So, I'm back in action again on the manga front! Now, if I could only find some new anime series to watch and review... Anyway, I'm happy to start reviewing a series that is new to me, though in reality it's actually a pretty old series - I just completely bypassed it because it's a "horror" manga. Anyway, I'll begin.
'Pet Shop of Horrors' is a horror manga series by Matsuri Akino, consisting of 41 chapters and an additional follow-up story that was released in 2008. The series first appeared in 1995 and ran through 1998. (Yes, I know I read a lot of 90's manga, usually considered the worst, but I think it's my true age showing through that I read so much of it!) 'Pet Shop of Horrors' follows the whereabouts and happenings at the eccentric pet store ran by the even more eccentric Count D. Count D's pet shop appears to be an average pet store with dogs, cats, and other typical animals, but when strange disappearances are linked to purchases at his store, the police becomes involved. The chapters show different encounters with Count D's customers and the unusual and rare pets he sells, as well as the unlikely friendship between Count D and the officer recruited for his case. As his officer attempts to catch Count D red handed knowingly selling dangerous pets, he begins to see that Count D is one of the most enigmatic people he will ever meet.
I'm only about halfway through the series, but I was very impressed with it's unique story line. However, I'm not impressed with the artwork, which looks like the general 90's style of manga character sketches. I don't like to judge a manga series entirely on its artwork, so I'll say that the storyline is definitely strong enough to ignore the artwork. One of my favorite aspects of the manga is that most of the animals in Count D's shop appear to be human, which plays around with the question of what distinguishes animals from us at all. It's really a very intriguing series and I highly recommend it!
Read it here: http://manga.animea.net/pet-shop-of-horrors.html
And, now I'm off to enjoy summer away from the computer screen! ;)
Best,
Pseudonymous Jayne
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