Welcome to Chinatown’s most unique pet shop.

There is a variety of exotic creatures to choose from, each with an intriguing tale to share with the lucky owner.

But be careful, what you see is not necessarily what you get.

“Our motto is to sell love, dreams, and hopes.”

These words, from Count D, owner of a mysterious Chinatown pet shop, seem to fit nicely with the ironic twists of Pet Shop of Horrors.

Count D may sell pets with honorable intentions, yet it is the customer who fails to live within their hopes and dreams, which often results in
tragedy.

Petshop of Horrors was originally a Japanese shoujo (girl) manga created by Mari Akino.

The series was later adapted into an original anime video made up of four episodes, each telling an individual tale about a customer of Count D’s pet shop.

The episodes are entitled Daughter, Delicious, Despair and Dual, dealing with the themes lost love, second chances and redemption, among others.

The customers of Count D’s pet shop have typically undergone some sort of personal loss, and Count D attempts to sell them an appropriate pet to fill the void.

The pets that Count D sells are typically quite exotic, and always come with rules, that must be agreed to by the buyers in a contract. Violation of these rules usually lead to dire consequences, for which Count D cannot be held responsible, per the contract.

Now considered as a classic anime and manga franchise, Lupin III was created by mangaka Monkey Punch and first released as a manga series in August 1967 in the Japanese magazine Manga Action Weekly.

The tale was inspired by Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Thief, a series of short novels and novels authored by Frenchman Maurice Leblanc in the early 1900s.

Monkey Punch’s new Lupin is, supposedly, the grandson of Leblanc’s character.

The Lupin III anime/manga series has five central characters: Arsene Lupin III, Jigen Daisuke, Goemon Ishikawa, Fujiko Mine and Inspector Zenigata.

Lupin is the notorious “gentleman thief.” He leaves notes informing his victims of the items he is targeting on his current planned heist. No matter how many preventive measures his victims try to take, he always manages to spirit away whatever he wants, wherever it is placed.

The mysterious Jigen, a sharpshooting gunman, is Lupin’s best friend and partner-in-crime.

Goemon is a 13th-generation Samurai warrior and the wielder of a nigh-unbreakable sword.

Fujiko is Lupin’s love interest, who more than often tries to outwit him and take a heist’s loot for herself.

Finally, Inspector Zenigata is an InterPol agent who has devoted his life to bringing Lupin and the latter’s gang to justice, a mission that has been unsuccessful for many, many years in the running.

Hunter X Hunter (or HXH, as it is more commonly known to fans) was created by mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi and released as a manga series in 1998.

Togashi is the same creative genius behind Yuu Yuu Hakusho (YYH), or The Poltergeist Reports and Ghost Fighters in some dubs.

Both YYH and HXH were initially serialized in the Japanese boys’ comics magazine Shounen Jump Weekly, and later acquired by Fuji Television to be translated into animated media.

Hunter X Hunter has four main characters: Gon Freecss, Killua Zaoldyeck, Kurapika and Leorio. All are boys within the age range of pre to late teens. They first met when they were aspirants in the very challenging, very rigorous Hunter Exam.

All who would pass this test will be given the title, license and privileges of a full-fledged Hunter – from being allowed to kill blacklisted people to getting large loans and big discounts practically anywhere.

Each of our heroes have their own driving motives behind the quest for Hunter-hood, and, as the series unfolds, the characters encounter various physical, mental and emotional obstacles that they have to overcome in order to attain their goal.

Some of them are led to question their beliefs, while others discover brighter or darker paths into tomorrow.

The greatest conspiracy of the past 2000 years is about to unravel…

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher.

Solving the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci…clues visible for all to see…and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion – an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

The Louvre curator has sacrificed his life to protect the Priory’s most sacred trust: the location of a vastly important religious relic, hidden for centuries.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who appears to work for Opus Dei – a clandestine, Vatican-sanctioned Catholic sect believed to have long plotted to seize the Priory’s secret.

Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory’s secret – and a stunning historical truth – will be lost forever.

Before anything else, a very Merry Christmas to one and all!

The Da Vinci Code reintroduces readers to Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, who first appeared in Angels & Demons.

With the attention that the book has attracted over the years, it is more or less expected that a film version will come out soon enough.

After much speculation from fans and detractors alike, the movie adaptation of this novel will premier in May 2006.

The 28 December 2005-2 January 2006 Asian edition of Newsweek magazine contains a very nice feature article on the film as well as some gorgeous photographs of the cast and the sets.

I have taken the liberty of scanning in the images, as I want to share these with people who are waiting for the movie with bated breath (as I am).

The casting can be described as no less than powerhouse. I particularly loved how Silas was portrayed, at least in the stills.

Enjoy!

Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing

Alfred Molina as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa

Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, with the Mona Lisa‘s stand-in

Paul Bettany as Silas *fangirls*

Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu and Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon

Probably due to the fact that I am such a big fan of the Hellsing anime and manga series, someone e-mailed me a most interesting link: Imagine Casting: Hellsing.

So far, the unconventionally handsome but very appealing and debonair Vincent Cassel is leading the fan voting race for the role of Alucard.

I have to say that this choice is right on target, pun intended and in more ways than one.

Below are pictures of Vincent, examples of how he will possibly look like as Vlad Tepes and, later on, the Jackal-wielding No-Life King.

I was riffling through my hard drive tonight when I came across a few images from a Japanese card game entitled Orion no Shounen.

This set, also known as Juvenile Orion, is a spin-off of the popular game Aquarian Age.

Both sets mentioned, which are issued by Broccoli, have nice bishounen and bishoujo art.

J.O. has an all-boys roster, while A.A.‘s line-up is constituted purely by girls.

The six images of Orion‘s First Impression
release were illustrated by Akurako Gokurakuin.

My favorite character is Tomonori Nakaura, a 24-year-old mystic gifted with the power of “WIZ-DOM.”

Tomonori-kun is one of those holy types that would definitely make getting excommunicated worthwhile.

I really would not mind if the local priests would look like him. In fact, I would be incredibly ecstatic.