Pet Shop of Horrors

Synopsis

See main review.

Review

My main problem with the previous review is that in my opinion it missed the point of the series. Petshop of Horrors is essentially the anime version of Tales From The Crypt, detailing four macabre tales of humanity at its best and worst (mostly worst), with the only connection being a mysterious petshop in Chinatown, run by the enigmatic Count D.

Madhouse put a lot of work into making this show, and it definitley shows with the quality of the artwork and animation, as pointed out by the original reviewer, so let's move onto the main argument. The sticking point of this series for many people is the story, or lack of it. Certainly, it is a depressingly short series, and has no real character development or definite ending (for those you'll have to read the manga, which is amazingly cool by the way), but just as in the case of our own Tales From The Crypt, a compelling overarcing story isnt the point of this anime. Its simply a one-shot OVA meant to entertain with some creepy stories. Note that I mentioned earlier that the character development isnt all that spectacular. In my opinion, they don't really need much development for the purposes of this series, as they are simply well played out in the confines of the four stories, especially D, who just seems to come alive on the screen.

That said, the anime is still far too short, but it is a very entertaining short time. It seems fans such as myself will just have to stick with the manga for the further adventures of Count D and company.

I heartily recommend this show to fans of the manga (which it follows to a tee through the four stories), or people who enjoy horror in its many forms. — Stephen D Grant

Recommended Audience: At times the violence can be relatively graphic, and there are a few spurts of nudity in episode 2. Best kept to older teens and up.