Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san

Seirei Academy is a prestigious school attended by the very best students in Japan. Alisa Mikhailovna "Alya" Kujou, the half-Russian and half-Japanese treasurer of the school's student council, is known for her intelligence, stunning looks, and rigid personality. Contrasting her near-flawless persona, Alya's unmotivated classmate Masachika Kuze slacks off during lessons and seems to show no interest in her.

Initially irritated, Alya gradually becomes more intrigued by Masachika and starts expressing her affection for him in Russian. However, she is oblivious to his secret—he understands the language fluently! Due to a childhood friend who was temporarily staying in Japan, Masachika has been studying Russian in hopes of reuniting with her.

As the two spend more time together, the playful and eccentric relationship between them quickly deepens. In the meantime, both must learn to navigate their new growing feelings for one another.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kujou, Alisa Mikhailovna Main

Uesaka, Sumire Japanese

Kuze, Masachika Main

Amasaki, Kouhei Japanese

Suou, Yuki Supporting

Maruoka, Wakana Japanese

Kujou, Maria Mikhailovna Supporting

Fujii, Yukiyo Japanese

Kimishima, Ayano Supporting

Aizawa, Saya Japanese

Miyamae, Nonoa Supporting

Aoyama, Yoshino Japanese

Sarashina, Chisaki Supporting

Kawase, Maki Japanese

Kujou, Akemi Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Taniyama, Sayaka Supporting

Hasegawa, Ikumi Japanese

Kenzaki, Touya Supporting

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Kobayashi, Ryou Producer

Kamata, Hajime Producer

Arai, Kousuke Producer

Hasegawa, Shunsuke Producer

Reviews

Oct 24, 2024

Elhwing

Recommended

Roshidere is a great romcom, it's well balanced between lovely and quirky moments, the characters are good looking, the animation is nice, it does use some usual tropes for this genre but unfortunately, it also faces the same problem we can find in other romcoms regarding the plot : it's a tiny bit too linear and predictable.

The pros :

+ Beautiful character design (except for the male MC who has a pretty bland/common style )
+ Yuki Suou as a character is pretty funny and has a rather uncommon profile in anime
+ Decent animation
+ This anime manages pretty well its comedy aspect, ... it even manages to introduce some "daring" jokes without being too cringe
+ There are 12 different endings, some people don't like this, but I think it's a praiseworthy feat
+ Some dynamics between the characters are interesting...
The cons :

- But on the other hand, the support characters are maybe not used enough. Having a story focused on the main couple isn't a con, but it's frustrating because it feels like it would be even funnier or more interesting if the support characters had a bigger role.

- The "main plot" is kind of meh and it prevents the show from shining even brighter. I won't spoil the events, but keep your expectations low in that regard

- Some scenes ( the hypnosis one ) or subplot elements felt a bit out of place, maybe it works better in the manga, but they had a weird impact during the first season because they felt pointless : the anime shows us some some minor lore things but they aren't really used to further the story or anything


All in all, Roshidere does many things right : there's a lovely couple that every viewer will root for, there's a fair share of comedy, and the animation quality is satisfying throughout the whole season. However, there's also a few things done wrong : the plot is as basic as they come, and overall, it's a bit frustrating because it feels like all the ingredients were there to deliver a more original story, but the end result is that support characters are "underused" while some scenes should have been cut because they have close to zero interest.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Oct 22, 2024

BigTimeTalks

Mixed Feelings

~ Roshidere is marketed as a high school rom-com (i.e. two student council members secretly courting one another, a la Kaguya-sama), but in reality, it feels more like a show about student politics. The story spends WAY too much time explaining the finer details of the school's election process, and romance is treated simply as a vehicle for political ambitions and personal baggage.
~ The plot often feels inorganic and meandering. There is a heavy reliance on lengthy exposition dumps, either to explain the rules to a boring debate proceeding, or to explain a character's backstory in the vaguest of terms.
~ Is this show seriously telling ... me every student in this school cares about who they elect as their student council president? What kind of school is this??
~ This anime's unique selling point is its deuteragonist (Alya), who often flirts with the protagonist (Kuze) in Russian, which, unbeknownst to her, is a language he understands. And I'll be honest: this story gimmick doesn't work at all. There is no meaningful cause-and-effect generated from this idea; what always ends up happening is Alya says something embarrassing in Russian, Kuze gets flustered but keeps his mouth shut, and the story continues as though nothing happened. You can probably see how twelve episodes of this can get repetitive and dull.
+ Roshidere's greatest asset is Yuki Suou: the playful, mischievous little sister whose persistent teasing and devilish antics make her a fan favourite character, despite having less screen time than both Alya and Kuze. She's SO enjoyable, in fact, that every single one of her on-screen appearances has found its way onto YouTube. She's easily the most enjoyable character of the entire anime, and her appeal honestly speaks for itself.
+ Story issues aside, I must admit that the production and animation quality are quite good. Every character is wonderfully detailed, the opening is visually captivating, and the art style always compliments the tone of the scene (whether for comedy or for drama).
+ There are twelve different endings, each with their own unique song. Yes, the songs are all covers of pre-existing songs from other anime, but the effort is clearly there. It at least gives viewers something to enjoy as they sit through the credits.

= It is hard to give a decisive verdict when Roshidere is such a lopsided experience. On one hand, the feckless characters and aimless plot make for a frustratingly dull anime. On the other, it is saved by its character writing (as in: one character, singular); with her clearly-defined motives and willingness to take action, Yuki takes an otherwise mediocre, skip-worthy anime and elevates it into something almost halfway decent. It's nowhere close to cathartic or satisfying, but the handful of trashy, fun moments throughout the show may be enough to justify a watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 24, 2024

Neurochitin

Not Recommended

Alya-san has an interesting premise that feels like it could make a great romcom. Unfortunately, it has no idea what to do with its premise and instead tries out various other things, none of which really stick. After a few romance-focused episodes, which are good but not outstanding, it suddenly becomes an imouto meme show for a bit, then switches its focus decidedly on student politics which it has no idea how to do in a remotely interesting way. Near the end it almost feels like “we have Classroom of the Elite at home”. The premise which made me interested in the first place is ... shoved aside to become more of a recurring joke than a central element of the story: “Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian” — yes, she certainly does that. And Masachika (the male lead) reacts in the same way every time. There are all sorts of interesting dynamics the premise *could* lead to, but the show never explores any of them.

The animation and the music are all solid. Especially the EDs are cool, I like the idea of Alya's VA covering a different old love song each time. There was clearly a lot of effort put into the adaptation, but the story that was presented in the end is just not very interesting.

This anime certainly has enjoyable moments. But given the abundance of good romantic comedies, imouto meme anime, and student politics dramas, I see no reason to recommend a show that half-heartedly tries to be all of them at once.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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