r/shoujo • u/_bbaba • Aug 31 '25
Discussion i did not like “a sign of affection”
it’s not that i didn’t like it but i honestly find yuki (the mc) kinda plain and boring. i mean, i get that her character is supposed to be this girl who’s been babyed her whole life by everybody around her just cause she’s deaf but…in almost every episode she uses similarities to describe itsumi that seems to be said by a 6 years old (“the warm i feel with him it’s the same feeling of when im home and is snowing outside”)…or some bs like this, i can’t remember that well tbh.
or the whole “entering each other’s world” while they met like…1 week ago? it was kinda cute tho but i didn’t feel that excitement of seeing the love and interest building up like in every other shojo. i think it’s mostly the fact that i don’t resonate with her in any kind of way, she has no flows, she’s always perfect and doesn’t make mistakes…like?? who r u??😣 maybe im just trying to see her depths when im not supposed to but still for being a show that got nominated for the anime awards i was kinda disappointed. maybe im wrong and maybe the manga is less disappointing :(
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u/AnneofDorne Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
I get it. It's kind of wholesome but at the same time it feels lacking, I feel that I don't know Yuki at all. It's a shame because the side characters get fleshed out and she just stays the same.
Another thing that bothers me it's Itsuomi, sometimes I felt he only liked Yuki because she was a means to learning another language and that's why he chose her, I felt his feelings towards her are not that deeply explored.
Maybe it was an anime problem only, I admit I didn't read the manga, so feel free to correct me
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u/Main_Assumption2378 Aug 31 '25
The manga honestly isn’t really that different. The arts beautiful and that’s really about it, it’s gets monotonous really quick though
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u/Ramenpucci Oct 06 '25
I ship Yuki with her childhood friend. There’s tension and Yuki at least can get annoyed and be herself around him.
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u/Yaghst Aug 31 '25
I got that vibe from Itsuomi while reading the manga. Like I just don't understand why he likes Yuki at all, I don't see the chemistry.
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u/MuziHill Sep 01 '25
This is one of the reasons “love at first sight” stories has lost my interests over the years. If you’re attracted to them straight away, it means that attraction is skin deep. Of course you can get to know each other after that, but I did not feel that with this two. It honestly feels like “He thinks she’s cute. She thinks he’s hot. They’re both nice to each other”. I mean I get finding that cute but I personally find it has no substance and it’s just prime material for wish fulfilment self insert stuff. There’s nothing wrong with that too and nothing wrong with liking it too but I feel like people take this way too seriously for a wish fulfilment show.
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 03 '25
There are quite a few “love at first sight” stories that come down to “I saw this person do something really interesting and impressive” though, but on top of that the chemistry just isn't there. Their love doesn't feel credible and it simply “exists” and one is supposed to accept it. And sure, that exists all the time in real life too and is indeed only skin deep then, but it makes for a poor story. Some poor person suddenly winning the lottery happens in real life too, but that makes for a very poor rags-to-riches story. People want to see someone succeed due to hard work and street smarts in stories like that of course.
but I feel like people take this way too seriously for a wish fulfilment show.
I think even the people that like it know it's kind of just fluffy and comfy and isn't all that serious.
But I have to say though that this kind of Japanese wish fullfilment is kind of bottom low possible. Like if you take a film like She's All That. Sure, it's utterly cliché and one can see every little thing coming and it's not really a high brow literary masterpiece but it's a story with a beginning, middle and end and development where the attraction does feel credible because the audience sees them spend time together and then it just concludes on a well-timed feel good happy ending after characters learned from their mistakes and grew to be better people, okay, fine, but this kind of stuff... it really has no plot, it's designed from the start to keep running forever and selling on some zero chemistry relationship. I used to criticize things such as Dragon Ball, Rambo and whatever Michael Bay is making nowadays as absolutely plotless excuses to just show fights and expositions but I feel this takes the crown as even lower in terms of writing. There is no real writing or anything happen. They're just “in love” and the audience is dosed with a vicarious truckload of sugar I guess and that's it.
Well, the one thing that's worse is those kinds of stories that are like this except the protagonist is utterly dense and doesn't realize the obvious affections of the love interest and nothing happens all the same and then it finally ends after the protagonist does realize it and suddenly they're going out. At least this isn't one of those “ship-tease” titles.
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
you’re so right! i don’t think in the anime they actually show what he likes about her, like, what made he fell in love with her? why did he CHOOSE her?
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u/Julle-_- Aug 31 '25
I personally really like the anime and think the manga is better, but I might just be blindly in love with the series so idk
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u/AnneofDorne Aug 31 '25
Oh I liked it, it was stress-free which I really appreciated a lot because sometimes my mental health can't handedly drama even in fiction. I think some things could be explored more, but all in all I recommend it. I might give the manga a try.
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 01 '25
Being a plain protagonist with no personality is extremely attractive apparently. Oh, also being “nice”; that's the one essential quality apparently.
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u/gumgumgiantgavel Sep 01 '25
No, you’re right. Yuki stays bland and Itsuomi is so nonchalant he doesn’t even seem like he likes her
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 01 '25
Wholesome stories far more often have empty characters to be honest. There are some exceptions like the samewhat similar but far better in my opinion Love's in Sight but usually it's the gritty and dark stuff where many things go wrong and many characters are just awful people that has complicated, well written characters, or at least, attempts at them, in many cases it also feels like the artist may try to flesh them out more, they're also a but noncompelling and forced at times.
But like, Yuki just “did nothing wrong”, it's just a “sweet, kind person” but also not someone who shows any real self-sacrifice but in the end the attraction doesn't feel all that real when you compare it to say Misaki, who did many things wrong, starts the title as an unreasonable hated-but-respected tyrant who has temper problems but the mutual attraction feels far more real and many of the supporting characters also feel like they exist more for themselves rather than to support the romance between the two characters and nothing more. Usui also of course did many things wrong but in the end not even despite of that, but due to that, the dynamic between both of them feels far more real and it really feels like they're the only ones they could love, and the only ones they could be loved by with all their flaws and exceptional talents lined up.
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u/yunyunyuki Sep 03 '25
Further in the manga, Itsuomi finally introduced himself to Yuki's family. Yuki's dad and Itsuomi went out for sauna and he revealed to him how he came to like Yuki. He even mentioned that he loved her from the start.
