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Pet Shop of Horrors [ペットショップ オブ ホラーズ] #9
Pet Shop of Horrors, Volume 9
Each volume collects four stories of terror and wonder centering around Count D's Pet Shop, where the mysterious count sells magical creatures who come with a contract whose terms must not be broken.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
About the author
Matsuri Akino
206 books161 followersMatsuri 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.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 13, 2024
Another book of supposed horror that is actually romance.
January 20, 2026
(1) I like the story about the ordinary girl and Count D, the two even go on a date!^_^
(2) I also like how the story of the little boy comes to a nice closure.
(3) I am glad that we finally learn the origin story of Count D in this volume.
(2) I also like how the story of the little boy comes to a nice closure.
(3) I am glad that we finally learn the origin story of Count D in this volume.
January 7, 2017
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 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 9th installment, Leon is still determined to catch Count D in something illegal. In this installment, we have a Tiger who will choose the next leader of the Mafia, a little girl's pets are all murdered only to find out that she may be the cause. Each story tells just a little more about Count D and Leon but also gives an interesting looking into the pet shop animals.
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 happily 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 downright scary. It’s an interesting concept with a unique spin that I’m just addicted too. I highly recommend.
In the 9th installment, Leon is still determined to catch Count D in something illegal. In this installment, we have a Tiger who will choose the next leader of the Mafia, a little girl's pets are all murdered only to find out that she may be the cause. Each story tells just a little more about Count D and Leon but also gives an interesting looking into the pet shop animals.
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 happily 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 downright scary. It’s an interesting concept with a unique spin that I’m just addicted too. I highly recommend.
October 26, 2021
Wait, only one volume left? We learn bits and pieces of the Count's past but he still is the mysterious persona of the beginning.
January 6, 2017
This is one of my favorite volumes in a long time. We're starting to learn more and more about Count D, and it never ceases to be intriguing and satisfying. Sometimes, the more you learn the less interested you are, but not in this case. It's done very well.
January 11, 2022
This volume brought the horror back into Pet Shop of Horrors; a horrifying cycle of violence, the reincarnation of tragic love directed at Count D, and the horrifying fate of the embodiment of hope, and hope avenged. Hope and beauty still lie between the horrors involving Count D, often involving Leon and Chris who have become like family now in spite of the Count’s many secrets. This catches the attention of D’s actual family. Readers get to meet D’s father, so very like D, yet so much more sinister and not entirely unsympathetic. The bond D is forming with the Orcots may be getting too close, drawing unwanted interest from D’s father. The overall arc of the series feels like it’s coming to a close and it’s going to be more complicated than I imagine, yet I feel like readers are being led to it. This book lived up to the promise of the previous ones, offering a little more insight into the mysterious Count D, promising a final revelation, but how much will be revealed? It’s clear D’s existence can’t continue and a change will occur. How much will this change affect those close to him has yet to be revealed.
July 16, 2018
You can tell in this volume that it's the beginning of the end, as well as the fact that both Leon and D have changed, especially in regards to how they view each other. They both display concern for the other (although D's is quickly mitigated by anger at Leon for getting him — and Chris — into a fraught situation).
But, perhaps more importantly, is that D's struggle is starting to become significantly more evident. In the beginning of the series, he's quick to err on the side of fulfilling vengeance for humanity's cruelty, but in the previous few volumes, he's been a bit lighter-handed. In this volume, he's reminded of who he is supposed to be, and you can see him trying, ever so slightly, to fight and go back to that, but the last story in the volume shows that, while he doesn't know or understand love between humans, he also can't be sure that he doesn't have someone he views as special in his life, and as long as that's the case, can he truly be as cold and unfeeling as he perhaps needs to be?
But, perhaps more importantly, is that D's struggle is starting to become significantly more evident. In the beginning of the series, he's quick to err on the side of fulfilling vengeance for humanity's cruelty, but in the previous few volumes, he's been a bit lighter-handed. In this volume, he's reminded of who he is supposed to be, and you can see him trying, ever so slightly, to fight and go back to that, but the last story in the volume shows that, while he doesn't know or understand love between humans, he also can't be sure that he doesn't have someone he views as special in his life, and as long as that's the case, can he truly be as cold and unfeeling as he perhaps needs to be?
