Akino, Matsuri. Pet shop of horrors

Kliatt, Jan, 2005 by George Galuschak

AKIN0, Matsuri. Pet shop of horrors. (Vol. 1.)Tokyopop. 187p. illus. c2003. 1591823633. $9.99. SA

If you ever find yourself in Chinatown, why not visit Count D's pet shop? The Count is a fine host; he and his winged rabbit (Q-Chan) will serve you cakes and jasmine tea. You won't be alone; men and women come from the four corners of the Earth seeking exotic animals, and the Count always delivers. Of course, none of the Count's customers really wants a pet. The woman who buys a pair of Strelitzia, exotic birds that resemble angels, wants love; the couple that buy Alice, a rare breed of rabbit that looks like a little girl, wants their dead child back; the man who buys a Basilisk, a beautiful creature that is half-woman, half-snake, wants immortality. Unfortunately, the customers never follow the Count's instructions on how to care for their pets, and disaster always ensues--the female Strelitzia eats the male when they mate; Alice gives birth to thousands of ravenous little rabbits; and the gaze of the Basilisk kills her lover.

Pet Shop of Horrors is a scary little horror manga with some fine material; the stories are episodic, Twilight Zone-style, and are consistently entertaining and well written. Pet Shop of Horrors contains bad language, adult situations, violence and comic book gore. George Galuschak, YA Libn., MontvaIe PL., Montvale, NJ

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