I don't normally read shojo manga, but after listening to Melissa Read's review on this manga I knew I had to give it a shot.
"Yuki is a typical college student–it’s just that she can’t hear. A chance encounter on a train leads to a serious crush…but will he give her a chance?"-Penguin House I really loved how Yuki was portrayed in this manga. Never once does Morishita make the reader pity Yuki because of her deafness. Yuki is going to school, has her own friend group, her own interests, her own dreams, and her own way of communicating. And of course, like all college students at some point, Yuki falls in love.
I really enjoyed how Yuki's relationship with her crush Itsuomi was portrayed and how it progressed in the manga. Never once does Itsuomi pity Yuki or feels that Yuki's deafness is a barrier to their friendship. No. Itsuomi thinks to himself, "Wow. I learned all these foreign languages for my future career, but never once did it occur to me to learn Japanese Sign Language. Let me fix that."
Not a quote, but it describes Itsuomi's mindset. And he does his best to learn and never once is he disrespectful toward Yuki or is over smothering because of Yuki's deafness. Sure there's some romance tropes thrown in. But would it be a shojo manga without some good old fashion romance tropes? The friendships in A Sign of Affection are sincere. The romance is sweet and contains the awkwardness of two young people in love. The tropes exist, but are mostly well done. And Yuki's deafness is portrayed tastefully. Morishita was even able to hire an expert in Japanese Sign Language to help with the story and I think it really did make a world of difference. I completely recommend this for the shojo lovers or for those who like manga and want to branch into different genres. As for me, I'm happy to say that I finally have a copy of the second volume to this series! My Rating: 4/5 Amazon | Bookshop
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