January 9, 2024
Themes:
Animals
Mythical Creatures
Thriller / Mystery
TW:
Animal Abuse
Violence
Abuse
Death
Each volume is sectioned into 4 stories, each title starting with D (for Count D’s Pet Shop). I’ve been reading this series for years and hope to finish it up this year! This series was not what I expected when I started it but it has some brilliant storytelling and facts about animals and mythical creatures. Each story is unique and nothing feels repetitive considering the amount of individual stories we’ve seen in this series so far. Some stories can be quite distressing to animal lovers so please be cautious when starting this series.
Animals
Mythical Creatures
Thriller / Mystery
TW:
Animal Abuse
Violence
Abuse
Death
Each volume is sectioned into 4 stories, each title starting with D (for Count D’s Pet Shop). I’ve been reading this series for years and hope to finish it up this year! This series was not what I expected when I started it but it has some brilliant storytelling and facts about animals and mythical creatures. Each story is unique and nothing feels repetitive considering the amount of individual stories we’ve seen in this series so far. Some stories can be quite distressing to animal lovers so please be cautious when starting this series.
September 28, 2025
A slightly longer book than the previous one, it was also back to more of the horror elements you expect to see.
This one was actually hard for me to read. The deaths in both chapter one and chapter two were hard reads (though, chapter one with the tiger was an excellent story).
Overall, this book showed that D isn't perfect and that even he makes errors in judgment. It also showed Orcot has grown, as well, as a person, if he can communicate the way Chris does (that scene really made me chuckle!). Overall, great character growth and advancement... and slightly sad that this is the penultimate book (in this series, anyway).
This one was actually hard for me to read. The deaths in both chapter one and chapter two were hard reads (though, chapter one with the tiger was an excellent story).
Overall, this book showed that D isn't perfect and that even he makes errors in judgment. It also showed Orcot has grown, as well, as a person, if he can communicate the way Chris does (that scene really made me chuckle!). Overall, great character growth and advancement... and slightly sad that this is the penultimate book (in this series, anyway).
April 5, 2026
:(
Pet Shop of Horrors Review
5/5 stars
This will be a spoiler free review. Onto the review!
I'm so glad that the library I work at started ordering the new collector’s editions of this series. This is a new favorite manga for me. I had so much fun with it.
This is sort of a supernatural mystery series following two characters. The first is the detective Leon. He's from LA. He’s your typical American cop. And then there’s this gay Chinese pet shop owner who may or may not be involved with the mysteries.
The pet shop owner sells both regular pets as well as exotic pets, and sometimes the owners of the exotic pets don't follow their specific instructions and end up hurt by the pets. The exotic pets are all mythical beings from various parts of the world.
Leon thinks this guy might be involved or responsible for things that keep happening, so he follows this guy around and keeps hanging out at his pet shop.
The best way I can explain this series is that it's basically one of those series where it explores a different theme each chapter. These themes are sometimes a bit heavy, so watch out for some heavier themes at times. For example, there’s one chapter where a trans woman is killed and Leon has to figure out why, and surprisingly literally no one, it has something to do with her being trans. The blatant transphobia that led to the murder is handled with so much respect and love to her and her identity, which I really appreciated seeing, since so few stories take the time to do that.
And this is just one example of how a mystery might go. There are a lot of sensitive topics in this, none of which I felt were trivialized or glossed over. What I really liked about this series is the way it handled talking about all these nuanced themes, and how it balanced that against the character work the mangaka did with Leon and the pet shop owner. There is actually a reason I mentioned that he’s gay earlier besides just being a random fact about him. Leon has to unlearn a lot of unconscious bias in this series, and I really enjoyed seeing that journey. It's not explicitly stated to us what's happening with his character development, which I think is brilliant. It does a lot of showing vs telling, and wow was it done so well.
