The Complex Representation of A Sign of Affection

[@SistahPunkStudios]

Also, when there are so many romance anime that has damn near their entire plotlines, held up by frustratingly simple misunderstandings, it’s refreshing to have an anime that revolves around communication 😅

[@TheAnimeTea]

AGREED! so refreshing to see a series handle communication and miscommunication in a new light!

[@CandyThePuppy]

I recommended a friend "A Sign of Affection" and he accidentally watched "A Silent Voice." The reason i recommended A Sign of Affection to him was because he was just getting into anime and i wanted him to start with something fluffy and sweet. 😭

[@Aaron-kp6kp]

That’s hilarious Poor guy’s first anime is a movie of depression and relatability

[@TheeQuirkyPanda]

A Silent Voice BROKE ME... BROKE ME!

[@averagetwinkenjoyer]

That's fucking hilarious.

[@ruriva4931]

A silent voice is also pretty god recommendation. Since it’s a movie it’s shorter and less of a time investment for beginners.

[@CandyThePuppy]

@@ruriva4931 ok so the main reason I went "💀" about that is because I KNOW how dark A Silent Voice gets, and the person I "accidentally?" recommended it to is both younger than me and like the most innocent, wholesome person on this planet. It would be like recommending a five year old The Human Centipede bro.

[@ErotiCheezBread]

[Manga Spoilers Incoming] At the beginning, I thought Yuki had a messed up home life when it was revealed her parents didn't speak sign language. But later, when Itsuomi meets her parents, it's revealed that they deliberately didn't learn sign language so that she would get good at lip-reading and connect easier with others outside of the deaf community. It was a really eye-opening thing to me that parents have to choose between 1. Being accomodating to their deaf child, learning sign language, and potentially creating distance between their child and society by putting them in a bubble, or 2. Not learning sign language to make sure your deaf child practices interacting with those that don't know sign langauge from a young age. They chose to be less accomodating out of their own way of love, although I'm sure the things you said about the stigma in Japanese society also ring true and it really contextualizes things. Great video!

[@idontneedaname318]

Most parents of dead kids don't learn ASL. Source. Neither of my parents did and both me and my sister are dead

[@ANETTEBEJARANO]

@@idontneedaname318 ah yes

[@solunastra9497]

as much as i can understand their logic, it’s fucked up that they didn’t learn their child’s language.

[@Fuyoflo]

@@idontneedaname318 my condolences

[@itsgusco]

​​@@FuyofloI'm sure they meant deaf😭

[@kaylac349]

Man I was all for the childhood friend till he showed his ableism 💀

[@hel2727]

I mean, at first I thought that he might just be immature, stubborn and a "tsundere" of a sort, but he just kept doing more and more annoying things so I gave up 💀

[@GeoX_Boss]

You can tell him "go cry about it" and he will lol.

[@lattecreamsoda]

Itsuomi has always been the better choice.

[@tris23-bb2zk]

Same 🙃🙃​@@hel2727

[@mirusasaki]

None of them were the better choice. Both of them were acting for their own selfish reasons with the preface of "protecting" Yuki.

[@moustik31]

Parents/family members not learning sign language is also common in other Western countries, not just Japan.

[@trika91]

Yes. My uncle on my mother’s side is deaf and none of my relatives (namely his parents and sisters/my grandparents, mom, and aunts) learned Sign Language. He mainly communicated with them by lip reading and vocalizing his words as best he could; he learned ASL through schools for the hard of hearing. All his relationships, outside of his family, were equally hard of hearing or knew ASL. My only known relatives that know ASL and can properly communicate with him (sometimes acting as translators) are his own kids.

[@howperfectlycurious1440]

Ansolutely. I have several Deaf friends who use sign language, and most of their parents haven’t learned sign language.

[@NeverAskedtobeMade1390]

I think another manga series that deals with disability in Japan pretty well is Love's in Sight. The main lead is blind and it focuses on her living her life in a society that doesn't really think about people with disabilities. There's a romance, but the focus is more about how she and her friends navigate life. The love interest really wants to be that savior for Yukiko and her friends, but they're constantly shutting him down and showing him that they don't need saving, which is a nice twist to that trope imo. I've been loving A Sign of Affection both the anime and manga, but it's certainly not without its criticisms, all of which have been brought up in you amazing and detailed video!

[@TheAnimeTea]

another series to add to the list! Thank you for sharing!

[@NeverAskedtobeMade1390]

@@TheAnimeTea No problem! It's also only 8 volumes and the final two volumes should be coming out this year, so it's not the biggest commitment manga has to offer. 😊

[@kiing.diimon4984]

@@TheAnimeTea Hey uh I’ve read that Ranking of Kings actually has some pretty bad anti Korean messaging. I’m no expert on the subject but I thought maybe that’s something important enough to bring to your attention 😭

[@candiirabbit]

I love Love's in Sight! It's very good about showing that we shouldn't baby other people and treat each other as individuals since a lot of people look at disabled people as lesser or always needing to be helped. Along with having a cute and fun romance.

[@jayneb6053]

This manga is so good and really open your eyes on both side.

[@MrMarinaMalina]

I hope that most people who emphasise with Ouishi are very young and will understand when they grow up how much of an ableist red flag he is. Doesn’t mean he can’t grow and change later but in the anime he is not even being a friend to Yuki

[@Reverse_Cat_Cowgirl]

Wym by young? The character himself was young, (like a freshman?) I think that's why they empathize with him.

