Pet Shop of Horrors

Petshop of Horrors draws you in from the moment you pick it up, that is if you don't mind all the gore in it. Yes, it can be a bit bloody at parts but it ends up being part of this series appeal. This isn't your normal horror story (if it was I wouldn't be praising it, I hate horror). There are many parts that make the reader actually think about what they are reading and while some parts may be a bit hard to understand the first time it's worth reading a second time to understand the meaning behind it. As for the cast,you could hardly ask for better. While Count D may try to be emotionless and detached from everything he sometimes fails and lets his emotions show, which just makes an amazing character all the better. It's funny to read his conversations with Leon, whose at the other end of the pole. And then there are the animals. Not only do they all have different personalities, but you actually learn things about the different spices that appear in the series. Overall, this series is one of the most amazing and wonderful pieces I have ever read. It's just one of those stories that you can't get out of your head and just need to continue reading until the very last page.

This is my favourite manga of all (well, so far). I love it to bits and pieces. You've probably read manga where the drawing technique was better, more elaborate, unique in the end. You've possibly read manga with a much more solid, tight storyline. I find though that it doesn't really matter. A story doesn't have to be perfect to be utterly enticing. And Pet Shop of Horrors (further PSOH) is. So. Freaking. Charming. Or maybe you are like I was: rather spooked with or uninterested in manga-style drawing (which, as it turns out at a closer look, isn't one style at all). I think PSOH canbe a good place to start getting acquainted with manga. Because it's eclectic and has elements that may appeal to different kinds of readers: horror/supernatural, mystery, crime/action, humour, morality tale, and then there are animals and very attractive main characters. I began with the PSOH anime (available on YouTube). It consists of only four episodes (Daughter (from Vol 1.3, rabbit), Delicious (Vol 2.3(7), Mermaid), Despair (Vol 1.2, Medusa), and Dual (Vol 5.1, Kiri). People say that Count D's voice in Japanese is better but I really liked his English voice (I watched the English version). I admit that by the end of episode one I was thoroughly creeped out. It still stands out in my mind as one of the creepiest episodes in the series, but to see it first, without any idea what I was getting into? Was a shock. But I was intrigued too: how come that animals are also people? I mean, how? And what's this Count D's agenda? He didn't seem evil, but the consequences of his business transaction were quite horrible. So I watched on. And by the end of episode four was absolutely, madly in love with him. So of course I rushed to find the manga. It's not difficult to find; I think it might be sold where you live, and if not and if Amazon isn't an option for you, it can be found on the net almost in any big place that trades manga. There are ten volumes of the original PSOH manga, and three more of Shin Pet Shop of Horrors, the sequel (only two are scanlated so far) that features different main characters. The premise is as follows. In LA Chinatown, there's a Pet Shop. Quoting from the book: "Its proprietor, an enigmatic figure known only as Count D, beckons through his doors the injured and the scarred, introducing them to creatures friendly and bizarre. [...] Detective Leon Orcot [..] has traced a series of seemingly unrelated crimes to Count D and his Pet Shop of Horrors. A steadfast sceptic, Leon dismisses as trickery the inexplicable events he witnesses." It begins as spooky; the morals are a bit annoying and repetitive, and detective Leon Orcot seems to be little more than a hot-tempered dunderhead. But it's still intriguing. So you read on. And it becomes less creepy, or at least much more varied. The dunderhead turns out to be not that bad. You begin to see the logic (or a logic) of Count D's actions. Then, gradually, the big story becomes a focus rather than those short ones of which it consists. Leon and Count D develop a sort of friendship that is actually 3/5 flirting and 2/5 shouting at each other. Enter Chris, a six-year-old third main character. You learn more and more about Leon, his past, and his life; in the end you learn a lot about Count D too (in Vol 10 in particular). You learn to treasure the drawing: D's expressions, comic relief scenes, outfits, animals. So when it ends, you turn to fanfiction as the only painkiller available -- 'cos it ended, and the very fact is devastating. On the way it so happens that the two main characters and antagonists have a real potential. It's easy to develop a crush on Count D. He's enigmatic, mysterious, aloof, and the further the more appealing. But whom I really love is Leon. He's an ordinary guy to umpteenth degree, but he's so good it's impossible not to fall for him. Leon hides strength of character and integrity under his rude and messy outlook. He's like Harry: often clueless but true and good. By the end of the first series, my heart was so totally his that I couldn't completely get into Shin Pet Shop. You'll see why when you get there. Chris is plain wonderful. And animals? Awesome. T-chan in particular, but you won't meet him until the middle of the series. So, love it is :) I want to say thank you again to iibnf for the anime and to RexLuscus whose enthusiasm made me try it and who's been a wonderful guide.

