Romance stories at their best ensure that the audience fall in love with the characters as much as the characters do with each other. If there isn't something appealing about one or both, then there isn't a need to see them succeed as a couple. The most skilled creators understand this. Suu Morishita is the pen name of a duo whose works include “Shortcake Cake” and “Like a Butterfly” that whilst maybe not the most well-known, enjoy much critical acclaim. “A Sign of Affection” (2024) is their current work, published in noted Shojo manga magazine Dessert, and their biggest hit yet with several award nominations and high ranks in opinion polls as well as a stage musical. The anime adaptation by Ajia-do Animation Works aired this year and is exactly what I would classify as the best kind of romance with characters you can't help but enjoy spending time with.
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Student Yuki Itose is a sweet, fashionable, and curious young woman who lives with congenital hearing loss. She gets by with texting, lip reading, and her friend Rin Fujishiro taking her lecture notes for her. When a foreign tourist asks her for directions, she is at a loss until a handsome stranger steps in to help. He is Itsuomi Nagi, a third-year student attending the same university with a flair for languages and a love of travel. The pair quickly form a bond with Itsuomi expressing a desire to get to know sign language to better communicate. As the pair grow closer, Yuki begins to see possibilities outside of her previously small world.
If there was one word to describe “A Sign of Affection”, it would be “soft”. There is an easy and quietly happy quality to this show. However, it never falls into being twee or overly sappy. Similarly, there is drama but it doesn't get melodramatic or neglect to have some good light comedy. This is a comfort watch; something you can sink into and enjoy these two sweet people fall in love with little pain or heaviness. Director Yuta Murano has previously directed “Kakushigoto” (2020) and the first season of “How Not to Summon a Demon Lord” (2018), but what I think really makes a difference with “A Sign of Affection” is his experience as a storyboard artist, something he did for both those shows and this one as well as others such as “Ascendance of a Bookworm” (2019). There is just a tangible sense of space and placement here, both in environments and between the characters.
Communication and emotional growth are the core things here. Yuki is sheltered and naive without being insipid. Her world is limited by her disability, or at least she believes it to be. In meeting Itsuomi, he helps her see that she can participate in more of the world than she thought possible. Itsuomi, meanwhile, whilst skilled with verbal languages, experiences a different kind of communication with Yuki and discovering the effect it has in how she sees things. He has a cool personality that doesn't come across as overly aloof and he has a playful and caring side. Yuki's inner monologue is heard by the audience throughout and this both helps us understand her and shows the difficulty that she finds in expressing exactly how she feels.
In Yuki and Itsuomi meeting, we also get to know those close to them and their own romantic entanglements. Yuki's friend Rin develops a crush on Itsuomi's cousin Kyouya that makes for a cute secondary couple. Both also have childhood friends harbouring secret crushes on them, because, to be honest, where would romance anime be without that particular trope? Yet we do spend time with them and their point of view that helps us understand that, whilst flawed, neither are essentially bad people. They simply, appropriately for the show, can't communicate their feelings or hear what others are trying to express to them in turn.
Something that is briefly touched upon is the difficulty for someone with a hearing disability to get a job, as we see Yuki attempt to get one to help her save money. It's a little window into the day-to-day issues that people with disabilities have to deal with and it could have been interesting to see a little more of that. Likewise, it would have been nice to see a little more of Yuki and Itsumi's lives and goals outside of the relationship. We know both are in university but not what they're studying. We know Yuki's family don't know sign language but we never learn the reason. There are even a few characters that we see but never get names for. For a story about opening one's personal world it does keep things very small. That said, all these things could be elements that are dealt with in more depth in the source manga, which is still ongoing.
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In terms of the visuals, “A Sign of Affection” seems simple at first but soon shows off its stunning beauty. Splashes of watercolour highlight strong emotional moments, and there's an appropriately snow-like visual flourish used sometimes. In a few instants they even use a draining of colour to punctuate a scene to great effect. Unsurprisingly, on-screen text plays a prominent role, both as text messages and direct translations of signs being used. The character designs by Kasumi Sakai are great, Yuki in particular looks absolutely adorable especially when she goes into chibi mode, but some of the guys and especially Itsuomi have this weird pouty lip thing going on that takes some getting used to.
Soundtrack is essential when it comes to mood in stories like this. Yukari Hashimoto, veteran of shows like “March Comes in Like a Lion” (2016) and “Komi Can't Communicate” (2021), matches the visuals to ideal degree and never overpowers.
As we experience Yuki's point of view via her inner monologue,the character's voice actor must carry a lot of the show. Sumire Morohoshi's performance succeeds in fleshing out Yuki as a person and highlights her sweet nature. Yu Miyazaki as Itsuomi has a warmth to him that shone through.
For fans of romance, it's unlikely that there is going to be a better experience than “A Sign of Affection”. A simple story but in the telling it becomes a beautiful ode to how communication can link people and the joy that brings.
