Obsession with cats and bunnies?

[Prince Asbel]

A question popped into my mind. I've seen anime pictures here and there with characters (always girls it seems) with bunny ears and cat ears. Sometimes even whiskers or other such things. Does anyone know if the Japanese have some obsession with cats and bunnies?

[minakichan]

Cat ears are a bona-fide fetish. Nekomimi. As for bunnies, I think those have become universal, esp. w/ Playboy and whatnot?

Personally, I say no. Fox girls and wolf girls are CLEARLY the best.

[Tsukuyomi]

Awwwwwwwwwwww, how cute ^________^ I have a pair of cat ears, but they kinda look weird on me They even came with a tail

[oro!]

My brother got a pair years ago at an anime con and they came with a necklace with the bell on them...yeah, come to think of it, it is weird, but when has that stopped anime fans?
It's just a staple of this Japanese subculture; maybe somebody drew it first, and then it just kind of multiplied exponentially. A nice idea, or something like that.

[Shao Feng-Li]

It's a bit over done I think...

And everyone seems to have a wolf obsession *eye roll*

[KeybladeWarrior]

Awwwwwwwwwwww, how cute ^________^ I have a pair of cat ears, but they kinda look weird on me They even came with a tail

>_>;;; I am not going to say anything....^__^;;;;;;; Anyway, I find neko girls to be cute.

[ChristianKitsune]

which is why whenever I draw "fox people" I just make it so they are cyborgs or something with animal like features?

But yes, I agree with Minakichan wolf and fox ears are bestest! ^_^

[mechana2015]

There's a lot of mythology in japan involving human animal hybrids actually, dating back to rather pre manga times, so using human animal hybrids is in a way, just a reference to the mythological histories, just like referencing minotaurs and gryphons... or more commonly vampires in western literature.

[mitsuki lover]

Well there are also different types of catgirls,etc.For example Koma in
Shrine of the Morning Mist was a demon cat who had the power to transform into a human and also into a combined human/cat form for combat.Yuroichi in Bleach was also able to transform from cat to human but without the hybrid stage.They represent one form of catgirl.Another form is what you find in Tokyo Mew Mews,a form of mutant catgirl.I believe
wikiepedia lists the different types there are.
Speaking of foxgirls,in Tactics Yoko was a fox demon who took the shape of a human girl though her real form was a fox.
I think bunnygirls(not girls named Usagi)are much rarely.
Perhaps in the end it's because people, and not just Japanese,love cute
things and nothing is cuter than a catgirl.

[Fish and Chips]

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." - Raoul Duke, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

[NekoChan_C]

the appeal is pretty universal, if you ask me. There is something undeniably sensual in the feline... and something more flirty and feminine in the bunny... Personally, I have always identified with feline sensuality... I bought my first pair of cat ears fourteen years ago and wore them daily... I have the pics to prove it! And this was long before I knew of any Nihongo neko-philia... ^_^