After a year and a half and at least four readings, I think it's finally time I reviewed NEKOPARA. While the thousands of meme reviews are indeed quite funny, I figured it would be best for me to put in some serious effort. So then, let me share with you why this series, particularly this first volume, resonates so well with me.

Where do I start? Well, if you've taken a peek at some screenshots, you'll likely come to some easy conclusions. You may think the CGs are plentiful and varied, the backgrounds are high quality, and the sprites are incredibly detailed. Indeed, you'd be right, except for the last bit. You see, NEKOPARA isn't content with mere sprites that you'd see with most other visual novels. Instead, you'll notice that characters are in fact rendered in 3D, but still look very anime-esque. At least, that's the best way for me to describe them. Characters are in constant animation, often moving around in the screen space, with fluid facial expressions provided by the "e-mote" system. If you believe that VNs are too formulaic-looking, NEKOPARA will be a pleasant surprise.

In addition to glorious visual prowess, NEKOPARA also features complimentary sounds. There's a healthy amount of music, and each track does a good job of setting the tone of each moment. The opening theme never fails to get me dancing! Sound effects are numerous as well, and coupled with the visual movements, I find that they do a good job of eliminating the need of many awkward and drawn out descriptions that other VNs might require (though some of them are...well, you'll know when you hear them). As for the voice acting, I don't have any complaints really. I love how even though it's all in Japanese, you'll often hear English words and phrases thrown in nonchalantly. It's charming, really. Everything works together to be a joy for the senses.

As for the story, I'm not exactly sure what I expected. You've likely seen the memes already, and they're undoubtedly part of the drive behind the series' success. That said, NEKOPARA offers more than one might expect at first. At its core, the story is a slice of life with catgirls, which leads to some interesting moments, to say the least. It's about Kashou Minaduki, an aspiring baker who leaves his home and family business to open his own store. He's accompanied by two of his family's (more specifically, his sister Shigure's) catgirls, the carefree and oblivious Chocola, and the cheeky and intelligent Vanilla. These three learn to become an eccentric family-like unit together, all while learning to manage the new store. Overall, there are plenty of humorous and lighthearted moments. Even after several readings, they still manage to get some hefty laughs out of me. Chocola and Vanilla each have their quirks as catgirls, and I think the best moments are when they interact as a duo and show them off. Kashou himself his a bit dense, but I do like him in general. Occasionally though, things can get serious, and a couple times I managed to let a few tears loose. It's silly to think that such a story could pull that off, but maybe it's that very surprise that got to me the most. I won't spoil the ending chapter, but man, that did a number on me! Overall, I found the writing to be very solid, and no doubt much of this is thanks to a great localization. I won't try and proclaim that this volume is literary high art, but it understands exactly what it wants to do and does it very effectively.

Alright, I've managed to avoid it thus far, but it's about time we talk about the naughty bits. Yeah, the very basis of most of the memes. My first reading without the lewd patch was about five hours long. Later on when I finally did install it, I think it was roughly one hour of additional content. There's three scenes in all, and wow do they get intense. This is when the animations go into overdrive, and you may find out that your PC isn't quite up to snuff for them. In fact, if you notice the opening cinematic getting out of sync with the theme, I would recommend turning off those animations. Also, my goodness, those sounds effects are strange. As to the question of if you need the patch, well, it's your call. If you really don't want to participate in that stuff, don't feel pressured to, because it's not necessary to enjoy everything else. But if you're a connoisseur of such content, expect quality. There's a reason everyone talks about it...

I've praised this volume quite a bit already, but I guess I should address some nitpicks. Even though she has some good moments, I don't care much for Shigure. She's just crazy at times. Also, the scene in which all six Minaduki catgirls are present feels a bit crowded, and you don't get to much of a sense of the others until later on. Finally, while I was alright with it, I can imagine some readers may be put off by the intense voice acting, so I could understand if you feel the need to hush or completely mute it. Ultimately though, these are minor complaints, and this is all I could really think of to mention.

Now that I've said all I need to, I can fully recommend NEKOPARA vol. 1 to anyone who might be interested. If you're a veteran of visual novels, it's practically required reading. This was actually one of my first VN experiences, and it absolutely got me interested in the genre as a whole. Fair warning though, it may not be fair to expect other VNs to measure up to this series, because it's just that unique and great. While many of the reviews are humorous and not particularly informative, the overwhelmingly positive status they give does not lie. Unless you're highly averse to these offerings for whatever reason, I can't recommend NEKOPARA enough!

