Cat’s Eye (2025) – Episode 1

What’s it about? Pouring coffee by daylight and… stealing art by moonlight?! That’s the name of the game for the Kisugi sisters, a trio of skilled thieves who work as Cat’s Eye, a gang constantly thwarting Detective Toshi as he tries to catch them at every turn. But their thievery isn’t without reason: these girls are a trio after their father, a famous painter and art collector who was in the biz during the Nazi regime…

---

One of my favorite series to date is still Saint Tail. I just love a female lead who’s a thief, skilled with otherworldly precision to take away what once was previously precious and claim it for their own. In the case of the eponymous Saint Tail, it’s repatriating illegally gotten goods to their proper places. Same goes for Phantom Thief Jeanne and even the characters in Persona 5, though they’re working with gifts of the heart rather than fully tangible objects.

That’s what I’m taking into this premiere of Cat’s Eye, which is a reboot of the famed Bubble Era series. Following three sisters who outwit their detective foe, I’m anticipating these ladies stealing hearts, whisking away treasures, and serving looks. Question is, will they steal my attention, or will I be feeling a bit indifferent as I look toward other premieres this season?

Episode 1 introduces the titular Cat’s Eye crew in a delectable blaze of 1980s sounds and lights with the opening featuring Ado’s musical talents. And what a crew these lovely sisters are as they sweep onto the scene, ready to whisk away yet another painting for their collection. All of this forms the basis for a story about three young women who flip, tumble, and soar through the skies by night to seek their prize—fantastic pieces of famous art, be they paintings, jewels, sculptures, or any trinket their sisterly hearts seek.

Using their purrfect charms, their intelligence, and working in perfect sync, Cat’s Eye sweeps in and out of their targets with little worry. But something bubbles beneath the surface—are these sisters just about artistic luxury, or are they searching for something more…?

I have very little context around Cat’s Eye outside of its place in the larger history of City Pop and Japan’s economic boom of the 1980s. What I can say here is that this reboot, while carrying the flavor of its original, also has been adapted to a modern viewer’s expectation. Cat’s Eye sport hi-tech tools that feels right out of Totally Spies! while wearing cat suits that are giving OG Charlie’s Angels. It’s everything I love about girl gangs and trios, packaged in a premiere that makes it easy to see why people where enchanted by these comely, clever sisters, even if the story’s only just getting started.

Additionally, the fact that this is a story about adults is easily another perk to the combination of good listed above. I knew that going in, but from the perspective of a newcomer who has never heard of this series, it easily becomes much more enticing that this is a story about women stealing the night versus girls. While I love myself a teen thief, I love even more seeing mature women in my age range getting to be front and center. I’m sure a lot of that is because I’m thirty-three and just can’t relate to teenagers anymore (then again, I still love a good high school romance), but I also just like my anime varied. 

Plus, it’s just neat when women get to do a crime or two, as a treat.

Together, these ingredients, along with the solid dub, create a renewed adaptation that’s gateway to the newly released English localization of the manga. And while this story is only just getting started—episode one is very routine, in many ways, in setting the foundation for the rest of this story–I’m already invested, and I sense that whether or not you’ve tangoed with these kitty cats, you’ll still find this show satisfying enough to add it to your watchlist.

Cat’s Eye is definitely a series I’ll be keeping up with. I’m a sucker for a female thief, whether I’m throwing dice, mashing a button, or watching it on my computer screen. 

In a sea of shows, new, renewed, and recurring, it’s nice to have one that is just fun, and that’s exactly what Cat’s Eye is. It’s just fun, centering adult woman (note: sister Ai is a high schooler, so like… two woman and their younger teen sister) playing at society’s bad girls without feeling anachronistic by using a source that’s from the early 80s. Instead, thanks to the music composition and art style, it feels perfectly at home in 2025, just like it did in its heyday, offering up a story about a trio of women that’s just getting started without feeling like it has to find its story.

Basically, don’t pussyfoot around with this one: I think Cat’s Eye is well worth enjoying this season!