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(A) Sign of Affection (TV).


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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 1:39 pm Reply with quote


(A) Sign of Affection (TV)

Source: Manga (ongoing @ 10 volumes, by suu Morishita)

Demographic: Shoujo

Animation Studio: Ajiado

Genres: comedy, drama, romance

Themes: adult cast, disability, sign language

Plot Summary: Yuki is a typical college student, whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. But when a chance encounter on a train leads to her meeting friend-of-a-friend and fellow student Itsuomi-san, her world starts to widen. But even though Itsuomi-kun can speak three languages, sign language isn't one of them.

Air Date & Platform:
January 6, 2024 (Saturday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Episode Count / Runtime: 12 episodes
----------------------------------

The sign language angle has me interested. It's also from the same studio who did Revenger, which had some really good art in it.


Last edited by Tony K. on Fri Apr 12, 2024 6:09 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
Posts: 1544
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 3:03 pm Reply with quote
A couple of seasons ago, I said that if an anime is beautifully drawn with warm, vibrant ,colors and a great musical score in the background, I'll watch it on those merits alone.

I even watched the admittedly bland A Galaxy next Door from start to finish to prove it. And geez, this anime is well drawn and nicely scored. It also knows how to make silences impactful to deliver some emotional kick.

As to whether this is going to be an anime I look forward to or if it's going to be an animated lava lamp where I admire the purty colors and music, well, I'll hang around and wait and see. But I liked episode one.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2600
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 3:24 pm Reply with quote
The presentation is indeed very beautiful. Beautiful is in fact the word I would use to describe the first episode as a whole. Be it how it looks or feels, it is very vibrant yet they also manage to make for some moments that feel less happy. The premise is an interesting one and despite it having been only the first episode there is a decent vibe between the characters. There are maybe a bit too many sparkles for me, but I can handle that.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 4:56 pm Reply with quote
This show really brought home to me how text messaging can help people with speech and hearing problems. I recall many scenes in Shion no Ou where speechless Shion had to write everything on a whiteboard. Phones make it all much easier.

As for the show itself, the male protagonist is just too perfect, at least so far. I'll give it another episode, but I'll need more plot to keep going past that.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 5:06 pm Reply with quote
Is that not kind of a standard shoujo thing, perfect beautiful men with no flaws to find?
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Blood-
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Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 7:12 pm Reply with quote
Episode 1

Of course it's impossible to watch this and not think of A Silent Voice which I very much liked despite there being scenes that were tough to watch. Watching people get bullied drives me crazy.

But this one just seems super sweet and I'm very much in the mood for it. Yuki is adorable and Itsuomi is just back from backpacking in Canada so you KNOW he has to be super cool! A good old fashioned love story... just what the doctor has ordered for Blood-.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:26 am Reply with quote
Going in blind I picked up in the OP that there was going to be sign language, so I was thinking that it was going to be a love interest thing where the hearing impaired person is used as exotic, which I was a bit wary of. But upon figuring out that it was our main character, an adult shoujo heroine, I was interested, I am totally up for normalisation of disability that comes from the main character having the disability. And thus interested in even a normal romance anime with a different perspective.

Just some thoughts I had, I wonder if she has access to some speech to text software to help her. Probably thinking this as a portion of entertainment I have been watching recently has involved an AI that uses speech to text to hear people, and in turn text to speech to respond. I was wondering if it would help her with her college lectures. Her ability to use a phone itself is a nice setup. I also wonder what benefit her hearing aids give.

Putting your hand on another person's head without permission would usually not be the right move, correct?
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 5:11 am Reply with quote
I will be honest and say that I looked up the series to make sure that it was not another Silent Voice, as lovely as that was it also hurt quite a bit to see, indeed especially when bullying is something that you find hard to stomach.

As for the touching aspect, there are plenty of countries out there that are quite touchy feely with people you barely know as the norm. Here in Holland it is not all that weird to give a shoulder pat or a head pat to someone you have only talked with for a short period of time (and have a pleasant/positive vibe with). Then again, I am told it differs in which part of my country you are. Given how worldy Itsuomi is I can believe that he has become so touchy due to all his traveling.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 6:32 am Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
Putting your hand on another person's head without permission would usually not be the right move, correct?


And in the cafe, it wasn't that he just put his hand on her head like he did on the train, he literally pushed her head up. I found it quite obnoxious. However, the world of this show seems to stipulate that such an action is A-okay, so I guess I have to grit my teeth and live with it.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:30 am Reply with quote
smurky turkey wrote:
Is that not kind of a standard shoujo thing, perfect beautiful men with no flaws to find?

Not always. Jinshi in Apothecary Diaries has numerous flaws (and, no, I'm not talking about whether he is "intact"). The "ice guy" of https://myanimelist.net/anime/52173/Koori_Zokusei_Danshi_to_Cool_na_Douryou_Joshi isn't especially flawless either. Noah in the Raeliana story is also a pretty complex character.
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Edjwald



Joined: 03 Aug 2017
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:40 am Reply with quote
Wait a moment...are y'all implying that patting someone's head like they're a pet or little kid isn't a time honored Japanese tradition, but actually some kind of anime-exclusive trope dreamed up by Otaku artists who have never been on a date before?

How else are you supposed to pacify your harem without actually having sex with any of them?

Psshhh. Next you'll be telling me that you're not supposed to politely squeeze a woman's breast in apology if you bump into her...

Whoops. Gotta go. I have to meet my probation officer...
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:46 am Reply with quote
yuna49 wrote:
smurky turkey wrote:
Is that not kind of a standard shoujo thing, perfect beautiful men with no flaws to find?

Not always. Jinshi in Apothecary Diaries has numerous flaws (and, no, I'm not talking about whether he is "intact"). The "ice guy" of https://myanimelist.net/anime/52173/Koori_Zokusei_Danshi_to_Cool_na_Douryou_Joshi isn't especially flawless either. Noah in the Raeliana story is also a pretty complex character.


Thanks for the information, the picture in my head regarding shoujo males/mc's are the perfect, sparkly and honestly dreadfully boring men with as much personality as a brick. Though that could be a me thing, I find perfect people boring.

As for @Edjwald, well, if you go about groping people like that in the streets you will probably be experiencing some head pats in prison soon enough, so you do you I guess.
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Blood-
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:03 am Reply with quote
Laughing @ smurky's Bubba reference.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15571
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:09 am Reply with quote
I was mostly thinking about probably not best when she was clearly a bit overwhelmed on the train, with her clearly not able to hear what he was saying. And would probably another big shock in the bar when waving a hand in her vision would have been much easier.

I can't help but think of something like a video regarding sexual harassment video saying something like don't touch people on the head. Feels like a great time to go about boundaries, especially involving a person with a disability and that she is still able without needing to be pet.

I too find a lot of shoujo love interests boring when too perfect. I can though think of some favourites when they have their own quirks, interests and such.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:42 am Reply with quote
If I had been this anime's producer, I would have insisted that as soon as he pushed her head up in the cafe, the very next shot would be a huge bruiser straight arm punching Itsuomi right in his pretty-boy, boundary-crossing face. Canada trip or no Canada trip, that kind of head push is just not cool.
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