[@LunaBloodWolf]

@@Reverse_Cat_Cowgirl he's not that young , he's in his 20s. hes still young enough to learn from how he's acting towards her, but he's not a hs freshmen if thats what you think, we see him drinking beer in the show. also i think OP means the people who relate to oushi are young, not oushi himself (not to say that he isn't, but again he's in his 20s)

[@MrMarinaMalina]

Yes, I meant people who relate to him. Actually, I think it’s totally valid to relate to the sadness of unrequited love and missing your chance to take the first step. I was talking about the people who root for him and think Ouishi would be a good fit for Yuki. For what is or is not “young”, I was thinking about teenagers, so below 20

[@xum0007]

@@Reverse_Cat_Cowgirlyeah he doesn’t look 20, he looks more like 16, but he’s a grown adult lol.

[@rihana_1604]

@@MrMarinaMalina even teenagers would be able to understand. coming from a teenager. literally one of the first things he said was "they should stay where they're safe to stay out of danger" that said enough about his character and the way he kept criticising yuki for going to college

[@mari98_]

Childhood friend was giving #NiceGuy from the jump I was not feeling him 😭

[@Snormite]

So your problem with him is the fact that he's nice enough to the point of learning sign language to communicate with her better and NOT the fact that he's ableist? Do women really despise nice guys that much?

[@Rosy345c]

⁠@@Snormite I don’t think you get it. The person meant that Oushi’s actions from the beginning came across as him being accommodating to Yuki (learning sign language) wasn’t something out of the goodness of his heart, but rather him trying to just make Yuki pay attention to him and only him, as he was the only one who could communicate with her. Nice Guys, specifically, are men who pretends to be a nice, caring and understanding person different from other men and feels entitled to women’s attention because “they’re not like the other guys who treat them like shit”. Not all men are like this,obviously , but they are men who do! Of course Oushi is ableist, every one with a single braincell knows that, but they’re talking about their first impression of Oushi.

[@Meow-tp4op]

@@Rosy345cyou ate and left no crumbs 🍽️😌

[@Mononkey]

⁠@@Snormitewhere did they say that? What a weird comment

[@anna.owo.]

​@@Rosy345c he is definitely not a nice guy, he doesn't pretend to be nice, he comes as mean to most people. He is possessive and protective, i will say he was kinda right about men taking advantage of her, the mc at first was very touchy with her which i didn't like, his biggest problem is his ableist comments.

[@largojunkie]

I think Yukis isolation in society shows how far society need to improve to include the deaf and hard of hearing including myself, particularly in employment. I can relate to Yukis frustration in finding diffcult to find a Job or reach into the world. I think only focusing on Yukis deafness and what she struggles with would be entirely reductive, The show clearly shows a young women who is determined to break out of shell and reach goals. She works hards but struggles due to mainly the ignorance and ableism of others. That doesn't her make less of a person but it means she has needsly struggle on her own because of other unwilling to make simple accommodations for lovely and hardworking indervidual. I am so glad she was able to work with her friends aunt who accepts her wholeheartly. I feel this is realistic as in my experience people in tend to have negative bias and have often spend a lot of time nit picking instead of focusing on solutions. Yukis personal struggles are difficult but she has overcome a lot of them and no reason to believe she wouldn't continue to overcome them. People do what they need to do and find way. In terms of Itsuomi Nagi learning sign language is different from Oushi as it shown in the shown that he has deep desire to connect to others. Its possible that he was felt alienated due to being different at times which may also help him to understand Yuki. Also people who move around a lot like him tend to find it diffcult to make lastign friendships due to the out of sight of out of mind effect. Also moving around and adapting to different cultures and expectations is a hard task so I think himself and yuki are very much suited for each other. Sorry for the rant the Job situation makes remember issues I had in the past due my previously undiagnosed autism.

[@Noname.cu.07]

i don get why i didnt saw yet any comment talking about the reasons behind yukis purity. I mean, we know the circunstances of her life and her experience with relationships. Its totally understandable why she seem naive and fulled with surprising pure toughts and feelings, she hasnt been expose to harsh things or complicated dinamics with people, she had a simple and healthy enviroment. I dont say that she had a simple life, its very well shown the struggles of her disability, what i mean is that she hasnt experience that many things at the time we meet her. she was in a kinda of bubble but she is in her way to descover the world, so why wouldnt she be the way she is? i think this case is not a case of intended infantilization of her personality as a cliché but a coherent way to portray the enhances of who she is taking in consideration her past and lifestyle.Also I think the reason why the ml is so constant pointing that traid of her is cause, as we know he has a lot of experience dealing with people and know a lot of them, so for him is rare to see that kind of innocence, the innocence of someone who has a lot of curiosity and eyes full of wonder, he wants to be a teacher so it seems he values that trait of humanity, so i dont know why they say its weird, he just found the values he apreciate in a woman, no wonder why he was so quickly interested in her, among other things.

