A is a female kemonomimi character with feline traits, such as , 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 Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

. Catboy is a term for a male equivalent of said character type.

History

The oldest mention of the term ''nekomusume'' comes from a 1700s misemono in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed. Stories of shape-shifting bakeneko prostitutes were popular during the Edo Period. The popularity of the ''nekomusume'' continued throughout the Edo and Shōwa periods, with many tales of cat/woman hybrids appearing in works such as the and . In Kenji Miyazawa's 1924 work, is the first modern day example of a beautiful, cat-eared woman. In 1936, the ''nekomusume'' experienced a revival in '' kamishibai''. The first anime involving catgirls, titled ''The King’s Tail'' (''Ousama no Shippo''), was made in 1949 by Mitsuyo Seo. In America, the DC Comics character Catwoman first appeared in 1940, and Cheetah first appeared in 1943. Catgirls were further made popular in 1978 manga series '' The Star of Cottonland'', by

Yumiko Ōshima is a Japanese manga artist and is associated with the Year 24 group that heavily influenced the development of shōjo manga in the 1970s. Career She made her debut as a professional manga artist in 1968 with the short story "Paula no Namida" ...

. By the 1990s, catgirls were common in Japanese anime and

. Catgirls have since been featured in various media worldwide. Enough of a subculture has developed for various themed conventions and events to be held around the world, such as Nekocon.

Reception

Japanese philosopher Hiroki Azuma has stated that catgirl characteristics such as cat ears and feline speech patterns are examples of

moe Moe, MOE, MoE or m.o.e. may refer to: In arts and entertainment Characters * Moe Szyslak, from the animated television show ''The Simpsons'' * Moe, leader of The Three Stooges, played by Moe Howard * Moe Higurashi, supporting character in ''Yash ...

-elements. Azuma argued that although some otaku sexual expression involves catgirl imagery, few otaku have the sexual awareness to understand how such imagery can be perceived as perverted. In a 2010 critique of the manga series ''

Loveless Loveless may refer to: Film and television * ''Loveless'' (film), a 2017 Russian film * ''The Loveless'', a 1982 film starring Willem Dafoe * Dr. Loveless, a character in ''The Wild Wild West'' TV series and film adaptation Literature * ''Love ...

'', the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

writer T. A. Noonan argued that, in Japanese culture, catgirl characteristics have a similar role to that of the Playboy bunny in western culture, serving as a fetishization of youthful innocence.

References

External links

* * {{Stock characters Anime and manga terminology Catgirls de:Kemonomimi#Katzen

History

Reception

See also

References

External links