Customer Reviews

Pet Shop of Horrors

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chinatown's most unique pet shop offers everything from dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles to the most rare and unusual mythological beasts. Choose anything you would like, but remember, there is a price to be paid and rules to be followed. If the rules are broken in any way, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for what happens..... The Pet shop is run by the enigmatic, effeminate Count (yes--it's a man, not a woman as you would assume from seeing the character) who sells each customer the pet that will not only grant their wishes, but teach them a terrible lesson as well.

Pet Shop of Horrors was originally presented on Japanese television in small 1-2 scene segments on a music video channel. Urban Vision's video and DVD releases do a wonderful job of blending them together. All four self contained episodes are on the DVD release, along with deleted material (a music video style opening that was thankfully not used) the usual assortment of trailers, and extremely informative audio commentary by the English language director and several of the voice actors. These offbeat tales may not be for everyone, but I found them to be very entertaining. It owes a lot to "Friday the 13th: The Series" and even "Gremlins", but it does manage to create a palpable sense of mystery, and I found myself wondering just how the pets would reveal their true colors and what horrible thing would happen to the owners.

A handful of anime's best and brightest worked on the project including Rintaro (Final Fantasy), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Wicked City, Ninja Scroll) and Hishashi Abe (Vampire Hunter D). While this series does not break a lot of new ground, if you can appreciate the supernatural with a great sense of intrigue and characterization, then this is a series for you.

I always loved this anime, from the moment I rented it. Q-chan [the name of the twinkie-bat thingie that Cound D has] is so sweet, especially when he tries to pull the strawberry [his favorite food] off of the cake, and Count D is always adorable, especially when he's fawning over his sweets. ^_^

Leon is a detective from New York, who happens to find a lead on one ofo his cases one day that sends him to Chinatown. Particularly, a tiny pet shop. He goes into the depth of the shop and finds the owner, who he mistakes for a woman at first. The owner is D, who takes Leon's accusation of secretly being a dealer of drugs and slaves without batting an eye. All he sells are love and dreams, he explains to the annoyed blonde detective. Love and dreams. After all, it's just a pet shop.

Or is it?

The series is four episodes long, translating four stories from the manga [Despair, Daughter, Dual, and Delicious] into an animated format. I think the manga, which has ten volumes, goes into more character depth and is a bit better, but then again, that's because it has the time to do so. D and Leon's relationship grows, and Q-chan is shown to be... Well, something else entirely. And the manga also has Papa D, the utter freak who is the Magneto to Count D's Xavier, in a way. Bottom line, the manga's better, but this is good.

I have watched a fair share of anime series in my time and I can honestly say Pet shop is definetly one of the most unique, interesting and fascinating ever. Not only are the stories creepy and full of nice little mean twists and wonderfully screwed up characters it's impossible not to love, but aside from LAIN this is the best dub work I have ever heard in an anime series.

CONTENT: Even though all the stories are based on the same premise ("don't brake these 3 rules or your pet will kill you") the stories all have different morales and ideas behind them making each show different from the last. DAUGHTER is about how too much love is not a good thing. DESIRE is about not confusing guilt with true love. DESPAIR is about living a short but happy life and be remembered for the good things. DUAL is about sacrificing everything for someone else and thus gaining one's own happiness. I like them all, and I LOVE the first one.

DVD: has great features. True, the dleted material is really just a weird video opening that I thank God they didn't use on the show, but there are also a number of interesting trailers, and best of all a commentary with the director and the voice actors for Count D and Leon the cop. Now THAT is really hillarious and quite enlightening at the same time. That's worth the price in itself.

I highly recommend this to anyone.

I have to admit that I hesitated on seeing this anime to the point where I nearly turned my back on it entirely. From the very title of the video to the nature of the animes I had heard it compared to (Wicked City, Bio Hunter, etc.) I had expected a rather vulgar and gory display. I was wrong. And I am so happy that I didn't give into my initial hesitation.

This is a fairly dark anime, granted, with some blood and such, but very few animes are totally devoid of such violence. The level of actual gore, however, is surprisingly low. If you're of weak stomach (as I am), don't let this one fool you. It is NOT a blood and guts fest. It's actually a deeper show than one would first imagine.

Without going into too much detail of plot, let me go over the gist of it; each episode revolves around some mysterious event involving a customer and a pet of the Pet Shop, situated in Chinatown and operated by the gorgeous Count D (bishounen fans, be ready). Leon, a detective, seems to take a shine to cases involving the Pet Shop in particular, and he and the Count usually take it upon themselves to deal with these cases. The cases usually deal with a breach of contract between the pet owner and the Count, and the terrible consequences (remember the movie "Gremlins" -- "don't feed it after midnight..."? Same concept). Sounds a bit redundant, doesn't it? But while it uses the same cookie-cutter concept for each tale, there is enough diversity, beautiful animation, and twists of detail to hold your attention each time.

The character design is detailed, sometimes to the point of being nearly grotesque, and yet strangely beautiful. The performances by the English voice-actors were very surprising; unlike some dubbed anime, there was no over-enthusiastic yelling or strained performances. All the actors were rather subdued, and rightfully so; the background music was simple and hounting, especially in Episode 2, "Delicious". And the stories themselves, though seemingly so shallow, are profound in their own way. Really, it's a series about the workings of the human heart; the nature of love, dreams, desires; carrying on and letting go.

If you like anime that are slightly darker and more adult, but don't go for extreme violence or hentai, pick this up. It's an anjoyable experience.

