A Sign of Affection

A Sign of Affection has appeared so sweep over the shojo demographic by storm with its supposed healthy portrayal of romance. Therefore, I mistakenly had high expectations. Our main character Yuki, is a deaf girl who meets her love interest Itsuomi in college, a boy fascinated with discovering new languages and cultures across the world. And so their romance begins, following their development with Itsuomi learning sign language to communicate with her. A sweet concept, but their relationship appeared to me very surface-level.

Starting the series, I fell in love with the first episode. Yuki is an adorable character, it is difficult to not like her! And learning to view the world in the perspective of her disability was expectantly interesting. I have to praise the art-style as well, which stood out to me with its blushes and pastels. But, a couple of episodes further, I began wavering on my stance on the relationship between Yuki and Itsuomi. Sure, he's attractive... what else? I find their chemistry lacking.

In almost every one of their interactions, Itsuomi seems to invade her personal space; she makes several passing comments on this, but it is never directly addressed. Ultimately, this behaviour appeared to me romanticised. Having a stranger in your face, no matter how good looking they are, is not hot.

The cast of characters is interesting, but wasted potential. Again, surface-level.

* Spoilers ahead *
Let us start with Emma: A friend of Itsuomi's, but the only thing we know about her is that she is that girl with shiny hair who has been pursuing Itsuomi since high school. At first, she is merely an annoying presence, serving as an obstacle to Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship. Then what happens to her? She is paired off to Shin who confesses to her in the last two episodes. Shin and Emma's relationship could have been so much more well-rounded, if it was not rushed. That being said, Shin is easily my favourite character. The backstory of his experience in highschool and suppressed yearning for Emma, whilst watching her yearn for his close friend is pitiful. His personality seems to shine through by his edge in hairdressing, drunk introduction, and support of his friends.

The other relationship explored is one between Kyouta (Itsuomi's cousin) and Rin (Yuki's best friend). I don't have much negative to say about these two, they often provided comic relief when leaving Itsuomi and Yuki, and forced to spend time together. And the outcome of the couple is endearing. They certainly did not stand out to me.

Finally, let us address Oushi's character, Yuki's childhood friend. I think it would be fitting to describe him as a male tsundere. Oushi is in love with Yuki, in turn despising Itsuomi. What do I think of this? I feel sorry for the man. He has his mood swings and overprotective tendencies, however Itsuomi is hardly better by provoking him. It is not really worth debating the positives of his hypothetical coupling with Yuki; the point is, I find him to be the most complex character in a series where everyone else appears flat.