Set in Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture, a group of five former high school classmates and former baseball club members spend their days playing on the "Kisarazu Cats" amateur baseball team and enjoying local activities, while at night they cause chaos as the "Kisarazu Cat's Eye" gang of thieves.

Each episode is modeled after a baseball game, divided into two parts: the first and second parts. Various creative touches were incorporated, including rewinds to explain what was happening behind the scenes of the main story, cast members like Sho Aikawa and Kishidan appearing in their real-life roles, and the use of a 30p progressive camera (while typical TV dramas at the time used 60i interlaced cameras, the 30p progressive camera created a film-like quality). Filming actually took place in Kisarazu City, and fans of the show began visiting the filming locations.

Title: 木更津キャッツアイ - Kisarazu Cat's Eye
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Comedy
Episodes: 9
Viewership ratings: 10.09
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2002-Jan-18 to 2002-Mar-15
Air time: Friday 22:00
Theme song: "A Day in Our Life" by Arashi

Background
In 1997, the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line opened, connecting Kisarazu City, which previously took about an hour and a half to central Tokyo, with Kawasaki City in just over 10 minutes. However, the high toll of 3,000 yen for a standard car (4,000 yen at the time of opening) was an obstacle, thwarting the local government's plan to turn the city into a commuter town for the greater Tokyo area. Ironically, this resulted in an exodus of holiday shoppers to the Keihin area, leading to the decline of the shopping district in front of Kisarazu Station (the straw effect). The drama captures the frustration and helplessness of young people who live, or have no choice but to live, in the "countryside" on the outskirts of a major city, a phenomenon critic Eiji Otsuka has dubbed the "Kisarazu phenomenon."

While academically and athletically gifted individuals steadily leave for Tokyo, the mediocre young people, sometimes called "yankees," are left behind in stagnant and declining Kisarazu. Their inferiority complexes and hometown love, their secret yearning for and rebellion against the city, their sexual desires that cannot be fully released due to the limited availability of brothels and the fact that the only opposite-sex partners they encounter are childhood friends, acquaintances, or ex-lovers, their sense of chivalry and immorality, and the meaningless dialect-filled conversations that make the drama so appealing.

One of the reasons for the drama's success is thought to be that urban audiences found the characters' down-to-earth personalities, conversations, and episodes to be a new and humorous experience, while audiences on the outskirts of big cities and in rural areas felt a sense of familiarity or even a kind of masochistic nostalgia. This type of hit formula is similar to that of Kishidan, which preceded the drama, and it is a masterpiece that truly showcases the talents of screenwriter Miyato, who hails from the "great countryside" of Miyagi.

The average viewership for all episodes was 10.1%, but late-night reruns had higher ratings. DVD sales exceeded 500,000 sets, an unprecedented figure for a television drama, which later led to a film adaptation.

Kisarazu Cat's Eye
Bussan (Kouhei Tabuchi)
Played by Junichi Okada (then V6)
The protagonist. Former captain and starting catcher of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team. Cats catcher. His uniform number in amateur baseball is "2" and his uniform number in the Phantom Thieves is "1/2" (due to the fact that he only has six months to live). He is the de facto leader of Kisarazu Cat's Eye. At the beginning of the series, at the age of 21, he is diagnosed with malignant lymphoma and is given only six months to live. He collapses several times throughout the series, but somehow manages to survive. Though he worries about his illness, family, and friendships, he chooses to live a "normal" life and spends his days with the Cat's Eye members, devoting himself to baseball, beer, and stealing. He helps out at his family's barber shop, "Barber Tabuchi," where he has a solid sense of technique and is a dedicated researcher. He is an avid fan of baseball manga and V-cinema, and a huge fan of Sho Aikawa. His occasional fearless smile is called the "V-Cinema Smile," and his catchphrase is "I don't feel like I'm going to lose." He is allergic to crab and cannot eat it. He also never set foot outside Kisarazu until he went to Tokyo at the end of the series. He admires his mentor, Mirei Asada, and is always concerned about her.

