Hyakumankai Ikita Neko (100万回生きたねこ "The Cat That's Lived a Million Lives", "Million-Lived Cat") is a picture book by Yōko Sano, published in 1977. It's about, well, a cat that's been reincarnated a million times.
Tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: The cat becomes mature and caring and has a happy family, but his kids grow up and leave their parents, his partner dies from old age and he soon follows, and this time his death is final.
- Character Development: In all of his previous lives, the cat was a self-absorbed, dissatisfied jerk. Early on in his millionth, he's a self-absorbed, arrogant jerk. Then when he meets his Love Interest and starts a family, he gradually becomes a caring husband and father.
- Deader than Dead: The cat's death at the end is the final.
- The Hero Dies: The story hinges on the cat's repeated deaths and reincarnations, and he and his wife die for good at the end.
- Love Interest: The cat meets a white cat, falls in love with her and starts a family with her.
- Past-Life Memories: The cat is reincarnated a million times and has memory of his past lives, which he's very proud of in the beginning.
- Redemption Equals Death: The cat goes through Character Development and lives a good life… only to die permanently at the end.
- Reincarnation: The hero is a cat that's been reincarnated a total of a million times.
