I always like stories that cross some sort of communication barrier. This one is about a young man who likes to travel the world, Itsuomi, and Yuki, a deaf student at the university they both attend. Yuki's life generally revolves around her small group of friends, until college her class sizes were extremely small and she didn't seem to get out much, and using her phone as her primary form of communication. So when Itsuomi suddenly steps in one train ride to help Yuki deal with a lost traveler, she instantly interested in getting to know him. Finding out he travels the world in his spare time just adds to her interest.

Since this is the first volume things are just starting to come together. Yuki starts crushing on Itsuomi a bit as they spend more time together. Itsuomi seems interested in her, but she can't fully tell what kind of interest it is. Is he just interested because she's different, because she uses sign language and he doesn't know it (he speaks 3 different languages) or does he actually like her?

It's a nice set up for a potentially great story. The art is quite nice, generally simple with nothing too flashy going on which just adds to the realistic feel of the story. So if you're looking for something dramatic, this one probably isn't for you as it reads like a genuine Slice of Life manga.

I , however, love it and plan to get a copy for my library!

This is a super cute first volume of a pretty genre-typical shojo manga, with the unique angle of the main character being deaf. I don't usually read shojo manga, because I have a hard time with overly trope-y romance, but I actually found this fairly sweet. There were still a few tropes I didn't love (the love interest is a little overly physical in grabbing the MC's head or hand occasionally; it sometimes comes off as a sweet hand touch, but sometimes seems overly forward and a little offputting to me. I think it's probably genre-typical, but it's not something I love), but on the whole I found the main character, Yuki, earnest and genuine, and I enjoyed the look into Japanese sign language and how Yuki communicates without it being made into a voyeuristic story about disability. Yuki is a typical shojo protagonist who happens to be deaf, and it's cool to see that one of the ways she and the love interest connect is through her teaching him a little sign language.

I would certainly recommend this to people who like shojo manga, feel-good romance, and a little fluff. It's not too deep, but it was sweet and enjoyable, and even though it's not my favorite genre, I'd really like to read more!

Also, the art style is very cute, and I enjoyed the notes from the authors, editor, and translator explaining their process and how they also learned about Japanese Sign Language in the process of writing this. I thought it was very cool that they made sure to work with a deaf sign language user to make sure they were handling the subject in a respectful and informed manner.

Although I totally missed the word play in the title A *Sing* of Affection (much the same way it happened for A Silent Voice), I absolutely loved this first volume. Usually I don't go for shoujos, as the romance can sometimes seem a bit too innocent, but the cover really pulled me and I had to read it. And I'm happy I did.
The story is absolutely cute! And although the plot does use some clichés, I didn't mind them at all - when they fit well in the story, they just don't poke your eyes out.
The art style is also great and it fits well with the genre, and the characters are really cute.

I'd recommend this to anyone interested, even if you're not the biggest fan of shoujo, it's really heart-warming and worthwhile.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was absolutely precious! A Sign of Affection follows a young deaf girl named Yuki after a chance encounter on a train gains her a new friend. Itsuomi goes to the same college as her and is a wide traveler, speaking three languages, but he doesn't know sign language. They have to learn to communicate with each other in order to navigate their budding feelings, and it was absolutely adorable to watch them interact with each other.

I loved every single character in this book. Yuki was just the cutest, and I loved that her disability isn't holding her back from a dreamy shoujo romance. Seeing all the different ways she communicated from using sign language on-page (very exciting!), whiteboards, text, and reading lips was really refreshing. While I can see how Itsuomi may seem like a lackluster love interest, as his quietness and odd manner can seem a little off, I could almost physically feel how enamored he is with Yuki through the expressive artstyle. His eagerness to learn should speak for itself! I also adored Yuki's meddling friend and her side romance, and even Yuki's protective childhood friend (for now. I'm worried that he'll become aggressively protective later, but I have hope for now). All the characters are so beautiful drawn, incredibly expressive, and they seem to come right off the page with how real they feel.

I'm really looking forward to the continuation!

It all starts with a tourist on a train asking Yuki for directions. Thing is Yuki is deaf.
Luckily a young man (Itsuomi) from her college sees her struggling and steps in to help the tourist. Yuki is immediately smitten.

When Yuki tells Ren, her close friend, they make a pact. To tell talk to their respective crushes and maybe even get their numbers. It helps that’s Ren’s crush is Itsuomi’s boss. They can wander down to hang out at the cafe where guys work.

Itsuomi seems like like Yuki enough but there’s a couple of his female school friends that are always around hogging his attention. Does one of them like Itsuomi? And how about Yuki’s own old school friend, Oushi, does he like Yuki and if so does she actually know?

