| Errors | Missing | Unverified | Supported |
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Based on the narrative structure of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster (2023), the answer is no, Yori Hoshikawa did not kill the cat.
The incident with the cat is a central example of the film’s "Rashomon-style" storytelling, where the same event is viewed through different lenses to show how easily the truth can be distorted.
Here are the specific details regarding the cat:
In the second segment of the film, which follows the teacher Mr. Hori, we see a scene where he finds Yori standing over a dead cat in a drain near the abandoned train tracks. Combined with rumors he has heard from other students who claim Yori kills animals, Mr. Hori assumes Yori is a budding sociopath. This reinforces the "monster" narrative that the adults have constructed about the boy.
In the final segment of the film, which follows Minato and Yori, the truth is revealed. Yori found the cat already dead. Far from being violent, Yori is shown to be a gentle and empathetic child. He was actually trying to "help" the cat or give it a sort of funeral.
A specific, haunting detail from this scene involves Minato finding Yori blowing into the dead cat's mouth. When Minato asks what he is doing, it is clear that Yori is acting out of a naive, desperate hope or a confused ritual—possibly trying to see if he could bring it back to life or "release" its spirit—rather than out of malice.
The film implies that the rumors about Yori being a "monster" who kills animals originated from his abusive father. His father tells him he has a "pig's brain" and tries to "cure" him of his perceived abnormalities. The other children at school pick up on Yori’s "strangeness" and invent stories about him killing cats to justify their bullying.
Conclusion:
The cat was already dead when Yori found it. The accusation that he killed it is one of the many "monsters" created by the misunderstandings, prejudices, and rumors of the adult world.
This is a crucial plot point for understanding Hori's motivation and the 'monster' theme shift.
The summary invents a 'blowing into mouth' ritual instead of the actual cremation/burial scene.
No, Yori did not kill the cat in Monster (2023); he and Minato found it already dead. However, the AI summary contains significant errors regarding the film's perspective shifts. In Mr. Hori's segment, he does not find Yori standing over the cat; rather, he hears a rumor (often attributed to a classmate like Kida) that Minato was 'fiddling with a dead cat corpse,' leading Hori to believe Minato is the violent one. The summary also describes a scene where Yori 'blows into the dead cat's mouth,' which appears to be a hallucination or misinterpretation; in the actual film, the boys bury and cremate the cat. The rumors about killing animals are specifically weaponized against Minato in Hori's view, not Yori.