Venus in the Blind Spot By Junji Ito, Yuji Oniki , Jocelyne Allen , Masumi Washington
Genre: Horror, Manga, Adult
Pages: 272 pages
Publication Date: August 18th 2020
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis: A “best of” collection of creepy tales from Eisner award winner and legendary horror master Junji Ito.
This ultimate collection presents the most remarkable short works of Junji Ito’s career, featuring an adaptation of Rampo Edogawa’s classic horror story “Human Chair” and fan favorite “The Enigma of Amigara Fault.” In a deluxe presentation with special color pages and color illustrations from his most recent long-form manga No Longer Human, every page invites readers to revel in a world of terror.
My Thoughts: 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.*
Have you guys read this book early? If so did you end up enjoying it? If not are you planning to pick it up when it comes out? I would love to hear from you guys in the comments below.
Bookish In Bed
Bookish In Bed 