"Doom" - Like all cops, Leon Orcot understands that the police put their lives on the line every day, but when Leon's act of hesitation results in the death of his partner, it will be up to Count D to ease the detective's mind. If he can keep from driving him mad in the process, that is. "Donor" - Did you know Count D had a sister? Well, neither did he. And although he's excited by the discovery, there's something sinister about this sibling. While it's not unusual for a sister to give her brother a piece of her heart, D's sister is willing to do it literally. "Duty" - When a mafia don is assassinated, Leon is instructed to catch the murderer before he ignites a mob war. However, this is no ordinary hitman. He's a ruthless assassin utterly lacking in conscience or compassion; a vicious killer whose precision is only matched by his relentlessness; and most disturbing at all, he appears to be only fifteen years old. "Diet" - It seems like everyone wants to be thinner. Regardless of your age, sex or station in life, chances are you'd like to shed a few pounds. Well, the count's here to help. He's come up with a very effective diet plan, tailored specifically to your needs. And, the good news is that you don't have watch what you eat...but you might want to pay attention to what eats you.
Matsuri Akino (秋乃 茉莉 Akino Matsuri), is a Japanese manga artist from Mitaka, Tokyo, now a resident of Yokohama. Her work is a mix of the fantasy, mystery, and horror genres. Her self portrait is usually a kappa, sometimes with braids or an odango hairstyle.
The most intense and dark volume so far. The pretty funny cover is very misleading; I like the personal aspects of the chapters, revolving around D and Leon, I’m always happy to see Chris basically living with D at his pet shop while Leon is at work.
The art is consistently gorgeous!
Seven volumes later and I’m no where near tired of reading this manga.
Pet Shop of Horror revolves around a magical pet shop in Chinatown that just happens to sell pet’s that aren’t like your everyday pet. Each volume is divided into a chapters and each chapter tells a single story of an encounter with this pet shop. Some end up happy while others not so much. We have a few main characters Count D who runs the shop of Leon who is the detective who is determined to figure out what Count D is doing in the shop.
In the 7th installment Leon is still determined to catch Count D in something illegal. The story’s in this volume range from Leon dealing with the death of his partner. A surprise visitor that Count D had no idea even existed. A teenager raised to be a killer who has abandonment issues. Last we have a girl who was rejected for being overweight but with some help from Count D she as well as a model will get the body that they want but at what cost.
I’m hooked on Pet Shop of Horrors it’s written as a series of short stories which have a larger story surrounding them. It’s this creepy concept of a pet shop that happens to not sell traditional pets. Each of the pets really fits into the owner life giving them exactly what they needed at that point in their life and some may not end happy ever after. I have to admit I enjoyed the concept it’s unique and fascinating I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know what would happen next. I like that each story is different some are sweet while others are tragic and down right scary. It’s an interesting concept with a unique spin that I’m just addicted too. I highly recommend.
Pet Shop of Horrors is a manga by Matsuri Akino. It is set in the heart of Chinatown. Enter Count D's pet shop, a place where you can find a multitude of pets. These pets can range from cats and dogs to the most exotic, but they often will take a form to match a person's deepest desires. The mysterious man running the shop will be willing to sell you these animals, but under contract. These contracts often have three terms, varying with each individual pet. If any of these circumstances are broken, the pet shop is in no way, shape, or form, responsible for the consequences that would result.
This series is certainly a unique read. Each chapter often focuses on a different customer, so the series has an episode like feel to it. In each of these chapters, however, there is a sub plot that always occurs. This subplot is actually part of the main story, so it's suggested that you pay attention to it. Most of these stories can turn out somewhat messy, but are they happy or sad endings? No one can even tell. This story is about human nature itself, with a good amount of environmentalism hidden in there too.
Wanted to give it four stars, in the end I couldn't. The first two stories, "Doom" and "Donor", were really good because they were related to the main characters, Count D and Leon. The third story, "Duty", started to drag, it was way, way too wordy. And the last one, "Diet", was boring, really boring and I honestly didn't understand what the point of the story was, the lesson learned - with Eme and Nash kinda, but with the model? No clue. So, three stars it is.
Unlike the other books in the series some of the stories felt like they ended ubruptly. I hope that there may be a chance for these stories to continue in future volumes, but am doubtful.
And then we're back with another solid, amazing installment.