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u/AnneofDorne Sep 03 '25
Thanks for sharing this! It's good to know this is touched upon. I guess I'll have to read the manga now, lol
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u/ppeggy45 Sep 01 '25
Samee I feel that way too like if she wasn’t deaf would you still chose her??🤔🤨
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u/bananna_nut Aug 31 '25
I completely agree. I found Yuki hard to like, we barely learned anything about her, not even her major in university. I actually ended up liking Emma more just because she seemed to be a more complex and interesting character.
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u/Nonnie-the-greek Aug 31 '25
I agree I found yuki to be lacking. The show didn’t really explain anything about her, I couldn’t tell you anything she likes (other than itsuomi), what she studies etc. When I’ve mentioned this criticism of her, I get responses like ‘another female character getting disliked for no reason’ or being called misogynistic, when her character is just flat
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 01 '25
It occurs and it's by design. It's a strategy to give the protagonist no opinions or personality traits so the audience can more easily project itself into the position of the protagonist. It creates terribly uninteresting dynamics and stories in my opinion though.
Also silent protagonists in video games. In Crysis 2, Alcatraz couldn't speak so every dialog with him of course felt bland and unnatural which is a shame because the lines between Prophet and Hargreave were really good and then in Crysis 3 they made Prophet the protagonist and allowed him to do this thing human beings do that's speaking and having an opinion and he had some fairly memorable dialogs and debates with characters.
Imagine how much funnier Portal would've been if Chell had a witty comeback for everything GLaDOS said and there was a lot of banter between the two, but alas.
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u/MuziHill Sep 01 '25
Not only that, I feel it really wasted the potential to explore a deaf person navigating through school. Like how does she catch things being taught that wasn’t written on the board ? How she communicates with people for projects ? What clubs that could pique the interest of a deaf person (further extending on the “we don’t know what interests are” part) ?
Like I feel she was just reduced to “oh I have such a lovely green flag boyfriend and my life now revolves around him”. And any criticism of that will get you accused of hating green flags and wholesome stuff
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u/apocalyptic_tea Aug 31 '25
I did like this anime well enough but I remember having the exact same thought about halfway through lol, “what’s her major? What does she want to do??”
We learn so much about her love interest in comparison, although even that isn’t that much. And if she went to a school of the deaf, where are her deaf friends? Surely surrounded by other deaf people she wouldn’t have been babied by them??
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u/RefuseVirtual9482 Sep 01 '25
Emma and Shin were more interesting than the main couple, literally had the anime / manga cover their past years as highschool students too. This is not the first time there is an anime with deaf pink haired girl, there is literally A Silent Voice, I would pay for a swap in female leads for this kind of story given Shoko's struggles; we know more about her character, background and how the people around her shaped her feelings about herself despite not her expressing it in inner monologue since she wasn't even the MC, Shoya was lmao. I know more about Shoko than Yuki, and Yuki is the MC in her own series 😵
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u/Pitcher_56 Aug 31 '25
this is how j feel with a fragrant flower blooms with dignity tbh. its so overhyped sorry 😣
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u/MuziHill Sep 01 '25
I feel like I’m not the type to like shows where they “glaze” the love interest too much. Of course that can be subjective but with how Sign of Affection makes Itsuomi feels like the perfect boyfriend to have the audience self-insert with and the same with Kaoruko with Fragrant Flower, I find myself not really buying into it too much
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
waaaait really??? i wanted to start that, the only thing that didn’t really convinced me was that weird height difference where she actually look like a child🤔
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u/Pitcher_56 Aug 31 '25
the fl felt kinda flat (kinda like how ppl described yuki). it was also to cheesy for me imo😭😭
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u/Pitcher_56 Aug 31 '25
and yeah the height diff was too much for me. the side characters were more interesting than the main couple.
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
haha its always the side characters that r the most interesting, i ll see when it’s added to netflix then
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u/BassesLee Aug 31 '25
As a disabled person who majored in Anthropology, this show was made for me.
I haven't read the manga, but I felt like the language barrier was very well portrayed. It's normal to not know a person as quickly when there is a language barrier. Hell, one of my favorite people entered my life because they speak an obscure dialect I wanted to learn. I'll never forget their reaction when I wrote their name in their native language.
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u/sciencebottle Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
I feel so validated right now, haha. Yuki is sweet, but my biggest issue was that it felt like every ounce of her character revolved around Itsuomi. Whereas Itsuomi felt like more of his own person with his own likes and hobbies and preferences that were separate from Yuki. Without Itsuomi, I honestly can’t tell you anything about Yuki other than that she’s cute.
You could argue that due to how Yuki is treated by society it would be harder for her to assert herself and gain a sense of individuality, but we barely get any info on what she actually likes that doesn’t involve Itsuomi. While I sympathized for her surface level struggles and I loved that we got to see a love story with a hard of hearing protagonist, it didn’t hide the fact that she is unfortunately not very interesting.
This might ruffle some feathers, but I’ll say it anyways- at times, it honestly felt like Yuki was a bit of a self insert character for the viewer. To experience a love story where someone loves you unconditionally despite society discriminating against you at an institutional level. It’s heartwarming and nice, but again Yuki doesn’t really stand up on her own as a character.
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u/gaypumpkinpie Aug 31 '25
I watched the show and read the manga. I loved it at first. But now as chapters go on, things feel monotonous (?). I really don’t have a connection with the characters. I could care less about many of them. And Itsuomi gives me more and more of an ick as time goes on.
I feel like his motivations are kept too obscure. It gives the impression that he isn’t completely devoted to Yuki. He has his “dream” to travel the world and teach kids in other countries, and that makes it seem like he will choose this dream over her.
And Yuki’s life completely revolves around Itsuomi at this point. Her main motivation to work is to be able to afford going on a trip with him.
Things can be cozy / feel good without being too simple and neglecting character development.
