Ranked #70

Cat Street (Manga)

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. read more

Cat Street is a surprisingly deep story, easily one of the best I have ever come across. Cat Street has it's moments of humor, but what it realyl excels at is drama.

The story starts with Aoyama Keito, a lonely girl traumatized by her experience as a child actor. Years earlier she suffered from stage fright and managed to successfully ruin her career. Now she spends her days at home in a state of apathy. The manga essentially focuses on Keito's progress as she starts to interact with society again, starting with her enrollment at El Liston, a school full of students with similar backgrounds.

Story - 9

Cat Street is heavy reading. It's emotional and deep - not something for shallow readers. Seeing as some of its main themes are depression, unrequited love, and general angst, this is hardly surprising. But it's also about putting things behind and moving on, creating lasting friendships, and finding true love. Cat Street suffers a little at one point with a strange kidnapping, but it sorts itself out in the end.

Art - 10

Cat Street's art really stood out in all the right ways. The facial expressions of the characters (especially the eyes) portrayed so much emotion, I sometimes forget I was looking at a simple black-and-white drawing. The characters also age really well (the manga covers several years).

Characters - 10

And we have a winner. Cat Street is character development at its finest. We get to watch the four main characters grow up and confront their pasts, moving on and learning from past mistakes. None of it is forced. Kamio Yoko (the mangaka) understands people in a way that blows my mind. She develops her characters in a way most authors (of every medium) can only dream of doing.

Enjoyment - 10

Cat Street tugged at all the right emotions; the characters became real people. I could easily identify with the entire main cast. Keito's journey as a person was wonderfully written and the art was beautiful.

Overall - 10

Cat Street is an emotional ride, best read slowly. I strongly discourage marathon reading. Cat Street takes place over several years (despite being only thirty-five chapters long), and reading it too quickly will kill the effect. Cat Street is something you would want to savour anyway.

I highly recommend Cat Street to any shoujo fan looking for something that's a little more than the usual high school romantic comedy. read more