TOKIDOKI BOSOTTO RUSSIAGO DE DERERU TONARI NO ALYA-SAN

DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL ComedyTokidoki Bosotto Russiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san
MANGA ComedyTokidoki Bosotto Russiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san
ANIME ComedyTokidoki Bosotto Russiago de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san Season 2

REVIEWS

• 

  Ionliosite2

  40/100
  She speaks Russian, but why?

  Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san is a series that could be a fun romcom, but due to bad decisions from the author after the first episodes, it just doesn’t work. Simply put, the gimmick of this series doesn’t do anything, sure Alya is Russian and she sometimes speaks it, but this doesn’t really change much, it’s like a different kind of tsundere-ism which would be okay, the problem here is that the series obviously breaks what should be the logical use of its premise by making the MC being able to understand Russian, which is stupid, there’s no point in making a character talk a different language so no one can get her just to make the MC being able to get her, and the justification about why he can speak Russian is also pretty dumb in itself. I sometimes wonder why working in a gimmick when you’ll just break it right from the start.

  The protagonist is obviously meant to be “literally you”, just look at his introduction and you’ll notice it, oh he watches anime, he is an otaku, now he will play his gacha, and I just wanted to roll my eyes because once again I’m supposed to believe that the most beautiful girl in the class is in love with the MC who has nothing going on for him, and perhaps the author noticed that too and that’s why he also decided to make him someone proficient at everything he tries, you could replace him with Sakuta from Bunny Girl Senpai or Ayanokouji from CotE and it wouldn’t change anything because he is a charismatic god and a genius like nobody else that has ever existed but he NEEDS to hide his power level by being lazy and will only show it from time to time, the fact that he is a otaku is irrelevant, because he isn’t one, he does nothing to actually show it except saying that he is because the audience needs to self-insert as him, and by being called an otaku it makes it easier for the audience to think they are like him. Honestly, I’m not sure why there was a need to do two completely different versions of him in the same character or which one is worse.

  If I was more invested in this series I would get shivers by thinking that Alya beating Yuki at the student council elections is completely plausible because she is the main female character and has the MC that can do absolutely everything by her side, because Alya most definitely doesn’t deserve to win it, she breaks down the second the MC isn’t holding her hand to cross the street as if she was a little baby that needs to be taken care of at every moment, there are multiple examples of this like the baseball club and football team, she needed to be saved by the MC despite the fact that that this is her job in the student council because she is the treasurer, she cannot even do that correctly and I just can’t see why she should win, maybe she’ll be able to actually stand in her own two feet at some point in the future, but even if she does how is she supposed to compete with Yuki when she actually has experience since she won in middle school? Alya was originally characterized as someone who is just so above everyone else and that only she is competent and that’s why she is alone, which barely explains why this girl who gets so much attention as the “solitary queen” has no friends, but she isn’t able to pull off things alone, it makes it funny when she got called out by the glasses girl that she was a pretty face with good notes and nothing more, because that’s true. We just get constantly told by the MC and the series that she is a hard worker and that you should support her for it, but we never see that being close to reality. Of course, this problem wouldn’t exist if the author didn’t add the student council plot to take over everything about the series, because it is easily the worst part about it.

  Which takes me to the absolute best point of this series, that is, Yuki. She singlehandedly carried the show by being an actual character and not the boring and lazy attempt at making a tsundere that is Alya, from her way of talking being so polite that the subtitles cannot even begin to show that her manner of speaking would make a butler blush, and then when in private with her brother she is basically a brocon, playful and actually bounces well with the MC. Honestly, I agree with the glasses girl that they are the perfect duo and the show would be much better if she was the main girl because she got actual chemistry with him, even if she couldn’t salvage how shit the student council stuff is. She is actually fun to watch when she isn’t being serious, and when it comes to the student council presidential election, she actually has drive and ambition and will do terrible shit just to win, for example, using Alya’s own foolishness against her was actually nice and was basically playing 4D chess the entire episode, which seeing how stupid the other characters are, is not even surprising how she pulled it off. Even if she wasn’t easily the most entertaining thing about the series by a landslide, it’s not like she got much competition, Masha is not a character, she was a plot device to make the MC learn Russian because they met in the past, but that isn’t relevant, because they don’t do anything at all with that information because the MC doesn’t know she is her childhood friend, the fact that she knows and decides to do nothing about it and just let Alya have the MC makes all of this irrelevant as you aren’t even getting something out of it, just as an example.