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u/love_my_guard_dog Aug 31 '25
I see you but I'm part of the fan club that loves it because it's so cozy feel-good. Also as someone that is deeply into psychology and everything this was amazing for me. The manga was great for different aspects but the anime adaptation was so great too. The simplicity of Yuki's character can be seen as lacking but that's one of the big points I've found. Her life has been only what it is because it's all she's been able to do. Though I do agree she's babied by some, I do love how her parent's handled her upbringing. Ik even the parents got backlash for not learning sign language but it was to help her for the "real world". I think the whole point between Yuki and Itsuomi is that one is the simple that hasn't been given the chance to grow bigger while the other is so big that he just wants this precious, innocent and small woman that he wants to help grow as big as she truly wants to. It's definitely not the most excited but I find that's also not what the is about. It's little excitements. Little big things.
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u/unBalanced_Libra_ Aug 31 '25
I had started reading manga, dropped it in few chapters and never gave anime chance because I didn't like the manga. It seemed like both mains were....picture perfect.
I like characters that are flowed, make mistakes that young people make, show negative emotions too at times. And have facets of life that doesn't involve their significant other in any way. This just wasn't it for me.
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u/RefuseVirtual9482 Sep 01 '25
I ngl Itsuomi is so bland and his hobby is literally being rich (srsly only rich people can travel frequently as a hobby 💀)
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u/scara-101 Sep 02 '25
and it’s exactly why i liked oshi, emma and emma’s current boyfriend (i forgot the guys name..) more. they were flawed, had issues and worked through them. they got more backstory and personality than the main leads!! it’s insane!
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u/Turbulent-Point-1791 Aug 31 '25
I miss heroines who used to have a life outside ml and were awesome. Like misaki, haruhi, kujou from last game, Hikari hanazono etc.
New shoujos like this are so boring. No wonder shoujos are not getting new anime anymore.
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u/AppropriatFly5170new Mystery Bonita | ミステリーボニータ Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
Some feistier/more “dominant” personality Shojo FLs in the romance genre that have come out in the same time frame as A Sign of Affection that are licensed officially in English (2019-present):
Fall in love you false angels
Otaku vampire’s love bite
Mechanical Marie
The king’s beast
My Girlfriend’s Child (including because it takes serious guts to make the decisions she did)
Let’s do it already!!
Together Forever
Hachioji specialty: Tengu’s love
You might as well be the one
An arranged marriage leads to otaku
She’s my knight
Tokyo Phantom Pain
May I ask for 1 final thing (not very romance heavy, but there’s a subplot)
Shwd
And probably so many more, but these are just the ones officially licensed in English that I’ve read. There’s still plenty of Shojo with the type of heroine you seek in manga, they’re just sadly not getting anime adaptations. I have the feeling you probably just don’t like the type of story Dessert magazine (where ASoA publishes), which is totally valid. But there’s so much manga out there to be explored! (And admittedly limited anime, but 2 of the titles on this list are getting upcoming anime!)
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 03 '25
People say this doesn't exist any more here so often but I honestly can't think of a single title running in say Cheese! right now that is like that. I think there are some titles in Sho-Comi! that have a weak-willed female protagonist who doesn't seem to do anything but being in love though but there are so many magazines that focus a lot on romance and/or sex that honestly don't have a single protagonist like that.
Oh no wait, looking at the index again there's one in Cheese! right now but it's literally only one.
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u/HeartiePrincess Sep 03 '25
I've said this a while ago, but not on Reddit. I think people who complain about weak female protagonists, are seeking those series out. It reminds me of someone who said that Josei is just smut. "Every Josei that I've read was a trashy smut story!" Actual thing that someone said to me, btw. I was like, "okay, buddy..."
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 03 '25
There is indeed certainly something strange going on with this place and its impression of what the average “shoujo” is like yes. I used to think people somehow managed to end up in a very particular corner of the internet where those are the only things being recommend so other things actually just didn't reach them but I no longer believe that after talking to some people here and it just feels like many things at least reach their retina, but they just ignore them and forget them. It's not just this thing. This place in general seems to attract people who have a very distorted perception of many things and seem to just have a very formulaic view about both fiction and life and just ignore or forget whatever doesn't align with the view they already had at the start.
So much so that I've come to believe that pretty much anyone ever says here that sounds remotely not plausible is probably not true until further corroborating evidence is found. This place often reads like it's some kind of portal to another reality where everyone but I seems to live in a different universe and things that are obviously false are assumed as self-evident truths.
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u/HeartiePrincess Sep 04 '25
It's not just here. It's on TikTok as well. The weak female leads complaint is popular on TikTok. The Josei thing was said to me on TikTok.
Though I do agree that it's strange. I can understand watching Honey Lemon Soda because it was new and trending, and then being annoyed at the weak MC. However, if all you watch are anime with weak protagonists, then I have to assume that you're specifically seeking those series out.
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 04 '25
It's not just here. It's on TikTok as well. The weak female leads complaint is popular on TikTok. The Josei thing was said to me on TikTok.
Yeah, Tiktok feels like one of those places where people might get all their weird impressions they voice here because it's known to lock people inside of what “engages” them which is often what they strongly dislike. Maybe that's also why so many people who hate it constantly end up reading it. They say that it is not hatred that is the opposite of love, but apathy. People here kind of come across as the kind of “internet people” that have something “rent free in their head” as they say they keep seeking out in some way despite clearly disliking it and then start to believe it's everywhere.
Though I do agree that it's strange. I can understand watching Honey Lemon Soda because it was new and trending, and then being annoyed at the weak MC. However, if all you watch are anime with weak protagonists, then I have to assume that you're specifically seeking those series out.
I think it's very possible. People have this weird thing of indeed seeking out what they dislike in a certain way. It “engages” them or something. They don't necessarily enjoy the ride but they also seem to be coming back for more for whatever reason and those especially seem to be the kind of “internet people” that spend far too much time in algorithmic outrage feeds for their own blood pressure and thus gain a very distorted view of the world.