Partway through the series, Leon ends up having to raise his kid brother due to something that happens in his brother’s life that makes it hard for his parents to take care of him. The pet shop owner immediately steps up to help him raise his brother when he's busy with his work as a detective. I thought Leon and the pet shop owner just had a funny quirky dynamic together before this, but as soon as they were raising a kid together, I immediately knew I think we’re supposed to ship them. And ship them I did. I just wish Leon was less of an oblivious idiot lol
I can’t say anything else cause spoilers. But I want to. I wish I knew someone else who has read this. I have so much I need to word vomit about this series. I'm trying to get one of my friends into it. Help. I am obsessed with these two idiots.
So this series is actually a couple different series. The main series is just called Pet Shop of Horrors. Then there are two other series connected to it as well. I recommend reading the Tokyo series second, and then the Ark Adrift series last. That’s how they were written chronologically, and I think that works best. The Tokyo series is still following the same pet shop owner, after the events of the main series. And then Ark Adrift is about someone related to him, set before the main series. I'm unsure if Ark Adrift is still ongoing. The last volume I could find came out in June of 2025, so maybe there will be more? I hope so. It kind of ended weird after volume 3, so I hope there’s more on the way and that’s not the official end of the series.
Once again, I want to reiterate how much I have to say about this that I can't cause spoilers. I need someone else who has read this to word vomit at. I need someone to talk about this with. Someone, anyone, please.
If you haven't read this, do it. I need more people to talk to about this. I literally can't talk about it without spoiling whoever I'm talking to. People please go read this then talk to me. Help. I am obsessed.
I wish they would make a proper anime for this. There was a four episode OVA that got made, but honestly it sucks. The first episode opens with a scene not in the manga at all, in which this random guy we never meet again calls the pet shop owner to complain about something that never comes up again, and proceeds to call him the f slur for seemingly no reason. Why was that necessary to include? It’s rude, it’s not in the manga, and it’s literally a slur. Just no. I sat through the four episodes just to see what an anime might have looked like for this if they’d continued making it, and honestly, I wouldn’t want whoever made the OVA to make the anime. Absolutely the heck not. Slur aside, it kind of sucked.
If in 20 years there is no anime, I will get a bunch of my art friends together to make our own homemade show of it, because I will not stand 20 years of this series not being adapted. Also, I want Keston John to play the pet shop owner. His voice read every line in my head when I read the manga, because I think he would just be perfect to play him. YOU SEE NOW WHY I NEED SOMEONE TO WORD VOMIT ABOUT THIS SERIES AT? help me
Have a nice day/night everyone!
Pet Shop of Horrors Review
5/5 stars
This will be a spoiler free review. Onto the review!
I'm so glad that the library I work at started ordering the new collector’s editions of this series. This is a new favorite manga for me. I had so much fun with it.
This is sort of a supernatural mystery series following two characters. The first is the detective Leon. He's from LA. He’s your typical American cop. And then there’s this gay Chinese pet shop owner who may or may not be involved with the mysteries.
The pet shop owner sells both regular pets as well as exotic pets, and sometimes the owners of the exotic pets don't follow their specific instructions and end up hurt by the pets. The exotic pets are all mythical beings from various parts of the world.
Leon thinks this guy might be involved or responsible for things that keep happening, so he follows this guy around and keeps hanging out at his pet shop.
The best way I can explain this series is that it's basically one of those series where it explores a different theme each chapter. These themes are sometimes a bit heavy, so watch out for some heavier themes at times. For example, there’s one chapter where a trans woman is killed and Leon has to figure out why, and surprisingly literally no one, it has something to do with her being trans. The blatant transphobia that led to the murder is handled with so much respect and love to her and her identity, which I really appreciated seeing, since so few stories take the time to do that.
