Genre/s: Drama, Romance, School Life, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Mangaka: KAMIO Youko
Volume/s: 8 (37 Chapters - Monthly)
Status: Complete
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My Small Rant: Well, to be frank this is my first review for any site in quite some time. I used to write a lot before but due to Uni life got side tracked a bit. I read this manga a few weeks back and seeing as nobody had reviewed it yet I thought why not? Also, to be honest despite considering myself a proud seinen / shounen fan I have never really liked shoujo nor will I ever do, but still something about the melancholic cover art of Cat Street just drew me in and despite my reservations I wasn't disappointed. Anyway, enough of my rant. On to the actual review...
Short Synopsis
Quote:
The story centers around Keito Aoyama, a former famous child actor. Due to a childhood incident, she retired from her career early and withdrew from normal society. Now 16, she passes her days in boredom and without purpose. But one day she runs into a stranger who takes her to El Liston--a free school for high school students like herself, who don't have a place where they belong. Though hesitant at first, Keito decides to enter El Liston and subsequently she begins a new stage in her life.With the help of her only remaining childhood friend, Taiyou, and her new classmates Rei, Momiji, and Kouichi, Keito slowly finds the courage to open up to others and to accept their support. Will Keito return to acting? Will she find true friends? Love?
Story: The story starts off shaping itself around a girl Aoyama Keito who after having lived through the life of being a famous child actor in her early childhood is now living the life of a recluse. For Aoyama a new day doesn't bring happiness but sadness and loneliness. Unlike many shoujo manga this is one of the very rare few which actually puts some thought into its story and maybe that's why it appealed to me. She's lonely, lost you might say as the name of the manga suggests in a way like a stray cat in this world until she comes upon a free school by the name of El Liston, a school for those who can't fit themselves into society or are shunned by it. While there she meets people who will change her life forever and here begins a truly sweet and heart warming story of how a social outcast picks up her life and reaches for her dream. The story is sometimes sweet, sometimes sad and other times funny but definitely touching and gripping which is really difficult to manage sometimes with shoujo manga.
Rating: 9
Characters: Characters are the most important part of a manga and I know that usually it's them that make or break a manga. Not all of them can be perfect, but Cat Street actually did something intelligent compared to other shoujo mangas which just churn out one stereotype after another. It kept things realistic. I have seen that romance in many shoujo mangas is way too exaggerated, the realistic characterisations of people in this manga made me feel the same way as when I watched Honey and Clover. Instead of dragging the romance and story of 'Keep trying' on forever, *Cough* Hana Yori Dango *Cough*, Cat Street handled everything almost perfectly making it seem very real, definitely a big plus.
Rating: 10
Art: Though I don't care for art as I used to, for a shoujo manga this has very clear cut art, solid and captivating, well at least the characters look really well drawn and all of them have their own distinctive expressions. The art captures the mood in this manga rather spectacularly, the moments of sadness, comedy, loneliness all drawn rather well. In short I rather liked the art.
Rating: 8
Overall Expectations?: OK lets say this, if you liked Honey and Clover, Skip Beat or Natsume Yuu-Jincho to some extent then you're gonna love this. It captures the feeling of loneliness nicely and then shows us the true meaning and value of friendship. A definite gem and a highly recommended read. ^_^
Overall Rating: 9 MAL Ranking: 84 Manga Updates Rating: 8.9
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Last edited by Bele; 07-18-2011 at 10:37 PM..
Reason: Jak fixed it for you, don't forget space after full stops in the future.
Cat Street -
07-13-2011, 08:52 AM
Linear Mode