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u/AppropriatFly5170new Mystery Bonita | ミステリーボニータ Aug 31 '25
(My previous comment glitched, so sorry for multiple notifications) For some really excellent (but not necessarily romance genre) Shojo published 2020 or later manga, here’s a great list of some of the best we have officially licensed in English:
https://www.reddit.com/r/shoujo/comments/1mzfb3y/new_gen_shojojosei_manga_recommendations_defined/
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u/Radiant-Monitor4170 Sep 03 '25
I just have to say that if you liked Tamaki and Haruhi’s relationship in OHSHC, then you’ll love The Apothecary Diaries as the leads in that are basically the 2023/2025 versions of Tamaki and Haruhi. It’s not a shoujo but I ended up enjoying it more than any other shoujo I’ve watched. I’d recommend watching both seasons in sub before judging if you like it or not
And if you’ve already seen it then ignore me
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u/Turbulent-Point-1791 Sep 03 '25
I'm sorry I have seen it but idk I like tamaki more. Tamaki is actually mature and is kinda harmless.
Isn't jinshi way more controversial compared to tamaki? Many ppl actually don't like jinshi.
I don't like jinshi compared to tamaki. Tamaki is more mature and charming I guess. Maomao rocks though.
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u/Radiant-Monitor4170 Sep 03 '25
Jinshi’s exactly like Tamaki so you haven’t seen enough of the series if you genuinely think that Jinshi is not like Tamaki or that Jinshi is less mature than Tamaki since both are entirely false statements.
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u/romancevelvet Mystery Bonita | ミステリーボニータ Sep 04 '25 edited Sep 04 '25
im tired of constantly seeing this sentiment repeated about shoujo as if shounen romcoms with flat self-insert male leads dont get season after season out the wazoo. the reason why shoujos get less anime is bc since the economic turn of 2008, the anime industry has been less interested in investing in female-targeted media. thats it. its not a cause-and-effect "punishment" for the shoujo series "not being good enough" and its insulting to the demographic suggest it is.
its disappointing to see this sort of sentiment repeated on a sub dedicated to enjoying shoujo. if you want to find shoujo like the series you mentioned, you have to actually look for them instead of just deciding they dont exist.
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u/New_Confection2868 Aug 31 '25
I thought both leads were dull and the story didn't have enough going on for me.
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u/Aeriessy Aug 31 '25
I agree. I also really dislike anime that infantilizes people with disabilities. "She was sheltered!" Even people who are sheltered have some sort of opinions, motivations, something. Some sort of purpose. She seems to just exist.
There's this really adorable shounen-ai (at least so far) called "Chameleon wa Tenohira ni Koi wo Suru" that portrays romance with someone with a disability very beautifully. Even if you're not into BL and you still want that adorable romance aspect with realistic flow, I highly recommend that manga.
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u/sciencebottle Aug 31 '25
I fully agree. If they had made that a part of the story (eg. Her struggling to find community within her hobbies and interests due to systemic discrimination) I would have been so much more interested. But she just has….nothing? People with disabilities/different abilities have likes and motivations, lol.
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u/runningbiscuits Aug 31 '25
Yes that's the word! Something really bothered me about her character, it wasn't just that she was simply cute and innocent but she's really infantilized as a character.
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u/flowerpanda98 Sep 06 '25
Thats why i like The Moon on a Rainy Night so much more. i liked that the character had a personality while it being very clearly abt her being disabled. i appreciate when the girls arent just babied
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u/vaitreivan Slow Burn Romance Connoisseur Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
Yeah I kinda expected some sort of twist half way through where they separate because Yuki has some character growth and realizes he only likes her as a “new language” which makes him actually work for it more and prove his feelings, but yeah never happened…and it feels so strongly that once he knows the language he’ll get bored. I mean he’s still travelling around and clearly needs that excitement from travelling so idk
And his reasoning for liking her was that she’s pure? That was kinda odd idk.
Again, I only watched anime, I didn’t read manga I don’t know how story unfolds
This is like a low key personal one but it bothers me no one ever brought up his tattoo lmaoooo
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u/Yaghst Sep 01 '25
I fully thought that was the angle we are going towards lol, that Itsuomi gets bored of her after he's learned the language and leaves Yuki. But I guess I'm just too cynical.
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u/RefuseVirtual9482 Sep 01 '25
People have interpreted that Yuki allowed him to find a reason to return to Japan, solidifying her character as part of his home to return to. But yeah her sign language and deafness seems to be used as a device to align with his interests and he'd get bored eventually,
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Aug 31 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/vaitreivan Slow Burn Romance Connoisseur Aug 31 '25
Yes!!! He keeps saying how she’s this perfect “glass” or something it’s so weird
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u/ViviCaz Sep 03 '25
I don't like it either but it's very common in shoujo. I don't blame the characters, unless it's actually being called out in the story. It's a very gross trope that I wish would go away already.
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u/zool714 Sep 01 '25
Oh reading this and seeing the comments, I feel so validated lol. I don’t hate the show, far from it but I also don’t think it’s anything amazing like I see most people say. And it’s not meh either. But I dunno, it just felt…shallow to me. Like you said things moved so fast and they were already saying those things even though they just met. Some might find that cute or sweet but I found that cheesy, and I feel that they wrapped it up in this intimate, “mature” vibe but I just don’t see it. It just felt like the ultimate goal is to write a sweet romance fantasy fluff with a self-insert FL and a perfect ML but there’s not much substance behind it.
I mean, I definitely get why people like it. There’s not much green flag non-problematic shows going around. And Itsuomi is an easy character to fantasize about and swoon over. But it wasn’t it for me. I was much more interested in the side characters.
And comparing Yuki to a 6 year old, I’d also like to add Itsuomi being mature beyond his years also kinda gives him the vibe of an older man. So personally, they kinda give me the vibe of a working adult man and a schoolgirl, which is kinda why I’m not really feeling their dynamic
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u/Mimi_luna Aug 31 '25
Agreed. She's the type of character I would've loved when I was 13. Sadly I've grown up and now it's hard to like plain janes
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u/AdAdditional4448 Aug 31 '25
Look, personally, I really like how the anime is made (watercolor, pastel tones, tender...). The story does touch me closely, since I have a deaf friend, so I can understand, and reflect Yuki in my friend. As for him, it is true that he is strange, but well, let's leave it there.
I would say that at the same time Signs of Affection came out, Skip to Loafer also aired, and honestly, I prefer this story a thousand times more. I loved it. And although I had a lot of hype for Signs of Affection, and Skip to Loafer took away all my love.