  Telling you that the first two episodes were the best part of this series would be the truth, after that, it jumped to Alya’s “sad” past and then to student council shenanigans which I honestly cannot care much about, it could be an actually entertaining romcom when it tries, which is almost any Yuki scene, but the fact that the gimmick it had is basically thrown to the side to the point Alya won’t speak in Russian in some episodes tells you everything that you have to know about the series, “the main girl is a Russian” is an extremely weak gimmick, so I’m not sure if the author actually thought about making this a full-fledged series in the first place. Honestly, this should’ve just been the Yuki show, that would’ve been great, but sadly it isn’t, instead we’re stuck with this bad excuse of a tsundere and a perfect self-insert MC.

  Thank you for reading.

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• 

  melamuna

  80/100
  Goofy and Romantic: A Perfect Formula for an Entertaining and Sweet Romantic Comedy

  ---

  

  Romantic comedies are often sought-after when it comes to different kinds of genres in the anime space. The smile it provides and how it tingles your heartstrings are its tricks for keeping you hooked. These kinds of shows would often stand out amidst the countless amounts of anime in a season, and if it hits well in its first few episodes, it becomes an audience darling. In 2024, it's pretty quiet when it comes to the romantic comedy scene. One that stands out is Season 2 of The Dangers in My Heart, which provided a joyful ride and a heartfelt conclusion for the series. Aside from that series, there isn't much to offer this year. And if there is, it certainly didn't hit the highs in terms of story or the heartstrings of the audience.

  In the Summer Season of 2024, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings hit the Russian anime space and surprised audiences over for not just being a great anime this year but a great romantic comedy of this year so far. Here are the reasons why: ***

  __Part 1 “Romantic” Comedy__

  Romance is often dealt with as the “reason” for falling in love with someone. It can be hard for the audience to connect with the characters depending on the reasons the characters in the show make, especially when it comes to choosing the person you choose to give your heart to. The romantic comedy genre mainly puts this “reason” usually at the middle or end section of the series as an easy scapegoat on a glaring issue. The anime in question relies on repetitive tropes in hopes that you'll eventually get hooked, and it often doesn't work.

  This anime might look like it started that way, especially with the romantic leads of Alya (Sumire Uesaka) and Masachika (Kouhei Amasaki) in episode 1, where the series presented them in a more odd light with each other. As you watch the episodes, the series gives subtle hints in between, along with major ones that let viewers puzzle out why these characters are actually falling for each other. One notable example is in Episode 3, where the series shows Alya’s perspective on the first sign of love. These romantic subtexts are sprinkled all over the series across different episodes, and it's such a joy to watch that it never fails to keep you blushing. ***

  __Part 2 Romantic “Comedy”__

  Comedy shows generally have one thing to achieve: make the audience laugh. In romantic comedy shows, they have to rely heavily on the little in-betweens and interactions of characters to get a chuckle because a scene depicts an embarrassing moment for the characters. This doesn't usually work, especially when the gag has been running at a constant speed without any in-betweens or originality apart from the one joke they set out at the start. With an anime titled “Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian," you'll have the assumption that the entire series mainly revolves around that quirk, but it didn't, and that is a huge plus. Dynamic ways of dealing with comedy across different scenarios with different characters that show no signs of stopping are a step in the right direction of comedic diversity and can guarantee an unexpected chuckle or two.

  On the other hand, this anime brought something refreshing, and that is to focus on its comedy with the characters’s actual personality traits. Normally, this is how normal comedy works, as proven by Romantic Comedy Animes across the years, but you would be surprised by the countless number of anime that do not use character personality as part of their comedy. And in the case of this anime, it took advantage of that underused tool. It comes to the point where characters aren't even making jokes in the moment, and it still comes off as hilarious without adding a punchline or exaggerated music around it, which is also sprinkled with animation that complements each scene with subtle exaggeration that works surprisingly well and an engaging voice delivery, especially from Yuki (Wakana Maruoka), that you just can't help but smile at the funny moments. ***

  __Part 3 The In-Betweens__

  Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian isn't just your typical romantic comedy providing a “will they, won't they” trope, but a series that also provides a well-diversified cast of characters casually interacting with each other in a flawless manner that works as a slice-of-life high school comedy in and of itself. One main highlight of this is the dynamic between Masachika and Yuki. Aside from the incentious manner, which is definitely not for everyone, it does provide a genuinely accurate portrayal of sibling relationships that people can find relatable and/or hilarious. Their moments together magnetize you on screen and refuse to let you go, even when it's just a millisecond to spare. The moments between Alya and Masachika, aside from the romantic moments, can be seen as a genuine relationship between two high school students getting by. There is also the student council, where you don't really connect as much, but their presence, especially from Masha (Yukiyo Fujii), is a delight to see.

