Warning: This review will contain spoilers for NEKOPARA Vol. 4, which we would suggest you play before NEKOPARA After. This title is a sequel, so please be aware that there will be details that discuss events that transpired in the previous installment.
NEKOPARA After (Neko Para After: La Vraile Famille) is a 2025 visual novel released by NEKO WORKs, a Japanese circle known as the developer of the Nekopara series based on the original characters of Sayori, the group’s main artist and head. The series is known as one of the most successful visual novels to have been released internationally, with multilingual support readily available even during its debut back in 2014 under the publisher Sekai Project. Initially announced in 2021, NEKOPARA After is the seventh installment in the series and takes place a few months after Kashou Minaduki’s return from France in NEKOPARA Volume 4.
Nekopara is probably one of the most recognizable visual novel series even outside of the hobby’s community. Sayori had been making artwork of the first main heroine duo, Chocola and Vanilla, long before visual novels even became available on Steam. I’ve seen the duo every now and then in different nooks and crannies of the internet, so when I heard that they were finally getting a visual novel of their own, I was probably one of the first ones who saved up to get a copy. Playing through multiple volumes of the series, I can say with great confidence that they deliver well when it comes to their main appeal: incredibly cute catgirl heroines that are simply head over heels, both in heart and body, for the main character.
It is, however, already 2025. The series is a little over a decade old now; how well has it aged, really? Let’s take a short break and visit once again the cafe where the catgirls frolick: La Soleil!
One Cat for These Nyaacarons, Please!
A few months after his trip to La Soleil in France, after earning the blessing of his father through his hard work, Kashou Minaduki finds himself and his patisserie becoming the hottest topic in town. With the retirement of Beignet, Kashou’s confectionery mentor and grandmother, the French branch of La Soleil has permanently closed its doors and has passed the torch on to its Japanese equivalent. Adding the amount of exposure his sister Shigure has been giving their shop through interviews and online articles, the shop is busier than ever entertaining guests both old and new. Although the amount of work is initially overwhelming, the arrival of Fraise, Beignet’s catgirl, helps smooth out the shop’s operations. With her experience serving under Beignet’s instructions, she manages to quickly adapt to the Minaduki family’s workflow and smoothly integrate herself into their household.
Fraise, however, is evidently struggling with something. While everyone has welcomed her into the family with open arms, she is unable to come to terms with suddenly becoming part of the family without having spent the same amount of time with Kashou as the other catgirls. She has been working hard to earn everyone’s approval, but there was no one who was unwilling to acknowledge her as a family member in the first place. Torn between the happiness of being accepted and the unease of being a stranger, she approaches someone she feels can relate to her situation the best, the first master of all the Minaduki catgirls, Kashou’s little sister: Shigure.
One little sister and an estranged family cat work together to sort their feelings out and hopefully, along the way, create their ideal family.
My Little Sister Nyan’t Be This Cute
NEKOPARA After’s story focuses on the last two remaining heroines in the series: Fraise, the catgirl who Kashou reunites with in Vol. 4, and Shigure, the prominent little sister character who has been in charge of the Minaduki catgirls for the longest time. It features a continuation of the last installment’s plot but this time, focusing on Fraise and Shigure instead of Kashou’s conflict with his father. The story is linear and very short with only four chapters, almost like a fandisk. It functions almost as a culmination of Fraise and Shigure’s heroine stories that didn’t manage to make the cut in the last game. And of course, as is consistent with every Nekopara title, it also features a ton of cute and funny moments with all the Minaduki catgirls.
All things considered, the story felt like a nice way to cap off the ending of the fourth volume. I’ve always wondered when Shigure’s role would finally make it past just being a side character, especially given how big of a role she plays throughout the entire series. In Vol. 4, there were many opportune moments to help progress her relationship with Kashou but none of them really paid off. So being given a chance through NEKOPARA After, it felt like the right call to finally focus on her as a heroine. However, the way it was handled felt a bit too fast and convenient. With no real setup prior to the progression in their relationship besides Fraise’s involvement, it felt a bit shallow and lackluster compared to all the other catgirls.
For Shigure’s heroine story to make sense with NEKOPARA After’s narrative pace, it was necessary to be aware of her feelings and struggles throughout the other titles to give her climactic scenes the emotional impact they need. But with the gap in years between the releases of After and Vol. 4, it’s a little bit hard to ask fans to retain the same level of investment in her character without reintroducing her properly.
Fraise Enters the Fray-se!
Enter Fraise, the French catgirl that Beignet leaves in the care of Kashou during the events of NEKOPARA After. While I initially thought that her inclusion was a bit unnecessary given how Vol. 4 ended, it soon became apparent to me that if not for her, this particular installment might have been even less convincing than it already is from a character investment standpoint. She serves as a nice foil to Shigure and fills in the role of being Shigure’s partner in pursuing the love of Kashou, as has been the case for all the catgirl pairs. As the “stranger”, she introduces a relationship dynamic that the other girls could not fulfill as members of the Minaduki family, which I found to be the most interesting part of this installment.
This journey to define what family is, however, is blighted by the lack of agency from Kashou, the main character. Although Fraise makes great arguments to push this specific plot point, Shigure’s lack of resistance (relative to the other titles) and Kashou’s role as a literal punching bag for this duo’s dialogue made it feel a little bit like a gaslighting session where Fraise convinces both of them that entering an incestuous relationship is a necessary part of becoming family. It would have been a bit better, or more convincing at least, if Kashou had more than 30 seconds to dissect the topic from his point of view instead of readily agreeing because he was convinced it was only right given how physically attractive Shigure was to him. It dulls Shigure’s hesitance to approach him as a man throughout all the other volumes and even makes it feel as if it was silly to even consider it a problem.
