A Sign of Affection

Episode 6

Wow, I can't believe it's over. It feels like this season just flew by, but I gotta say, watching those end credits did put into perspective just how far this show, the characters – and really, all of us watching – have come. It'll be sad to say goodbye, but-

Sorry, what's that? The show's not ending? What the hell are you talking about, of course it is. They even did the credits roll thing every show does where they do a recap montage to cap off the finale! That means we're done here, right?

Alright, yeah, we're only at the halfway point. Though that bit with the credits is still weird. Much as I like Yuki and Itsuomi's relationship, I don't know if “Hey, we're officially dating” really warranted the celebratory montage. Though it is pretty nice to have the will-they-won't-they phase out of the way, even if it feels like this episode spends its entire runtime getting to that point. I can't complain too much, since the atmosphere is pitch-perfect throughout, and we do end the episode with them actually, factually together. Romances, where the couple becomes official before the very end, are becoming more common than they once were, but it's still nice when a story has the confidence to move past the easy drama and start tackling the topic of actually building and maintaining a relationship.

It's also nice that we get our first real look into Itsuomi's inner world before he asks to go steady, giving us a better insight into what about her has caught his affection. His line about Yuki being “crystal clear” compared to others is an interesting one, playing into the idea of Itsuomi being unusually observant and insightful towards others. It makes it sound like he can usually tell when other people are lying or bullsh*tting him – for instance, immediately figuring out what Emma was up to at his apartment – and that Yuki is just so earnest and honest about everything that it's gotten him to lower his guard. That's still partly speculation on my part because the flipside of Itsuomi's insightfulness is that he makes himself extremely hard to read. Yet throughout this episode, there are little moments where you just know that he's feeling as elated as Yuki is.

Speaking of, I'd be remiss not to mention just how well Yuki's emotions are captured and expressed throughout this whole episode. From the soaring warmth of Itsuomi holding her, to the stunned disbelief when he casually reveals their relationship to their friends, there's a ton of little moments that perfectly capture the fizzy feelings of first love. My personal favorite is when she just asks “why” to Itsuomi asking her out, for the delicate nuance imbued in her signing. Her first “why” is one of clarification – crisp, straightforward, direct – while the second one is timid, embarrassed, and so expressive you can imagine exactly how Sumire Morohoshi would have delivered it as a spoken line. That's great animation work deployed in just the right way to make the moment feel powerful and intimate.

My one quibble is that, for some reason, the show feels the need to keep cutting back to Oushi for a scene or two every episode. It's not so much that Oushi sucks as a person – though he does – but rather that he feels vestigial at this point. Like, Yuki and Itsuomi are already together, and Oushi hasn't even pretended to be a factor in weeks. He only got Yuki's contact info this episode, and he had to ask her mom to get it. Calling him a tertiary character feels generous right now, and if we're not going to do anything with him, I'd rather just be spared the weekly check-in on the guy. There's already much more established and immediate drama pending from Emma and her whole deal anyway, so unless we're going to get a full confrontation soon, I'm not sure why Oushi's still here. Though there's a good chance that conflict is coming, now that our main couple has crossed the threshold. I can't imagine Mr. Overprotective will react well to finding out Yuki is dating somebody, especially not somebody who won't be around for several weeks. So here's hoping that we can get that train moving rather than sitting in the station another week.

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A Sign of Affection is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.