Yubisaki to Renren
A Sign of Affection

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This series is ... just okay. Very cute, but basic story with an uninteresting romance.

It's important to write and spread well-researched stories that have characters with disabilities in the forefront. I love how Yuki's deafness is explored and how she reacts to the world around her (and how others react to her in turn).

However, as a romance series, I find the romance extremely lacking. I don't think there is a lot of chemistry between Yuki and Itsuomi. I'm having difficulty thinking of interests they share or conversations between the two of them that wasn't about their relationship or feelings towards eachother. What I'm getting ... at is that it's hard to understand why they like eachother (beyond finding eachother attractive) and what they would talk about.

Perhaps this is just me but I found Itsuomi boring. It's nice to see an older manga character with tattoos and an interesting hobby (traveling). But I found him boring and a bit unlikeable. Which also soured my opinions on Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship.

It's cute, I'll continue reading as the chapters release. But I definitely don't consider this an amazing manga.

A light-hearted romantic story between a multilingual boy and a deaf girl, from Morishita-san (who made HibiChouChou)! I remember stumbling upon this when I was trying to find some shoujo mangas I haven't read yet and this one came up!

The art style of Morishita has extremely improved since Hibichouchou, and in my opinion, this is probably her best work yet.

Since writing this review, theres about 16 chapters so far, and I'm still invested lol! The story is great, its well-paced and doesn't have the "high school setting" and "extreme couple dynamic" cliches, feels like a breath of fresh air!

From the 1st chapter, ... I WAS HOOKED; the art is beautiful, pretty good characters, GREAT chemistry between the two leads (and so many cute moments!!), and overall such a feelgood manga!

Definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a new shoujo/romance manga read!

This manga is NOT a shameless reworking of Koe no Katachi (A silent voice). Its also not the token use of a deaf person in order to create novelty within the romance trope.

The story revolves around Yuki, a young college woman who is hearing impaired. We are immediately brought into her world and her everyday experience and challenges with interacting with those around her. She encounters Itsuomi and is impressed with how he doesn't treat her differently. How he attempts to communicate with her and then later connects her with others and with the world around her.

This anime is all about communication. Connection. Building bridges ... between different people, different cultures, different languages. There is a sweet sincerity, vulnerability and simple honesty that at times drew tears. But what REALLY impressed me was how the author, Suu Morishita, so successfully expresses emotions and how they are communicated. So much is conveyed in the art style. Special attention to detail is given to the hands, not only during sign language but all the times. And the eyes. Just one beautifully drawn look and you get it. As the author herself says "that a few simple lines and broad strokes" can convey a message.

I challenge you to see that which is not spoken. To look at how even the panel divisions sometimes tell you something. To read this manga slowly and in a quiet room. To read the author's notes on how seriously she was about conveying the correct hand signs. Her personal experience with deaf people. Her heartfelt attempt at being that bridge between those who can't hear and those who can.

Itsuomi is not JUST a pretty ikeman, he is the safe space the author wishes for Yuki to express herself. Don't for one moment think that people love him only because of his looks. He is the gentle and non-judgemental "best person we strive to be". Is it idealistic? Yes. Because essentially he is the perfect bridge the author wishes to build.

I do not wish to write spoilers, I simply would like for people to read this manga and reflect. To take it more seriously than just another love story. To consider just how much we say without saying a word.

I will not gush more, simply rate it 9/10

(Cette review est disponible en français un peu plus bas.)

Yubisaki to Renren could have been a great manga, too bad it's lacking everything a shoujo manga should have.

I love the idea of following a deaf character and not focusing on her handicap only. Yubisaki to Renren follows Yuki's daily life with her boyfriend and... that's it, I guess. Sure, she has friends such as Rin (uni student) or Oushi (childhood friend) but we know so little about them it feels like they don't even exist. Rin's only character trait is to be in love with Kyoya, Oushi's is to be jealous of Yuki and Itsuomi's ... relationship, Yuki's is to be in love with Itsuomi and Itsuomi's is... well... that is a very good question actually. All we know is that he's hot, popular and likes to travel. Which could have been great, again, but as nothing really interesting happens around his hobby it just feels like it's a detail. Maybe we'll learn more about this passion later, but I feel like after 5 boring volumes the author could have given us something. Sometimes he leaves, sometimes he's back but we don't know much about what he does when he's away.