Hope, love, and dreams are the premise that the whole of Pet Shop of Horrors' plot is based upon. Pet Shop of Horrors is a wonderful series, though it is sadly only four episodes that focus on more of the horror aspect of the story--unlike the 10 volumes worth of manga which detailed much more of Count D and Leon`s lives and misadventures.

A ten volume manga by Matsuri Akino, the four episodes retain a hint of humor from the books it is based upon, but decides to focus on the horrifying and shocking. Each episode is one of the many stories found in the first three volumes of manga: "Daughter," "Delicious," "Despair," and "Dual" and takes you into the world of movie stars to drug addicts to political gain and twists reality from what you think it is to what it really is and allows you to sit and think about the consequences of your "human" actions.

Count D (the 3rd) is the charming, mysterious, often-mistaken-for-a-woman caretaker of his grandfather's pet shop in L.A.'s Chinatown. To own a "special" pet from Count D's Pet Shop, one must sign and adhere to all three terms of contract. Should one breach the contract's terms, the pet shop shall not be held responsible for any "damages."

Added to the mix during his investigation into the first story is Leon Orcot, a police detective for the local precinct. Hot-headed and sure of Count D's guilt in mysterious deaths around L.A., he quickly befriends the Count and often brings him all sorts of sweets to coxes information out of him, and maybe snag a drug dealing and white slavery confession too.

The reasons that PSoH anime earns a 3 from me is because of the total lack of episodes, the humor and D and Leon's character development from the original manga is reduced to maybe 3 chuckles and nada past beautiful shop owner and detective. Also, the anime somehow found away to tell these four good stories in a mundane way, which still gets the key and shocking points, but leaves a disappointed, bored feeling. And lastly, it just down right dose not compare to the greatness of the manga.

If you want the full PSoH experience, then read the manga as well, which you can buy cheaper here at Amazon than at TokyoPop.com. A fan of Pet Shop of Horrors will want these two anime volumes in their collection, but a passer by may want to stay out of Count D's pet shop to keep the totetsu from devouring their souls.

This movie is dark, creepy and more than a little bit cynical. I saw this a few years ago and loved it! he grants your heart's deepest desires but there's always a twist and that's what makes this anime so cool and sets it apart from anything else out there.

This title however is obviously not suited for young audiences, you wouldn't want to give them nightmares about carnivorous bunnies, now do you?

So if you're looking for something different, give this one a try--it's definitely worth it ^.^

I LOVE this movie! I initially noticed it at Blockbuster one time and vowed to return to satisfy my curiosity. Almost every return trip to Blockbuster it was checked out. SO then I KNEW it had to have been good! I finally gained it in my possession and was utterly impressed by the animation, characters and plots. If you enjoy films such as Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, take a chance and pick up this gem, you will not be disappointed.

creepy, yeah it is^^i gotto know the story 1st from a animanga magazine which had a review on this animation, and when i saw it i said uhum...seems interesting...then i went to a record store and bought the OVA. yep, that's how i came into the world of Count D. well he's nice: this gorgeous young person clad in all traditional chinese outfits...and his smile is simply seductive...and his personal pet =Q-chan= is really cute...

but what touches me is not totally about how beautiful D looks or how he loooooves desserts. there is something sharp in this storyline that uncovers the darkness of human nature which everyone of us may possess, more or less. after watching D's pets, i sit alone on the chair and thought if i were to buy a pet from his shop i myself might be condemned as well...the author of this manga is peeling out the very evil in our souls.

i've been crapping...but my final words to those who ordered the animation: go and read the original manga i.e. the comic books and get to see D's life with his family (he has one, afterall). Count D's simply the guy you cannot ignore^^

The OVA Pet Shop of Horrors plays out in many ways like a Japanese version of "Tales from the Crypt." It has a sinister setting, with a devious narrator, and a few unsuspecting victims to act as leads in each separate story.

Pet Shop of Horrors takes place in an unspecified American city (though I'm thinking it takes place in California) and more specifically in Chinatown, where a mysterious pet shop is located. This shop, run by the effeminate Count D (not related to Urban Vision's other masterpieces Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), sells only the rarest of pets, and even then only with some specified rules the new caretaker of these pets must follow. The story also follows Leon, an American cop who thinks that Count D is up to something, yet can't find the evidence to put Count D away.

In each tale, we are introduced to a set of new characters, with Count D and Leon's stories working as frames to the real story. And in each story, a new pet is introduced as well, all of them with mysterious powers of some sort. The first episode involves a couple who recently lost their drug-addict daughter. They go to the shop in an attempt to relieve some of their woes, and end up buying a replica of their dead daughter. Upon signing the contract, they leave, and almost immediately break the rules of the contract, and therefore must suffer the consequences. Each tale after that has almost exactly the same plot, with a character purchasing a pet but never exactly following the rules to their fullest. In the final episode, however, a twist is thrown as a pet is introduced that can't be bought; it chooses its own master. The final episode is the best, especially since it deals a lot with American politics, something not commonly found in Japanese animation.

Overall, Pet Shop of Horrors is an excellent OVA. It's not too deep, but the stories and the characters are well done, and the animation, though a little foggy and washed, is of a high quality, considering the time in which the anime was made. I recommend this to fans of horror anime, especially fans of Hellsing or Vampire Hunter D.

The Petshop of horrors with its androgynous proprietor is a mystery to a sustain very irritatingly American detective. And yet to all others it is but a place of love and dreams. Oh, until they go against the agreement that is. But, that is not Count's fault. Truly a peace of art with a beautiful animation, very little action, and a great lesson to be learned at the end of each episode. It could be considered rather repetitive after a while, but until then, it is a great example of Japanimation.