For hearing-impaired university student Yuki Itose, silence has been a natural part of life since birth. Her world is small and isolated; she commutes to campus, interacts with her best friend Rin Fujishiro, and communicates through writing and text messages—a lifestyle that offers little to no change. One day, during her commute, Yuki meets fellow student Itsuomi Nagi, a multilingual travel enthusiast and friend of Rin. When Itsuomi learns of Yuki's condition, he takes it in stride, moving Yuki's heart. From this one simple gesture, Yuki and Itsuomi's lives start changing day by day as they let each other into their own worlds.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
IzanaSolos
Fans of the anime A Silent Voice, which also explores deaf themes frequently draw comparisons between this show and it. I have to admit that these two shows are very different even though. While A Silent Voice delves into the depths of depression and the journey towards appreciating lifes beauty, A Sign of Affection focuses primarily on the experience of being deaf albeit with less thematic complexity A Sign of Affection stands out from the shoujo anime genre which is hard to find these days by straying from the clichés. This series adopts a novel approach by emphasizing the value of authentic communication especially throughsign language and the big ass lips all of the cast members have in contrast to the typical cool and collected male lead or the corny reverse harem scenarios.
The central theme of this anime is a tender romance that is entwined with the deafness of the protagonist. Our main character Yuki who has hearing loss finds herself drawn to a new guy. Her condition presents obstacles but the male lead makes a genuine effort to comprehend and meet her needs which drives their relationship forward. Authenticity is what really sets this series apart. There are no clichés of love at first sight rather Yuki handles her feelings realistically and asks her friends for guidance as needed.
Because of the author Suu Morishita-senseis commitment to accurately capturing the subtleties of deaf culture Yukis deafness is also portrayed in an exceptionally well-researched manner. Not to be laughed at either is the directing in this production. Intentional decisions like the way the opening scenes sound gradually fades out remind viewers of Yukis reality and encourage them to identify with her experiences.
A Sign of Affection is a touching and authentic depiction of love and communication perfect for anyone looking for a more profound understanding of deafness or a heartwarming romance. Its already one of the years best animes offering a novel perspective on the shoujo genre.
ZeroMajor12
I am clearly not the intended audience for this anime, yet here I am, reviewing this anime. Making the female MC deaf was definitely a trick to get more people to indulge in this anime. I think it's already clear how this romance anime caters to the Shoujo demographic when you have every character having the most kissable lips, the male character's rizz game is always at its peak, meant to make the girl infinitely blush with him, all the while also having love triangles and unrequited love stories that are at play. There's a lot of things to not like about A Sign ofAffection, but what if I tell you, I did enjoy it too?
If I were to name one good thing that this anime did well other than the sign language the show takes pride in, it's the handling of the worst aspect of most romance dramas, love polygons. I kid you not, it's not a romance anime if you don't have any love triangles or anyone who has unrequited love and in almost every romance show, all it has done is make virtually more interesting side characters that either don't get into a relationship with the MC despite better chemistry or make the worst side characters known to mankind, just so the main character will always get with the main one, all the while creating drama about their said backstory with MC and how they were "deeply in love" with the MC which is never returned. I know love polygons are common in fictional romance stories. Still, when it comes to doing this, rarely does anyone know how to properly execute this without overstaying its welcome or getting extremely annoying to deal with. Luckily, the anime fixed this by making every cast an adult. They don't throw tantrums like insecure babies fishing for pity towards them and talking about how they gave the MC the most attention and somehow think that will make them like them. Instead, it handles the subject maturely and calmly, which is a nice change of pace for a romance drama.
Another praise I'd give to the anime is how the romance is also quite decent. I actually enjoyed it too and didn't find it a notorious fire piece of garbage. The male love interest (who naturally ticks all the boxes for your typical main love interest in every shoujo manga), doesn't exhibit any behavior that leans towards stalking psychopathic tendencies, instead, it's just cute teases I can actually see happening and in a sense, I can support the relationship going on between the two. I had a bad assumption about how the anime was going with the relationship given how the man had the recipe of an incredibly insecure and more harmful than protective character, but it was a nice change of pace unless you take into consideration the other romance that does it several degrees better than this anime.
Are you still with me? Because this is where I want to delve into issues I had with A Sign of Affection.
Even if it does some things right in terms of plot and romance, it still doesn't excuse the characters, who are pretty forgettable and I'm willing to say, 'bad', in a lot of ways. From my perspective, Yuki is the weakest character of them all. The only reason you can remember her is because she's deaf. Yuki's character is someone that can be generalized as a "self-insert for girls" because Yuki is like every girl's fantasy who wants to have a perfect boyfriend like Itsuomi (had to search for his name in MAL because I couldn't remember him), but let me stop you for a minute there.
