Pet Shop of Horrors

Original Title: ペットショップ オブ ホラーズ
Romanized: Pet Shop of Horrors
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

In Chinatown, NY, there is a little petshop that specializes in particularly exotic animals. The owner, a mysterious man known as Count D, has a pet to suit almost any taste. But if you come seeking an animal to help cope with a tragic loss or fill a gap in your life, be wary... the Count may have what you're looking for, but if you're not careful about taking care of it, your pet may get the better of you in the end.

The story follows Leon, a detective who always seems to stumble upon the cases of people who have come to a bad end and have something to do with the Count. Through their eyes, we are treated to four short and tragic tales of the macabre

Quick Review

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-07-31

Pet Shop of Horrors is a collection of carefully sculpted little macabre vignettes. Not for fans of action, grizzly horror, or subtle plots, the stories are obvious, the macabre situations are heavy-handedly built, and the story used to tie it all together is too unserious, but each of the tragic tales has a carefully constructed feel and appropriately creepy twist that should appeal to fans of more subtle "horror" stories, and to those who just like a good tragic yarn. Adding flavor to the mix is the unexpectedly interesting Count; far from the standard gothic gatekeeper of the bizarre, he is a colorful, surprisingly believable, and appealingly refined character. His awkward rapport with the shallow Leon spices up that otherwise formula character. Round out the picture with moody art, unusual settings, and a topnotch dub.

Pet Shop of Horrors isn't a wildly original series, nor one one full of shocking surprises, but it is a decent collection of subtle, arty horror stories for folks who enjoy that sort of thing.

US DVD Review

The (now out of print) "Special Edition" DVD from Urban Vision includes all four episodes with Japanese and English audio tracks.

Content Guide

Generally creepy feel and mature themes put the series into the 16-up range.

Violence: 3 - Not overly gory or graphic, but people die (and in weird ways).

Nudity: 2 - Light nudity in part 2.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - Generally mature themes.

Language: 2 - Not particularly strong.

Notes and Trivia

Based on the manga series by Mari Akino, available in English from Tokyo Pop. The animated version, rather unusually for what otherwise appears to be an OAV series, first aired as a miniseries on the TBS network; the OAV-standard individual VHS and LD volumes went on sale shortly afterward.

Availability

Available in the US from Urban Vision on a single hybrid DVD or two subtitled or dubbed VHS volumes, all now out of print.

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