Where Shimeji come from

The original

The first Shimeji was created in 2009 by Yuki Yamada of the Group Finity studio. It’s a free program that brings a little character to life on your screen: it walks along the taskbar, climbs the edges, hangs from windows, and multiplies if you let it. Its name comes from shimeji, a Japanese mushroom it’s shaped like.

The program was released under a very permissive license that allows changes and redistribution, as long as the author is credited and the changes are stated.

Shimeji-ee, the community version

A community then took over the program as Shimeji-ee, for “Shimeji English Enhanced”: translated, improved, and above all able to host any character made from a set of images. Kilkakon’s version is the most widely used today.

That’s what made Shimeji popular: artists draw their own characters, often inspired by shows or games, and share them. A Shimeji is about forty numbered images: standing, walking, falling, sitting, clinging to a wall…

What Shimeji Desktop Reloaded adds

Shimeji Desktop Reloaded keeps the Shimeji-ee engine and its characters, and changes when they appear. Instead of staying on screen all the time, they arrive when you step away and leave when you come back, screen by screen. The app adds a settings window in seven languages, video and game detection, support for customized desktops, and an installer that bundles everything, Java included.

The built-in characters come from the original Shimeji. Rose, Menthe, Ciel, Soleil and Lavande are recolored versions made for Shimeji Desktop Reloaded.