When you call a character "self-insert", you're referring to a character that lacks substance or any form of personality to be considered as a real character but the term "Self-Insertion" refers to the main character being as closely similar to the author's personality or his/her image to how they would react into the real world or if the same circumstances were applied to them as well, typically the correct definition of self-insert or what you would call "the author's surrogate". Here, in this situation, Yuki is the definition of being a "self-projection."
How do I prove this? A lot of things only happened because the supporting characters had a role to play in which Yuki does nothing but let everyone approach her and blush because it wasn't something she intended to do, yet she indulges in it, hoping she gets this treatment without ever trying to put effort into getting what she wants until the latter half of the series, where Yuki somehow does something but reminded her how she needs to be treated like a princess because oh no, she's a deaf person who's being held like a trophy for the guy to get his hands on. I may sound like I'm yapping absolute nonsense, but the idea is that you can't have a main character who does nothing or just reacts to everything without taking any initiative to do anything, the story makes everything served to her on a silver plate.
The cast is only categorized by two driven things, either driven with jealousy or acting as the loud voice just so there is a smidgen worth of comedy other than your usual poetic-esque description of having their voice heard miraculously by a random Prince Charming character. The love polygons are the only notable part where you can have some form of memory indulging in this anime, otherwise, it's another one of your run-of-the-mill romances that participates in satisfying the quota just so it passes off for every romance viewer like myself to watch.
The anime definitely suffices as a romance anime, since there is chemistry between the duo, and have proper romance advances which are much appreciated to see, but I would have definitely recommended it if Yuki's character had more thought put into it. Maybe it's due to my lack of interest in these kinds of characters that are portrayed as shy, timid, and quiet all the more justified with the characteristic being deaf, but I wish Yuki had put a lot more effort into taking interest in what these characters do, maybe provide more gifts or help others more rather than being bestowed with many gifts that can't process the simple line of thought to repay debts for their deeds. In my eyes, it's just decent.
Thank you for reading.
Danreis
Yubisaki to Renren is a very cute story that I really liked and will please most people who like romance, but my personal experience with deaf people and my expectations for it being a college love story made me like it a little less than I could have. The protagonist of this story is Itose Yuki, a young deaf woman who after a brief interaction on the subway falls in love with Nagi Itsuomi who she later discovers is studying at the same college and the story develops following these two characters getting to know each other and discovering love. The love story between the protagonists isvery cute and it's nice to see the two interacting, but it required me to overcome the feeling that everything started too quickly or that something was missing. The scene in which the protagonists meet exemplifies this: Yuki is on the subway, receives help from Itsuomi with a boy who was asking her for directions without realizing that she is deaf and suddenly he puts his hand on her head and Kaboom, we have a Yuki is in love and for some reason the anime tries to sell this scene as ultra romantic when it seemed strange to me.
One point that is again sweet, but left me conflicted about how to feel, is the apparent lack of emotional maturity of some characters. It's very cute to see Yuki melting thinking about Itsuomi but at a certain point I caught myself thinking that especially the way the female characters in this story act is no different from the kawaii and shy way these characters have in high school stories. It's not something that really bothered me, but I see it as a missed opportunity since the characters being young adults didn't seem to make much of a difference.
Now talking about deafness issues, I will talk about things that for most people won't make the slightest difference and didn't ruin my experience but caught my attention. I would have liked to have seen more people around Yuki and how most of them don't even know the basics of sign language, because in my experience I learned a lot just by being around deaf people before even attending some classes to learn properly. I really found it strange how almost no one knows how to talk to Yuki and that apparently even her parents only talk to her by reading their lips, because how were they able to have more complex conversations when she still didn't know how to do that? Maybe the source material will explain this later, but it's something that caught my attention.
I could point out things I was taught that are very rude to do to someone who is deaf and that happen sometimes in this anime, like holding hands and covering a deaf person's vision, as it would be the equivalent of putting your hand over your mouth from someone, but the only big complaint I have is how unintentionally the script seems to validate the speech of Oushi, Yuki's childhood friend. Having our protagonist practically forgetting how to walk down the street and needing to be guided by the hand to avoid being run over because she's so excited to be walking with Itsuomi is a little frustrating, as is what happens when Oushi needs to intervene in a certain situation because Yuki apparently can't communicate to the salesperson that she is deaf and cannot understand what he is saying because he is wearing a mask. Deaf people, even by necessity, tend to be great at taking care of themselves and communicating even with people who don't know sign language and I honestly would have liked to have seen Yuki showing this even to counter Oushi's thoughts.
Having said all that, I still liked what I saw and will recommend it to friends who like romance, I am fully aware that many of my complaints will not be noticed by the majority of the public but it left me with the slight impression that some opportunities were missed because the fact that I was following young adults didn't seem to make a difference and the plot felt much more like a story with a deaf character and not a story about a deaf person.
