, I think. That's not to say that any of this was very graphic- it's implied more than shown. There's some body horror too, so prepare yourself as needed.
So, now that the warnings are out of the way, this was a pretty solid collection of stories. Lots of creepiness, nothing terribly gory (I prefer creepy over gore, personally). One story that didn't exactly fit the collection and yet did fit was Master Umezz and Me, an autobiographical story about how the author first got introduced to horror manga, who his influences were (most specifically Kazou Umezz), and the earlier days of his career. It fit because it gave the background of the author's work, and it was interesting, but it sort of shocks you out of the horror zone for a bit- a palate cleanser between courses, I suppose, as the story appears about halfway through the book. For the other stories, all were good, with the exception of The Sad Tale of the Principle Post, a very short story that didn't really go anywhere. My favorite was The Enigma of Amigara Fault- that one gave me the heebie-jeebies!
In short, this was a good collection, nice and creepy, probably don't let kids read it, and if you see a hole that's shaped like you, stay out of it!

#VenusintheBlindSpot #NetGalley

Junji Ito is incredibly popular in my library's adult graphic novel collection and this one will be no different. The titular story in this collection is excellent; not so much scary as creepy as all get out! The other stories range from similarly creepy to plain horrific. I love Ito's art so much, though a coworker does not, so your mileage may vary. I still suggest this for all older teens and adults.

Horror master Junji Ito serves up another deliciously collection of eerie stories, this time adapting a few of them from the classic Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. It is particularly fascinating to see how simple ideas transform into startling plots infused with mystery and oftentimes disturbingly haunting forays into the human condition. Atmospheric pieces like "The Licking Woman" exude a chilling sensation while "The Human Chair" leave readers with an uncanny impression long after the story has ended.

Fans of his writing and artwork will relish this selection of "best picks," though it would have been ideal to gain further insight into the creative process that went into these stories as he did with the Shiver collection. Nonetheless, this latest publication from one of Japan's master horror storytellers will entertain, shock, and delight.

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.

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.