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• Takehito Shimizu
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Buchio, a 20-year-old cat, is reborn as a nekomata. His family records a video of his transformation and hopes to upload it to YouTube, but Buchio is very shy and requests they do not. Mu-chan, a young human girl, tells the news to Jiro, a kind crow tengu. Buchio struggles to fill out paperwork so he can be added to the Youkai Rebirth Registry. Confused by his new existence as a youkai, Buchio visits Jiro and Tazenbo for guidance. Mu-chan sees a passing daidarabocchi while visiting Jiro. Jiro introduces Buchio to Yuri, a kitsune who offers to tutor Buchio in transformation magic. With practice, Buchio is able to give himself human hands.

Mu-chan reflects on her father's disappearance. Though her memories of him are fond, she can no longer remember his voice. Yuri hosts a barbecue with Jiro, Buchio, and the kids, as well as her friends Taira (a 27-year-old human), Yasu (a 33-year-old okuri-itachi), and Benmaru (a 125-year-old Betobeto-san). Afterwards, Buchio wonders why he became a nekomata. Benmaru tells him he is confused because he has not found his raison d'être for why he was brought to life, something all youkai have. Jiro recommends he express his feelings of gratitude to his family.

During a literature class, Rain the kappa drops an eraser, which is returned by Ryo, a human boy she has a crush on. Rain is overwhelmed by her emotions and faints. Rain's friend recommends she tell Ryo her feelings, but Rain is too shy. Rain asks Hanako-san for guidance, who advises she find a way to express her feelings without words by passing a baton to Ryo in the upcoming relay race.

Mu-chan follows Jiro and Hayachiyo as they investigate a spiritual disturbance in the forest. Mu-chan is hypnotized by a snake spirit that compels her to weaken the barrier protecting a sacred cedar tree before she is rescued by Jiro. Buchio learns how to transform ordinary objects into a bow and arrow. Buchio asks Yuri about her family, which makes Yuri angry and upset. The students perform an athletic festival where they must climb through a spiderweb woven by a tsuchigumo and walk across planks of ice created by a yuki-onna, among other activities. Rain successfully passes the baton to Ryo in the relay race.

Buchio reminisces about his life as a cat. After the Ōishis rescued him from a kite attack as a kitten, he witnessed Takumi's birth and lived with the family for many years. However, he is still uncertain about his reason for becoming a nekomata. While walking, Takumi and Buchio are attacked by a nue, but Buchio is able to scare it off by transforming into an archer. Buchio advances his training and is able to transform into Takumi; the two use this to play a prank on Takumi's mother, but she quickly sees through the ruse.

Mu-chan's grandmother notices she is upset about Jiro and tells her a story from his past: A hundred years prior, Jiro saved the town from a flash flood by killing the snake spirit responsible. Jiro nearly drowned, but survived. Mu-chan tells Jiro she hates him risking his life and vows to protect him. Jiro suddenly collapses and disappears, leaving behind a single feather. In a flashback to the previous day, the snake returns as a vengeful spirit and seeks to destroy the cedar tree, which is Jiro's true body. While Jiro affirms his decision to save the town 100 years prior, he chooses to atone for the murder by accepting the snake's vengeful curse.

While fishing with his friends, Tazenbo sees a bunrei of the local dragon god in the river. The man from the previous post-credits scene is revealed to be Gorozaemon Sanmoto, a demon king and famous celebrity. Sanmoto invites Buchio to his office in Tokyo. Buchio meets Sanmoto's secretary, Suzu, who is a fellow nekomata. Back in Fuchigamori, Buchio tells the Ōishis his raison d'être for becoming a nekomata was to repay them for their kindness in raising him. Buchio wonders if he should get a job that aligns with his youkai powers, but Benmaru advises him to follow his passions instead. Buchio attends driving school to obtain a driver's license, and becomes friends with Chiaki, a recently-reborn car tsukumogami.

Yuri sells oshibana at a fair and Buchio meets Kazuhiko, Chiaki's elderly partner. The oshibana makes Kazuhiko reminisce about his wife, who died of illness last year. Yuri reminisces about her family, who are proud kitsune of noble heritage. She became disgusted with her father's elitism and obsession with racial hygiene, causing her to leave the family. Buchio advises Yuri to talk to her family, but this sends Yuri into a rage due to her envy of Buchio's happy family.

Yuri apologizes for lashing out at Buchio. Yuri's little brother, Tsubaki, visits to tell her their mother is sick and begs Yuri to come home. Yuri agrees and speaks to her father, who says he stands by his beliefs and has no regrets. Yuri refuses to forgive him, but feels she has achieved closure, and chooses to maintain a relationship with Tsubaki and her mother. Buchio receives his driver's license. Mu-chan discovers Jiro has not yet replaced the damaged barrier, which frustrates her.

Buchio and Chiaki travel to the ocean, where they see an umibozu. Chiaki confides that Kazuhiko has been depressed since his wife's passing and is overly fixated on his own death. This causes Buchio to realize that, as nekomata have longer lifespans than humans, he will outlive his family, which makes him depressed. Chiaki ruminates on Kazuhiko's relationship with his wife, beginning a flashback of their life together. His wife's ancestor was a basho spirit, causing her to become terminally ill when the basho plant died.

Sanmoto invites Buchio on a trip to England, where magic is very powerful due to an abundance of ley lines and power spots. Takumi's mother senses Buchio is depressed and affirms that she sees him as a son. In England, Sanmoto reveals the purpose of the trip was to make Buchio confront his fear of loneliness by experiencing separation from his family. After returning to Japan, Buchio has tea with the Nishiyas, and Kazuhiko asks him to take care of Chiaki after he dies. This upsets Chiaki, who wants Kazuhiko to live in the moment. Chiaki reveals that before she died, Kazuhiko's wife asked him to take care of Kazuhiko in her place.

The students believe Ryo and Rain are dating, but Ryo stifles the rumors by acting aloof towards Rain. Jiro searches his storage shed for paper, but discovers it has been infested by mokumokuren. Mu-chan finds an old camera and asks Jiro about the photo of Haru, which causes Jiro to have a panic attack. Jiro apologizes, which upsets Mu-chan due to PTSD from Jiro frequently apologizing before putting himself in danger.

Rain's doctor explains that she is at risk of entering a state of hibernation due to the winter cold, and advises she avoid cold water. Ryo feels guilty for avoiding Rain and wishes to apologize. Ryo's friends drop a soccer ball into the river and Ryo attempts to retrieve it, but falls into a spatial distortion created by the sleeping dragon god. Rain rescues him, but falls into hibernation and cannot escape herself. Jiro attempts to commune with the dragon god to rescue her, but starts to be pulled in as well. Despite his warnings, Mu-chan rallies the children to help him, and together they rescue Rain. Rain awakens in the hospital a week later and Ryo apologizes to her.

Oni rampage across Japan while tengu attempt to protect the citizens. Sanmoto is cut off from his avatars spread across Earth, forcing him to revert to a small bat-like form with no powers. Taira and Yuri slay an oni who has boarded their airplane, causing it to crumble into sand. Kazuhiko escapes a group of oni by distracting them with a voice recording of Chiaki. Ma-san leaves the house and is attacked by oni, but Mu-chan rescues him by throwing Jiro's baked bean, which releases Jiro's fire magic and stuns the oni.

The dragon god dies as youkai across Japan lose their powers. Buchio and Suzu revert to normal cats and die. Rain turns into water and Jiro turns into wind. Takumi, Ryo, and Mu-chan awaken in a white void with no memories. By talking with one another, they remember their loved ones and are able to use kotodama to restore the youkai to life. However, Sanmoto disappears.

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