CerealGuy65
It was fine. Being involved in the deaf community and working as an interpreter I appreciate that more shows are bringing deaf awareness. However, I’m also a fan of good anime so I’m going to be a little critical. This anime is an ok romance. I did find the lead characters had a lack of chemistry. Their attraction to one another felt forced, they like each other because they do. It lacked depth. I did like the chemistry between the supporting characters though. I often found myself wanting to skip past the main characters and just watch the supporting characters. There are so many sappy lines. Ipersonally can appreciate them, but when anything is saturated with them it can start making me cringe. And though I feel the lead male was supposed to come off as manly, he often felt like he was just being completely insensitive and disrespectful. Maybe that is what she likes about him? I found myself often feeling like he needs to get lost whenever he made advances. I guess it goes to show that the main difference between a creep and being “sweet” is how handsome the guy is.
Overall, I liked parts of the anime and some episodes the lead characters were enjoyable. But I feel like this anime was carried by the support characters. It is great that it is raising deaf awareness and it was fun seeing and learning some Japanese Sign Language, I just wish it would have been done better.
Wildflower3
A beautiful light-hearted cozy feel-good romance anime with a warm atmosphere and relatable characters. Story 8/10 The story itself isn’t anything crazy or out of the ordinary. It’s rather simple yet beautiful which really proves a good story doesn’t always need to be extraordinary or anything special but it’s a story with a heart. It follows university student Yuki who has a hearing disability since birth and then she meets another student Itsuomi and they fall in love. I’m not sure if it’s a hundred percent accurate when it comes to representation of those with a hearing disability but for me personally I found it interestingto see Yuki’s world (from her POV) and the people around her interacting with her. Both main characters have a very different perspective of the world but as they meet and get to know each others lives and world better, it really proves it’s not necessarily a bad thing to explore a new perspective. The story didn’t have many unnecessary misunderstandings or communication difficulties (despite the premise, which is an interesting take but just goes to show you can write a romance without adding unnecessary drama). And the parts where they maybe lacked communication were made up by both main characters trying their best to do better and improve together in their relationship. It was very relaxing without getting boring or repetitive (which is usually the case with many slice of life animes). It was really refreshing to watch. This anime always managed to make me feel warm and calm. The only things that I kind of wish would have been handled better was the fact that Yuki’s family didn’t use sign language with her which seems not unrealistic but very unlikely to me (even though I guess it’s hard to animate, the few times they interacted with another made it feel more strange to me) and the fact they focused so much on one character I didn’t particularly like and I wish they would have spend more time on the main couple or some of the supporting characters instead. This story could survived well without this in my opinion. Other than that it’s well-written.
Characters 8.5/10
Same as with the plot the characters weren’t too out of the ordinary. Yuki has a very sweet and kind personality. She maybe come off as naive sometimes but I feel like it’s due to her environment and many people worrying about her. Which in itself isn’t wrong but I like the fact Itsuomi helps her to see there’s more to explore in this world and that she also starts to develop her own dreams. She might be a common female main character regarding her personality but I personally don’t mind. She’s very positive despite her difficulties and she doesn’t let them stop her from enjoying life, making new friends and experiences (which is refreshing and motivating). Especially once she meets Itsuomi. In the beginning I was skeptical about him but once you get to know him a little better you start to realize it’s simply because he grew up in a different environment and was more exposed to other cultures compared to Yuki or even some of his friends. He likes to travel and to learn other languages (I liked that aspect too. Sometimes the bits of German they threw in came out of nowhere but I liked it). Both of these characters work so well together because they are different yet they complement and bring out the best in each other. Once you know Itsuomi better you see that he is such a green flag and he and Yuki are a perfect match who can bring out the best in each other.
I’m also very fond of most of the supporting characters which have also interesting backgrounds and interactions. For example I absolutely adore Yuki’s best friend Rin who supports her and her relationship with Itsu from the very beginning. I also shipped her very hard with Kyoya (Itsu’s cousin) and I would have loved to see more of them. And while I get to see why they even showed the perspective of Itsu’s childhood friends Shin and Ema I’m not particularly fond of Ema but it looks like overall she seems to have some kind of character development (which I always appreciate). The one character I just can’t bring myself to like is Oushi – Yuki’s childhood friend. Not necessarily because he is a tsundere or I can’t understand his feelings (I kind of understand him better than most other characters) but it’s the exact reason why I can’t bring myself to like him or any of his actions. He’s just immature. I get that he did many things out of concern for Yuki. But it doesn’t make it right or justifies how he is overprotective and even overbearing when it comes to Yuki. Like he is too afraid of Yuki getting out into the world that I feel like if it was up to him he wouldn’t let her and I feel like that’s the huge difference between Itsu and him who is way more mature and even tried to become friends with him. In my opinion the focus was a little too much on Oushi at times and it seemed like they tried so hard to force us to like him that I ended up disliking him even more (because I don’t like when writers to that in either direction). Of course I still hope he can grow up and become more mature. But sorry, until the every end I don’t like him.
