https://youtu.be/bVtSUIiawEs

Visual novels have become increasingly popular in recent years. From ones incorporating puzzles, like Huniepop or Ace Attorney, to dating sims like Go Go Nippon or Asago Academy, visual novels are slowly becoming mainstream games. But one has stood out to me a little bit more than others. This visual novel is called Nekopara, volume 1 to be exact. Nekopara is certainly... interesting. Let me explain.

Yeah, I'm going to add pictures to these reviews now. You don't have to pay attention to these descriptions, though. 

Background and BTS:

There isn't must background about Nekopara. Basically, it's a visual novel involving catgirls, or nekos as they're called in the game. It was created by Neko Works, and published by Sekai Project, who have published other visual novels and anime/manga in English. There are actually 2 versions of Nekopara; an "all-ages" version which can be purchased on Steam and other websites, and a mature version which includes some sexually explicit scenes and scenarios that are only hinted at in the all-ages version. For the sake of this review, we'll be talking about the all-ages version. Anyways, let's get to it.

Chocola and Vanilla playing with a cat toy.

Plot:

In Nekopara, you play as Kashou Minaduki, an aspiring chef who opens a pastry shop called "La Soleil". Kashou comes from a family of chefs who happen to own 6 catgirls as pets. To his dismay, he finds that the two youngest catgirls, Chocola and Vanilla, have snuck into boxes to come with him. Kashou later learns that this was the doing of his little sister, Shigure. At first, Kashou plans to send the catgirls back to his family's home, but after a heartfelt talk with Chocola, he decides to let them stay as long as they help him out with his new restaurant.

La Soleil opens, and everything seems to be going well, until Shigure suddenly appears with the Minaduki family's other four catgirls, Azuki, the oldest one, despite being the shortest, Coconut, the youngest, despite being the tallest, Maple, probably the most mature of the group, and Cinnamon, my favorite one. Right at the start, Shigure appears to have some... strange feelings for Kashou. And by that, I mean there's more incest in this game than Game of Thrones. Okay, I may be exaggerating, but still. Anyhow, Shigure reminds Kashou that in order to work legally, catgirls must have a bell to wear on their necks. In order to get a bell, Chocola and Vanilla must take a test, kinda like a drivers test. Even though there's a bit of worry at first, the two end up getting their bells, and officially begin to work at La Soleil.

This is where things start getting weird. Basically, like regular cats, catgirls go through a heat cycle. And this happens to Chocola. At first, Kashou doesn't realize what's going on, until Vanilla has to flat-out explain it to him. And then Kashou and Chocola have sex. In the next chapter, Kashou notices that Vanilla seems jealous that he and Chocola have become closer. At first, Kashou teases her about this, but then, with Chocola's help, he realizes that Vanilla's also going through heat. So... yeah. Kashou and Vanilla have sex too.

Also, just so you know, while I played the all-ages version, and this review is primarily based on the all-ages version, the mature version actually has extra sequences that show these sex scenes in full. Yep.

At this point in the story, Chocola and Vanilla have become Kashou's "catpanions". So to reward them for their hard work at La Soleil, and because their officially f*cking, Kashou takes them out on a date to the amusement park/aquarium. Some pointless slice-of-life fluffy nonsense follows, until they get back home. In the mature version, there's yet another sex scene.

Next chapter, things get real. Apparently, Kashou is sick. Like, really sick. Shigure explains that he's overworking himself, which makes some sense. Besides Chocola and Vanilla, he's the only one working at La Soleil, and he's been putting effort into taking care of the two catgirls. Chocola and Vanilla, wanting to help Kashou, leave the house to bring back a doctor, but when they get to the clinic, they find it's closed for the night. They go up to a police officer to ask for help, but they realize they forgot their bells at home. Without their bells, the police officer begins to suspect that Chocola and Vanilla are strays, and says she's going to bring them to the police station, until Kashou shows up and takes responsibility for them.

In order to help Kashou, Shigure decides that she, along with the other 4 catgirls, will work at La Soleil with him, Chocola and Vanilla. And yeah, that's about where it's ends.

All Minaduki catgirls, and Shigure. From left to right, Cinnamon, Shigure, Azuki, Vanilla, Chocola, Maple, and Coconut. Shigure isn't a catgirl, she's just wearing a headband. 

Characters:

The main character is Kashou. He's kind of an idiot, but a responsible idiot. He often talks about his family, and how he doesn't get along with them. Apparently, he's got some daddy issues, but we don't really see much about it. Once he starts dating Chocola and Vanilla, he slowly starts to become more open and cool towards people. He also mentions that he believes that if he gets too close to people, he'd only end up hurting them, which is proven wrong by the end of the game. He's actually the only character who doesn't have a voice actor in the game, and the only male main character. We'll talk about this later.

