Pet Shop of Horrors is a Japanese horror manga created by Matsuri Akino. The series focuses on the eccentric Count D, proprietor of a mysterious pet shop located in the heart of Chinatown, and the numerous patrons who visit his shop. The manga, published by Asahi Sonorama in 10 graphic novels, consists of 41 chapters in total. It has been licensed for distribution in the United States by Tokyopop. Matsuri created a sequel in 2008, ‘’New Petshop of Horrors’’. It was licensed by TOKYOPOP and renamed "Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo,” but the series was dropped at 8 volumes - four volumes short of the 12 volumes it ran in Japan. In 2013 Matsuri started a spin-off prequel series called ‘’Pet Shop of Horrors: Passage’’, which follows Count D’s grandfather inFin de siècle Paris. It has been irregularly published by Harlequin in their monthly comic magazine “Harlequin Original” and has been collected in 5 volumes, with no definitive ending. A second spin-off series titled ‘’Pet Shop of Horrors: Ark Adrift’’ is currently being serialized in Harlequin’s fantasy magazine Mugentou, starting in 2018 and collected in 3 volumes as of May 2020. It is another prequel featuring Count D’s father as the protagonist.
Plot
"Count D" is the mysterious caretaker of a pet shop in Los Angeles Chinatown. Each of D's rare pets, which all have strangely humanoid appearances, comes with a contract with three major points. These points differ for each animal sold, and breaking this contract usually results in dire consequences for the buyer, for which the pet shop claims no liability. Individual chapters of Pet Shop of Horrors are often based on these consequences, and are each written as a stand-alone story, usually introducing one or more new characters in each chapter. With the exception of the main characters and their families, it is rare for a character to carry over to a later chapter, providing the series with a very episodic nature. The detective Leon Orcot is used to tie the chapters together into an ongoing plot, usually in the form of a subplot within each chapter. Initially he suspects D of malicious criminal activity and using the pet shop as a front for drug trafficking. As the series progresses, he learns more about the pet shop and D himself, entering into a strange friendship of sorts with D as he works to uncover the truth.
Characters
Primary characters
;Count D ;Leon Orcot
Other humans
;Chris Orcot ;Jill ;Samantha ;Josie
Animals
;Tetsu ;Pon-chan ;Ten-chan ;"Honlon" – Shuko, Kanan and Junrei
D's family
;D's father ;Q-chan/D's grandfather ;New D
Media
Manga
licensed Pet Shop of Horrors for an English-language release in North America and published the series from June 17, 2003 to January 11, 2005. The series is also distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman Entertainment. The series is also licensed in Germany by Tokyopop Germany, in Poland by Taiga and in Russia by Comics Factory. The sequel, Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo was licensed in English by Tokyopop, who has published eight volumes as of February 2011. It was discontinued at volume 8, though the Japanese series ran for 12 volumes. Currently there are two prequel series running in Japan. Pet Shop of Horrors: Passage-Hen is set in late 19th century France, and the protagonist is the grandfather of Count D, who runs a pet shop in a shopping arcade called a Passage in French. It is infrequently published and possibly ended, though the series lacks a definitive ending. The second prequel is Pet Shop of Horrors: Ark Adrift and features Count D’s father as the protagonist.
Anime television series
produced a 4-episode anime adaptation of various chapters of the manga in March 1999. The anime first aired as a miniseries on the TBStelevision network before being sold on VHS and LaserDisc. Urban Vision released the Pet Shop of Horrors anime in North America, initially across two VHS tapes in February 2000 and May 2000 respectively. It was then re-released on a single DVD video in February 2001. Sentai Filmworks had acquired the license in October 2008, with distribution by ADV Films. However, in 2009, A.D. Vision announced that it has shut down ADV Films and distribution rights were transferred to Section23 Films, who continues to distribute titles from Sentai. It would eventually be released on DVD as a "Sentai Selects" title on January 5, 2016. In the UK, It got its DVD release via MVM on August 2, 2010.
Episodes
Reception
Carlo Santos of Anime News Network described the plot of Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo as "the series' greatest strength but also its weakness: the plot formula makes it easy to dish out just the right amount of human drama, but those familiar with the Pet Shop will see each twist coming—and may even find some of them to be too far-fetched." Santos also felt that the art was "not particularly horrifying," commenting that "it's clear that Akino struggles with any artwork beyond the usual range of attractive young men, fashionable women and the occasional bizarre creature." However, he commended the "well-planned" layout and pacing of the volume. Robin Brenner commented that "Pet Shop of Horrors has always been more about atmosphere than about truly surprising plots... Instead, the pleasure comes from Matsuri Akino's talent for truthful dialogue, attention to detail in the art, and a fine sense of how to portray both laughter and dread."
