Many people say that one of the best ways to study English is through things you genuinely enjoy.

Textbooks and grammar exercises alone can become exhausting, but reading familiar manga, novels, or movies in English can make language learning feel natural and fun.

That was also part of Shohei Ohtani’s approach.

Although Ohtani usually speaks Japanese through an interpreter during official interviews, teammates and people around the club have often said that he can communicate comfortably in English — even joking around naturally in the clubhouse.

He has also delivered speeches in English on public occasions.

During the 2019 offseason, Ohtani revealed that he had been reading the English edition of Dragon Ball.

Interestingly, he had already read Dragon Ball Z in Japanese, but had never read the original Dragon Ball storyline. That curiosity led him to wonder what it would feel like to experience it in English instead.

When he encountered unfamiliar words or expressions, he looked them up himself.

Eventually, he joked that he had become confident enough to think:

“Wait, is this really the right English translation here?”

That small comment reveals something important about Ohtani’s personality.

He does not approach learning passively.

He explores things because he is curious, enjoys the process, and actively engages with what he is learning.

For many Japanese athletes playing overseas, communication can become a major challenge. But Ohtani improved his English not only through formal study, but also through enjoyable experiences like reading manga in English and communicating openly with teammates through his naturally positive personality.

Even language learning, for him, became something connected to curiosity and enjoyment.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Baseball Youth II: MLB Edition 2018–2024 Shohei Ohtani Long Interview, p.99