Venus in the Blind Spot
By: Junji Ito
My first horror manga!
Honestly I think this might be my favorite manga yet. Of all the Junji Ito options I had to start with this one because I find the cover art so striking and that turned out to be a really good approximation of what’s inside.
Though I have to be honest my previous forays into manga probably haven’t been good picks. I’ve tended to pick up too many romances based on not following through with researching the recommendations and I’ve not loved the female characters in any of them.
So this was a nice surprise. Who would have thought I just needed a little gore?
I also think Venus in the Blind Spot is a good place to start for someone because it is a collection of stories and there’s even one about how he got into drawing and writing so overall there’s just a lot to chose from. So it’s not entirely scary stuff.
But don’t get me wrong the stories are creepy, of the get under your skin variety, and I think the art does an amazing job matching them.
Okay that’s one of the color end page images I was debating putting in more of the disturbing shots but didn’t want to upset anyone.
Still overall I was happy I took the chance on this and I’ll read his other work in the future for sure.
Recommend: Yes but…
It’s definitely not going to be for everyone. Keep in mind the horror images, violence and some sex and assault. If that’s something that would bother you probably avoid Venus in the Blind Spot but if you want to try manga, horror manga or are just interested in the art it’s worth a go.
I’ve had two experiences so far with Junji Ito. One was good, the other not so good. If you liked this one I highly recommend Uzumaki, which for me was one of the best manga’s that I have read. I also read Tomie which I didn’t like so much (but I was in the minority with that one). I have not read (nor heard) about this one, but I’m definitely going to check it out! Great post, thanks for the recommendation! 😀
Uzumaki is the other one I have so that’s good to hear!