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If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016) movie poster

Plot Summary

If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language
2016 · 103 mins · Japanese
Directed by
Akira Nagai
Starring
Gaku Hamada, Aoi Miyazaki, Eita Okuno, Anna Ishii, Eiji Okuda, Mieko Harada

A postman receives a devastating diagnosis and learns he has limited time left. A mysterious figure appears, offering to prolong his life in exchange for choosing something in the world to vanish. As he contemplates his mortality, he reflects on the people who will mourn his passing – former friends, past lovers, family, and colleagues – and the impact his absence will have on their lives.

On this page (4)
  1. 1 What happens: full plot
  2. 2 Plot questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Every angle

Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in If Cats Disappeared from the World: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

An unnamed young man, a quiet, solitary Tsutaya who works as a postman, receives a terminal brain cancer diagnosis. As he grapples with the ache of knowing he may not be remembered, he returns home to encounter a startling figure who claims to be the devil—Postman / Devil. This eerie doppelgänger presents a chilling bargain: if the man agrees that one kind of thing will be erased from the world (as if it had never existed), he will be granted one more day of life instead of dying the next morning. The premise unfolds with a calm, almost clinical sense of inevitability, as if time itself is a negotiable currency.

Under the devil’s terms, each extra day comes at a price: the world will lose a chosen thing, removed at the end of that day. The first day sees phones vanish, leaving communication stripped down to silence and handwritten notes. The next day, movies disappear from public and private life, narrowing the man’s social world to memory and momentary, face-to-face exchanges. Then clocks vanish, muting schedules and rhythms that once marked his days. And finally, cats disappear, a detail that speaks to the intimate, domestic texture of his world. These removals are not grand events but quiet, disorienting shifts that force the man to confront how dependent he is on the everyday objects and rituals that once felt trivial.

As the world reshapes itself, the man discovers how fragile his relationships really are. The changes ripple through his life in ways that reveal what he values most: the fragments of connection with others, the rituals of ordinary days, and the private rituals tied to his late mother, whose memories are tethered to a cat he inherits. The memory of his Postman Father and Postman Mother surfaces in conversations, photographs, and long-ago moments that are reshaped by the missing items, turning nostalgia into a lens for evaluating what a life is worth. This is a story about how love, memory, and time hold each other up even as the world around them dissolves.

The narrative unfolds through a two-track structure, weaving present-day events with a series of flashbacks that illuminate the young man’s backstory and the foundations of his fragile ties. Through these vignettes, the viewer gains a deeper understanding of the people who mattered to him and the quiet pain of mortality. The film invites contemplation on what remained when the things he thought defined him were stripped away—and what endures when the world simplifies to essentials. It is a meditation on the beauty and pain of being alive, a reminder that even when even the smallest comforts disappear, memory and love can still offer a solitary, lasting light. Bold, intimate, and thoughtfully restrained, the story invites readers to feel the weight of every ordinary moment that survives the erasures.

Last updated: February 20, 2026 at 12:17

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Plot questions answered

If Cats Disappeared from the World Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why does the devil appear as the main character's double?

The devil takes the form of a doppelgänger to represent the protagonist's own mortality and inner self. By appearing as an identical version of the man, the devil symbolizes the inescapable nature of death, the protagonist confronts himself and his fear of being forgotten. This visual choice emphasizes that the bargain is ultimately a confrontation with his own existence.

  • devil
  • doppelganger
  • terminal diagnosis
  • mortality
  • self-reflection
Q2

Why are phones the first thing removed in the deal?

Phones vanish first because they represent the most superficial and instant form of human connection. The loss forces the protagonist to recognize how much of his relationships relied on convenience rather than genuine effort. This removal establishes the pattern that each vanishing item will strip away a layer of modern dependence, pushing him toward more meaningful, face-to-face interactions.

  • phones
  • communication
  • technology
  • relationships
  • removal order
Q3

What is the significance of the cat inherited from his mother?

The cat serves as the last living connection to his late mother, embodying memory and familial love. When cats disappear on the final day, he loses that tangible link to his past and family. This loss represents the ultimate stripping away of comfort, leaving him only with intangible memories, a bittersweet moment that helps him accept the finality of death.

  • cat
  • mother
  • memory
  • family
  • inheritance
  • loss
Q4

Why does the story remove items in this specific order: phones, movies, clocks, cats?

The removals follow a progression from external communication to internal experience. Phones cut superficial contact, movies eliminate shared culture, clocks remove structured time, and cats remove the last domestic comfort. Each step draws the protagonist inward, from the world to personal relationships to memory, eventually confronting what truly matters when everything else is gone.

  • vanishing items
  • removal order
  • progression
  • meaning
  • symbolism
Q5

How does the devil's bargain actually work?

For each thing the protagonist agrees to erase from existence, he receives one additional day of life. The devil explains this is a direct trade: one day of existence in exchange for one category of thing permanently removed from the world. The protagonist experiences four extra days before facing his ultimate fate.

  • devil
  • bargain
  • deal
  • extra days
  • life
  • trade
Q6

Why do memories of the ex-girlfriend appear after phones disappear?

The ex-girlfriend flashback surfaces because the loss of phones makes it impossible for the protagonist to reach out to her, even if he wanted to. The timing highlights how their relationship was maintained through constant contact rather than deeper emotional connection. This realization deepens his understanding of what their bond truly was, and what it could have been.

