Messaggio originale di Ball:

Sooooo...this is supposed to be like the prequel to the tv series, right...?

No, it's a (very faithful) adaptation of Vol. 1 of the visual novel (VN) series. The TV series was adapted from it in turn, but changes a few things (most notably, it greatly tones down Shigure's hilarious incestuous attraction to her brother in exchange for making her much more cat-obsessed, and Cacao is exclusive to it), and is not in quite the same continuity. You can find the Steam version (with adult content cut, although DLC that puts it back is also available, for those who want it) here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/333600/NEKOPARA_Vol_1/

- Doesn't even explain where og cat girls come from, just that they all came from a box that was mysteriously left at their front door(?)

And how would the Minazukis have been able to learn that? If you came across some kittens in a box (which does occasionally happen in the real world), sure, you might investigate a bit. Maybe you could call up a news outlet or something and see what they could do. But anyone who dumps their pets like that clearly doesn't want anyone to know who they are, and realistically, it's not likely you would ever find out. This is all we can ever know about their origin. Unless the next installment of the series gets more into it.

- Are there cat boys? I've seen a cat woman, cat toddler girl and cat baby girl, but no boys??

This is a franchise mostly aimed at those who like catgirls, because of the cuteness factor, and also because the VNs have the type of romance plot and (in the 18+ version) sexual content intended to appeal primarily to men. It's the whole premise, so Sayori, the creator, didn't deem it necessary to depict males; even the protagonist rarely appears on-screen in the VNs (also, I think she just likes drawing female characters more). Nevertheless, she has occasionally said that, yes, there are catboys. See, for example, this tweet.

And more recently, there is also a game revolving around them: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593310/NEKOPARA__Catboys_Paradise/

- Where did they all come from? Or is this just the premise and the audience is expected to ignore that fact and pretend that just how it is in this world? Like magic realism genre?

Not much is ever said about this. However, Vol. 1 does have this brief explanation early on (this is the English translation):

On the outside, catgirls look almost like humans.
They can understand words and can talk just like us.
But more than humans, catgirls were closer to normal cats.
After all, catgirls had ears and tails just like cats do.
They were genetically modified humanoid cats that were commonly referred to as "catgirls."
These days, catgirls fit into society...
...as pets in families or partners to humans.

And later on, while talking about Chocola and Vanilla, as well as someone else's Neko, having been strays, there is a hint of a darker past:

Not that long ago, it wasn't rare to see stray humanoid cats just wandering throughout town.
But now, it was more likely for one to see humanoid cats that were well loved by their owners.
Since the amount of unfortunate humanoid cats had decreased...
...there was more of a balance, and owners were quite elated.
Food Stand Owner: 「I really am disgusted with those who don't understand the responsibility involved in owning catgirls.」

(BTW, if you're wondering why it keeps using the term "humanoid cats", it's because in the Nekopara universe, in the original Japanese, these beings are called simply "Neko", the word for "cat", so sometimes a distinction is necessary.)

But clearly, Sayori didn't think any of this was important enough for lengthy world building. For the most part, we're just expected to accept that this is how that world is, regardless of how it might have happened.

- Why no lengthy scenes of the og characters being introduced from when they were found as little baby cat girls all the to what they're now?

Again, Sayori didn't feel it was too important. That said, Vol. 3 does touch on Maple and Cinnamon when they were new to the family, and Extra shows Chocola and Vanilla at a similar stage. And may I say, they're even cuter in Extra; Coconut is absolutely adorable IMO. You can find Extra here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/899970/NEKOPARA_Extra/

- From the looks of it, the og cat girls are at least in their high teens, with Azuki possible in her low 20s, Shigure at least 25 and Kashou in his mid 30s gauging by how long they've been living together and how they act?

Who knows? If they were human, maybe. But catgirls mature at the same rate as normal cats, roughly 20 times faster than humans. At this point in the story, Chocola and Vanilla are 9 months old, with the others 1 to 2 years of age.

- Are there any cats? Like the animal cat and not humanoid (eerrr, anthropomorphic? uhhh kemonomimi?) cats?

Also answered in the above linked tweet. Any of "humanoid", "anthro(pomorphic)", "nekomimi", "kemonomimi", etc., are fine.

- What about dogs? Or other pets for that matter?

