Shohei Ohtani as to manga and anime

Inshallah. The World Series is over in five games. The 2024 Dodgers have made it to the mountaintop, never mind what this handsome dummy thought. Did it really happen? I think we need some evidence.

All calls, jokes, and ducks aside, I walk a line between a serious journalist and a goofball fan. Depending on the subject matter, it is sometimes a mile wide and sometimes an inch wide.

Between the (comic) lines

Shohei Ohtani is from Ōshū in Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan. I have been a fan of Japanese culture for almost thirty years, starting with watching dubbed, awful Godzilla movies with my mom to discovering anime like Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) and The Vision of Escaflowne.

Oddly enough, Mexico and Latin America have truly glommed onto DBZ in ways that feel more passionate and cultural than the United States, but that essay is a topic for another day.

I have tried not to make any assumptions about Ohtani based on where he is from. That said, Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s success has been a big deal in Japan, based on television ratings and official announcements.

Either way, I had a question in the back of my mind, but then I forgot about it as the season progressed.

Women’s Night happened at Dodger Stadium in July happened and everything changed. All the wives and girlfriends of the Dodgers picked alternate walk-up songs for the team and with one exception, the musical selections did not stand out.

Ohtani’s wife, Mamiko Tanaka, picked Il Vento D’oro by Yugo Kanno. The song is the theme of the main character of Part 4 of the venerable anime JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. For anyone who knows anime, this song is a dead giveaway as one does not just pick that song by chance.

If one just picked a nondescript Japanese pop song, I suppose someone could have picked “Stay With Me” by Miki Matsubara or, if you wanted a deeper cut, “It’s Gonna Rain” by Bonnie Pink. Yes, the songs are old, but good music is good music, regardless if you can understand the lyrics.

I wondered whether Ohtani was like me, an otaku, and wondered what anime and manga he was into. When I saw the following from Kiké Hernandez during the NLCS, I had confirmation that I was not wrong in my thoughts.

“We can be on a bus ride to San Diego, and it looks like a party bus. Or we could be on a flight where there’s music blasting and he’s just sitting in his chair reading comics. And that’s just Sho. He’s amazing. “

[emphasis added.]

No disrespect, but Ohtani is not reading Jughead comics. Like someone investigating the mystery of Pepe Silvia, I had an idea as I had to get to the bottom of this mystery, this nagging question. I was stymied at every turn.

After all, I am arguably the Brent Honeywell of Dodger writers; without Adric, would you even be able to pick me out of a lineup? I could not ask someone serious to just ask Ohtani because, frankly, it is not a serious question.

Eric Stephen has better things to do than put up with my flights of fancy; it’s already enough work to edit my (sometimes) lengthy essays. I have improved quite a bit over these past three years.

Someone had to ask, I have to know: What manga and anime is Shohei Ohtani a fan of?

Was he into serious stuff like Berserk? Was he into the classics like Naruto, DBZ, or Bleach? Was he into ongoing stuff like JoJo, or (God forbid, dare I dream it) One Piece? Was he a fan of ongoing work like Chainsaw Man or Dandadan?

Ohtani is just not like us, but if there is something in common, I will grasp it like Mookie Betts grasps a foul ball in New York.

I have so many questions right now.

And yes, I could and will investigate and ask about the Gondola. I have many Year in Review essays I look forward to writing. I have been working on learning Japanese for 50 days (as of this essay) and counting on a special project that I am extremely excited to share with you. I suppose a sneak peek would not hurt...

I have a 2025 itinerary to finalize and Guide Entries to write for six new cities, but we finally start preparing for a parade and as the end credits of the season are starting to roll, I have the questions for Ohtani that no one thought to ask:

Shohei Ohtani, what is your favorite manga?

(大谷翔平さんの好きな漫画は何ですか？ / Ōtani Shōhei-san no sukina manga wa nanidesu ka?)

Follow-up question, what is your favorite anime?

(追加の質問ですが、あなたの好きなアニメは何ですか? / Tsuika no shitsumondesuga, anata no sukina anime wa nanidesu ka?)