[@astraphobia3882]

OMG EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING

[@dani3la3]

I think the criticism on that stems from the ml specifically associating her personality directly with her disability. To him it's because she can't hear that he thinks she is more innocent, he explicitly says this in the manga when asked what he likes about her. Ofc its fine for her to be curious and innocent and happy, many people with disabilities can have that type of personality, also most shoujo fl's are that way. The difference is that disabled people are seen in society as lesser and we are consistently infantilized which is very harmful so when people are like "omg representation" and its a character and they see those stereotypes its not just about "not watching if you don't like it" it can perpetuate those stereotypes and views to hearing and abled viewers who will probably not do more research, over-romanticize and not listen to the people who are actually in the community and just want to share their perspective so people can understand what we deal with everyday.

[@TheChaoticAsexual]

Loved the fan feedback section of this! Especially with a story like this that deals with marginalized identity, I love hearing what people from that community feel about it and how important good representation is!

[@MissSun23]

hello! i am Sun. Thanks for including me in the video! I haven't gotten the chance to watch the full video yet, but I'll come back to it. More about the events described at 23:25 (TW: violent crime, ableism) . . . . I also wanted to add that Satoshi Uematsu, perpetrator of the Sagamihara Ableist massacre notably stated that he belived that "disabled people who could not communicate well had no human rights." Which reinforce the aspect of Yuki being reached and respected, and given her own space to communicate and navigate her world. The crime happening in summer of 2016, I can fully picture it inspiring Suu Morishita in their brainstorming of the series.

[@TheAnimeTea]

thank you for your continued insight Sun!

[@lookalivebrett]

I started writing romance because of this story.

[@Milenia_]

What's your romance story about?😮

[@badger-1984]

I've been looking forward to this video since the community post. I was struggling to get my thoughts in order at the time, especially as I'm not disabled so didn't feel comfortable commenting. I'm glad to see that a lot of my thoughts have been reflected by the comments. I've seen plenty of people defending Oushi which didn't sit right with me so I'm glad to see that other people had similar feelings about him being ableist. And similar feelings with Itsuomi sometimes blocking Yuki's view making me feel a bit uncomfortable. I think the series does some things really well too and I did enjoy the series. If it's getting people thinking about these issues more and having conversations then that's a good thing

[@toomuchpassion2361]

I really love "A Sign of Affection." The manga is amazing and I loved the anime too. I really hope we get a second season. Yuki is such an amazing main female lead and I love her perspective on this. I love how the manga shows her perspective as just hers, and we the readers are left to figure out how we feel about the information we have absorbed.

[@SheTouchedGrass]

i think, in their own ways, both Itsuomi and Oushi are paternalistic in the way they treat yuki. its just that oushi is outwardly more abrasive and that automatically makes Itsuomi seem more likeable. The most clear example is the scene at the subway station when Itsuomi was blocking Yuki's line of vision. That did not sit right with me.

[@justacarbuncle]

I understand where you’re coming from and ngl same. But I do think it’s supposed to be implied that it was a personal conversation between them. Not that it would make things right in fact I would still say he’s wrong in this situation but everyone has flaws/has done something not great

[@GeazakiCosplay]

I like that Itsuomi is not perfect either. He's human, he makes mistakes, he can be petty too, but I see him as making an actual effort to understand yuki and respects her. I also had a lot of doubts with the guy up until the "It wouldn't matter when or where we met. I'd fall for Yuki and choose her every time" line. That like sold me. Oushi is just abelist and posessive, I think Yuki would be miserable in a relationship with him.

[@citruscomb]

Aaa I'm so happy to see this video. Topics of disability and ableism are so often left out discussions and spaces in general. I really appreciate your research and inclusion of feedback from disabled and/or deaf people. I personally found sign of affection a while ago while specifically looking for manga involving disability, but didnt get very far just because...its not really my preferred genre haha! Nonetheless I really enjoyed watching this video and it made me grin a good bit. I may add that fantasy anime with the prince to my watchlist..!! Thank you for all of this :)

[@StonedHunter]

I haven't even seen the full series yet but every clip I've seen of Oshi makes my skin crawl. He's ableist as hell, infantilizes Yuki all the time, and is WAY too possessive of her and it drives me nuts when I see huge comment sections of people romanticising him and wanting him to find love (that i don't think he's earned because he's a prick). It's nice to know that was the intent cuz sometimes the internet really makes me feel like I'm losing my mind when it comes to men infantalizing women they're attracted to, disabled or not, but it has that layer of ableism that just really makes your skin crawl once you really see it.

[@KatiCleo]

Honestly I really like A Sign of Affection (esp the manga) because it is very unapologetic about what it is: a low stakes, slow burner, chill romance. No huge drama, no anxiety inducing misunderstandings, just exploring all the facets of a romance between a deaf girl and a guy who travels around the world. Also I love that as many others said it depicts a lot of lived realities that ppl who are deaf and hard of hearing deal with and also the variety of sentiment there is, for example, Oushi's casual ableism disguised as care, or Yuki wearing a hearing aids despite not actually hearing even with it, or her friend who was not born deaf so she speaks when she signs and how they sign super fast together. Or even how her family who we clearly see kind of complacent in treating Yuki "the same" as them by not learning sign language and not really accommodating to her difference (THIS IS A MEDIUM SIZED SPOILER FOR THE MANGA AFTER THE PARTS COVERED BY THE ANIME SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH IF U DONT WANNA READ) get shocked when her brother's ex essentially leaves him because she's afraid of potentially giving birth to a deaf person. They obviously had chosen to not think of her disability or what it means socially at all up till the point when it became a problem to them, which then made them very pessimistic about her future. I like A Silent Voice (the manga, not so much the film tbh), but I felt weary of the fact that it was the main piece of anime media that discussed deafness, as it basically centers on the bully's redemption arc and is a bit of a trauma porn situation imo. (still good, but eh i wont go into it). The two have nothing in common but Im glad the anime industry is actually including shows with different perspectives, like deaf and hard of hearing people, and doing them justice.