Animation 10/10
Honestly as much as I’ve heard criticism about the animation of this series I have to disagree because for me it’s among the most beautiful aspects of this beautiful anime. The simple story mixed with enjoyable characters is nice but combine it with a cozy atmosphere and nice animation and the results will be truly beautiful. Just add some feel-good music and it’s perfect. To me the aesthetics is what makes this anime so unique and I wish we had more of this kind. The love for detail in animation, background – even during important scenes - is truly an aspect fit for a masterpiece.
Overall 9/10
Since I had never heard of this anime before I went in with zero expectations, thinking I would get bored quickly or it would be something nice for in-between. But I was positively surprised about how much I really enjoyed every single episode and the journey of these characters – which was simple yet beautifully depicted. Unfortunately I doubt there will be another season although I would wish to see more – how the story continues. Because this unique animation just makes you feel warm and cozy (and I know, I said this like 10 times in my review already). Don’t expect it to be a story that has never been told. It’s very simple but for me that’s where the beauty of it lies. I can recommend this anime to everyone who enjoys romance that make you feel good and even makes you feel invested.
Marinate1016
Communication is one of the most important skills we can develop in life. Being able to convey our feelings to others and truly understand where they’re coming from is crucial. That requires a mutual language, though. So when a series like Yubisaki to Renren comes around and deals with the issue of a deaf person handling every day life and going outside her comfort zone to communicate with a love interest, it’s a no brainer I’m going to be interested. While it’s not without its flaws, it’s definitely peak shoujo and does handle adult relationships well. Like I said, Yubiren isn’t perfect. If you’re expecting thebest possible deaf representation, this probably isn’t for you. It does play heavily into shoujo tropes. I.e loner girl meets extremely hot and popular guy, falls in love instantly and gets together, etc. I also don’t think Yuuki’s disability is explored enough, at least not in this one season introduction to the story. Like most adaptations, I’m sure it’s touched on later in the manga, but for what we got here I found it a little weak. Bullying isn’t an issue like Koe no Katachi either, so Yuuki’s main conflict is really the fact she hasn’t gone outside of her comfort zone and been forced to develop at all. She’s sort of sheltered by her friends and family who view her as this little girl needing to be protected still. That’s where Itsuomi, the male MC comes into play. In usual shoujo fashion, nice looking guy who has seemingly everything going for him, including a penchant for learning languages. As a polyglot and linguistics degree holder myself, I did love this bit of the story as it felt relatable.
Itsuomi has a wide range of friends from various countries who he’s able to communicate with due to his multiple languages. When he meets Yuuki, someone who can’t hear, and who’s in a proverbial “world” that’s not been explored by him yet, he can’t help but want to challenge himself by learning sign language and connecting with her. Now for me, I thought this was really cute and cool use of language in an anime. The sense of community that is created by sharing a mutual language and being able to express yourself can’t be overstated. However, from an objective standpoint, the author kind of brushed through this segment. Like within 2 episodes Yuuki and Itsuomi are communicating effortlessly and her deafness is never really stressed. Like, yea she can’t hear, but with the way they communicate in the anime with texting and lip reading, it’s almost as if there’s no barrier at all. When your main selling point is a deaf girl finding love and growing.. yea, probably a good idea to focus on it more.
Like I said, we do see a few struggles Yuuki faces. When going for a job interview for example, or how overprotective her family and friends can be whenever she goes outside alone, her extremely toxic and annoying childhood best friend. But for the most part it’s just a really cute and wholesome romance with two characters from different “worlds” it’s great in that capacity. The romance while progressing at breakneck speed, is satisfying and Itsuomi isn’t your typical anime love interest who’s flustered around girls. He says what he’s thinking and doesn’t hold back. He also treats Yuuki as an equal, enabling her independence and growth. While she’s been kept in a cage of sorts by her loved ones to this point, her relationship with Itsuomi is a coming out point for her and you can’t help but root for her. The other characters in the story have their own romantic connections and those ships are nice as well, in particular I loved the story behind Itsuomi’s high school friends.
One other really cool thing is how real some of the dates feel. Like characters going on cotsco run dates together or camping trips instead of your usual anime teenage stuff felt a lot more relatable for me.
The series really has a lot of potential, these types of shoujo manga don’t usually get second seasons, so I’ll just read the manga. But I can see the characters in this one going in interesting directions later down the line. It’s still been a relatively short period of time that the show takes place in, so who knows where it could go long term. But I’m optimistic!
Production wise the show looks great. Ajia-do did honzuki so I had no doubts they’d do a nice job here and they really knocked it out of the park. The characters are so beautiful, the use of water colour painting to illustrate characters’ moods is cool as well! Just a solid job all around.
