Cat Street (manga)


Cat Street is a shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized by Shueisha in the August 2004 to October 2007 issues of Bessatsu Margaret magazine and collected in eight bound volumes under their Margaret Comics imprint.
It was adapted as a six-episode live-action drama broadcast on NHK between August 28 and October 2, 2008. To commemorate the broadcast of the drama series, Yoko Kamio created an additional manga chapter, which was released as a bonus with the September 2008 issue of Betsuma.

Plot

The story revolves around Keito Aoyama. By age nine she has already become a famous actress when events leading up to the premiere of a musical play cause her to freeze up on stage. In the aftermath of this traumatic experience she abandons acting, withdraws from school and isolates herself from others, including her immediate family, for several years. At age sixteen her life changes for the better after the principal of El Liston, a free school for people with social issues, accosts her when he finds her aimlessly wandering the streets. Gradually Keito reconnects with childhood classmate Taiyou, befriends new people, such as El Liston students Rei, Kouichi, and Momiji, and enrolls at the free school as she strives to escape from her isolation and starts searching for her own path towards the future. She successfully rekindles her acting career, re-establishes bonds with her family and eventually takes over the operation of El Liston, with the other three former students of the school. Together they continue to guide other people considered "stray cats" by society.

Characters

; Keito Aoyama
; Kouichi Mine
; Momiji Noda
; Rei Saeki
; Taiyou Harasawa
; Chika Aoyama
; Midori Mine
; Nako Sonoda

Volumes

A bonus chapter, which first appeared in the May 2008 issue of Betsuma, was included in volume eight.
In 2011 Shueisha released a five volume Bunko edition. An additional chapter, first published as a bonus with the September 2008 issue of Betsuma, and an afterword by Yoko Kamio were included in the fifth and final volume of this edition.