List of Nekopara episodes
Nekopara (Japanese: ネコぱら) is an anime series based on the visual novels developed by Neko Works and published by Sekai Project. The series is set in a world where humans live alongside catgirls, known as "Nekos".
An all-ages anime OVA adaptation was released on Steam in December 2017; it became one of the top earners in Steam in December 2017.[1]
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.[2]
Episode list
OVA
In July 2016, Sekai Project announced that it would be running a Kickstarter campaign to fund an all-ages Nekopara original video animation adaptation.[3] The campaign launched in December 2016, and reached its US$100,000 funding goal "mere hours" after launching.[4] The campaign ended on Kickstarter on February 11, 2017, and raised US$963,376 from 9,322 backers,[5] 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.[6] On December 4, 2017, Sekai Project announced that the OVA would be released on December 26, 2017,[7] however, was later moved to December 22, 2017 due to a shipping error by Tokyo Otaku Mode, the company responsible for physical goods.[8]
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.[9] The ending theme for Nekopara Extra is Symphony by Luce Twinkle Wink☆.[10]
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
OVA–1 | "Nekopara" Transliteration: "Nekopara OVA" (Japanese: ネコぱらOVA) | December 22, 2017 | |
Kashou Minaduki and his younger sister Shigure find two young nekos out in the rain and bring them home. He names them Chocola and Vanilla and raises them as his family. One day, Kashou moves out and decides to open a bakery, but discovers that both Chocola and Vanilla stowed away in the moving boxes in order to stay with him. Though he is initially against them living with him and wants them to go back home with his sister and the rest of the family's nekos, he eventually relents and allows them to stay if they work at the bakery with him. Later on, Kashou is informed that for nekos to work and live in society, they are required to pass an exam and earn a bell. The rest of the family's nekos, which include Azuki, the eldest but shortest, Maple, who is slightly arrogant and is a tsundere, Cinnamon, who has a dirty mind and purple fur, and Coconut, the tallest but laziest, all have passed the exam and received a bell. Shigure decides to prepare Chocola and Vanilla for the exam and teaches them what they need to know. After some initial stumbles, they pass the test and earn their bells. Kashou rewards the pair by taking them to an amusement park and an aquarium. However, after getting splashed with water during a whale show, Kashou comes down with a fever and is bedridden. Worried, Chocola and Vanilla run out to try to find a doctor, but forget to bring their bells and are stopped by police. As they're about to be taken into custody for being a couple of strays, Kashou appears and brings them home. The next day, Shigure and the rest of the nekos appear at the bakery and decide to help run the store as a family. | |||
OVA–2 | "Nekopara OVA Extra" Transliteration: "Nekopara OVA Koneko no Hi no Yakusoku" (Japanese: ネコぱらOVA 仔ネコの日の約束) | July 27, 2018 | |
This episode takes place soon after Chocola and Vanilla have arrived at the Minaduki household. They receive their monthly health exams, then have a meal with the other four catgirls, eating from the bowl with their mouths until instructed to use utensils. One night after Kashou finishes some baking he finds the two of them huddled in their room afraid, and when he holds them close and reassures them they are family, they ask if they can call him 'Master'. In their happiness they end up wetting themselves. They celebrate their first Christmas with the others, in which everyone opens gifts and they have a Christmas feast, much of it prepared by Kashou. It starts snowing and they all go outside, playing and talking of celebrating Christmas every year. |
Television anime
During the Comiket 95 event, it was announced that an anime television series adaptation was in production.[11] 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.[12] The first episode of the television anime premiered at Anime Expo 2019 on July 6, 2019,[13] and the first two episodes aired at a special event in Tokyo on December 24, 2019.[14] The series premiered from January 9, 2020 until March 26, 2020 on AT-X, Tokyo MX, and BS11.[15] The opening theme for the anime is "Shiny Happy Days" by Yuki Yagi, Iori Saeki, Shiori Izawa, Miku Itō, Yuri Noguchi, and Marin Mizutani.[16] The series aired for 12 episodes.[17] 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.[2]
No. | Title [18][a] | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Welcome to La Soleil!" Transliteration: "Yōkoso, Ra Soreiyu e!" (Japanese: ようこそ、ラ・ソレイユヘ!) | January 9, 2020 | |
