Title: The Girl Past the Filters Vol. 1
Author: Suzu Omi
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 160
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: November 25, 2025
The Story
Narumi Hakobe is a loner without any emotions. It has earned him the nickname of “Stone Face.” The only thing that keeps him going is an online account that posts cute and seductive selfies by a user named Efa. One day, a classmate named Koto Mitsuha falls down the stairs, and in classic misunderstood fashion, lands butt-first on Narumi’s face. He can’t help but see everything that she has to offer, including a star-shaped birthmark that matches the one he saw in Efa’s photos. He accidentally blurts out Efa’s name, and that’s when she realizes her secret is out!
From here, Mitsuha swears Narumi to secrecy, stating that nobody can learn that she is Efa. To make sure that he adheres to his word, she snaps a picture of him in a precarious position where it is clear that he is looking up her skirt at her panties. Yep… Narumi just got blackmailed by his popular classmate! However, while Mitsuha does put up a gruff exterior, it becomes painfully obvious that she finds Narumi interesting, and perhaps begins to like him.
She opts to spend more time with him. She looks for his advice to help grow her online career as Efa, and even has him take photos of her in lewd poses. Even though his expression barely changes, she can tell that she’s making him feel a certain way, and it gets her excited. She makes her goal to crack his poker face to see the real Narumi. At the same time, she seems overjoyed and excited to see him whenever they meet! Could this be the beginning of a relationship… one that Mitsuha swore she would never have?
Characters
There isn’t much to Narumi that wasn’t said in the Story section. He truly is a loner with a poker face, but there is a reason why he doesn’t show any emotions. When he was five years old, there was a girl who was happy to play with him. Even though he was so young, he fell in love with this girl and tried to take his mother’s advice… that if you like someone, you should smile. Not used to showing emotions, he gave one of the most horrendous smiles ever and made the girl dislike him. That memory stuck with him, and he hasn’t been able to show any emotions since then, but he doesn’t care because he has Efa… in more ways than one.
You kind of feel bad for Narumi. It goes back to how kids are so impressionable when they are young. Big experiences like that tend to stick with someone their entire lives, and while the memory may not hold prominence, the emotions associated with it could form the foundation for someone’s personality later on in life. That’s what happened with Narumi, as his encounter and hurting the girl he liked made him decide to close off his emotions and become antisocial, so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone ever again. The fact that he developed a mild parasocial relationship with Efa, by commenting on her photos and relishing in happiness whenever she responded to them, is a classic behavioral pattern for someone who experienced the things he did when he was younger.
Now that he knows the real Efa, you see him in disbelief throughout the volume. On the one hand, he’s happy to be able to hang out with the person he admires, but he also cannot believe that it’s happening. When Mitsuha claims that Narumi is “just a friend,” we obviously know that their friendship isn’t a conventional one. She’s essentially using him for photographs because she knows he will do it just because he knows she’s Efa, but to Narumi, it’s a treasure to be able to be called her friend. This sets up a dynamic for massive heartbreak should she ever decide to stop using him, but….
Before I get too carried away, let’s talk about Mitsuha. She wasn’t very outgoing. She admitted that she used to be shy and constantly hid behind her mom. She hated having her photo taken as the camera always made her nervous. But, just like Narumi, she found an online account that posted pictures. She admired the account because it showed her that she, too, could build confidence by posting photos of herself. It worked because she became pretty popular at school, even though only Narumi knows that she’s Efa. She doesn’t have many friends, but the ones she does have, she enjoys talking to.
However, when Narumi discovers who she is, it’s like this hidden side of her personality creeps out. She seems a bit egotistical, treating Narumi as a plaything more than a classmate or friend. However, she’s not overly mean or aggressive about it. You can definitely tell that she’s using him to take more photos, but slowly, there are cracks in that façade. The more she hangs out with him, the less egotistical and flashy she becomes. By the end of the volume, she’s still pushy, she’s still aggressive, you can tell that there is something else behind it… Then, in one of the final pages, it’s fully revealed how she truly thinks about Narumi, and it’s kind of sweet. You can tell that she’s just being guarded, making sure that she ensures her safety and protection.
Even though she claims that love isn’t for her, the more she hangs out with Narumi, the more she subtly second-guesses those thoughts without coming out and fully stating it. You can tell from her expressions and her mannerisms, and some of the things she says, that there is something there, and it makes you forgive the brashness she’s shown towards him. You begin to think that she’s not picking on him, but rather, she’s slowly warming up to Narumi while masking her growing feelings behind dragging him into uncomfortable situations. It’s a bit tough to explain, but once you read the story, you’ll understand what I mean.
Final Thoughts
At first, I didn’t think much of this first volume. In fact, it didn’t meet my expectations. I thought that once Mitsuha was outed by Efa, she would have been a bit shy about it, perhaps even nervous that someone knew. I thought a tender relationship would form between them; however, the opposite happened. Mitsuha took the bull by the horns and came out with an attitude that I wasn’t expecting, and to be honest, I was quite disappointed with the way she was treating Narumi… almost as if she were preying on him. Then, as the volume went on, I saw the subtle hints, and then it ended in a bit of a heartwarming way.
What became obvious was that this was a series about a girl who used to be insecure about herself, found that security through online selfie posting, and instantly reverted to being insecure once Narumi found out who she was, but she’s showing that insecurity in a completely different manner, masking it with an aggressive attitude and bravado. It’s about her journey of finding comfort while knowing someone knows who she is. For Narumi, it’s about letting go of his insecurities and finding the strength to show emotions. I don’t think Narumi likes Mitsuha in the same way that he likes her alter ego Efa… at least not yet, but there is room to grow for both of them.
This presents a rather interesting dynamic for our main characters that makes me want to see where this relationship is going to go. Now, typically with a series like this, they make the teasing and/or the pushiness the main focal point for a long time… so much so that it starts to get stale and you’re just begging for some development. Hopefully, this series won’t fall into that pitfall and will have a good balance to it. Time will tell, but pulling a double swerve on me versus my expectations, hooking me, and making me want to read more is a pretty good start!
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