Bambi (Nakagome Futoshi)
Played by: Sakurai Sho (Arashi)
Former ace and number 4 hitter of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team. He's the Cats' pitcher. His uniform number is "1" in amateur baseball and "0" in the Phantom Thieves (due to his virginity). His family owns a kimono store (Nakagome Kimono Store), and he wears kimonos as his everyday attire. He's the only college student in the Cats' Eye, commuting from Kisarazu to a university in Tokyo. For better or worse, he's "average." He's handsome and popular, but his innocent, shy, and devoted nature when it comes to love means he's a virgin. His nickname, Bambi, comes from his inexperience (meaning "fawn"). He had been in love with Moko since high school, but his show-off personality, his urban orientation, which is the polar opposite of Moko's, and his view of love, which Moko describes as "heavy," caused them to constantly drift apart. However, after being chosen as "Mr. Kisarazu," Moko fell in love with him, and they happily began dating.

Ucchi (Hajime Uchiyama)
Played by Yoshinori Okada
The Cat's shortstop. His uniform number in amateur baseball is "6," and his uniform number in the Phantom Thieves is "?" (due to his mysterious character). He is an alumnus of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team, but he repeated a year, so he is one year older than Bussan and the others. Furthermore, his family background and other details are completely unknown, and he appears and disappears at will, making the other members creepy. He's the only one not allowed to ride in the car, so he chases them on his bicycle, is followed around to find his home, and is not only not counted, but is often forgotten. He stutters and speaks Japanese haltingly, but his English is fluent and he's skilled with computers.

Master (Okabayashi Shingo)
Played by Sato Ryuta
A former member of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team. The Cats' first baseman. His uniform number in amateur baseball is "3," and his uniform number in the Phantom Thieves is "5" (due to the bar's opening hours until 5:00 AM). He runs a bar called "Yakyūkyō no Uta." His menu features many baseball-themed dishes, such as "Godzilla Yaki" (grilled bitter melon) and "Kinugasa Teishoku" (a set meal featuring boiled carp, inspired by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp baseball team). He doesn't pay much attention to the small details, and even gives Ozzy free drinks.

Ani (Sasaki Cho)
Played by: Takashi Tsukamoto
A former member of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team. He plays third base for the Cats. His uniform number in amateur baseball is "5," and his uniform number in the Phantom Thieves is "777" (due to his love of gambling). His name "Kizashi" (sign) is revealed in the end credits of the final episode, but in the two later films, his teammates do not call him by that name. His family home is a photography studio (Sasaki Photography Studio). He is characterized by his blonde hair and striped shirts. Because he has an extremely talented younger brother, Jun (although he is also unemployed), he is shunned by his parents and even discriminated against in terms of food. People around him only see him as Jun's older brother, hence the nickname "Ani." He's good-looking, so he's not unpopular with women, but his stupidity has made him a target for women. While the other members had romantic partners throughout the series, Ani was the only one who never had one.

Baseball Players
Nekoda (Nekoda Kaoru)
Played by: Sadao Abe
He is an alumnus of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team and the baseball team's coach. His uniform number in amateur baseball is "4." He is the captain of the Cats, and serves as catcher when Bussan is absent, but catches Bambi's pitches behind the mask. When Bambi is absent, he serves as pitcher, but gives up 10 runs in two innings. He is sometimes called "Dora Neko" (Dora Cat) behind his back by Cat's Eye and directly by Yamaguchi, and has a habit of turning into a mouse face when he lies. He is a coward who flatters his superiors and is strict with his subordinates. He is usually in charge of Yamaguchi's insurance agency and is used as an errand boy, but he often fails and gets beaten up.

Yamaguchi
Played by: Tomomitsu Yamaguchi (DonDokoDon)
A former member of the Kisarazu Second High School baseball team. The ace of the Kyogoku-kai amateur baseball team.
He is a kind-hearted yakuza who runs the insurance agency "New Age Finance Tantan Insurance" and is the second-in-command of the Boso Kyogoku-kai. He is a huge fan of impersonations and has a large repertoire, and works part-time as an instructor at an impersonation school. He was originally a baseball player two years younger than Ozzy, and calls Ozzy "Ozu-senpai" (senpai), and has had great respect for him ever since. His current baseball skills are pedestrian, allowing up to 15 runs in a single inning.

