"Does it really surprise people that the Japanese cooked (yuk yuk) this up? Come on folks, these are the same people who brought us similar tales of their skilled blademanship (except on people) in Nanking and Bataan."

Actually they're not the same people, those people are (mostly) long dead.

You've obviously never been to Japan

"Interesting reasoning, Mathieu. So if a constipated person craps on a plate, people should line up to enjoy the delicacy? It’s difficult to make, takes a long time, and is an unusual thing to eat. What’s the difference?"

The difference is, um, one is safely edible and one is crap?

Things eat things - it's part of life. Get over it

"In fact, it’s probably hard to fillet while it’s alive, so you’d save in preparation time and be done quicker, hence a fresher fish."

Actually, that would devalue the delicacy. The difficulty and time spent is part of what makes it a luxury - and it is. It's not regular Japanese fare. That's why they're smiling and enjoying it - it's unusual.

I had twitching sashimi lobster in Sydney once. Kind of freaked me out a bit. But I would still give this one ago :) After all it's food. Remember, fish eat live fish too (in the wild).