Chocola and Vanilla wake up and prepare for the opening of the La Soleil bakery for Kashou Minaduki, their owner. Meanwhile, Kashou's younger sister Shigure and the rest of the family nekos prepare for their daily routine as well, which involve Azuki and Coconut clashing and arguing while Cinnamon and Maple head to work at the bakery. They arrive a little late but eventually relieve Chocola and Vanilla of their duties. After work, as Cinnamon and Maple are about to leave, they notify Kashou that they left some tuna for him and his nekos to enjoy. Chocola decides to shop for ponzu to make the tuna tastier, but along the way finds a very young neko all by herself who hides as soon as Chocola approaches. When she arrives back at the bakery, Chocola is surprised to see the young neko had followed her all the way home. | |||
2 | "A Lost Kitten?" Transliteration: "Maigo no Koneko-chan?" (Japanese: 迷子の仔ネコちゃん?) | January 16, 2020 | |
After learning that the young neko is homeless, Chocola brings her inside, but attempts to hide her presence from Kashou and Vanilla. After hiding the young neko in the bathroom and the bedroom, Chocola is caught red-handed by Vanilla when she attempts to feed the kitten after she shows signs of hunger. Chocola explains the situation and fears Kashou won't allow them to keep the kitten, which he doesn't. He calls for Shigure who allows the kitten to stay with her while she searches for any possible owners. Though the other family nekos are curious about their new guest, Shigure dismisses them and bathes the kitten and prepares her for bed. At the bakery, Chocola lies in bed anxious about the new neko's well-being, but Vanilla reassures her that everything will be alright and that she will never leave her side. | |||
3 | "The One My Mind" Transliteration: "Ki ni Naru Ano Ko" (Japanese: 気になるあの子) | January 23, 2020 | |
Shigure awakens the next morning to find the kitten had wandered into the bathroom and was asleep atop the heated toilet seat. During breakfast, the kitten vanished again and scurried beneath the table like an average house cat. At the bakery, Chocola's constant worry regarding the new kitten causes her to continuously find herself in embarrassing situations, such as putting on her uniform backwards. Coconut and Azuki arrive to help, but begin to try and one up each other to show who's a better big sister for the new kitten. Back at the house, the other nekos attempt to play with the kitten, but she isn't interested, and instead only interacts with things Chocola used to play with. Some time later, as Shigure prepares for dinner, the family nekos can't seem to find the kitten. Chocola is notified and joins the other nekos to search around town. After tirelessly searching, Chocola finds the kitten in the park where they first met, and the kitten explains that she went looking for Chocola and missed her. At the bakery, Chocola begs Kashou to keep the kitten, who accepts as long as she takes care of the young neko. | |||
4 | "The First Time...!" Transliteration: "Hajimete no...!" (Japanese: はじめての…!) | January 30, 2020 | |
As the bakery staff prepare for their new day, Chocola lets the kitten play in her room while they work. However, the kitten gets bored and wanders down into the bakery kitchen and restaurant area. After a few shenanigans, she retreats to the kitchen, only to be startled by Kashou when he drops a bowl onto the floor. As an apology, he gifts the kitten with a cacao cake, which she eats quickly and becomes closer to her new owner. The next day, Chocola and Vanilla take the kitten to Shigure's to be weighed and measured. While there, they decide to name the kitten Cacao based on her love of the cake Kashou gave her. The final exam revolves around naming the item that races quickly across the screen. After many attempts, Cacao figures out the final question that the other nekos were unable to guess. As a gift for passing the test, the nekos bring Cacao to the beach to play. As the sun begins to set, the nekos promise to return to the beach when it's warmer and bring all their favorite foods with them. | |||
5 | "Cacao's Adventure" Transliteration: "Kakao no Bōken" (Japanese: カカオの冒険) | February 6, 2020 | |
After another hard day's work at the bakery, Cacao greets Chocola and Vanilla at the door to welcome them home. Reminding themselves of their youth, the pair await for Kashou to return and greet him, but find his mind is elsewhere and isn't very responsive. The pair try to figure out what's bothering him, eventually believing the bakery isn't doing well financially. They go out and try to advertise the bakery to bring in customers, and with Maple and Cinnamon's aid, attract a lot more patrons to the bakery. Wanting to help, Cacao runs around outside and begins to leave business cards in local mailboxes, but ends up getting lost. She encounters a young girl named Chiyo who tries to help her find her way back to the bakery, however, they together end up getting lost and are chased by a flock of crows. The pair wind up back where they first met and find a business card tucked away in Cacao's hat that has a map that leads home. Back at the bakery, Kashou reveals he's been thinking about a new recipe to attempt for the summer, while Cacao manages to sneak back inside undetected. | |||
