Venus in the Blind Spot, Horror Manga Review

Venus in the Blind Spot by author and Illustrator Junji Ito

Venus in the Blind Spot is yet another collection of short stories from Junji Ito, horror manga master supreme. This collection features some original stories written by Ito as well as a few adaptations.

Overall, the book is everything you’re looking for from Ito. It has horror and some melancholy. And above all else, it has his spectacularly disturbing art work. This time with color! The whole book isn’t colored but sections of stories are and it’s delightful to see a new dimension to his work.

The book opens strong with a story titled Billions Alone, see picture above. It’s a story that rings especially true for 2020 and beyond. It’s all about isolation and being afraid of large group gatherings. It seems prescient of quarantine and is highly relatable in the light of our new world. This story was also featured in Remina.

But also, just look at that picture and tell me you don’t want to get this book to see what’s going on. They’re sewn together and alive! Look at it!

Another eerily timely story is that of The Licking Woman. As the title may give away it’s about a woman who goes around licking strangers on the street and they get very ill and die. Hmmm… are we sure that Ito wrote this before Covid? It’s a disgusting tale that is sure to make you cringe in the way only the best gross out horror can.

Any year is a good year to go back and read horror and apocalypse favorites to see how much more relatable they might be. It’s sad but finding a new way to enjoy old literature is a small bonus at least.

The other stand out story of the book is the title star Venus in the Blind Spot. It’s a tragic horror tale of what happens to a young girl with an extremely protective father. It’s a good showcase for the emotion that Ito can occasionally bring out in his horror.

As with any short story collection there are a couple of forgettable ones and this book even includes two repeats from past collections. However, they do have new color pages so it’s hard to get mad about it. Also, it includes The Enigma of Amigara Fault which is Ito’s best short story in my opinion. It was originally published in his book Gyo along with The Sad Tale of Principal Post.

It’s a very quick read, I broke it up over a couple nights just reading two or three stories at a time between other books. It’s best not to just let them run into each other. Read one and think about it for a second.

Any fans of Junji Ito are going to want to include this book in their collection. The color pages alone are worth it.

4/5 tongue lashings 😝😝😝😝

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Venus in the Blind Spot story list

1. Billions Alone
2. The Human Chair
3. Venus in the Blind Spot
4. The Licking Woman
5. Master Umezz and Me
6. How Love Came to Professor Kirida
7. An Unearthly Love
8. The Enigma of Amigara Fault
9. The Sad Tale of Principal Post
10. Keepsake