If you like answers and a complete story, this isn’t for you. If you like an ongoing will they get together or not kind of story you’ll love this.

Pretty sure this is not only this first manga I’ve read with a hearing deaf/hearing impaired lead but also the first modern book in general I’ve read with a deaf lead in general. Since I am a firm believer in representation is good, I find this refreshing.

Cute characters. Really pretty artwork. I’d read volume 2.

This manga was so cute! I really loved Yuki she's so cute trying to figure out her feelings for Itsuomi. I also love that Itsuomi did not treat Yuki differently because of her disability.

I am really looking forward to reading the next volume!

This was a sweet manga following Yuki, a deaf college student who meets Itsuomi-san on a train and starts to have feelings she's never experienced before. Yuki uses sign language and writing out what she wants to say to communicate with those around her. Itsuomi knows three languages but not sign language, however he seems open to learn and the two keep meeting in different places and being drawn to each other.

I loved how the manga follows a death student and showed snippets of the signs she uses to communicate with her friend, as well as the messages she writes on her phone or paper in order to communicate with those who don't know sign language. I had mixed feelings about Isuomi - I had a bad feeling that he may be messing with Yuki and that she would inevitabley end up hurt as he seemed like a bit of a player. This didn't happen in this volume but I wonder whether in future volumes their relationship would blossom or if she would be let down by him. I may have misinterpreted him but those were the vibes I got. Yuki is so sweet and innocent and I feel like she needs to be protected from players (although the other guy with dark hair - I can't remember his name, seemed very protective, maybe a bit too protective and jealous especially towards the end of this volume).

I would be interested in picking up future volumes of this manga if I come across them in the library or online in the future as this was a fun read and I am intriguied as to where this will go in the future.

Ya'll, I LOVED this book. I am HOOKED and will be reading them ALL as soon as I can get my hot little hands on them. I have always enjoyed reading manga, but fell out of reading it for a while, but now I am BACK and am LOVING it (except for having no space for the multitude of volumes I have been collecting, but I think every book lover has that problem).

I love the artwork in this, pretty, but realistic. I love the characters, especially Yuki, she is so CUTE. I really love that she is deaf and shown as having a normal life, friends, going to college, a love-interest. She isn't "less than" because she can't hear. She is a fully-fleshed out human being, which is so important to see.

And yeah, I'm a sucker for this type of gentle, low-boil, "does he or doesn't he" type of romance. Gets me every time.

I am ALL IN for this series. 5, huge and shiny, stars. Highly recommended if you enjoy shojo manga, or want to get started in the romance manga out there. Warning! It is highly addictive, so once you get started, you won't want to stop and will end up with bookcases full of them, lol. This is one I will be suggesting at the store.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST MANGA I HAVE READ IN MY LIFE.THIS WAS SUPER CUTE AND ADORABLE.I LOVED IT.DO PICK IT AND READ.I AM THANKFUL TO THE PUBLISHER FOR ARC

Yuki, who’s always been deaf, is used to communicating with sign language and her phone. But she’s not used to English, so when a tourist from overseas asks for directions, she nearly panics…until a handsome stranger steps in to help. His name is Itsuomi, and it turns out he’s a friend of a friend. A charismatic globetrotter, Itsuomi speaks three languages, but he’s never had a deaf friend. The two feel drawn to each other and plan a date on a romantic winter’s night…but Yuki’s friend is afraid that she might be setting herself up to get hurt. Could this be something real? Or will these feelings melt away with the snow?

The sign language used in this book is not ASL but Japanese Sign Language, so the order that the signs are used in may differ, as well as some signs themselves.

The beautiful cover drew me into this manga, and the art style of the manga itself is very soft and easy on the eyes. I found both Yuki and Itsuomi’s characters were very easy to fall in love with as a reader, simply for the way they interact with each other.

While Yuki is somewhat shy and self-conscious about how her world is so different from Itsuomi’s, she has the courage to set things in place so that when she finally gets the right moment, she’s able to act. When Itsumoi expresses interest in learning a few of Yuki’s most commonly used signs, she makes a small sign language booklet for him. She does a lot of self-reflection in regards to what she wants, how she feels about the relationship and Itsuomi himself, what she’s willing to do, and how Itsuomi’s world is different from hers because he’s travelled so much and she hasn’t. Her inner monologue makes it clear that she crossed the starting line and can’t just stop; she wants a romantic relationship with Itsuomi and she won’t give up just because the path ahead is new and unknown to her.

