Nekopara, Episode 7: House-Sitting Cats

While their masters are away during a typhoon, the cat girls mind the Minaduki house by playing games and telling stories.

Episode 7 – “House-Sitting Cats”

Hmm.

Nekopara promised me slice-of-life anime and this episode gave it to me. Each of the characters have their quirks well established, so why not have some fun by inserting them into classic Japanese and Western fairy tales? I saw three main stars of this episode, two of them capitalizing on their personalities and one by being a recurring punchline.

Cinnamon’s “moistness” has been the standout running joke of Nekopara all season, and her cat friends did not shy away from making light of her trait in her fairy tale versions. Even better, Cinnamon’s dampness played into the hands of the other star of the episode — Vanilla.

Vanilla’s quiet demeanor took on a creepy dimension as she told her versions of classic Japanese ghost stories. Better yet, she made the obsessive Shigure the creepy shocker of each of her stories! The constant reappearance of the Shigure apparition made for a great setup to the dramatic callback at the end of the Nekopara episode. That’s why Shigure was the third star of the show!

Heh.

Scary. It looks like a typhoon, and the cat girls are by themselves. Chocola has a terrible poker face. Oh. That was a flash forward. Back to the present and the Nekopara cat girls look very capable of preparing the traditional house for a big storm. Even taping up the windows! What the… Azuki must like croquettes. On sale, supposedly. Must be a storm sale. Aw, poor clumsy Coconut. She needs to stay away from glass, porcelain, ceramics…

This storm is too strong. It’s ruining Maple’s all-important sunbathing. Uh oh. Shigure is away too at a cat lady meeting. And we’re back to Chocola losing badly at Old Maid. Cacao is smart! She’s about to win! Aw, poor Chocola. Oh ho! Coconut took the win.

Uh oh, again. Traffic got messed up by the “wild” typhoon, so Shigure won’t be back tonight. The cat girls are on their own. That Cinnamon. She wants to get “wild” too. I like how Azuki and Coconut are bored by her display, but Chocola is still fascinated. Coconut wants pizza, but who’s going to deliver in this weather?

Ah! Blackout. Should this matter for cat girls? Cinnamon… Chocola can’t see in the dark? It’s Vanilla’s time to shine! Creepy cat gets to tell creepy stories! And all the Nekopara cats will star in these Japanese ghost stories, folktales, and Western fairy tales.

Nice, nice. Drunk cat girls. And it’s matatabi juice! Drinking the equivalent of liquid catnip must be like drinking absinthe. A creepy girl will pop out of that well, I’m sure. Ha. It’s Shigure. Nice shock ending! The Shigure ghost did say she was only missing one piece of tofu (their faces?). Even better! Way to go, Vanilla! Hohoho. Cinnamon got wet for real! Oh, good. The power came back on, so the cats want happy stories.

Vanilla is the Cheshire Cat to Chocola’s Alice in their eye catch. Maple is Prince Charming to Cinnamon’s Cinderella. I hope that glass slipper didn’t get wet in the eye catch.

How happy is Nekopara going to make the fairy tale if Vanilla and Chocola are Hansel and Gretel finding the gingerbread house? They go straight to eating it! And they lived happily ever after. Way to skip the scary and important parts, Chocola. The other cats were expecting something more… Uh oh. Vanilla has a sequel. The house is still damaged! Ah. Chocola and Vanilla are now a newlywed couple. Vanilla wants her husband Chocola to have her first! Azuki puts an end to that story. Cinnamon wanted to hear the good part.

Ahaha! Shigure becomes the recurring gag. Vanilla is confused about why the gag would become boring in totally unrelated folktales. Haha! Don’t interrupt Maple’s story with your ghastly woman gag, Vanilla! Nice. Maple’s spring goddess is Cinnamon. Oh, this collaboration folk tale took a strange direction. Can a spring goddess get any wetter than Cinnamon is already?

What is happening here? Cinnamon claims she’s not a pervert and does not appreciate all the stories saying she is. Oh, Cinnamon… Haha. I am loving all the ways Nekopara uses the Shigure ghastly woman gag. Oh, it’s that guy as the genie. What was his name again? Aw. Chocola loves Kashou as the genie of the lamp.

Oh, Cinnamon! You can’t say that out loud! The younger cats seem unable to hear what was under the beep. Putting that aside, Azuki makes a great Lilliputian Godzilla.

Maple shows her sophistication by adapting the “Little Match Girl.” Of course, it’s Cinnamon starring again. Little Cinnamon Match Girl dreams of warm things. Aw. The Nekopara version of Cinnamon doesn’t like still being teased.

Here we go. Somebody needs to kiss the sleeping Snow White Maple. But who? Har. The cat dwarves maneuvered Coconut into kissing Maple. And another blackout! It’s going to happen, right? A ghastly woman is going to appear, right? Yes! Cinnamon moistness interruptus. It’s the massive comedic payoff to Vanilla’s recurring gag! Cat lady Shigure just couldn’t stay away from her cats.

Artist Takayaki gives us the sexy bellies of Vanilla and Chocola begging to be rubbed in the end card. Nekopara cats may like belly rubs, but don’t do that to real cats. Most of them hate that.