This deep sea video is going viral on social media right now, and I think it has to be because of both the fish’s nosy nature and the weird facial features of the sea creature.
We’re putting two and two together and hoping that the viral clip that is circulating on social media is of the same fish whose story spread like wildfire five years ago in Tateyama, Japan.
The story actually revolves around scuba diver Hiroyuki Arakawa, who started diving when he was 18 and at the time of the video linked below was in his 70s, and this odd looking fish. The video linked below this one from Twitter helps to explain why this Asian sheepshead wrasse, also known as the Kobudai in Japan, is especially nosy and friendly with this scuba diver.
In the first clip, the scuba diver seems to be cracking open a clam for the “Squidward looking” fish, and the gilled creature is not giving them any space whatsoever.
The scuba diver even pushes back on the fish’s large bump a couple of times in the video, seemingly telling it to “back the hell up” so that they can finish the task at hand.
Finally, the diver gets the clam cracked open and offers the delicious food inside to the Asian sheepshead wrasse. The fish quickly accepts the deal and chomps down on the treat.
The caption could be an intentional pun, but I could also see it being an accidental one. It reads:
“This fish is cracking me up.”
Now we get to the video that might describe this close relationship between the scuba diver and this strange looking sea creature.
If the above video is in fact Hiroyuki Arakawa, then that fish actually has a name, which is Yoriko. The footage below covered the story between the unlikely bond between the diver and the fish and how they came to be so close.
Arakawa states:
“I’d say that we understand each other. Not that we can talk to each other but, it just happened naturally.
We decided to build a shrine gateway underwater. The shrine’s gate is at a depth of 56 feet. Yoriko lives by the shrine’s gate. I think it was around 30 years ago when I first met Yoriko.”
The two’s relationship have quite the amount of years underneath their belt. Hell, 30 years is a pretty good for a modern day marriage, let alone a bond between man and fish.
My favorite quote from the video is when Arakawa seems to throw some shade at a couple of his ugly friends. The scuba diver describes the friendly fish as:
“She’s called a Kobudai in Japan. I guess it’s because of the bump (kobu) they have.
If you look closely, from the front, they look like they have a human face. When you look really close, you’ll think it looks like someone you know.”
Let me tell you, that is not a compliment in any way whatsoever. No one would take a look at the face of the Asian sheepshead wrasse and say “that’s a beautiful fish.”
But anyways, Arakawa and a fish named Yoriko got to know each other one fateful day three decades ago, and the pair has never looked back:
“One day, she was by the shrine’s gate, exhausted. She couldn’t catch her own food. I fed her about five crabs every day for 10 days.
I guess she knows that I saved her, and that I helped her when she was badly injured.”
This so incredibly explains the “love-hate” relationship that the diver and the fish have in the above viral clip. They’ve gotten so comfortable with one another and have moved past the “manners” stage. That fish is saying “let me at it,” and the diver’s multiple pushes implies “give me just a damn minute.”
If you want to know a little more about the unlikely friendship, take a couple of minutes to watch their story below:
And as for the viral clip that’s posted towards the top of this article, social media was able to draw a number of similarities in their own lives to the fish’s intrusive behavior:
My cat when I’m on a zoom call.
— Bridget Smith 🚀 (@MagnumIP) May 25, 2023
“do You have games on your phone?” Vibes
— Andrés (@an_guerre) May 26, 2023
Me when the bartender is trying to make me shots.
— MJ Tomko (@Tomko_1) May 26, 2023
Me watching the waiter shred fresh Parmesan on my spaghetti. 😤
— Alli Cat (NEW ACCOUNT) (@ACatCosplay) May 26, 2023