[@Ms.Night_time]

I'm so happy I watched this video as a non-disabled person, this not only helped answer so many of my questions but helped me understand disabled people. I will admit I romanticize the thought of taking care of a disabled person and treating them like a child due to Anxiety but I'm glad that I came to understand the harm of that type of mindset. (Not that taking care of ppl is bad ofc not what I meant) Thank you to the comment section for opening my mind more.

[@BrattyBatDesigns]

Realizing my husband is Ouishi is kind of wild. This video really opened up my eyes.

[@anuvedantham7689]

i love that you surveyed your audience make this conversation more inclusive! As someone who only read the manga, I really appreciate the nuance in your video.

[@Kari_._]

I love that you recommended I can hear the sunspot as a story with a similar feel rather that A Silent Voice. I love all these three stories, but a SIlent Voice really is about Ishida making ammends with his past and Nishimiya with her self esteem being shattered from an early age. Meanwhile, Yuki and Kouhei have a more "slice of life" life in the way that their existence is not plagues by the amount of drama that A silent Voice does (which I adore becuase it breaks me everytime), but rather is a way of seeing another person's POV where we can learn to empathize. Love your video essay ❤

[@dani3la3]

I am hard of hearing POC individual I think my biggest gripe with a sign of affection has been in the community surrounding it especially on Twitter. A lot of the people have no experience with deaf or hoh family members or friends or know anything about the community. I don’t like how they over romanticize a lot of the things ML does for Yuki such as learning sign language for her they act as if he is the best man in the whole wide world because he sacrificed so much to learn sign language those are literally words that I have seen people write. I think that treating it like this it really doesn’t help at all in the normalization of learning sign language and making people who are disabled feel accepted in society. As for the infantilization specifically as a hoh POC I experience this a lot a lot of men have approached me in the same way that her friend and ML approached Yuki and I find it very intimidating they pretend they’re very nice they pretend that they’re interested in learning about you and your community and their real purpose is to I don’t know get in your pants use you because they you’re more pure the scene that bothered me the most in the manga when I started reading it was the one where it explains why he likes her and says how she is basically a pure vase who has never heard an ugly word in her life. Now I know that a lot of people have commented about the translation of this but honestly I think this kind of view of people (even if it changes later for him maybe) is very flawed and made me stop being interested in the series. A lot of people think that if you’re disabled especially if you are deaf that you know you’ve never heard a mean word in your life it protects your innocence and kind of adds to that infantilization aspect that you were discussing. I really think that does a lot of harm because it’s not like she’s never suffered in her life you don’t have to hear mean words to know what people are thinking about you she’s pretty good at reading lips she knows when people are talking bad about her there’s also body language and there’s also a general feeling that you get. infantilizing deaf and hard of hearing people and any disabled people does so much harm to the community because it makes it more difficult for us to be able to disclose our disabilities with people especially when we need to be accommodated. In a lot of my university classes I would get passive aggressive comments from people in my study groups or my tutorial group basically telling me that I hadn’t said anything when I was just processing what they were saying and I was having trouble because of my hearing aids, the loud environment whatever I would have to disclose I’m hard of hearing so it takes me a little longer to process and it would make the situation so awkward and passive aggressive really when empathy is or should not be that hard. I think especially when it comes to romance and infantilizing disabled people really makes it so that we are a target to people who are bad and have bad intentions for us. Maybe I’m just a little bit more sensitive because I am disabled not just because I’m hard of hearing but I have Meniere’s disease which also affects my ability to move and function in real life so I see a lot of these things in this manga reflected already in my real life and how those kinds of ideas and perceptions of us actively harm us and actively manifest in the world around us. if people really wanna read a good manga about the deaf and hard of hearing communities I suggest just like you did in this video this video “I hear the sunspot” it’s an amazing manga and it has a lot of different representations from the hard of hearing and deaf community. That is something that I really think is lacking in a lot of media for the disabled people it is usually very isolated so you only see this one display how this disability kind of manifest and we are not one person we are all different we all have different experiences and I really admire that about I hear the sunspot where the experience of each of the characters is very unique and personal to them and we learn a lot about their world views how people treat them how they’ve overcome things and how they live their every day lives. I agree that reducing people to their disability is not good but I feel like when there’s so many misconceptions about the community and people don’t properly take the time to learn or maybe this ( A sign of affection) is their first encounter with deaf or hard of hearing representation and media they take it as this is how everyone is which is very harmful as I said. What i love about I hear the sunspot is that I was able to relate to multiple characters not just the hard of hearing characters a lot of my feelings were finally validated because I do not have a large community of heart of hearing and deaf people around me my condition is very unique actually and developed when I was in high school it was very scary lonely and a lot of people my age don’t have the same condition I do which makes it really hard to talk about and really feel understood this manga honestly made me feel so and I have such strong feelings towards it. in conclusion I think what really bothers me is people that defend any type of media so much when I think we can criticize the things that we enjoy the things that we love and I think people need to listen to more deaf and hard of hearing people and realize that we’re not saying that you know this is the worst thing in the world with our criticism the only criticism I really have is people online over romanticizing being deaf and also not taking time to learn that there is not one single sign language I’ve seen that misconception a lot there’s sign language for different languages different communities for example here in Canada in Quebec LSQ is the type of sign language used we also use American Sign Language but some people also LSF. I think if people (these specific twitter people) are gonna say that they support the community but then make assumptions, infantilize and not actually learn about the community, what they can do to help the world be more equitable and universally accommodating then they are hypocrites. in conclusion we are already used to being infantilized which is why this pure and innocent FL can seem very infantilizing and why i think it is important to be able to have a balance in writing strong disabled characters that are cute, feminine and have a positive outlook on life. so many exist in the real world. if they showed more of her development into a fully autonomous character who is not just influenced by her bf i would see it as better representation. my problem is with the fact that the few deaf people we have represented in media are already given this treatment which makes it seem like the standard instead of the singular-story and experience of a deaf woman coming of age. Hope my point got across. sorry for long comment. thank you for opening up a space to safely discuss this.

