ANIME REVIEW | "Alya Sometimes" Dulls Her Audience
Really, Doga Kobo? Fans of yours have been waiting forever for a second season of Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, and even How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?. But somehow, out of all of these, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian was the one that got the thumbs’ up for another round. Why? Seriously, I’d like to know!
The reason why I say this is because Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian has a plethora of problems. In fact, out of every Doga Kobo anime I’ve seen in the last few years, the amount of issues it had certainly outweigh the good things I will say about this anime. So where do we begin? Well, let’s start out with the actual narrative.
Based on the light novel series by SunSunSun, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian focuses on the titular character (Sumire Uesaka), a Japanese-Russian student. She sits next to Masachika Kuze (Kohei Amasaki), a sleepyheaded student who is often pestered by the pretty Alya. However, she reveals her true feelings about Kuze whenever she speaks Russian, thinking her classmate can’t understand her. But there’s a twist: Kuze can speak Russian, and is fully aware of what Alya thinks of him.
Should Kuze reveal that he knows Alya is fond of him? Or should he keep it secret in order to not embarrass her? Kuze is a master of keeping secrets after all, considering his best friend Yuki Suou (Wakana Maruoka) is actually his blood sister and now heir to their father’s estate. But there’s not much time to dive deep into family affairs or love troubles. There’s a student council election, and both Yuki and Alya want to be class president. The question is, who is Kuze going to assist?
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finds its first problem within its narrative. It wants to focus on one too many things at once. From Alya trying to make friends in her new surroundings and her not-so secret emotions for Kuze to the student council elections and Yuki’s strange relationship with Kuze, it attempts to fit in all of these elements into twelve episodes. These are arcs that should take up at least six episodes to cover separately, but instead, they’ve been put in a blender and mixed together into a story that lacks much substance.
Believe me: it tries to push something emotional with these characters. The lack in confidence Alya has is pushed greatly throughout the series, especially during the big student council elections and debates. It takes the coaching and backing of Kuze to get her through many of these rough patches. In return, Kuze claims it’s because of her personality and strength that allows him to speak about her many strengths that make her worthy of the student council president position.
But there’s a major issue: Alya is too one-dimensional. She lacks a true personality, nor is her presence anything worth writing home to. I find it funny that Doga Kobo has once again made an anime with a title character being the least-interesting of the series, as the same thing happened with Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie. Whenever Alya’s onscreen, the show becomes a complete bore to watch, and no amount of fan-service can save her from being a tedious character.
So who is the real shining star of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian? That honor goes to little sister Yuki. Despite her weird affixation with older brother Kuze, she is an absolute hoot to watch onscreen. From her wake up calls and energetic personality to become a straight-up villainess during the student council elections, Yuki is brimming with personality and one-liners that should’ve been saved for the main heroine of the story. Alas, Yuki is the second banana to a character that’s already become mushy and unappetizing.
As for Kuze, he’s an okay male protagonist. He’s not the best romantic interest, but at least he’s got wit and a good attitude. The problem with him is that his sense of humor can sometimes fall flat, with some jokes and retorts not worthy of the laughs he receives from his classmates. When these moments occur, it really puts a screeching halt to the progress this anime is trying to make.
Which leads to probably the biggest flaw of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. After spending twelve episodes with these characters and situations, no progress was made to evolve these characters. Again, it wasn’t for the lack of trying, but when you have a lead with a cardboard soul, it’s difficult to make certain elements of a narrative gel. If you can’t connect with a main character because they’re boring, then it’s going to make the rest of the series fall flat.
Are there any good points to this anime? To be frank, it’s the technical scale where the best parts of the series are on display. Doga Kobo’s animation is excellent, and the voice cast is giving it all they got. Special nod to Uesaka for playing Alya, who delivers the Russian lines surprisingly well. The voice actress even takes the reins for the opening and closing themes, with the latter being a mixture of good covers of classic J-POP and anisongs.
Overall, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian has sluggish progression, with a main character who doesn’t add anything of interest to the plot. She is just another pretty face made in mass production within the anime entertainment scene. If she wants to stand out, Alya will need to actually do something of interest in its upcoming (and undeserving) second season. My advice to Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian:
STOP. BEING. BORING!!!
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Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian can be viewed on Crunchyroll, and has been licensed by Crunchyroll. Episodes 1-12 were observed for review. Promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.
