In this collection of short stories, Takeda explores love and humanity in some non-traditional ways. In the first story, a young princess is captired and blindfolded and forced to sign treaties or make other deals that syphon away her power. the only person who shows her kindness during her captivity is a man with no pinky. During the three months of captivity, she can feel herself falling in love. In another story, a woman comes face to face with her stalker and has an honest conversation with him while they wait for the police. Another story with a historical setting focused on an emperor on his wedding night where he became entangled with an empress-assassin, and how they both found happiness in the end. In another story, explorers think they've found a "treasure" in the jungle, but it's a delicious new fruit instead of gold. But not understanding the native language costs them dearly. A short interlude piece spanning only a few pages focused on a vending machine and the apocalypse. In yet another story, a wife who is dying of cancer makes a difficult choice for her husband so that he might live on easier without her once she's gone.
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A collection of short stories by the famed horror mangaka, which include: a creepy recording of a singer from beyond the grave; a curse that causes many small holes to open up on the skin; an alien-looking model cast in an independent film to the detriment of cast and crew; giant replicas of people's faces chase them and try to hang them; a mansion with a family strung up like marionettes; a man with a nighttime dream that gets progressively longer; a girl who experienced trauma that left her mind shattered is coaxed into marrying and procreating to continue a family line; a residence above a barbecue restaurant drips with oil, and the proprietor may be using that to season his family members; and a bonus revisiting to the alien model storyline with a girl who is afraid cropped photos of her will result in her limbs being severed.
This volume is a collection of short stories, some of which have been published before, or the first time published for a majority of them. Like much of Ito's other work, these stories are creepy and capitalize on our sense of propriety to give us the heebie-jeebies. In "Billions Alone," there are people being sewn together. "The human chair" has a creepily obsessive love story. "Venus in the blind spot," this volume's namesake, was one of the more creative stories surrounding a woman who disappears when she gets too close to men who adore her. Then, there's "The licking woman," with a monster who has a poisonous tongue. The story of "Master Umezz and me," gives us a glimpse into Ito's own life and his inspiration for writing horror stories. In "How love came to Professor Kirida," an obsessed student violates Kirida's privacy and wishes. "The Enigma of Amigara Fault," tells of weirdly alluring holes that are shaped for specific people. This collection is rounded out with "Keepsake," where a baby is mysteriously born to a dead woman inside her casket.
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