Inshallah. The World Series is over in five games. The 2024 Dodgers have reached the mountain top, regardless of what this handsome doll thought. Did it really happen? I think we need some proof.

All phone calls, jokes and ducks aside, I walk the line between serious journalist and crazy fan. Depending on the subject, 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’ve been a fan of Japanese culture for almost thirty years, starting from watching dubbed, awful Godzilla movies with my mother to discovering anime like Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) and Escaflowne’s vision.

Oddly enough, Mexico and Latin America have really thrown themselves into DBZ in a way that feels more passionate and cultural than the United States, but that essay is a topic for another day.

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

Anyway, I had a question in the back of my mind, but I forgot about it as the season went on.

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

Ohtani’s wife, Mamiko Tanaka, chose Il Vento D’oro by Yugo Kanno. The song is the main character theme of Part 4 of the venerable anime JoJo’s bizarre adventure. For anyone who knows anime, this song is a dead giveaway because you don’t just pick that song.

If you had just chosen an unremarkable Japanese pop song, I think someone could have chosen Miki Matsubara’s ‘Stay With Me’ or, if you wanted a deeper version, Bonnie Pink’s ‘It’s Gonna Rain’. Yes, the songs are old, but good music is good music, regardless of whether you can understand the lyrics.

I wondered if Ohtani was like me, an otaku, and wondered what anime and manga he liked. When I saw the following from Kiké Hernandez during the NLCS, I received confirmation that I was not wrong in my thinking.

“We could be on a bus to San Diego, and it looks like a party bus. Or we’re on a flight where music is playing and… he just sits in his chair reading comics. And that’s just Sho. He’s great. “

(emphasis added.)

No disrespect, but Ohtani doesn’t read Jughead comics. Like someone investigating the mystery of Pepe Silvia, I had an idea as I got to the bottom of this mystery, this nagging question. I was stymied at every turn.

After all, I may be the Brent Honeywell of Dodger writers; Could you even take me out of the line-up without Adric? I couldn’t ask anyone who’s serious to just ask Ohtani, because honestly, it’s not a serious question.

Eric Stephen has better things to do than put up with my fantasies; it’s enough work to edit my (sometimes) long essays. I have improved quite a bit in the last three years.

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

Was he busy with serious things like Crazy? Did he love classics like Naruto, DBZor Bleach? He was busy with current affairs such as JoJoor (God forbid, I dare to 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’s something in common, I’ll grab it like Mookie Betts grabs a foul ball in New York.

I have so many questions right now.

And yes, I could and will investigate and ask questions about the gondola. I have a lot of Year in Review essays I’d like to write. I’ve been learning Japanese for 50 days (as of this essay) and am counting on a special project that I’m really excited to share with you. I guess a taste wouldn’t hurt…

I have a 2025 itinerary to complete and guide entries to write for six new cities, but we’re finally starting to prepare for a parade and as the season’s credits start to roll, I have 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?)