Good morning and welcome back to Anime Rants. I hope you have a good tooth-cleaning routine because A Sign of Affection is so sweet it could rot those teeth right out. Let’s continue learning about the adorable Yuki as she falls in love.
Before beginning on these episode reviews, I have some corrections to make. I was mistaken on two different points in my last episode review. First of all, the correct title for the opening song is “Yuki no Ne” rather than “Yuki no Oto.” Secondly, I think I mixed up Oushi Ashioki with Kyouya Nagi. Oushi is Yuki’s childhood friend, and Kyouya is Itsuomi’s cousin as well as the man Rin is in love with. Sorry for those mistakes. Now then, let’s go over the next two episodes of A Sign of Affection.
Episode 2: To Affection
In the second episode, Yuki agonizes over the question of whether she is in love (suki – to love or to fancy) or just crushing (akogarete – to admire). She has several run-ins with Itsuomi over the course of the episode, and it seems like they are hitting it off. Itsuomi even called her cute at one point. He now pats her head as a greeting, but he also learned a little more sign language (like the sign for “good morning”).
Yuki also has a few encounters with her childhood friend, Oushi, who always seems grumpy and rude. Putting him aside, Rin continues to be an uplifting friend. She tells Yuki that if she can’t tell if it’s love or a crush, then the best thing to do is pick one. She’s saying Yuki gets to make up her own mind. Yuki takes the advice seriously, and by the end of the episode, she’s decided that she is, in fact, in love with Itsuomi.
This episode revealed a critical fact about Yuki’s background. Her entire pre-college education, from kindergarten to highschool, took place at a single tiny school for hearing-impaired students. She only had three or four classmates. Since Yuki is extremely curious and bright, she wanted more. Thus, she enrolled in university. (It just happened to be the same one where her childhood friend was attending.)
This new information explains a lot. It shows that Yuki has had few novel experiences and very little socialization compared to the average person her age. I grew up in a similar way – homeschooled and severely socially isolated from grades K-12. I already liked Yuki, but I have even more empathy for her now. This information also explains why Yuki has never been in love and why she seems so sheltered. (Note: I think she’s doing an amazing job coping and adjusting.)
Oushi, Yuki’s childhood friend, seems distinctly unlikeable. I can tell he’s someone who will compete for Yuki’s affection, but I can barely tolerate him. In the shoujo genre, male love interests are often typified – for example, the male tsundere, the princely type, the wild type, etc. Itsuomi doesn’t seem like he was written this way. He feels genuine. Oushi, on the other hand, is clearly the rough/angry type. So far, he has no character besides being an asshole. I suspect he cares about Yuki, but he’s treating her all wrong.
It’s only been two episodes, but A Sign of Affection is already turning out great! Not only is it super adorable and sweet, but it’s also interesting as a rare example of an anime with a disabled protagonist. On that note, the scenes showing sign language have been really cool so far. There were more examples in this episode, such as the tense conversation between Yuki and Oushi. I hope to see more scenes like this in the future.
Episode 3: Someone is Thinking of Someone
Yuki makes a sign language guidebook for Itsuomi, drawing many signs and gestures. A few nights later, Yuki and Rin go to the Rockin’ Robin bar again. There, Itsuomi accepts the notebook, but adds that he wants Yuki to teach him signs in person. She’s delighted to hear that, but her joyfulness doesn’t last. Two drunk students enter the bar – a young man named Shin and a young woman named Emma. They both clearly know Itsuomi, and Emma is extremely clingy with him.
From the way Emma was acting, Yuki was concerned she was dating Itsuomi. However, Kyouya said they are not a couple and are unlikely to get together. When Yuki asked why, Kyouya declined to give an explanation. The following night, Itsuomi tells Yuki he is at the laundromat hanging out if she wants to join. Yuki hurries to meet him. On the way, she has a slight altercation with Oushi, who happened to be passing by. But Yuki shook off that negativity and was able to have fun with Itsuomi.
There was a very cute scene in the laundromat where Yuki and Itsuomi held hands briefly. How scandalous! After that, Itsuomi walks Yuki back to her home, since it’s close to curfew. He also tells Yuki that Emma is only a friend. Yuki decides to trust him. When Itsuomi gets to his apartment, he finds Emma there, begging to crash at his place. Itsuomi lets her inside, gives her the spare key, and leaves to spend the night elsewhere. The episode ends with Emma finding the sign language notebook on Itsuomi’s table.
I can’t decide if I like Emma yet. She could become very annoying – in fact, Itsuomi already seems annoyed with her. That being said, she’s beautiful, and seems to have a decent personality other than being too needy with her friend. Perhaps she used to date Itsuomi. They definitely have some kind of significant connection, but I don’t know what it is or what Emma’s intentions are. How she reacts to Itsuomi’s friendship with Yuki will likely determine if I can appreciate this character or not.
Speaking of characters, my thoughts on Oushi haven’t changed. He’s aggravating, insensitive, and borderline threatening. I should probably have more sympathy for him, since I have a history of poor emotional regulation myself. Oushi doubts that Itsuomi is good for Yuki. He thinks Itsuomi is just pretending to be nice to a deaf girl for social clout. This shows that Oushi really does care about Yuki. For whatever reason though, I’m having a hard time liking him at all.
Other than that, my only other thought was that the scene at the laundromat was absolutely adorable and romantic, too. I’m thoroughly enjoying this anime!
Thanks for reading~
PATREON
