A Sign of Affection, Vol. 4

ゆびさきと恋々 [Yubisaki to Renren] #4

by Suu Morishita, Christine Dashiell (Translator)

I want Itsuomi to take me with him into his world. Yuki is a Deaf college student who is captivated by and eventually falls for an upperclassman in her college, Itsuomi, who interacts with her naturally without paying any mind to her inability to hear. After making up her mind to face this love head on, Itsuomi asks her to go out with him, and the two become a couple. Yuki's taken one step into a whole new world, but where will it eventually lead to?

Genres: Manga, Romance, Contemporary, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Young Adult, Disability

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2021

About the author

MORISHITA Suu
Name (in native language): 森下ｓｕｕ

Blood type: A
Zodiac: Taurus

Mangaka duo: Story: Makiro (マキロ）, Illustration: Nachiyan (なちやん）

Favourite food: chicken nanban

Assistant: Aizawa Yuki-mei

Reviews

[Khadidja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read up to chapter 17 and this is the cutest sweetest most wholesome manga i've read in a while.
It follows 19 years old college student Yuki who is totally deaf (disabled rep yes!!) Who is just the cutest and the SWEETEST i just met her but if anything happens to her i will kill everyone and then myself she meets this gorgeous guy named Itsuoki AND WHAT A MAN HE IS he is just so gentle so caring and the most confident shoujo love interest i'ever read about and it's so sexy of him, so they meet and their friendship blooms and then it developpes into something more (? 👀)
And the art style is just so PRETTY every character is so hot 😭 what i'm trying to say if you're looking for a wholesome and enjoyable romance manga YUBISAKI TO RENREN IS THE ANSWER

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updated review 7/1/25: I don't know how many times I've reread this volume, but it wasn't until this recent reread that I realized just how many soft looks Itsuomi gives Yuki. There are SO many! He really is absolutely smitten with Yuki and I admire how deeply respectful and mindful he is of her and noticing she is still "tense."

Still continuing to deeply love this series even years later!

I CAN'T EVEN WITH HOW WONDERFUL THIS SERIES IS!!! I love it so much!!!

Updated Review 5/22/22: THIS IS SO PRECIOUS!!! *sobs happy tears* I can't even with the wholesomeness of this story! I love it so so so much!

Original Review 1/11/22: Precious as always! <3 <3 <3

Itsuomi really shines in this volume and feel we see him most relaxed then we have before. Yuki really sees him in his element and much of the things that take place in this volume reminds me of a certain scene from Kimi ni Todoke when Kazehaya tells Sawako he wants to "feel his future" with her. While I don't know if that is what Itsuomi is thinking or not (because yeah I agree with Yuki that he is still a mystery! LOL!), but gosh, I love how he is just so respectful of Yuki!! And his thoughtfulness!! Both him and Kyouya bring the swoon worthy vibes!

Lots and lots of wholeness in this volume and not even sure which part is my favorite. We are seeing more of a strong potential romance between two other characters and 100% here for it! That was a favorite and I think other would be the thing that Itsuomi does. That was SOOOOOO sweet and just really touched me as a reader at his thoughtfulness. While he has not said he loves Yuki verbally, I really feel his actions speak it. <3 (Though I need a verbal I love you at some point! LOL!)

Yuki is adorable as ever! I really admire her trying hard to get a job and just everything about her. SO precious!

The ending was a good turn of events! I'm not sure if I would say a plot twist, but now I'm desperate to know what will happen next because I wasn't expecting that!

5 out of 5 stars and as always, a desperation for the next volume! LOL!

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the main character, Yuki, and the way she is reacting to falling in love, but it is getting harder to ignore all the creepy little red flags that her romantic interest is giving off, from not respecting her space to repeatedly infantilizing her. The capper is a long conversation he has this volume with a friend about his ex-girlfriend right next to Yuki while purposely excluding her by way of her hearing impairment. The script actually has her feeling bad about about intruding on the conversation instead of addressing the rudeness of what is occurring.