Itsuomi doesn't have a ton of fleshing out as a character in this book, so I'm hoping for more in the next book! He's a somewhat reserved person but he's sociable, yet blunt. He's part of a club where the members travel to different places to learn about those places. He's open to new experiences, cultures, worlds. At one point he tells Yuki "show me your world," where I swooned only a little bit (okay maaaybe a lot). While he's reserved, it's explicitly clear when he finds Yuki being extremely cute (but not in a way that infantilizes her). Itsuomi also doesn't treat Yuki like her disability makes her 'exotic'; he wants to know about her world and her experiences because he wants to know more about her as a person. He wants a more personal connection with her because he obviously enjoys her presence.

Yuki’s friend, Rin, is a bit meddling, but more in a supportive way than an interloping manner. She knows what Yuki wants to do and knows she’s also a bit shy and nervous about initiating interactions sometimes, so Rin goes a little out of her way to casually inform Itsuomi of Yuki’s presence elsewhere in the room. Rin doesn’t meddle too much; she’s more of a wing-man than anything. She asks Yuki whether what she feels towards Itsuomi is admiration or love, and when Yuki decides it is love, Rin expresses her joy at her friend having realized her own feelings. Rin’s own romance is very off to the side of the story, and I find it very cute as well. Rin and Yuki met in college, so they’ve been friends for a few years. Rin doesn’t know any sign language, but communicates with Yuki by way of the two of them writing on their phones and showing each other the text (rather than actually just texting? maybe this is because it’s more face-to-face than straight-up texting?) and making sure that Yuki can see her mouth at all times to lip-read.

Yuki’s other childhood friend, Oushi, knows sign language extremely well. It’s clear he’s more likely than not to be a potential love interest in the future. While he’s brash, he clearly cares for her and warns her off of going places late in the evening to meet Itsuomi. I think there’s a lot about Yuki’s past, including her past with Oushi that hasn’t been brought up yet. I’m excited to see it explored in the next books, if it comes up.

The innocence of Yuki’s first love is very sweet and isn’t portrayed as her being naive. Rather, it’s depicted as a time of wonder and self-reflection, figuring out what she wants and what pace is right for her. The representation of the disability and the use of sign language are both done with so much time, thought, and care put into it. The two mangaka did plenty of research, including interviewing teachers from a school for the Deaf and the use of sign language in the manga was overseen by Yuki Miyazaki, a Deaf person. Miyazaki also shared her world as a Deaf person with the two mangaka, and her daily life as well.

This manga was a quick read but one I enjoyed immensely. I’m looking forward to the next book of the series and beyond!

This book is adorable!
The MC is sweet and genuine and it is a lovely bit of representation.

Highly recommended.

A Sign of Affection follows Yuki, a college student who is deaf, as she meets and falls for Itsuomi, a traveller who knows many languages, but not sign language.

The art was fantastic, and the supporting characters all seem delightful. This was a really sweet one, I found the chemistry really endearing. This was also my first time reading a manga with a deaf protagonist! I think it was a really great start to the series, I look forward to more.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Sign of Affection by Suu Morishita is a sweet and heart-warming shojo about overcoming language barriers and communication as a means for human connection.

It centers around 2 main characters: Yuki, a deaf college student who’s into fashion and Itsuomi, a globetrotter who knows a lot of languages … except for sign language.

Yuki is used to communicating through sign language and texts, so one day, when a foreigner asks her for directions, she panics. Luckily, Itsuomi notices and swoops in to her rescue. Yuki thanks him afterwards and the two of them realize that they both go to the same college and share a mutual friend!

Their relationship starts to blossom from there, but can they learn how to communicate their growing feelings for another?

First off, rarely do I see a manga series feature a deaf protagonist (asides from A Silent Voice and Gangsta), so this feels like a really refreshing and important perspective to explore. I think it’s neat the mangaka includes facts about Japanese sign language as well.

On top of that, the art style is absolutely dreamy and lovely! Plus, the winter backdrop not only ties into the theme of Yuki’s name, but it creates a cozy vibe and makes reading this manga feel like drinking a sweet cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows.

I do have to give one disclaimer though. Yuki falls head over heels for Itsuomi REALLY fast. This might put some people off. However, I don’t necessarily mind if this seems like a case of insta-love since:

1) Yuki herself is questioning whether what she feels for Itsuomi is a crush or something more serious.
2) Itsuomi himself seems like a spontaneous person, so jumping into a relationship doesn’t seem out of character for him.
3) The primary conflict isn’t how they start dating, but rather how they learn to communicate.

Overall though, if you’re looking for a wholesome romance and a serotonin boost, this series really hits the spot. I can’t wait to see where the relationship goes and to find out more about Yuki, Itsuomi, and their friends.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eARC.

this was so cute!! i love romance contemporary manga so much with how absurd and most times predictable it is but somehow it manages to make it all entertaining! loved this a lot.