After a year and a half and at least four readings, I think it's finally time I reviewed NEKOPARA. While the thousands of meme reviews are indeed quite funny, I figured it would be best for me to put in some serious effort. So then, let me share with you why this series, particularly this first volume, resonates so well with me. Where do I start? Well, if you've taken a peek at some screenshots, you'll likely come to some easy conclusions. You may think the CGs are plentiful and varied, the backgrounds are high quality, and the sprites are incredibly detailed. Indeed, you'd be right, except for the last bit. You see, NEKOPARA isn't content with mere sprites that you'd see with most other visual novels. Instead, you'll notice that characters are in fact rendered in 3D, but still look very anime-esque. At least, that's the best way for me to describe them. Characters are in constant animation, often moving around in the screen space, with fluid facial expressions provided by the "e-mote" system. If you believe that VNs are too formulaic-looking, NEKOPARA will be a pleasant surprise. In addition to glorious visual prowess, NEKOPARA also features complimentary sounds. There's a healthy amount of music, and each track does a good job of setting the tone of each moment. The opening theme never fails to get me dancing! Sound effects are numerous as well, and coupled with the visual movements, I find that they do a good job of eliminating the need of many awkward and drawn out descriptions that other VNs might require (though some of them are...well, you'll know when you hear them). As for the voice acting, I don't have any complaints really. I love how even though it's all in Japanese, you'll often hear English words and phrases thrown in nonchalantly. It's charming, really. Everything works together to be a joy for the senses. As for the story, I'm not exactly sure what I expected. You've likely seen the memes already, and they're undoubtedly part of the drive behind the series' success. That said, NEKOPARA offers more than one might expect at first. At its core, the story is a slice of life with catgirls, which leads to some interesting moments, to say the least. It's about Kashou Minaduki, an aspiring baker who leaves his home and family business to open his own store. He's accompanied by two of his family's (more specifically, his sister Shigure's) catgirls, the carefree and oblivious Chocola, and the cheeky and intelligent Vanilla. These three learn to become an eccentric family-like unit together, all while learning to manage the new store. Overall, there are plenty of humorous and lighthearted moments. Even after several readings, they still manage to get some hefty laughs out of me. Chocola and Vanilla each have their quirks as catgirls, and I think the best moments are when they interact as a duo and show them off. Kashou himself his a bit dense, but I do like him in general. Occasionally though, things can get serious, and a couple times I managed to let a few tears loose. It's silly to think that such a story could pull that off, but maybe it's that very surprise that got to me the most. I won't spoil the ending chapter, but man, that did a number on me! Overall, I found the writing to be very solid, and no doubt much of this is thanks to a great localization. I won't try and proclaim that this volume is literary high art, but it understands exactly what it wants to do and does it very effectively. Alright, I've managed to avoid it thus far, but it's about time we talk about the naughty bits. Yeah, the very basis of most of the memes. My first reading without the lewd patch was about five hours long. Later on when I finally did install it, I think it was roughly one hour of additional content. There's three scenes in all, and wow do they get intense. This is when the animations go into overdrive, and you may find out that your PC isn't quite up to snuff for them. In fact, if you notice the opening cinematic getting out of sync with the theme, I would recommend turning off those animations. Also, my goodness, those sounds effects are strange. As to the question of if you need the patch, well, it's your call. If you really don't want to participate in that stuff, don't feel pressured to, because it's not necessary to enjoy everything else. But if you're a connoisseur of such content, expect quality. There's a reason everyone talks about it... I've praised this volume quite a bit already, but I guess I should address some nitpicks. Even though she has some good moments, I don't care much for Shigure. She's just crazy at times. Also, the scene in which all six Minaduki catgirls are present feels a bit crowded, and you don't get to much of a sense of the others until later on. Finally, while I was alright with it, I can imagine some readers may be put off by the intense voice acting, so I could understand if you feel the need to hush or completely mute it. Ultimately though, these are minor complaints, and this is all I could really think of to mention. Now that I've said all I need to, I can fully recommend NEKOPARA vol. 1 to anyone who might be interested. If you're a veteran of visual novels, it's practically required reading. This was actually one of my first VN experiences, and it absolutely got me interested in the genre as a whole. Fair warning though, it may not be fair to expect other VNs to measure up to this series, because it's just that unique and great. While many of the reviews are humorous and not particularly informative, the overwhelmingly positive status they give does not lie. Unless you're highly averse to these offerings for whatever reason, I can't recommend NEKOPARA enough!