DEVIOUS [ Or, Count D's Wonderful Pet Shop of Horrors ]
Written: Mar 22 '05 (Updated Mar 17 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: I'm completely ecstatic over it.
Cons: Con? Oh, no.
The Bottom Line: Count D rules the universe.
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| november-rain's Full Review: Mari Akino - Pet Shop Of Horrors 10 |
I've never been compelled to read books, much less review them, but lately I've been voraciously devouring manga*, and the one that tops my list is a niche title called Pet Shop of Horrors (by Matsuri Akino). It was by pure accident that I stumbled upon this in a bookstore and became attracted to the cover art, and soon after, the tales contained within. I was fascinated and immensely intrigued, so much so that I placed an order for the entire series to be shipped to my house. Once arrived, I forsook my studies (to the detriment of my grades T_T) and instead indulged in a world filled with otherworldly creatures, visions of Eden, and the occasional mess of blood and guts. I finished all ten volumes over the course of a few days. Now I'm pressured by my own need to declare how in love I am with Pet Shop of Horrors.
The word "horror" in the series' title implies lots of gore and bloodthirsty creatures on a rampage, and that is sometimes, but not always, the case. While there are moments of bloodshed, broken bodies, spilled intestines and the like, the horror here is also the psychological darkness that surround many of the series' human characters. Count D, the proprietor of a pet shop in Los Angeles' Chinatown, sells "love and dreams" in the form of exotic pets. (Sure, he sells those normal, generally huggable type of pets too, but those aren't the ones we care about.) With the smell of sweet incense pervading the air, he leads his customers into the back room and through a maze of corridors until they find their "perfect" pet. Upon purchase, a contract must be signed in which the new owner must agree to comply with three rules when caring for their new pet. If even a single rule is broken, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for the consequences. (Already, we know the customers must be mentally disturbed if they are willing to sign such a thing.)
Count D's customers usually share a few things in common: a recent traumatic experience, a dark or troubled past, unhappiness and lack of fulfillment, or ignorance of their own flaws. As if Count D is calling out to them, these people venture into the pet shop and see their deepest desires available for purchase: a couple sees a rabbit as their recently deceased daughter alive again, a young girl finds a weakling to make her superior, a politician sees his dreams of presidency in the form of a kirin. Inevitably, the rules get broken and when they do, people end up dead or insane. In the end, what drove the characters to their ends is their inability to recognize their flaws or crimes, such as the couple who killed their new “daughter” by repeating the same mistake they made with their old one (too much love and lack of discipline, leading to a life of excess and early demise). Most of the tales in Pet Shop of Horrors teach a lesson in morality or bring forth some kind of revelation. Some, though, only serve to entertain.
Not all stories, however, follow the same three-step program. In fact, creatures may appear to humans independently and act on their own. And certainly, not all interactions between the pets and their human companions end in death or some other morbid path. A few stories actually have happy endings and surprisingly, there’s a lot of humor later into the series. While the stories are pretty episodic in the first few volumes, with the only connecting thread being Count D, they begin to stray from the formula around Volume 4. This is where we begin to see Count D’s character in deeper development and become more centrally focused. This is also where his relationship with Leon Orcot begins to flesh out as well.
With so many deaths and murders connected to the shady pet shop in Chinatown, Detective Leon Orcot is determined to cuff the shop’s owner, Count D. However, he has no concrete evidence that the Count was directly responsible for any of it, and then there were those pesky contracts... Nonetheless, he stops by the shop often to question him regarding any new cases. He always leaves empty-handed, but pretty soon, he finds himself stopping by almost everyday for tea and sweets, and even for Count D’s insight into some of his investigations. Even as a reluctant friendship forms, Leon is too pig-headed to admit it, and continues to label Count D a criminal, drug trafficker, and slave trader. (He suspects the incense he has in his shop has hallucinogenic properties, and the slave-trading thing is due to victims, er, customers seeing the creatures in humanoid forms.) However, as time wore on, he finds himself spending more time than necessary at the pet shop and even trusts Count D enough to leave his younger brother Chris in his care.