Maybe it's the father in me, but my gut says this punk isn't good enough for Yuki.

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars ☆

i decided to start this manga randomly and i'm finally caught up with the recent chapter and i binged all eighteen chapters in one sitting because these characters had me invested in their story. 🥺🥺 the main plot is about this hearing-impaired girl, Yuki (19), and this guy who loves to travel, Itsuomi (22), who meet on a train when a stranger came to ask Yuki for help but, seeing as how she's not able to hear, Itsu comes to her rescue.

so far, not much drama has happened really, it's cute and wholesome and i'm livingg for it but i can already sense the kind of conflict these two will face within their relationship and i'm looking forward to see how that will play out. 👀 aside from the two main leads, i'm also interested to see Rin (Yuki's friend) and Kyouya's (Itsu's cousin/manager of the shop he works part-time at) relationship developing further cause they were pretty cute.

i haven't read much mangas, but i think this could definitely be the start for me. :')

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely an adjustment from the previous volume. I appreciate the way Itsuomi has been educating himself in order to better communicate with Yuki. While I’m not completely sold on their romance but I’m interested in seeing where it leads them into the future.

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was just like yuki w/ my first bf omg just so nervous and tense lol oh young love!
Also sign language camp - so cute!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS SERIES WITH MY WHOLE FRICKIN’ HEART!!!!

This is the sweetest, most wholesome manga I have ever read and I never ever want it to stop! My heart feels close to bursting with happiness and love for Yuki and Itsuomi - they have true couple goals!

RTC

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just really don't like the way Itsuomi treats Yuki, like she's a cute blown-glass animal rather than a human woman with a brain.

[VIKTORIA SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

ото я втиснула! чотири томи за пів дня...
шкода, що ще немає наступних українською

історія для підлітків більше, але розслабити мозок допомагає, а ще завдяки картинкам (які можна пів пропустити, бо там лише написані вигуки:)) читається моментально

[hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

how can two people be so perfect together

[౨ৎDOUAE౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way this manga makes my heart feel so warm and fluttery… I love it sm 😭💗.

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings:FMC hasn’t been able to hear since she was born

This is such a green flag couple, I love these two so much. Imma copy and paste the stuff I said in my other review so I can get to spoilers: Our FMC is deaf, I’m not sure if it is a trigger but I have added it just in case. The authors seem to have put a lot of research and the sign language is in Japanese. They have a whole process of how they figure out the sign language aspect of the manga which I found fascinating. The anime did a good job animating the sign language. Especially the different tones of sign language, some being soft and graceful while others are harsh and straightforward. I LOVE our FMC Yuki, she knows what she wants and goes for it. And Itsuomi our MMC has so much rizz, the guy is so handsome and dreamy. Some people have mixed thoughts on his actions but I personally think this guy is a walking green flag. They both communicate so there is drama but not as much as other mangas, this is more cute. Please do yourself a favour and watch the anime. Then come back and read the manga so we can fangirl together.


Yuki runs into Itsuomi in the subway and after a helpful interaction, she can’t get him off her mind. When she realizes the guy is someone in her friend’s class, she gets to know him.