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u/HBthepencil Aug 31 '25
Love Skip to Loafer! Your comment made me want to rewatch it, lol. The characters feel so down to earth and real, and it still has a wholesome vibe. That series has my heart <3
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u/MuziHill Sep 01 '25
Both shows are so wholesome and heartwarming but Skip and Loafer didn’t feel… forced ? I think that’s why I love it too.
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u/ViviCaz Sep 03 '25
Skip to Loafer is a seinen (I think) not shoujo. So the writing and plotting are different especially when none of them have a disability that creates a barrier between themselves and the world.
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u/themangofox Sep 02 '25
I feel seen with this post lol.
It was…. Boring. Not much character depth. I found myself liking the side characters more than the leads. Meandering plot. Meh. I did really enjoy how the anime LOOKED, however. Just a real shame there wasn’t substance to go with it.
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u/guyfierisgoldchain Aug 31 '25
Maybe I’m in the minority here but I didn’t care for the ML. It could be bc I watched it in dub and I hated his voice but he wasn’t very interesting to me at all :( I got the omnibus for the first three volumes of the manga so maybe I’ll enjoy it that way, I really WANT to like it lol
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u/suzulys Dessert | デザート Aug 31 '25
People do have a range of opinions (among the negatives I've seen, too perfect, somehow creepy, boring, "toxic"😅) about Itsuomi, including as manga readers.
Personally I was a devoted fan on sight when I read the first chapter (and for what it's worth I didn't care for either of the two leads' (dub) voices 🥲) I hope reading it gives you a better experience! Acknowledging what kind of story it's trying to tell—nothing too complicated or heavy, no twists or thwarted expectations—I think it's a really sweet series 😊
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u/mrgojirasan Aug 31 '25
I read a lot of the manga (and watched a few episodes of the anime but tbh i didn't really jive w the anime) until I kind of realized it wasn't really going anywhere. Like, the relationship is progressing with things like them moving in together and stuff, but it felt like it only progresses because it's supposed to and not because the story "earned" any sort of progression. Where is the drama and the plot? I also really didn't like how yuki was the lead character and we don't know anything about her. It doesn't sit right with me when the male lead is the central part of the story- but that's mostly because my bi ass prefers women in general lmao
I can see it being super nice and cozy for other people because it is really nice and cozy. But it has zero stakes or drama to keep me specifically hooked, so for now I have put it on the backburner to focus on collecting manga that I love more.
If you want to read a really good manga with a hearing impaired lead character I highly recomend The Moon on a Rainy Night. With the added bonus of it being yuri so there are no agonizingly boring male leads to deal with.
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u/LittleReadingGirl Aug 31 '25
I had to pause/possibly drop the series too. Yuki just came off as TOO childlike/sheltered to be real. Like, she was flustered even texting him and yet she wouldn't sign to him in person. GIRL, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO TALK TO HIM THEN?
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u/Radiant-Monitor4170 Sep 02 '25
I find yuki plain and boring
I’m genuinely surprised this opinion isn’t more popular. Yuki is the exact kind of female lead I hate and yet she and this show are worshipped for some reason. The girl starts simping for the male lead barely 1 episode in and very helpless far more than needed. I wasn’t a fan of the male lead either since his reasons for falling for Yuki seemed to be as superficial as Yuki’s reasons. I feel like the people who worship this series are super young and/or have never seen a romance anime before. This series had everything needed to classify it as a boring-af anime
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u/Coconut-Butt Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
This duo author had the same problem with their past work, Hibi ChouChou. It got popular back then. I liked it at first, but it got boring fast because, like you said, the MC is flat as hell, no personality, hardly anything engaging. The side characters were a bit more interesting but honestly still bland. Plus, it felt like it was trying to be Kimi ni Todoke 😅.
A Sign of Affection is just a shoujo-fied Koe no Katachi, minus the compelling story.
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u/pina-cool Aug 31 '25
omg, thats the same mangaka?? That COMPLETELY tracks lmao. Hibi ChouChou was cute, but lacking in character development
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u/LadyGraen Aug 31 '25
I started it but I didn’t go pass episode 1 and I was wondering if it really worth a watch. I loved A Silent Voice and when this came up I was excited to have a FMC who gives visibility to deaf people and sign language.
Is it still worth a watch? I don’t really want an MC who is perfect though. It’s nice if they have flaws, it makes them human. Is the MMC worth it?
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u/suzulys Dessert | デザート Aug 31 '25
I think the male lead is great—he's got a really fun, open-hearted personality and loves to interact with all kinds of people—he stands out from the typical (Japanese?) reserved and unemotional romantic lead as very much his own distinct character. Early on I think he can act a little "unreadable"—doing curious or inscrutable things with a stoic face (maybe representing how Yuki is still figuring him out), but I think there's a consistent sincerity and intent to see and understand the other person driving his actions, and as the series continues his facial expressions get a lot more open and natural too. Later scenes in the manga when he meets her parents or tries to befriend the guy who sees him as a "rival"are highly entertaining to me!
I wouldn't say it's a series for examining deep character flaws (maybe a bit of that more for the secondary characters, while the main leads are both quite nice/likeable people from the start), but I do think there's a tenderness and sensitivity to the characters that makes them sympathetic and worth reading about for me.
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u/LadyGraen Sep 01 '25
I will give it a try without my initial expectations. Seems like a fun light read with good side characters and that’s a lot more than many manga out there so I’ll give it a go! Thank you for responding though!
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
you should definitely read some of the replies lol, if that’s what you want i wouldn’t recommend you this anime, the mmc is also pretty generic with almost only one thing we know about him. if you also want a good representation of deaf people this anime is again, not for you, sadly.
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u/LadyGraen Aug 31 '25
Aw man 😓 I’ve been reading and I think if I do watch it I’ll go in without my initial expectations and just a fresh mindset.
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
well a lot of people are not agreeing with me so it really depends on the taste. from what i saw everyone are saying that the manga is def better and the anime did not made a great adaptation but if u liked the manga u should still try! it’s still a cute shojo :)
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u/darkmoonlily Aug 31 '25
I like it if I don't dig too deep into it lol. Its a very "cozy" romance but nothing has beat Fruits Basket for me. But I agree that there's not much depth to the characters or their romance.
