Summary
The following contains spoilers for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Episode 12, “Facing Forward,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russianhas finally reached its conclusion, with the season ending on a rather exciting note. From Yuki’s transition to the season’s endgame villain toMasachika revealing his genius intellectand cunning nature, the final episode hit all the right notes to satisfy fans of this intriguing bilingual romance.
Alya may have been the underdog in this year’s presidential elections, yet her speech has clearly cemented her as the future president. While it was already evident that Alya would end up taking the win alongside Masachika, the events that unraveled and led to the conclusion remained thoroughly engaging till the end. With the series already confirmed for another season, it’s safe to say thatAlya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian’sseason finale has done the series justice.
A Game of Wits Between Siblings
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russianmay haveinitially been a romcom, yet its finale was nothing short of a thrilling game of wits. With the final episode’s focus entirely on the speeches that would change the course of the campaign, Yuki and Alya went toe to toe in a spar of psychological warfare.
It’s like dealing with a biting dog. I want to pet it and love it, but I also have to discipline it so it won’t bite again.
While Yuki’s decisive attacks were quick-witted and highly strategized, she failed to compare to Alya’s secret weapon — Masachika. With her own intuition, coupled with Masachika’s last-minute tweaks to the speech, Alya ended up taking down Yuki in one fell swoop.
Yuki’s Strategic Gambit
Despite being marketed as a romcom with a bilingual romance,Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russianended up taking on the image ofa psychological drama. With Masachika and Yuki’s mental gymnastics and constant back and forth, the final episode of the series was nothing short of a thrilling competition. Yuki had already showcased her cunning side in last week’s episode, with this being Masachika’s time to showcase his true genius persona.
I’ll just stick to my original plan and aim for a sweeping victory.
Yuki had calculated every possible outcome of the speech, which led to her opting to go first and win the masses over in one swooping move. Her strategy relied on leveraging her experienceas student council Presidentof her middle school, coupled with her networking in the current school to sway public opinion. With Ayano sealing the deal with a cute yet straightforward speech praising Yuki, the duo had successfully set themselves up for a sweeping victory.
Masachika’s Counterattack
Masachika finally showed his true colors in his counterattack against Yuki’s psychological warfare.The laid-back Otakuturned out to be a cunning genius in disguise, as he transformed into Alya’s strategic advisor in winning over public opinion. While Alya’s own speech was perfect and sincere, her introduction in Russian is what truly sealed the deal for her campaign. By introducing herself in Russian, Alya broke the atmosphere that Yuki and Ayano had created, in-turn attracting the audience to herself.
However, this wasn’t the only aspect of his counterattack, as the final blow to Yuki’s plans was Masachika’s own carefully crafted speech. His decision to side with Alya instead of Yuki had led to students questioning his credibility, but with his meticulous speech, Masachika was able to present the real reason why he decided to support Alya. With such a decisive counterattack to Yuki’s offensive, Alya and Masachika have clearly won the public’s heart — a befitting conclusion to this intense romcom.
A First Within the Series
The Show Featured an Original Ending Theme For the First Time
For the season finale ofAlya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, the series, for the first time, featured an original ending theme song. Breaking off the tradition of featuring covers of classic J-Pop songs forthe series’ ending themes, the show has presented a special song in Alya Kujou’s voice.
While fans were hoping for a Russian song to make rounds in the final episode of the season, an original title sung by Alya’s voice actress is still a treat in itself. The studio’s decision of reviving classic titles in Alya’s voice was certainly a bold move, yet it clearly paid off in the form of adding a nostalgic touch to the series.
Conformation For Season Renewal
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Has Been Confirmed For Season 2
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian’sseason finale was immediately followed by the confirmation of a second season for the series. The announcement was accompanied by a special promotional video unveiling the season renewal. The title’s light novel will be adapted from volume four onwards, continuing Alya and Masachika’s bilingual romance on screens.
The second season will focus on the summer vacation arc of the light novels, meaning plenty of fanservice moments and romantic escapades are to be expected. While the first season subverted most of the show’s romantic subplots, the new adaptation is likely to focus on the actualromance between Alya and Masachika.