This isn’t a show that’s going to make you like shoujo if you don’t already. It’s very much a shoujo series with extremely high production values, cute and likeable characters(except Oushi) and just a wholesome watch. If you’re a fan of Shoujosei romance already you’ll have a blast with this one. I know I did and I’m sad to see it end.
Yubiren gets 9, out of 10.
JavaJuice
If you're looking for a cute, feel-good romance this will definitely satisfy you. If you're looking for a mature romance with interesting characters it may not. While the story is sweet, the character writing is mostly weak and left a lot to be desired. The female lead has almost no defining traits other than being deaf and cute, we learn almost nothing about any desires or motivations that are not related to romance. She falls in love with the male lead almost instantly, who is essentially an ideal romantic partner with no real flaws or need for character development, i.e. a pretty boring character. Thechildhood friend is probably the most interesting character because he has flaws and we see the beginnings of personal growth once he becomes aware of them.
I do like that there is a clear focus on consent and characters setting boundaries in their relationships, the relationships that are depicted are healthy but they feel somewhat superficial and lacking of any depth.
ARK1259
How very unique! Had to say it! call me the romance guy, I've seen many romance anime but in this case I can confidently say a new skill point was added to my romance ability tree. This one not only was a rare pink point, it was also very sweet tasting and I managed to unlock a new unique ability too, the ability to learn sign language! SPEECH 100 No wait... SIGN 100 Not ruining the fun, I will continue... Romance anime generally reminds me of high school, cute girls doing cute things, childhood friend and also: I can't tell her I love her cause I suck and sheis soooooo gooood and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to be her BF and what if she doesn't like me also if she says yes how do we go out, my heart is gonna beat so much every time I see her and oops now we are in the same room alone, OMG what do I do OMGGGGGGGGGGGG;
Yes, that is what I would expect before watching a romance anime these days, however Yubisaki to Renren amazed me!
Collage, Work, Drinking, Parties, Traveling, Dating and Love! These words remind me of the fact that I'm 20 years old and I'm a virg...
AAHMM, I mean, these words remind of being a grown up and finding your missing piece, being honest with your feelings, knowing trust and communication is important to have a relationship! Yubisaki to Renren doesn't leave you stranded in an ocean of Ecchi and Kids being Kids! It will show you an illusion of what feels like real people, and gives their existence meaning, allows you to live the same as them and hugs you with its cuteness!
But... Where is the story? I tried, trust me, I tried but I can not really find a perfect body for describing the story! What is seen is mostly plots, character design, music and visuals. Not going to go too technical with them so I'll just say they are rather good but where it fails me is the story, however, it is very hard to come up with a unique idea for a story in romance genre when mostly character design and simple short plots will cover pretty much what all eye can see. Also expecting a perfect show is too far off where we are right now, we will have many shows perfecting a few genres but of course nothing can be the best at everything. So don't just side eye this anime and walk off!
This show will give you what you are looking for if you are tired of kids being kids like I am.
BayesBeard
An overwhelmingly feel good romance anime displaying a variety of approaches to relationships. The series waste no time in getting right to the point of where things are going. There aren’t any wasted episodes on wondering about “what-if” for too long. Only reason, the rating isn’t a solid 10 is due to one character seeming too perfect throughout the series. Not to say the character doesn’t have flaws or needs to have more of them. It’s just something which stands out compared to the other characters around them, who are constantly working towards overcoming something. Still a really good watch for anyone looking to try out anew genre or invest in another romance series.
PatcheStitched
From the positive message of how learning new languages can bring you closer to other cultures, to how when someone can't experience much in the world, they will find someone who will show them. The animation contributes to this romantic and soft tone, and the music gives each scene an incredible score. Looking at their lips and corresponding that with what the voice actor(s) are/is saying is such an amazing detail. I love the way Yuki describes each person's signing. Comparing Oushi's as more tense because he was withholding his anger to prevent lashing out in front of Yuki. And Itsu's animation had calmer movements eventhough he is a beginner; showing how comfortable he was with her.
This series also doesn't contain much drama, which I love. There can be a healthy relationship between a male and his female friend(s) from middle/high school. And if that friend finds someone, there can be jealousy, sure. But not in the toxic way we see in other drama series. What a mature and refreshing way of keeping the romance alive and tension still present. Shin liking Emma wasn't a surprise. But I respect his patience, for sure. Everyone's reactions towards each other may blow up later due to tension. But I believe Itsu will back Yuki throughout this entire series.
