Hah
. I momentarily wondered the same thing when I got the car, but it was actually no big surprise to me to see this style of instrument illumination.
My previous car was an '86 Porsche 944, and its instrument cluster is lit in the same way (illuminating the gauge face from the front, not the rear) and I actually really like this, because I find the relative dimness a lot easier on the eyes during extended night driving. Somehow it 'feels' less fatiguing to me, than bright backlit systems.