First Impression: Cat’s Eye

Three power-assisted hang gliders cut silently through the cityscape, delivering their “packages” to the rooftop garden of an elite gallery armed with a cutting-edge security system. Not cutting edge enough, though, to foil the notorious art thieves of Cat’s Eye! Rui, Hitomi, and Ai may look like they’re dressed for an evening of jazzercise or filming a late night infomercial for Thigh Master, but these sisters are at the top of their game, having earned the right to a little 80s-style flamboyance after foiling the police three times already, despite giving them literal calling cards with advance notice of the exact time and place of their intended misdeeds. Detective Toshio and his men are here now, too, waiting below for the thieves to strike, confident that at last, they’re sure to nab the mysterious villains. But of course they don’t. The next day, the sisters welcome Det. Toshio to their humble establishment, the Cat’s Eye Café, and cheer the poor fellow up after yet another disastrous failure. Hitomi even goes on a date with him! And it’s only half a honey trap; she seems to like the guy well enough, but that doesn’t mean she won’t pump him for useful info and subsequently use her knowledge of him to plan out the perfect follow-up heist! But when the sisters’ success rate threatens to get their unwitting inside man demoted and transferred to some distant borough, they need to put their ingenuity to work to save his job while still making progress on their Master Plan of Artistic Acquisition by Nefarious Means. Because, you see, Cat’s Eye isn’t in it for the money; instead, something else completely is afoot…

This series is actually a wish come true for yours truly! Last year, I travelled to distant lands (Wales) to attend a little anime festival, which featured a screening of City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust. Said movie was a near total bust, being so thoroughly permeated by lame, repetitive, sexist “humor” as to render it not worth reviewing—except for the opening sequence, which centered on a group of retro 80s, aerobics-ready sisters who committed high end mischievery with killer moves and biting one-liners that had the entire audience belly laughing (in contrast to the awkward silence that suffused the theater throughout the rest of the film, when the focus shifted to some smarmy dude). Anyhow, at the time, I thought to myself what a shame it was that the film hadn’t stayed with these sisters, as that opening sequence had reams of potential for quality entertainment, especially for audience members who can recall the first coming of the Big Hair and Leg Warmers era. Well, lo and behold, my wish was fulfilled! 

Cat’s Eye reboots the early 80s manga and anime that preceded the City Hunter franchise, and so far, it’s off to a fun start! The retro feel to the character designs and animation is refreshing and well-executed. This episode wasn’t as action-oriented as their sequence in City Hunter The Movie, but hopefully we’ll see a bit more of the power of aerobics in future episodes. The cats-and-mouse setup between the sisters and detective, who is already firmly wrapped around their paw, is playful and lighthearted, though they’re going to need some more challenging foes to keep the plot interesting. The music is a good balance of contemporary with subtle 80s vibes, while the world-building likewise combines present-day tech and comforts with retro elements. Each of the sisters has a distinctive face and build that goes beyond the usual reliance on color-coded clothing, height, and hairstyle that often distinguishes groups of girls in anime these days. It’s also really nice to have adult characters who actually look grown up! We get a hint of their differing strengths and personalities in this episode, without resorting to tropes or other easy shortcuts, so I expect these characters to reveal their individuality as the series progresses. I have a lot of questions about them and their motivations in light of the ending, but I won’t spoil that here. Needless to say, I’m intrigued! We’ll be getting half a cour over the next few weeks, and then the second half starting on Boxing Day. With that timing, my hopes seem even more plausible that this may be the unexpected gift of the season!  

Cat’s Eye is streaming on Disney+ and/or Hulu.

claire
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3 thoughts on “First Impression: Cat’s Eye”

    1. Um, Cat’s Eye came first. City Hunter is the series (both manga and Anime) which came later. The new version of Cat’s Eye is just a new version of the series taking different elements from the manga and inserting some modern tech in.

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