Itsu is perhaps one of the least toxic characters in a shoujo anime (that I have seen so far...) His loyalty to Yuki is beautiful. The way he talks to her, respects her space, doesn't force her to do anything, and lets her decide. My hope is for another season of this. It's too good not to. The manga is on chapter 42 now. This animation is about half or a little below by episode 12.
giraffenanime
What an enjoyable watch! "A sign of Affection" is a unique Shoujo Manga about Yuki Itose, a young girl living her everyday life never hearing a single sound in her life. By chance, she meets a man named Itsuomi Nagi on train trying to explain to him that she can't hear. As a man who loves to connect through language, he begins to get interested in her. But this isn't just a one sided interest. Both of them begin to want to learn more about each-other. How they see the world, favourite foods, hobbies and themselves. You get too see Yuki's world slowly grow, see the difficultiesof being deaf in everyday life and a couple side romances as well.
Side note; I caught up on the manga before picking up the anime. I love how they ended on a note where they could easily pick up and start a second season, continuing to hone the original story... OST is also a 10/10 (gives me butteries).
Justykanna
I love A Sign of Affection and everything it stands for. There's a lot to like here. So let's talk about it! Story & Characters: It's hard to talk about A Sign of Affection without mentioning Yuki Itose. She's now in college and hangs around her notetaker, Rin Fujishiro. Why does she need a notetaker? Because Yuki is deaf. Before you start to worry, no, this is not the same stark story that A Silent Voice tells. This is nothing like that. Yuki often spends her time on campus with Rin, or spend their free time hanging outwith friends. One day, Yuki bumps into Itsuomi Nagi, who at first, has no idea about Yuki's lack of hearing. However, they go to the same campus for post-secondary school. Rin decides to ask Yuki to a bar one day so that she can meet up with Kyouya, someone she is madly crushing on. Who else happens to work there? Itsuomi. Both him and Yuki start to have feelings for each other and we get to watch as their worlds start to merge.
Yuki is exceptionally timid, almost to the point where you'd have a hard time believing she's a college student. She's so sweet and the world that unfolds with Itsuomi's inclusion becomes so large. It's crazy. I love seeing someone's first experience at love, but Yuki takes it to a whole other level. Itsuomi is constantly on the move, looking for a new place to travel to all over the planet. He takes a very blunt approach with his friends and really doesn't beat around the bush at all, which I enjoy for the character dynamics that he had.
Rin isn't anything particularly special, but is kind of necessary to tie everything together. That being said, her bond that she shares with Yuki is awesome - not something you'd always see with student and notetaker. Kyouya and Itsuomi, similarly, have a fantastic bond. It's witty, straight forward, and amusing, all at once. Oushi Ashioki has known Yuki since a very young age and clearly takes a more aggressive approach to how he communicates with people. This includes how he signs with Yuki. His attitude towards her was very welcome though, as it shows a different type of personality that the show would otherwise be lacking. Friends Shin and Emma have been friends with Itsuomi since high school. I liked them, and the goal of them was probably to add more of a different feel, but sometimes their inclusion fell kind of flat for me.
When you put everything together, this series really does create some magical moments. This is obviously headlined by Yuki, but other characters, as well as their interactions were really fun. With how many challenges Yuki has, it's great to see her approach to every one. You often forget that while she is capable, she needs some guidance to get there. Those challenges are also awesome to watch. It's a fresh take on the challenges of a college student, that while they are portrayed in other series, this adds more to it due to her lack of ability to hear.
Another strength is that it never really feels like an episode is ever wasted. There's a goal with basically every single one and many of them serve to grow our characters - either individually, or as a group. As a result, the pacing does feel very consistent. None of the situations are particularly dark, so if you're looking for a drama series, this probably isn't for you. You're watching this for the sweet moments and the times of character development, because that's where this series shines. (Story: 9/10, Characters: 9/10)
Art: The animation is very consistent throughout the runtime, and the usage of the screen for words - as Yuki has to talk with her texts very often - were about as well done as they could be. It does break up the flow a little bit when she suddenly needs to text, but it's a minor inconvenience at most. My assumption is that all the sign language is realistic, which does require a fair bit of work in the background to get shown right in animation. (9/10)
Sound: Something you really have to keep in mind is that since Yuki's deaf, and our main character, there isn't always a lot going on with your speakers. That's just kind of the nature of this series. And for me, that's just fine. You might have liked a few more tracks to round out the background sound, but again, we're splitting hairs here. Voice cast was strong, with a lot of names I'm really not familiar with. Lara Woodhull (Yuki) was exceptional and portraying Yuki's sheltered self, which I'm happy to hear. Reagan Murdock (Itsuomi) is a more different voice than I'm used to hearing, but I think he does a fine enough job. Rebecca Danae (Rin and Young Oushi) might be my second favourite, next to Woodhull, as she does a good job at showing us Rins ups and downs. (8/10)
Overall: A Sign of Affection is a must-watch for anyone romance series enjoyer, as long as you don't mind the less full audio - for obvious reasons. A different type of romance for its time for sure, this series is great for people who are familiar with the genre, and not. It does a lot of things right by its characters with a strong presentation to go with it. I can't recommend this enough. (9/10)
MajoEve
"A Sign of Affection" is a heartfelt and tender exploration of romance and communication. The series stands out for its respectful and realistic portrayal of deafness and sign language, offering viewers a unique perspective on relationships. The animation is gentle and expressive, perfectly capturing the nuanced emotions of the characters. Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship develops at a natural pace, filled with moments of genuine connection and understanding. The series excels in showcasing the beauty of non-verbal communication and the importance of empathy. The supporting characters add depth to the story, providing different perspectives on love and friendship. The music and sound design are also noteworthy, enhancingthe emotional impact of key scenes. The contrast between the silent world of Yuki and the bustling life around her is effectively portrayed, making her experiences more immersive.