Ozzy (Yujiro Ozu)
Played by Arata Furuta
A homeless alcoholic. His trademark is a blue ski cap. He sleeps in a van parked in the station parking lot. His smile somehow makes people feel happy, earning him the nickname "Kisarazu's guardian deity." He loves mornings, and when he wakes up he cheerfully shouts, "It's morning!!" However, he hates the night, crying and yelling, "It's night!" He's a huge beer lover, and in "Poem of a Baseball Fanatic," he drinks free beer from the tap. He's a Rose fan and often attends Kisarazu Hall. He was actually an alumnus of Kisarazu Second High School's baseball team, where he was the ace and the prefecture's top fastball pitcher. He was a man of great character, much admired by Yamaguchi, a junior by two years, but after being hit in the head by a liner during the final game of the fall tournament, he got up and stripped naked on the mound, leading to his expulsion from the baseball world. He never regained his memory, and his behavior, as mentioned above, suggested an intellectual disability, leading to his parents' abandonment. He had a twin brother, Shintaro, who was a catcher, but was expelled from the team in high school due to bullying by a senior who was jealous of Ozzy's talent.

Otoko no Kunsho (Man's Kunsho): Manager
Played by Shima Daisuke
He is the owner of a cafe called "Otoko no Kunsho," a popular hangout for motorcycle gangs. His uniform number in amateur baseball is "9," and he plays shortstop when Ucchi is absent. However, his complete lack of understanding of baseball theory, such as running full speed to catch grounders to first base, causes trouble for the Cats.

Inujima-kun (Nekoda's junior)
Played by Shido Nakamura
Appears only in episodes 7 and 8. His amateur baseball uniform number is "4" (the same as the absent Nekoda, meaning he is a substitute). He throws and bats left-handed.

Little Yamada
Played by Tsumabuki Satoshi
Participated as a member of the Cats only in the 9th game (10 extra innings). He was a classmate of the Cats Eye members (excluding Ucchi) through middle school and was on the same baseball team. He's nicknamed "Little Yamada" due to his small stature for a pro.

Other Main Cast
Moeko
Played by Wakana Sakai
A classmate of Bussan and his friends. She's known for her nasal voice. She's the biggest idiot in the class and is considered a slut who sleeps with anyone. The Cat's Eye members greet her by saying "Let me do it" or "Let's do it."

Mirei-sensei (Mirei Asada)
Played by Hiroko Yakushimaru
She teaches classical Japanese at Kisarazu Second High School. She is Bussan's mentor. Although she is a Japanese language teacher, the white coat she wears was passed down to her by a senior colleague who had aspired to become a teacher at university but fell ill before achieving his goal. She is the only daughter of a wealthy family and is still single. White doves are always flocking to her house, and she builds nesting boxes and uses them as carrier pigeons.

Vice Principal
Played by Hida Yasuto
The vice principal of Kisarazu Second High School.

Jun Sasaki
Portrayed by Hiroki Narimiya
A second-year student at Kisarazu Second High School and the ace of the baseball team. He is Ani's younger brother, and the school's most promising player, attracting attention from professional scouts. As a member of the baseball team who strictly adheres to hierarchical relationships, he is submissive to his seniors, Bussan and the others.

Ani's Father
Played by: Akihiro Shimomura
Owner of the Sasaki Photo Studio.

Setsuko Okabayashi
Played by: Mihoko Sunouchi
The owner's wife.

Officer Takeda (Ichiro Takeda)
Played by: Hiroki Miyake
He frequently appears in the series, capturing Cat's Eye. He lacks awareness of his role as a police officer, and often engages in inappropriate behavior, such as renting adult videos while still in uniform

Igarashi Ichiko / Hitomi / Chiharu
Played by: Yumiko Hosono / Aja / Kaori Shibayama
A trio of girls from Kisarazu Second High School. They yell at Mirei, boycott classes, and otherwise make fun of her at every opportunity, causing her stress, which is why they are "revengefully" punished.

