A Sign of Affection

A Sign of Affection
Cover of the first volume
ゆびさきと恋々
(Yubisaki to Renren)
GenreDrama, romance[1]
Manga
Written bySuu Morishita
Published byKodansha
English publisher
MagazineDessert
DemographicShōjo
Original runJuly 24, 2019 – present
Volumes11
Anime television series
Directed byYūta Murano
Written byYōko Yonaiyama
Music byYukari Hashimoto
StudioAjia-do Animation Works
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkTokyo MX, MBS, BS NTV, AT-X
Original run January 6, 2024 – March 23, 2024
Episodes12
icon Anime and manga portal

A Sign of Affection (Japanese: ゆびさきと恋々, Hepburn: Yubisaki to Renren, lit. "Fingertips and Affection") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Suu Morishita. It started serialization in Kodansha's Dessert magazine in July 2019. As of July 2024, eleven tankōbon volumes have been released. An anime television series adaptation produced by Ajia-do Animation Works aired from January to March 2024.

Plot

Yuki Itose is a university student with congenital hearing loss. Besides sign language, she communicates through text and lip reading. When a foreigner asked her for direction in a language she assumed was English, a young man comes to her aid and catches Yuki's attention. The story revolves around Yuki as she narrates her silent world, and the people around her.

Characters

Yuki Itose (糸瀬 雪, Itose Yuki)
Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi[2] (Japanese); Lara Woodhull[3] (English)
A 19-year-old timid deaf girl who attended school for the deaf until high school and enrolled in public university. She meets Itsuomi on the train and falls in love with him after they spend time together.
Itsuomi Nagi (波岐 逸臣, Nagi Itsuomi)
Voiced by: Yu Miyazaki[2] (Japanese); Reagan Murdock[3] (English)
A 22-year-old multilingual young man who often travels abroad. He is a senior at Yuki's university who developed a crush on her the moment he met her on the train.
Ōshi Ashioki (芦沖 桜志, Ashioki Ōshi)
Voiced by: Takeo Ōtsuka[4] (Japanese); Nazeeh Tarsha[3] (English)
Yuki's childhood friend who can use sign language to communicate. He is very protective of Yuki, much to her annoyance. He has been in love with Yuki since childhood, which explains his controlling behavior towards her, but has kept his feelings to himself since he knows she doesn't like him.
Kyōya Nagi (波岐 京弥, Nagi Kyōya)
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka[4] (Japanese); Kamen Casey[3] (English)
Itsuomi's older cousin who runs a bar. He often supports his cousin's relationship with Yuki, and it's strongly implied he may harbor secret feelings for Rin, though it's unclear as of yet.
Rin Fujishiro (藤白 りん, Fujishiro Rin)
Voiced by: Kaede Hondo[4] (Japanese); Rebecca Danae[3] (English)
Yuki's best friend, who helps her take notes at classes. She is very supportive of Yuki's love towards Itsuomi. She has a crush on Kyōya.
Ema Nakazono (中園 エマ, Nakazono Ema)
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama[5] (Japanese); Julie Shields[6] (English)
Itsuomi's friend who has been in love with him since high school, even though he never reciprocated. She often tries to get close to Itsuomi, who pushes her away every time. Her love for him is very obvious, and was quickly noticed by Yuki who was initially suspicious. Eventually, Emma is able to move on from her hopeless crush on Itsuomi and begins to date Shin.
Shin Iryū (伊柳 心, Iryū Shin)
Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka[5] (Japanese); Ethan Gallardo[3] (English)
Itsuomi and Emma's best friend who works at a hair salon. He has been secretly in love with Emma since high school, even though she never noticed.

Development

In an interview with Kodansha USA, the author duo Suu Morishita stated that they decided to make the main theme sign language since they were both interested in the idea.[7] However, since neither of them had much experience with sign language, they did research, which included reading books on the subject, interviewing teachers, and getting someone to supervise how it was used.[7]

When it came to the art, they decided to use Copic Multiliner brown markers for the outlines and Dr. Ph. Martin's color ink for the coloring because they felt it gave the art a "soft and delicate" style.[7]

Media

Manga

The series is written and illustrated by the author duo Suu Morishita. It started serialization in Dessert on July 24, 2019.[8] On June 24, 2021, it was announced the manga would go on a hiatus as the writer and storyboarder gave birth to a child. The manga returned in November 2021.[9] As of July 2024, eleven tankōbon volumes have been released.[10]

