Cat Street (2008)

If you're a fan of the manga this drama will frustrate you. Kuichi and Rei are smashed together into one character. Considering those two characters are polar opposites it makes the male lead unbalanced and unlikable. And since they needed to round out the number of people they created a completely new character. The ending with El Liston is also very different. I'm usually very forgiving when it comes to changes between the original and the drama/movie, but this time they just didn't make sense.

That being said Keito and Momoji are very well portrayed. The first few volumes of the manga are almost unchanged in the drama.

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Loved: Tanimura Mitsuki gives an excellent performance as Keito - the awkwardness and embarrassment of her character is conveyed well. Kurokawa Tomoka also does a good job as Keito's Lolita friend Momiji (although I think she looks too old for the role). The ending feels complete and is a natural progression of the story.



Didn't Love: I was disappointed the dorama wasn't as true to the manga it is based on as it could've been (they seem to have combined two characters into one and introduced a completely new one). Also, the ramifications of Keito's traumatic experience as a child aren't conveyed as well as they were in the manga. Similarly, the friendship/rivalry between Keito and Nako doesn't come across as complexly as it should. The cliché of a jealous, selfish rival is not new and adds little to the dorama.



Despite not living up to my initial expectations (those who haven't read the manga will probably enjoy the dorama more than those who have), Cat Street still manages to capture the original feeling of genuine friendship between the main characters. It can be a bit slow at times, has little comedy and a distinct lack of eye-candy - it's best suited to the serious viewer interested in the exploration of the complex feelings of the human heart.

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I just finish watching this drama for the second time because I loved it so much.

The story was the best part of the drama. It's really short, but a lot of things happened those 6 episodes. It's about finding your "voice" in the world & it's important that you should have friends that will support you no matter what happens. There are great life lessons in this drama that made me love. But it was also easy to watch.

The acting was good, but it could of been a lot better. I loved Momiji & Gouta the most. They are cute & supportive to their friends. Keito's character development was good, but it could of been better. Same with Koichi's character(it wasn't developed enough). The love story between Koichi & Keito was rushed. That's one of the reasons why I wished there were more episodes because some of the characters were either underdeveloped or wasn't enough character development.

The music was okay, but not memorable. I liked the song that was played in Keito's commerical comeback the most.

I would re-watch this for the interactions with the characters. I friendship aspect & following you dreams aspect of the drama were the best part of the drama besides the plot in general.

Overall, if you love friendship dramas & dramas that send the message "follow your dreams", then you'll like this drama. If you like the manga, then you might be disappointed.

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The summary of this drama fascinated me. I could relate to this story and feel like I was in the drama. What I think makes Cat Street great is that it introduced other characters as well as the main ones. It makes you understand the story better and also keeps you interested. 6 episodes seemed longer to me because of the constant action. All of the characters struggled with themselves. To prove themselves and others. It was heartwarming. I really liked how much it porttraits real life. This drama surprised me in a very good way.
The ending for me was a bit unsatisfieng. I wish it would have had better actors. Maybe some with more charisma. Then it would have interested bigger audience. Also better music would have attracted more people as well.

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I did not read the manga this drama is based on (I didn't know there was a manga until I read other people's reviews), so I can't tell you how good or bad of an adaptation it is. But as a viewer who has not read the manga and was experiencing the story for the first time, I thought this drama was superb, very heartwarming and sweet. (I also loved that there was a Lolita character, as I also wear Lolita.)

If you read and loved the manga, you will probably agree with the other reviewers. If you have not read the manga, then I suggest giving this drama a chance. I think you'll find yourself liking it.

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A Bit Disappointing

While "Boys Over Flowers" will always be considered Yoko Kamio's signature work, I think "Cat Street" is her masterpiece. Strong words, but that's really how strong I feel about the series. Now it's not perfect and I could nitpick it, but we're here to nitpick the drama not the manga.

First, "Cat Street" is entirely too short at 6 episodes. If they only would've increased it to 10 or 11 episodes, I think they could've told a story closer to the original "Cat Street." They could've included Rei instead of mashing him with Koichi (which totally doesn't work), but maybe not make him a love interest for Keito to allow for time. And there would've been more time for the main couple to develop. Their relationship (though expected by me) felt like it came out of nowhere.

The cast was at least well casted. Mitsuki Tanimura and Tomoka Kurokawa have a great dynamic and portray their characters well. I only wish that Mitsuki's hair and clothing had been styled better. Ryo Kimura as a new character Gota was cute. Ryo Katsuji as Koichi fits the part physically but the writing kind of ruins him. Taiyo's (Hideo Ishiguro) arc with Keito is cut short and is not as satisfying. And also, I liked that the headmaster and Keito's parents are shown more than in the manga.

My final complaint is that they included the worst, most ridiculous arc of the manga, in which Keito gets kidnapped. However, here they make the perpetrator Nako (Ai Takabe) instead of the admittedly more random character in the manga. In the process, it ruins Nako's and Masanobu's (Kei Tanaka) characters. It just completely rubs me the wrong way.

I don't picture "Cat Street" getting another adaptation (all of the love goes to "Boys Over Flowers"), but I hope it gets a proper adaptation someday.

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