Petshop of Horrors
Reviewer: MusashiChan69 [email]Overall Rating: A-
Media Reviewed: DVD
Creator: Matsuri Akino
U.S. Licensed: Yes
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Run time: 4 30-minute episodes
BL Content: Ambiguous (slashable)
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Other media: English-licensed manga
The Pet Shop of Horrors Anime is based on a manga by Matsuri Akino, which is a beautiful collection of stories centering around a 'unique' pet shop in Chinatown.
The animation is a collection of four different stories, each with a different lesson to be learned. It's definitely worth watching, especially if you're a fan of the manga.
First off, I'll mention the owner of the shop; The mysterious, beautiful Count D. He claims to sell 'love, dreams and happiness' in the form of various pets-but somehow, many of these sales result in mishaps and even death.
I suppose the 'antagonist' to D's 'protagonist' is Detective Leon Orcott, who's a huge skeptic of the Count's 'love and happiness' approach. All he wants is to bust the Count, but he just can't seem to get the evidence. Or maybe he wants more than to just bust the Count.
Each story (contained in one episode) has lesson to be learned from it, so I'll include an example.
The first episode, Daughter, is about a couple named the Hayworths. They lost their daughter to drugs, and have come to the pet shop seeking a 'pet' to relieve them of their grief. They are surprised to see that the pet 'rabbit' the Count shows them looks exactly like their daughter, Alice.
Now, all clients of the shop must sign a contract swearing not to break three VERY important rules pertaining to the care of their pet. What do you suppose happens?
They break the contract. Rule 3-You must feed her only lettuce and water.
Alice begs her mother for a cookie, which her mother cannot resist giving her. This ends up poisoning Alice, and from there, hell ensues.
Their daughter (the real Alice) died because of her drug addiction, pushed over the edge by the last bit of cocaine her mother reluctantly gives her. Again, she dies because of her mother's love. A repeated mistake led to the loss of her daughter, again.
You take moral messages like that, and you have the rest of the beautiful and sad tales of the shop.
Oh, yes, this is a yaoi review.
Well, take a look at the Count. He's far prettier than many women, so we can assume from there. Leon is intent on busting D, but after a while, we start to think that maybe it's just an excuse to see the Count.
These details are embellished on more in the manga, so check it out. The Anime is still a great show well worth watching, and I can't suggest it more.