A Sign of Affection

A Sign of Affection (ゆびさきと恋々) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Suu Morishita. It started serialization in Kodansha's Dessert magazine in July 2019. As of July 2024, eleven tankōbon volumes have been released. An anime television series adaptation produced by Ajia-do Animation Works aired from January to March 2024.

Plot
Yuki Itose is a university student with congenital hearing loss. Besides sign language, she communicates through text and lip reading. When a foreigner asked her for direction in language she assumed English, a young man comes to her aid and catches Yuki's attention. The story revolves around Yuki as she narrates her silent world, and the people around her.

Characters

 * Yuki Itose (糸瀬 雪)
 * A 19-year-old timid deaf girl who attended school for the deaf until high school and enrolled in public university. She meets Itsuomi on the train and falls in love with him after they spend time together.
 * A 19-year-old timid deaf girl who attended school for the deaf until high school and enrolled in public university. She meets Itsuomi on the train and falls in love with him after they spend time together.


 * Itsuomi Nagi (波岐 逸臣)
 * A 22-year-old multilingual young man who often travels abroad. He is a senior at Yuki's university who developed a crush on her the moment he met her on the train.
 * A 22-year-old multilingual young man who often travels abroad. He is a senior at Yuki's university who developed a crush on her the moment he met her on the train.


 * Ōshi Ashioki (芦沖 桜志)
 * Yuki's childhood friend who can use sign language to communicate. He is very protective of Yuki, much to her annoyance. He has been in love with Yuki since childhood, which explains his controlling behavior towards her, but has kept his feelings to himself since he knows she doesn't like him.
 * Yuki's childhood friend who can use sign language to communicate. He is very protective of Yuki, much to her annoyance. He has been in love with Yuki since childhood, which explains his controlling behavior towards her, but has kept his feelings to himself since he knows she doesn't like him.


 * Kyōya Nagi (波岐 京弥)
 * Itsuomi's older cousin who runs a bar. He often supports his cousin's relationship with Yuki, and it's strongly implied he may harbor secret feelings for Rin, though it's unclear as of yet.
 * Itsuomi's older cousin who runs a bar. He often supports his cousin's relationship with Yuki, and it's strongly implied he may harbor secret feelings for Rin, though it's unclear as of yet.


 * Rin Fujishiro (藤白 りん)
 * Yuki's best friend, who helps her take notes at classes. She is very supportive of Yuki's love towards Itsuomi. She has a crush on Kyōya.
 * Yuki's best friend, who helps her take notes at classes. She is very supportive of Yuki's love towards Itsuomi. She has a crush on Kyōya.


 * Ema Nakazono (中園 エマ)
 * Itsuomi's friend who has been in love with him since high school, even though he never reciprocated. She often tries to get close to Itsuomi, who pushes her away every time. Her love for him is very obvious, and was quickly noticed by Yuki who was initially suspicious. Eventually, Emma is able to move on from her hopeless crush on Itsuomi and begins to date Shin.
 * Itsuomi's friend who has been in love with him since high school, even though he never reciprocated. She often tries to get close to Itsuomi, who pushes her away every time. Her love for him is very obvious, and was quickly noticed by Yuki who was initially suspicious. Eventually, Emma is able to move on from her hopeless crush on Itsuomi and begins to date Shin.


 * Shin Iryū (伊柳 心)
 * Itsuomi and Emma's best friend who works at a hair salon. He has been secretly in love with Emma since high school, even though she never noticed.
 * Itsuomi and Emma's best friend who works at a hair salon. He has been secretly in love with Emma since high school, even though she never noticed.

Development
In an interview with Kodansha USA, the author duo Suu Morishita stated that they decided to make the main theme sign language since they were both interested in the idea. However, since neither of them had much experience with sign language, they did research, which included reading books on the subject, interviewing teachers, and getting someone to supervise how it was used.

When it came to the art, they decided to use Copic Multiliner brown markers for the outlines and Dr. Ph. Martin's color ink for the coloring because they felt it gave the art a "soft and delicate" style.

Manga
The series is written and illustrated by the author duo Suu Morishita. It started serialization in Dessert on July 24, 2019. On June 24, 2021, it was announced the manga would go on a hiatus as the writer and storyboarder gave birth to a child. The manga returned in November 2021. As of July 2024, eleven tankōbon volumes have been released.

In March 2020, Kodansha USA announced they licensed the manga for English publication digitally. At Anime Expo Lite in July 2020, they announced a print release for the series. Later that month, they announced they would publish chapters of the series digitally simultaneously with the Japanese release. Kodansha's K Manga added the series to its simultaneous-publication catalogue in August 2023 after the series had been removed from Kodansha USA services in January. The series was also translated into French by Rosalys and published by Akata.

Musical
A musical adaption ran in the Honda Theater in Tokyo from June 4 to June 13, 2021. It was directed by Maiko Tanaka, with Sanae Iijima writing the screenplay, Kiyoko Ogino composing the music, and Kiyomi Maeda in charge of choreography. It starred Erika Toyohara as Yuki, Takahisa Maeyama as Itsuomi, Manatsu Hayashi as Rin, Saho Aono as Ema, Ikeoka Ryōsuke as Ōshi, Kodai Miyagi as Shin, and Ryuji Kamiyama as Kyōya.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on July 5, 2023. It is produced by Ajia-do Animation Works and directed by Yūta Murano, with Yōko Yonaiyama composing the series, Kasumi Sakai designing the characters, and Yukari Hashimoto composing the music. The series aired from January 6 to March 23, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Yuki no Ne" (雪の音), performed by Novelbright, while the ending theme song is "Snowspring", performed by ChoQMay. Crunchyroll licensed the series. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.

Reception
The series ranked 17th in the 2020 Next Manga Award. It ranked ninth in the 2021 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook's top 20 Manga for female readers. Also that year the series was nominated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category; it was nominated for the 46th edition in the same category in 2022; for the 47th edition in 2023; and the 48th edition in 2024. The manga was also nominated for the first Ebook Japan manga award. The manga also won the grand prize at the eleventh An An manga award. The manga has been nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category.

The series has received widespread critical acclaim. Sean Gaffney from Manga Bookshelf gave the first volume praise, calling it an "excellent debut" and stating he wanted to read more. Koiwai from Manga News also praised it. Like Gaffney and Koiwai, Darkstorm from Anime UK News also gave the first volume praise, comparing it to A Silent Voice, as well as calling it "beautifully drawn and written".