Pet Shop of Horrors, vols. 1-9 (Matsuri Akino)

[chomiji]

In an anonymous U.S. city, there is a neighborhood called Chinatown, and in Chinatown, there is an exotic pet shop. The proprietor is Count D, a beautifully androgynous young Asian man with mismatched eyes - who might well be Yuuko of xxxHolic's long-lost cousin. Because, of course, this is one of those unusual establishments that include not only Yuuko's store, but also the Department Store of Heart's Desire in the science fiction classic Norstrilia. According to its proprietor, it actually sells love and dreams - to a clientele of the mentally disturbed and the emotionally wounded. Like Yuuko, Count D does his best to make sure each customer gets exactly what he or she needs - or, sometimes, deserves.

The series is categorized as horror, but only one out of every half a dozen stories is especially horrifying. Mostly, the tales are odd or whimsical, and as in the first several volumes of xxxHolic, there's no real continuity from story to story except for a few principal characters. There's the Count, of course, and also his would-be nemesis, a young blond police detective named Leon Orcot. Later on, Leon's sweet but disturbed baby brother Chris shows up to live with him - giving the Count a continuing additional role as the world's most unlikely babysitter - and there are also several continuing animal characters.

Did I mention that none of these "animals" is quite what he or she seems? I imagine you've guessed as much ... .

Anyway, the series is quite a lot of fun - creepy fun, in most cases. Much amusement is derived from the apparent cat-and-mouse game between Leon and the Count, whom Leon suspects of drug smuggling, white slavery, and every other crime stereotypically associated with Chinatown ... because the Count is also playing cat-and-mouse, but he has a different idea of who is in which role.

Pet Shop of Horrors, vols. 1-9 (review)

I feel rather silly, blogging this with only one volume (apparently) to go, but I'm not sure when I'm going to get hold of volume 10, so ... Certainly I've read enough at this point to appreciate the several Springkink fics involving Count D, who really is a character to warm the heart of any slightly kinky fantasy fan, what with his appetite for sweets and Officer Orcot - of whom he says quite plainly, early on, "I do enjoy your company. One of these days, I may not let you leave." (Not to mention the Count's willingness to sacrifice body parts, if necessary, if it means obtaining the rarest creatures ... .)

A lot of the stories cover roughly the same ground, with a greedy or rapacious character getting his or her comeuppance, or a shy or defenseless character coming into his or her own. The fun is in seeing how the different animals - many of them mythological - are worked into the modern-day scenarios. The mangaka is much better at constructing a plausible U.S. city than is the author of Fake - and coincidentally, the drawing style is very similar to that series. Leon, in particular, would looks right at home in the squad room with Ryo and Dee.

I think my favorite story is the one about the bossy younger sister who gets tired of her doggie. This story also later gives rise to one of my favorite Count D lines: remembering this child, the Count remarks that she was "a little hellion who deserved to eat her own feces." I'm also fond of Ten-Chan, the young male nine-tailed fox spirit who manages, very diplomatically, to be all things to all people when he's with the various members of the very argumentative family who buy him, but who's always very sassy with the Count. (And yes, I like the little monster Tetsu ... but so does everyone, right?)

I've now got an urge to fic something involving all these strange shop owners ... perhaps Kisuke Urahara (Bleach) and Dr. Kou (Wild Adapter) should come along as well!

Comments

[sanada.livejournal.com]

Hehehe, but volume 10 is when the shit really hits the fan... It's not D's inhumanity that comes as a surprise, it's his humanity... he does stupid, reckless, emotional things sometimes, and that's why I love him as much as I do. ^_^;

I think the mangaka actually went to L.A. at some point for research, so it generally does feel authentically American. (The sequel is set in Tokyo and I miss the silly skewering of my culture!) Leon is like an affectionate play on the gun-toting, loud-mouthed "American" stereotype that you see in 90s manga. I like how well the series can go from slapstick to philosophical, and how Leon and D can be bitching about eachother one minute and then risking their lives for eachother the next, or giving subtly significant little hints of something more to the relationship... *heart*

Oooh, creepy shopkeeper crossover!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

"Oooh, creepy shopkeeper crossover!"

That is probably the only crossover fic I'd ever really read...

(Since it's going on in my head anytime I read one of these, anyway.)

[chomiji]

D can go really nutty when an animal's in danger! Maybe that's why he likes Leon so much ... . I notice Leon doesn't seem to have been out with any girls since he ran into D.   XD