[1] Due to her diminutive stature and ability to dribble past opponents with ease, she is affectionately nicknamed 'Manadona' in her home country, after the Argentine legend Diego Maradona.

[4] Having participated in three consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments, Iwabuchi was part of the squad won the title in 2011, appearing as a substitute in the final in Germany when she was just 18 years old.

Amongst her list of accolades, she is also the youngest ever recipient (aged 18 years 5 months and 0 days) of the People's Honour Award, a prestigious government commendation bestowed by the Prime Minister of Japan, when she received it as part of the World Cup-winning squad of 2011.

[5] The youngest person to win the honour individually, is the Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu (aged 23 years 6 months and 25 days).

[8][9] A notable figure she was teammates with in her youth is well-known Japanese actor Ryo Ryusei,[10] who commented years later that "she would be dribbling past boys with ease" from an early age and was one of the reasons he gave up on being a professional footballer as he watched her play and realised he would not be good enough.

[29][30] In March 2017, however, she announced on her blog and to the media that despite one year left, she had mutually terminated her contract with the club to return to Japan to focus on her recovery from injury.

[39] Iwabuchi returned to Europe after she signed with Aston Villa in the FA Women's Super League on 21 December 2020 and joined them mid-season in January 2021.

[43] Instrumental to Aston Villa's season-long battle to survive relegation, Iwabuchi also secured victory (and their first home win of the season) against Tottenham Hotspur on 6 February 2021 by scoring the only goal of the game, a thunderous strike from 25-yards out.

[46] The club had reportedly been trying to sign her since the summer of 2019, and again in the winter of 2020, but the move was blocked by the Japanese Football Association, who wanted her to stay in Japan till the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo had taken place.

The team was defeated in the quarterfinals but a series of outstanding performances saw Iwabuchi named winner of the adidas Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

[65] Five days later, aged 16, she scored her first goals at senior international level in a 3–0 win against the Chinese Taipei national team in the same competition.

[70] The outcome of the game was so unexpected that it caused widespread celebration in Japan as the country was still feeling the effects of the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 15,000 people prior to the tournament.

As a result, the entire team was bestowed the People's Honour Award, a prestigious government commendation by the Prime Minister of Japan, for the courage[71] they brought the demoralised nation as well as the feat they achieved.

In the gold medal match on 9 August 2012, Japan faced the United States, the two countries meeting yet again in consecutive finals of major tournaments.

[73] Upon returning to Japan, she teared up in front of reporters when speaking during the press conference, saying "It was a true joy to stand on the greatest stage with the best teammates.

[76] Despite concerns as to whether she would be fit enough in time for the World Cup, head coach Norio Sasaki named her in Japan's 23-player squad where she was again the youngest member of the team.

[83] The summer of 2016 was a significant turning point in Iwabuchi's national team career, as the "Golden Period" of the Nadeshiko's global dominance was slowly beginning to come to a close.

[84][85] This was followed by long-serving national team coach Norio Sasaki, who had led them to great successes at the past two World Cups and Olympics, stepping down from his role following Japan's failure to qualify for Rio 2016.

[98][99] With a total of 5 goals, she emerged the tournament's top scorer and won the Golden Boot as she led Japan to yet another regional title, their third in the history of this competition.

[103][104] Latching onto a long ball and finishing with an impressive first-touch strike from the edge of the penalty area, this goal meant that Iwabuchi had scored for the Japan national team in five consecutive international matches, breaking the record previously held by Homare Sawa and the head coach at the time, Asako Takakura.

The Japan national team usually plays a 4–4–2 formation, and Iwabuchi most often assumes the role of the second striker where she essentially functions in the number 10 role as a playmaking attacking midfielder or deep-lying forward, due to her ball skills and creative ability, which enables her to drop deep between the lines and link-up play, and operate across all attacking areas of the pitch.

Her attacking movement and close control allow her to hold up the ball and create space for teammates; her vision and passing range with both feet, despite being naturally right-footed, subsequently allows her to provide assists for on-running strikers.

She has also been deployed on the left-wing due to her quick feet, dribbling ability, and low centre of gravity, which enables her to beat defenders in one on one situations before cutting inside to shoot.

[113] Although she lacks physical strength and height, Iwabuchi has been praised for her finishing – in particular from outside the box –, technique, awareness, capacity to change the rhythm of gameplay in midfield, tactical intelligence, and positioning.

[117] Due to their similarly small stature and technical ability that enables them to undertake individual dribbling runs towards goal, she was dubbed the "Female Messi" by the Japanese media in her youth.

[118] Her distinctive playing style has also drawn comparisons to Argentine legend Diego Maradona and throughout her career she has been affectionately nicknamed 'Manadona' in her home country.

"[122] During the period of time that she struggled with injuries (2016~17), multiple coaches suggested to her that she change her playing style to one that does not touch the ball so much during a game, thus reducing the stress on her knees.

She has close friendships with several players from the Japan men's national team,[134] most notably with Takashi Usami as they are the same age and both played for Hoffeinheim in Germany at the same time.

[137] Iwabuchi also has a close relationship with fellow Arsenal defender and Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu, as both of them joined the club at the same time in the summer of 2021.

It’s very helpful to have Tomi here.”[140] Iwabuchi's longstanding friendship with fellow Arsenal teammate Vivianne Miedema is well-known, as they were best friends and roommates during their time at Bayern Munich.