Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 review: Doga Kobo maintains the tempo with Alya and Masachika's date

Produced by Doga Kobo, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 came out on September 4, 2024. The episode titled Birthday Party, Much Belated, presented fans with a beautiful narrative as Masachika went on a date with Alya to celebrate his belated birthday.

The latest installment saw Doga Kobo's expertise in coalescing the elements of rom-com with drama. From Alya and Masachika's date to Yuki's bubbly antics to Masachika's reaction to seeing his mother, every moment contributed to the grand narrative and shaped the episode.

From a production perspective, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 didn't try to do too much. Rather, it stuck to its principles and captured the essence of SunSunSun's manga.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 review: Evaluating Doga Kobo's focus on Alya and Masachika's date

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The grand narrative of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 remained true to its core. The episode highlighted Alya and Masachika's sweet chemistry from the onset, with the former getting a call from the silver-haired girl days before the exams. Alya knew Masachika tended to slack off alone, so she wanted to check on him.

As she expected, Masachika faced difficulty concentrating on his studies. Thus, she made a deal: If Masachika managed to place in the top 30 as his goal, she would do anything he asked her. However, if he failed to achieve his goal, he had to do one thing as per Alya's request.

From the onset, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 ensured the installment would focus on the main duo's chemistry. The rom-com aspect continued with Alya learning that Masachika didn't tell her about his birthday. She became upset because she wanted to celebrate the day with the boy.

Alya and Masachika, as seen in the episode (Image via Doga Kobo)

Alya continued to be upset at Masachika, even after the exams. Eventually, the boy realized the true reason behind Alya's weird behavior. He recalled that people in Russia usually hold birthday parties. As such, he promised the girl that he would enjoy a belated birthday bash with her.

Doga Kobo's excellent production kept the right tempo for the first few minutes of the episode, allowing Alya and Masachika's chemistry to prosper. The highlight was certainly Alya's reactions to Masachika's words. Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 witnessed the main heroine's tsundere nature, which has become a staple aspect of the series.

Following the opening scene, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 moved to the date day. Alya appeared in a beautiful dress and met Masachika at a designated spot. The scene wonderfully captured the rom-com elements as the duo walked through the streets, meeting the gazes of many.

Alya shows up on the date (Image via Doga Kobo)

Masachika realized everyone's gazes were on Alya, who looked stunning. The silver-haired girl revealed she deals with admirers almost every weekend. Usually, she chats with them in Russian until they go away. Undoubtedly, Alya's conversation with Masachika was one of the crucial highlights of the episode.

The date continued with Masachika and Alya arriving at a restaurant and discussing the closing ceremony. The boy revealed that, unlike the other events, the Closing Ceremony didn't have polls. Rather, the chances of a candidate depended on the audience's feedback. With Yuki's high popularity, he felt they had to close the gap somehow.

Masachika and Alya, as seen at the restaurant (Image via Doga Kobo)

Aside from the election-related discussion, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 saw the silver-haired girl tease Masachika. She fed the boy with the spoon she used to eat, thus sharing an indirect kiss. Moreover, she also gifted him a fancy mug, which Masachika loved.

From a critical point-of-view, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 perfectly showcased Alya and Masachika's date, adapting the written words from SunSunSun's light novels in grand style. While the episode had to cut some dialogues for pacing purposes, the narrative's crux remained unchanged.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 review: Maria and Masachika's moment, Masachka's mother

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The second segment of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 switched the focus to the Student Council room, where Kenzaki revealed that they would soon announce the summer uniform project to others. Apparently, Chisaki made a huge contribution to the successful negotiations.

Besides the slight banters and the usual slice-of-life moments, the second segment chiefly focused on Maria's cute reactions to Masachika Kuze's words. While cleaning the dishes, she spoke to Masachika about the hypnosis incident and asked whether she did anything embarrassing.

She was relieved to know that she did nothing other than patting Masachika and Alya's heads. However, when the boy revealed that he had seen her undergarments, she pouted in anger at the boy and even squeezed his cheeks. These moments made Maria and Masachika's chemistry stand out.

Maria, as seen in the episode (Image via Doga Kobo)

Following that, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 moved to the parent-teacher meeting. The episode introduced Masachika's paternal grandfather, who attended the meeting for the first time because the boy's father had to fly to England.

Doga Kobo's production captured Masachika's paternal grandfather, Tomoshia Kuze (voiced by Shinpachi Tsuji), from SunSunSun's novels really well. Tomohisa was in awe after seeing Alya, whom he wanted as Masachika's bride. The episode revealed how much Masachika's grandfather love Russia.

Besides him, the episode also introduced Alya's mother, Akemi Kujo, who was finally glad to meet Masachika. She revealed that her daughter spoke of him plenty. Doga Kobo expertly handled the comedy elements of the episode, with Tomohisa's subtle remarks, mob-like get-up, and Alya's reactions.

Masachika's mother in Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 (Image via Doga Kobo)

However, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 also had some drama at the end, with Masachika Kuze meeting her mother in the hallway. She arrived at the school to attend the parent-teacher meeting with Yuki.

Interestingly, Masachika's mother turned her face away from her boy, similar to how she did in the past. Masachika was pained to see her mother like that. Although the episode didn't reveal why his mother behaved the way she did, it made clear that everything wasn't well between Masachika and his mother.

Conclusion

Tomohisa Kuze, as seen in the episode (Image via Doga Kobo)

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 10 displayed themes similar to those you can expect from the series. The episode was the perfect coalescence of diverse elements from romance to comedy to drama. Doga Kobo production studio continued excellently weaving SunSunSun's narrative in the anime format.