Now for spoilers


We start where we left off at Shin’s place, Yuki and Itsu look over at Shin’s music collection. Shin asks if Yuki drinks and Itsu says she is 19 and they go to the same college. While Yuki and Itsu are faced away, Shin asks what music Yuki listens to. Since Yuki doesn’t hear him, she doesn’t answer and Itsu says she can’t hear so she doesn’t listen to music. Shin asks how they communicate and Itsu says that they text, she reads lips, or they use sign language. Shin has never seen Itsu act the way he does with Yuki. I love that everyone around Itsu is confirming that he acts differently around Yuki, it shows that he isn’t a playboy. Itsu is attentive to Yuki the entire time, asking if she wants to sit and holds her hand. Shin says that he will tell Emma but she will be upset since she has been in love with Itsu since high school. They all went to the same high school together. Shin asks Yuki if she likes Itsu and she is nervous since she hasn’t said it to Itsu yet. So she turns to Itsu who is staring at her and she makes the sign that she likes him. Shin can tell that they are both gone for each other. He makes them tea and while they talk, Yuki feels like they are talking about personal things and avoids looking at their mouths to eavesdrop. Itsu says how he hangs out with Kyo and a friend of theirs but he always tries to get Yuki alone, I love that he confirmed this. Shin asks if it is normal to ask a person out in other countries and Itsu says that they don’t usually confess before going out. He says he was never interested in dating before. On their way out, Shin says that Itsu needs to dye his roots again and says he will do it since Shin is a hairdresser. Shin tells Yuki to take good care of Itsu and Itsu calls Shin “My Shin,” so cute. Yuki noticed Itsu is more playful with Shin, his childhood friend. Shin calls Kyo to say he met Itsu’s girlfriend. He says he has never seen Itsu act like this in front of anyone. Shin asks if it would be okay to confess to Emma and Kyo is caught off guard. While Yuki and Itsu are walking, his friend Johannes from Germany video calls him. I love how Itsu didn’t hesitate to introduce Yuki to him. It’s so cute, he wants to tell all the people in his life that he has a girlfriend, he isn’t hiding Yuki away. Itsu translates a bit while his friend talks in German. His friend teases Itsu asking if he will stay in Japan since he has a girlfriend there. Once they are done talking, Itsu says they should go and eat. Itsu asks if Yuki misread his mouth earlier when he asked for a kiss, thinking he asked for a hug. Yuki says yes and he leans towards her and pinches her cheek, saying if he does this, that means he wants to kiss her. He says she can do the same to him but Yuki is flustered and says she can’t since it is embarrassing. Itsu tells her to get used to it, I love that he clears up misunderstandings. They go to a restaurant and Itsu uses sign language way more often.


Rin says she is sorry for not being able to take notes for Yuki since she is busy. Yuki has someone else taking notes for her now. Itsu pops up and puts his head on Yuki, he never hesitates to touch her in some way. He asks if Rin and Yuki want to go on a trip to the mountains. He says it can be a sign language training trip. I found it so sweet that he is making an effort to learn sign language and is even roping their friends into it. Yuki gets a text from her friend Madoka who is also deaf. She says she might have a job lined up for Yuki and will get back to her. Yuki and Rin meet at the mall and get matching outfits for the trip. Rin says someone at work is hitting on her but she doesn’t wanna be alone with him. She asks Yuki to try to get her alone time with Kyo on the trip. Itsu tells Yuki to sit in the front since he is driving. The guy looks so handsome driving, Yuki swoons. Rin says they can play a game where they write what they want or like and everyone can put their thumbs up if they agree. Then the next person would find a word with the last letter of the last word or something. After Yuki and Rin go, it is Itsu’s turn. He says he wants to travel abroad with his girlfriend. It was so swoony how he wants to spend time with Yuki, he always thinks of things he wants to do with her. Yuki feels sad since she doesn’t have a job yet and Itsu noticed her face. She gets a text from Madoka saying she will call soon with details about the job. They set up the tent and Itsu wastes no time asking Yuki to teach him different words, he and Rin would show Yuki different things and ask her to sign it. Kyo cooked and Itsu feeds Yuki while everyone tells him to stop showing off his girlfriend. Kyo asks to go on a walk with Rin after they eat. While they are on their walk, Yuki seems a bit down since she is thinking about Madoka and the job. Itsu goes into the river to try fishing and Yuki follows him. She is cold and he picks her up, he acts like he is going to drop her and Yuki grips onto him. They both laugh and the moment is so endearing and cute, I can’t get over these two.


