© 森下suu・講談社/ゆびさきと恋々a作委員会
One of the things I love about romance novels is when the characters are allowed to spend time together. So much of romance media can get so caught up in the fever of first love or the will-they-won’t-they drama that we lose track of real romance. Most of us will never have dramatic love confessions in the pouring rain or failed weddings and scream “I object” at the last second. If we were so inclined, we would most likely date other people and hang out with them, learning about each other and forging connections through simple, mundane interactions. That’s where the magic happens, and the sparks of attraction can ignite into the burning passion of love.
It’s great that after their surreal date at Costco, Itsuomi and Yuki spend most of this episode just , like, chatting. Despite Yuki’s nervousness at being casually invited to his place, once the two feel comfortable and communicating, they build a relationship easily that is fun to watch. It’s cute how Itsuomi keeps various currencies from all the countries he’s been to, and seeing him share all the mementos he’s collected is a valuable insight. at his most disinterested. Yuki explaining how her family contacted her—and her decision not to tell him about her voice-related discomforts—was perhaps my favorite moment of the entire episode. There’s intimacy in learning more about someone, especially someone you love, but that intimacy also requires a level of trust and security that doesn’t always keep up with the butterflies in your stomach. .
That makes it all the sweeter when Yuki has a moment of being defenseless and finally lets Itsuomi hear her voice for the first time. You can practically see the sparkle in his eyes when he realizes it’s something about her that he’s never witnessed before. I also really admire these two people writing down their conversation. There’s just something remarkable about following their conversation and then seeing it all there, like a road map of the small but meaningful journey they took while talking . In the same sense, Yuki’s way of writing down her reaction to Itsuomi’s hand is a unique way to build further intimacy, combining the necessary focus on the hand in sign language with the the romance of holding hands and kissing hands to create something…that works. at the visceral level. That’s a good thing that helps the film build a warm atmosphere as our central couple becomes closer and closer.
Of course, there’s still some drama, although the episode thankfully resolves that quickly. I liked that Emma’s initial attempt at drama failed, only for her to accidentally succeed by handing over the house keys to Itsuomi at the wrong time. If we have someone intentionally misleading then at least they can be funny about it. However, to Emma’s supposed shock, Rin still went on to become Wing-Woman’s MVP by immediately bringing in Itsuomi to clear things up, and I can’t thank her enough enough. It’s normal for characters to be clingy or petty and cause trouble, but when a misunderstanding is this blatant, it’s much more satisfying to see our main couple resolve it promptly with Realistic communication—especially when communication is the central theme of the entire story.
Now the question is where do these two go from here, now that Yuki has confessed all but name. There are still a lot of lingering concerns about Itsuomi’s personality, but considering the kiss on her slender finger at the end of the episode, the question of romantic interest is answered. So are they… dating? Feeling things out? How would others react if they did? That’s yet to be announced, but if A Sign of Affection can continue to deliver warm and fuzzy fumes like this, I’ll be happy.
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A Sign of Affection is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.