Inupara is apparently a thing. Originally, it was hinted at in a throwaway line at the end of Vol. 3, which sparked discussion among fans that there might be such a thing being planned, then there was this PV video that we all assumed was an April Fools joke, since it was released on Apr. 1, and also since they had done one before: NekopaLive is a VR concert that originally was just a joke. But Inupara was later revealed to be serious. It's still in development, though, and I haven't seen any word on when it might be released.

Oh wow! Thanks so I guess I have to play the games to get the story and the characters a little bit better than just watching it on a TV....

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

See, for example, this tweet.

So according to that twitter post......nekos are immortal beings; once they get their bells, they're equivalent to very mature elementary or primary schoolers; dunno if number 3 is a law or just a guideline in their world but you should care for your cats; non-humanoid cats exist but arent shown anywhere yet (unless they're shown in the games that I haven't played yet?); male nekos also exist but they work in construction sites with which none is shown at all in the tv series or the OVA; Cinnamon is a masochist; nekos have free will and can do whatever they like until the cops catch them without their bells, assuming they havent gotten one themselves and that we should just like cats in general. Sounds like this guy really has it for cats and wishing nekos were real...not that I'm complaining but if they were real I'm expecting them to look something more akin to a furry...like this: https://i.redd.it/nydxipwi6et41.jpg or this: https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5e27310def889c00087c7928/master/pass/taylor-swift-cats.jpg and not the cute looking cartoony drawing that's shown on screen.... Dunno about you, but I know there'd be huge civil wars all over the world about this with a lot of people cringing, making angry hate speeches, killing one another over this or and discriminate them after seeing them in person.... Probably a lot more, but this is just what I'm expecting from our current society....

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

- Doesn't even explain where og cat girls come from, just that they all came from a box that was mysteriously left at their front door(?)

And how would the Minazukis have been able to learn that? If you came across some kittens in a box (which does occasionally happen in the real world), sure, you might investigate a bit. Maybe you could call up a news outlet or something and see what they could do. But anyone who dumps their pets like that clearly doesn't want anyone to know who they are, and realistically, it's not likely you would ever find out. This is all we can ever know about their origin. Unless the next installment of the series gets more into it.

Huh oh yeah I guess...

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

- From the looks of it, the og cat girls are at least in their high teens, with Azuki possible in her low 20s, Shigure at least 25 and Kashou in his mid 30s gauging by how long they've been living together and how they act?

Who knows? If they were human, maybe. But catgirls mature at the same rate as normal cats, roughly 20 times faster than humans. At this point in the story, Chocola and Vanilla are 9 months old, with the others 1 to 2 years of age.

I see, so they're not humans with distinct cat features, but they're actually cats with human features - so the reverse - is there a term for that?

Messaggio originale di Ball:

Oh wow! Thanks so I guess I have to play the games to get the story and the characters a little bit better than just watching it on a TV....

More like getting the original story. The TV series tells a different story (albeit with a couple of episodes borrowing their plots from the VNs) in the same or similar setting.

dunno if number 3 is a law or just a guideline in their world but you should care for your cats

I'm pretty sure that's simply her attitude. Or rather, it's just basic decency.

non-humanoid cats exist but arent shown anywhere yet (unless they're shown in the games that I haven't played yet?

Nope. None are ever shown. Unless you count the very feline silhouettes in the Nekopara logo and such.

Cinnamon is a masochist

Not sure if you can conclude that just from her choosing to wear a collar. It is true, though, and it's more apparent in the VNs, especially Vol. 3, in which she's one of the main heroines. (Vols. 1, 2, and 3 each focus on one pair of the Minazuki catgirls as love interests.)

until the cops catch them without their bells, assuming they havent gotten one themselves

I've always wondered about that. The Bells just look like regular spherical bells you can find anywhere, so how are authorities supposed to detect counterfeits just by visual inspection? But, well, that's never addressed.

Sounds like this guy

Sayori is a woman. I've never seen her myself, and I don't think you can find pictures, because she apparently doesn't want her face published. But she has appeared at conventions, and there are attendees who can confirm this.

