keklzAbout me
keklz.
I’m keklz, and I draw a basketball manga called 99 problems. I keep coming back to these guys. When Torpeda pulls something, I want to know what Shiro’s face looks like. And is Jinki laughing? That’s sometimes enough to get a whole page going.
Getting past the face
In April 2024 I posted one of my favorite Killua drawings. I’d used a still from the anime and a photo of his figurine. Up to then I’d drawn a lot of faces floating in space. That piece finally got me interested in what the rest of the body was doing.
That June I took on a Killua drawing challenge. Two days in, all I could think about was the basketball player I wanted to finish drawing. I learn better when there’s a drawing I want to finish. With basketball I get to work on poses, movement and perspective all in the same piece.
“His name is Torpeda”
I posted Torpeda again in January 2025. I’d gotten embarrassed and deleted the first post, so I wasn’t sure anyone would remember him. Here he is grinning, scowling, and already wearing number six up in the corner.
I called him Torpeda because the word made me laugh. The whole shark-and-lightning thing came later, when I started picking out Japanese names. In the group portrait, that’s Shiro on the left and Kuro holding the ball on the right.
See the group portrait →How 99 problems took shape
By spring 2025 I knew I could draw this lot for years. They’d been living in my head for a while. I wanted other people to meet them, so I started drawing little comics.
In February 2026 I had an idea for a one-shot: ten pages or so with one of the characters. A story you could read on its own that would still be part of the manga.
Around then I finished this drawing of a drive to the basket. I love drawing and I love basketball, and I finally got to put them in the same picture. I want you to look at it and fall for the game too.
Meet the team →
From the mirror to the court
I play too. Back in February I needed a reference, so I stood in front of the mirror and tried the pose myself. Couldn’t do it. Just couldn’t get into it. By the end of October, that was my usual stance for warming up with a dribble. Imagine that.
I’m trying new moves, working on my shift. Even the shoes give me a million questions. How are they supposed to hold my foot? Why does it keep sliding around? So yeah, basketball carries on after I close the drawing.
See the pose study →I want my own jersey
I saw people getting together to order basketball jerseys and thought: what if I made one for my own team? My colors, my print, my stripes. And a little shark, obviously. Imagine wearing your own jersey with a shark and a number on it.
I still need to figure out how to get it made. For now I’ve given myself an assignment: make my own jersey. Got the number figured out, though. 99. Of course.
Indiana Pacers
Fifteen minutes till tip-off
Wanna root for them with me?
I root for the Indiana Pacers. Sometimes I have this thought before a game: fifteen minutes till Indiana, might as well draw something. Then I’m watching and remembering how much I love these guys. God bless the NBA. And Indiana.
I love getting to be part of something while sitting in my own little bubble. Every game has a different script. Makes the wins feel that much better.
My dream is to watch the NBA Finals with other Indiana fans and cry when we win it. So if you’re a Pacers fan too, come root for them with me.