Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

Episode 8

This episode was probably my favorite of the series thus far and it's also the episode where I've hated Alya the least. The last episode ended with a direct challenge towards Kuze but I liked that Alya directed the attention towards herself. While you could argue she's just being there for her man, she does need to prove herself to the students and audience that she has what it takes to run for this position in the first place. She is a fresh new student that barely interacts with anybody, so it's very easy for people to project their own interpretations onto her. It's hard for someone like that to run for a position where interacting with other students and building a community is the goal. However, this is a good step towards her filling that role in a way that feels believable.

I was genuinely intrigued by the debate itself and would've liked the back-and-forth between Alya and Sayaka to last a bit longer. However, I like the underhandedness that happens to catch Alya off guard. If she could do everything on her own right here, then I don't think it would've felt earned considering her previous interactions in highly stressful situations. But I like things are slowly unravelling with her insecurities and how Kuze empathizes with that. If this is brought to the forefront as something that she needs to overcome, then maybe I'll start liking her as a character more. Plus, this debate displays the whole idea that Kuze and Alya are basically two sides of the same coin. They are both very intelligent but can satisfy something for the other emotionally, even if they're not willing to admit it yet.

However, this idea of having perceptions projected onto you ties into the final third of the episode where Sayaka spells out the lesson. I was surprised at how explicit the writing felt at the end. A lot of the message could have been delivered a bit more gracefully: Sayaka straight up said that she projected this ideal version of Kuze and Yuki onto them and that's why she needed to pick that fight. It felt clunky as most of the episode was tightly written without being explicit. But what didn't feel clunky was this being a genuine step forward for our main duo as a team. They handled their first debate well and were even able to open up to each other a little emotionally. I'd be delighted to see more progression for the rest of the season.

P.S. The bit at the end with Yuki overseeing everything and monologuing like some supervillain was probably the funniest gag in the entire show.

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