  Despite being labeled as a “romantic comedy," the series already presented its goal from Episode 1, which is Alya wanting to be the Student Council President. Instead of taking the lazy route, there is a clear objective in the series with what the characters want, and we follow through that journey and see characters react, fail, get up, and learn, with a sprinkle of goofing around in a couple of episodes. ***

  __Part 4 Enjoy It for What It Is__

  At this point of the review, I have shown how much I have praised this show, since I am a romance junkie and eager to watch this show weekly because I am intrigued to see where the series goes episode by episode. However, I would be lying if I didn't mention that this show is not “that” special in comparison to the vast amounts of romantic comedies that are available. There's Kaguya-Sama, which provided the hardest of laughs; Horimiya, with its sweetest of moments; and many shows in between that fit that specific niche in its specific audience. But why do I love this series even after that information?

  With shows like Alya, it mainly aims to drop your objective thinking hat and just let your brain go on autopilot and enjoy the sequences you see on screen. In other words, it is a comfort anime for a specific group of people like me who enjoy these types of shows. It might be boring and uninteresting, especially for the types of people who are seeking something new or something else other than a high school romance that somehow involved the Student Council as its plot. But for romance junkies like us, this is a show that hits the spot by filling in the gaps with the highs we felt after finishing shows such as Kaguya-Sama and Horimiya. It doesn't have to replace the ones that we've already loved, but an additional roster from a growing collection of romantic comedy shows we watch and smile at as the season goes by. ***

  __Conclusion__

  With how fast seasons come and go and animes show up and get lost with time, there is always a risk of loving the show now but getting absolutely forgotten once a brand new thing appears. With this year's quiet portfolio of romantic comedies, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian will ultimately stand out deservingly. It hits all the Romantic Comedy formulas to the tea, as well as providing decent characters with decent character dynamics along with its decently told cohesively consistent story all throughout, outputting an above-average show that will certainly be part of the minds of fans a bit longer when the seasons go by. ***

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• 

  ZNote

  50/100
  Delightfully--and frustratingly--disorienting its cast.

  (Video includes audio. Be sure to unmute)

  There’s a moment early in Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian when the titular Alya / Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou takes off her wet sock, making Kuze Masachika uncomfortable. Noticing this, she devilishly chuckles to herself and uses Kuze’s own discomfort for her flirtatious amusement, asking him to fetch another sock and put it on her leg. But an ill-advised remark about Kuze’s supposed cowardice (lyingly translated from Russian by Alya, which Kuze is all too aware of) prompts Kuze to immediately turn the tables on her, and now Alya suddenly finds HERSELF in great discomfort as Kuze does what he was asked, accidentally grazing her nethers in the process. A quick kick in the face and hasty evacuation leaves them both in, arguably, a worse state than they had been in just a few moments ago. It’s an interaction that lasts for all of two minutes, yet says much about when the series shines at its best, and makes its subsequent detouring all the more disappointing.

  (Unknown credit. This interaction towards the end of episode one sets up the kind of interplay between Alya and Kuze, as well as a general concept of both characters being on the receiving end of disorienting comedy and sincerity)

  Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian loves making its characters disoriented, such to the point that it wears it like a form of armor. Looking beyond the sock incident, there are other similar interactions among the show’s cast that, either directly or indirectly, make a point of knocking the characters off from any supposed positions of authority or superiority. The calm and cool Alya is thrown constantly into insecurity regarding her own feelings for Kuze, not helped in the slightest by her older sister Masha playfully teasing Alya for feelings that are brazenly obvious, dismissive as she might be. Yuki’s own sheltered and posh upbringing gives her smarts to slyly navigate her high school’s upper crust by disarming and endearing with charm, yet she can turn that off like a switch to indulge in her own uninhibited hijinks and jokes. And then there’s Kuze, dealing with a rambunctious sister, trying to disassociate himself from what he once knew, and reconciling Alya’s own truths—for you Umineko fans out there, “I’ll say it in Russian!”

  Informing that lies the show’s central gimmick – Kuze is fully aware of what Alya is saying when she speaks Russian, in part because of his own impassioned study of Russian thanks to a girl he once knew and loved many years ago. When Alya thinks she’s being secretive, Kuze holds more cards than she realizes. Situations between Alya and Kuze allow the sense of hiding one’s true feelings to be subverted to move the story forward, an intriguing take on a tired old miscommunication convention. This therefore leaves both Alya and Kuze alike in a strange twilight zone of both understanding the other and, admittedly frustratingly, holding one another at an impasse – they’ll be able to grow closer both platonically and romantically by spending time with each other, but they’ll never cross that final confessional threshold until either Alya says her feelings in Japanese or Kuze admits that he knows everything that she’s been saying in Russian. Either way, someone will have to bear the brunt of the final embarrassment, and it’s difficult to not wonder why Kuze doesn’t just clear the air, even given his mental and emotional hangups.