This one starts off with a Leon-centric story. In the line of duty, his partner is killed by his childhood friend, and Leon can't shake off the feelings of helplessness and anger that he wasn't able to do anything to stop it, but also the guilt that he feels more guilty over his childhood friend's death than his partner's. D, attempting to help (probably), gives Leon an animal. This time, a butterfly. Anyone familiar with the Butterfly Effect will have an idea of how this goes. Leon begins to dream about his past (which, interestingly, the first flashback ends with Leon lamenting that he wasn't able to tell Harry how he felt, which may be a slight nod to the fact that Leon is probably bi), with each flashback having Leon change something. Each time he 'wakes' up, something in his life has changed — his partner isn't dead, he doesn't have a brother, he's not a cop, he's the one in Harry's place. At the end of the story, things revert to how they were, and the reader is told that Harry, rather than shooting Leon, killed himself while Leon watched, unable to do anything.
The next story introduces D's sister, who has no name beyond "daughter" and "little sister." Their father —who you see from the nose down in a flashback with the sister, and whom we already know D has a tense relationship with given the events of Diamande in volume 3 — has raised her to be able to provide D with whatever he may need to keep him alive. When D tells her he doesn't need anything, her entire purpose is shattered and she attacks, only to be killed by the animals in D's defense. This shakes D, who had not known of her existence prior to her arrival (although, in another volume, D makes mention of a sister, so potentially a continuity error, or a mistranslation).
The third story has to do with an assassin who holes up in D's shop while on the run. This particular story shows D appealing to the assassin's humanity and human desires, rather than the animal-like instincts that he's capitalized on in the past.
The last story is three customers in one, but the theme is consistent: dieting. It's an interesting story, although I'm not fond of the message in Em's story line (she wanted to lose weight to get her boyfriend back and ultimately became more judgmental when she got skinnier, although she did it through watching what she ate and exercise which was awesome), although the model's story line was haunting. I think I liked the boxer's the best, though.
A tragic reunion with an old friend causes Leon Orcot to regret and rethink some of the choices he’s made during his life. Under Count D’s attentive eye, he gets a chance to relive them. A missing baboon, a heart transplant, and a long-lost sister put not only Leon Orcot, but Count D himself at the mercy of the exotic creatures whose predestined role brings bitter (and not so bitter) results. A mysterious child assassin finds himself wandering into D’s shop, ready to take the Count and Chris hostage, only he gets more than he bargained for, including a second chance. Too many people are trying to lose weight in the final story and turning to Count D for help with varying levels of satisfaction. These are the four stories include in the seventh volume of a series about a mysterious pet shop in Chinatown, its equally mysterious proprietor, and the police officer whose life is becoming increasingly tangled with both.
Once again, D reveals his partiality to Leon when he interferes in a dark fate Leon chose for himself in the first story, a fate he’d normally allow to play out. I didn’t get quite so absorbed in the second story, although it showed a manipulative hand in the shadows behind D himself, one which has interfered in D’s life before. It suggested an adversity or at least a game that’s being played out between father and son in the shadows. The third was perhaps one of the most beautiful stories in the series, showing the vulnerability and seductive menace of the Count, the sweetness of Chris, the knowledge of Jill, along with the lost innocence and anger of a young assassin who mirrors the Count, yet is overshadowed by him. The last story was a return to the classic theme of be careful what you wish for, meeting a pet, and the consequences of that meeting. There was some seriously elegant horror in the final story, juxtaposed with the upbeat themes of learning to help one’s self, linked by the common thread of change. All in all, this was another complex, varied, and strikingly attractive volume in a unique, interesting series, staying true to its overall theme and mood. For these qualities, I give this four stars.
Some interesting, and disturbing, ideas in this one (chapter 2: Donor was a weird one), but I think chapter 4: Diet was really good. It was dark, twisted, and had some very compelling characters. I liked Dorothy and the parakeet in this one, but less in the models (at first). The three-fold tale was masterful storytelling and the ending was chilling.
On a completely separate note, Leon's and D's stories are always so compelling. You see glimpses into their pasts, or different sides to them, which really flesh out the characters and make them so much more interesting.
Pet Shop of Horrors can be a hit more miss, but this one was definitely a hit. Time travel with Leon, family secrets with Count D (more backstory! Kind of!), and some good old fashioned Pet Shop stories as well.