“A Sign of Affection,” a manga-adapted anime, has just been released along with Crunchyroll’s other winter release simulcasts like “Metallic Rouge,” “Sasaki and Peeps,” “7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!” and more. This story is about a young deaf girl who starts forming a crush on a boy who has a love for languages. It follows the pair as they learn to interact with each other, and good feelings begin to bud between them. Shoujo-fans across the anime community have been eagerly buzzing about this adaptation, and there is a lot of love around the series itself. After watching the first episode at AnimeNYC, though, I was scratching my head – am I the only one who’s noticing some bits of … inaccuracy?
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not trying to be the fun-police or a bucket-dipper, but I think it’s crucial we keep in mind that this is a show meant for entertainment. Not every action is going to be indicative of how to treat those from the deaf community, and it is early in the story, so some mistakes will be made. And I’d like to make it clear: I am not a member of the Deaf community, but I have a personal interest in understanding American Sign Language and the proper etiquette when communicating with a deaf person. I’ve even taken a class where the professor was adamant we practice the most proper ways to be respectful in spaces with deaf people. That said, as I was viewing “A Sign of Affection,” a couple of red flags began waving in my head.
I will say I must give credit where credit is due. The show is gorgeous -- we float right into everyone’s favorite opening scene … meeting our main characters on a railway ride, with stunning visuals as the train treks through the city and breathtaking lighting that paints everything in a vibrant hue. We aren’t told immediately that Yuki is deaf; it’s not something the animators spell out for us but show us instead. A man comes to Yuki, asking for directions in English. Going into this, it took me a moment to realize that Yuki doesn’t lack proficiency in English, but she is unable to hear what he is saying. There were hints – the sound suddenly going low, a sudden ring to emphasize the shift in resonance, and her inner dialogue being much louder in space of the change.
Itsuomi enters the scene here, helping the man out before turning his attention to Yuki. Like I said earlier -- credit was due and it must’ve been paid in advance because wow, Itsuomi is beautiful (white-haired characters make my knees weak!). Unfortunately, as often happens, he opened his mouth and ruined it for me.
Shoujo-fans across the anime community have been eagerly buzzing about this adaptation, and there is a lot of love around the series itself. After watching the first episode at AnimeNYC, though, I was scratching my head – am I the only one who’s noticing some bits of … inaccuracy?
Courtesy is very important when communicating with deaf people -- they have to exist differently in this world. When interacting with someone who is hard of hearing, doing your best to use whatever means you might have to communicate with them is so important. Writing it down or using text is a great option, especially if that’s how they engage with you first. Itsuomi sees Yuki using text, but instead of recognizing this as her most comfortable form of communication, he keeps expecting her to lip-read what he says.
From what I have learned, lip-reading is pretty low ranked among methods of communicating with those in the Deaf community. It's often inexact (so many words look too similar), and any obstruction of view can easily interrupt the conversation. Even when using sign language, it’s most courteous to avoid speaking simultaneously to avoid confusion -- try to stick to one form of communication at a time.
Yuki’s character, however, views this “gesture” as an act of kindness -- as Itsuomi trying to help her by practicing lip-reading with her. It’s not likely that this is how a similar interaction in real life would be perceived. While it’s good he was making sure Yuki could see his face clearly, Yuki hadn’t asked to practice lip-reading with someone who is mostly a stranger at this point in the story. He grabs her head as he exits the train car -- and it gets crazier when later in the episode, Itsuomi grabs Yuki’s face again to get her attention. This made me go, “Woah, let’s not get too familiar now, Itsuomi! We don’t know people well enough to go grabbing faces!” Normally, quickly waving at someone who is deaf does well enough to get their attention -- and even if you don’t know this from learning it intentionally, most people can figure this out to be the best way of grabbing anyone’s attention when they cannot hear.
Yuki’s character, aware of the world around her, is portrayed very well in this episode. She’s a young girl with a vibrant social life who just happens to be deaf -- they haven’t thrown any unnecessary or harmful stereotypes on her. We can sense her loneliness and longing when seeing those around her converse in a way that will always be foreign to her. We don’t really know the extent of her hearing at this point in the story – we see her wearing hearing aids, and there are instances in the episode where she reacts to things she normally wouldn’t be able to if she were completely deaf. However, with what I assume from the anime’s storyline, she is mostly -- if not entirely – hard of hearing, and relies on sign language as her main form of communication.
There are other small things, such as Itsuomi marveling at Yuki instead of talking with her when they first meet, saying, “I’ve never met anyone like this before.” She should be marveled at because of her cute pink hair and adorable nature, not because she’s deaf. Yuki even comments on his odd reaction. However, Cupid’s bow never misses; these rose-colored glasses paint all of Itsuomi’s flags white. Yuki, our lover-girl, says, “Somehow, I keep seeing the positives in everything he does.” (We know, girl, we know.) He’s gotten away with more than your average kuudere main love interest does in the first ten minutes of this episode!
A good chunk of the episode does track heartwarmingly, though, and it’s easy to tell that Itsuomi is interested in learning more about Yuki and her main form of communication. Itsuomi, who knows Japanese, English, and German (and a little bit of Chinese … and studying Spanish, too) has an obvious love for languages. At the beginning of this episode, he returns from backpacking around Europe -- something that leaves Yuki in awe, since she views her existence as a small bubble due to her lack of hearing. Throughout this episode, in moments where Yuki becomes most aware of her differences and the silence grows louder, Itsuomi has a knack for pulling her out of this “bubble” and brings her back to the present with ease (even though I side-eye some of his methods). And it makes me, as a viewer, soften when he politely asks to learn certain signs by the end of the episode. He’s trying to get near to her as well.
He carries a close -- yet warm and sweet -- eye over her as they spend more time together. Not only is Yuki trying to figure out Itsuomi, but Itsuomi is trying to figure her out as well, and I can’t help but sigh in delight at how these two awkwardly but naturally get drawn closer together in this first episode.
All in all, I think it’s most important to remember what this anime is -- a cute, fictional romance between two people with vastly different life experiences -- and leave it at that. From how it seems so far, some of Itsuomi’s actions in “A Sign of Affection” shouldn’t be representative of how to interact with the Deaf community in real life. Things that deaf people might find uncomfortable are placed in a positive light to progress the story between these two characters, and it does not allow for an accurate representation of respect towards this community in anime. As the story progresses, I’m hoping we’ll see changes in behavior as Yuki starts letting Itsuomi into her world (Itsuomi ATE with that one-liner at the end of Episode 1, but I’ll let you guys enjoy that for yourselves).
I think I’ll tune in out of curiosity to see if the remainder of the season follows suit with how it began. If you know to view this shoujo from a fictional lens, I feel like “A Sign of Affection” can be very enjoyable and will easily track along the success its manga had. I will, however, be relying on what I know while I watch and keeping an ear out for how the Deaf community receives this anime. Finally, a reminder for watchers: Please do your own research on topics, especially on those that deal with respect for a community you may not be part of; and, always, always listen to their perspective first and foremost!
More resources that you can check out:
Tips for Communicating with Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People: https://jobs.utah.gov/usor/vr/employer/deafcommunication.pdf
Deaf Culture: What is it, history, aspects, examples, and facts: https://www.handtalk.me/en/blog/deaf-culture/#:~:text=Deaf%20culture%20can%20vary%20depending,and%20blunt%20way%20to%20communicate.
Dos and Don’ts of Interacting with the Deaf Community: https://youtu.be/pDA_EXFTpxo?si=Kdok4O7pz0gtLVjF
Things Not to Say to a Deaf Person: https://youtu.be/SarMSwv_aHI?si=3N5y20xMIwn38XXc
