Pet Shop of Horrors

Title:Pet Shop of Horrors
ペットショップ・オブ・ホラーズ
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Madhouse
HIRATA Toshio
R1 Distributor - Section23 Films (ADV)
R1 License - Sentai Filmworks (ADV)
SEKI Toshihiko
The mysterious Count D sells exotic pets from an exclusive shop in New York's Chinatown. These creatures represent the customers' deepest desires. But with each pet comes a contract which must never be broken ...

R1 Licensed by Urban Vision

[TV series, 1999, 4 episodes, ~22 min]

Read the translated manga online at MangaFox
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 7 8 7 7 8 Ggultra2764 [series:275#1552]
The premise of Pet Shop of Horrors serves as a bit of a double-edged sword being both the title's greatest strength and its weakness. Being focused on Count D's use of his mythical creatures to exploit the flaws of their owners after they've undergone tragic events, the series is set up in an episodic format with the only major characters appearing throughout this OAV being Count D and detective Leon Orcot. The series does do a decent job in setting up suspenseful irony when the desires of the pet owners are turned against them with Count D being an interesting catalyst to these events with his calm and creepy demeanor whenever warning new owners or coming upon the bloodshed that his animals have inflicted. On the other hand though, Leon and D's conversations between one another look into an ongoing plot element with Leon trying to get any necessary evidence to arrest D. But this plot goes nowhere as more focus is given to the episodic stories with the pet owners and no resolution provided in D and Leon's rivalry. And compared to the Count, Leon didn't really fit into the suspenseful feel of the whole series. Still despite such issues, Pet Shop of Horrors did make for a decent horror title to look into special thanks to Count D and the pets that bring about horrific irony to their owners.

Last updated Wednesday, October 13 2010. Created Wednesday, October 13 2010.
Watch 8 10 8 9 aoneish [series:275#1615]
It's certainly a weird series, and sorta creepy sometimes too. But it is worth watching if not buying. I'm not too into the whole moral of the story thing, but yea, there is a moral with every episode. The way to that conclusion is bloody and twisted and really, just creepy. Heh, a must watch. I didn't give it a buy because well, it does get tedious and boring without any further involvement with any characters, the episodes are standalone and yea, if that's okay for you then yea, it's a must buy.

Last updated Thursday, August 31 2006. Created Thursday, August 31 2006.
Buy Forbin [series:275#1573]
Drama : High
Comedy : Low
Action : None
SciFi : None
Ecchi : Low / Med


Wow, what a great OVA. This brings back Rod Sterling's Night Gallery (No Not Twilight Zone). Each Painting in Night Gallery evokes some weird evil in the owner. Each Pet in Pet Shop evokes each particular owner's issues.

Damn if you like dark goth stuff like this or 100 Stories, you should own this.

Last updated Sunday, April 03 2005. Created Sunday, April 03 2005.
Buy 8 10 9 9 Sesen Kelader [series:275#471]
It's one of my favorite (I just like Dark-feeling animes). I do the review based on the comic, not the not-yet-finished Anime.
Petshop of Horrors expresses the inharmony between man and the Nature, self-centeredness and pride in humans, and various weaknesses of mankinds. Human's self-contradiction, good, and evil are greatly and elaborately interpreted in PEtshop of Horror. The udner-the-surface-meaning it carries is far beyond victim of weird animals. The ending is sad but also full of hope. Also it carries the idea of Reincarnation and fate.

Last updated Friday, January 03 2003. Created Friday, January 03 2003.
Buy 8 8 7 7 8 7 nodoubt [series:275#399]
Pet Shop of Horrors contains four episodes. Each episode has a different storyline and the only connection is the fact that the main characters in all the episodes are customers of Count D. Count D owns a pet shop in chinatown specializing in pets. This series is unique because there are really no villians. Count D cooperates with the detective assigned to the case (whose name escapes me at the moment) and tells him the truth. Overall, a very good series. However, this short series does not have much to offer in terms of replay value, because obviously, once you have seen it, there is no reason to watch it again. In spite of that, I still have it in my collection, which says something about the quality of the series.
10-14-02

Last updated Monday, October 14 2002. Created Monday, October 14 2002.
Buy 7 7 7 9 9 9 Just Say >huh< [series:275#284]
Do not be deceived by the rather mundane cover Anime Fans, this is a must see for Anime for anyone who is interested in dark comedy/horror.
Although the animation quality of this series is not too great, this series definitely scores high on style points.
As mentioned by other reviewers, the plot of each of the episodes are twisted, but fitting as well. Unlike most other Animes, there is a moral lesson to be learned in each episode, some of them quite realistic.
It is unfortunate that there are no more episodes from this wonderful series. I recommend this gem to any mature Anime fan.

Last updated Wednesday, March 13 2002. Created Wednesday, March 13 2002.
Buy 7 7 6 8 Midnighter [series:275#94]
Fans of twisted irony rejoice, for Pet Shop of Horrors is for you.
Count D is the owner of a pet shop that specializes in exotic pets. REALLY exotic pets. The premise is that the people who buy the pets tend to get what they have coming, whether or not their intentions are innocent or not. It's the twist endings that make Petshop of Horrors so enjoyable. This stuff is so bizarre that you'll be fascinated while waiting for the "pet" of the episode to go awry.
The visual flair of this series should not be overlooked, as it is very dark, stylish and (I hate this word, but...) gothic. Everything from Count D's appearance to the interesting and slightly skewed look of the creatures make for a visually compelling anime. The backgrounds are nice, but disappontingly "normal" looking, it would have added a nice touch if the they had been ever so slightly twisted or skewed.
Overall, a very good and often overlooked little series, Petshop of Horrors is an enjoyable little romp that should appeal to a wide range of fans. I recommend this oddball series.

Last updated Friday, October 19 2001. Created Friday, October 19 2001.
Buy 8 7 8 8 9 Courtney [series:275#80]
Not unlike stories you'd encounter in TALES FROM THE CRYPT, THE OUTER LIMITS, or TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, PETSHOP OF HORRORS is a collection of independent tales linked together buy the purchases from a mysterious pet shop in Chinatown.
Each story comments on the desires and failings of desperate people, showing how naïve and vulnerable many of us are capable of being. The only true villain in the series is the unfortunate souls who simply don't know how to deal with their own failings and often pay a hefty price for this.
PETSHOP OF HORRORS is not a series for people who like happy endings, as the best you'll ever find is something bittersweet. It's worth owning considering the creativity that went into most of the tales and the animation is better than some animes in circulation these days. Overall, it's something for people who like a tale with a twist as nothing is truly as it seems in the stories.

Last updated Wednesday, October 10 2001. Created Wednesday, October 10 2001.
Buy 8 9 10 9 9 9 Anonymous #185 [series:275#185]
If you like dark drama/comedies, then you like this little goody. "Pet Shop"
is just so strange, so unique, and eyecatching that it will keep your eyes fixed to the TV screen untill the last episode has aired.

Last updated Friday, May 25 2001. Created Friday, May 25 2001.

Other Sites
NameURL
Madhouse - Petshop of Horrors http://www.madhouse.co.jp/works/1999-1997/works_tv_petshop.html

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