Why are the Japanese so obsessed with Coelacanths? I noticed

>>2362902
There's also the Pokémon "relicanth," modeled after it.

No idea though mate. When I was on a work study there I met a girl who had a button of one on her backpack. Didn't strike me what it was till now, though.

>tfw you catch two coelacanth in a row on a rainy day in Animal Crossing

File: b21f826b2393c845268362f4b2ecc11e.jpg (129KB, 640x661px) Image search: [Google]

129KB, 640x661px

they're cute

Some theories:

Japanese people love fish. Not just for food but in general. They adore fish as animals even if they do overfish (like most of the world, not just them.)

They love carp, which look similar to the coelacanth; kind of fat and cute.

Coelacanths are prehistoric and extremely old. Japan is very stringent about preserving old, ancient traditions.

I think it's just a fish that embodies a lot of things they as a nation love. Kind of like how America is obsessed with sharks (especially great whites) and you can tie it into a lot of their culture.

File: img10063909456.jpg (61KB, 700x500px) Image search: [Google]

61KB, 700x500px

What about these guys? The Japanese seem to love any sea creature that isn't a dolphin or a whale.

File: 390-904927_2_LRG.jpg (69KB, 600x600px) Image search: [Google]

69KB, 600x600px

>>2363008

File: 390-888906img01.jpg (42KB, 700x433px) Image search: [Google]

42KB, 700x433px

>>2363009

File: $(KGrHqV,!oEFIJZc5HEwBSJJ,PMoVw--60_3.jpg (23KB, 800x450px) Image search: [Google]

23KB, 800x450px

>>2363010

File: senpai.jpg (79KB, 640x661px) Image search: [Google]

79KB, 640x661px

>>2362987
B-baka senpai!!

>>2363008

These look like nectocaris. Its like a proto squid

>>2363008
>>2363012
>>2363016

Wait, upon closer inspection these are anomolacarids. Observe the rear tail projections

>>2362902
Coelecanths are basically what we looked like 390 million years ago.

>>2363008
>>2363009
>>2363010
I need all of these in my life

>>2363008
good. dolphins and whales are pleb tier sea animals.
>>2362993
I'm pretty sure most people here hate sharks and think they're evil super demons

I've noticed their fascination with sea life in general. I was looking for some dinosaur-related items on eBay once, and ended up finding a lot of prehistoric marine animal stuff from Japan. Not just coelacanths, but plenty of different vertebrates and invertebrates. I found it a bit weird; I thought dinosaurs and large extinct mammals would've been more interesting, but the Japanese apparently had a soft spot for prehistoric sea animals.

I suppose it could be because they're an island nation and fish are an important source of food for them. They probably look at the sea very differently than countries that don't have as much coastline, or countries where cattle and farming held more importance.
Most of Japan's fossil discoveries are sea creatures too. Maybe coelacanth appeals to them because it's like something out of their local fossil record, except it's still alive and around.

>>2363046
After reading your post I'm pretty sure you're a fucking moron.

>>2363074
this

Japan is interested in a LOT of sea life. Coelacanths, sea angels, giant isopods, and yeti crabs, and mola mola are just a small portion of the marine animals that they find fascinating.

Coincidentally, all of the animals I just mentioned have Pokemon counterparts, which says a lot about how much influence marine life has on Japan as a whole.

>>2363075
I'm sorry you aren't able to comprehend my genius

File: 1492789337406.jpg (361KB, 1190x842px) Image search: [Google]

361KB, 1190x842px

>>2362987
That brings me back.
It was a good feel
>tfw you'll never spend every single day of summer playing ac again

>>2363109
>>2362921
Meant to reply to this

>>2363008
>>2363012
>>2363010
holy fuck, I want some of those for my dog

>>2363113
Delete yourself, you double nigger.

>>2363109
>tfw used Gameboy cable to go to the island and it happened to be raining there
>spent the whole day catching knifejaws,snappers and coelacanths
>catch 15 coelacanths before I quit for the day
>leave all the other fish inside the little hut

sigh.....good times...

File: SeaCanthller.png (2KB, 137x72px) Image search: [Google]

2KB, 137x72px

>>2362919
>>2362921

Also in videogames, there's this guy in Megaman X2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhX_L_U0e5Q

>>2362921
You lucky fuck, I spent countless hours trying to find these assholes.

>>2363008
Many Japanese love whales and dolphins too. After the US and the rest of the developed world give up on cetacean captivity for profit Japan will probably be the last place to go see dolphins that isn't a third world shithole. They maintain a sort of cognitive dissonance about about killing pest dolphins and hunting whales for meat no one wants to eat while also enjoying them as cutesy characters or aquarium entertainment.

>>2363428
Really? Sure seems like they get a sick thrill out of killing and enslaving dolphins to me. Which by the way is more like cannibalism than eating an "animal" as much as they deny it. I hope they enjoy the mercury in it though. It's abhorrent how they do this. The word pest dolphin is a term they use to justify their murder because they think they have a right to all the fish they want and point the blame at the innocent. I believe there's a special place in hell for those who commit these atrocities and it's just a shame that such a "proud" nation would soil its hands in blood. Innocent blood from intelligent creatures who have never done you any wrong.

