Russian-born, Japan-based illustrator Ilya Kuvshinov has revealed that his career got its start with a fan-made video game he created as a teenager after being inspired by the anime Welcome to the N.H.K.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kuvshinov explained that at age 17, influenced by the anime, he made an indie game and submitted it to a Russian gaming magazine. To his surprise, the magazine’s editorial staff liked the game, giving it a one-page feature and bundling a copy of the software on the disc that came with the issue. The exposure led to something bigger: the magazine later gave him a manga series to draw for its pages. “I can’t thank them enough,” Kuvshinov wrote.
The post came as a reply to an account marking the 20th anniversary of Welcome to the N.H.K.’s anime broadcast, which began in July 2006. The series follows a college dropout and shut-in (hikikomori) and a girl who tries to help him.
Fans reacted with surprise, and some asked whether Kuvshinov still had records of the old game. He said the material could still be found on RuTracker, a Russian file-sharing site. Asked what the game was called, he shared a link identifying it as a short visual novel titled “00 mem.: ~Le Chat~”.
Who is Ilya Kuvshinov?
Ilya Kuvshinov (イリヤ・クブシノブ) is a Russian-born illustrator who now lives in Japan. He works across character design, anime direction, storyboarding, and animation direction, and is known internationally for his character designs on Netflix’s Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045. He shares his artwork with fans through platforms including Fanbox and Patreon.