Second Generation Kisarazu Rose
Played by Aiko Morishita
She is the star stripper at Kisarazu Hall, a strip theater in Kisarazu. The members of Cat's Eye call her "Big Sister Rose." She skillfully attracts audiences, appearing in shows billed as "the last stage for a Norwegian blonde beauty," often wearing a blonde wig. She also served as the head judge for the fourth Mr. Kisarazu contest.

Tabuchi Kosuke
Played by Kohinata Fumiyo
Bussan's father. He runs Barber Tabuchi, but he doesn't have a barber's license; instead, he uses his late wife's license. His skills are catastrophic, but with his son's help, he manages to keep the business running. Bussan, who raised him alone, calls him "Kosuke" and "you" for some reason, while in turn calls his son "Kohei-kun."

GUESTS
Episode 2
Middle-aged Man
Played by Kitaro
He steals a handgun from Yamaguchi and, after many twists and turns, attacks a pachinko prize exchange center in Kisarazu.

Episode 3
Sho Aikawa
Played by Sho Aikawa, he plays himself (later appearing in Episode 5 and the Japan Series).
In Episode 3, he appears as a cast member in the film-within-a-drama "Yakuza Baseball Team."
In Episode 5, he visits Kisarazu to go fishing and asks Cat's Eye for advice on good fishing spots. He is welcomed and promises to play a baseball game against the Cats.

President Komine
Played by Casey Takamine (later appearing in the "Japan Series")
He is the president of Daikoua Bussan, a seaweed and yellowtail farming company. He is Kisarazu's highest-paid taxpayer.

Director of the Meigaza Cinema
Played by: Isao Yatsu
The owner of the Meigaza cinema in Kisarazu. They were screening the unreleased film "Yakuza Kyudan" (The Yakuza Baseball Team), but the 30-year-old projector broke down mid-screen. With no repair parts available and a replacement costing over 1 million yen, the cinema decided to close. However, thanks to Cat's Eye's efforts, a new projector was installed, and the cinema finished screening "Yakuza Kyudan" and shed tears.

Episode 4
Naomi, the cinema owner's sister-in-law
Played by: Keiko Masuda
A former actress. While she has no financial or financial needs, stress has led to a serious thievery. She stole from all over town, calling herself "Kisarazu's Cat's Eye." She steals trivial items like snacks, remote controls for home appliances, souvenirs, and cheap paintings. She especially steals remote controls (or game controllers) from every household.

Episode 5
Danny, Kenny, and Tony
Played by Scha Dara Parr (later appearing in Episode 6)
Danny is played by ANI, Kenny by BOSE, and Tony by SHINCO. They are Sigourney Koike's cousins and henchmen, and work as couriers for illegal aphrodisiacs and toluene.

Episode 6
Sigourney Koike
Played by Pierre Taki
A thug who sells stolen jewelry with fake appraisal certificates and wholesales illegal drugs like toluene. I

Episode 7
Kishidan
Starring - Kishidan. Appears as himself (later appears in the "Japan Series").
Sho Ayakoji - Son of a certain department store president (Shigeru Ayakoji)
Hikaru Saotome - Son of a prefectural assembly member (Mitsuru Saotome)
Hitomi Saionji - Heir to the Saionji zaibatsu
Yukinosuke Shiratori - Son of the Shiratori Group
Shochikubai Shiratori - Also a son of the Shiratori Group, and Yukinosuke's brother
Grand Marnier Hoshi - Son of a certain country's crown prince

Taka Kato
Played by Taka Kato (playing himself)
He was Moko's partner when she was about to make her AV debut.

Episode 8
Mizuki Asari
Played by YOU
A bewitching woman who lures men into her apartment and extorts money and valuables from them by telling them tales of her life. She appears in various places, such as posing as a nurse at a hospital, working as a hostess at a cabaret club, working at Wakuwaku Market, and even performing at Kisarazu Hall as the third generation Rose replacement. For some reason, she wears roller skates.

