4 things to know about Cat’s Eyes, the adaptation of the famous manga by TF1

This Monday, November 11, viewers were able to discover the first two episodes of a new event series on TF1: Cat’s Eyes. And if this name brings back mysterious memories in you, it’s normal, since it is the adaptation, into a TV series, of a very famous Japanese cartoon from the 1980s, broadcast at the time… on FR3. A series which features three sisters who, at night, turn into thieves to steal works that belonged to their father, a German artist named Michael Heintz, who disappeared without a trace several years earlier, during the troubled period of the Second World War.

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A pure nostalgic heritage of the series broadcast on FR3

After the film adaptation of Nicky Larson (by Philippe Lacheau), it is now the turn of another part of our childhood to be transposed to the screen, not as a feature film but as a series. An adaptation “French style“, which also retains the “S” by Cat’s Eyes, present in the French-language adaptation of this Japanese series broadcast between 1983 and 1985, and which has a total of 73 episodes.

Note that this TV adaptation also retains the first names from the French version of the manga. We therefore find here the sisters of the Chamade family, namely Cyllia, Tam and Alexia, instead of Rui, Ai and Hitomi Kisugi in the Japanese version. And for the little anecdote, it is a certain Michel Catz, French producer and screenwriter, who is at the origin of this series.

A very promising start with a peak of 5.1 million viewers!

And while one might have believed it to be a flop, the fault in particular lies in a somewhat “licensing”forgotten” in 2024, the first episode of Cat’s Eyes broadcast this Monday, November 11 brought together up to 5.1 million viewers in front of the TF1 channel… enough to surpass the show L’Amour est dans le Pré on M6, generally the leader hearings on Monday evening.

If the audience was there for this first double broadcast, it will be interesting to see if the series manages to retain its audience. Indeed, the series will have a total of 8 episodes, and the first two have already divided viewers, many of whom point to weak production, with numerous sequences shot in the studio, some going so far as to mention “a daily series decor in access“. Ouch…

Lots of nods to the 80s

In the first episode of Cat’s Eyes, we notably heard the song Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cindy Lauper, without forgetting a musical representation of Paris by… Edith Piaf. For director Alexandre Laurent, it is a desire to color the series with iconic titles from the 1980s.

On this subject, the credits of the series repeat (almost) the words of the original credits, this time with a main theme performed by Anne Sila, a “TF1 artist” as the established expression goes, since the latter was discovered on the show The Voice.

Soon a cross-over with the series… Lupine?

It was at the start of 2021, Netflix created an event with the broadcast of its brand new series: Lupine. The series, which has had a total of 3 seasons, is inspired by the universe and the character of Arsène Lupin, created by the French novelist Maurice Leblanc, through the adventures of Assane Diop, played by Omar Sy. On the manga scene, the character is also renowned for the manga Lupine III, signed Monkey Punch, in which we follow the adventures of Arsène Lupin’s grandson.

Also, in 2023, fans of the 80s (and others) were able to discover a crossover that was original to say the least, namely Lupine III vs Cat’s Eye. This feature film makes it possible to combine the worlds of the manga Lupine (or Edgar de la Cambriole), with the manga featuring the three sisters created by Tsukasa Hôjô. It remains to be seen whether this will give rise to a future mix of universes on the big screen, in “live action” this time.