She has illustrated many light novel covers and is active across various media, including print, online, and video streaming, which truly gives off the vibe of a contemporary illustrator in the Reiwa era. I was inspired by my own character, Nekomiya-san, to find courage. ――What is necessary for streaming? “For chatting streams, you need a camera (either a smartphone or a webcam), an account on a streaming site (YouTube or Twitch), a microphone, and OBS (a software for streaming). Nowadays, many guides on how to get started are available on social media. For game streams, if you’re using a Nintendo Switch or mobile games, you’ll need a capture board as well. I’m not sure if that’s right, since it’s not my main job! Also, the power of your PC might be necessary. I use a fairly high-performance PC for drawing, but during streams, it gets even heavier. I’m thinking about streaming ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’ which will be released at the start of next year, and the game alone requires quite a bit of performance, so I’m considering upgrading my PC, but the recommended specs are crazy. (laughs).” ――How do you come up with ideas for drawing? “For me, things I want to draw come to my mind in a vague way, and then I quickly sketch it out, add lines, color it, and turn it into a drawing. When I’m thinking about drawing, ideas don’t usually come to me, but when I’m doing other things, like walking or sleeping, that’s when the ideas pop up. It’s always when I’m too sleepy to stay awake or don’t have a notepad that I get great ideas (laughs). I quickly sketch them out. I love analog methods, so I’ll jot them down in a planner and then turn them into drawings. The frustrating thing is that the drawings I see in my dreams are way better than what I can draw in reality. If I can imagine them in my head, I should be able to do it in real life, but it’s difficult (laughs). I want to catch up to those dreams.” ――You’ve gained significant recognition now, but have there been any setbacks or turning points along the way? “There have been many setbacks. At one point, I tried drawing an original character, and it was a huge failure, like getting beaten up (laughs).” ――You now actively draw originals, but was there a turning point there as well? “Yes. One time, during Christmas, I drew and posted an original character called ‘Nekomiya-san.’ I hadn’t really drawn many original characters before, but I thought, ‘I want to draw it, so I’ll draw it!’ It was very well received, and my first original character saw the light of day! That event was really big for me, and it gave me a lot of courage.”