A collection of vignettes, much like Aesop's Fables of old, the short stories that make up the manga are timeless in nature. Though we are not new to the idea that humans a...re destroying the world, Pet Shop takes a very unreal turn, not attacking man for it's domination, but for it's very nature. Through the eyes of animals, the course of greed, jealousy, lust, wrath unearth from the most unlikely sources again and again. The perpetrators are all different, but the manga illustrates again and again that it is because they are human. This ideal, terrifying as it is, holds a reluctant mirror to ourselves with each story as we see what we are and what we could be. To throw it over the top, the moral is never forced down your throat. You will get it if you get it, but if you don't, it probably doesn't apply to you to begin with.
The story is highlighted heavily by it's thick artistic detail and design. Matsuri Akino paints us a crystal-clear picture that no manga-ka could possibly make any more luxurious a vision. Visceral in nature, we see the beauty turn to unspeakable horror before our very eyes. Eyes drawn to be racked with terror, Akino suspects our reactions and reflects them in such a surreal manner, I've never seen anything like it in anything I have ever seen or read before. There is no sloppiness here. Everything is exquisitely crafted in ink.
The ringleader of this deconstruction of humanity is the coy, cake-loving D. Though shy in expression, D demonstrates a variety of various emotions as the series progresses, to which credit could be given to no one other than D's exact opposite; the crass, violent detective, Leon Orcot, who is out to arrest D for a variety of charges, none of which Leon can ever prove. It is only his presence that invokes D, but alone he is essentially a waste of pages. This conflict between the two of them persists the length of the manga and is the cohesive force that holds the various short stories together. What is more inspiring is it's Cowboy Bebop-like approach to its characters, in which each chapter-exclusive character is fleshed out to his or her full potential in regards to the story at hand.
To say I enjoyed this manga is like saying Leon has a fixation with D. It is a gross understatement. These are stories that are universal in their lessons and timeless in nature. This manga is not just a warning though, but a sign of hope, as sometimes the outcome of any given story is not a thing of disgust and horror of the capabilities of our kind. Take it for what you will, but any reader will likely recognize the tales as one or the other. The art, the story, the dialogue, everything is spot-on. The recurring characters are never betrayed and warped into something they are not and remain as mysterious at the end as they are at the start. To conclude, it is this humble reviewer's notion that Pet Shop of Horrors is the Cowboy Bebop of manga. It has no real genre unto itself and can be accessed by just about anyone without any other knowledge of anime or manga. Thus, it is my opinion that Pet Shop of Horrors is nothing short of a masterpiece.
I give this manga a well-deserving 10 out of 10.