  But perhaps that’s fine. Alya’s rougher exterior isn’t consistently up and violently striking down Kuze at every perceived sleight or blunder. Kuze himself understands just how important Alya’s pursuits are in her academic life, and is more than willing to put any goofiness aside. Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian manages the magic act of having it both ways – comedically flirtatious and slapstick-like, and putting the jokes on hold to have a conversation that’s actually important. What blooms is a more amusing relationship, oscillating between moods, ideas, and episodes with a blush and a smile, ultimately reading as more sincere than it might have been otherwise if it had remained wholly committed to something more dynamically restrained. The final “endgame” might be put off until volume whatever-the-editor-demands, but to see Alya and Kuze play off one another is to constantly ask which one will come out the other side more disoriented than the other, and rarely in a way that feels unpleasant (with a couple of notable exceptions). Especially considering that Alya is playing with the deck stacked against her since Kuze knows everything that she’s saying when speaking Russian, seeing Kuze be thrown off-kilter in some fashion offers its own brand of pleasantly surprising satisfaction.

  

  (Alya and Kuze’s relationship balances itself between flirtatious and playful against “more important” and serious, giving each interaction its own sense of fun in terms of not only how they’ll connect, but also in who may be bearing the brunt of embarrassment or disorientation)

  Though the serious discussions between Alya and Kuze “three-dimensionalize” their relationship, from where some of those discussions manifest undercuts the material’s own innate delight. Wrapped within the romance is the larger political current of their school, and the student council offers Alya the chance to establish a station for herself beyond just the treasurer. However grand the pursuit, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian makes it clear that her own ability to navigate the school’s landscape is haphazard at best (not helped by the underlying “ethno”centrism of the student body being averse to outsiders) and dismally outclassed at worst. Against the larger figures within the sphere, Alya stands adrift. It reframes and disorients Alya as one of the central protagonists; the girl we’ve seen tickle and be tickled by Kuze fails to prove her own capability for independence, framing her as a woefully inept political figure who seemingly can do nothing without Kuze’s interference or long-term planning. Social ineptitude befits her characterization – nothing is inherently wrong with Alya failing at something, nor the implication that she will improve over time (as she begins to do). Yet, its scale as presented comes at the cost of her character position within the overall picture. Seeing Alya stumble so badly, even under the auspice of improving over time, comes across as unengrossing as a whole plot. The student council election robs the zest that makes the two leads’ dynamic work well.

  

  (The student council and political story may help the narrative in getting Alya and Kuze closer together, but its affective impact in the plot, and what it reveals about Alya’s character, leaves much to be desired)

  Though to say that the show has “two leads” is, itself, rather misleading. Both in Sunsunsun’s original story and Itou Riyota’s direction of the adaptation, the material with commendable insistence implants Yuki into the thick of both the romance and the political drama. Though I mentioned her slyness and propensity for explosiveness of comic sensibility, she stands in Alya’s way on all fronts, both as popular darling for student council presidency and for putting up barrier after barrier to Alya and Kuze’s potential happily-ever-after. Yuki, when viewed through Alya’s eyes, is the construction of everything that Alya aspires to be – in command and with Kuze. Though she stands at the meeting point of both the political and romantic plots, she is not an antagonist in the strictest sense of the word. That does not mean that it would not be open season on Alya and Kuze. Lord knows that Yuki gets her jollies out of a little trolling.

  It therefore makes it unfortunate that her strongest impression is that of the meta-aware character, frequently breaking the fourth wall in spirit by offering a comedic reward for directly pointing out something about otaku media and culture that fans would inherently recognize. She’s the successor in a long line of characters doing this (recently brought back into larger consciousness with Cid Kagenou in The Eminence in Shadow) and it seems that it’s a trend that’s here to stay. It’s already long outlived its welcome, although its half-life can be prolonged—albeit temporarily—by the sheer weight of Yuki’s consuming on-screen presence. Though, each time a joke of this nature was made, it seemed to call more attention to the balancing act the show couldn’t quite manage.

  

  (Yuki’s meta remarking through otakuism and otaku signifiers continues a frustrating trend of demolishing the fourth wall by pointing out tropes and conventions, leaving many of her jokes to feel unnecessarily forced or “we’ve heard this routine before” despite her boisterousness)

  All that transpires within Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, in terms of the political matters, the Kuze and Yuki family dynamic, and whatever romantic fate awaits Alya and Kuze, hints at developments that see ultimate payoff down the line. Despite all that promise, as presented with this season, the series succeeds with more finesse and fluency in its more lighthearted romantic affairs rather than its indulgences in something beyond the sociopolitical scope of its romantic duo. When characters pondered about how to respond to whatever student council matter was on the table, images of clothes shopping, a school dance, and botched Russian pronunciation asserted themselves in memory.

  One question does remain, however – will Alya ever get used to spicy food?

  «может быть...»

  It means “definitely.”

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