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Catgirl

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This article is about the catgirl in popular culture. For information of historical interest on the mythical creature, see Bakeneko. For the sidekick Catgirl in Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, see Carrie Kelly. For a similarly named comic book character, see Catwoman.
"Nekomimi" redirects here. For the cat ear headband, see necomimi.
Cat-girl Wikipe-tan

A catgirl is a female character with cat traits, such as cat ears, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, and in particular Japanese anime and manga where they are more commonly referred to as neko (猫, literally cat) or nekomimi (猫耳, literally cat ear(s)), in cosplay activities both in Japan and around the world, in video games,[1] and in online virtual worlds such as Second Life.[2]

Personality traits

Catgirls typically display cat-like behaviors, exhibiting traits such as playfulness, mischievousness and deviousness. Sometimes this may include cat gestures or sounds in written or verbal communications. An often used running gag is that when talking catgirls habitually end their lines of speech with the phrase (にゃあ) nyā, the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow.

In anime and manga regular humans will sometimes sprout cat ears or a tail in order to illustrate their excitable personalities. This is similar to the phenomenon of becoming chibi and is mostly a stylistic quirk derived from manga. They may momentarily develop a catlike mouth to emphasize mischievous thoughts or comments by a character.

In Western cultures

Catgirl as Animal roleplay
Catgirl as a lifestyle[[1]]

Catgirl or catgirl-like characters are also found outside Japanese anime, manga, and video games. Examples include Catwoman and Cheetah from DC comics (dating back to 1940), "The Cat Girl" in issue 9 (1960) of the US comic Adventures of The Fly, Josie and the Pussycats in the early 1970s, and characters from the Broadway musical Cats[clarification needed]. Other less humanoid catgirls include Cheetara from ThunderCats, and the Khajiit from The Elder Scrolls series. Fantasy games catgirl characters include Magic: The Gathering's Mirri and Purraj, and the catgirl monster in the d20 Munchkin Monster Manual. Western television examples include Teenage Catgirls in Heat, Lieutenant M'Ress in the animated Star Trek, and Cordwainer Smith's cat-derived Underperson C'Mell (who appears in Norstrilia and The Rediscovery of Man). The British science fiction series Doctor Who features a religious sect called the Sisters of Plenitude, who somewhat resemble Cheetara from Thundercats, but are distinctly more feline than human (see CatKind for more information). Hepzibah, of the Marvel Comics super-team the Starjammers and, later, the Uncanny X-Men, is a feline humanoid alien (although she was originally more skunk-like, that aspect has been dropped). It may also be notable to say: The catgirls in Japanese culture have influenced North-America quite a lot. Various catgirls have popped up all over the place. Some girls (and boys) simply wear the accessories for fun on an occasional basis, and some make it into a lifestyle.

See also

References

  1. ^ David Okum (2004-03-24), "Cat Girl", Manga madness, p. 72, ISBN 978-1-58180-534-5
  2. ^ http://virtualneko.com {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)Virtual Neko in Second Life
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