Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale review: The best production yet from Doga Kobo after Oshi no Ko?

Produced by Doga Kobo, the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale (episode 12), titled Chin Up and Face Forward, marks an emphatic conclusion to the rom-com anime from Summer 2024. Released on September 18, 2024, the episode witnessed Doga Kobo's genius production, with Alya delivering a genuine and heartfelt speech to win over the audience at the closing ceremony.

From the apt background OSTs to the proper usage of camera angles to fluid animation and art, the production of the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale had everything to make it one of the significant titles from the Summer 2024 anime line-up.

Credit has to go to Doga Kobo as the esteemed studio ensured the finale ticked the major boxes. While the grand narrative centered around the closing ceremony, the episode had a cluster of small narratives, highlighting Alya's growth as a character and other aspects. Undoubtedly, the episode's production value marks the series on par with Oshi no Ko, the other popular project of Doga Kobo.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale (episode 12).

The Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale review: Analyzing Doga Kobo's production for the closing ceremony

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Throughout the series, Doga Kobo ensured the rom-com anime remained true to its source material, and the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale was no different. The esteemed studio covered the events from volume 3 of SunSunSun's light novels, focusing on the closing ceremony and Alya's speech.

Alisa Mikhailovna Kujo aka Alya, with Masachika Kuze's guidance, delivered a resounding speech on stage to show the audience why she's one of the perfect candidates to run for the student council presidential election race. Alya's speech in the closing ceremony truly reflected her character: a hardworking girl who wants to bring the ideal outcomes to fruition.

Even though she has tasted failures multiple times, she has only learned from them. One of the significant aspects of Alya's speech was her sincerity. Every word Alya spoke was genuine, straight from the heart. She also confessed that she lacked the necessary skills to become a proficient president.

Alya delivers her speech at the closing ceremony (Image via Doga Kobo)

Yet, she promised to close the gap and become a student council president worthy of everyone's admiration. Alya added that if she felt she wasn't worthy by next year's election, she would step down from the race. Undoubtedly, the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale gave the heroine the spotlight she deserved.

However, it wouldn't have been possible without Masachika's help. Prior to Alya, the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale saw Yuki Suou and her running partner, Ayano Kimishima, capture the audience's attention. Yuki's heart-winning speech, accompanied by Ayano's impeccable and safe speech, ensured the audience wouldn't focus much on Alya.

Masachika and Alya before the closing ceremony (Image via Doga Kobo)

Yet, Masachika perfectly predicted Yuki's move. As a result, he advised Alya to begin her speech in Russian to break the ice and turn the audience's attention to her. The boy's plan worked as the crowd in the auditorium became silent and wondered what was wrong with Alya.

Doga Kobo studio excellently added these small yet significant moments from the light novel to the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale to highlight Masachika's strategic brilliance. It's almost as if he had every plan of Yuki in his mind and knew how to counter them.

Masachika reminds the audience about Alya's speech (Image via Doga Kobo)

Undoubtedly, Alya's speech only made it easier for him to convince the audience with his own speech why they should consider the silver-haired girl as the next student council president. Masachika emphasized Alya's charisma, which he felt was an essential value a student council president must have.

Besides that, the boy kept his final trump card for the last: he revealed to everyone that Taniyama and Nonoa, their rivals from the student congress, would join the student council if Alya became the next president. Alya's genuine speech and Masachika's tactics ensured the duo received more applause than Yuki and Ayano.

Yuki gives her speech (Image via Doga Kobo)

While Yuki's speech was more compact than Alya's, it was full of hollowed promises. As Masachika observed, Yuki's speech had everything but substance. Compared to her, Alya's speech was more genuine and heartfelt. Undoubtedly, as a pair, Masachika and Alya delivered a better performance than their competitors.

From a production perspective, Doga Kobo masterfully produced the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale's closing ceremony, with proper background OST, camera movements, and animation. Obviously, the studio had to cut and shorten a few moments from volume 3 to seamlessly pace the episode.

The Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale review: Alya and Masachika's dynamics

Masachika and Alya after the ceremony (Image via Doga Kobo)

As mentioned earlier, the grand narrative for the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale had multiple small narratives embedded to highlight various characters and aspects. One of them would be Alya and Masachika's unique chemistry, which remains the focal point of the series.

Throughout the series, Alya and Masachika's friendship has been the main selling point. Although the finale didn't see them getting into a relationship, it most certainly saw their progress in friendship. Alya finally called Masachika by his initial name after the closing ceremony. Likewise, the boy asked Alya whether she would like to spend time with him over the summer break.

The Masachika Kuze from episode 1 wouldn't have asked Alya such a question. Therefore, amid the student council narrative, the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale highlighted the progress of Masachika and Alya's dynamic relationship.

The Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale review: Yuki and Masachika's rivalry

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

Even though Yuki and Masachika are siblings, they have competition running through their blood. Masachika was well aware of what Yuki was capable of. As such, he looked forward to the challenge. He let his guard down during the moment he was sick but counter-attacked with brilliant strategies at the closing ceremony.

The Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale saw the siblings' actual characters unfold. Yet, there's no doubt that Yuki deeply cared for her brother, irrespective of the competition. She always kept her competitive mindset away from her familial affection for Masachika.

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

While the episode didn't highlight it as such, it's something Doga Kobo has shown throughout the series with faithful adaptation to the light novel. As for Masachika, his competitiveness toward Yuki Suou stems from his understanding of the girl's capabilities.

The opening scene in the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale reflected it, as Masachika looked forward to the closing ceremony, and played his trump cards.

The Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale review: The missed opportunities

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

There were some aspects that Doga Kobo production studio could have done differently in Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. The major deviation from the light novel was during the closing ceremony. In the light novel, Masachika Kuze encouraged Alya by saying "Chin up" in Russian.

However, in the anime version, he doesn't say it in the Russian tongue. It could have made a huge impact on the scene and his dynamic with Alya. She could have felt that Masachika specifically learned the Russian phrase for her sake. Besides that, the production studio curtailed the speeches somewhat to suit the pacing. Yet, it was overall a compact episode, that didn't have many controversial points.

Conclusion

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Doga Kobo's production of the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian finale was excellent, to say the least. When we look at the overall series, it most certainly shines next to Oshi no Ko, the other famous title from the esteemed studio.

From the production to the voice acting, every aspect contributed to the finale's greatness. Considering the anime has been renewed for a sequel, it remains to be seen what happens next in Masachika Kuze and Alya's story.