Rin and Kyo are walking and are happy for Itsu and Yuki, Kyo asks if Rin has someone in her life. Right then, Rin gets a call from the coworker hitting on her. The guy asks if she has time to talk and Rin says if this is about asking her out, her answer is no. The guy asks if she has someone and Rin says she has someone she likes. Kyo says that he had a feeling Rin gets hit on. Rin says that she only dated once in high school. Kyo says his last relationship was 6 years. He finds dating a bit of a burden cuz of the whole process, tryna get them to call and meet up. Rin feels sad but Kyo asks her who she likes. We go back to Yuki and Itsu, they are both sitting down and Itsu is warming up Yuki’s feet. He asks her if something is bothering her since he noticed from the car ride. I love that Itsu is observant and checks in on Yuki. Yuki says that she hasn’t gotten a job yet so she is nervous. Itsu says he never meant to pressure her by saying he wanted to travel with her. Yuki says she does want to travel with him and Itsu is glad that is resolved. He is so cuddly with her, putting his head in her lap and then pinching her cheek to kiss her. Yuki closes her eyes and he kisses her cheek, Yuki doesn’t want the day to end. Itsu asks if she wants to come to his place later since he doesn’t want to say bye to her just yet. Right then, Rin and Kyo show up since Rin twisted her ankle. When Kyo asked if she liked someone, she confirmed that she liked him. But she says he finds dating annoying and Kyo says he wouldn’t find it annoying if it is her. Kyo felt lame while talking to Rin and she defended him, that’s when she tripped a bit right after she confessed. Rin says she feels lame for tripping but Kyo says that he thinks she is cute. Kyo and Rin are headed to the hospital so Yuki and Itsu go to the convenience store before heading to his place. Yuki texts her mom saying she is staying at Rin’s place for the night.


Oushi has his friend Izumi over with her dog and she says that she saw Yuki with a blonde guy that looked like her boyfriend. Oushi thinks that Yuki and Itsu will break up at some point. Izumi says that Itsu knows sign language implying that it is clearly serious. She says that it is sad to see Oushi this way and leaves, I think she has a crush on him. Oushi calls Yuki while she is at Itsu’s place and Itsu sees the call, it looked like it bothered him. I’m always curious about Itsu’s thoughts, everyone finds him so mysterious. He gives Yuki his hoodie and is undressing when Yuki tells him to go to another room by pushing him since she is flustered. He takes a shower and then gives Yuki her phone, asking if anything is bothering her. Yuki is confused as to why Oushi called her and moves on, she doesn’t talk to Itsu about it, I think he wanted her to. Itsu shows Yuki the shower and tells her where everything is. He left his clothes for her to wear and once she is done, he takes her to his room. Yuki found the sign language notebook she made him and Itsu wrote so many notes, he has been studying in his free time. Seriously, this guy keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. He says he always has movies he watches at night to learn different languages. He lets her choose a movie and says they can watch with subtitles. While they are watching, he holds her close and puts a blanket on her. Yuki gets a call from Madoka who says that her aunt has a job lined up for her. She speaks fast as she signs and Itsu is shocked at how quick she is. I love how he invited himself in to the call and Madoka is shocked Yuki has a boyfriend. He says he is learning sign language. Madoka says she will call again with details for the interview. Itsu congratulates Yuki on the job and Yuki feels like all her dreams become a reality around Itsu. She puts the blanket on Itsu and he kisses her hand. This moment had my heart fluttering, he kisses her wrist and then looks at her, ready to kiss her. He says that Yuki is tense and kisses her quick. Yuki thinks that he didn’t pinch her cheek this time. I don’t think it bothered her since she seemed happy but I guess she was caught off guard. Yuki thinks that her heart will never stop beating fast around Itsu.


Itsu says that he will sleep on the couch and she can sleep on the sofa. Yuki wonders if this is how people do it in other countries. While she is in bed, Itsu texts her saying he was happy he spent the day with her. Yuki says she feels the same way and asks if this is how sleepovers are normally done. Itsu gets out of bed and sits in front of Yuki, I love how anytime Yuki seems unsure of something, he resolves it.


