Catgirl

A catgirl (Japanese: 猫耳, Hepburn: nekomimi, lit. 'cat ear[s]')^[a] or neko is a young female character with feline traits, such as cat ears, a tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. As a type of kemonomimi, catgirls are associated with Japanese anime and manga but may appear in other genres. The equivalent male character is called a catboy.

Catgirls are descended from Edo and Shōwa period stories of villainous, shapeshifting cat monsters such as bakeneko or nekomata, whose cat traits designated them as antagonists. Postwar and more recent media have largely rehabilitated catgirls into docile, moe characters.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).