Yubisaki to Renren

For hearing-impaired university student Yuki Itose, silence has been a natural part of life since birth. Her world is small and isolated; she commutes to campus, interacts with her best friend Rin Fujishiro, and communicates through writing and text messages—a lifestyle that offers little to no change. One day, during her commute, Yuki meets fellow student Itsuomi Nagi, a multilingual travel enthusiast and friend of Rin. When Itsuomi learns of Yuki's condition, he takes it in stride, moving Yuki's heart. From this one simple gesture, Yuki and Itsuomi's lives start changing day by day as they let each other into their own worlds.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nagi, Itsuomi Main

Miyazaki, Yuu Japanese

Itose, Yuki Main

Morohoshi, Sumire Japanese

Ashioki, Oushi Supporting

Ootsuka, Takeo Japanese

Iryuu, Shin Supporting

Hatanaka, Tasuku Japanese

Fujishiro, Rin Supporting

Hondo, Kaede Japanese

Nakazono, Emma Supporting

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Nagi, Kyouya Supporting

Oosaka, Ryouta Japanese

Sandanbata, Yasuhiro Supporting

Arai, Kouki Japanese

Ichishima, Shintoki Supporting

Kajiwara, Gakuto Japanese

Yoshiki, Izumi Supporting

Takahashi, Minami Japanese

Cao, Cong Producer

Aoi, Hiroyuki Producer

Kurosu, Nobuhiko Producer

Yaoita, Katsuyuki Producer

Reviews

Apr 3, 2025

LuxuriousHeart

Recommended

From the start, A Sign of Affection is like a warm hug. It feels like drinking hot cocoa and eating a sweet pastry on Christmas. It's fluffy and sweet.

The story centers Yuki. Yuki has a hearing disability, and she has been sheltered all her life because of it. The story starts with her going to a university for every, and not a university for deaf people. This is the first step she takes to opening her world. At that university is Itsuomi, who she meets on a train.

Warning: if you're trying to watch because you liked ... A Silent Voice, and someone said that this was similar, leave. You're going to be dissatisfied. I'm pretty sure that's where a lot of the Itsuomi haters and the Oushi x Yuki shippers are coming from.

A Silent Voice is different from this series. A Silent Voice centered Shoya, who bullied a deaf girl before getting bullied himself. He learns to grow and he develops as a character. A Sign of Affection is different. A Sign of Affection centers Yuki, who is a deaf girl that wants to explore new things. Her love interest is Itsuomi, who's an emotionally mature polyglot that travels the world. He helps her come out of her shell, while she teaches him sign language. This series shows that even though Itsuomi has explored a lot of the world, he can still learn a lot from Yuki and slow down for her world. After all, there's a lot of people in the world, but there's only one of Yuki.

I highly recommend it to most people. If you liked A Silent Voice, then you'll likely get attached to Oushi. However, I'll once again warn you: the story doesn't center Oushi, it centers Yuki. So keep that in mind.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Apr 8, 2025

duskwoven

Mixed Feelings

A Sign of Affection (Yubisaki to Renren) was one of those anime I was seriously dying to see. Like seriously. I read the manga way before the anime even aired, and I was literally counting down the days like, “Finally! FINALLY it’s getting animated!” I was so hyped. Mad insane. This was supposed to be it for me. My comfort anime. My soft little safe space. My everything. But then… the anime dropped, and something just felt off. I wanted to fall in love all over again. I wanted my heart to flutter the same way it did when I read the manga. But instead ... I was just sitting there like, “…wait. What is this?? Why does this feel so… empty?”

The story follows Yuki Itose, this sweet, gentle, super kind deaf college girl, who ends up meeting a well-traveled, charming senpai named Itsuomi on the train. He helps her out in this small but meaningful moment and they slowly start getting closer. On paper? Yeah it’s adorable. It’s soft. It’s everything a fluffy romance should be. So if you're just here for the cuteness, maybe it'll charm you. But for me someone who literally cherishes the manga this anime felt… hollow. Like the soul of this got lost in translation.

First of all, in the manga. I felt Yuki’s inner world. Her loneliness, her struggles, the weight of not having anyone who really speaks her language, not even her own parents. Her loneliness wasn’t just a detail, it was this heavy, aching thing. Her notebook was like her entire voice. And her lifeline. So when Itsuomi came into the picture, it wasn’t just some “guy helps girl and she swoons” moment. It was deeper. He made her feel safe and secure. He made her feel seen and understood. He was warmth. Comfort. Home. And the manga nailed that emotional depth. You could feel it. You could breathe it. You could see how slowly and tenderly their love bloomed and how much they cared about each other. It felt so real and intimate. But the anime… lacked it. It flattened everything.

Yuki ended up feeling like just a cute shy girl who blushes every time a guy breathes near her. Her feelings for Itsuomi looked like they popped outta nowhere just 'cause he patted her head once? Like… hold on girl.. where’s the build-up?? Where’s the emotional weight?? In the manga, being near Itsuomi made her feel safe. Like she could finally exhale. That was her person. The one who saw her, not just the girl who couldn’t hear. He was someone who didn’t just see her as “the deaf girl,” but as Yuki. And for someone who’s lived her whole life in a world where no one speaks her language? That hits deep. He felt like her shelter. Her comfort zone. But the anime couldn’t grip that. It didn’t show it. It didn’t feel it. I was waiting for my heart to ache in the best way… but it just didn’t come.

Even the general tone was off. The music didn’t carry the softness this story needs, and the voice acting felt emotionally bland. I imagined Yuki’s inner monologue sounding soft and dreamy, while Itsuomi’s voice being calm, kind, and lowkey flirty in a quiet way. But instead it felt so stiff and polished, like all the feelings got cleaned out in post-production or something. Even the cute, funny moments that made me giggle while reading? Just flopped on screen. They were awkward instead of wholesome. The magic was gone. The charm? Missing in action. That raw softness that made the manga feel like a warm hug, felt like I was watching a watered-down version that didn’t know how to carry its own emotional weight.

What honestly made me the most frustrated though was how the anime portrayed Yuki being deaf. The anime missed a chance to show what her life really feels like. In the manga, her struggles were there. Her isolation, her exhaustion, her strength. It mattered. It shaped who she was and made the story feel so raw and real. In the manga, you could feel her isolation. Her frustration. How exhausting it is to exist in a world that doesn’t speak your language. But the anime? It made being deaf feel like some quirky character trait. Like a gimmick to make the romance feels different. And sometimes, it unintentionally validated the wrong message. It made her look helpless over the smallest things, like… no. Deaf people are strong, smart and resourceful. They adapt. They’re not fragile little flowers. That portrayal just didn’t sit right with me at all and I wish the anime showed more of that.

Honestly, I hate that I feel this way. Because I love this story. I love these characters. But the anime version felt like a pretty shell with no heart inside. Like watching a love story from behind a glass wall. I couldn’t connect. I couldn’t feel. And I wanted to. I tried to. But it didn’t happen. Maybe this adaptation works better for people who haven’t read the manga. Maybe if you’re going in fresh, it still feels sweet and comforting. And if that’s you, genuinely, I’m happy for you. I hope it made your heart flutter. But for someone like me, who holds the manga so close to her chest… this anime just broke my heart in a very quiet, disappointing way.

TL;DR: I adore the manga, but the anime adaptation of A Sign of Affection felt emotionally flat. The voice acting, music, and pacing didn’t live up to the depth and softness of the original. The emotional growth, the struggles of being deaf, the bond between Yuki and Itsuomi, all of it felt lighter and less impactful. I might be in the minority, but this adaptation didn’t capture the magic for me.

(I really hope others can still find something beautiful in it though, even if I couldn’t.) (｡•́︿•̀｡)

Thanks for reading.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 20, 2024

RegaMasta12

Not Recommended

It started pretty nicely but as it went on I started to hate both the female lead and male lead, but this is what you would expect from a typical shoujo, the perfect 6'8 popular hot guy with all the positive personality straits that will dote and take care of you, the shy, pure and cute girl(only this time she's deaf) and they will live happily ever after, also the villainized childhood friend who will never win because he's a osananajimi(Oushi u deserve better)


Characters - holy shit both male and female leads are so ass(literally skipped like 10 mins of the last ep bcos it ... was just them 2) but others are okay.


Story - typical shoujo(if you loooove shoujo, then you can watch this and "squeeeee" at the sleazebag lead male)


Art - art is very nice

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Yubisaki to Renren Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jan 27, 2024	152 replies	by LuxuriousHeart »» Apr 4, 1:51 AM
	Poll: Yubisaki to Renren Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jan 13, 2024	194 replies	by Gween_Gween »» Apr 3, 3:59 PM
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