This would have been fine if the romance was at least interesting but Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship feels extremely shallow. She falls in love because he's handsome, he falls in love because she's cute and it happens so quickly they were already going out before I could memorise their names. Yuki is cute but shy, like any boring shoujo protagonist and Itsuomi is just boring.

There are some good points: the art is really pretty and I love that this isn't just about Yuki's handicap but about her normal life, but it's not enough to make a good manga.

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Yubisaki to Renren aurait pu être un très bon manga, dommage qu'il lui manque tout ce qu'un shoujo devrait avoir.

J'adore l'idée de suivre un personnage sourd et de ne pas se concentrer uniquement sur son handicap. Yubisaki to Renren suit le quotidien de Yuki avec son petit-ami et... c'est tout en fait. Elle a des amis, comme Rin (une amie à l'université) et Oushi (son ami d'enfance), mais on en sait si peu sur eux que c'était comme s'ils n'existaient pas du tout. Le seul trait de caractère de Rin est d'être amoureuse de Kyoya et celui d'Oushi est d'être jaloux de la relation entre Rin et Itsuomi, celui de Yuki est d'être amoureux de Itsuomi et celui d'Itsumomi est... c'est une bonne question. Tout ce qu'on sait c'est qu'il est beau, populaire et qu'il aime voyager. Ce qui aurait pu être intéressant, encore une fois, mais comme rien ne se passe autour de ce hobby il donne l'impression d'être un détail. Peut-être qu'on en apprendra davantage sur sa passion plus tard, mais j'ai le sentiment qu'après 5 tomes d'ennui l'auteur aurait pu nous donner quelque chose à nous mettre sous la dent. Parfois Itsuomi part, parfois il revient, mais on ne sait pas vraiment ce qu'il fait quand il est ailleurs.

ça n'aurait pas été si grave si la romance avait au moins été intéressante, mais leur relation est terriblement vide. Elle tombe amoureuse parce qu'il est beau, il tombe amoureux parce qu'elle est mignonne et tout se passe si vite qu'ils étaient déjà en couple alors que je n'avais pas encore retenu leurs prénoms. Yuki est mignonne mais timide, comme n'importe quel protagoniste de shoujo ennuyant et Itsuomi est juste ennuyant.

Il y a quand même quelques points positifs : le dessin est vraiment beau et j'aime beaucoup que l'histoire ne soit pas juste centrée autour du handicap de Yuki, mais plus autour de son quotidien. Mais ce n'est pas suffisant pour faire un bon manga.

There has been more romance manga coming out with hearing impaired people. This is one of the few that are like that but with cute romance and compatibility between the leads!

The story focuses on the love that blossoms between a popular boy, Itsuomi and a cute girl, Yuki (who is hearing impaired).

Yuki's world changes as she interacts and falls in love with Itsuomi who shows her a different world than she had been in before. Both their worlds change as they learn and experience new things through each other's worlds.

This is one of the few romance manga that I don't find cliche and is well ... paced. I believe that with its current pace and interactions between the characters, readers will enjoy the story to its fullest.

Also, NO SECOND MALE LEAD SYNDROME SO IM ALL FOR IT (the childhood friend is amazing but he ain't even a competition tbh)

Story: 9/10

A new manga by Morishita Suu Sensei, popularly known for Hibi Chouchou.
Yubisaki to renren is about a girl who can’t hear and befriends someone from the same university who travels a lot. I don’t know much details as just 4 chapters are out. But so far it seems quite promising.

The art is great and has improved quite a lot compared to chouchou and short cake cake.
So if you’re picky about arts this is for you.

