This evening, TF1 is broadcasting the first episodes of Cat's Eyes, a series adapted from the cult manga by Tsukasa Hôjô. But how did the team behind the series led by Camille Lou, Constance Labbé and Claire Romain convince the mangaka?
This is undoubtedly the day everyone has been waiting for!
This Monday, November 11, TF1 is broadcasting the first episodes of Cat's Eyes, a live-action series adapted from the cult manga of the same name by Tsukasa Hôjô.
A phenomenon in Japan from the beginning of the 1980s, Cat's Eyes was first adapted into an animated series in 1983. However, we would have to wait three more years before the French in turn discovered the adventures of Tam, Sylia and Alexia at the time. television.
Over time, Tsukasa Hôjô's work has become established worldwide, giving rise to various adaptations. Today, it is France's turn to adapt it as a series for TF1.
But how did the team behind the series led by Camille Lou, Constance, Labbé and Claire Romain manage to convince Tsukasa Hôjo to accept this project?
A passionate team
Behind this contemporary version of Cat's Eyes is a team of enthusiasts. Whether it is Michel Catz, the screenwriter, Benjamin Dupont-Jubien and Mehdi Sabbar, the producers or even Alexandre Laurent, the director, all are fans of Tsukasa Hôjo's work.
Great manga fans, Benjamin Dupont-Jubien, Mehdi Sabbar and Michel Catz have always dreamed of working in this universe. And for them, if a manga had to be adapted, it had to be Cat's Eyes.
“It’s a story that seemed obviously transposable to France. It was also a time when no one was going to Japan. We therefore contacted Mr. Tsukasa Hôjô and told him that we wanted to adapt Cat's Eyes“, explained Benjamin Dupont-Jubien at the microphone of Allociné.
The team therefore sent a first proposal in which this desire to tell the origin story of Cat's Eyes was mentioned. Indeed, Benjamin Dupont-Jubien, Mehdi Sabbar and Michel Catz wanted to answer the questions that had crossed their minds while reading the manga: how did the Chamade sisters become thieves? How did they come to own a café?
The Tsukasa Hôjô production company responded favorably to this first proposal. “We met in Rome. We showed them that we were really into it, that we were real fans and that we would do everything to respect the spirit of his work while modernizing it. They were completely up for it. And then afterwards, it took time to negotiate, to draw up contracts in Japanese. It all takes a little time“, Michel Catz told us.
And after five years of negotiations, the project finally took shape.
“Little by little, we gained his trust”
Before obtaining the rights, however, it was necessary to gain the trust of Tsukasa Hôjô.
“Little by little, we gained his trust“, Benjamin Dupont-Jubien told us before adding, “He had to trust the people who were going to adapt his work and that their vision of adaptation respected his work. He encouraged us to find our voice by telling us: “do your show”. But he was only able to tell us that when he understood that he could trust us and that we were not going to betray his work. The first step was therefore to make him understand that we knew his work well, his work, the values and emotions that he tried to transmit, and that we were going to keep that spirit. Once we had that, we had a lot of room to maneuver“.
This is largely why discussions have taken a long time between the two sides. Benjamin Dupont-Jubien, Mehdi Sabbar and Michel Catz sent a first 80-page document to initiate a discussion and gain the mangaka's trust.
“When we went to see the Japanese, the coordinator asked us what exactly we wanted to do when they had received the document. They wanted us to tell them our vision. By doing this, they ensured that the document had not been written by an intern but that it was indeed our vision. They really wanted to trust the people they would work with“, explains Benjamin Dupont-Jubien.
What was important to Tsukasa Hôjô
An adaptation necessarily involves some changes. If the French team had carte blanche, Tsukasa Hôjô had nevertheless set some conditions.
The mangaka's interest focused above all on “the story of these three sisters“, Michel Catz explains to us. “What Tsukada Hôjô asked us was to respect the fact that the Chamade sisters are not criminals. So they don't have weapons, they don't shoot people. They are capable of defending themselves but they are not violent or criminals. They only steal works of art that belonged to their father“.
A detail clearly illustrates this commitment. The writers had originally planned a scene where Tam, Sylia, and Alexia stole equipment from a sports store, an idea that Tsukasa turned down. For him, the Chamade sisters are not thieves. They only get back what belongs to them.
“It was very important to him. He also asked us to maintain as long as possible the fact that Quentin does not suspect Tam. Which was ultimately the hardest thing for us to do. And then, he wanted them to respect the works of art, not toss them from a building for example.“, concludes Michel Catz.
The first episodes of Cat's Eyes can be discovered this Monday, November 11 from 9:10 p.m. on TF1.