Overall, "A Sign of Affection" is a beautifully crafted anime that emphasizes the power of love and understanding beyond words. It's a must-watch for fans of romance and slice-of-life genres, offering a touching and inclusive story that resonates deeply.
9.5/10 👍
VadoOtaku
Beautiful, the definition of love is in this anime, i refuse to think that i cannot live something like this, i will wake up every day hoping to love a romance like this, i have learn a lot of this characters and they have purified my soul, definitely it became one of my favorites romance anime of all the time. The sound edition it really is stunning, it made me feel the importance that sounds have in our live, it was very interesting watching and learning more about the world of Yuki, and not just her, the world of every character and it was splending, itslike not just the romance, the hole life it's represented in a beatiful way.
Omarumba
"A Sign of Affection - Love is as blind as it can be deaf. What is love? Would you like me to explain it to you? *extending my hand forward in a "like" gesture*. This simple "like" gesture also means "good." We all know that love comes in many different forms. Some love their extended family, some love watching anime, and some love their partner and love looking at the starry sky with them in their arms while on a date. Sometimes, talking to people on the subject of love, the question arises "can all people love"? And no, there is no acute question of asexualityof a person, but the question is "is every person worthy of love?". I hope everyone agrees with me that absolutely all people are worthy of love. People with all kinds of problems are worthy of love, be it poverty, complexity of character, or any health problems. However, in such a situation, it becomes very difficult to find your favorite person. To find a person who will accept your problem. It is one thing when you find your love and then there is an obstacle, as was the case with the real person Stephen Hawking, an English cosmologist. Stephen met and married Jane before he became disabled. Despite her infirmity Jane stayed with Stephen and they had a really strong love. But today's heroine from the shoujo "A Sign of Affection" was disabled from birth, and she deserved love as well.
The girl's name was Yuki Itose, and she had been deaf since birth to the point where even a hearing aid couldn't help her. Different from most people, the girl was locked in her inner world, closed off from sounds and many other possibilities. She grew up, went to school, has a best friend Rin Fujishiro, and her hobbies include studying and social networking. But the girl wanted to learn about the world as much as possible, and everything changed when she met a guy on the bus who helped her deal with a misunderstanding foreigner. After chatting, the girl fell in love with the guy, and he, in turn, expressed a desire to learn sign language to make it easier to communicate with Yuki.
"Let me into your world" - those were the words of the same guy, with the name Itsuomi Nagi.
Love is a state in which both partners have to help each other and bail each other out in a variety of circumstances. Itsose was locked in his inner world and due to deafness couldn't change his situation, while Nagi had the opposite situation - he was liberated in the outer world. He had traveled the world and never had trouble communicating, but meeting Itose made him realize that he didn't have to fly anywhere to get to know the world better, because the other world was just around the corner. Suu Morishita, the mangaka, wanted to show that a person's inner world can be much more interesting than the outer world. Especially when it is the inner world of a deaf girl who wants to know everything as best as possible. Many people compare this show to Koe no Katachi, a work that needs no introduction. But this is fundamentally wrong, for all that these two works have in common is a deaf-mute girl and the romance genre. If A Sign of Affection is an innocent shoujo romance, then Koe no Katachi is a deep psychology, showing the cruelty of people to people who are different, and showing the law "a boomerang thrown always returns" in all its glory. Looking at A Sign of Affection I would like to say that it is the most usual romance for girls with an innocent girl and a formidable guy, as it usually happens in shoujo, but with its own exceptional zest.
The manga A Sign of Affection began publication in Kodansha's Dessert magazine, one of the most popular women's shoujo magazines in July 2019. An anime adaptation of the television series premiered in January 2024, produced by Ajia-do Animation Works, a relatively old studio but with a small body of work. The director was Yūta Murano, a man who had worked within the same studio on projects like Kakushigoto or Seven Days War, and he managed to prove his love for good animation by producing such good works.