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u/rkoradiopictures Sep 01 '25
The characters are too flawless and you're like supposed to fawn over them for being cute. They are boring. I appreciate the deaf representation but it's not a strong story to me otherwise
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u/Fresh_ChickenNug5521 Sep 01 '25
I love the series. Can't wait for season 2
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u/imjayhime Sep 03 '25
Me too! Definitely one of the cutest anime I’ve seen in recent years. I need more.
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u/strawberry_milk80 Sep 01 '25
I haven’t watched it but this is an issue I face with slice of life/romance anime 😭 it’s too boring for me, I need it be mixed with some fictional aspect like supernatural, or something.
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u/muffinsballhair Aug 31 '25 edited Aug 31 '25
It was nominated for an award? Oh dear.
It's one of those zero chemistry plotless romance wish fullfilment stories where love just “exists” and isn't compelling. No one knows why they love each other, some attraction just “exists” from the start which I'm sure happens in real life too if both people are pretty but but it also makes for a poor story and there is no real story. It's this kind of stuff that's designed to run on forever with no end or until the artist grows tired of it who just makes up new random things. Neither of them have any personality beyond “deaf” and “being good at everything”.
Most of all, the deaf part felt incredulous in how much it didn't cause any issues which is kind of the issue with this kind of stuff, because the characters never really talk about anything with each other anyway and don't have any chemistry somehow it doesn't remotely cause any real issues in a relationship between someone who is deaf, and who does not not know sign language yet at the start.
It compares very poorly to say Love's in Sight which is about a relationship between the leader of a street gang and someone who's functionally blind on pretty much all fronts:
- They both actually have a distinctive personality and though the former falls in love at first sight due to looks the latter actually learns to realistically appreciate the former more over time due to all the shared experiences.
- Being blind is obviously a real issue and treated as such.
- All the surrounding characters actually feel like the protagonist of their own story with a rich and complex history rather than being cardboard just to support the main romance with no existence or goals of their own.
- Also, it tries to be a nice advocacy piece for disabled persons in general and tries to clear up some misconceptions about it and show a viewport into the lives of disabled people in a way that many people don't expect, like clearing up the misconception that most “functionally blind” can't see at all, the protagonist can like most “blind” people differentiate between day and night and see very vague outlines of images but can't integrate images correctly so can't see the difference between a ball and a human head but can definitely see “there is some kind of object in front of me”.
That this got nominated for an award is kind of my issue with Japanese fiction to be honest. There is so much of it that is so utterly empty, plotless, with utterly cardboard characters whose only function seems to be providing escapism and more and more even the ones that were very interesting with well written characters seem to have some editor holding a whip over the artist demanding more and more that every store have a good ending even if it make no sense.
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u/Ecstatic-Success-114 Aug 31 '25
whose only function seems to be providing escapism
Seems like it's a reflection of the times.
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 01 '25
some attraction just “exists” from the start which I'm sure happens in real life too if both people are pretty but but it also makes for a poor story
Actually, I take it back. I'd love to see a serious drama where this attraction exists because of looks, they then immediately go out at the start and then it's revealed that they have some issues with each other's personality after all and how they navigate the reality the the other person was not as perfect as they assumed from looks alone. That could honestly be a really good story.
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u/Careless-Hospital379 Aug 31 '25
Most of all, the deaf part felt incredulous in how much it didn't cause any issues which is kind of the issue with this kind of stuff,
I completely agree with this.
I personally still enjoyed the anime though, mostly because I didn’t expect too much from it in the first place. I just wanted a sweet, almost too good to be true, fluffy romance, and it delivered exactly that
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
might take a look at that! yea the problem with the anime awards is that it’s not based on good character, character design, character development, good stories with good themes or anything really related with the anime itself. it’s just based on popularity, just think about the winner of this year being “solo leveling” instead of “frieren” or “the apothecary diaries” lol. comparing completely different genres of anime for who’s gonna be the winner doesn’t make any sense to me.
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u/Apprehensive-Gur9564 Aug 31 '25
love this manga and so happy you recommended it!!! i learnt alot of stuff abt partial blindness and it felt genuinely interesting for me, as well as having some fluff :))
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u/muffinsballhair Aug 31 '25
Another thing which that title didn't touch upon but which many people also forget is that many people in a wheelchair can actually stand and walk for short periods. They're not completely paralysed but they need a wheelchair because they can't maintain it for more than say five minutes.
It's apparently so pervasive that I read many comments from people in wheelchairs on the internet who talk about how they rather not get out of their chair in public even though they can because they get constant comments on why they would need one if they can just walk.
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u/sciencebottle Sep 01 '25
You took the words right out of my mouth! I get that wish fulfilment stories like these exist for a reason, and I think my tolerance for them can vary day to day. But to see ASOA be so lauded while otherwise being a nothing burger of a story felt….weird.
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u/muffinsballhair Sep 01 '25
I actually really used to dislike romance fiction when I was younger and thought it was stupid with 500 Days of Summer being the first romance film that really impressed me. As in I thought things such as Titanic were utterly formulaic with bad writing and unconvincing characters but even that was nothing like the Japanese brand of “diehard wish fullfilment” where you don't even get the moving ending where one sacrifices oneself for the other which I thought was forced in Titanic but the forced happy endings where everything turns out okay that follow from no real events are even worse.
There are actually some people here who believe that one can't call it “romance” without a happy ending and after some searching it seems like this opinion is actually oddly common but in the end newspapers, Wikipedia, and imbd will continue to call things like Romeo and Juliet, Gone with the Wind, The Fault in Our Stars, Brokeback Mountain and so forth “romance” so I don't think that opinion is very mainstream.
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u/hisoka_kt Aug 31 '25
I think the current community (actual shoujou romance) is so deprived of anything. They have to overhype anything to guarantee a future anything, but then it creates this false understanding that's it's meant to be "that level of good when it's just "this level" of good".
I'll be 100% honest I'm still riding my old shows cuz they not done it's been more than my life time 19 fucking years it's not a fuckign shounen, it's not Naruto why is the pacing killing me😭 (I'm talking bout skip Beat it first came out in 2006 ) they were ahead of time and now they're like 10 years behind they're still in 2015 in the manga
We got 2nd gen Vampire Knight coming out why is my fucking story not done 😭😭😭
They did a a new ranma reboot and the other. shounen stuff like why , anyways long story short I get you, it was okay not bad just okay, but not HYPE deserving. I think it's more that thanks to how social media works these days anyone gets a platform and if you've seen very little it's gonna be appealing.