Really loved this first volume! I can't wait for volume 2!

The artwork and story telling in this was just magnificent. I really enjoyed how font color was lightened to convey when our main character was lip reading.

For people who liked the “Silent Movie” anime adaptation like myself, this manga is absolutely worth checking out!

Basically it’s about a university girl who is deaf and meets a very handsome European guy (I think he’s German). The art is friggin gorgeous plus really colourful like props to Suu Morishita for designing the characters and representing the deaf community. Although there is the usual annoying trope of the love triangle going on but the main characters are just adorable. I feel like I’m repeating myself again but if you need some shoujo cuteness, this ones for you chaps!

By the way, thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for giving me the first volume of this manga! ❤️

I honestly already felt invested in the subject just by reading the title. And now, after finishing this first volume, an even warmer feeling has spread through my heart . . .

While the story keeps you entertained, the topic at hand is what truly grabs the readers’ attention. How could it not? We get a little window that doesn’t simply let us see how a deaf person communicates, but it also shows their struggles, their feelings, and how others interact with them. Sign language can be quite challenging to be expressed visually, but in this manga it’s well presented. In fact, I’d say it’s treated with the same care used for the characters’ expressions—a must in these reads. And since emotions and reactions are pure and sweet just like Yuki, rooting for her only comes natural. Can you sense a lovely and emotional journey ahead?

An interesting first volume that definitely sparks your curiosity, and adds some extra love for this delicate subject thanks to the interview with the author and notes at the end.

I love that these mangakas did a lot of research on hearing disability.
The protagonist is a university student who cannot hear so she uses the Japanese sign language or messages through her phone to communicate, then one day she meets a handsome boy on the subway. He is a polyglot and soon they start to get along.

I find it curious that the boy wanders around the world, like, is he rich??? Anyway. Even tho her love it's a little bit on the insta side, the reading is wholesome.

I did like how the mangakas includes the sing language cuz I know it's pretty difficult since it cannot be as accurate as in person.

Excited to read volume 2.

Yuki And Itsuomi have a chance encounter on a train when a foreign traveller tries to get assistance from Yuki however Yuki cannot assist him , then enters Itsuomi who not only handles the situation but does so with style and grace . Yuki instantly finds him interesting and wants to get to know him.

An eager best friend who is also on the prowl for her own Romeo , Rin is the perfect wing woman who supports and cheers Yuki on with gusto. This is a story of friendship and learning about each others differences as well as a soft sweet romance , I cannot wait for the next volume and hope that we get to know Itsuomi as a character a little better .

I want more , this was a breath of fresh air. Yuki our cute heroine is hearing impaired which was a refreshing change in the genre . Our traveling quiet hero was very interesting and I would like to learn more about him.

A Sign of Affection is a Shojo manga about Yuki, a deaf girl attending college and Itsuomi, a handsome well traveled classmate. Yuki meets Itsuomi and almost instantly develops a crush on him. She is a little put off by his blunt way of speaking, but she sees that he has a really gentle side to him. Itsuomi seems to have a soft spot for Yuki too. This is a delightful start to what is sure to be a soft and sweet romance story!

Yuki is deaf, even with hearing aids she can barely distinguish sounds. She mostly communicates via writing notes with friends and reading lips. She does use sign language but it seems that most of her friends haven't learned it. The way this communication is depicted in the manga is really interesting! Speech that Yuki can understand by lip reading is a lighter gray color versus the regular black text. Sign language is a little more difficult to show since is very fluid and not every part can be shown in the panels, but there is text showing what is is supposed to say. It's really interesting to read about! While this manga is not an "own voices" manga, the author's also have a Sign Language consultant who is Hard of Hearing that they regularly work with so the depictions of Yuki's interactions come from a good place.

I love that Yuki is not really defined by her disability. It's just part of her and her friends treat her like anyone else. Accommodations, have to be made of course, but she doesn't seem like a burden to her friends. She does ponder if Itsuomi is just interested in her so he can learn a new language, or if he genuinely wants to get to know her. But Itsuomi does seem like he is actually interested in Yuki.

I love how beautiful and soft the artwork is. The snow themes in this first volume gives it a really cozy feelings. I am already invested in the relationship and how the two of them will grow close to each other. Itsuomi is very mysterious and I'm curious to find out what he likes so much about Traveling! Yuki's internal struggle between "admirations vs love" was very cute and I am glad she decided on Love!

I really recommend this manga for anyone who wants a soft and cute love story! Fans of A Silent Voice will really like this!

[A digital copy of this manga was provided to me free through Netgalley]