Incidentally, it might be helpful to know the context of that tweet: When the TV series came out, there were a lot of... shall we say, crazy haters (well, there are other, more appropriate terms, but I'll leave it at this)... attacking it, claiming things like the catgirls are slaves, and other such stuff. So, she felt the need to explain certain things.

but if they were real I'm expecting them to look something more akin to a furry...like this: https://i.redd.it/nydxipwi6et41.jpg or this: https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5e27310def889c00087c7928/master/pass/taylor-swift-cats.jpg and not the cute looking cartoony drawing that's shown on screen....

Or better yet, refer to one of those "furry scale" charts. The things from Nekopara are very near the human end by their appearance. Sure, they do have other cat-like traits, like various instincts and behaviors and their rapid maturity. But still more human than cat IMO. Which makes that first passage I quoted above rather funny: "But more than humans, catgirls were closer to normal cats." Yeah, no. 😆

I see, so they're not humans with distinct cat features, but they're actually cats with human features - so the reverse

Nothing ever says how Nekos were created, just that they were genetically modified. Realistically, I don't think something like this could be done without using both feline and human genes, so asking whether they modified humans to make them feline or cats to make them humanoid is too simplistic. But that might be too realistic for a fantasy like this. 😄

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

dunno if number 3 is a law or just a guideline in their world but you should care for your cats

I'm pretty sure that's simply her attitude. Or rather, it's just basic decency.

I was talking about the lore in their world...

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

Cinnamon is a masochist

Not sure if you can conclude that just from her choosing to wear a collar. It is true, though, and it's more apparent in the VNs, especially Vol. 3, in which she's one of the main heroines. (Vols. 1, 2, and 3 each focus on one pair of the Minazuki catgirls as love interests.)

There's only 3 instances (that I'm aware of) where one would wear a collar - 1) Goth, 2) Emo, 3) Masochist, since Goths and Emos don't exist in that world or it hasn't appeared yet and she doesn't look like either of them, then the only conclusion is that she's a masochist. Sadists may also wear collars, but those are rare and Cinnamon doesn't seem to act like a sadist either sooooo......

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

until the cops catch them without their bells, assuming they havent gotten one themselves

I've always wondered about that. The Bells just look like regular spherical bells you can find anywhere, so how are authorities supposed to detect counterfeits just by visual inspection? But, well, that's never addressed.

I'm probably gonna guess that their initials or names are finely etched into the bell housing somewhere....

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

Sounds like this guy

Sayori is a woman. I've never seen her myself, and I don't think you can find pictures, because she apparently doesn't want her face published. But she has appeared at conventions, and there are attendees who can confirm this.

Oh the creator is a woman?! My bad, thought it was a guy... A shy introvert woman......wow.

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

Incidentally, it might be helpful to know the context of that tweet: When the TV series came out, there were a lot of... shall we say, crazy haters (well, there are other, more appropriate terms, but I'll leave it at this)... attacking it, claiming things like the catgirls are slaves, and other such stuff. So, she felt the need to explain certain things.

I see....

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

but if they were real I'm expecting them to look something more akin to a furry...like this: https://i.redd.it/nydxipwi6et41.jpg or this: https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5e27310def889c00087c7928/master/pass/taylor-swift-cats.jpg and not the cute looking cartoony drawing that's shown on screen....

Or better yet, refer to one of those "furry scale" charts. The things from Nekopara are very near the human end by their appearance. Sure, they do have other cat-like traits, like various instincts and behaviors and their rapid maturity. But still more human than cat IMO. Which makes that first passage I quoted above rather funny: "But more than humans, catgirls were closer to normal cats." Yeah, no. 😆

Hmmm....I call humanoids that are halfway between humans and whatever else, as semis or demis, like semihuman or demihuman, assuming the base form is human and they have features of whatever else it's supposed to feature, otherwise it'd be called semicat or demicat in this case...

Messaggio originale di fllthdcrb:

I see, so they're not humans with distinct cat features, but they're actually cats with human features - so the reverse

Nothing ever says how Nekos were created, just that they were genetically modified. Realistically, I don't think something like this could be done without using both feline and human genes, so asking whether they modified humans to make them feline or cats to make them humanoid is too simplistic. But that might be too realistic for a fantasy like this. 😄

Hmmm interesting... Yeah, I guess a hard fantasy style level of world building and indepth lore would be too bothersome for this light hearted show about cuteness of cats and nothing else.