A Sign of Affection | |
ゆびさきと恋々 (Yubisaki to Renren) | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy-drama, romance[1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Suu Morishita |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Dessert |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Original run | July 24, 2019 – present |
Volumes | 10 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Yūta Murano |
Written by | Yōko Yonaiyama |
Music by | Yukari Hashimoto |
Studio | Ajia-do Animation Works |
Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
Original network | Tokyo MX, MBS, BS NTV, AT-X |
Original run | January 6, 2024 – March 23, 2024 |
Episodes | 12 |
A Sign of Affection (Japanese: ゆびさきと恋々, Hepburn: Yubisaki to Renren, lit. "Fingertips and Affection") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Suu Morishita. It started serialization in Kodansha's Dessert magazine in July 2019. As of December 2023, ten tankōbon volumes have been released. An anime television series adaptation produced by Ajia-do Animation Works aired from January to March 2024.
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.
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.[7] 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.[7]
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.[7]
The series is written and illustrated by the author duo Suu Morishita. It started serialization in Dessert on July 24, 2019.[8] 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.[9] As of December 2023, ten tankōbon volumes have been released.[10]
In March 2020, Kodansha USA announced they licensed the manga for English publication digitally.[11] At Anime Expo Lite in July 2020, they announced a print release for the series.[12] Later that month, they announced they would publish chapters of the series digitally simultaneously with the Japanese release.[13] 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.[14] The series was also translated into French by Rosalys and published by Akata.[15]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | December 13, 2019[16] | 978-4-06-518062-4 | March 31, 2020 (digital) February 23, 2021 (print)[1] | 978-1-64651-184-6 |
2 | May 13, 2020[17] | 978-4-06-519501-7 | July 7, 2020 (digital) May 18, 2021 (print)[18] | 978-1-64651-185-3 |
3 | October 13, 2020[19] | 978-4-06-520971-4 | December 29, 2020 (digital) August 10, 2021 (print)[20] | 978-1-64651-218-8 |
4 | March 12, 2021[21] | 978-4-06-522634-6 | August 31, 2021 (digital) January 11, 2022 (print)[22] | 978-1-64651-274-4 |
5 | September 13, 2021[23] | 978-4-06-524820-1 | December 14, 2021 (digital) June 28, 2022 (print)[24] | 978-1-64651-418-2 |
6 | March 11, 2022[25] | 978-4-06-527138-4 | July 5, 2022 (digital) May 23, 2023 (print)[26] | 978-1-64651-683-4 |
7 | September 13, 2022[27][28] | 978-4-06-529176-4 978-4-06-529026-2 (limited edition) | October 24, 2023 (digital) November 14, 2023 (print)[29] | 978-1-64651-883-8 |
8 | February 13, 2023[30] | 978-4-06-530723-6 | April 23, 2024 (digital) May 14, 2024 (print)[31] | 979-8-88877-005-4 |
9 | July 13, 2023[32] | 978-4-06-531847-8 | — | — |
10 | December 13, 2023[10] | 978-4-06-534044-8 | — | — |
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.[33] 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.[33]
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.[2] The series aired from January 6 to March 23, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[34] The opening theme song is "Yuki no Ne" (雪の音, "The Sound of Snow"), performed by Novelbright, while the ending theme song is "Snowspring", performed by ChoQMay.[5] Crunchyroll licensed the series.[35] Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[36]
No. | Title [37][a] | Directed by [b] | Written by [b] | Storyboarded by [b] | Original air date [39] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Yuki's World" Transliteration: "Yuki no Sekai" (Japanese: 雪の世界) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | January 6, 2024 |
2 | "To Affection" Transliteration: "Renren e" (Japanese: 恋々へ) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | January 13, 2024 |
3 | "Someone is thinking of someone" | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | January 20, 2024 |
4 | "What Kind of Voice?" Transliteration: "Donna Koe de" (Japanese: どんな声で) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | January 27, 2024 |
5 | "The Answer" Transliteration: "Kotae" (Japanese: こたえ) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | February 3, 2024 |
6 | "I Thought I Wanted to Keep Watching Her Forever" Transliteration: "Zutto Miteitai tte Omotteta" (Japanese: ずっと見ていたいって思ってた) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | February 10, 2024 |
7 | "Let me introduce you to my girlfriend" | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | February 17, 2024 |
8 | "One Small Step" Transliteration: "Ippo o" (Japanese: 一歩を) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | February 24, 2024 |
9 | "I Don't Want to Leave" Transliteration: "Kaeritakunai" (Japanese: 帰りたくない) | Unknown | Unknown | TBA | March 2, 2024 |
10 | "Oushi's World" Transliteration: "Ōshi no Sekai" (Japanese: 桜志の世界) | TBA | TBA | TBA | March 9, 2024 |
11 | "Promise" Transliteration: "Yakusoku" (Japanese: 約束) | TBA | TBA | TBA | March 16, 2024 |
12 | "Our World" Transliteration: "Watashitachi no Sekai" (Japanese: 私たちの世界) | TBA | TBA | TBA | March 23, 2024 |
The series ranked 17th in the 2020 Next Manga Award.[40] It ranked ninth in the 2021 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook's top 20 Manga for female readers.[41] Also that year the series was nominated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category;[42] it was nominated for the 46th edition in the same category in 2022;[43] and for the 47th edition in the same category in 2023.[44] The manga was also nominated for the first Ebook Japan manga award.[45] The manga also won the grand prize at the eleventh An An manga award.[46] The manga has been nominated for the 68th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category.[47]
The series and the anime have both 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.[48] Koiwai from Manga News also praised it.[49] 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".[50]