Petshop of Horrors

This anime should be watched expecting nothing at all, it may not be developed as other series and it seems like if the budget was really limited but keeping all those issues aside, it’s a really interesting anime to watch.

It doesn’t compare to the actual manga, but the chapters selected for the anime are the more interesting. Though there are two main characters, count D (do not mistake him for Dracula) and detective Leon Orcot (those two have a really funny love/hate relationship), the real characters are those involved with the story of each episode.

Each episode has a different story line, they may be short ... but are profound and always giving a message at the end. It’s a dark and full of mystery anime, but the stories provide a positive impact.

The technical features may no be great (animation, sound) but are well done and I think it should be continued.

When compared side-by-side with the manga of the same name, the Pet Shop of Horrors anime suddenly looks shoddy and duct-taped together. However, as a stand-alone anime it is very unique.

Each episode can be watched without having any background knowledge of the series, as they are all their own story, similar to anime such as pokemon were it is easy to jump in at any point in the series. However, this is also a drawback, as were there should be a pause to explain something further or in more detail, the show chugs along over it, crossing its fingers and hoping that the audience will ... understand.

As dark anime go, Pet Shop of Horror doesn't necessarily have a unique concept, but the overall story is unique. It's easy to become lost in the episodes, which provide a unique "this-could-really-happen" sense that few others manage to achieve.

The animation leaves something to be desired, however, with even the Japanese, English-subbed version looking like a terrible American dub. The background music is interesting, but the anime also keeps things quiet were there should be ambient noise such as birds, cars, even the wind.
Character development is limited, but as the series is so short it's not so much that they didn't bother, its that there simply isn't enough time to get to know the characters and watch them grow.

Overall, if you watch anime for the music or animation then this isn't for you. Fans of the manga, be prepared as these episodes are based almost word-for-word on stories from the first three volumes.

Someone had told me to watch this Anime as I was a fan of Horror. It was quite cheap in a store so I picked it up. I was hoping for a very interesting story with elements of horror, although I was curious as to how they planned to pack this into 4 episodes if I remember correctly. The story seemed good, different & interesting. The animation and art was old, but don't think I hated it because it was old. No, other older Anime have still managed to capture me with their art, however this one was quite basic, mediocre and overall boring. The ... sound effects and music didn't tend to vary, they just played the same boring sounds over and over again. Characters were okay, nothing terrible or great about them. They didn't have much back-story or personality or unique looks however. I barely got through the very short 4ep series and cringed at every dull event. Overall I would'nt recommend wasting your time.