Winter 2024 Anime: A Sign of Affection

Synopsis

Yuki is just another college student with a life that goes normally well for her. She loves cute things and she shows her support for her friends on the regular, like what a good friend does. Upon encountering a lost foreigner asking for directions on the train, Yuki panics and tries to explain that she cannot understand what he is saying due to her being deaf. A stranger steps in to help, who she later finds out to be Itsuomi, a friend of her friend in college. Following their meeting is a series of events including Yuki’s gradual realization of her feelings, Itsuomi adding yet another language he wants to learn, and their wishes to get to know each other’s world. 

Comments

Shayna Agasthya (The Indonesian Anime Times)

Does love fall upon you like how the snow falls from the sky? In silence, in a sudden, into your world with a burst of colours you’ve never seen before? A Sign of Affection beautifully lays its foundation on Yuki’s introductory question, playing around with presentations of colours and sounds to resemble Yuki’s ponderings and her world as a whole.

I really like how that question is set apart at the beginning of the episode, right before the opening sequence that nicely visualizes those lines and sets expectations on the mood for the series. It starts with glimpses of the characters predominantly in dull colours, followed by splashes of rainbows and a gradual burst of colour following Itsuomi’s appearance. We are then met with the same set of characters introduced at the beginning, now more warm and vibrant under fallen snow that resembles radiant sparkles. Accompanied by Novelbright’s heartwarming music and lyrics, this opening sequence easily snatched my heart and left me emotional. 

The entire episode itself is visually appealing with bright colors that nicely fit the manga’s art style. Change of colours to represent shifts in mood is not uncommon in art, but its usage in A Sign of Affection feels more significant to me. When the chattering world around her grows dimmer in colour while she remains vibrant, or when colourful and brilliant sparkles suddenly appear surrounding her and Itsuomi, or when the city view that seems dull at the beginning of the episode appears brighter at the end, it’s like directly seeing it all through her eyes. In A Sign of Affection, the shoujo sparkles feel like more than just a commonly used trope; they also represent a view of Yuki’s world.

A Sign of Affection offers us first-hand experience of how Yuki goes through her life as a deaf person. This is presented in methods such as shifting from buzzing chatter to deafening silence, accompanied by slight ringing noises replicating the ringing in your ears that might randomly appear when it’s silent around you. (…or maybe you just have tinnitus. Make sure to consult with a doctor when it gets to a worrying level, guys.)

It’s really interesting when everything in the anime goes silent, and we can’t hear anything except for Yuki’s train of thought or some occasional muffled sounds or white noises. Deafness comes in different levels, so perhaps this presentation might not represent an accurate general experience for deaf/hard of hearing people. Still, it allows me to get a glimpse of how it feels to live in silence or minimal sounds. The way the anime utilizes this silence hits harder in scenes that showcase Yuki’s alienation, like when she notices people talking about her, or from being unable to express her thoughts and feelings as easily as the hearing people around her. While people are comfortably speaking in languages she has never heard the sound of, she can only sit with her inner thoughts brewing inside, unable to let them out. The silence feels deafening, quite literally.

Among the rising amount of works in the romance genre being adapted into anime in the past few years, A Sign of Affection has gained interest for reasons including its deaf main character. Social media talks have been drawing comparisons, both positive and negative, from past works such as A Silent Voice, which also features a deaf/hard-of-hearing main character who uses sign language as one of their methods of communication. While these works have different takes on their respective stories and characters, it is still worth mentioning that both have raised awareness of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. They influenced people to learn more about disability, the Deaf community and culture, the usage of sign languages, and such related topics. With A Sign of Affection focusing more on Yuki as the main character, I think people can get even more details on the experiences of a deaf/hard-of-hearing person. Of course, it is still better to directly learn from actual people in real life.

A Sign of Affection offers a promising first episode with a very nice adaptation of the manga’s introductory chapter. Whether you are here for representations of people with disabilities in popular media and culture, or for a tooth-rotting romantic journey to warm your heart in this cold season, I highly encourage you to check it out.

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailers

The Indonesian Anime Times