The Cat Proposed

Souta Matoi is a deeply exhausted office worker whose relentless daily grind has left him drained and disillusioned with his own life. Seeking a brief escape from the suffocating monotony of his routine, he makes an impulsive decision one evening after another grueling shift. Rather than heading straight home, he stops to watch a traditional Japanese theatrical performance, hoping the art form might offer him a momentary reprieve from his overwhelming fatigue. However, what begins as a quiet cultural outing quickly takes an unexpected turn. As Souta watches the actors move across the stage, he notices something peculiar about one of the performers—a fleeting glimpse of what unmistakably appears to be feline ears. His disbelief soon gives way to astonishment when he discovers that the actor is not human at all, but rather a bakeneko, a supernatural shapeshifting cat drawn directly from Japanese folklore. Before Souta can fully process the reality of the mythical creature standing before him, the situation escalates in the most unforeseen way possible. The bakeneko addresses him directly, delivering a startling declaration that will forever alter the weary salaryman’s mundane existence: "From now on, you will be my spouse."