And this is just one example of how a mystery might go. There are a lot of sensitive topics in this, none of which I felt were trivialized or glossed over. What I really liked about this series is the way it handled talking about all these nuanced themes, and how it balanced that against the character work the mangaka did with Leon and the pet shop owner. There is actually a reason I mentioned that he’s gay earlier besides just being a random fact about him. Leon has to unlearn a lot of unconscious bias in this series, and I really enjoyed seeing that journey. It's not explicitly stated to us what's happening with his character development, which I think is brilliant. It does a lot of showing vs telling, and wow was it done so well.
Partway through the series, Leon ends up having to raise his kid brother due to something that happens in his brother’s life that makes it hard for his parents to take care of him. The pet shop owner immediately steps up to help him raise his brother when he's busy with his work as a detective. I thought Leon and the pet shop owner just had a funny quirky dynamic together before this, but as soon as they were raising a kid together, I immediately knew I think we’re supposed to ship them. And ship them I did. I just wish Leon was less of an oblivious idiot lol
I can’t say anything else cause spoilers. But I want to. I wish I knew someone else who has read this. I have so much I need to word vomit about this series. I'm trying to get one of my friends into it. Help. I am obsessed with these two idiots.
So this series is actually a couple different series. The main series is just called Pet Shop of Horrors. Then there are two other series connected to it as well. I recommend reading the Tokyo series second, and then the Ark Adrift series last. That’s how they were written chronologically, and I think that works best. The Tokyo series is still following the same pet shop owner, after the events of the main series. And then Ark Adrift is about someone related to him, set before the main series. I'm unsure if Ark Adrift is still ongoing. The last volume I could find came out in June of 2025, so maybe there will be more? I hope so. It kind of ended weird after volume 3, so I hope there’s more on the way and that’s not the official end of the series.
Once again, I want to reiterate how much I have to say about this that I can't cause spoilers. I need someone else who has read this to word vomit at. I need someone to talk about this with. Someone, anyone, please.
If you haven't read this, do it. I need more people to talk to about this. I literally can't talk about it without spoiling whoever I'm talking to. People please go read this then talk to me. Help. I am obsessed.
I wish they would make a proper anime for this. There was a four episode OVA that got made, but honestly it sucks. The first episode opens with a scene not in the manga at all, in which this random guy we never meet again calls the pet shop owner to complain about something that never comes up again, and proceeds to call him the f slur for seemingly no reason. Why was that necessary to include? It’s rude, it’s not in the manga, and it’s literally a slur. Just no. I sat through the four episodes just to see what an anime might have looked like for this if they’d continued making it, and honestly, I wouldn’t want whoever made the OVA to make the anime. Absolutely the heck not. Slur aside, it kind of sucked.
If in 20 years there is no anime, I will get a bunch of my art friends together to make our own homemade show of it, because I will not stand 20 years of this series not being adapted. Also, I want Keston John to play the pet shop owner. His voice read every line in my head when I read the manga, because I think he would just be perfect to play him. YOU SEE NOW WHY I NEED SOMEONE TO WORD VOMIT ABOUT THIS SERIES AT? help me
Have a nice day/night everyone!
July 16, 2024
It feels like this particular volume has a common theme: abuse, especially generational abuse. The chapter Durableness is exactly that, while the chapter of Desperation reflects on D's issues with his father. (It also reflects on the futility of revenge)
March 2, 2018
LOVE this series!
May 16, 2020
I HAVE CHILLS
February 9, 2021
This was good, as always, though I’m tempted to give it four stars just because of the mini extra chapter🤣.
August 17, 2022
This one made me more sad than the others. But still good
February 5, 2024
Me tardé con este.
October 10, 2024
Let's see. A mysterious shop owner sells animals that have special abilities but never seem to be overly important to the overreaching plot.
This is not for me, but I can see where younger readers would enjoy this.
Recommended for fans of Manga and Romance graphic novels.
Find it. Buy it. Read it.
This is not for me, but I can see where younger readers would enjoy this.
Recommended for fans of Manga and Romance graphic novels.
Find it. Buy it. Read it.
June 9, 2025
#2025
January 12, 2016
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.
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.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews