This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (2024)

Considered one of the most highly anticipated romance anime of the Spring 2024 season, A Sign of Affection proved to be precisely what it promised. The anime was adapted from a Japanese manga of the same name by Suu Morishita and began serialization in 2019. The anime particularly intrigued romance fans because of its unique story about a deaf girl who falls in love with an ordinary yet dynamic guy. Despite the anime not officially being labeled as Josei, it does capture the essence of several adult themes, all the while appealing to the shojo demographic.

✕ Remove Ads

A Sign of Affection is a colorful story that talks about the expanding world of a deaf girl who experiences a world in a different light for the first time. Fortunately, the anime does a wonderful job of not falling victim to outdated tropes and not turning the story into another cringe-fest with better animation. A Sign of Affection explored several healthy shojo tropes in a way that makes it one of the best romance anime of 2024.

10 No Episode Types

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (1)

✕ Remove Ads

Sick, School Festival, Grand Confession, and Beach episodes are all romance anime staples. These episode types are fan favorites and are often considered the highlight of the anime. Surprisingly, A Sign of Affection features no such episode types and manages story progression without any grandness. The anime’s tone is quite gentle and subtle, with no in-your-face scenes or music. It’s as if the anime reflects how Yuki sees and perceives the environment around her.

Nothing’s loud in her world, and everyone around her remains gentle and cautious of her condition. Even when she becomes excited about dating Itsuomi and traveling the world with him, she expresses those emotions delicately.

9 The Supporting Couples Also Get the Limelight

Related

The Summer 2024 anime lineup is filled with high-anticipated romance anime sequels and adaptations. such as True Beauty and Kimi ni Todoke S3.

✕ Remove Ads

One of the most off-putting things romance anime do is to sideline the supporting characters and not give their love story the time in the spotlight. Fortunately, A Sign of Affection runs the supporting characters’ love story side-by-side with Yuki and Itsuomi’s and even explores its impact on them. Yuki’s best friend, Rin, was the one who pushed her to pursue Itsuomi while she went after her crush, Itsuomi’s cousin. Besides these two and their endeavors to progress their friendship status into “in a relationship,” the anime also explores the unrequited feelings of several other characters.

For instance, Itsuomi’s high school friend Emma has been in love with him since forever and pursues him relentlessly. However, their mutual third friend, Shin, has feelings for Emma and is unable to confess to avoid ruining the friendship. The anime explores several sides of love through its supporting characters and doesn’t fail to conclude these relationships.

8 Fans Don’t Have To Wait Very Long For The Romance

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (3)

In most one-season wonders, fans have to wait till the last episode for the protagonists to proclaim their love for each other. However, A Sign of Affection breaks the stereotype of an unnecessary slow-burn romance and gets into having the main couple start dating early. With this move, the fans can better understand and experience what it's like for a person like Yuki to have a normal relationship. After Itsuomi asks Yuki to be his girlfriend, viewers are introduced to new colors in her life and the idea of her world growing.

✕ Remove Ads

Instead of beating about the bush, the story dives into the elements of a budding relationship, especially for Yuki, who hadn’t experienced intimacy like this before. The anime makes it a point of ensuring that the audience sees the love progress with the story.

7 The Slice-of-Elements Are Commendable

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (4)

It’s safe to say that A Sign of Affection is not completely a romance and that it smartly incorporates meaningful slice-of-life elements now and then. The trend of blending slice-of-life themes with a romantic story has been well-perceived by fans since it adds depth to an otherwise average plot. A Sign of Affection impressively lures the fans into a romantic aura through Itsuomi but keeps the slice-of-life element alive through Yuki. As a deaf girl trying to live her life as normally as possible, Yuki is faced with several small yet impactful issues throughout her day.

✕ Remove Ads

Yuki links her shrunken world to her disability and dreams of experiencing things differently. Her feelings for Itsuomi usher her into uncharted territory, where she finds the courage to walk a new path herself rather than relying on others. Her goal to expand her horizons without feeling sorry for herself is inspirational.

6 The Romance Isn’t One-Dimensional

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (5)

Related

My Dress-Up Darling is one of the best romance anime to entertain fans recently, and there's more that the viewers are expecting from Season Two.

✕ Remove Ads

Boy meets girl, they realize their feelings, confess, and end of story. That’s the usual formulaic approach to most rom-coms and romance anime. However, it is commendable that modern rom-com have ditched this approach to give viewers less one-dimensional and monotonous love stories. Yuki and Isuomi don’t experience love at first sight; rather, they grow into the feeling as they get to know each other more.

Although Yuki is smitten by Itsuomi almost instantly, that’s not because he’s handsome or standoffish. She’s genuinely impressed by his cultural impact and the excitement he might have in his life because of traveling. Similarly, Itsuomi gets drawn to Yuki not only because she’s deaf, but also because she invokes in him a desire to learn something, not for his sake but for hers. Their romance stretches out like a bunch of strings entwined, carrying their feelings, goals, personalities, and aspirations.

5 Itsuomi Is A Walking Green Flag

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (7)

Thankfully, the romance anime genre is past its days of toxic male leads. Despite some anime having the classic status, romance heroes in those stories had so many red flags that it confused fans as to why the female lead ever went for a guy like that. Fortunately, A Sign of Affection excels at representing a modern-day shojo protagonist who is completely swoon-worthy. Itsuomi comes off as a very decent guy who is respectful and considerate of those around him, especially the ladies.

Itsuomi treats Rin and Yuki with the utmost respect and doesn’t come as too strong, even when he feels attracted to Yuki. He never made her feel different or vulnerable because of her disability and always made an effort to understand her. Itsuomi prioritized Yuki’s perspective while not letting go of his own. He empowered Yuki instead of making her feel weak or left behind because of being deaf.

✕ Remove Ads

4 There’s No Over-The-Top Drama

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (8)

Drama has become overrated, especially when it's inconclusive. Rom-coms have a high affinity for unnecessary drama, and sometimes it works, while most of the time, it works against the plot and substantial character development. A Sign of Affection has a healthy amount of drama that’s almost too innocent for criticism. The only thing dramatic about this anime is Yuki’s shyness and adorable reactions to Itsuomi’s closeness and occasional teasing.

The subtle drama surrounding Emma and Itsuomi also welcomes them to an otherwise stable environment where Yuki and her love for Itsuomi are almost unchallenged. The lack of clichés goes on to show the anime’s commitment to its mature approach to romance.

✕ Remove Ads

3 The Romance Has A Positive Impact on the Characters

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (9)

Just like Skip and Loafer became one of the best romance anime of 2023 without doing anything romantically grand, A Sign of Affection kept things simpler as well. It’s a simple story about a deaf girl who falls in love with someone who belongs to a completely different world than her. However, instead of relying on her disability or complicating her life over a boy, Yuki embraces romance wholeheartedly.

On the other hand, Itsuomi also chooses to give the relationship a chance after being utterly blown away by Yuki’s simplicity and purity. Their romance would remind the viewers of a spring day when flowers slowly bloom and spread their color. There’s no negativity in the love depicted in the anime; rather, it’s a sweet experience of seeing two people slowly fall for one another.

✕ Remove Ads

2 A Perfect Blend of Adult Themes

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (10)

Related

10 Best New Gen Romance Anime Tropes

Romance tropes may not be new, but elements like the reserved kuudere or a cranky tsundere are finding new life in new gen romance anime.

A Sign of Affection really puts Yuki’s perspective into focus, especially her experience with sign language. Since it’s a story based around college students, the anime automatically indulges in more mature themes than in a typical rom-com. The anime does a wonderful job of highlighting Yuki’s accomplishments as a college student despite having a disability. The story also ensures that she’s not depicted as someone with an identity crisis or with no confidence.

✕ Remove Ads

Despite experiencing these feelings for the first time, Yuki keeps her head held high even when moving things forward with Itsuomi. A Sign of Affectionperfectly captures a good adult love story where things are less complicated and dramatic, offering characters a chance for real growth.

1 A Non-Toxic Love Triangle

No matter how good the love story is, sometimes romance anime go a little overboard when it comes to love triangles. High school rom-coms particularly mold the situation into an overly dramatic sequence where characters are literally at war for the same person. A Sign of Affection does indulge in a love triangle, but it does so with normality and without toxicity, so it never seems off-putting, even when the candidates confront each other. Oushi and Yuki are childhood friends, but Oushi is particularly protective of Yuki because of her disability.

✕ Remove Ads

Itsuomi doesn’t like it when Yuki puts herself out there despite knowing that the odds are stacked against her. He even goes out of his way to confront Itsuomi because he can’t believe that someone like him would date Yuki without an ulterior motive. Although he somewhat admits his feelings in front of Itsuomi, he doesn’t hold it against Oushi like a toxic boyfriend. Instead, he wishes to get to know Oushi and spend some quality time with him.

This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (12)

A Sign of Affection

Animation

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Yuki Itoseis a college student who's into friends and fashion. She's also deaf. A chance meeting on a train leads to a serious crush... But can it grow into something more?

Release Date
January 6, 2024

Creator
suu Morishita

Production Company
Ajia-do Animation Works
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
This Romance Anime Has Quickly Become One of the Healthiest Out There (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Nathanael Baumbach

Last Updated:

Views: 6315

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (55 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Nathanael Baumbach

Birthday: 1998-12-02

Address: Apt. 829 751 Glover View, West Orlando, IN 22436

Phone: +901025288581

Job: Internal IT Coordinator

Hobby: Gunsmithing, Motor sports, Flying, Skiing, Hooping, Lego building, Ice skating

Introduction: My name is Nathanael Baumbach, I am a fantastic, nice, victorious, brave, healthy, cute, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.