Pet Shop of Horrors

LiamGray Jan 10, 2016

6.5

"FEED ME SEYMOUR!" There are no musical numbers and Skid Road its not, but Pet Shop of Horrors still manages to be an interesting and engaging series. This series is essentially a four-part Horror Anthology series. If you like Japanese folklore, you will love Pet Shop of Horrors. Its far superior to Requiem from the Darkness -- though unfortunately much shorter. STORY: Each episode is a-stand-alone story exploring the darker side of human desperation and temptation intertwined traditional Japanese folklore (albeit reinvisioned for a modern audience). It is a little bit of a shame that they only made four-episodes because they had a good formula for the show and I felt like the series still had a lot of life in it. ANIMATION: The animation style is very steeped in the 90s and not much to my liking, but I would be remiss if I said there was nothing about it I liked. The monster and creature designs in the series are quite good. SOUND: Nothing remarkable or terrible here. 5/10. The voice acting is what you'd expect from 90's horror anime. Silky and slick. CHARACTERS: The series revolves around an enigmatic person at a pet shop that offers dark solutions to people's problems. Most of the stories revolve around his clintel, so it would be difficult to go into the characters without spoiling the experience for you. I will say that the focus of the stories do hinge on the personalities and/or flaws of the protagonist and each episode has a different protagonist. Some you may like, others you might not.

CaptainSlow Sep 20, 2016

8

What I Liked: Toshihiko Seki is perfect as Count D. The soundtrack, which is equal parts pulpy goodness and soft ambience. The show does a good job of building a dark, unnerving atmosphere through its use of colour and imagery. The design for the Kirin is hands-down beautiful. There's some really nice scenery throughout, with nice attention to detail where it counts. What I Didn't: The soundtrack firmly keeps this show in the 90's, and can feel a bit melodramatic at times. YMMV on the episodic format of the show - it's very much a collection of horror-themed moral tales with a very loose subplot connecting the two. The whole "eye showing through the hair" thing can get a bit annoying. Final Verdict: Horror stories with morals might be a dime-a-dozen these days, but Petshop of Horrors carries out its four thrilling lessons with style and flair. It might be woefully short but its pulpy (albeit dated) soundtrack, interesting cast of characters and dark atmosphere make it a great watch for any horror movie night.

jadeevans May 28, 2011

8

I loved this series, even though it was only 4 episodes. I wish that their were more. For those who do like the series, using the 1st episode to reference your like/dislike is not wise. It is probably the worst of the bunch. Have you ever heard the saying, "Saving the best for last"? My favorite episode was of course the fourth and final episode... followed by the third episode. Try it again and see if you have a change of mind. I don't think that it would hurt to watch the episodes out of order. If you don't believe my interpretation... believe this: The best way to learn is through others mistakes.