Cat Street

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Ribbon Road

Japanese: キャットストリート

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 8

Chapters: 36

Status: Finished

Published: Jul 13, 2004 to Sep 13, 2007

Genres: Drama, Romance

Themes: Love Polygon, Showbiz

Demographic: Shoujo

Serialization: Bessatsu Margaret

Authors: Kamio, Yoko (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.22¹ (scored by 14,683 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #405²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #540

Members: 34,491

Favorites: 1,026

Resources

Wikipedia

8.22

Ranked #405Popularity #540Members 34,491

MangaBessatsu MargaretKamio, Yoko (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /8

Chapters: /36

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Synopsis

Former famous child actor Keito Aoyama's acting career was cut short due to her poor performance in a musical in front of a big audience. Now a reclusive 16-year-old girl refusing to attend high school, she finds her daily life meaningless.

However, one day, Keito comes across an unusual high school named El Liston, where any student can enroll in for whatever reason. Taking this as a new opportunity to overcome her past, she decides to enter. There, she meets and befriends a group of students, each with their own talents: Kouichi Mine, a genius programmer always absorbed in technology; Rei Saeki, a formerly famous soccer player; and Momiji Noda, who aspires to become a fashion designer.

As Keito gets closer to her new friends, her life starts becoming vibrant again. Her experience at El Liston fills her with bliss and a longing for the limelight once more. Along the way, her interest in romance starts to develop as well.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Cat Street was adapted into a six-episode live-action drama by NHK in 2008.

More characters
Characters

Mine, Kouichi

Main

Aoyama, Keito

Main

Noda, Momiji

Main

Saeki, Rei

Main

Mine, Midori

Supporting

Harasawa, Taiyou

Supporting

Sonoda, Nako

Supporting

San

Supporting

Takashima

Supporting

Kojima

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 5, 2008

colorwalk

Recommended

Cat Street's story starts and centers around a 16 year old girl, Keito, who used to be a famous actress when she was young but had retired early due to a traumatic incident that happened while she was in the entertainment industry. As a result, she had completely isolated herself from people and the society (school included) for 7 years and now passes her days doing absolutely nothing- lost, lonely, and without a purpose. A stray cat, so to speak.

The story, however, truly begins when she comes upon a special school called El Liston, a free school for "strays" like herself, people who don't really ... belong or fit in anywhere. There, she meets Rei, Momiji, and Kouichi... and through them and other people, she learns to live, finds courage and eventually, her own direction (and of course, love too.)

Note: There shouldn't be any spoilers. Apologies, however, for the lengthy review ahead (usually not the kind I write).

Story (9.7): I'll say now, though, that while the summary is accurate, it does the story no justice (as seems to be the case with many great manga). The premise is exactly that... just a premise. It's a simple story but yet it is so much more- one that can't be conveyed but rather, must be felt by reading it yourself.

There is depth and meaning in the story, the kind that is often lacking in typical shoujo teen manga. There's love, but it's not your typical HS girl meets boy and hopes he returns her feelings kinda thing either. Rather, the best way I can describe the romance in this story is something like a journey- both in discovering oneself, the other person, and love itself. There's drama, but it doesn't drag nor is it the meaningless melodramatic kind that happens for the sake of conflict and cliffhangers. There's balance as well. Cat Street isn't all about romance, all about friendship, or all about drama... it's everything blended in at just the right amount.

I said earlier that the romance in this story is like a journey, but to be more accurate, I should say the entire series is like a journey. The timeline spans several years, from mid-teens to early 20s and utilizes time-skips towards the latter part of the story to move things forward. The pacing is great and the plot is constantly moving forward. The ending is fulfilling as well. While I wish there were more of Cat Street for me to devour, I wasn't left with the feeling that the manga needed to be longer or shorter. It all wrapped up beautifully, with a meaningful conclusion and a certain symbolism that really just fits the story, the characters, and even the title of the manga.

Character (10): Loving all the characters in a manga isn't something that often happens to me, but Kamio-sensei manages it so easily with all the personalities she has created for Cat Street. Again, I must emphasize the depth here. The heroine has true strength... the kind that comes from deep within and not the so often misunderstood strength where a heroine is depicted as strong just because she can yell, get violent, and kick some ass.

There's a theme of trying your best and not giving up, but what's great about it is the fact that the characters treat this realistically and in a less shallow way (as opposed to countless "I don't think I can stop loving him after all so I'm going to keep pestering him until he falls in love with me" sort of thing). I guess what I'm trying to say is that the characters all feel genuine and human to me. The way they handle their problems, the way their personalities grow and develop throughout the series, and how each and every character has their own distinctive personality. I'm touched by all of them in one way or another- even the so-called villains. There are no villains for the sake of being villains type of characters here at all, and that to me is a mark of good characterization.

Art (9): I'm not one for saying much about the art unless it completely blows me away with its awesomeness or there's an aspect of it that I felt I needed or wanted to mention. So I'll just say that I personally adore it. The lines are clean and the scenes are nicely-done, with simple but good detail and without it being overcrowded. For those who have read HYD, Kamio-sensei's art is similar to how it was at the end of the series... likely even better actually.

My favorite aspect of the art is how all the characters (especially the main ones) each have their own distinctive looks and style. I recognize them all right off the bat, unlike some other shoujo manga where I sometimes have trouble being sure about who's who due to the almost identical appearances.

Overall (10): What else can I say? I've thoroughly enjoyed reading Cat Street... there was never a dull moment and each development was simply heartfelt. This is a case of where the story, the characters, and everything else just comes together perfectly- the kind that makes the leap from great to a masterpiece.

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Sep 13, 2015

Kiyera

Mixed Feelings

When I read this manga for the first time, I did'nt know that it was the same author of Hana yori dango. But after a while when I read more chapters, I started to notice the similarites of the characters. I recognised the feelings of fustration I got from Hana Yori Dango, when those feelings were coming back after reading Cat Street. It got fustrating with the annoying love triangels and slow romance. It was very fustrating to read. Cat Street did the exact same thing that Hana Yori Dango did. Create a promising romantic relationship between the main characters and kill it slowly till ...

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Oct 20, 2024

PixelB

Not Recommended

Hmm, it does seem just like the most generic shoujo of all time. There's a lot of melodrama, forced confrontations, and whimsical breakups and makeups of all sorts.

While other series like Paradise Kiss do feature a lot of drama as well, it's also packed with actual bonding and relationships. In Cat Street, you're maybe shown just one or two chapters worth of compassion, romance, and bonding. Most, if not all of the chapters are ridden with melodramatic pasts, confrontations, and everything else.

Our main character, Keito is at the center of it all. Being an unconfrontational person in general, she's always being stuck between ...

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