  • ex-girlfriend
  • memory
  • phones
  • flashback
  • relationship
  • regret
Q7

How does removing movies affect his best friend's identity?

When movies vanish, the protagonist's best friend, who has always used film as his primary way of connecting with others, loses his primary social tool. Their conversations become awkward and diminished without quotes, recommendations, or shared cinematic experiences. This reveals how the friend used movies as a shield rather than engaging authentically, and it strains their friendship.

  • movies
  • best friend
  • film
  • friendship
  • connection
  • identity
Q8

What happens when clocks disappear from the world?

With clocks gone, the sense of fixed time dissolves, schedules, routines, and the structured rhythm of daily life disappear. Days blur together, making each moment feel both endless and undefined. This removal forces the protagonist to live in pure present experience, heightening the significance of each choice and memory.

  • clocks
  • time
  • schedules
  • disappearance
  • memory
  • present
Q9

Why does the story end with the choice to remove cats?

Cats are the final removal because they represent the last source of domestic comfort and unconditional love. Having already lost phones, movies, and clocks, the protagonist faces the most personal loss, the living reminder of his mother. Choosing to let cats go, even knowing it will erase his beloved pet, demonstrates his acceptance of death and his understanding that love persists beyond physical presence.

  • cats
  • final choice
  • acceptance
  • death
  • mother
  • love
  • ending
Q10

What does the ending mean thematically?

The ending represents acceptance of mortality and the recognition that love and memory transcend physical objects. The protagonist has lost everything that defined his modern life, yet he finds peace in the knowledge that what matters, connection, memory, and love, cannot be erased by removing things from the world. The bittersweet tone suggests death is not an end but a transformation.

  • ending
  • acceptance
  • mortality
  • love
  • memory
  • theme
  • bittersweet
Q11

What is the devil's purpose in the story?

The devil functions as both a literal bargain-maker and a symbolic representation of death's inevitability. He offers a false choice, trading everyday essentials for survival, but the protagonist eventually realizes the bargain cannot truly save him. The devil's presence forces the protagonist to confront what he values most before facing the inevitable.

  • devil
  • death
  • bargain
  • mortality
  • symbolism
  • purpose
Q12

What is the purpose of the Buenos Aires acquaintance in the story?

The Buenos Aires acquaintance represents a connection from the protagonist's past that exists outside his daily routine and current relationships. This tentative link remains despite the vanishing items, showing that some human connections endure across distance and time. It underscores the theme that genuine bonds persist even as the world changes around us.

  • Buenos Aires
  • acquaintance
  • connection
  • travel
  • memory
  • enduring bonds
Q13

Why does the movie use flashbacks alongside the present-day story?

The flashbacks reveal the protagonist's backstory and the foundations of his relationships, showing who will mourn him and why those connections matter. By weaving past moments with present-day contemplations, the film builds emotional weight and helps viewers understand what the protagonist is ultimately fighting for, not just more time, but meaningful connection and memory.

  • flashback
  • backstory
  • relationships
  • memory
  • past
  • emotional depth

Movie threads

More Movies Like If Cats Disappeared from the World, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes If Cats Disappeared from the World tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies that explore existential bargains like If Cats Disappeared from the World

Characters confronting death are offered impossible choices. If you appreciated the supernatural negotiation in If Cats Disappeared from the World, you'll find similar movies here. These films feature characters making metaphysical deals, exploring themes of regret, memory, and the preciousness of life.

  • philosophical
  • melancholic
  • contemplative
  • supernatural
  • bittersweet
  • existential
  • Tone: melancholic, philosophical, bittersweet
  • Pacing: steady, contemplative
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread often follow a structured 'deal of the day' format, where each choice reveals deeper layers of the protagonist's past and emotional landscape. The story unfolds through quiet contemplation, flashbacks, and a growing sense of the emotional cost of each sacrifice, building towards a final, deeply personal decision.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here based on a shared core premise: a mystical bargain used as a device to dissect life's meaning. They share a meditative, melancholic tone, a steady pace that allows for emotional absorption, and a profound focus on the human connections that define our existence. The emotional journey centers on confronting regret and valuing love in the face of loss.

Movies about reflecting on a life like If Cats Disappeared from the World

Characters catalog their regrets and connections facing death. For viewers who were moved by the reflective journey in If Cats Disappeared from the World, these movies offer similar emotional experiences. They feature protagonists taking stock of their lives, focusing on the quiet significance of memories and human bonds.

  • reflective
  • melancholic
  • nostalgic
  • sentimental
  • poignant
  • contemplative
  • Tone: reflective, melancholic, sentimental
  • Pacing: steady, measured
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern revolves around a character, often confined by illness or circumstance, revisiting key relationships and pivotal moments from their past. Flashbacks are woven into the present-day frame, revealing character motivations, unresolved emotions, and the quiet poetry of ordinary life. The structure is often episodic, exploring one significant relationship or theme at a time.

Why they belong together: These films are linked by their focus on introspection and the bittersweet process of life review. They share a melancholic, sentimental heart, a deliberate pacing that allows the audience to sit with the characters' emotions, and a heavy emotional weight arising from themes of mortality, nostalgia, and the search for meaning.

Every angle

If Cats Disappeared from the World (2016) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about If Cats Disappeared from the World in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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