A wide variety of catgirls appeared in the '80s and beyond, whether they were full-on catgirls like Felicia from Darkstalkers, girls dressed in cat outfits like Azumanga Daioh's Chiyo Mihama, or cat-brain-powered androids like Nuku Nuku from All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku. The following decade saw the inevitable rise of the Catboy: boys with cat ears and cat qualities.

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Some early catgirl characters like Neko-Musume had a supernatural quality. Chibi-neko was a cat who thought it was a little girl. But catgirls weren't limited to the supernatural or grounded in real cats. Characters began dressing as catgirls or would simply change into catgirls. The cat quality was cute enough to transcend any supernatural or real origins. They became signifiers for cute, mischievous, or even aloof behavior, just as glasses for otaku symbolize females who read too many comics or play too many video games. Shorthand.

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A typical catgirl pose (「なか」と「よし」| NHK-BS)

Cats have a certain animal magnetism that crosses cultures and borders. Japan saw it was onto something with catgirls and ran with it. This is, after all, a country that is susceptible to fads, trends, and booms on a major scale, something that researcher Shinji Takenaga once pointed out to me. But Takenaga added that large scale cultural booms are becoming increasingly rare, since Japanese consumer society is becoming increasingly niche and fragmented. Anime, manga, and video games do cater to niche audiences. Their smaller, niche trends and small booms become self-feeding ecosystems, with new variations of trends like catgirls spreading like a virus, and becoming the norm, the standard, the prevailing aesthetic that defines each generation.

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There is a universal quality about catgirls, a quality that Japan digested and made its own. The West might have cat-like characters, but catgirls are all Japan's.

What Is Japan's Fetish This Week? is a regular, obsessive look at the trends and topics, from mainstream to niche, that catch Japan's fancy. WIJFTW alternates bi-weekly with its sister column, What Is America's Fetish This Week?

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(Top photo: Thanko)


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