[@rihana_1604]

i actually really enjoyed reading your essay. I also agree with your opinions of the infantilisation of those with additional needs. and i feel like people always forget even in animes that deaf people can feel vibrations, i just need to walk a little strongly on my shoes to let my little sister know i'm there. i can't imagine how hard it must have been to go from hearing to almost losing a majority of your hearing. i hope you are able to manage well now especially with the other condition you mentioned and i hope you can soon meet those who will understand you. my little 6 year old sister is almost completely deaf until she puts on her hearing implants. i use basic british sign language as she also doesn't know much herself yet so we're all limited. but i'll be learning more

[@mirusasaki]

I'm actually frustrated with most of the comments I've read fighting over which guy is better for Yuki. In reality, none of them are good for her. Both of them are not sincere with her and it clearly shows. Itsuomi treats her as a pet and some sort of science project while Oushi is a clear cut awful person.

[@rihana_1604]

@@mirusasaki yes exactly! but everyone just ignores it.

[@rihana_1604]

@@mirusasaki and its really frustrating, especially with his weird comment of her being a pure glass

[@mirusasaki]

@@rihana_1604 Yuki's in a safety bubble despite having such circumstances. I can't really call the series a good representation. Every solution to her problem just falls on her lap. I'd say it's because of the shoujo romance tax but reckon a lot of people would argue that wasn't the case.

[@60508]

I thought Yuki was such a well-rounded and compelling character, same with Itsuomi. It's interesting, in the UK head ruffling is literally "a sign of affection" a neutral one at that. I found the show and manga really mind opening and provided a really fresh perspective. I love seeing the surrounding dialogue. Great video, thankyou!

[@samuellatuffour1584]

Thank you for talking about a sign of affection and various anime, I enjoyed the video😊

[@PocketKanin]

shojo is very infantilized, i think as long as it isn’t brought on because of the deafness then it’s like any other shojo that has the main girl treated like that. (and honestly sometimes people want to be treated like that and cared for, so shojo can help at least feeling wanted when alone)

[@giogi1591]

I really love this series (and Manga specially) so this video was important to watch it to me. You did such a great analysis of the manga/anime, what it represents and its characters. Loved all the feedback given but different users! it was so eye opening. thank you so much for this hard work.

[@armalvior]

I like your video discussing about the anime and PWD (Person with Disability). We really have to let them live what they really deserve and not limiting them just because they're disabled. We are so used to live a life where disabled person are considered a burden (either they're aware or not), still they deserve the opportunity and the visibility that the world gives.

[@justacarbuncle]

7:52 I HEAR THE SUNSPOT MENTIONED!!! I read it twice before a Sign of Affection was announced for an anime and therefore putting it into my radar and I also kept making some connections between the two series’. 🥺🥺🥺 Both series really started making me think and opening my eyes about hard of hearing/deaf people and made me want to learn sign in case I ever need it. I really relate to Itsuomi in that I love learning languages in general because it opens up so much more of the world. I really love A Sign of Affection ugh. Good video

[@justacarbuncle]

12:08 I love that you address Oushi with respect to his character. I feel like all too often people are ready to hate him (and like you said they’re within their right to do so). But like with the story you shared about your experience working with disabled children. He has to unlearn the things he was taught about people with disabilities (which also I’d like to bring this back to I Hear the Sunspot where there is a character who does not consider being deaf a disability but rather a blessing because he doesn’t have to hear all the noise in the world; I just think that pov is fascinating). I don’t read the manga yet/I might just hold off for a season two instead of reading ahead but I do hope that Oushi has that same kind of character arc. In fact I agree that he is a necessary character in that a lot of us might have been an Oushi at one point or maybe we still are and as you said we have to fight with out preconceived notions and what we were taught growing up. I’m really glad this was your take on Oushi because I was nervous clicking into this video because I’m so used to the fandom calling Itsuomi and Oushi both red flags when they’re both flawed but I don’t think they’re awful people like people say- I think rather current internet culture is so keen on pointing out flaws in people that that’s what they see in them. Not to mention this means they have room to grow (since this is a narrative after all).

