Mimi Stokes is an ordinary girl who dreams of two things: escaping her sleepy small town, and becoming a comic artist.

So when her dad's job uproots her family and lands her in a new school in a new country, Mimi is thrilled -- especially as her new friends (and foes) all seem like characters straight out of her favourite mangas and dramas.

Struck by inspiration, Mimi starts her first comic series, based on the lives of her school mates. However, drama usually has to be instigated, and before she knows it, Mimi soon finds herself meddling in their personal matters in order to get more ideas for her story.

But can anyone blame her, really? It's for the sake of her art!

While Through the Panels features a defined protagonist, you will be able to choose a name and appearance for the player character. In addition to that, your choices in the common route shape her personality, which will open up different choices and dialogue options in the individual routes.

The game's story isn't only about your own friendship with the characters, but also the relationships and dynamics between everyone else. Help sworn enemies put aside their differences and play nice, or even become a matchmaker for some of your classmates!

You'll be able to check your phone at any time to see the latest on your friends' InstaBook profiles. Not only that, you'll sometimes even be able to see what they thought of the choices you made!

Is this an otome game/dating sim?

While we have added some romance side content due to player demand, the main focus of this game is friendship. It is possible to achieve romantic endings with certain characters, but it is not the main goal of the game and not all befriendable characters are romanceable.

What routes are currently available?

Both Umi's and Sami's routes have now been released, with 12+ endings to unlock.

What about the other characters?

Unfortunately, there are no plans to work on the other 5 characters' routes, due to changes within the development team.

I'm having trouble getting a certain ending/illustration/item!

We have a full walkthrough, CG gallery guide, and item gallery guide for patrons. If you are not a patron, feel free to ask in the comments on the itch page or on our Discord server for hints.

Through the Panels is available on itch.io.

The game is released for Windows, Mac, and Linux under a pay-what-you-want price model. We appreciate all purchases, and proceeds go towards improving additional routes, or future games.