He can tell that Yuki was stiff with his physical affection, so he wants her to get used to it. He says that Yuki is precious to him so he isn’t gonna rush things. He says their real sleepover can happen some other day. He is so fucking sweet with her, he wants to make sure Yuki feels safe with him. The next day, Itsu sees Oushi who starts signing to him. Itsu asks what his deal is with Yuki and Itsu asks if they really have to do this now. Oushi says he knows Itsu can understand sign language now. Itsu asks if Oushi is free and Oushi says it is none of his business. Itsu puts his arm around Oushi and takes him away while Oushi protests. As we read more and more, Yuki and Itsu’s feelings grow for each other. I cannot wait to catch up to where I was in the anime to see what happens next with these two, I am so close!


Stay safe folks!

[Suppi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I already say that this story makes my face hurt from smiling at every volume????? My GOD.

[Apathetic Witch · Rating 2 out of 5]

My skin is crawling over how fast Itsuomi's moving.
If any young lady is reading this and thinks this is romantic, take a tip from auntie Apathetic: please go out and touch some grass. This is gross.
Even his friends are telling him he's being weird and he's got an excuse for everything.
And the friend literally talking shit in front of the deaf girl? "I thought your next girlfriend would be a foreigner". Sir, you're getting punched.

[Jessica ❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

When he said she is precious to him, I cried, I giggled, I kicked my feet, I died inside. Omg this is THE CUTEST manga ever and I am still obsessed. I just ordered a sticker off of Etsy of them together to put in my Kindle case. 😅😍

[Rin ⭐️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

" take me everywhere with you"

تطور علاقتهم وايد حلو ولطيف :( 💗

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do they keep staying so cute??? Every single book....I love it. This one has a mountain trip for the two couples (ish) and it is just so sweet. Ends with a sleepover at Itsuomi's place. Non stop swooning.

[Zainab · Rating 4 out of 5]

literally me whenever i pick up this manga: 🌈🦋💖🥺✨💞🌸💗💫🩷🦄☺️🌷🩵🌟🥰🌼💕🧚‍♀️🧁🫶💐🌙🌤️🧸💝💓

[ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

they’re soooo cute 🥲❤️

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful and wonderful and moving on to the next book o7

[Annadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

RAHHHHHHHHHH

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

These have to be the most loveable characters in fiction!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Integrating into somebody’s life as their significant other isn’t always easy, and Yuki’s deafness provides another wrinkle to that experience. Itsuomi is nothing if not accommodating, possibly too much so, as the pair end up spending the night at his place after a little camping excursion offers a break from the norm…

In what is perhaps something I should have seen coming (and a friend pegged much earlier), this series has, not surprisingly for a Suu Morishita book, a real problem in its male lead. And it’s enough that I question how much better this series would be without him.

First off, Itsuomi is duller than a rusty nail. He seems like a zombie with a penchant for international travel and he’s somehow incredibly uninteresting. Plus, the way he looks at Yuki is downright creepy at times.

This is one instance where I legitimately think that the writing of the character is breaking down rather than the character inherently being a write-off (so to speak). Either way, it remains a fact that this relationship still isn’t working for me like it should.

Part of the problem is that I think for all the attempts at making Yuki feel normal, this is so far translating as Itsuomi being too perfect and this book constantly pulling its punches in terms of showing any difficulty for the pair. He’s SO good (supposedly) that I’m innately suspicious of him on general instinct (too many years of TV mysteries will do this to you).

When is this book best? Same as when the series is best - when it is about Yuki and how she integrates with the world as somebody who can hear very little of it. The way the book conveys her hearing is always so, so good and we’ve already seen how satisfying it is when she goes up against (and triumphs over) adversity rather than has somebody just paving the way.

