Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 1 Review: Quite The Pleasant Rom-Com

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 1 Review: The first episode of the new romance anime Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian or Roshidere is finally here. Let us see how this episode turned out.

Overview

This Japanese light novel was created by SunSunSun with illustrations by Momoco. It first appeared as two short stories on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in May 2020. The short stories were posted between May 6 and May 27, 2020, but, due to its popularity, Kadokawa Shoten acquired the series and began publishing it in February 2021 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint.

A manga adaptation was also launched by Saho Tenamachi after the novel’s success. It started serialization in October 2022 and is available on Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket app and website. The anime adaptation of this novel is produced by Doga Kobo.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 1 Review

The very first episode of this brand-new rom-com anime is here, and I was pleasantly surprised with it. The plot is fairly simple, and this episode hardly does anything to strive to be something extraordinary. Right off the bat, we are introduced to our heroine, Alya, a high school student of Russian origin.

Her exotic looks and oozing charm make her one of the most popular girls in her school. However, her personality is of someone who is a Tsundere through and through. She struggles to express her real feelings, and even though she is warm at heart, she comes off as cold and haughty from the outside. On top of that, she is also a part of the student council, and this makes her doubly intimidating. Still, there is one person in front of whom she lets her guard down.

It is none other than Kuze, in front of whom, she acts like a playful and sometimes bashful young girl. Kuze is an otaku who does not really have flashy qualities, but he is still a likeable fellow who sits beside Alya. The highlight of this whole anime is also introduced here. Alya uses Russian, from time to time, in front of Kuze to either compliment him or express her real romantic interests towards him in the hopes that Kuze does not understand a word. Sadly for her, Kuze used to have a Russian friend while growing up, and he understands most of the things Alya says.

But as a very considerate person, he knows just how embarrassing the whole situation will be for Alya if she finds out this truth, thus, he keeps his mouth shut and pretends he understands nothing.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian anime is very simple, and it keeps you entertained with the antics of its characters. Fan service is there, but it is not so much that we cannot handle. We are introduced to some side characters who might be important later, but as of now, they do not play that much of a vital role.

Verdict

I like this episode and believe it can become a good rom-com after it releases a few more episodes. The concept is fresh, and the animation is surprisingly very good. All in all, this is a nice watch that you can definitely start if you are into the romance genre.

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