Neko is an aesthetic derived from the cat-person trope, primarily catgirls and sometimes catboys, found in anime and manga. While " neko " is the Japanese word for cat, " nekomimi " accurately refers to cat-people, and " kemonomimi " denotes animal-eared people in general. The trope's origins may trace back to 1924, but its popularity surged in the 2010s, becoming integrated into otaku culture. This aesthetic has since permeated meme and stan culture, where image and video edits transform subjects into cat-people. Neko is prevalent within the Kawaii Gamer and E-Girl communities and is a recurring element in Erokawa .

This aesthetic is popular within the transfem community as their ideal post-transition selves. The charm of the Neko aesthetic is its exaggerated childlike femininity. This aesthetic is mostly expressed on TikTok and various other social media platforms. Including cat-ears and cat-tails has become a staple on most Picrews (a Japanese site for avatar creation) and in the avatar creation genre as a whole.

Cat-people (aka Nekos) are generally normal-looking humanoid beings with cat ears and a tail. However, some have other cat-like features like paws for hands or feet. They also have often have cat-like (especially kitten-like) personality traits such as being playful, cuddly, and even bratty. Other kinds of kemonomimis exist, such as wolf-people, bunny-people, and fox-people, to name a few, and also take on traits associated with that animal.

Please note that cat-people may not consider themselves furries ; they wear cat ears, tails, and mittens that look like paws, but not full fursuits. Cat-people also do not identify as a cat, they simply enjoy dressing up or roleplaying. Certain cat-people are furries, however, but most of them are not.

Neko and other kemonomimi styles are sometimes associated with the BDSM subgenre of petplay, which focuses on the power dynamic between an owner and their pet (and can also sometimes be non-sexual). Similarly, kittenplay is a popular form of petplay which draws on cat girl tropes. Many people who wear Neko fashion are not, however, associated with petplay and simply enjoy the style.

Visuals of this aesthetic typically include cute pastels and the inclusion of cats/cat features. People or characters with bright pink blush/effects are common themes in this aesthetic.

Common motifs include:

Neko fashion can range from E-Girl to Kawaii Gamer to Pastel Goth to Softie . It commonly involves:

Neko fashion often intersects with Lolita and Maid aesthetics because of the dresses utilized.

Japanese mythology contains many cat yōkai (spirits) such as Bake-Neko and Neko-Mata. The oldest mention of catgirls (with the term "nekomusume") was from a 1700s misemono where a cat/woman hybrid was depicted. The first instance of catgirls in a modern sense was in a 1924 book titled "The 4th of Narcissus Month" by Kenji Miyazawa, where the first catgirls appear as beautiful women with cat ears. The next time catgirls were in media was with the DC Comics characters, Catwoman and Cheetah in 1940.

Catgirls wouldn't appear in anime until Ousama no Shippo in 1949. The second anime to include a catgirl was 1968's popular GeGeGe no Kitarō . The catgirl in this anime was named Neko Musume - which likely popularized the term Neko for cat-people. Anime wouldn't see another catgirl until the start of the 1980s with a short film titled Star of the Cottonland by Mushi Productions. This anime tells the story of a kitten named Chibi-Neko, who was adopted by a 18-year old boy named Tokio, and dreams of being a human (but still with their cat ears). In 1988, the Puma sisters (android catgirls) from "Dominion Tank Police" were introduced to the public. And 1989 had "Ranma 1/2", where characters that are normally human but can transform into catgirls were introduced. Overall, the 1980s paved way for the catgirl trope to rise in popularity.

The 1990s did not have any notable catgirls until Natsuki Sasahara made her debut in Hyper Police in 1997. Natsuki Sasahara is the closest representation to the modern view of catgirls. Outlaw Star featured the next influential catgirl in 1998 - Aisha Clanclan - who got to be in space. In 2002, Tokyo Mew Mew was the first magical girl anime that had a main character transform into a catgirl as their ideal magical form. Finally, in 2008, the creation of Blair from Soul Eater was a catgirl who could reverse transform herself from a cat into a human with cat ears. Since then there hasn't been any new innovations within the Neko trope, except for catboys.

Catboys are men that are half-cat (thus having cat ears, a cat tail, and/or paws). Catboys are almost always feminized, wearing traditionally feminine clothes or edited to have feminine characteristics. However, catboys can sometimes wear more masculine clothing - it depends on the media, the character, and the person. Although catboys tend to be portrayed as femboys , this is not true of other kemonomimi boys such as puppyboys or foxboys who are typically portrayed as masculine.