The main blog photo was taken from

https://thecosmiccircus.com/a-sign-of-affection-crunchyroll/

Plot Summary

Yuki is 19 and her world is limited. She grew up in a school for deaf children and her class only had four students. She wants to sprout wings and learn more about the world around her so she decides to go to university. On the train one day, she is approached by a foreigner who does not know she cannot understand his words and a kind person approaches him and helps him out. After the foreigner leaves she thanks the man in sign language and he then tries to make it easier for her to understand him by purposefully making sure that she can easily read his lips. She recognizes that he goes to their school and is a classmate of her friend and feels a bit of a connection at his kindness and when he leaves the station he tells her, “See you.”

She decides to ask her friend about him and as it turns out her friend has a crush on his cousin who is an owner of a bar that the man works at. So they decide to be brave and go together. She gets to know the handsome stranger and their romance begins. She soon learns he loves to travel all over the world. He has lived in other countries and knows English, German, and is also learning a few other languages. She has never been outside of Japan and her world is much smaller than his, but she is eager to understand more and he wants to learn sign language to communicate with her.

This anime is 12 episodes long and it is a manga that is currently ongoing. It is adorable and beautiful and a love like this is an incredible treasure! I only meant to watch the first episode and of course I ended up watching the whole thing in a few hours.

I laughed, I cried, and I want to watch it all over again!

They deal with issues of jealousy as this is a first love for both. There are issues with communication, respect and understanding, and just general first love relationship issues. The fact that she cannot hear is a major part of the story and it is told beautifully and so respectfully. I truly wish we had more stories like this.

A sweet scene – he asks her to be his girlfriend by signing:

Taken from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAq9nDuDKeo

Why Do I like A Sign of Affection?

This is truly a unique romance told in such a beautiful way. The dub is lovely and the main character’s narration is voiced by an actress who herself has a hearing impairment which is why I chose to watch this story dubbed versus in the original voice. I very much enjoyed viewing it in this manner. The romance unfolds perfectly.

Director Background:

The director is Yūta Murano. They started as a storyboard artist, but their later works are mostly as a director. Most of them have been romances. Some of the most notable are 7 Days War and How Not to Summon a Demon Lord. (Wikipedia, 2025).

Critical Evaluation for the Series

This biggest critical evaluation would be that the romance may be too fast-paced. I think that some people would feel that they fall in love too fast, but I think that happens in real life, too. Some may say it’s unrealistic, but people fall in love with people who have a disability all the time in real life so I do not think it is unrealistic. It may be that the main male character pushes her too fast for some things, but sometimes people need a bit of a push in order to move forward in life or nothing happens. She is 19 and obviously very ready to experience love, but Itsuoumi (the male lead), takes her out of her comfort zone.

Creative Use for a Library Program

Let’s learn sign language! I think this is a great opportunity to learn some basic sign language, talk about how the sign language in this anime/manga is different from American sign language and how some of it is the same. What a fun program to incorporate for a teen book club!

Speed Round Show Talk

A young woman with a hearing impairment meets a young man who falls in love with her and he learns sign language to communicate with her. They are too cute and while many are against them being together, they learn, grow, and face obstacles together.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:

Having a relationship with someone who speaks and experiences the world so differently can be such a huge challenge, and I think some people would feel this can be a negative. However, I looked this anime up on Tiktok, and I saw some reactions from teenage girls with hearing impairments and they were so elated and excited and screaming with happiness that having that representation in a show for me makes this anime 100% appropriate. I couldn’t help but smile from ear-to-ear knowing that they were watching an experience so unique to them come to life on screen and it was too cute!

Reason for Inclusion:

I included this in my collection because it is heartwarming sunshine and happiness! I looked this anime up on Tiktok, and I saw some reactions from teenage girls with hearing impairments and they were so elated and excited and screaming with happiness that having that representation in a show for me makes this anime 100% appropriate. I couldn’t help but smile from ear-to-ear knowing that they were watching an experience so unique to them come to life on screen and it was too cute!

Where To Watch and Is it Coming Back?

You can watch A Sign of Affection on Crunchyroll! So far it seems this will be the only season.

Title: A Sign of Affection (January 6, 2024)

Author: (Director) Yūta Murano (Wikipedia, 2025).

Genre:

Format:

References:

Wikipedia. (2025). A sign of affection.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sign_of_Affection

Youtube. (2024). Itsuoumi asks Yuki out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAq9nDuDKeo