Yubisaki to Renren - Anime First Impressions Review
Written by Rei Caldombra 1/29/2024
This review is based off the first 3 episodes of the anime and does contain spoilers. Please be aware that I have not read the manga and am not spoiled.
It's been a while since I've watched a proper Shoujo romance anime. It's not the most common anime/manga demographic for me to check out but I have watched or read quite a few of them over the years and have loved most of them. Some of my favorites are Ore Monogotari!!, Kimi ni Todoke, and Ouran High School Host Club. As of now Yubisaki to Renren absolutely has the potential to be one of my favorites. I'm loving this show!
I really enjoy learning about the experiences of different people and am not super knowledgeable in the life experiences of deaf people. I am glad we are seeing more anime like this and Ranking of Kings that help enrich people's perspectives on disabilities. To me this show is incredibly engrossing and informative towards the deaf experience. In the first 3 episodes we have already gotten so much rich characterization and details into Yuki and her experience as a deaf and mute person. It brings up a lot of detail surrounding basic interaction as a deaf person. Such as how things that could are normal and inoffensive between friends like going up to someone from behind could have a different impact on someone deaf like Yuki. Her having that feeling that people are talking about her, even if she is not reading lips or was communicated.
I have to imagine this is a relatable feeling. Most people seem to be able to pick up on that type of thing to an extent, but I imagine people with disabilities like deafness are more receptive to it. Likely out of getting more attention towards them for being different and feeling excluded. Her wondering how Rin asked for his number and having trouble doing it is very sad, because she is unable to approach it in the same manner. It's great seeing how she goes about tackling problems differently. I appreciate them bringing up how she has hearing aids but still can’t hear. I was wondering about that as I figured you would not bother to wear them if they weren’t working, but I can see how there is still value in it even if Yuki only hears noises she cannot properly understand. I imagine there could be emotional reasons for wanting to wear them as well as well. I also did not know there were separate schools dedicated to teaching the deaf and hard of hearing. I had really only thought of individual tutoring, but it makes sense proper institutions dedicated to it exist. These would provide much higher quality of education to those hard of hearing, but it’s also understandable that it would make someone feel like they are in a protective bubble. Which is how Yuki felt. Another informative detail I like is how one girl in the deaf school called to Yuki verbally, reminding the viewers that there are varieties of deafness. Some have the capacity to speak clearly, some do to the best of their ability, and some like Yuki cannot or choose not to speak at all. It’s easy for people to stick to a simple idea of disabled people, so it’s great that this show is addressing the complexities of the condition. It’s especially great that it accomplishes this by showing rather than telling. I also like when Yuki brings up how the way people sign conveys emotion outside of the words being signed. It’s very cool to learn about how body language also comes through with signing. I had not properly thought about how signing would show bodily expressions the same as any other bodily movement until I saw it here. Such as how Oushi’s signing is aggressive while Itsuomi’s is soft. Yuki can read into someone’s personality based on how they sign. Just within these first few episodes this anime is filled with rich detail that get help you understand Yuki's experiences and empathize with her. It strongly succeeds in engrossing you in Yuki's world. All of these glimpses into how deaf people communicate and intake information is very informative and interesting. This on top of the sweet nature of the show makes it a lot denser than a traditional romance. I'm greatly looking forward to learning more about the life experiences of deaf people through this show.
I also think a strength here is that it takes the experiences of deafness with great care while also using it for jokes. I like the simple miscommunication humor of her not reading lips perfectly leading to her taking something the wrong way. This fits very well and is great for adding comedy in between the dialogue.
The romance side of things is also starting off strong. Itsuomi has me swooning over here with his smooth moves.
I can see the chemistry between these characters already. Both of them are people who desire to gain new experiences. Expanding your world seems like it is a central theme of the show. I really enjoy these early interactions. They feel fairly natural, being awkward in a way that doesn't feel forced or strange. It is natural for him to not know exactly how he should act around her, where it doesn't come across as negative when he acts how he normally does. I like seeing characters' dynamics and feelings toward each other grow. They are still feeling each other out and going with the flow. This really encapsulates the early stages of falling for someone. And these interactions are just so sweet. I love Itsuomi's personality of being very curious. Just within the first few episodes I can tell he has a lot to him and really like him. The fact that he head pets her too makes this feel even more like it was made for me. Watching these episodes really warmed my heart. I'm very interested in seeing the overarching theme of expanding your world be explored as the story continues.
I also really like the other two main characters so far, Oushi and Rin. Oushi seems like he will be the rough person who acts out of strong care. I like his interactions with Yuki, their catty rapport being funny while laying the groundwork of his overprotective behavior having the effect of being demeaning. I like this set up so far, feeling positive that there will be good execution for this issue. Rin feels like a good supportive friend. Her also having a crush at the same time as Yuki adds a lot to their interactions and gives her more to do than just be a wingwoman. I look forward to seeing how her relationships develop and if each of their crushes will cause any conflicts with each other in the future.
From my perspective the anime production seems to be very respectful and taking great care to portray the manga as great as possible. This is primarily shown through the animation quality for the signing. It comes across very smooth and has the finer movements portrayed well. Stiff animation would greatly harm the signing coming across properly in animation. I cannot speak for any removed or added detail compared to the manga, but I feel that the production truly believes in the importance of the visuals. And this elevates the show greatly.
I hope this show continues to be a sweet romance while getting into the serious issues it is setting up. I hope we get a lot of great growth for these characters and for the character interactions to continue feeling natural, rather than leading to forced melodrama. At the very least if it continues to be rich and enlightening, I will continue to love this show. Thanks for reading! I hope I talked about this topic well, please let me know if I came across negatively at all.
