You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! Volume 1 Review

When we think of manga that features a deaf protagonist, it’s series like A Sign of Affection, A Silent Voice, or I Hear The Sunspot that spring to mind for many of us. Now One Peace Books are bringing us the new title You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! which is aimed at an all-ages audience. Does it impress? Let’s find out!

Our story follows Hiragi Tsukino and Taiyo Enomoto who sits next to her in class. Even though Hiragi is deaf, Taiyo will still insistently talk away at her since Hiragi can lip-read. However, Taiyo talks so much that Hiragi often loses track of what he’s saying and is left constantly confused by his long-winded stories. And worse still, despite the fact Taiyo will often tell others to slow down so Hiragi can understand them, he seems to have no idea that he causes so many problems himself!

Even on the very first day Hiragi transferred into the school, Taiyo lapsed into a long conversation that made no sense to be having with someone he’s just met. Hiragi asks if he can communicate through sign language, which Taiyo doesn’t know but pretends he does because surely with enough passion he can still communicate with her through signing? Naturally, this just leads to even more misunderstandings as Taiyo accidentally gets enough right that Hiragi believes he can sign…

You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! is a fairly gentle slice-of-life series revolving around these two characters getting to know one another better. And there’s an element of romance as Hiragi has found herself falling for Taiyo, despite his shortcomings in communication. And as far as this kind of series goes, it’s cute enough.

The bigger issue for me is that I don’t feel like there’s a great deal of depth or substance beyond the joke that Taiyo talks too much. The fact that Hiragi is deaf isn’t explored a great deal either. Unlike in other series where we’ve seen how having this disability affects the character’s life or adjustments they make to account for it, there’s nothing like that here. The most we see is Hiragi struggling to understand everyone when she’s surrounded by her classmates after transferring in, but even those difficulties are quickly forgotten. It’s almost too idealistic, but I think more than that, it just hasn’t been thought through properly. There’s no narrative justification for why she needed to be a deaf protagonist.

And perhaps that’s why I was left feeling indifferent when I finished reading this one. When we’ve seen series that treat deaf protagonists so differently, it’s hard to ignore that it feels like a plot device here. Maybe that will change as the series goes on, but with only three more volumes, I’d be somewhat surprised if it drastically changed tact.

However, if you can look past that then there’s fun to be had here. Hiragi and Taiyo are fairly likeable characters who are both developed throughout Volume 1. Taiyo is somewhat unrealistic as he’s someone who will go to unbelievable extremes to help out anyone in need, but that’s one of the reasons Hiragi falls for him.

You Talk Too Much is written by author Shunpei Morita with art by Aldehyde, who both have several other works to their name but nothing else available in English. I’ve already gone over my complaints when it comes to the writing, but in terms of the art I liked Aldehyde’s style for the most part. It sometimes feels a bit stiff and lacking in details, but ultimately I think it conveys the gentle atmosphere of the story well enough.

As mentioned earlier, this manga comes to the West thanks to One Peace Books and has been translated by Jordan Taylor. The release reads well on the whole, although I wish there had been translation notes included at the back as there are some awkwardly placed references for the sign language scenes during chapters. I’m not entirely happy with the actual title of the book either, as Hiragi never expresses such a harsh sentiment toward Taiyo (although she certainly is overwhelmed by how much he talks!). Rather than an active problem, I feel it’s going to be difficult to encourage people to pick it up off a shelf with a title that’s so abrasive.

The series is complete in Japan having run for four volumes. Here in English, One Peace has #2 scheduled for a release in October with nothing yet scheduled beyond that. So, this is certainly on one of their slower schedules which is certainly a shame when it’s already complete.

Overall You Talk Too Much, So Just Shut It Already! is an inoffensive romance series that will appeal to those who like the trope of two characters constantly misunderstanding each other. However, I can’t look past the fact it feels as if Hiragi’s deafness is a plot device and that does leave a sour taste in the end.

Our review copy was supplied by the publisher One Peace Books.
© Shunpei Morita / Aldehyde / Kadokawa Corporation