Pet Shop of Horrors

Pet Shop of Horrors and xxxHoLiC are one-shots with events that are out of the norm. The main characters have a mysterious but overpowering personality to them, and they're never predictable; while the supporting characters always give the comic relief. There's always a good twist, turn, and surprise in the two series.

Both series tell about shops granting wishes, but in different ways. While Yuuko's shop takes symbolic payment and things that might come in handy, Count D's shop takes real money, sometimes sweets, and a list of rules about the purchased pets. Also both series are quite serious (pardon my pun), but still have time to be funny. If you want to see what will happen to one who has his wish granted, you should see both.

Both shows feature the owners of shops of a very mystical nature. Each show may be broken up into mini stand-alone stories of each customer, this keeps both stories fresh and interesting. Both owners sell wishes, however, the wishes sold may turn out badly depending on the nature of the customer and their ability to resist temptation. The difference in these two shop owners? Yuko's customers may meet a tragic end, however it is typically not an ending brought about by Yuko herself. Count D on the other hand may use his customer's own weaknesses to bring about a quicker more tragic demise.

Both of these shows are similar because they involve one-shot stories of people trying to solve their problems by visiting the shops in these animes. Also, in both something must be sacrificed in order to recieve what you're looking for, or face the consequences.

xxxHOLiC and Pet Shop of Horrors both tell stories of supernatural wish fulfillment, usually gone awry. Though xxxHOLiC features regular characters, and overarching story and some lightness/humor, while Pet Shop's has a strictly episodic horror format, they both present creative stories of what happens when metaphysical power meets human frailty. If you liked the 'twilight zone'-like irony and creepiness of Pet Shop, xxxHOLiC delivers it and more.  Likewise, if you enjoyed the one-shot, 'supernatural elements in the real world' stories in xxxHOLiC, you should give Pet Shop a try.  

the art style in both these anime's are the same, along with the mysterious uncharacteristic tone the main character portrays.. along with a supporting "everyday joe" character that see's the everyday wierd occurances that revolve around the life of the main character...

Thus, if you enjoyed one, you'll enjoy the other

Both Boogiepop Phantom and Pet Shop of Horrors depict the devastating effects of despair, and the grievous consequences that letting go of reality carries. These series feature highly troubled individuals who try to cope with the pressure of emotionally-taxing situations, and fail. In both, a supernatural entity has a highly dubious role in this process of mental disintegration. Boogiepop Phantom has a convoluted plot while Pet Shop of Horrors plays with a simple narrative frame; but they both explore the dark aspects of the human soul and do it with enthusiasm.

Both Pet Shop of Horrors and Mermaid's Forest are firmly rooted in the horror genre; in each anime, the protagonists meet characters that have long since descended into darkness. For those looking for morbid anime that don't mind material that occasionally borders on cheesy, both should be worth the watch.

Mermaid Forest focuses on the legend mentioned in episode two of Pet shop of Horrors, becoming immortal by eating mermaid flesh. There are other similarities too, the animation was one thing, but mostly it was the overall feeling and story, with people always wanting what they can't have.