, taglined Cats Paradise, 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 in December 2014. Taking place in a world where humans live alongside catgirls. The series follows Kashou Minaduki and Shigure Minaduki, siblings who have a family of catgirls named Chocola, Vanilla, Coconut, Azuki, Maple, Cinnamon and Cacao. It is centered around work life at Kashou's pâtisserie and home life at Shigure's family house.
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.
An anime television series adaptation by Felix Film premiered from January to March 2020. The anime is licensed in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia by Funimation.NEKO WORKs announced on November 29, 2021 that a new title for the series, After La Vraie Famille was in development.
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 (except for the protagonist) and utilize 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 house. 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 catgirls, Chocola and Vanilla, came along with him by hiding in cardboard boxes. After the two catgirls 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 catgirls owned by their family.
Vol. 2
Shigure and the other four catgirls, Maple, Cinnamon, Coconut and Azuki, begin working at La Soleil. This part focuses primarily on the contentious relationship between Coconut and Azuki, who struggle to find their place at the shop.
Vol. 3
The story of La Soleil continues. This part focuses primarily on the strong relationship between Maple and Cinnamon, as Maple tries to make a dream come true.
Vol. 4
La Soleil and the Minaduki family prepare to enter the Christmas season. This part focuses primarily on Kashou and figuring out what baking truly means to him so he can do his mentor proud and earn the approval of his father.
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.
Characters
Kashou is the protagonist of most of the visual novel games in the series. Kashou comes from a family with a long line of chefs, and decides to move away from home and open his own pâtisserie (pastry shop) despite his parents' wishes. It is revealed that Kashou studied abroad in France and sought to honor his mentor by focusing his baking talents towards Western-style confections, naming his pâtisserie La Soleil after his mentor's own pâtisserie.
Kashou's younger sister. She appears to have romantic feelings for Kashou in an incestuous way. She and her older brother are the owners of the Minaduki family catgirls.
Chocola is a cheerful and energetic brown-haired catgirls; she is often described as "happy go lucky" and always describes herself in the third person. She is Vanilla's twin sister and moved in with Kashou after he started his own business.
Vanilla is a calm and quiet white-haired catgirl. She rarely expresses her emotions, making her a somewhat of a kūdere character. She loves her twin sister Chocola, and often follows her anywhere she goes. She and Chocola are the youngest of the Minaduki family catgirls throughout most of the series.