En 1986, three pretty burglars arrived on channel 3 of the small screen, where they robbed the afternoons in front of young viewers fascinated by their exploits. Their names are Sylia, Tam and Alex Chamade, and they are the modern and sexy heroines of Signé Cat’s Eyes, a Japanese cartoon in 73 episodes (available on TF1+ and broadcast on TFX) which has become cult, in which these café managers transform themselves at night into art thieves…
Forty years later, it is in the flesh that the three sisters hope to make a heist on TF1 audiences in an ambitious live-action series led by Constance Labbé (Balthazar), Camille Lou (The Fighters) and Claire Romain (Here it all begins) and broadcast from this Monday, November 11 at 9:10 p.m.
ALSO READ Nicky Larson: why purists cry treasonBoth the anime and the fiction are taken from the same original manga, Cat’s Eyeby Tsukasa Hōjō, who later signed Nicky Larson (City Hunter in VO). Long resistant to the idea of seeing his work adapted into “live action”, the Japanese author nevertheless gave his blessing to Michel Catz, the creator and co-writer of the La Une series, as well as to Benjamin Dupont-Jubien and Mehdi Sabbar, the producers, to deliver their version. Which returns to the origin of the story by transposing it to Paris. Explanations.
Cat’s Eye : a cult manga that inspired the cartoon and the series
It's in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Jumpspecializing in manga aimed at boys, published in 1981 the first adventure of Cat’s Eye. Initially, it was to be the only one, the magazine until then favoring male heroes. But given the success achieved, the weekly asked Tsukasa Hōjō to turn it into a series, published until 1985.
Readers regularly find Rui, Hitomi and Ai Kisugi in its pages (Sylia, Tam and Alex Chamade in the French version). While the two eldest, aged 21 and 19, run Cat's Eyes, a family café, the youngest, aged 14, still goes to high school. An uneventful life… apparently. Because behind this trio are hidden the most wanted thieves in Tokyo.
ALSO READ Reno Lemaire, king of French manga: “We want to compete with the Japanese” Their target? Paintings that belonged to their father, Michael Heinz, a German artist who went into exile in Japan during the Second World War and mysteriously disappeared a few years later. By bringing together his collection, they hope to find his trace. And they can count on the help of one of his friends, the manager of his considerable fortune named Sadatsugu Nagaishi (Mr. Durieux).
Malicious, if not courteous, these Arsène Lupines in petticoats (or rather tight-fitting jumpsuits), followers of non-violence, always announce their package with a business card… signed Cat's eyes. Duly warned, the police never manage to catch them, despite all the efforts of Toshio Utsumi (Quentin Chapuis), clumsy inspector… and Hitomi's fiancé, unaware of her hidden identity.
If action, humor and romance predominate in the plots, some also see a more political aspect which implicitly addresses the spoliation of works of art by the Nazis.
Cat’s Eyes : the series as a prequel to the events of the manga and the cartoon
In France, the comic strip was compiled into 10 volumes and published by Tomkam from 1998 to 2000. From 2015, it was the subject of a luxury reissue by Panini Comics, in 15 volumes. This house later published an alternative sequel (Cat's Ai), signed by Asai Shin.
But it is through the cartoon, directed by Yoshio Takeuchi (also in charge of the series Cobrabroadcast in 1985 in Recreation A2 !) that young French viewers got to know the Chamade sisters. Among them, Michel Catz, a fan from the start: “I watched the series when I was little and I loved it. But I found it frustrating not knowing how these three girls had become thieves, or why their father had disappeared…” explains the forty-year-old turned screenwriter, who then immersed himself in the mangas of Tsukasa Hōjō: “I thought I would have the answers, but that wasn't the case. In developing the project, I wanted to imagine a past, a life for these heroines. »
The result is a « origin story » validated by its creator: “We went to Rome, where a convention around his work was organized to meet his collaborators and pitch our project. We had to show that we were real fans, remembers Michel Catz. They were seduced by our modern approach and our desire to set the story in Paris, in our time. »Five years of back and forth between France and Japan followed to agree on the narrative arcs, freely adapted but respectful of the essential. Tsukasa Hōjō in fact targeted all the main plots, with a few points of vigilance: the Cat's eyes should not be presented as criminals stealing for profit, or carrying weapons, and should be very respectful of the works of art. : “He also insisted a lot on the mention of the Cat's eyes café, an emblematic place in the manga. How did the sisters become the owners? We have been building the answer to this question throughout the season…”
Cat’s Eyes : an adaptation to seduce fans and neophytes
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For the rest, the TF1 series takes some distance from Tsukasa Hōjō's characters: Sylia, Tam and Alex are not millionaires and do not travel by private jet, nor do they have the president's number, like this is the case in comics: “They are closer to “real” people. They do not have excessive means, but will give themselves those to achieve their objective, specifies Michel Catz. We also wanted to talk about family, and how to make it exist. We therefore created small conflicts between the sisters…” Finally, the different antagonists of the manga were “merged” to create Prudence (Elodie Fontan), a very cartoonish hitwoman, just to heighten the dramatic stakes. Fans will enjoy the multiple references to the original material, while neophytes will be able to simply let themselves be seduced by an entertaining initiatory story: “We talk about family and romance, which are universal themes, with a lot of humor and action, a genre appreciated today, believes the screenwriter. Everyone can relate to it. »
Cat’s Eyes on TF1, from November 11 at 9:10 p.m.
