My Favourite Thing On The Internet Is This Japanese Reality TV Show Clip About A Thicc Dog
One of the best things in the entire world is the video of Sacchan, a dog who appeared on an episode of the Japanese reality show Knight Scoop.
By way of background: Knight Scoop is a popular Japanese variety show that’s been running since the ’80s. The premise is that the hosts are running a detective agency and a panel of ‘experts’ solve mysteries that are submitted by viewers.
The hosts have ‘solved’ all sorts of cases, like whether it’s possible to stand an egg upright and helping a man achieve his lifelong dream of carrying a giant baguette down the street.
But we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to talk about Sacchan the fat dog.
The Legend Of Sacchan The Dog On Knight Scoop
A woman named Hamada Keiko-san wrote in to Knight Scoop asking them to follow her dog for a day to find out how he got so fat.
“Sacchan has become curiously fat, although my own weight hasn’t changed. But I wonder where he goes everyday to get that fat,” she said. “So I would like to find out where he goes in the day. Just what does he get up to? Please find out!”
Things in the outside world are terrible but I find myself thinking about Sacchan the dog that just wanders around his hometown in Japan and I cheer up a little.
— sasha hanako (@sashanako) June 19, 2018
So the hosts sent comedian Hyota Echizenya to Shirahama, a small town near Osaka, to get to the bottom of Sacchan’s gluttonous double life.
[media_embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7UcN3WPhKY[/media_embed]Where Does Sacchan Go All Day?
From the very first moment Hyota arrives at the house, it’s clear that Sacchan is no ordinary dog. Although the family own three similar dogs, Sacchan is easy to tell apart because of his sheer mass.
Look at this wonderful, fat dog.
Sacchan emits an air of total self-confidence. This is a dog who doesn’t give a fuck, a vibe that will only become more obvious as the video continues.
Hyota tails Sacchan as the dog takes himself for a walk into town. He lets himself into stranger’s homes to play with their dogs and eat food they put out for him. He drinks from a bucket outside a convenience store, naps in their garden, stands in line at a travel agency and hangs out with people at the train station.
All the locals know and love Sacchan, even though most of them don’t know his owners. One woman at least knows where he lives, though, because she drives him home every evening.
Sacchan is straight-up vibin’ all over town.
How Did Sacchan Get So Large?
Although the video quickly derails into an investigation of this dog’s absurdly cartoonish daily life, the question at its core is always “why is he so fat?”
In a day, we see Sacchan eat a bowl of dog food given to him by a local, a box of Pocky sticks from a travel agent, and two hour’s worth of treats from people at the station.
At one point, Sacchan runs after a lady on a bicycle. And let me tell you, watching this robust dog run is a beautiful sight to behold.
“Please observe! Sacchan running!” Hyota calls out to the nearby locals. “He’s chasing after the lady. He’s giving it his all! Sacchan is rapid!”
Why Do We Love Sacchan So Much?
Knight Scoop is a wildly popular show, but the video of Sacchan the dog has a cult following on the internet. Every few years it resurfaces on Reddit or YouTube, and the comments are flooded with people who love this dog, this icon, this hero of Japanese television.
million dollar idea: game like the goose game but instead you’re a slightly chubby dog in 1990s rural japan and you go around having very mild adventures, c.f. knight scoop / sacchan
— john “as b/4, someday, god willing” fink (@adr) September 24, 2019
Maybe we love it so much because there’s nothing like Knight Scoop in Australia. Maybe we love it because watching a fat dog wander where he pleases all day long makes us remember a time before iso. Or maybe we just love this chonky dog who’s living his best life.
We aspire to be like Sacchan, going where we want, when we want, eating whatever we like along the way, and making friends wherever we go.
(Lead image: Knight Scoop)