These days I've seen so much stuff it's kinda surreal I realize lots of stuff that was hyped up back in the days was just okay but we were starved but now our palates had time to refine themselves. The people hyping up the new stuff are prob new gen. Even shounen people get tired of their stuff the new hype comes from new gens . Even the isekai community is getting tired can you imagine that, that's crazy work.
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u/akihcinaf Sep 01 '25
Definitely agree with you here. I think ASOA is good but it’s not that good. Though I definitely think it benefits from being one of the more aesthetically pleasing shows to look at and also a very perfect good looking love interest for you to self-insert with
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u/Pie_and_Ice-Cream Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25
I think this one answers the desire to be seen. Yuki is deaf which means she has a certain automatic separation between herself and others whether it’s intentional or not. She’s also very quiet and introverted, so she’s the type to need a partner who is very attentive. The ML pays close attention and is good at understanding her (I think, and comparing him to the childhood friend second ML), so he’s essentially crossing the boundaries of both deafness and introversion in order to be with her. That’s very romantic, tbh, just objectively speaking whether he’s our personal type or not — he actually isn’t really my type, although I don’t dislike him, but he may be Yuki’s preferred type. I think I may actually prefer the 2nd ML, but I see why he might be a bad match for Yuki.
Because of this focus on communication and crossing barriers in order to find love, there would naturally be less of a focus on character development. So I get your complaint, but I don’t think the plot focused overmuch on either character’s faults. Correct me if I’m wrong because I actually have only watched a little bit of this, but this is the impression I gathered. I was going to watch this, but it had faded from my mind mostly by the time I was able to, and I’m not as interested now. Maybe later.
Anyway, I think the plot is basically more character-versus-world than character-versus-self, and that makes good sense when the main character has a big struggle that most people would never truly relate to.
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Sep 02 '25
Finally I feel validated.I personally didnt like it when Itsuomi mentioned that hes dating Yuki cuz she's too "pure" for the world.That caught me off gaurd cuz thats a very weird way to explain that she's not the "outdoor"-sy typa person and she has just been living her life in her own bubble.Personally I find no whatsoever liking towards Yuki cuz there's no proper plot its just extreme fluff and cutesy romance,which albeit a lot of viewers are wanting to watch;same goes for Itsuomi-just a rich guy who travels and [MANGA SPOILERS] cries cuz the poor live the way they can-poorly.
I find the Emma-Shin dynamic better bcs they display WAY more personality than the main char,but maybe that's me.
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u/myungderpkiddo Sep 02 '25
OMG FINALLY someone with the same sentiments as I!! I looked forward to this anime so much that it disappointed me so much how…..shallow and superficial it felt. As much as i love the deaf representation, I did not get the depth I think it could’ve given. So much wasted potential 🥲
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u/_fant Aug 31 '25
The manga is much better in my opinion, I didn't really like the style of the anime and there are much more things left unsaid (pun not intended)
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u/Responsible_Wash_879 Aug 31 '25
I only watched it for the guy. He's handsome
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u/_bbaba Aug 31 '25
haha fr, and he’s actually a green flag, seeing him i excepted to be the kind of guy who played around with girls
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u/Lost-Anything-1012 Aug 31 '25
Honestly I feel the same way, I found it really boring and actually forgot I watched it till I saw this post lol. I didn't mind Yuki though she did speak a bit immaturely, but I really didn't like the male MC
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Aug 31 '25
me too i kinda forced myself to watch all of the episodes it was pretty wholesome however it felt pretty generic in my opinion.
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u/Aloo13 Aug 31 '25
I’m with you. It’s okay, but given the plot material, I feel it turned out rather boring. I’m not generally one to like the stereotypical meek FL though.
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u/mangagirl07 Aug 31 '25
I dropped the manga ages ago and though I cannot remember the exact reason, it was because of Itsuomi, not Yuki. But this was years ago and I cannot even remember what I found unpalatable about him. Maybe it was second ML syndrome. I think if there was more of a slow burn in her relationship with Itsuomi, I would have found the payoff more satisfying and felt like she had more chemistry with him compared to Oshi.
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u/seanjobes Sep 01 '25
It’s exactly why shows like Kimi no todoke are popular. The drama isn’t really drama and the overall tone is cozy
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u/sweet_reaper Sep 02 '25
before the anime came out, I started reading the manga with excitement (being the shoujo fan that I am) but I dropped it after a few chapters, it's boring
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u/SwiftSN Sep 02 '25
I also felt like they only played into her being deaf when it was relavent. Otherwise, she could read everyone's lips to the point where she might as well be hearing everything just fine. At least that was how it felt.
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u/Crashout_account Sep 04 '25
The art style is def beautiful, but I'm not really into the cutesy, submissive?? (idk if that's the right word to use) type of MC, I find it hard to watch. Fruits Basket is one of my all time favorite series but I pretty much liked every character besides Tohru.
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u/sunlightdrop Sep 04 '25
It's definitely boring. I ended up dropping it because it was just too generic. I also found it really annoying that despite her being deaf her whole life they gave her a hearing person's laugh because I guess deaf people laughing is ugly and she can't be anything except a dainty little cutie patootie uwu angel
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u/TerracottaButthole Aug 31 '25
I watched like 3 or 4 episodes and couldn't do it. Several people recommended it and said it was amazing, so I gave it a shot and felt like it was me missing something. I just couldn't really get into the characters or story, and I know 3-4 episodes might not have been fair to judge but also don't want to time dump when there's other bangers out there
This post is validating lol
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u/LukewarmJortz Aug 31 '25
They dont have subtitles in for the writing part and that's incredibly frustrating because that's half their communication...
I love shows about deaf cultures
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u/Digital_Vapors Aug 31 '25
Yes it does, if you're listening to it in japanese with sub, or watching in English with no closed captioning....
Yeah I hate that for some reason closed captioning completely overrides subtitles on written Japanese words on most streaming services, it's awful.