What is it about Count D, anyway? To many people, he is mysterious, alluring and intriguing. His demeanor is calm, his smile is cool and his intentions may either be sinister or well-meaning. Level-headed and rational, he is the opposite of Leon’s impulsive and emotional persona. He also has a fair share of quirks, like an intense sweet tooth, a penchant for wearing old-fashioned cheongsams, and wearing dark lipstick. He also has the power to command animals with his blood as well as understand their speech and behavior. Within the tiny exterior of Count D’s pet shop actually lies a vast kingdom, a natural paradise inaccessible to humans, filled with all assortments of creatures like mermaids, dragons, and other mythical beasts, all of whom seem to revere him. As for humans, Count D seems apathetic towards them, disdainful of them at times, but seem to understand them much better than they understand themselves. What is Count D then? Is he a god, a demon, or just someone bent on dishing out vengeance to all of humanity?
Later volumes sought to elaborate Count D’s character and speculate on his true nature. We also get a glimpse of the D family, the often mentioned but elusive Grandfather D, and how they affect Count D. The relationships between Count D and Leon, as well as Count D and Chris, also become increasingly interesting. At last, we see the usually composed Count D struggle with his inner conflict as he learns to care for and even love Leon and Chris, two members of the species that he’d been taught to hate. What are Count D’s origins? What’s with his creepy family? Why the hatred of humans? Many questions do not get answered until the last book, Volume 10, but many questions still remain. I’d rather not spoil anything, but while the ending was bittersweet, it was not unsatisfying. I simply would’ve like closure and things to be more lucid. The ending, as it were, is kind of open-ended, but that leaves the possibility of a sequel (more on that later).
Art in manga is almost as important as the story, and in the case of Pet Shop of Horrors, the beauty of the artwork is parallel to the beauty of the story. My highest compliments go to Miss Akino for creating such visually arresting work. Count D is rendered gorgeously and fitting to his character, with very ethereal and elegant qualities in his face and expressions. His clothing is painstakingly detailed, with complex floral or animal designs and patterns. It must be quite a task just to draw his clothing since he wears a different cheongsam for each story. The creatures are also unbelievably beautiful and creative. They are mostly drawn in humanoid form with some animal characteristic, such as tapered ears or wings. Each creature wears very elaborate costumes that seems to have different sources of inspiration, from a Bali dancer to an Arabic harem girl. (I think the creatures' costumes are supposed to be consistent with their land of origin.) Even on their own, the creatures represent the finest fantasy art. The artwork contained in Pet Shop of Horrors alone justifies the $9.99 price per volume.
If this review is getting long, well, there’s a lot to cover for an entire series. To bring it to a conclusion, I’d simply encourage anyone with a remote interest to check out this manga, which, in my opinion, is grossly underrated. The stories are filled with wonder and mysticism, rich with mythology and peppered with world culture. While its general message is that humans do not deserve to be on top of the food chain, it does try to represent humankind in both positive and negative light. Despite being generally classified in the gothic genre, Pet Shop of Horrors is actually a nice mix of dark, light, and funny. (Day and night differences between Leon and Count D make for hilarious situations.) I completely adore this series (and especially Count D, who I’m totally nuts about) and recommend it without reservation.
end.
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*manga - Japanese graphic novels, or comics
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Book Info
Publisher: Tokyopop
List price per book: $9.99 USD
Available: in all major bookstores and online!!! Buy it!
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Sequel Info
For anyone interested, Miss Akino has began work on the continuation of the series. The title is called Shin Pettoshoppu obu Horaazu (New Petshop of Horrors) and the first volume is available in Japan. The ISBN number is: 4257905212. You can order it on Amazon Japan [ http://www.amazon.co.jp ] or find it in a Japanese book store located in the U.S, such as Kinokuniya or Sasuga Books [ http://www.sasugabooks.com ]
Fan translations are available online. If you're already a fan, join me in pestering Tokyopop to bring it to North America. (No, Leon Orcot has not appeared yet T_T.)
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Links
Tokyopop's PSoH site: http://www.tokyopop.com/dbpage.php?propertycode=PES&categorycode=BMG
Dreamland Comics: https://secure7.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=dreamland&BusType=BtoC&Count1=293026149&Count2=210166573 - they sell PSoH for $6.99 per volume, which is pretty damn cheap
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591823633/qid=1111560821/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-4786716-0179123
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
november-rain
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Member: happyhardcore
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