Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Cat's Eye: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Cats Eye: Season 2 continues the exciting adventure of the beloved anime. The second seasons provides fans with even more sleuthing fun. Produced by Shunzō Katō (Space Adventure Cobra, The Adventures of Gamba) and Norio Hatsukawa (Dirty Pair, Ninja Robots), Cats Eye: Season 2 delivers a great mix between action and drama.

The series is based on the original manga by Tsukasa Hojo. The series was originally broadcast on the Nippon Television Network in Japan. Audiences looking for more classic cell-based animation with a lot of energetic action will find the second season provides more classic entertainment. Classic anime for a modern audience.

The Cats Eye are one of the most notorious groups of art thieves. Yet unlike some other art thieves making a name for stealing art for the highest bidders, the Cats Eye has more interesting reasons for stealing art. The reason isn’t as sneaky as one might first imagine.

The Cats Eye is comprised of the sisters Hitomo Kisugi (Keiko Toda), Ai (Chika Sakamoto), and Rui (Toshiko Fujita). The Cats Eye goal with stealing art isn’t as seedy or notorious as some think it is: the girls are all looking to find their long-lost father – a beloved painter whom the girls became separated from during WWII.

Yet new adventures await the Cats Eye in the second season. The girls now encounter a villainous threat: there is someone else impersonating them and claiming the name of “Cats Eye” without permission. The woman impersonating them is causing plenty of commotion across Japan. The impersonator might claim their name but only the true Cats Eye can reign supreme. Can these intelligent and determined sisters win back their name and stop their impersonator before it is too late for the Cats Eye?

The cast of characters is essential to the production. The second season continues to explore the world of the three lead heroes: Hitomo Kisugi, Ai, and Rui. The characters provide the series with a sense of charming fun. These sisters each consider one another as an important part of the group. This adds something special to the production. The characterizations are compelling for the genre and add an element of intrigue to the concept of the series. The villain imposter pretending to be Cats Eye adds something intriguing as a opposing conflict for the saga.

One of the reasons the characterizations work so well is the excellent designs by Akio Sugino (Black Jack, Ashita no Joe). The designs are essential to the characters as well as to why these characters hold so much ground on the production. The end result is impressive. The designs by Sugino provide some gravitas. The effort is worthwhile and certainly enhances the “cool” factor of the production.

The animation is one of the most impressive components of the production as well. Under the chief animation direction of Satoshi Hirayama (Soccer Fever, Sonic X), Cats Eye: Season 2 looks great and colorful. The animation is aesthetically pleasing and there is a lot of cool art work featured on the production. The style is creative and bold. The cell-based animation looks terrific and is a great showcase for traditional animation styles.

Indeed, the traditional animation approach is far more impressive and immersive looking than some productions can counter with. The results are satisfying because of the organic quality of traditional animation. The new CG animation of Japan simply fails to look as organic or beautiful. Cats Eye is wonderful – special art.

Featuring cinematography by Hirokata Takahashi (Sherlock Hound, The Rose of Versailles), Cats Eye manages a wonderful aesthetic with the visual approach by the cinematographer of the series. An impressive effort and one that provides a gritty element to the art thief sleuthing. A solid effort by Takahashi.

The original score composed by Kazuo Otani (Glass Mask, Three-Eyed One - Prince in the Devile Island) certainly imbues the production with some nice style as well. The music is creative and energetic in style. The score provides a fun backdrop for the art heist concept. The genre dynamics work well. Certainly, a worthwhile effort by composer Otani.

Screenwriter Junichi Iioka (Lupin III: Part III, Soccer Fever) continues to explore the characters of the Cats Eye world. Iioka has fun exploring these characters and their journey forward together. The concept of the series is well adapted for the anime and the scriptwriter has fun with the main themes of the production. A solid effort by Iioka.

Directed by Kenji Kodama (City Hunter, Case Closed), Cats Eye remains an entertaining thrill ride. Kodama takes over the reigns for the second season. Building on the series first season, Kodama manages to imbue the second season with a nice sense of action-packed adventure that fits well alongside the first season of the series.

The end result is Cats Eye: Season 2 maintains the charm the original season established while building on this element for the second season outing. A good and entertaining effort by Kodama. Cats Eye provides the action-packed fun that audiences are looking for.  

Cat's Eye: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Cats Eye: Season 2 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The high-definition presentation is impressive on the release. The release has been sourced from a native scan of the original film elements. The print quality looks colorful and organic.

Though there are some minor hiccups on occasion (with some slight telecine wobble) the print quality is generally excellent on the Blu-ray release and the transfer has little in the way of significant drawbacks – such as dirt, debris, dust, and other slight imperfections that can sometimes be found on film without proper restoration. This is an excellent scan of the series.

The presentation also benefits from the superior encoding of Discotek. The release has worthwhile bit-rates and the encoding strength is superior to what is provided on streaming services. Encoding has a healthier bit-rate and better reproduction for the video than what one can find on alternative digital options. This is another example of how physical media continues to be important for film restoration and preservation.

Cat's Eye: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a lossless audio presentation. The release includes a Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 track (with English subtitles). The audio quality sounds crisp and engaging on the release. Dialogue sounds clear and is well reproduced.

The audio quality benefits from the lossless encoding. This is another example of how streaming video services don't always hold up in comparison – the encoding is superior on the Blu-ray release. The only potential drawback is the lack of an English dub option on the release (though purists will be pleased to enjoy the original Japanese language track).

Cat's Eye: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with an attractive o-card slipcover and the set features alternate art underneath the sleeve. The extra art work adds an extra touch to the release and makes the set feel even more special in hand. A well-designed package from Discotek.

The only area of the release which is lackluster is the supplemental features. Unfortunately, the set only has a few on-disc offerings. The release doesn't include as many bonus features as some sets released by Discotek Media (such as art galleries and behind the scenes material).

On disc extras include:

Clean Opening (HD, 1:43)

Clean Ending (HD, 1:45)

Cat's Eye: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cats Eye: Season 2 continues to provide fans of the series with fun action-packed adventure with the sleuthing heroes. The series continues to provide plenty of charm and the production showcases the wonderful hand-drawn animation. The results are excellent and continue to be worthwhile with the second season.

The Blu-ray release features an impressive video and audio presentation. Released by Discotek Media, the set includes a beautiful o-card slipcover and additional art-work as well. The only drawback to the release is the lack of an English dub track and the limited supplemental package. Otherwise, the set is excellent and will please fans of the series. Well worth considering. Recommended.