Pet Shop of Horrors Review

Name(s): Pet Shop of Horrors / ペットショップ・オブ・ホラーズ
Format: TV series (4 episodes)
Studio(s): Madhouse

Ah, Petshop of Horrors was a pleasant surprise. A short, four-episode horror anime that’s actually good. An enigmatic man who calls himself Count D runs a pet shop out of Chinatown that on the surface appears normal, but to desperate customers Count D offers bizarre creatures that promise to fulfill the customer’s wildest dreams—as long as they can adhere to the terms of the pet’s contract.

When things begin to go awry, a detective links multiple unsolved deaths to one common link: Count D’s pet shop. The detective struggles to find proof of Count D’s involvement, and in turn, learns about his new customers with each episode.

Naturally, each episode is a stand-alone case. Count D and the small number of police investigators are the only regulars, and in each episode, a new customer comes to D with their own problem that’s obviously dealt with in an ironic, macabre way. Thankfully, Pet Shop of Horrors does what it needs to do in order to keep its formula fresh, and the path to each character’s fall along with their backstory is intriguing enough to overcome the predictable end.

That said, I feel this format has diminishing returns. The first episode ends up being the strongest for multiple reasons. One, it’s the only one of the four that’s explicitly horror. They’re all dark and tragic, but there’s particular imagery and insanity in the first episode that’s legitimately unsettling. It’s a promising start. The introspective, surreal tone makes it a genuine work of J-Horror, a genre profile specific to the country that’s rarely seen in anime.

The rest don’t have that bend, and come across more as twisted dramas. The second reason is that it has development in the overall setting with the recurring characters. By the end of the first episode, Count D’s full mystique is explored as much as you will ever see, as he responds to his deeds (the same response as later episodes), and detective Orcot’s investigation and fascination with Count D also evolves to its near-conclusion in that single episode.

Pet Shop of Horrors Verdict

The rest of Pet Shop of Horrors is still engaging, thanks to its thick Gothic atmosphere and style, but it ends up being an anime that doesn’t evolve as it goes. Apparently the manga does, however, and this show did its job of piquing my interest in reading it.

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Addendum (11/4/2025 5:36 pm EST)

Editing this old review of mine got me thinking: why hasn’t there been another anime adaptation of Pet Shop of Horrors? The original manga is nearly thirty years old, and Madhouse’s mini-series is the only sampling of its source material we’ve gotten in all that time. This is a known IP with a proven track record of success due to its long-running syndication, so you’d think it would be a relatively low-risk production.

Maybe it’s symptomatic of the anime industry’s general aversion to horror. I mean, Junji Ito borders on being universally liked, and studios have been using his work to wipe their ass for decades, delivering subpar adaptations that are a consistent source of mockery. If even he can’t get the respect he deserves, what hope does anyone else have, I suppose?

Sigh. I dunno. It’s just so stupid, man. I realize animation getting the funding and talent necessary to achieve its creative visions is a tall order, but it’s not like it never happens. People do bankroll animated passion projects, they just never seem to be adaptations of horror manga. I think there’s potential in mining that catalogue, as horror tends to appeal to international Western markets. I believe I’ve heard that in Japan, anime with an adult rating struggles to find lucrative time slots. I’m not sure how to fix that, other than saying they should just get over their fear of ghosts and skeletons.