Review for Pet Shop Of Horrors (Review)
Sunday, 1st August 2010, 18:21

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Introduction
Pet Shop of Horrors sounds like it ought to be one of those spooky musicals that were so in vogue in the seventies and eighties, sort of Johnny Morris crossed with The Rocky Horror. Oookay… Now that's an image I'm going to need mental bleach for. Pet Shop of Horrors is in actuality a horror anthology manga that has enjoyed significant success, with its volumes readily available even now in the UK. That popularity never quite translated into a full-blown anime adaptation though, with this four-episode OVA collection all that was made. It's getting on a bit now, made as it was in 1999, but it holds a special place in many hearts, still being talked about fondly years after it was released in the US. Urban Vision originally released this show on two videotapes, editing two episodes together on each tape. When the DVD was first released in 2001, it kept to that format, although all four episodes are accessible from the menu. In a sign of the show's popularity, Sentai Filmworks (ADV redux) re-released it early last year, and now MVM have followed suit in the UK. Pet Shop of Horrors is finally here after eleven years, but can it still send a shiver down the spine?

Count D runs a very exclusive pet shop in Chinatown, sourcing all manner of rare, arcane, and supernatural pets for a rich and elite clientele. However, his products usually come with strict guidelines on care and handling, and a refusal to accept the consequences if the rules aren't religiously adhered to. So it's a string of deaths that draw a police detective named Leon to the pet shop. The only thing the victims have in common is that they were clients of Count D, and with the pet shop implicated in all sort of criminal activity, from drug smuggling to gun running, the brash policeman is going to take a personal interest in the effete and elegant Count D. But Leon's walking into a world he can't comprehend.

All four episodes of the OVA are presented on this disc in two separate chunks.

1. Daughter
The Haywards are grieving the loss of their daughter Alice, but the Pet Shop offers them what looks like a second chance, when Count D sells them a rabbit. It's a rabbit that looks just like their daughter, and even appears to recognise them. It seems to be a miracle, but the Count warns them to follow the rules, and that no matter how much the rabbit begs, to only feed her fresh vegetables and water.

2. Delicious
It was supposed to be their happiest day, but Jason Gray is bereft following the apparent death of his bride to be on their wedding day, when Evangeline Blue fell overboard from the cruise ship where the wedding was taking place. Only now a mermaid has washed up on the shore, one that looks just like Evangeline, but has no memory of Jason. Could Evangeline have been a mermaid all along?

3. Despair
A has-been actor found dead with the body of an exotic reptile draped over him sends Leon to Count D's again, armed with an accusation and a delicacy from an exclusive bakery. The accusation doesn't impress, but Count D's sweet tooth can forgive anyone who knows his cakes. It's enough for Leon to hear the tale of the client with a passion for lizards and reptiles, who was living on past glories and his wife's paycheck. When his wife leaves him, Robin Hendrix purchases a rare pet indeed, a medusa.

4. Dual
There's tale of a legendary beast, a Kirin that can grant ultimate power to he who is deserving enough to own it. For Congressman Roger T Stanford, who read the tale of the Kirin in a former President's diary, it could be the key to the White House. Except Stanford is a philanderer, a playboy and the black sheep of his family. His wife Nancy is on the verge of leaving him, and it's only his aide and childhood friend Kelly who is predisposed to obtaining the ultimate power for him. Would Count D be willing to sell a Kirin to a man like this?

Picture
The 4:3 regular image is definitely a product of its era, soft and hazy, and barely a step above videotape quality. The image is stable and free of any telltale tape artefacts, and also free of digital artefacts as well, but you can't get past how soft it is, and how faded the colours look. The character design is simple, sort of Kawajiri-lite, but the animation is limited and not all that vibrant, even for an anime made in 1999. But it does effectively use light and dark, and shadows for atmosphere and mood.

Sound
The sound on this disc comes in DD 2.0 English and Japanese, with translated English subtitles. The dialogue is clear in both versions, and the music is nice and creepy when necessary, with the audio working well to complement the creepy visuals. There's a scene where someone feeds a mouse to a pet snake, and the crunching of the bones is enough to set your teeth on edge. It must be said though, that Pet Shop Of Horrors' English dub certainly comes from a bygone age, and Count D's fey ethnic accent does a good enough job of setting my teeth on edge without the snake.

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