Welcome to Keisuke Iwahata's web site! Here you can explore paintings and characters created by Keisuke Iwahata, an illustrator born in Numazu City, Shizuoka, Japan.

When I was on the 4th grade, I was in the hospital for treatment for leukemia.
At that time, I was always reading comic books.
My favorite cartoon was “Tensai Bakabon” (literally meaning Genius Bakabon) written by Fujio Akatsuka.  I really enjoyed the episodes that involved a lot of trouble by the leading character Bakabon’s Papa and his son Bakabon.
When I read his cartoon at the age of ten, I thought that I wanted to try to create such funny characters as Fujio Akatsuka did.
It is Fujio Akatsuka’s “Tensai Bakabon” that triggered me to aspire to be a cartoon artist. 
I still have so many things to learn to make my dream come true.  I’d like to thank you in advance for any support and help you can provide.

Let me introduce a character “Star Man, warrior of light” to you.
Star Man is a hero character I created to attract little kids such as Anpanman, the most popular cartoon character in Japan.
The story is set in a fictional peaceful island called “Hono Bono Island” on the Earth.  The leading character Star Man fights against a long-standing enemy Akutō Man and bad guys for peacekeeping of the island.  Also, “Star Kid,” which is a sequel to “Star Man,” will also be coming soon.  The story is set in the future world several years after the events of Star Man.  Star Kid, a son of Star Man, fights against Akudō Man, a son of Akutō Man.
I hope you will like Star Man.

Today, I’d like to introduce an original character ”Giant monster Giras” to you.
Godzilla movies, which I liked watching in my primary school days, and a variety of characters that appear in “Pocket Monster,” the most popular game among children, served as an inspiration for “Giant monster Giras.”
I usually enjoy painting pictures of monsters.  I wanted to develop and create an original monster character, and “Giant monster Giras” came into my mind. 
Giras will be more and more powerful as it fights against a lot of monsters.
I’ll write more about Giras again some day.  So stay in touch with me.

As for the title “Run for glory,” which is displayed in the Web Gallery, I drew my inspiration from a song “Eiko no kakehashi” (literally meaning Bridge for glory), which is one of my mother’s and my favorite song written by a Japanese pop duo Yuzu.
Whether you win or lose is not important, but what is important is to do your best and give it a try.  This is what I want to express in “Run for Glory.”

Let me tell you about characters I’ve created.
All of them are original characters I’ve developed and created.
I’ve been enjoying reading comic books written by a lot of comic artists, watching animation shows, and playing videogames since I was a primary schooler.  That helped me a lot to develop and create original characters on my own.
For example, “Giant monster Giras”, which is displayed in the Web Gallery, was derived from the names of the monsters that I often saw in old monster movies.  “Tonya, a half-tiger half-cat creature” is also an original character I named.  ”Banchō Dinosaur” is a character that flashed into my mind when I wanted to create a strong-looking character.  (“Banchō” is a Japanese old-fashioned term to represent the leader of a group of delinquents at school.)  Also, I created a character named ”Beggar Worm,” taking a cue from a bagworm.  In the story, Beggar Worm finally becomes rich after having gained a variety of experiences.  This is represented by the picture titled “Neatly dressed Beggar Worm.”
I will tell you more about the original characters I’ve created.  So stay in touch with me.