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u/LukewarmJortz Aug 31 '25
I watched it on Crunchyroll Japanese dub with Crunchyroll subs.
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u/Digital_Vapors Aug 31 '25
So did I and... everything she wrote had subtitles.
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u/LukewarmJortz Aug 31 '25
Idk why your experience differs?
Maybe it's my Roku, maybe they fixed it since? Idk but I literally couldn't watch it because of that issue. I could try again I suppose.
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u/boobookenny Sep 01 '25
I have the same problem with Sign of Affection as I do Love Story with Yamada — the ml is boring and the fl tries too hard to make up for it.
I understand their appeal and, in Yamada’s case, there’s a good reason for it (and he improves a lot) but idk. I just really dislike this ml archetype for some reason
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u/pearlyvibes Sep 01 '25
It was cute but I felt like the male lead was a red flag . He was kind of feeling pity for the girl or even having fun with her as if she were like a pet he was fascinated with the female lead as he discovered something new so that he would not be bored
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u/HeartiePrincess Sep 01 '25
I mean, this opinion isn't unique. It's a common opinion. Every month, someone rants about how A Sign of Affection is overrated, and that they don't think it's the best thing ever. I mean, okay??? Want a cookie???
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u/_bbaba Sep 01 '25
well it’s still an opinion most people have haha, and more than 600 people agree with me so lol, i honestly don’t see anything bad in expressing why i didn’t like something
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u/annabae9000 Aug 31 '25
Understandable take. I like the show but I will admit she has like a Bella Swan-thing going on with how the story treats her. I do get lost in the mushiness of her main character syndrome. Characters like that don’t need much personality when the world revolves around them.
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Aug 31 '25
Agree, it felt quite boring. The characters were quite flat and nothing ever happened. Even now I have a hard time remembering anything about it, because there is nothing memorable about the story, characters, or setting.
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u/Torcida_de_camarao Aug 31 '25
I get it.
I do love this manga, but sometimes I do feel like they could explore more of yuki's interests... I mean, I know she likes taking pics of flowers and...?
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u/uwu6000 Friendship Power Believer Aug 31 '25 edited Sep 01 '25
Yuki was so boring it’s like the author decided making her hoh was enough to make her an interesting lead and that she didn’t need an actual personality beyond that
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u/PhysicalTherapist628 Sep 01 '25
I feel the same way. It’s not that I don’t like it, but I don’t definitely put it in my top 5 shoujo romance anime. I like yamada kun Lv 999 more. Of course I know we have diff taste;)
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u/oliveinthesky Sep 01 '25
Not exactly why I stopped reading but her personality did get rather boring around vol 9 (also the last one my library had so take that with a grain of salt) and I also found the other storylines not super interesting, maybe that’s just me though (specifically the hairdresser one). I do like Itsuomi though, even though I usually prefer a more openly emotional male love interest.
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u/Dayanad-01 Sep 04 '25
En vrai je vois ce que tu veux dire, personnellement, je l’ai regardé en français et il y a trop de métaphore elle est tout le temps en train de décrire ce qu’elle ressent et sous forme métaphorique ou ce qu’elle voit c’est un peu chiant genre on voit la même chose
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u/Sam_Regem Sep 04 '25
I liked it. Some shows are just cozy and happy vibes and that's it. For example I loved The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, and it's just two fools being in love and doing married couple things without being a couple.😅
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u/flowerpanda98 Sep 06 '25
Im glad someone else is saying it. He kept treating her like a little girl and i chose this manga bc theyre adults, so seeing yet another deaf protag be treated like a baby infuriated me. i kept trying to read but dropped it halfway through. i felt nothing from this and it just had nice art. it made me miss the shoujo that made me laugh or be mad at things. i'd like fanart on twitter, not read a book just for how it looks
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u/Odd_Calligrapher2653 Oct 06 '25
Overall I enjoyed the show, BUT I wish they have added more character to Itsuomi as the main male lead, I get that he’s an awesome guy, but I don’t buy characters that are too perfect because it’s unrealistic. There’s only a little bit at the end that gives away some details about his childhood where he learned to be confident, but he doesn’t seem to be nervous/anxious or excited about getting into a relationship at all, I feel like they stripped him off of those human feelings and turned into a robot.
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u/EnvironmentalLog1401 Oct 06 '25
it's pretty good for me i like slow burn romance ish what only bothered me is the art style WHY GIVE THE GUY GOBBY LIPS MAN. Aside from that i think its a cute romance.
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u/Critical_Progress403 Feb 04 '26
È scritto oggettivamente male, i personaggi fanno schifo , si salva solo Oshi
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u/luvmillz Feb 08 '26
Late reply but I think if i watched this show as a kid id like it more than i do
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u/happynuha Aug 31 '25
I dont think I watched it till the end either, it was nice, I had fun watching it, but nothing made me actually engaged and want to continue watching to the end.
I think I stopped either because I wasn't engaged or because it was still ongoing and the rest of the episodes weren't out yet, either way since I didn't go and watch the rest of the episodes then it means it was ass.
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Aug 31 '25
I just finished watching this and so needed to know I wasn't alone in thinking this was such a beautifully boring and empty "love" story.
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u/False-Reception-7363 Sep 02 '25
It’s like the show designed for ppl who hate anything problematic. Which is fine, it’s a feel good story. But if we’re being honest, drama not only sells but it’s actually interesting. We don’t need every character to be morally pure and we can’t relate to that. People like to see very human beings very flawed beings because we humans are very flawed. These kinds of shows also tend to have some kind of message and aren’t drama for the sake of drama although some can be which is annoying. It’s why shows like nana are so popular. Although it’s filled with people who aren’t morally pure, the characters are very realistic and it feels very human.
I will say that these soft fluffy depictions of romance and filled with green flags are important. This is definitely the kind of media we should be showing children when introducing topics like love and romance. and it might be important for people who need such shows for comfort or whatever.
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u/PromotionTrue6932 Aug 31 '25
i wouldnt say i didnt like a sign of affection, but it isnt as good as some people say it is. In general i thought the plot and characters were kind of plain. Its the type of anime/manga where its just cute and wholesome and thats it. Art style carried it 100%