A very 'fun' but confused manga. The title and the early chapters set the premise up clearly: it's essentially a manga about a 'monkey's paw' scenario where the main character Count D offers a different character their heart's desire in the form of a pet, while the protagonist Detective Orcot tries to figure out what's going on. But that's not really consistent: it seems that the mangaka fell in love with the character of Count D and at some point became reluctant to have him play a villainous/punitive role. Eventually, it's not really monkey's paw scenarios, more of a catalyst to the events of the story,typically revealing the traumatic life of the person purchasing the pet and having them either find catharsis or resolution or more rarely punishment for their sins. I don't think the change is bad, because Count D is likable, and the dynamic between him and the detective is fun and cute - there are a LOT of BL undertones, as you might expect from the art style (but I find this to be on the pleasant side of shoujo art rather than the angular, big handed unpleasant side). The only 'problem' is viewing the manga as a complete story. The pressure to reveal who/what the heck Count D is means the last volume is a strange departure after the preceding several volumes of innocuous, often quite sweet and beautiful, dramatic supernatural stories. To provide a conclusion, the mangaka reintroduces the conceit of the manga, as if it was consistent: D suddenly expresses his desire to punish humanity's sins in a way that just feels a little jarring based on all the previous events. Additionally, the relationship with Orcot never seems to go anywhere, despite the side characters constant hints of their being a romance between the two. It would be too much to expect a male/male love in an old series in this genre, but it would have been nice if they'd settled down and become more friendly with each other (although their bickering is still enjoyable). That being said, I was impressed with how successfully it was concluded - while a change in tone it was well paced, exciting and fun, and I felt a little sad that it was over. The author knows exactly how a morality play should unfold. She isn't overly cruel nor overly lenient - really bad people get their comeuppance, while repentant victims are spared, so you're never left with a bad taste in your mouth. It's a fun read that is more interest in enjoyable, episodic mysteries and tantalising visuals than setting up rules and being overly consistent, well drawn and easy to sink into.

Welcome to a shop that makes your wishes a reality… scratch that, this is a shop that will stock the rarest animals in the world that will make your dreams a reality. Sometimes the explanation of this manga and xxxHOLiC sort of mix with each other. The idea is pretty much the same though in that we have the owner of the shop who helps people, a outsider brought into the shop to learn about it, and a by chapter storyline that is new every, I want to say two or three chapters. And then the ending goes into one big storyline at the end,but that would be a spoiler so let’s not worry about that. Now all through the books, there are times when we would have parts that didn’t feel like any part of the main story or the little people stories. I consider them more like side stories. Even though we have those side stories, they actually work well in this since most of the story is really dark and depressing; we need a little bit of something comedic in order to break it up. The little stories were some of the animals play around with each other or when D is being his fun cute self are actually enjoyable before we go back into the dark depths of peoples hearts and minds. I love the rather fun style of D although he feels like Yuko from xxxHOLiC a bit. He is always going gaga over sweets and answers questions in a rather whimsical mysterious manner, never giving an actual straight answer to the question. Because of this, most of the time we are left to wonder what he means and makes us think or, in my case, sometimes doing a little soul searching. Leon is like Watanuki without the large amount of whining. Although Leon isn’t there for most of the times people buy pets from D’s shop, he is basicly our inside look to the shop being a newbie himself. He is always asking the questions and although he does get annoying at times with acusing D of selling dangerous animals (and yes, I do believe some of them would never be allowed to be sold if the government knew exactly what was in the shop), he does have his good points in that he is willing to try and learn what is going on. Another thing I was so happy about was the informational pages that were placed at the end of each book. They explained each mystical animal more thoroughly for those that never heard of them. It helped a lot in being able to find if the animal was made just for the manga or if it truly had a place in myths and legends. The artwork is very beautiful in many of the areas, showing a lot of details, flowing hair and clothing and the most fantastic clothing designs I have ever seen. Some of which seem almost as though they could be part of the character themselves instead of being just normal clothing. Wings look like wings, fur looks like fur, and many of the humanoid animals look very close to their animal look with none of them looking like any other unless they are supposed to. With that said, sometimes it does lack like when there are funny little moments when D is sort of playing around or when some of the normal creatures we see are doing playful little side stories that really don’t mean anything to the actual story taking place. There are also times when things are very hard to see such as in misty areas and times when a color blends with the background. It is a problem with the rather fine lines this artist gives the manga.