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Turns Out Shōhei Ohtani Can Pitch, Hit, AND Draw Manga Art Shockingly Well

Being talented in one aspect of your life doesn't stop you from being talented in other aspects. For instance, former seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to have a prolific acting career. But what about Shōhei Ohtani, the biggest name in sports today?

Well, it turns out he's not just one of the greatest baseball players to grace the sport but also has some talent in drawing.

The topic was raised when X (formerly Twitter) user @takadachandayo posted an image from a morning TV program with an illustration of Slam Dunk character Hisashi Mitsui drawn by Ohtani. The drawing depicts Mitsui from one of the manga's most iconic scenes where he breaks down crying and tells Coach Anzai he wants to play basketball.

Ohtani apparently drew this on a whiteboard before he left the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters baseball team in 2017 to join the Los Angeles Angels. In the message he writes, “Thank you.”

This isn't the first time Ohtani's artistic prowess has been covered. In an article by Shūkan Josei Prime on September 14, 2022, the outlet reported about and obtained a photo of the above drawing of Slam Dunk's Mitsui by Ohtani. Alongside this, some of Ohtani's former teammates have spoken about his artistic talent on variety TV programs. However, with Ohtani's appointment as a judge (with Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue, no less) for Weekly Shonen Jump's new Jump Sports Manga Award, his artistic talents have resurfaced.

While Ohtani isn't a prolific artist, he certainly has some latent artistic talent. Does this alone make him a good judge for the Jump Sports Manga Award? Probably not. But he's one of the greatest athletes of this generation. And if that doesn't make him qualified, I don't know what does.

Sources: Takada's X/Twitter account via Hachima Kikō, Shūkan Josei Prime, Shōhei Ohtani's Instagram account