Shimeji: Screen Buddies

Contains adsIn-app purchases
4.5
413K reviews
10M+
Downloads
Content rating
Everyone
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image
Screenshot image

About this app

Shimeji: Screen Buddies are cute animated characters that live on your screen and keep you company while you use your phone. With over 35M downloads worldwide, they’re back with a big update overhaul: new animation engine, character levels, and a Mushroom currency that lets you unlock everything just by playing.

✨ Cute screen buddies, always on top
• Watch mascots walk, climb, sit, fall and play on top of your apps
• Run up to 10 characters at once for a screen full of fun
• Perfect for killing time while you wait for games to load or ads to finish
• Tap, drag and toss your Shimeji and see how they react

🎮 Idle-style leveling: play and they grow
• Your Shimeji earn XP while they wander around the screen
Level up your favorite characters to unlock new animations and tricks
• Interact with them for bonus XP and faster progress
• Different levels can reveal new moves, poses and surprises

🍄 Play to unlock 100% of features
• Earn Mushrooms automatically while the screen is on
• Use Mushrooms to unlock characters, animations and upgrades
• Daily gifts and rewards for coming back and playing more
• Payments are 100% optional: they only speed up progress, everything can be earned by playing

🎨 Full editor: create your own mascots
• Import your art and turn it into a live screen buddy
• Recolor, redraw and fix sprites with the built-in editor
• All tools are fully unlocked - no editor paywall
• Duplicate existing mascots and customize them to make them unique

⚙️ Smooth, smart and distraction-free
• New animation engine for smoother motion and better timing
• Optimized to be battery-friendly on modern devices
Ghost Mode: let mascots stay visible but ignore your touches while you game or chat
• Simple controls for size, speed and behavior with live preview

📦 Original, IP-safe content
We rebuilt the library with original characters created by our in-house artists. We removed most fan-made IP content to respect creators and copyright and keep Shimeji safe for everyone.

Disclaimer
Shimeji: Screen Buddies is unrelated to the Simeji keyboard app.
Shimeji: Screen Buddies is an independent app and is not affiliated with any anime, game or movie IP holders. Our brand name and logo, watermarked images, UI graphics and text, app source code, and curated database are original works protected by copyright and trademark law. Copying our code or assets to replicate these interactions is not permitted.

🆕 What’s new
• New animation engine for smoother, more detailed moves
• Character XP and levels with unlockable animations
• Mushroom currency you can earn by playing to unlock all premium features
• Up to 10 mascots on screen at once
• Fully unlocked editor and many performance improvements

Turn your phone into a tiny playground with Shimeji: Screen Buddies and let your new screen pets grow while you play.
Updated on
Jan 26, 2026

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
This app may share these data types with third parties
Location, App activity and 2 others
This app may collect these data types
Location, App activity and 2 others
Data is encrypted in transit

Ratings and reviews

4.5
379K reviews
Violet T
June 13, 2025
Overall really good experience, there isn't anything that is not great except a few flaws. First, Some pets have a gap in between the wall they climb and themselves, which I find very annoying. Second, its kinda hard to get many things done. Even with ghost mode(a mode where you cannot tap or interact with the pets, they end up transparent), they are still flinging across the screen. I would say this isn't much of a pay to use app, though the perks of premium does seem to make a difference.
454 people found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?
Madison B (Max)
December 2, 2025
This was SUPER fun when I first got it, but since the newest update, it seems like the search option is completely gone, so I cant find new characters I like, and the only options for new ones are all LOOK AI GENERATED. BOOOO🍅🍅. Not to mention, I cant delete any custom shimejis or any of the ones I accidentally clicked on from the main library thing. I understand watching ads to unlock things, and it was great that it seemed to last forever, but now there are more ads blocking the interface :(
110 people found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?
Digital Cosmos
December 2, 2025
Hey Madison, you can delete by swiping in the main screen to the left on a characters entry (swipe right is clone and edit). We made Editor Pro upgrade free for all and everything else unlocked by getting mushrooms (ads instead of paying premium as the only option to unlock)
Libby
December 22, 2025
super cute and it's been fun to play with so far. I've only had it for 2 full days now but it runs smooth. it has an easy, simple enough start up. I would LOVE to see a tutorial added. as im needing cleArity as I'm not very techno savey at times. I would like to see my buddies have an option to interact with one another. it does not interfere with call's, apps or Internet. steller~ness to the developer(s). I didn't know I needed this app till I did !!
60 people found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?
Digital Cosmos
December 22, 2025
Thanks for the review! Wait a bit (1-2 days) until the new update (9.6) rolls out fully as it adds many, many awesome editor features (fill tool, onion layers, full animation preview etc...). It will make creating your characters so much easier

What’s new

- Improved import from PC Shimeji archives (select and import all characters at once)
- Better support for Japanese PC Shimeji configs
- New import progress indicator so you know what’s happening
- Bug fixes and overall import/export improvements