Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian feels weird at times. While the show revolves around the titular character, it doesn’t feel like a story about her. I praised the past couple of episodes for establishing Alya as a more likable character I want to see succeed. However, this episode highlights Alya as the least interesting character in the cast. She may be the titular character, but Kuze and Yuki can effortlessly steal the show with their trickery, comedy, and engaging backstories. They are the ones pushing the plot forward and making this show for a lot of people, myself included.

I was surprised at how little this episode went into the buildup established last week. We get a little flashback going into the splintered relationship between Kuze and his mother. Part of why he worked so hard and was considered a prodigy is because he wanted to earn his mother’s praise, who seemed to give it to him at first but then gradually showed some signs of disdain. It’s disappointing that this very engaging plot point is sidestepped, considering the season is almost over.

While I do like a lot of the directing and creative choices in this episode, such as some camera angles and the rather bold choice to have half of the episode without any background music, there isn’t as much actual substance here as I would hope. It is extensively a setup episode for what I assume is the season’s climax. The problem is that this setup is only possible by once again highlighting that Alya, as a character, really doesn’t have a lot going for her, which makes me want to be on her side. If anything, I have every reason to be on Yuki’s side since she is a far more entertaining character and has a genuine motivation to pursue the student council president role.

It’s a little vague if Yuki’s actions are all meant to be played up as a competitive force or if she has a genuine emotional involvement in the competition. It’s possible that she really means what she said to Yuki, but it’s also possible this is all an act, and Yuki is just committing to the bit of being the villain because she finds that entertaining. However, Yuki can live out her fantasy while having reasons based on genuine emotion. I’m not sure to what end the student council president role means to Yuki, but that’s what makes me want to keep watching.

I’m concerned about whether or not I can get behind Alya being the one to come out on top because we’re almost at the end of the season, and this episode might’ve undone a little bit of the good faith that was established. Do I buy Alya and Kuze as a couple? Yes. Do I think Alya has the potential as an underdog in the story? Also, yes. Do I think she deserves the position that she is gunning for? No. She can’t even answer why she wants to run for the position in the first place. She’s easily manipulated and a little too evergreen during situations that require a more cynical touch, but there are genuine moments in the show where it doesn’t feel like she takes the situation as seriously as she claims. I want to like Alya as a character, but the writers needs to step up in showing what makes her appealing.

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Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

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