Ajia-do had quite a challenge for the animators to make the hand movements of the characters as smooth as possible, it's a very important detail after all. And oh yes, the animators coped with it, the movements were smooth and graceful, in addition, the picture itself turned out to be atmospheric and colorful, and the design of the characters looks attractive.
The musical accompaniment was rather inconspicuous, not counting the atmospheric guitar performance of Novelbright's "Yuki no Ne" as the opening splash screen, and ChoQMay's "Snowspring". And the former showed off their high performance skills as early as the main Ao no Orchestra theme.
People are different, but everyone deserves love, and A Sign of Affection takes care of that.
A Sign of Affection is careful to uphold this rule. It may seem like a typical shoujo romance, but it's still a very sweet romance that makes you want to forget about all the bad things that happen in the world.
Ellenya
Love it for the fact that it's a slice of life romance that properly portrays disabilities. Hate it for the fact that the romance is poorly developed and the plot has nothing interesting to keep you watching. Animation: Awesome, but doesn't save the anime. Plot: What plot? We don't really have ups and downs, nor real challenges, nor real antagonists. Character development: Very poor due to the fact that we don't have a proper plot to develop the characters! Romantic development: Also poor, only the heroine really holds the romantic plot, because the male lead's personality is "too mysterious" for us to actually identify with his feelings. Overall: It's simply hardto keep watching because it becomes boring really quickly, but if you are into wishy-washy and cliché animes it's a good watch with great animation.
Porukana
One of the nicest romances I've watched in a while. Is the plot and characters unrealistic? Yep. But who cares, you're watching anime. This show hits on so many good story writing points. From the pacing, to the character interactions, everything has a very romantic yet poetic atmosphere. Yes, there are some loose plot points, and yes there are some overused tropes. But even then all of these elements mix to create such a heart squeezing story. I really do want to commend the author of this story. Its often hard to find good consistent motifs in anime these days. This story takes a page out of"A Silent Voice" with the theming of the deaf MC and all the imagery and things that can come from that, but also the usage of texting as a vehicle to convey feelings (something similar to what "Tsuki ga Kirei" did).
Many romance shows tend to try and create a very timeless setting and story, that way people of all ages can watch it at any year and still feel the sort of heartthrob the show tries to convey. Yet this show is clearly a modern romance, with many of the plot points being aware of the current modern culture surrounding many aspects of this show.
9/10 would recommend.
RegaMasta12
It started pretty nicely but as it went on I started to hate both the female lead and male lead, but this is what you would expect from a typical shoujo, the perfect 6'8 popular hot guy with all the positive personality straits that will dote and take care of you, the shy, pure and cute girl(only this time she's deaf) and they will live happily ever after, also the villainized childhood friend who will never win because he's a osananajimi(Oushi u deserve better) Characters - holy shit both male and female leads are so ass(literally skipped like 10 mins of the last ep bcos itwas just them 2) but others are okay.
Story - typical shoujo(if you loooove shoujo, then you can watch this and "squeeeee" at the sleazebag lead male)
Art - art is very nice
Stratocaslyn
This anime, which tells the story of a deaf girl named Yuki, meets Itsuomi, a man who likes to travel around the world, has a quite interesting concept or we could say it is similar to anime movie called "a silent voice" but has a different storyline and meaning. You will like this anime depending on the point of view you use. If you relate the plot too much to real life then maybe you will think that Itsuomi is using Yuki so that he can learn sign language more deeply and improve his language skills, because technically they first met on the train and suddenly Itsuomiwas interested in Yuki and so vice versa. That way you might think that this anime is a bit of nonsense.
but if not, and you focus on watching every scene and sentence in this anime then you might say or think that this anime is quite good.
I saw some people say that this anime is very bad or not good because I think they put too much importance on the plot.
Yuki, who is deaf, meets Itsuomi, who likes to travel around the world or you could say knows this world widely, isn't that an interesting and quite good combination?
Actually it's up to you how you watch and look at this anime. I'm just giving you a little advice to enjoy it better if you watch this anime to entertain yourself.
In terms of storyline, I think it's good and there's nothing wrong with it. They carried it quite casually but without further ado, it was easy to understand for me and there was nothing complicated in it.
The animation and graphics are smooth and beautiful, especially when they start signing, it's very interesting and addictive to look at.
With these graphics and animations, I really enjoyed and was immersed in each episode so much that I didn't realize that the episode was over. I can't stop saying that it was really beautiful.
each character is described as quite interesting in terms of appearance and personality.
I will say that all the characters here are really pretty especially their eyes and hair, it is very beautiful.
And I really love the opening soo much, I never skip this anime opening when I watch it.
I recommend you to watch this anime if you are looking or want to see a romantic relationship and want to be entertained and curious about how the relationship will work between a man and a deaf girl.
I tell u guys, this anime is soo beautiful.
I can't stop saying beautiful for this anime
This is "A sign of affection"
A beautiful anime ✨
