Reviews

There are many book series about people meeting from different cultures, and for good reason. People who grow up in different environments behave differently and have differing ideas of what's normal. Even in light novels, this idea is explored when people move from the countryside to the city, or even between schools. So you would think this series, with a main character who theoretically spent half her life abroad in Russia, would touch on those aspects as well. Alya should have different cultural attitudes and behaviors than a typical Japanese girl. Otherwise what's the point of her being Russian?

That's why I picked up this LN. But I was WRONG. The only Russian thing about Alya is her name and her looks. Everything else is a complete copy-paste from any other LN heroine. She overreacts to compliments, gets easily embarrassed from physical contact, and can't communicate.

The thing is, Russian culture is very different from Japanese culture. People are much more physical, with physical contact between people a part of everyday interactions. People are also less reserved and more outwardly affectionate, so giving compliments is customary and even expected. You might think that a girl raised in that kind of environment might absorb some of those norms.

It's just lazy writing. The author couldn't be bothered to do even the basics of research and make Alya a believable character. Instead, he chose to stick to the well-worn formula of dense MC and tsundere fMC, filled with cliched writing. Do you have your light novel bingo card out? Let's get started:

* fMC asks MC to touch her thinking he won't do it, he does it, she hits him
* "he called me c-c-cute"
* fMC has a tragic backstory that prevents her from making a single friend until she meets the MC
* fMC is constantly being asked out by nearly every guy in the school but turns them all down
* MC is lazy and unmotivated, isn't a member of any clubs, and has an inferiority complex but is secretly a great guy
* fMC fashion show
* fMC has a misunderstanding mistaking MC's sister for his girlfriend
* fMC and MC were friends when they were kids but conveniently forgot each other's names
* fMC is so beautiful everyone stares at her wherever she goes (which never happens to high school girls in real life, sorry to tell you)
* troubling incestuous overtones between the MC and his sister

BINGO! I'm sure if you told ChatGPT to write a story with these light novel elements and a Russian fMC it would spit out something quite a bit better.

Just as an example of a manga that thoughtfully addresses the meeting of cultures, there is "A Sign of Affection", about a half-German boy who loves to travel. Throughout the manga, the slight differences between his and the main character's norms are explored. It's not the only book to do this by any means, but such a contrast to the lazy writing here.