In March 2020, Kodansha USA announced they licensed the manga for English publication digitally.[11] At Anime Expo Lite in July 2020, they announced a print release for the series.[12] Later that month, they announced they would publish chapters of the series digitally simultaneously with the Japanese release.[13] Kodansha's K Manga added the series to its simultaneous-publication catalogue in August 2023 after the series had been removed from Kodansha USA services in January.[14] Starting from April 2024, Kodansha USA began additionally releasing 3-in-1 omnibus versions of the manga.[15] The series was also translated into French by Rosalys and published by Akata.[16]

Volumes

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 December 13, 2019[17]978-4-06-518062-4March 31, 2020 (digital)
February 23, 2021 (print)[1]		978-1-64651-184-6
2 May 13, 2020[18]978-4-06-519501-7July 7, 2020 (digital)
May 18, 2021 (print)[19]		978-1-64651-185-3
3 October 13, 2020[20]978-4-06-520971-4December 29, 2020 (digital)
August 10, 2021 (print)[21]		978-1-64651-218-8
4 March 12, 2021[22]978-4-06-522634-6August 31, 2021 (digital)
January 11, 2022 (print)[23]		978-1-64651-274-4
5 September 13, 2021[24]978-4-06-524820-1December 14, 2021 (digital)
June 28, 2022 (print)[25]		978-1-64651-418-2
6 March 11, 2022[26]978-4-06-527138-4July 5, 2022 (digital)
May 23, 2023 (print)[27]		978-1-64651-683-4
7 September 13, 2022[28][29]978-4-06-529176-4
978-4-06-529026-2 (limited edition)		October 24, 2023 (digital)
November 14, 2023 (print)[30]		978-1-64651-883-8
8 February 13, 2023[31]978-4-06-530723-6April 23, 2024 (digital)
May 14, 2024 (print)[32]		979-8-88877-005-4
9 July 13, 2023[33]978-4-06-531847-8July 23, 2024[34]979-8-88877-024-5
10 December 13, 2023[35]978-4-06-534044-8October 22, 2024[36]979-8-88877-279-9
11 July 11, 2024[10]978-4-06-536193-1——

Musical

A musical adaption ran in the Honda Theater in Tokyo from June 4 to June 13, 2021. It was directed by Maiko Tanaka, with Sanae Iijima writing the screenplay, Kiyoko Ogino composing the music, and Kiyomi Maeda in charge of choreography.[37] It starred Erika Toyohara as Yuki, Takahisa Maeyama as Itsuomi, Manatsu Hayashi as Rin, Saho Aono as Ema, Ikeoka Ryōsuke as Ōshi, Kodai Miyagi as Shin, and Ryuji Kamiyama as Kyōya.[37]

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on July 5, 2023. It is produced by Ajia-do Animation Works and directed by Yūta Murano, with Yōko Yonaiyama composing the series, Kasumi Sakai designing the characters, and Yukari Hashimoto composing the music.[2] The series aired from January 6 to March 23, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[38] The opening theme song is "Yuki no Ne" (雪の音, "The Sound of Snow"), performed by Novelbright, while the ending theme song is "Snowspring", performed by ChoQMay.[5] Crunchyroll streamed the series worldwide outside of East Asia.[39] Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[40]

Episodes

No.Title [41][a]Directed by [b]Written by [b]Storyboarded by [b]Original air date [43]
1"Yuki's World"
Transliteration: "Yuki no Sekai" (Japanese: 雪の世界)		Yūta MuranoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoJanuary 6, 2024 (2024-01-06)
2"To Affection"
Transliteration: "Renren e" (Japanese: 恋々へ)		Shinpei MatsuoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoJanuary 13, 2024 (2024-01-13)
3"Someone is thinking of someone"
Susumu YamamotoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoJanuary 20, 2024 (2024-01-20)
4"What Kind of Voice?"
Transliteration: "Donna Koe de" (Japanese: どんな声で)		Shun WatanabeYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoJanuary 27, 2024 (2024-01-27)
5"The Answer"
Transliteration: "Kotae" (Japanese: こたえ)		Hidekazu OkaYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoFebruary 3, 2024 (2024-02-03)
6"I Thought I Wanted to Keep Watching Her Forever"
Transliteration: "Zutto Miteitai tte Omotteta" (Japanese: ずっと見ていたいって思ってた)		Shinpei MatsuoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoFebruary 10, 2024 (2024-02-10)
7"Let me introduce you to my girlfriend"
Shun WatanabeYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoFebruary 17, 2024 (2024-02-17)
8"One Small Step"
Transliteration: "Ippo o" (Japanese: 一歩を)		Yūta MuranoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoFebruary 24, 2024 (2024-02-24)
9"I Don't Want to Leave"
Transliteration: "Kaeritakunai" (Japanese: 帰りたくない)		Hidekazu Oka & Shinpei MatsuoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoMarch 2, 2024 (2024-03-02)
10"Oushi's World"
Transliteration: "Ōshi no Sekai" (Japanese: 桜志の世界)		Tatsuya FujinakaYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoMarch 9, 2024 (2024-03-09)
11"Promise"
Transliteration: "Yakusoku" (Japanese: 約束)		Shun WatanabeYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoMarch 16, 2024 (2024-03-16)
12"Our World"
Transliteration: "Watashitachi no Sekai" (Japanese: 私たちの世界)		Yūta MuranoYōko YonaiyamaYūta MuranoMarch 23, 2024 (2024-03-23)

