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This is fundamentally a panel-by-panel, frame-by-frame remake of the manga book Dogs: Stray Dogs Howling in the Dark, which is part 0 of the manga series Dogs: Bullets and Carnage.

Short version: Just read the manga. You don't have to read the whole series, just the one volume. The art is fierce, active, and evocative. And while each of the 4 short stories varies quality, they weave together into a powerful whole.

As I said, these OVAs are frame by frame from the manga. Some of the drawings are literally the exact drawings from the manga. Except the art/animation quality of the OVAs is very poor, and ... it just retells the story literally, with none of the power or heart of the originals. There are truly scary, violent people in these stories and on screen they just kind of stand around looking pasty and silly.

Quick summary of my ratings:
Story - 8 The stories from the mangas are pretty good. They weave together interestingly. But I would have rated this much lower if I hadn't read the manga first. They feel very lackluster in this adaptation, while the originals are defined by their ferocity.

Art - 5 The art is basic at best, nothing like the incredible detail of the manga. The characters all suffer from those poofy, featureless pale faces that certain animation styles have. And the use of color and background is absolutely, mind-numbingly dull.

Sound - 4 Nothing special. Gunplay is HUGE in this series, and some of the gun effects are downright bizarre. Someone can be going at it with a machine gun in both hands and it just kind sounds like a woodpecker 6 blocks away.

Characters - 8 I absolutely fell in love with these characters through the manga. Each one is very distinct (some tragic, some comic). But again, the animation style and voice acting really takes away their edge.

Enjoyment - 6 This is a 6 only because I had read the manga. Going in blind it would have been a 3 or 4.

Overall - 3 I repeat: Please for the love of all things read Stray Dogs Howling in the Night before you watch this. It's available all over, and it only takes an hour or two. There's really no point in watching this unless you've read the manga (and even then, since it's so painfully literal in its interpretation, its not very rewarding). I can't even say that if you dislike reading, or manga, you should watch it anyway to enjoy the stories. They are done such a disservice that you might as well not bother at all.