[@justacarbuncle]

Sorry for all this yapping I just find all this very interesting

[@justacarbuncle]

Oh one more thing i like about this video is you keeping a lot of this in the context of Japan and their prejudice around disabled individuals and even of other things you mentioned earlier in the video about those with bleached hair and tattoos.

[@beckybertish7841]

I'm halfway through the show and enjoy it a lot. I definitely have a bias for itsumoi he wants to learn sign language and know more about her. I appreciate the resources and feedback.

[@dtkeight]

Super insightful video! I loved this anime so it's interesting to see the different views on it and its characters.

[@Kayelsea]

You know, I think there is something to be said about the cultural difference of talking about purity and cuteness in japanese versus english and western views. My husband and I started watching this show when a dub had not yet started to come out, I was just too excited to start, then we had a long break before we could start watching again. So we say, episode... 5 I think, and knowing my partner's preference for Dub, I switched to the english track... And there was something just... Off-putting about Itsuomi in english? Haha I think the stoic deep masculine voice in english talking about how pure and cute she was gave us both a bit of the ick. We talked about it a little, saying how cute the show is in general and how we like it, but something about the english portrayal made it feel weird. We watched the next episode back in subtitles and it was confirmed, the whole thing was just more charming, especially Itsuomi in on the Japanese track. Part of this might just be, you got to watch a show in whatever language you started it in for at least your first watch through, because the voice you know is the character? Anyways wonderful video, it made me think a lot and was a great analysis.

[@MissJourdy]

this is an interesting perspective, and i think i'll watch the dub since i just finished watching in sub.

[@faisalhp1773]

From Oushi's perspective, I think he is just overly protective of Yuki as we see that he has feelings for her. For the other person he helped in the subway, I don't necessarily think he believes people with disabilities or hearing problems should stay in their bubbles, but more that he wishes they got more support from society.

[@GeazakiCosplay]

Ranking of Kings mentioned!! Such an underrated anime!!

[@alittleoddme1940]

I really like the series along with a silent voice. The movie. It's a good step into what it's like to be disabled. Mind you. I am disabled, but I am not hearing disabled, but ableism. Sometimes, means that you get isolated and infantilized a lot.

[@HaydenTheHistorian]

S Tier title, very clever! Great job!

[@ongoingsky9347]

I really enjoyed this series. Honestly I get nervous when anime/manga try to handle topics like disabilities. The track record is not good.

[@kamiradelysia1524]

MAMA THE THUMBNAIL HE IS NOT THE WORST HE'S JUST GOING THROUGH STUFF😭😭😭😭

[@carolinanuccialcala9600]

Oushi was done for me when he was like “ugh why did you come to university” WHATTTTT

[@ChimeraLotietheBunny]

Best anime ever the progression is the best

[@onpu]

really good video!! loved it so much

[@yeyosilver7067]

I swear, people who problematize everything and criticize everything because they want non-existent moral perfection are the most unhappy. You're simply the definition of boring because you don't enjoy anything Go live

[@gadeyeye6268]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Great video

[@brendabelton3815]

I profoundly love this series and the contemplative analysis of it in your video. I’m also reading the manga but have no idea which is the most current chapter. Can you please help?

[@marudeath3561]

Japan's not cool with disabilities at all, it's a really ableist country but I liked what this manga/anime did, I honestly thought that the mother was a bit borderline too, like, why the hell didn't she even try to learn how to talk with her own daughter with sign language? Her boyfriend did it right away, even BEFORE going out with her

[@trika91]

It should make them feel guilty and ashamed when a ‘stranger’ is able to go out of their way to learn to understand their own daughter better compared to them. But sadly, there are some parents that are unwilling to get out of their comfort zone just to learn something new (or “unordinary”) to meet their disabled child in the middle, putting all the labor on the child to communicate with them. They just provide the basic skills and resources for the child to learn, but never take that extra step to learn alongside the child, thinking it’s unnecessary for them.

[@Amigubunny]

To be honest I am very glad my parents didn't communicate with me in sign language. I am deaf but they forced me to learn lip-reading and using another method of communication (known as cued speech) since birth. Now I am able to "blend" more easily with hearing people, while i feel like only communicating with sign language traps you in a bubble of only deaf people, and as someone who dreams of traveling and working across different countries, i can't see how it would be possible if i never learned how to accommodate myself to the """"normal""" world. I might be very extreme but i went to the point of refusing my friends to talk with me with sign language, i think i see this as me being unable to understand anything if it is not parameterized for me. Again, everyone has their own experience, but i underestand the parents in a way...

[@seeleunit2000]

You know, until now I never knew about this Anime. Though, now that I do, I definitely want to check it out. It sounds incredible.

[@milkflavored]

Ranking of Kings is so so so good ❤ highly rec for anyone passing through (BRING TISSUES)

[@katarinaclaes96]

Great video I'll have to check out this Anime and give it a watch.😊👍💗

[@itssquishy3364]

Personally I still see what he said in regards to her, he reflected what he thought of her as the community, idk if this is just my opinion or because I can pick it up from the way he spoke in Japanese. I do think that he has like internalised abelist ideas even if he has good intentions, which i just consider a flaw that he can work on but hasn't had a reason to (like no one told him that its bad and stuff like that so he hasnt learned that) It would be really nice if he discovers that in the future but i wouldn't say that he's the worst for it

[@MIZZ.BLKNRD]

I was excited about this anime but after episode 4, I found the show boring. I just didn’t connect with any of the characters and I thought the “insta-love” Yuki felt for Itsuomi in the beginning was unrealistic. I think the fact that her character didn’t have any depth beyond her crush on Itsuomi turned me off (I say that without finishing the anime). Despite that, I hope they continue to make more inclusive anime though. I’d prefer a story with a disabled MC where the focus is on their daily life and the romance is a side plot. Any recs? Also, I hope you do a video around A Condition Called Love because I am loving that anime so far.

