From Ukraine to Gravure: Cosplayer Shares Japan Surprises “Soba-Yu Confused Me!”

Reasons for feeling that Japan suits her

Netochka made her gravure debut on FRIDAY. With over 190,000 followers on X, her popularity continues to rise by the day. Who exactly is she? We delve into the mysterious identity of this unique Ukrainian cosplayer.

Odessa, the beautiful port city known as the “Pearl of the Black Sea,” is her hometown. Netochka hasn’t been able to return there in over three years. She recalls February 24, 2022—the day Russia’s invasion began:

“I got messages from friends abroad asking, ‘Are you okay?’—that’s how I realized something was wrong. The streets were packed with cars trying to evacuate, and tanks were being deployed. The Ukrainian government kept repeating, ‘This is not a war’ and ‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ but then news broke that Putin had made an official statement. That’s when I was hit by the shock that war had really begun.

But more than me, my mother was the one who took it the hardest. Many in the older generation feel nostalgic about the past, and my mother would sometimes say, ‘The Soviet era was paradise.’ So when she learned about Russia’s invasion, she suddenly burst into tears.”

About five days after the invasion began, Netochka and her family evacuated to neighboring Moldova. Everyone thought it would be over in a week or two—but there was no end in sight to the war.

Around April, she briefly returned to Odessa, but with places just two kilometers from her home being bombed, it was far from safe. So she decided to evacuate to the distant country of Japan by enrolling in a university there.

“I arrived in Japan in August 2022. Fortunately, I was able to live in a university dormitory, but I couldn’t get by without working part-time. I started teaching English, but since I’m not a native speaker, there was a limit to how much I could earn.”

Life wasn’t easy, but she says she felt that Japan suited her.

“I’m considered extremely shy in Ukraine—so shy that people worry about me. But Japanese people are also shy, so our temperaments matched really well.

I gradually got used to Japanese food too—sushi, tamagoyaki, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, matcha Eventually, I even started eating things like azuki beans and natto.

What surprised me most was soba! We eat buckwheat in Ukraine too, but we don’t make it into noodles. Soba-yu was also a very unusual custom—I was really shocked. At first I thought, ‘Wow, Japanese people really go this far,’ but now I enjoy soba-yu myself.”

What exactly is gravure?

As her life gradually stabilized, she began to find room to enjoy living in Japan. It was during this time that she started her activities as a cosplayer.

“The turning point came at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2023. I suddenly felt like trying cosplay, so I bought a NieR:Automata costume in Ikebukuro and showed it off there. Slavic people—including myself—really love the dark, gothic aesthetic of games like that.”

She also launched her account on X (formerly Twitter). Her tall height of 180 cm drew attention, and her follower count, which was only around 30, surpassed 90,000 in just one year.

“My father, who passed away from illness, used to call me ‘Netochka,’ so I chose that as my account name. He studied Russian literature in university and liked the character Netochka from a Dostoevsky novel. My real name almost became Netochka too, but my mother objected, so I ended up with my current name—Anetta. The Netochka in the novel leads a very tragic life, and my mom thought that would bring bad luck,” she laughs.

Her follower count on X is now approaching 200,000. For some time, fans had been asking her to try gravure modeling.

“At first, I honestly didn’t know what gravure even was,” she admits. “But when I was approached by FRIDAY, I gradually came to understand it. I got to carefully choose my outfits, and the photographer taught me how to pose and move — it was a really fascinating experience. I’m truly grateful to the staff for working with me, even though my Japanese isn’t very fluent.”

While holding on to hope that she’ll one day be able to return home, Netochka is embracing a new life in Japan.

Netochka — Born in Odesa, a port city in Ukraine known as the “Pearl of the Black Sea,” she moved to Japan in 2022. Nicknamed “Anya,” she’s gaining attention as a cosplayer, with over 190,000 followers on X. She’s also passionate about promoting kvass, a traditional drink from her homeland.

Her digital photo books are now available and well-received!

『Himawari no Tenshi vol.1 (Sunflower Angel vol.1)』— [Click here]
『Himawari no Tenshi vol.2 — 100-page special edition』— [Click here]