The Hills Have Eyes, but the Catgirls Like It
Moving on from the plot, one consistent charm point that the Nekopara series has, even in the latest installment, is its high-quality visual assets. The series uses the e-mote engine, known for making highly animated sprites possible to implement in a visual novel. Similar to Live2D, an engine used by internet creators using virtual avatars, the character sprites are given the ability to smoothly change their expressions, covering features such as the size of their eyes, the direction they’re facing, visual effects such as blushing, and simple movements of the head and torso. This also allows access to other miscellaneous functions; when clicking the stop hand at the top right of the screen, players are given the opportunity to interact with the current character’s sprite such as touching their head, their face, and other areas that not even God can make me admit to doing. It gives the visual novel characters a life-like aspect to them, adding to the immersiveness of the game.
NEKOPARA After implements this same feature in the game’s adult scenes. Besides the famous chest bounciness meter found in its settings, the heroines’ bodies are also rigged to rock back and forth during intercourse to simulate the thrusting motion that everyone who reads visual novels is very familiar with. Taking what they’ve been practicing in the previous installments, NEKOPARA After H-scenes feel equal, if not better in quality to its predecessors. There are plenty of protrusions, erotic expressions, and fluids that get simulated for each heroine, providing fresh and exciting experiences for members of the audience who greatly need the stimulation. Even now, 11 years after the first game, it still is amazing how well the series does it.
Additionally, this title continues the previous installment’s decision to implement a content filter right before a sex scene. By being honest about whether you’re playing the game in public (why) or not, NEKOPARA After can adapt to your needs and provide you with content that’s either good for the heart or good for the hard. This manifests in the form of either an entirely skipped scene or an alternative scenario similar to eroge that get official all-ages versions on consoles, the latter of which is more common in After. It’s great because it gives Nekopara’s audience that might not be too happy with H-scenes the option to enjoy a pure, wholesome romantic moment with the featured heroine while also catering to the people who decide against spaying or neutering their cats to aggressively touch their tail during that time of the month. It’s a win-win situation that gives everyone more CGs!
But honestly, why are you reading NEKOPARA After if you were looking for cute and wholesome content? If you’re already here, there’s no reason to not get the adult version so go get it! The furry truth can set a man free.
Art and Myaowsic
NEKOPARA After features a total of 49 unique CGs in the gallery, not including variations. 16 of these are HCGs featured across 4 H-scenes with a total of 10 animated segments. All in all, a generous amount for a short visual novel that can be finished in less than three hours. Just like all the other Nekopara titles, the main artist is Sayori, known for their work in The Ditzy Demons Are in Love With Me and as the producer and art director of Nie no Hakoniwa. A clear veteran in drawing catgirls, Sayori makes use of subtle sheens and white outlines to make heroines pop out of a particular scene without compromising how well they fit into the CG background. It adds an additional dimension to the rich, vibrant colors that catch the reader’s eye through the addition of an unassuming glow in the background. It makes the entire picture look soft and relaxing to the eyes.
In terms of music, NEKOPARA After uses a total of 18 tracks, with at least 14 of them being present in previous installments. Most of the reused tracks feature the cat-inspired naming sense characteristic of the other installments, which admittedly, look less cute when romanized. The last four tracks, including the title screen OST Aloha-filled sunbeam, are unique to this installment. Most of the tracks feature piano pieces, with others being variations of string instruments alongside a few wind instruments which give the setlist an overall relaxing feeling. The King of the Nekopara OST is still, undoubtedly, Samba de nyannyan. Thank you, date track. Oh, the voice acting is really nice in the game as well. Although the climaxes in the adult scenes are still kind of grating because of their cat-inspired howls, the voice actors still retain their unique sound profiles for their characters that readers can identify. If there is anything to complain about, it’s probably how low Fraise’s voice gets in some scenes; I almost didn’t hear her one time because she was basically whispering.
Verdict
NEKOPARA After is an adult visual novel focused on catgirls that serves as the much-awaited conclusion to the story of the last two heroines of the series. With prominent themes of family, companionship, and love, it’s a wholesome story between family members connected by their strong bonds and sometimes, their blood. To all the Shigure and Fraise fans who have been eagerly waiting for their turn: congratulations, we’ve done it. Enjoy the ending.
Although a much-anticipated installment, the length of the gap between the last release and this one may dampen fans’ emotional investment in Shigure and Fraise. The pacing for this title is incredibly fast as well, making climactic scenes such as their confessions and heart-to-hearts a lot less impactful compared to if it had been directly connected to the previous game. Fans who are more invested in the spicier segments will no doubt be happy with the quality of this release as it features multiple animated segments that make use of a plethora of poses that keep each scene fresh for the eyes.
Affordable and gorgeous, there’s no real reason why fans of Nekopara shouldn’t pick up NEKOPARA After. Featuring the same cast of cute catgirls with their familiar shenanigans, it reinforces its already successful formula of high-quality visual assets by making good use of the e-mote system to provide a reading experience that is both heartwarming and pleasing to the eyes. Just be careful of suddenly diving into the experience. The water level on the beach is pretty shallow and is only really going to appeal to people who want a little extra time with their favorite catgirls and to see Shigure finally have her moment, even if it isn’t as well done as it could have been.
NEKOPARA AFTER IS RECOMMENDED
If you are looking for another visual novel, you may enjoy A Sex-obsessed Brother in the Country, and his Traditional, Sickly Sister (Country Siblings). We have also covered a wide variety of visual novels both original to English and localized from Japanese, which you can check out here.
Thank you to Denpasoft for providing a PC review code for Nekopara After.
Visual novel reader that wishes there were more than 24 hours in a day. Gacha victim, TCG enjoyer, and VTuber simp. Still trying to live happily.