Really love the plot too so far. You wouldn’t really find the usual cliched moments and it’s really cool to see them converse using sign languages.
And I really like ... the female protagonist in Morishita sensei’s works. They’re really cute and soft spoken types. I don’t know but her works are so fluffy, haha

Looking forward to this series! :-)
As for the ratings, it’s based on the current chapters, might change later depending on how it goes!

First of all, the art of this manga is incredibly gorgeous!!! I am in love with all the character designs, and it's nice that the manga was pretty short and doesn't have any weird crazy drama.

Given that, while the subject matter was interesting, the story fall into the cliche shoujo traps (quiet cute girl caught the attention of a hot guy, and throw in some childhood friend and you got yourself a potential love triangle). There was barely any character development. The manga is more like a slice of life // romance but if you're looking for something more than the layer of fluffiness, there's ... not much underneath. The experience of reading this manga can be best described at eating whipping cream on a cake. Sweet, but not much substance.

That being said, it's definitely better than a lot of shojo out there with terrible dramatic plot contrivances. For shojo readers who are looking for somethign cute, it's a nice read. But for non-shojo manga reader, this would be a hard pass.

Are you looking for a light-hearted manga to serve as a palette cleanser between binges of your other series? Let me introduce you to this wonderful shoujo romance.

To put it simply, this is a manga about two people from different worlds who meet and begin to overcome the boundaries set by Yuki, the female lead's, deafness. Although not the most complex or unique manga to come out, it is easy to read and watching the characters grow closer is enjoyable. Both of the leads are likeable (although Yuki may come off as plain to some), and the side characters help to encourage their relationship. ... The art is beautifully drawn and as soft as the snowfall shown in the background of many of this manga's panels. There are some shoujo tropes present, but they are not overwhelming. In my opinion, much of this manga's charm comes from its light-hearted, fluffy nature that lends itself well to quiet, calm reading sessions. If you enjoy shoujo, romance, or slice of life stories, I highly recommend that you give this manga a try.

"Yubisaki to Renren" or "Sign of Affection" is a romance manga where the female protagonist is deaf. It's fairly rare to find manga dealing with disability, and when they do, it's often not done well. One of the problems is that it feels more like educational material about the disability than an actual story. I think "Yubisaki to Renren" has a bit of that, but mostly it does a really good job of just being a very cute, low-drama romance. The points I particularly like about it:

-The author clearly has done their research about what life is like for someone who is deaf, as the ... every day problems Yuki has are not always the types of problems hearing people would think about, such as her setting down dishes too hard (which a hearing person wouldn't do, because the noise makes it obvious you're being too rough with them.)

-Though there is some of the standard conflicts, like love rivals, this is handled in an unusually mature way, rather than the usual dramatic fashion. It makes Itsuomi look like a super good boyfriend.

-A lot of time is spent on Itsuomi's passion for languages and travel. I've noticed the more flimsy manga romances don't really pay much attention to the characters besides their relationship, and as a result the characters lack depth and their relationship feels superficial as they have nothing to talk about except how much they like each other.

If I have any criticism of it, I suppose it would be that I wish a bit more time were spent on developing Yuki's character beyond the fact that she's deaf. Unlike Itsuomi, as far as I've read, she isn't given any hobbies or passions of her own. Though at least she does have the ambition to get a part time job, so at least that's something.

For people who liked the “Silent Movie” anime adaptation like myself, this manga is absolutely worth checking out!

Basically it’s about a university girl who is deaf and meets a very handsome European guy (I think he’s German). The art is friggin gorgeous plus really colourful like props to Suu Morishita for designing the characters and representing the deaf community. Although there is the usual annoying trope of the love triangle going on but the main characters are just adorable. I feel like I’m repeating myself again but if you need some shoujo cuteness, this ones for you chaps!

By the way, thanks to Netgalley and Kodansha ... Comics for giving me the first volume of this manga! ❤️