#Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Stage Report

AnimeJapan 2024 was held at Tokyo Big Sight last weekend on March 23 and March 24, highlighting over 100 upcoming and ongoing anime series in Japan. The Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian stage event was held on the Green Stage, featuring many guest appearances and new information about the series. 

Here is a special report from Kadokawa about what happened during the event. 

Meeting the Anime’s Voice Cast 

As the event began, a brand new preview of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian was shown. After the screening, Kohei Amasaki (Masachika Kuze) appeared on stage and asked the audience to shout the names of the characters when the guests came out. “Alya! Yuki! Ayano! Masha!” was in turn shouted out as Sumire Uesaka (Alya), Wakana Maruoka (Yuki Suo), Saya Aizawa (Ayano Kimijima), and Yukiyo Fujii (Masha) took to the stage.

As all the voice actors appeared on stage, they sank their teeth into the acrylic stands of each character on the desks in front of them. Afterwards, they engaged in a discussion segment titled “Favorite Characters! Roshidere” corner that was split into two parts: Explosive Tsundere” and “Attractive Characters.” The segment allowed the audience to share their favorite parts of the series. 

The Explosive Tsundere: Kohei Amasaki and Sumire Uesaka 

Under the category “Explosive Tsundere,” Amasaki and Uesaka performed a passage taken from the original novel, impressing the other voice cast members and audience with their performance. The performance featured lines such as Uesaka saying “Милашка” (Mirashka), which means “supremely cute!” in Russian. Soon after, the segment proceeded with a Russian language lesson from Uesaka herself. 

Maruoka said excitedly, “I couldn’t stop reading the original story because it has the perfect balance of tsun and dere!” Fujii added that “the original story is wonderful, but when I heard Uesaka-san’s character Alya at the recording studio, I was shaken!” 

The Attractive Characters: What Each Guest Thought of Their Characters

In the “Attractive Characters” section of the program, the anime’s voice cast discussed their first impressions of the characters they play. 

Uesaka excitedly claimed, “My love for silver-haired heroines is etched in my DNA!” 

Maruoka said, “Some of you will only know her from the anime, so I can’t talk about her character in depth yet, but she gets more and more interesting the deeper you dig!” She added that Ayano’s charms go far beyond the first impressions of when you meet her. 

Fujii thanked the entire cast, saying “I was worried because I haven’t played a character like Masha recently, but everyone provided me with so much encouragement!” She thanked the entire cast for their support. 

Aizawa-san provided a quick analysis of her character Ayano, saying, “While she is a character who doesn’t talk much, and her facial expression doesn’t really change, she is a very special girl.”

At the end of the corner, a new key visual of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian was unveiled. The visual was an illustration of Masachika and the other five characters gathered in one place, and all the cast members were excited to see which character was facing which.

Character Support Speech: Showcasing the Main Cast

During the “Character Support Speech” portion of the program, Uesaka, Maruoka, Fujii, and Aizawa showcased the charm of the characters they play through different performances. The order was decided by Amasaki, by drawing straws. 

Uesaka was picked first, saying “I thought she seemed unapproachable, but she’s actually right next to you, and being adorable in Russian! This is the best kind of thing!” 

Maruoka, who went second, began speaking like a presenter on a mail-order shopping show. She says of her character Yuki, “She’s very nice. She’s a swamp! You all love swamps, don’t you?” Aizawa-san asked the audience, “Don’t you want a maid, too?” and introduced Ayano with a campaign speech-like catch phrase, “One for the family: Ayano Kimishima,” and a modified version of the title, “A super-dominant maid who will never be able to blurt out cute Russian words for the rest of her life.” 

Fujii was the last to speak and shouted, “Let’s vote already!” She then said, “Modern people are tired! The heroine will soothe you overwhelmingly!” to show off her character’s charm. “Masha is Alya’s big sister. If you choose her, Alya is part of the package!” she said, trying to appeal to the audience and bring in votes for her. 

After listening to her speech, the audience voted, and the winner was… Fujii’s Masha. She commented on her victory with a smile, saying “I look forward to working with both of my sisters!” 

Final Greetings & New Anime Information

After the discussion corner, new information on the original light novel, manga adaptation, “Anime Japan” limited edition goods, collaboration café, and pop up shop were revealed. In addition, the web radio program for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian will feature Amasaki and Uesaka as hosts.

It was also announced that a special event previewing the anime’s first episode will happen at a later date. The audience and five cast members all applauded with delight at the announcement. 

At the end of the event, the cast gave final messages about the anime series to the audience, which will begin airing in July 2024. 

“I’m already having a lot of fun during the recording sessions, and I hope everyone can feel the atmosphere as if they were there at the school,” says Aizawa. 

“We have been recording in harmony since the first episode. I can’t wait to deliver such a light-hearted and heartwarming story to everyone!” adds Fujii. 

“I’m looking forward to the day when you all get to know various aspects of Yuki! If you are a fan of the original story, let’s watch together with big grins on our faces!” says Maruoka.

Series lead Uesaka adds, “The scenes where Alya gets all cute in Russian are key, so I’m trying to pronounce the words in a cute way. We are working together with the original author and sound director on how to make Alya as cute as possible, so please look forward to it!” 

“I think we will see a new side of Kuze-kun in the anime. So I’m taking the role as seriously as I can! Anyway, Alya is so cute, so please look forward to every episode starting in July!” comments Amasaki.

The stage event closed with each of them expressing their excitement for the anime adaptation.

Source: press release