The Power of Print Media: A Sign of Affection's Mastery of the Medium

Hi, I'm back!

In some ways, I’ve never left – still constantly reading, watching, discussing, thinking about anime and manga. Still podcasting weekly with the broski. But I’m back to writing thanks to A Sign of Affection (Yubisaki to Renren), which captivated me years ago and has me in its clutches once again. I’ve always liked this manga (I started reading it on the Crunchyroll Manga app in 2021 and then fan translations when the app was gone) and adored the 2024 anime, but reading through the Kodansha USA print volumes I recently bought on sale for my birthday absolutely floored me. My Kawaii Life is here to tell you why!

For the Yubisaki uninitiated, the manga centers around 19-year-old deaf college student, Yuki, and her mundane but meaningful journey through life. It focuses on her unique obstacles and the struggles and joys she faces crafting new relationships, especially with her crush-turned-boyfriend Itsuomi, a fellow university student and backpacker looking to travel the world. Watching their opposite worlds collide is borderline addictive – they both captivate each other in a beautiful way that resonates off the page. The art is great, the panel layouts are simple but effective, and the romantic moments are tender and endearing in a very personal way. This ain’t shoujo trash, my people! This manga is good in so many ways.

And I’m not even here to talk to you about the story! I want to brag about the publication, specifically the translation, localization, and editing of the English print version. Can you believe it?

I usually prefer fan translations to official ones – they feel less formal, localized in an approachable way, and it's a marvel to watch devoted fans put a lot of care into the work to make it a seamless reading experience. I am not a pirate (I own over 400 volumes of manga) but I do like reading a bit of a manga online to know if I like a series before I purchase. Or, if I read a series from an author online in the past, I will buy another one of their series without the “test run” to show support. I read Strobe Edge online and own all of Ao Haru Ride. It happens. Sometimes, reading fan translations is the perfect way to open up your mind to more stories without the monetary shackle (just buy something eventually!).

But what if I told you buying Yubisaki is worth the investment? Why, you ask? The manga immerses you in Yuki's disability and life experience through innovative visual and written cues that makes the print experience absolutely fascinating!

Yuki does a lot of lipreading and writing to communicate to characters in the story who do not know Sign Language. In the anime version, when someone is talking to her and she doesn't understand, the voice actress says a line: "Oh! I didn't get that" or “I didn’t understand.” This technique is for the viewer to understand her situation because we can hear and read everything loud and clear; Yuki has a stark separation from the audience, as she does with the rest of society. In the manga, to portray Yuki’s experience as closely as possible, letters or words in the phrases she misreads get flipped and inverted. Yes, the reader can still figure them out, but it gives such a strong visual cue to help you get into Yuki’s head. She didn’t catch that, she’s confused about what just happened, and, most importantly, she doesn’t have to tell you what just took place. We’re in her shoes. We know she missed it. What an innovative way to try to get the audience to relate to an experience we, hopefully, will never have to have. (excuse my low quality pictures)

The English print volumes also have extensive translation notes, most times over 3 pages long, explaining Japanese and Sign Language puns, how certain aspects of Japanese Sign Language differ from American, and a bunch of typical manga cultural aspects. The mangaka themselves (they are a duo) are not deaf, but they are working with a consultant who is helping with the Sign Language illustration and providing context for the author’s notes so the manga is as educational and accurate to real life as possible. 

All parties involved in this project are putting a lot of effort and care to make Yubisaki stand out. I wholeheartedly applaud them! What a stellar, stellar job! Buy this! Read this! It's so good!

Hoping to post more musings again for my animanga folks. Thanks all for having me back 🙂