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A review by sherrios
Pet Shop of Horrors, Vol. 7 by Matsuri Akino
5.0
And then we're back with another solid, amazing installment.
This one starts off with a Leon-centric story. In the line of duty, his partner is killed by his childhood friend, and Leon can't shake off the feelings of helplessness and anger that he wasn't able to do anything to stop it, but also the guilt that he feels more guilty over his childhood friend's death than his partner's. D, attempting to help (probably), gives Leon an animal. This time, a butterfly. Anyone familiar with the Butterfly Effect will have an idea of how this goes. Leon begins to dream about his past (which, interestingly, the first flashback ends with Leon lamenting that he wasn't able to tell Harry how he felt, which may be a slight nod to the fact that Leon is probably bi), with each flashback having Leon change something. Each time he 'wakes' up, something in his life has changed — his partner isn't dead, he doesn't have a brother, he's not a cop, he's the one in Harry's place. At the end of the story, things revert to how they were, and the reader is told that Harry, rather than shooting Leon, killed himself while Leon watched, unable to do anything.
The next story introduces D's sister, who has no name beyond "daughter" and "little sister." Their father —who you see from the nose down in a flashback with the sister, and whom we already know D has a tense relationship with given the events of Diamande in volume 3 — has raised her to be able to provide D with whatever he may need to keep him alive. When D tells her he doesn't need anything, her entire purpose is shattered and she attacks, only to be killed by the animals in D's defense. This shakes D, who had not known of her existence prior to her arrival (although, in another volume, D makes mention of a sister, so potentially a continuity error, or a mistranslation).
The third story has to do with an assassin who holes up in D's shop while on the run. This particular story shows D appealing to the assassin's humanity and human desires, rather than the animal-like instincts that he's capitalized on in the past.
The last story is three customers in one, but the theme is consistent: dieting. It's an interesting story, although I'm not fond of the message in Em's story line (she wanted to lose weight to get her boyfriend back and ultimately became more judgmental when she got skinnier, although she did it through watching what she ate and exercise which was awesome), although the model's story line was haunting. I think I liked the boxer's the best, though.
This one starts off with a Leon-centric story. In the line of duty, his partner is killed by his childhood friend, and Leon can't shake off the feelings of helplessness and anger that he wasn't able to do anything to stop it, but also the guilt that he feels more guilty over his childhood friend's death than his partner's. D, attempting to help (probably), gives Leon an animal. This time, a butterfly. Anyone familiar with the Butterfly Effect will have an idea of how this goes. Leon begins to dream about his past (which, interestingly, the first flashback ends with Leon lamenting that he wasn't able to tell Harry how he felt, which may be a slight nod to the fact that Leon is probably bi), with each flashback having Leon change something. Each time he 'wakes' up, something in his life has changed — his partner isn't dead, he doesn't have a brother, he's not a cop, he's the one in Harry's place. At the end of the story, things revert to how they were, and the reader is told that Harry, rather than shooting Leon, killed himself while Leon watched, unable to do anything.
The next story introduces D's sister, who has no name beyond "daughter" and "little sister." Their father —who you see from the nose down in a flashback with the sister, and whom we already know D has a tense relationship with given the events of Diamande in volume 3 — has raised her to be able to provide D with whatever he may need to keep him alive. When D tells her he doesn't need anything, her entire purpose is shattered and she attacks, only to be killed by the animals in D's defense. This shakes D, who had not known of her existence prior to her arrival (although, in another volume, D makes mention of a sister, so potentially a continuity error, or a mistranslation).
The third story has to do with an assassin who holes up in D's shop while on the run. This particular story shows D appealing to the assassin's humanity and human desires, rather than the animal-like instincts that he's capitalized on in the past.
The last story is three customers in one, but the theme is consistent: dieting. It's an interesting story, although I'm not fond of the message in Em's story line (she wanted to lose weight to get her boyfriend back and ultimately became more judgmental when she got skinnier, although she did it through watching what she ate and exercise which was awesome), although the model's story line was haunting. I think I liked the boxer's the best, though.