Nekopara is a series of adult visual novels developed by Neko Works and published by Sekai Project. The first game in the series, Nekopara Vol. 1, was released on December 30, 2014. The series is set in a world where humans live alongside catgirls, known as "Nekos". An all-ages animeOVA adaptation was released on Steam in December 2017; it became one of the top earners in Steam in December 2017. An anime television series adaptation by Felix Film premiered from January 9 to March 26, 2020. The anime is licensed in English-speaking regions by Funimation.
Gameplay
Nekopara is a visual novel series, so the majority of the gameplay consists of the player reading the game's story. Nekopara does not offer choices to the player throughout gameplay, and the player has no influence over the story. The games are fully voiced and use a system called "E-mote" that allows the in-game characters to be animated, instead of stationary sprites. Nekopara Vol. 0 added a new feature where the player can click on characters in-game, to "pet" them. The characters will react in different ways depending on where the player pets them.
Plot
Vol. 0
This prequel to Vol. 1 provides a look at a day in the life of Shigure and the six catgirls in the family home. There is little to no involvement of the previous protagonist Kashou Minaduki.
Vol. 1
Kashou Minaduki is an aspiring chef who moves away from home to open his own confection shop. While he is unpacking in his new shop, he discovers that two of his family's Nekos, Chocola and Vanilla, came along with him by hiding in cardboard boxes. After the two Nekos convince Kashou to let them stay and live with him, the three of them work together to run his shop, La Soleil. During the story, Kashou receives a couple of visits from his younger sister Shigure and the other four Nekos owned by their family.
Vol. 2
Shigure and the other four Nekos, Azuki, Cinnamon, Maple, and Coconut, begin working at La Soleil. This part focuses primarily on Azuki and Coconut and their sometimes contentious relationship as they struggle to find their place at the shop.
Vol. 3
The story of La Soleil continues. This part focuses primarily on Cinnamon and Maple and their strong relationship when Maple is trying to make a dream come true.
Extra
Taking place six months before Vol 1, this part focuses on the Minaduki household back when Chocola and Vanilla were kittens struggling to adapt to the family.
Nekopara Vol. 1, was released in two versions: an uncensored adult version that includes explicit sex scenes and nudity, and a censored all ages version where the explicit content is removed. Volume 1 received a release date of December 30, 2014. An all ages Fan disc titled Nekopara Vol. 0 was released on August 17, 2015. Nekopara Vol. 2 was released on February 20, 2016. Nekopara Vol. 3 was originally scheduled to be released on April 28, 2017, but was later delayed to May 26, 2017. Shortly after volume 3 was released, Neko Works announced that volume 4 was "coming soon". Nekopara was released on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2018. A spin-off game, NekopaLive, was released on Steam on June 1, 2016. A mini visual novel based on the childhood of Chocola and Vanilla was confirmed to be produced after reaching the $800 000 stretch goal on the Nekopara OVAKickstarter. It was later announced that the title would be Nekopara Extra, and was released on July 27, 2018.
Sales
As of May 2016, the Nekopara series had sold over 500,000 copies. By April 2017, that number had doubled, surpassing one million copies. One year later, in April 2018, the series had sold over 2 million copies. as of 2020, the series has sold 3 million copies on Steam.
Reception
Hardcore Gamer gave Nekopara Vol. 1 a positive review, stating that " Nekopara is a light and fluffy visual novel that fans of catgirls will enjoy," but noted that "some may be put off by the sexual storyline aspect."
Adaptations
Anime
OVA
In July 2016, Sekai Project announced that it would be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund an all-ages Nekoparaoriginal video animation adaptation. The campaign launched in December 2016, and reached its US$100,000 funding goal "mere hours" after launching. The campaign ended on Kickstarter on February 11, 2017, and raised US$963,376 from 9,322 backers, however, was extended in order to reach the final stretch goal. In March 2017, the campaign formally ended on Sekai Project's "slacker backer" service, and raised a total of US$1,049,552. On December 4, 2017, Sekai Project announced that the OVA would be released on December 26, 2017, however, was later moved to December 22, 2017 due to a shipping error by Tokyo Otaku Mode, the company responsible for physical goods. The opening theme for the OVA is "Baby→Lady LOVE" by Ray, while the ending theme is "▲MEW▲△MEW△CAKE" by Kotoko. A second OVA, based on the Nekopara Extra visual novel, was released alongside the visual novel on July 27, 2018. The ending theme for Nekopara Extra is Symphony by Luce Twinkle Wink☆.
Television anime
During the Comiket 95 event, it was announced that an anime television series adaptation was in production. The series is animated by Felix Film and directed by Yasutaka Yamamoto, with Gō Zappa handling series composition, Yuichi Hirano designing the characters, and Akiyuki Tateyama composing the music. The first episode of the television anime premiered at Anime Expo 2019 on July 6, 2019, and the first two episodes aired at a special event in Tokyo on December 24, 2019. The series premiered on January 9, 2020 through March 26, 2020 on AT-X, Tokyo MX, and BS11. The opening theme for the anime is "Shiny Happy Days" by Yuki Yagi, Iori Saeki, Shiori Izawa, Miku Itō, Yuri Noguchi, and Marin Mizutani, and the ending theme is "Yōdamari no Kaori" by Yagi and Saeki. The series has aired for 12 episodes. Funimation acquired the series for distribution in North America, the British Isles, and Australasia, streaming the series on FunimationNow, Wakanim and AnimeLab, and produced an English dub for the series. The series simulcasts in Southeast Asia on Aniplus Asia.
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Tam-U is currently being published in Dengeki G's Comic magazine. The manga began serialisation in the July issue of Dengeki G's Comic on May 30, 2018. During Anime Expo 2018, Sekai Project announced that they would release the manga in English digitally, with the first chapter scheduled for release in August 2018.
Mobile games
In 2019, a mobile game adaptation of the series, Nekoparaiten!, was announced; its release is planned to take place in 2020. Its creators described Nekoparaiten! as a "romance simulation" game.
