Мысық құлақты қыз кейіпкерлері: Аниме мен манга дәстүрі

Female character with cat like traits on a human body
the anime/manga trope

A catgirl (猫娘) is a female kemonomimi character with feline traits, such as cat ears (猫耳), a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. They are not individuals who are literal cats but individuals who only look superficially feline. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres, particularly in Japanese anime and manga. Catboy is a term for the male equivalent of said character type.

The oldest mention of the term nekomusume comes from an 18th century misemono (見世物) in which a cat/woman hybrid was displayed. 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 Ehon Sayoshigure (絵本小夜時雨) and Ansei zakki (安政雑記). In 1936, the nekomusume experienced a revival in kamishibai. Catgirls were further made popular in 1978 manga series The Star of Cottonland, by Yumiko Ōshima. By the 1990s, catgirls were common in Japanese anime and manga.

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