6 | "Battles Without Honor and Cat-Humanity!" Transliteration: "Jingi Nyaki Tatakai!" (Japanese: 仁義ニャき戦い!) | February 13, 2020 | |
Coconut and Azuki's fights seem to become more frequent, clashing both at home and at the bakery. In order to get the pair to fight in full force, Kashou and Shigure develop a sports competition with the whole neko family. The first match is a game of Twister between Coconut and Azuki, which ends in a draw. Up next is a food-resisting match between Chocola and Vanilla, which also ends in a draw. The third match is a box-resisting competition between Cinnamon and Maple, though both are disqualified. The fourth match is a relay race between the two teams, though Coconut and Azuki also end up disqualified right before the finish line. The fifth match is a butt-bumping sumo contest between each team member, though both Coconut and Maple end up losing their matches. The final match is a massive cat-themed obstacle course set for Coconut and Azuki, and while it also ended in a draw, Azuki helped Coconut when she was about to fall. Remembering how much Azuki took care of her and her clumsiness, Coconut becomes closer to her big sister. | |||
7 | "House-Sitting Cats" Transliteration: "Nekotachi no Orushuban" (Japanese: ネコたちのお留守番) | February 20, 2020 | |
While Kashou travels abroad and Shigure is hanging out with other neko fanatics, a storm blows through town as the family nekos house-sit for their departed masters. When Shigure is forced to stay in a hotel due to the severity of the weather, the nekos must fend for themselves for the night. They begin trading stories to pass the time, with each one having something to do with their personal tendencies, such as Cinnamon always having perverted thoughts. As the storm brews, the power goes out, and footsteps begin to sound near the front door of the house. The nekos turn to see Shigure suddenly appear through a doorway, terrifying them as she's soaking wet from walking through the rain. | |||
8 | "The Melancholy of Shigure" Transliteration: "Shigure no Yūutsu" (Japanese: 時雨の憂鬱) | February 27, 2020 | |
One summer morning, Shigure wakes up not her usual cheerful self, which worries the family nekos. They decide to help her out in any way they can to cheer her up, including cook their favorite meals for Shigure, but she claims she isn't hungry and leaves. The next plan is to bring her closer to Kashou, who they think she misses since he left for his store. The next day, Shigure works at the bakery, but ends up making mistakes. The nekos recruit Kashou himself to cheer Shigure up, hoping she'll open up to him. She reveals that she doesn't know the cause for her sadness, but it isn't his or the bakery's fault and wants him to succeed. She leaves, but doesn't head home, prompting the nekos to follow her all the way to a steep cliff over the ocean. The nekos reach out to her before she falls, each of them declaring their unending love for her. Shigure, now out of her sadness, reveals that she was sad due to the nekos not sleeping with her due to the summer heat, but that their declarations of love cheered her up completely. | |||
9 | "True Feelings" Transliteration: "Honto no Kokoro" (Japanese: ホントノココロ) | March 5, 2020 | |
On their day off, Kashou and Shigure bring the family nekos to a local amusement park. After visiting the rides and a haunted house, the group encounters a sing-along stage play. Cinnamon volunteers to participate when she finds out it's about her and Maple's favorite childhood show, so she recruits Maple to join her. The play is a success, causing Maple to dream of becoming a singer in the future. After taking up a part-time job at a music store to gain experience and money, Maple learns of an upcoming singing contest where the winner is gifted a guitar. She trains over the course of the next few days, but when the contest arrives, Maple panics and nearly leaves the venue before Cinnamon finds her and snaps her out of her funk. She ends up winning the guitar and thanks everyone for their support. | |||
10 | "Oh No! Bell Renewal Exams" Transliteration: "Nyagān! Suzu no Kōshin Shiken" (Japanese: ニャがーん!鈴の更新試験) | March 12, 2020 | |
The time has come for Chocola and Vanilla to renew their bell licenses and take the test again. However, after some mishaps at work, Chocola asks the other family nekos to help train her and Vanilla for the exam. After initially getting fooled into doing their chores, the nekos begin to train the duo for the real examination. Azuki and Maple teach outdoor safety, Coconut teaches about containing feline instincts, and Cinnamon teaches about natural human behavior, though each teacher has humorous issues of their own subject. The day of the exam arrives, and after a long period of waiting, the two nekos pass their exam. As a reward, Shigure brings them wherever they want for the rest of the day, including a temple festival and to a bunch of cafes to learn to make La Soleil even better. | |||
