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Pet Shop of Horrors Director: Toshio Hirata Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated, Dolby Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 95 minutes Studio: Urban Vision Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-02-27 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 24 Average rating: 5.0 "Excelent piece of animation" This anime is one of the best I have seen in a while. It is edgy and dark, with pleasing sequences and a very good soundtrack. Over all the best part of it is the way the different stories are linked together, since that is lacking in many other anime films. One of the few drawbacks I found was in the voice characterization in English, which for many characters was horrible. Fortunately, the voice actor who plays the Count (sort of the main character) is great! even the voice sounds like the original japanese. If we need to make a comparison, I would say they are like Twilight Zone episodes, only gorier in some cases, so if you like suspense and good animation, you should definately buy this. "Welcome...Tonight you will find something you desire." Chinatown's most unique pet shop offers everything from dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles to the most rare and unusual mythological beasts. Choose anything you would like, but remember, there is a price to be paid and rules to be followed. If the rules are broken in any way, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for what happens..... The Pet shop is run by the enigmatic, effeminate Count (yes--it's a man, not a woman as you would assume from seeing the character) who sells each customer the pet that will not only grant their wishes, but teach them a terrible lesson as well. Pet Shop of Horrors was originally presented on Japanese television in small 1-2 scene segments on a music video channel. Urban Vision's video and DVD releases do a wonderful job of blending them together. All four self contained episodes are on the DVD release, along with deleted material (a music video style opening that was thankfully not used) the usual assortment of trailers, and extremely informative audio commentary by the English language director and several of the voice actors. These offbeat tales may not be for everyone, but I found them to be very entertaining. It owes a lot to "Friday the 13th: The Series" and even "Gremlins", but it does manage to create a palpable sense of mystery, and I found myself wondering just how the pets would reveal their true colors and what horrible thing would happen to the owners. A handful of anime's best and brightest worked on the project including Rintaro (Final Fantasy), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Wicked City, Ninja Scroll) and Hishashi Abe (Vampire Hunter D). While this series does not break a lot of new ground, if you can appreciate the supernatural with a great sense of intrigue and characterization, then this is a series for you. "Excellent and Suprising" This DVD features all four episodes of the Pet Shop of Horrors series. I would say that this is wrongfully named. The horror doesn't come from the pet shop, but the weaknesses of the human owners. The 3rd and 4th episodes actually have a sweet twist at the end. "Excellent moody horror." I bought this DVD without knowing anything about the contents, only on a whim, and I do not regret it! The stories proved to be wonderful Twilight Zone like stories with an asian feel, although they are not set in Asia at all, but in an undefined Chinatown in the US. Another excellent thing is the main song in the chapter about the mermaid. Hauntingly beautiful. My least favourite of the stories is the first one about the rabbit, although it sets the stage nicely for what is to come and Count D is one of the best characters I have seen in a while. I definately recommend it.