Reception

The series ranked 17th in the 2020 Next Manga Award.[44] It ranked ninth in the 2021 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook's top 20 Manga for female readers.[45] Also that year the series was nominated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category;[46] it was nominated for the 46th edition in the same category in 2022;[47] for the 47th edition in 2023;[48] and the 48th edition in 2024.[49] The manga was also nominated for the first Ebook Japan manga award.[50] The manga also won the grand prize at the eleventh An An manga award.[51] The manga has been nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shōjo category.[52]

The series has received widespread critical acclaim. Sean Gaffney from Manga Bookshelf gave the first volume praise, calling it an "excellent debut" and stating he wanted to read more.[53] Koiwai from Manga News also praised it.[54] Like Gaffney and Koiwai, Darkstorm from Anime UK News also gave the first volume praise, comparing it to A Silent Voice, as well as calling it "beautifully drawn and written".[55]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.[42]
  2. ^ a b c Information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.

References

  1. ^ a b "A Sign of Affection, Volume 1". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Dempsey, Liam (July 5, 2023). "A Sign of Affection Manga Signals TV Anime Adaptation". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Mateo, Alex (January 19, 2024). "A Sign of Affection TV Anime's English Dub Reveals Cast, January 20 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 20, 2023). "A Sign of Affection Anime Reveals More Cast in 1st Promo Video". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Cayanan, Joanna (November 23, 2023). "A Sign of Affection Anime Unveils 2 More Cast Members, Theme Song Artists". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  6. ^ Shields, Julie [@JulieRShields] (7 February 2024). "So happy to announce that I'm the voice of Emma in A Sign of Affection! It's a really adorable show on @Crunchyroll with new episodes out each Saturday. Thank you @_JasonLord_ for having me!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ a b c "Creator Interview: Suu Morishita talks A Sign of Affection & Simulpub Debut". Kodansha USA. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 25, 2019). "Suu Morishita Launches New Yubisaki to Renren Manga This Summer". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 26, 2021). "A Sign of Affection Manga Goes on Hiatus Due to Storyboard Writer Giving Birth". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "ゆびさきと恋々（１１）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  11. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 8, 2020). "Kodansha Comics Licenses Kakushigoto, My Roomie Is a Dino, Orient, 5 Other Manga for Digital Release". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
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  16. ^ "A Sign of Affection T.1" (in French). Akata. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  17. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（１）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  18. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（２）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  19. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 2". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  20. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（３）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  21. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 3". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  22. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（４）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  23. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 4". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  24. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（５）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  25. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 5". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  26. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（６）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 6". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  28. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（７）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  29. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（７）特装版" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  30. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 7". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  31. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（８）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  32. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 8". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  33. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（９）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  34. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 9". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  35. ^ "ゆびさきと恋々（１０）" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  36. ^ "A Sign of Affection, Volume 10". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  37. ^ a b Mateo, Alex (March 12, 2021). "A Sign of Affection Manga Gets Musical in June". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  38. ^ 『ゆびさきと恋々』2024年1月6日放送スタート、追加声優に東山奈央さん・畠中祐さん！ OPはNovelbright、EDはチョーキューメイが担当. Animate Times (in Japanese). November 23, 2023. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  39. ^ Cardine, Kyle (August 25, 2023). "The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent Season 2, A Sign of Affection and More Anime are Coming to Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  40. ^ "【Muse Asia 2024 Distribution Announcement】《A Sign of Affection》". Muse Asia via YouTube. November 17, 2023. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  41. ^ "Terebi Anime "Yubisaki to Renren" Koshiki Saito" TVアニメ『ゆびさきと恋々』公式サイト [TV Anime "A Sign of Affection" Official Site]. yubisaki-pr.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  42. ^ "Watch A Sign of Affection - Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  43. ^ "Terebi Anime "Yubisaki to Renren" Koshiki Saito" TVアニメ『ゆびさきと恋々』公式サイト [TV Anime "A Sign of Affection" Official Site]. yubisaki-pr.com (in Japanese). Retrieved January 6, 2024.[permanent dead link]
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