Key findings
- After an exciting game full of intelligence and strategic speeches, Alya emerges victorious in the presidential election.
- Masachika's brilliant mind and final changes to the speech lead to a decisive victory for Alya.
- The show features an original end credits theme for the first time and a second season has been confirmed.
The following contains spoilers for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, episode 12, “Facing Forward,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian has finally come to an end, and the season ends on quite a thrilling note. From Yuki's transformation into a villain at the end of the season to Masachika's revelation of his genius intellect and cunning nature, the final episode hit just the right note to satisfy fans of this fascinating bilingual romance.
Alya may have been the underdog in this year's presidential election, but her speech clearly cemented her as a future president. Although it was already clear that Alya would win in the end along with Masachika, the events that unfolded and led to the conclusion remained suspenseful right up to the end. With the series already confirmed for another season, it's safe to say that Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian The season finale did justice to the series.
A game of intelligence between siblings
Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian may have started out as a romantic comedy, but the finale was nothing short of a thrilling game of wits. The final episode focused entirely on the speeches that would change the course of the campaign, and Yuki and Alya went head-to-head in psychological warfare.
It's like a dog that bites. I want to pet him and love him, but I also have to discipline him so that he doesn't bite again.
Although Yuki's determined attacks were quick-witted and well-thought-out, she was no match for Alya's secret weapon – Masachika. Using her own intuition and Masachika's final changes to the speech, Alya finally defeated Yuki with one blow.
Yuki's strategic gambit
Although it is marketed as a romantic comedy with a bilingual romance, Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian took on the character of a psychodrama in the end. With Masachika and Yuki's mental gymnastics and the constant back and forth, the final episode of the series was nothing less than a thrilling competition. Yuki had already shown her clever side in last week's episode, and this was Masachika's time to show his true genius personality.
I'll just stick to my original plan and aim for a resounding victory.
Yuki had calculated every possible outcome of the speech, leading her to decide to go first and convince the masses in one fell swoop. Her strategy relied on using her experience as the student council president of her middle school, coupled with her network in the current school to sway public opinion. When Ayano sealed the deal with a sweet but direct speech praising Yuki, the duo had successfully set up a smashing victory.
Masachika's counterattack
Masachika finally showed his true colors in his counterattack to Yuki's psychological warfare. The laid-back otaku revealed himself to be a cunning genius in disguise when he transformed himself into Alya's strategic advisor to win over public opinion. While Alya's own speech was perfect and sincere, her introduction in Russian was what gave her campaign the decisive victory. By introducing herself in Russian, Alya broke the atmosphere Yuki and Ayano had created and in turn drew the audience to her.
However, this was not 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 over Yuki had caused the students to question his credibility, but with his carefully crafted speech, Masachika was able to lay out the real reason why he chose to support Alya. With such a decisive counterattack to Yuki's offensive, Alya and Masachika clearly won the hearts of the audience – a worthy conclusion to this intense romantic comedy.
A premiere in the series
The show featured an original closing theme for the first time
For the season finale of Alya sometimes hides her feelings in RussianThe series had its own end credits song for the first time. Contrary to the tradition of using classic J-pop songs as end credits, the show featured a special song featuring the voice of Alya Kujou.
While fans were hoping for a Russian song to make the rounds in the final episode of the season, an original track sung by Alya's voice actress is still a treat in itself. The studio's decision to revive classic tracks with Alya's voice was certainly a bold move, but it clearly paid off as it added a nostalgic touch to the series.
Conformation for the season renewal
For season 2, it was confirmed that Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian
Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian The season finale was immediately followed by the confirmation of a second season of the series. The announcement was accompanied by a special promotional video revealing the season extension. The light novel of the title will be adapted from volume four onwards and will continue the bilingual romance between Alya and Masachika on screen.
The second season will focus on the summer vacation arc of the light novels, which means plenty of fanservice moments and romantic escapades are to be expected. While the first season subverted most of the series' romantic subplots, the new adaptation will likely focus on the actual romance between Alya and Masachika.