[@cloveangel]

i mean i understand your opinion, but if you wanted a daily life then you’ve really chosen the wrong manga?? i mean, the entire story, the cover, the summary, its all about the love story. a silent voice is an anime that focuses on the relationships of the characters yes, but mainly focuses on how deafness can affect a person and the people they surround themselves with. again, this *isn’t* a hate comment, but if that’s what you wanted you probably shouldn’t have looked for a SHOJOU ROMANCE manga idk

[@MIZZ.BLKNRD]

@@cloveangel First off, I love a good romance so I went into the anime expecting that not a slice of life but it just didn’t end up connecting with me. For me to enjoy a romance, I have to connect with the characters. I appreciate the Silent Voice recommendation.

[@jackyyrag]

I also felt it kind of boring lol and I also Iike romance. I'm trying to push thru and continue watching though 😅

[@user61696]

Same here... like this isn't getting anywhere. Romance manga sure revolve around Romance, but building charachter is integral in storytelling, here the characters feel static.

[@MIZZ.BLKNRD]

@@jackyyrag I’m glad I’m not the only one 😆 let me know if you finish the show and change your mind.

[@UltraManager]

To be honest, I don't care about people's opinion. This anime did what 80% of shojo animes fail at. Which is making me interested to invest my time to care for the plot.

[@lina9183]

If oushi has zero haters I'm dead, I already hated how he kept assuming the worst of yuki's best friend and itsuomi but when I saw the chapter that tried to "justify"his reason for liking her I hated him even more,his so creepy and stupid he doesn't even like Yuki he treats her like an object, he only learnt sign language because according to that ding bat " it wAs tHier sEcreT laNguAge" like are you kidding me who the f*** said it was for your creepy ass,he gatekeeps yuki and treats her like a freaking pet, the people that try to defend him wouldn't do so if he was designed like a creep, He doesn't even compare to the pure green forest that is itsuomi.

[@CandyThePuppy]

I recognize the (reader's?) voice! :D

[@Reverse_Cat_Cowgirl]

I got kind of creeped out when istuomi said that thing about yuki being untainted by the outside world because she can't hear. First of all, if people knew sigen language, she wouldn't be "untainted" and alone in her silent world... it also sounds like he's into her being a virgin in every sense, and he can't wait to be all her first. Would he still like her if she didn't seem so PuRe?

[@yukiko347]

I took it more of. The perspective of the world. Not her body.

[@KatiCleo]

I don't think he meant that *because* she cant hear she's pure, I think he means her general attitude more. It's not so much that she's "virginal" as much as she is optimistic, straight forward, and despite being deaf in a very ableist world, very hopeful? I mean you can be hard of hearing or deaf and have also a very pessimistic or cynical mindset let's say. I took his comment to be about her personality, not her body or disability, he doesnt mention her being hard of hearing as tied to that.

[@Thesilentvoice...]

That’s not what he meant. Yuki is untainted in the sense that she grew up differently than others due to her deafness. Her view/perception of the world is different because of that. Itsuomi is interested in that idea and because he likes to learn (with languages, culture) he was interested in Yuki. He isn’t into her being a virgin, we clearly see he wanted to make them wait before going there since he treasures Yuki. And he seems interested in her and wanting to know her, not for her being a virgin or anything like that.

[@ANETTEBEJARANO]

he didn't mean it in that way though

[@thatkodochagirl]

I think a lot of people seem to miss what drives most of Oushi's behavior. He isn't ableist. He has extremely poor communication skills because of his feelings for Yuki, and since Itsuomi is in the way of that, he isn't the nicest guy to him. Oushi feels the need to protect Yuki because he is in love with her. I'm not saying his behavior is right, but people keep mislabeling this as ableism and I can't for the life of me figure out why. My theory is people are making up an excuse to dislike Oushi because he disrupts the emotional comfort of this series. Also, Yuki is a terrible example of deaf representation. She has little to no personality, which is a shame because I really want to like her. She is solely defined by her deafness and her feelings for Itsuomi. Frankly, it's a terrible example to follow for any young girls who read or watch this.

[@dejajade6726]

You do realize two things can be true at once right? Yes, Oushi has poor communication skills and yes he's overprotective of Yuki because he's in love with her. But doesn't change the fact that a lot of his behavior and actions towards her is ableist. Plain and simple. You can love someone very much and still be very harmful to them unknowingly. There are many times where he tries to make her doubt herself, or the genuineness of her friends and Itsuomi, on a basis of absolutely nothing and SOLELY because she's deaf. Or he'll try to stop her from doing certain things, attempting to push her back into what he deems safe and comfortable, when she's actively trying to broaden her horizons and live her life. That is pure ableism, no matter how you try to spin it or whatever the reason behind him doing so was. The thing about ableism is that it's very deeply rooted in most cultures, to the point where it's normalized and hard to identify, especially in the people we love and who love us. But stories like this are pointing it out and showing it's not okay. Which is why it's very frustrating when people like you try to argue that's not the case with Oushi. "Oh, he's just a boy in love struggling to communicate". No, it's more than that. It's always been more than that.