Chocola and Vanilla, the two main catgirls, are both different and similar in a way. Chocola is a "deredere", while Vanilla is a "kudere". (For those who don't know anything about anime character types, deredere characters are always sweet, kind, and cheerful, while kudere types are cold and distant at first, but eventually warm up to the main character.) Chocola has a higher opinion of Kashou, and is the one who convinces him to let them stay with him. Vanilla, while she does love Kashou just as much as Chocola, is a lot more sarcastic and teases him a lot about his perversions, owing to a lot of awkward moments. She also really loves Chocola, on an almost incestuous level. She states at the beginning of the game "Wherever Chocola is, I am too." Yeah, like I said; Game of Thrones.

Shigure is Kashou's little sister. She's straight-up in love with him. It's often a little bit creepy, but also kind of cute. Shigure was the original master of Chocola and Vanilla, as well as the other Minaduki family catgirls. Another thing about her is that she seems to know about things going on in Kashou's life that she really shouldn't, as if she's always spying on him. Yeah... she kinda creeps me out.

The other Minaduki catgirls are all pretty varied. The creators actually went so far as to name the various species of cat each of them are based on. Azuki is a munchkin cat, owing to her small size. She's quite impulsive and a little immature, especially in a scene where she snatches a piece of tuna from Shigure's hand. (This is especially funny, seeing as Shigure was attempting to showcase Azuki's maturity during this scene.) Despite her shortness, she's actually the oldest out of all of the Minaduki catgirls. This is the complete opposite of Coconut. She's a Maine Coon, which is actually one of the largest breeds of domestic cat. She's the tallest, despite being the second youngest. Both Azuki and Coconut have a bit of a rivalry, and feature prominent roles in the sequel. Maple is the second oldest, but acts much more mature than the other girls. Her breed is an American Curl, which owes to her abnormally curled ears. She's pretty easygoing and carefree. In one scene where the catgirls are attempting to prepare Chocola and Vanilla for their ball tests, Maple instead shows Chocola how to make emojis on her phone. Then there's Cinnamon, my personal favorite of the side characters. She's a Scottish Fold cat, which makes her ears fold downward. She's a little bit... perverted. During the same scene I stated before, she starts getting all "hot and bothered" while reading a section in a science book about flower reproduction. Her design also relates to her personality, as she has the largest bust size of all the catgirls, followed close behind by Coconut. Why does this matter? It doesn't, but I'm into some weird stuff. Why do you think I own Nekopara?

There are also some side characters, but the only one who actually appears is a younger catgirl who runs a food stand with her owner. While the character isn't named in the first game, she's officially named "Milk" in the second game. She doesn't really play a large role in the first game.

Chocola and Vanilla get surprised. 

Good and Bad:

Despite being pure pandering fluff, the story isn't really that bad. While it's no Lord of the Rings, some parts of the story will tug at your heartstrings in one way or another. The end of the game is particularly feelsy. The character designs are super cute as well, which is thanks to the art being amazing. The characters are all slightly animated. They're not completely animated frame-by-frame, but they do have some motion. Even when the game shows just still images, often the characters facial expressions will change. This aspect of the game sets it apart from other visual novels. The voice actors do a great job as well. Also, an added mechanic was added to the game that makes the on-screen characters bounce slightly when the P key is pressed on a keyboard. While this doesn't contribute to the plot at all, it is a cute bit of fun. This is added to in the second game, which allows the player to interact with the catgirls further at most points in the game by rubbing their heads and stomachs, or touching their... more intimate areas. This is completely optional, of course. I haven't actually played the second game yet, but I plan to eventually. The music in the game is pretty good as well. There are two main tracks, the intro and outro songs, and there's also background music. The intro and outro are typical anime themes, but the bubbly feel of both songs sound really nice.

Like I said before, the game is pure pandering fluff. Some parts of the game are a little boring too, such as parts where Kashou and Shigure talk about their family, who we never meet. It's also a little strange that Kashou doesn't have a voice actor. Shouldn't the main character be able to speak as well? Speaking of, there's no English dub of the game. While the subtitles of the game are in English, the dubbing is all in Japanese. It's totally not a big deal at all, but I would have appreciated an English dub. There are English fandubs on YouTube that sound really good, but the ones I've scene haven't gone past the first part of the game. And while I do like the in game music, there's one track which I think plays way too much, especially during boring parts of the game. It's the background track that plays any time the game gets sad or emotional or feelsy. I don't know what it is about it, I just think it's a bit annoying. There are hardly any male characters in the game as well. Besides Kashou, there's a moving truck driver at the very beginning of the game, but that's about it. In the grand scheme this doesn't really matter, but I figured I'd point it out.

Vanilla comforts Chocola.

Final Verdict:

If you're a fan of moe anime or any of those "kawai" anime tropes, or if you're a total friggin pervert like me, you'll probably like Nekopara. It's a lot like other visual novels, so if you've ever played one before, you'll feel right at home. Still though, anime and visual novels are a pretty wide spectrum, and not everyone who likes them will like Nekopara. It appeals to a very niche market, but if you think you'd like it, you probably will.

Final Grade: A

Cinnamon, you pervert.