is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He attended College of Economics at Nihon University. His spouse is manga artist Reiko Yano. He cites artists such as Shinji Wada, Fumio Hisamatsu, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Mitsuteru Yokoyama as his influences. Biography was born January 19, 1959, in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. He attended and graduated from Nihon University in the College of Economics. His professional manga debut, (using the pen name Izumi Takemoto), appeared in the August 1981 issue of Nakayoshi, though it wasn't published in book form until 2003. All of his professional manga and illustration work has appeared using the name "Izumi Takemoto". In an interview with BookScan, Takemoto cited artists such as Shinji Wada, Fumio Hisamatsu, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Mitsuteru Yokoyama as his influences. His first experience with science fiction was through the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the majority of his works reflect this SF influence. He is also a cat lover, and while cats frequently appear in his works, he had never owned a cat until 2003. He used his first experiences with his cat when he wrote Aru Hi no Zwei. Takemoto's works have been nominated seven times for the Seiun Award in the Best Comic category but never won the award. His third published manga, Aoi-chan Panic! (1983-1984), was nominated in 1985. His second nomination came in 1993 for (1990-1992), followed the next year by a nomination for (1991-2004). In 2002, (1995-2001) was nominated. (2006-2009) was nominated in 2010, followed by (2009-2013) in 2014, and (2015-2016) in 2017. Some of his older and uncollected works have been rereleased through Enterbrain, beginning with and . Works All works are listed chronologically within each section. Audio albums These are either soundtrack albums for Takemoto's games or audio drama albums based on his manga. (July 1994) (May 1994) (January 1996) (February 1997) (April 2006) (February 2008) (December 2009) Contains music from Hataraku Shōjo: Tekipaki Workin' Love, Neko Mēwaku, and Rupupu Cube Lup Salad games from Datam Polystar. Cover and other illustrations Takemoto illustrated these works: by Osamu Kudō, based on Takemoto's manga Volume 1 (November 1996, Takeshobo, ) Volume 2 (January 1997, Takeshobo, ) by Ryunosuke Kingetsu (March 1999, Movic, ), based on Takemoto's manga Games Takemoto has had several works produced as games for various platforms. They are listed chronologically. (January 1993, Mega-CD) Yumimi Mix (1993, FM-Towns) (July 1995, Saturn) (1995, Arcade) (August 1996, PlayStation (SLPS-00416))