[@artemis754]

​@@dejajade6726 yes, this. a lot of people don't realize that infantalizing someone (with a disability) is ableism. infantalizing is when you're treating them like a child, like they can't do anything by themselves, etc. it is degrading. yes some disabled people need extra help, but they will most likely ask for the help they need.

[@queenofheaven8559]

@@dejajade6726 you couldn't have been more clearer🙌

[@QuintrellDemary]

Nagi is not a red flag I think he actually loves Yuki

[@moustik31]

NINETEEN?! 💔😢

[@thaaahaaa]

I'll be honest I can't stand Itsuomi. For context, I'm disabled but not HoH. I haven't seen the full series yet but I've been following the manga for a while now. The way he approaches her feels like he's kind of treating her a rare interesting animal ? In the manga he says at some point that he loves how pure she is becomes she can't hear bad words... Even the particular way he's very set on helping kids from impoverished areas feels very saviour-ish. I still like Yuki and her story that's why I'm still reading the manga, but yeah not fond of Itsuomi. Another manga I like featuring a deaf character is Love in the palm of his hand (it's BL, and the hearing character, like Itsuomi emphasis communication a lot but to me it feels less "exoticising" than in a sign of affection, especially cause he reflex on it, at one point he realizes he's been treating sign language as a secret code between them and not a full language on it's own)

[@RazerHolic]

Is this the one with Shoya or is this the wrong movie

[@skookiecat_29]

So… I’ve been watching a lot of romance anime reviews and now I’m pretty sure that no one will like my enemies (more just dislike) to lovers comic where the characters meet by him finding her corpse on the rode after a MVA 😬

[@gracequeeney3399]

As long as your ML isn't red flag or a unredeeming bastard then I think it's fine and I quite interested. Even many girls still obsessed with toxic male lead up until now which is quite a shame😞

[@skookiecat_29]

@@gracequeeney3399 yeah he’s not a bad person, him and the FL butt heads often but neither of them have done anything evil. Healthy enemies to lovers is great 👍 (-////-)

[@blankname5177]

❤❤

[@SistahPunkStudios]

I saw a sneak peak of the first episode and started tearing up 🥹 this is the kind of romance I don’t only appreciate but crave it’s a very realistic look into what it takes to love conditionally and unconditionally 🥰 I love how it humanizes it’s characters like having the main love interest get mad or annoyed and stand up for herself even with being deaf it doesn’t disable her from speaking her mind which is something almost rare in an anime media environment of cliche tropes and it’s so much more mature and relatable and rewatch able because of this attention to detail, dialogue and intimacy soooo sweet for spring 🌸

[@rosephoenix954]

I just don't like take your on a silent voice. It just feels you didn't manga. Otherwise it's good video.

[@FRESCO_KUN]

Like you didn't manga?

[@anti_acido]

funnily enough ouishi is the only character i truly liked, he is flawed and realistic as he acts whithin his own experiences and feelings. to me, the girl main character is a uwu goody two shoes girl with no personality (only trait is that she is deaf 🤪) which is unfortunately a very common trend in shoujo, and the silver haired dude is too flawless and gives off major weird fuckboy vibes a silent voice is ridded with problems such as strong manichaeism, but even when the deaf girl is not the main focus, the characters in it feel way more believeable and thus way less boring

[@melamoonclover9213]

Agreed. I also noticed that it feels like the men in the story get more agency and personality outside of romance. They have more traits you can identify about them that's not just their love interest. Itsomi travels a lot, Shin is a hairdresser, Oushi is allowed to have flaws. Yuki, her best friend and her love rival's main focuses are the guys they like and they didn't have a lot of their own individuality in my opinion. Women are so much more than the men they like, and I just couldn't relate to any of them :((

[@areeba7045]

yes me too, im actually surprised this anime is getting so much love because it's literally got no depth. im also shocked by how many people think this is good disability rep when main girl has nothing going for her aside from being deaf. i mean sure, it's realistic to not have major life goals or be generally directionless, but she literally has no passions. you got it right when you said she's an uwu goody two shoes girl with no personality because that's exactly what she is. deaf people are deaf, they're not pure little beings with no understanding of the world. we only see the ableism with the childhood friend and a montage of her searching for jobs and failing. this show is SO surface level to the point we never even learn what the characters are doing in university. i know i sound salty as hell, i dont mind that people enjoy the show, but damn if this is what people think is good writing then we've truly lost all our standards for storytelling

[@RikaRieGaming]

I found my people lol Emma (I like her design but I wish there was more to her than liking the MC), Shin, and Ouishi were the only young people I really liked because of how real and flawed they were. I thought the main couple was very meh and too perfect in a way; can't relate.

[@melinaanibarro7324]

agreed. I did not like the anime as much i hoped i would, I am hoping the manga is better. 👍

[@anti_acido]

@@areeba7045 ikr! i don't know if the people who truly like it are less criterious with their media or just have bad taste in general lol i mean, i know the shoujo genre is kinda dying, but it's definetly not because of the lack of good shoujo. no use in praising a bad work just because of its theme (which is also handled in a very shallow way)