I will forever be indebted to these beings for what they have done for me and for turning my life around. It sickens to me to know that I live in a world where such evil is done to them. I just want it to end.

>>2362993
Theory my butt, Japs are crazy about fish.

Fuck, I bet they'll be the first to grow gills when the apocalypse happens.

File: the cove.jpg (499KB, 1600x1350px) Image search: [Google]

499KB, 1600x1350px

>>2363428
>>2363707
Even in the movie "The Cove", they pointed out that the village that's infamous for their annual dolphin killings has a lot of public property that makes it look like a dolphin-friendly town.

I think it's possible to appreciate animals but still kill them. For example some North European cultures used to worship bears and considered them as something god-like, but they still hunted and killed them for their meat and fur. After killing a bear, they held religious ceremonies where they pleaded forgiveness from the bear's spirit so that the animal would be reborn again.

The Japanese have always been very dependent on the sea, and they appear to like sea animals even if (or exactly because) they kill them to get food. As for the issue of dolphins and whales: I'm not sure how aware the Japanese public is of what happens in the hunts, or how they would feel about it if there was more awareness. It's easy to whine about their fishing, but Western nations eat tons of animals that have been raised in pretty horrible conditions. It looks a little hypocritical when a bunch of foreigners try to meddle in the affairs of the Japanese people and place restrictions on their livelihoods while not giving a shit about factory farming in their own countries.

File: 1435866468086.jpg (103KB, 736x650px) Image search: [Google]

103KB, 736x650px

>>2363008

>>2363707
>eating a dolphin is way more like cannibalism
just stop

>>2363730
it's different because one is farming domestic animals.

>>2363730
Are you serious? The people of that town will also violently defend their right to murder sentient sea life which is far different from a bear by the way. Apples and oranges.

If you want to compare a dolphin to anything compare them to what they rightfully resemble. Human beings. Their brains are as advanced are ours but modern science still wants to deny that it's not even remotely possible they could be even more intelligent.

However I say they are and I can't prove that to you in any court of law probably but still murder is murder. If you killed an alien that had intelligence akin to us would that be justified? Would it then be justified to enslave said alien race and eat its flesh?

If you don't understand why that is horrific and wrong then I guess this entire world is doomed to evil.

And factory farming has anything to do with brutally murdering dolphins because? Not seeing your logic or the Japanese on that one. Again comparing two things to get over the fact that they are murderers. Simple as that. Right up there with child rapists and cannibals and Hitler.

File: cyborg dog.jpg (1MB, 1484x3685px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1484x3685px

>>2363860
Does that mean it's better or worse? One has the animals kept in cramped confinement until their deaths to gain cheap, efficient food production, and the other's got wild animals that spend their lives freely in the nature before they're killed. A lot of hunters argue that killing wild animals is more merciful and less stressful on the animals than factory farming.

>>2364222
You'll want to convince the Japanese people rather than me, they're the ones who can end dolphin killings. But if you can't even try to understand another person's point of view and if you call them murderers instead, you'll never be able to persuade them to your side. Nobody likes foreigners criticizing them or issuing them orders, your kind of approach makes people even more stubborn to defend their traditions.

It's often argued that pigs are more intelligent than dogs, but for some reason eating pigs is acceptable in a lot of Western nations while eating dogs isn't. If the animal's intelligence is crucial, why do dogs and pigs get such different treatment? It gives the impression that it's a matter of emotion rather than reason or logic; dolphins and dogs get protection because they look cute.

I'm more distressed about how careless people can be about fishing in general. Some anons on this board argue that fish can't experience sensations of injury and the magic word "nociception" means that it doesn't matter. Even a lot of people who claim to be vegetarians are okay with eating fish. Everyone's all about dolphins and whales, but fighting for the rights of the fish isn't sexy enough.

File: 1490033363963.jpg (249KB, 659x717px) Image search: [Google]

249KB, 659x717px

>>2362902
same reason they're obsessed with shoebills
"ugly" rough looking animals are inversely cute

>>2362902
Because they're awesome.

>>2362902
Because they disprove evolution

>>2364222
>it's only worthwhile to protect it if it's like me

And honestly in response to the alien question I would say yes. If we can win then we have a right to the spoils, assuming we don't have any morals that keep us from accepting them.

>>2364380
fuck the cows feelings. it's about ecosystem sustainability

>>2364380
Most of /an/ is a collective of cognitive dissonance as they desperately try to justify the western lifestyle while still LARPing as caring about animals.

When everything's dead, there will be no more room to LARP.

>>2363738
huh, that's kinda badass. I thought Figma just made cute anime waifu figures.

>>2365544
This pretty much, if the farming/fishing/hunting is sustainable and the animal lives a good life is good to go.

>>2365556
>desperately justify the western lifestyle while still LARPing as caring about animals.
Sure it is better to act like a contrarian and pretend to have the moral high ground just because the only thing you do for nature is the fact that you only eat vegetables that STILL cause some damage to ecosystem and STILL imply the death of some creatures to reach the market. But I guess that isn't a problem since rats and insects aren't as cute and relatable as cows or pigs, is it?

>>2367071
>lives a good life
And isn't killed in a cruel manner that makes it suffer, forgot about that point.

>>2365736
>implying that isn't