11 | "Cacao Repays Her Debts" Transliteration: "Kakao no Ongaeshi" (Japanese: カカオの恩返し) | March 19, 2020 | |
Chiyo, the young girl Cacao befriended while they were lost together, invites the kitten to come over to her house to play. After tearfully seeing Cacao off, Chocola and Vanilla continue to be worried and distracted, even at work. As the night rolls on, Cacao plays with Chiyo while Chocola and Vanilla notice that their bath and bed are noticeably bigger without Cacao around. The next day, Cacao returns to the bakery, but instantly runs and hides inside a box, confusing the other nekos. In an attempt to get Cacao to come out, the nekos try to cook her favorite food and have a party outside the box, but to no avail. That night, as Chocola and Vanilla are about to force their way into the box, Cacao emerges and reads them a long thank-you note for the adventures she's experienced and proclaims she wants to stay with them forever. | |||
12 | "Summer Beach Cat Paradise!" Transliteration: "Natsu da! Umi da! Nekoparadaisu!" (Japanese: 夏だ!海だ!ネコぱらだいす!) | March 26, 2020 | |
In order to fully enjoy the summer heat, the family nekos decide to head to the beach to have fun. However, due to their recent growths in their routine check-ups and measurements, as well as Cacao needing a suit, they all decide to go swimsuit shopping. They pick out a suit for the kitten, as well as buy her a large inflatable tuna to play with. They all arrive at the beach, Shigure and Kashou included, and enjoy their fun in the sun. Suddenly, while everyone is relaxing, Cacao is found riding her inflatable tuna and appears to be drifting out to sea. While the group is deciding how to save her, a local beachfront noodle shop owner runs by and quickly rescues her with ease. In order to repay their debt, the family visits the noodle shop and helps advertise and work for them to bring in business. Their efforts are successful as the shop suddenly springs to life with customers and smiles. After work, Shigure arranges for some local nekos looking for a home to live with the shop owner so that their shop is always lively, realizing that living with nekos makes life that much better. |
Notes
- ^ All English titles are taken from Funimation.
References
- ^ http://store.steampowered.com/sale/2017_top_new_releases/
- ^ a b Mateo, Alex (January 3, 2020). "Funimation to Stream Nekopara, BOFURI Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ "Sekai Project, Degica Plan to Launch Kickstarters for NEKOPARA Anime, Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien Game Remake". Anime News Network. July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ^ "Nekopara Anime Kickstarter Funded on First Day". Hardcore Gamer. December 28, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ ""Nekopara" Anime OVA Kickstarter Crushes Goal With $963K Total". Crunchyroll. February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
- ^ "Nekopara OVA Crowdfunding Meets Final Goal in Overtime". Anime News Network. March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ "Update #31 Shipping Alert! Shipping Alert!". Kickstarter. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Digital Keys Going Out to Backers Ahead of Schedule". Kickstarter. December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "Update #44 Update on NEKOPARA Extra Game and OVA!". Kickstarter. July 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "Nekopara OVA". Neko Works. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ "Nekopara Visual Novel Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. December 28, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
- ^ "Neko Works Reveals Nekopara TV Anime Details, Nekopara Vol. 4 Game Title". Anime News Network. June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 25, 2019). "Anime Expo Hosts Capcom's Yoshinori Ono, Nekopara's Sayori, Nekopara TV Anime Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ 第1話・第2話☆クリスマスイヴ先行上映会のお知らせ. Nekopara Anime Official Website. November 29, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ "Nekopara TV Anime Premieres in January 2020". Anime News Network. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- ^ "Nekopara TV Anime's Promo Video Reveals January 9 Debut, Theme Songs". Anime News Network. November 29, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- ^ TVアニメ「ネコぱら」Blu-ray BOX. Nekopara Anime Official Website. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "STORY / TVアニメ「ネコぱら」公式サイト" (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2020.
External links
- Official OVA website (in Japanese)
- Official television anime website (in Japanese)
- Funimation website