Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian (2024)

[時々ボソッとロシア語でデレる隣のアーリャさん]

Season 1

Director: Ryota Itoh
Studio: Doga Kobo
Starring: Kohei Amasaki, Sumire Uesaka, Wakana Maruoka
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
A slacker finds himself drawn to a classmate who likes to flirt with him in Russian.

Impressions:
The title for this series caught my eye when I saw it in the bookstore, so I was glad for this adaptation as an entry into the series. There's a pattern in storytelling that seems to be fairly effective for me. You take a basic premise, add a twist, then turn that twist around. So we have a slacker offset by an overachieving ice queen, but it turns out that said ice queen actually digs him quite a bit and uses Russian as a way to covertly flirt with him. Only our male lead actually knows Russian and has to pretend like he doesn't. That's a fun starting point, but then the story throws the real curveball when it soon becomes clear that the silver-haired, blue-eyed, zettai ryouiki-rockin' tsundere half-Russian beauty is actually on the low end of the waifu tier rankings. Yes, really. That should get you excited for the other female characters when they make their appearance. Yuki in particular is amazing. The eponymous Alya is fun when she's in flirty mode, but otherwise she can be a bit of a wet blanket, which is a bit of a shame because it's not capitalizing on the best element of the main duo's dynamic, but there is something of a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady plot going on where Masachika is helping Alya's transformation into a more socially engaged individual in her bid to become student council president. Anyway, that mild drag aside, this is a pretty fun series with some good dynamics and a male lead who isn't a weenie loser like so many Japanese romcom MCs. The show looks gorgeous, which definitely enhances the experience. It was one of my favorites of this season and I'd happily recommend it for your collection.

Rating:
Own It