The best World Series outcome for one particular subset of fans? The Dodgers slugger hits four home runs a game, and the Yankees win four straight, 5-4.

Masa Kawai wore his faded Yankees cap on Wednesday as he served customers at the Japanese doughnut shop he owns in Edgewater, N.J. It was two days before Game 1 of a World Series that would feature his Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Mr. Kawai, who emigrated from Japan 20 years ago, left no doubt about his allegiance.

As happy as he is to see Shohei Ohtani, the incomparable slugger from Japan, reach the World Series, Mr. Kawai and his Japanese employees are not abandoning the Yankees, not with so much at stake.

"No, no, never," Mr. Kawai said with a laugh. "I like Ohtani a lot. He is an amazing player and he is Japanese, like me. But I want the Yankees to win."

Japanese baseball fans are like sports fans everywhere. Some are fanatical about one team. Some are more casual and switch allegiances depending on a team's fortunes. Some root solely for a particular athlete, whether it is Ohtani, LeBron James, Marta or Patrick Mahomes.

Ohtani, though, is a special case. It was once thought blasphemous to compare anyone to Babe Ruth, but Ohtani has done things even the Bambino did not. Ruth was a great pitcher with the Boston Red Sox and, later, a legendary slugger for the Yankees, but he rarely excelled at both at once as Ohtani has.

With his unprecedented combination of all-around skill, plus his natural humility and boyish good looks, Ohtani has stoked the imaginations of millions of people. It is not outlandish to think he could one day be considered the best all-around player in history.

But don't expect hard-core Japanese Yankees fans to unhitch their loyalty for the first handsome, slugging pitching ace that comes along. Yes, they like and respect Ohtani. But they love the Yankees. The best possible outcome would be for Ohtani to hit four home runs in every game, and for the Yankees to win, 5-4.

"For sure, that would be perfect," said Taka Shirai, the executive director of Hideki Matsui's 55 Baseball Foundation and the president of the Leadoff Sports agency. "The Dodgers are getting bigger for Japanese fans. But the Yankee are still the Yankees."

Mr. Shirai has lived in New York since 2003, when Matsui left the Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo to join the Yankees. It was a momentous transfer because Matsui, nicknamed Godzilla, was the unmatched star of Japan's largest club, and he was going to their American equivalent in the Bronx. The Yankees were already popular in baseball-mad Japan, but when Matsui joined the team, and later led them to the 2009 championship as World Series M.V.P., the franchise's pre-eminence in Japan was solidified.

"After 2009, everything changed," Mr. Shirai said. "Hideki did really well with the Yankees. That connection is very, very strong."

Ellison Stanley is a dual Japanese and U.S. citizen who grew up in Japan, mostly in Tokyo. He lives in Washington, D.C., where he works as a video producer, but his loyalty was fused to the Yankees in 2004, when they opened their season against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Tokyo Dome. A schoolboy at the time, Mr. Stanley watched as Matsui played left field and hit a home run. Those memories are not easily dissolved.

"I always want the Yankees to win," Mr. Stanley, 29, said. "But if they weren't in it, I would support Ohtani. He is a perfect example of what a great baseball player should be, and he really represents Japan well."

There is an element of communal pride in Ohtani's accomplishments and comportment, as there was for Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente and others.

The same was also true for previous Japanese stars like Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki and Matsui. Each was a pioneer in his own way, and they all confirmed that Japanese players could excel in Major League Baseball -- and even set significant records and win major awards. Their popularity reflected their success, and the same goes for Ohtani. Last year, he became the first Japanese player to have his jersey lead all sales; it did the same this year.

"We are so proud of him as a Japanese person," said Noriko Yamamoto, a fashion industry marketer in Tokyo. "It is amazing that he is doing it in the U.S."

After starring with the crosstown Angels for several years, Ohtani signed a historic, 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December, and finally made his first foray into the playoffs. The TV broadcast for his last playoff game against San Diego averaged nearly 13 million viewers in Japan, compared with 7.5 million in the U.S. Now in the World Series, his profile has spiked even more.

Jim Small, the president of the World Baseball Classic, spent 16 years leading M.L.B.'s offices in Tokyo. Ohtani, Mr. Small said, has actually eclipsed Suzuki and Matsui in popularity.

"That is saying a lot, because those two are immensely popular," he said. "At the same time, Japanese fans are sophisticated baseball fans. If they support a team, that is not given up easily. It would be a very rare case for a Japanese Yankee fan to root for the Dodgers in this World Series."

But Japan is home to fans of other teams, and many people will root for the Dodgers. There are also a large percentage who consider themselves exclusively Ohtani fans, like Ms. Yamamoto, the fashion industry executive.

She found a love for baseball in 2021, thanks to Ohtani. She had paid almost no attention to the sport before then, but finally had to investigate what everyone in Japan was so excited about. Now, her 11-year-old son and French husband are baseball fans, too, all thanks to Ohtani.

"I always thought baseball was slow and long and boring," she said. "But Ohtani-san made me pay attention, and I'm sure a lot of other people are the same way. If he hits a home run, it makes me happy the rest of the day."

Kyotaro Terai is an app developer in Tokyo. He knows many Japanese Yankees fans who simply do not like the Dodgers. He is not a Yankees fan, so he is hoping to see Ohtani carry the Dodgers to the title. He said many Japanese baseball fans feel the same way.

"Japan likes being No. 1 at something, and Ohtani is pushing that forward," he said.

But at Kai Sweets in Edgewater, Noriko Yamasaki wants no part of that. She has been living in the New York area for 25 years and is devoted to the Yankees.

"I have a Derek Jeter jersey," she said while serving a customer. "I will wear it during the World Series games to show my support for the Yankees."