I’m more invested in her getting a job and what that will entail and the secondary relationship between Rin and the bartender than anything involving Smirky McPerfect and his bottomless fount of acceptance. It might be my imagination, but I do think in his attempts at treating her like an equal and doing so much for her I am starting to also get a whiff of condescension.

There’s a moment when Yuki pulls on Itsuomi’s shirt and he goes wide eyed in that cute chibi style that Yuki’s frequently drawn in and it’s like his soul briefly reanimated his body for a second and the most relatable he’s ever been. He’s never surprised or much of anything and this shows how leaden he normally presents as a result.

It’s not all bad - the camping trip is a lot of fun and the relationships of the other characters are fine, but the relationship at the fore is a real pain in the aft some times. I’m more keen to learn more about Yuki’s new note taker than I am Itsuomi. I will give him credit for properly rolling his eyes and saying ‘are we really doing this’ to the expected reveal of childhood rival friend.

3.5 stars and you may be shocked that I am nudging this up, but it comes down to Yuki. She is amazing and when we see how she adapts to her hearing loss it’s always fascinating and seeing the world through her eyes is wonderful. I just honestly wish she was looking at something more interesting.

[Tbirdplanstoread · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars

I was not happy about this one. So, they are supposed to be dating, but he is treating her like his property, and not even bothering to ask her about things before doing them...also, taking her to Shin's place and pretty much keeping her out of the entire conversation was extremely shitty. Then, right after, making her join that video call with his friend in Germany was just tasteless. Not only was it a different language that she didn't speak, she again was left out of the conversation. That whole part of the book really just pissed me off. Also, the "friend" from childhood dude...he is awful. He is doing the exact same thing, acting like she belongs to him, even though he is clearly just a child and throwing a tantrum bc he can't have his way...one more thing...the camp idea. While I can see that the folks around her are wanting to learn sign language, they can't expect her to be able to teach them a crash course in the mountains. They need to try to learn on their own. Her friend Rin I'm actually shocked that she doesn't already know some bc of how much they hang out. That's really sad to me.

This story needs to get better quickly.

[Saga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel pretty much the same about this volume as I did about the last. The characters’ personalities still feel really bland to me, especially Itsuomi’s. I kind of prefer all the other guys in this series to him, they just seem more interesting. I also don’t like how he’s always so expressionless.
In a review for the previous volume someone pointed out how Yuki doesn’t have a thought that doesn’t revolve around Itsuomi, and when I read this volume I couldn’t unsee it. I also don’t really see any chemistry between Yuki and Itsuomi — Yuki always gets so uncomfortable when they’re close that it’s almost painful to watch. I get that it might be realistic but I still don’t enjoy it. I can’t help wondering why these two even like each other. It also feels like there’s some sort of power imbalance between them that I can’t quite put my finger on, she just feels a lot younger than him in a way?

[D E N Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I really have nothing else to say about this but constant praise. You can really see here how Itsuomi truly cares for Yuki, but that's not the only exciting development here. For starters, we also see some exciting development from Kouya and Rin; Shin also plans on telling Emma his true feelings, and lastly, this volume ended with Oushi and Itsuomi having a talk over Yuki. Overall, another great volume. Thank you, Morishita-sensei!

[Aqua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still unsure on this series. Neither couple feels like they're on equal footing; Itsuomi and the bar owner both have outside lives and hobbies and career aspirations, while Yuki and Rin's only character trait is that they're in love. It feels sexist and unfair. Also, I'm with Oushi that Itsuomi still kind of gives me creepy, possessive vibes and he's a hard sell as the main love interest for me.

[Charity (Booktrovert Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not loving the MMC in this one. He is showing some red flags. Like pushing our FMC to stay over at his place. Her being innocent and all, is just going a long with it. Hopefully he doesn't step over any boundaries.

[Alexa (Alexa Loves Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel nothing but pure delight when I read a new volume in this series 😍

[Kesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Precious volume!