Ucchi's Father
Played by Ikkei Watanabe (later appearing in the Japan Series and World Series)
Appears from episode 8. In the final episode, Ucchi reveals that he's actually a CIA spy whose job is to watch over suspicious ships. He's a mysterious character dressed in sailor attire and wields binoculars. At home (on the boat), the whole family speaks English, his favorite food is crab, and he makes his own bourbon in a barrel. He can also speak broken Japanese.

Ucchi's Mother
Played by Miyaji Masako (later appearing in the "Japan Series")
She and her husband treat Bussan warmly when he comes to their house.

Episode 9 (Final)
Announcer Yasuzumi
Played by Yasuzumi Shinichiro
Appears as himself
In the drama, Yasuzumi performs the popular segment "Salaryman Quick Quiz," hosted by himself on Sanma's SUPER Karakuri TV. She mistakes Ucchi, who is answering the question, for being drunk.

• Screenplay - Kankuro Kudo ( Adult Plan )
• Producer - Akira Isoyama ( TBS Entertainment )
• Direction - Fuminori Kaneko (TBS Entertainment), Osamu Katayama (Izumi Broadcasting Production), Kankuro Kudo
• Music - Tadashi Nakanishi / Etsuko Yamakawa
• 嵐"A Day in Our Life" (Jay Storm)
• Music Producer - Hirohide Shida
• Music cooperation - Daigo Mizoguchi ( Nitone )
• Organization - Jun Nassuda
• Assistant Producer - Masakazu Kimura, Toshifumi Inoue
• Assistant Director - Toshio Tsuboi (three episodes - nine episodes / Izumi Broadcasting production), Mayuko Takanari (one episode, two episodes, nine episodes / TBS entertainment), Tatsuya Shiraishi, Daijiro Tanaka, Sawako Toshimitsu
• Propaganda - Hitomi Aoyama (one episode, three episodes, five episodes, seven episodes, nine episodes), Chiharu Fujita (two episodes, four episodes, six episodes, eight episodes, nine episodes)
• Record - Takako Okura (one, two, five, seven, nine episodes), Yoko Kaneko (three, four, six, eight, nine episodes)
• Production in charge - Shindai Hanayama
• Production Manager - Mitsuru Hagiwara, Kiyofumi Mano, Kenichi Nikara, Takashi Abe
• Program Desk - Michiko Ozawa

• Technology - Kenichi Kanazawa
• Photo - Toshiyasu Yamanaka
• CA - Makoto Nagahama
• Video - Shinichiro Kibe
• Lighting - Hiroshi Tabuchi, Tadashi Iwaoka, Hidehito Sasaki, Kazutoshi Endo, Koji Shibuya
• Audio - Haruyuki Shimomura, Takahiro Uemura, Manabu Watanabe, Hideki Koiwa, Masato Fujimoto
• Sound Effects - Motoko Kamemori
• Edited by - Takao Arai, Miyuki Yoneyama
• Editorial Desk - Kuniharu Aonuma
• VTR Desk - Kenichi Noda
• Technical Desk - Ryosaku
• Management Desk - Naoko Umimoto, Norihiko Kuramoto

• Art Producer - Michiaki Ishida
• Art Design - Shutaro Nagata
• Art Production - Hiroaki Okajima
• Equipment - Kenji Kumano, Kentaro Kudo, Yuki Sugitani
• Decoration - Akinobu Fujita, Hirohisa Tanaka, Kotaro Yamada, Kazuaki Uehara
• Illumination - Yasuaki Misawa
• Kengu - Kagejiro Uno
• Plant decoration - Yasufumi SHISHIDO
• Ikebana - Toru Toyama
• Costumes - Hidetoshi Nonaka, Koji Ogida, Kazumi Endo
• Possession Tool - Yuka Ozawa
• Hair and Make-up - Yuko Fujii, Naoko Koizumi, Anna Ito, Mariko Nakata

• Kisarazu City - Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture
• Kisarazu Sogo High School - Kisarazu Sogo High School
• Sodegaura City - Ending Baseball Stadium (also used in the play) - Sodegaura City Baseball Stadium
• Kisarazu Fujiya Season View - Komine President's Home