Pet Shop of Horrors

Pet Shop of Horrors is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Matsuri Akino. It was serialized in Ohzora Publishing's Apple Mystery, and later in Bunkasha [ja]'s Horror M from 1994 to 1998, with its chapters collected in ten tankōbon volumes. 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 supernatural shop. The series was licensed in North America by Tokyopop.
A four-episode anime television series produced by Madhouse was broadcast in 1999. A second manga series, titled Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo (known as New Petshop of Horrors in Japan) was serialized by Asahi Sonorama (and later Asahi Shimbun Publications) in Mungekan [ja] from 2004 to 2009, and later published as a webcomic on Yahoo! Comics [ja]'s Horror & Fantasy Club site from 2009 to 2012. Its chapters were collected in twelve volumes. The manga was also licensed in North America by Tokyopop, who only released eight volume from 2008 to 2011.
A spin-off series, titled Pet Shop of Horrors: Passage-hen, which follows Count D's grandfather in Fin de siècle Paris, was irregularly published in HarperCollins Japan's Mugentō (2013) and Harlequin Original (2015–2017); five volumes were released. Another spin-off, titled Petshop of Horrors: Hyōhaku no Hakobune-hen, featuring Count D's father as the protagonist, was serialized in Harlequin Original from 2018 to 2020, with its chapters collected in three volumes.
"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 (although each animal's contract includes not showing it to anyone), and breaking this contract usually results in dire (and sometimes disturbing) 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.
Written and illustrated by Matsuri Akino, Pet Shop of Horrors was serialized in Ohzora Publishing's Apple Mystery (November 1994–July 1998 issues), and later in Bunkasha [ja]'s Horror M (in 1998). Ohzora Publishing released ten tankōbon volumes, under the Missy Comics DX imprint, from March 1995 to September 1998. Bunkasha later released the series in four volumes from February 24 to March 29, 1999.
In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Tokyopop. The ten volumes were released from June 17, 2003, to January 11, 2005. In August 2024, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it had licensed the series and it will be released in a collector's edition with an all-new translation starting in February 2025. It was distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman Entertainment.
The series was also licensed in Germany by Tokyopop Germany, in Poland by Taiga, and in Russia by Comics Factory.
A second series, titled Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo, known in Japan as New Pet Shop of Horrors (新 Petshop of Horrors, Shin Petshop of Horrors), started in Asahi Sonorama's Mungekan [ja] on April 22, 2004. In June 2007, the company announced that it would cease operations, and the magazine went on to be published by Asahi Shimbun Publications, until it last issue released on April 23, 2009, and the series continued as a webcomic on Yahoo! Comics [ja]'s Horror & Fantasy Club site on August 20 of that same year. The series finished on November 15, 2012. Asahi Sonorama released four volumes from January 2005 to April 2007; Asahi Shimbun Publications republished the four volumes on November 26, 2007, and released the twelfth and last volume on February 2, 2013. In North America, Tokyopop published eight volumes from February 28, 2008, to February 1, 2011.
A spin-off series, titled Petshop of Horrors: Passage-hen (Petshop of Horrors パサージュ編), started in HarperCollins Japan's Mugentō on March 23, 2013. It 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. The series moved to Harlequin Original in February 2015; its latest chapter released on May 11, 2017. Five volumes were published by HarperCollins Japan from August 24, 2013, to June 24, 2017.
Another spin-off series, titled Petshop of Horrors: Hyōhaku no Hakobune-hen (Petshop of Horrors 漂泊の箱舟編, lit. 'Pet Shop of Horrors: Ark Adrift'), was published in Harlequin Original from September 11, 2018, to March 11, 2020. It features Count D's father as the protagonist. Three volumes were released from December 27, 2018, to May 18, 2020.
Madhouse produced a 4-episode anime adaptation of various chapters of the manga in March 1999. The anime first aired as a miniseries on the TBS television network (as part of their now-defunct programming block "Wonderful") before being sold on VHS and LaserDisc.
Urban Vision released the Pet Shop of Horrors anime in North America, initially across two VHS tapes (each available in either subtitled or dubbed format) in February and May 2000 respectively. It was then re-released on a single DVD video (containing all four episodes and both language options) 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.
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."