Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is a sweet-natured romantic comedy anime. Executive produced by Ryū Ishiguro (Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won't Lose), Shō Tanaka (Bibliophile Princess, The Eminence in Shadow), Sou Yurugi (BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense, The Rising of the Shield Hero), and Yukio Sugino (Sonic Prime), Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is well worth discovery for fans of the genre. Produced by Hajime Kamata (Asteroid in Love, My Senpai Is Annoying), Kōsuke Arai (BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense., Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World) and Shunsuke Hasegawa (Golden Kamuy, PERSONA 5 the Animation: Proof of Justice), Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian features theme song performances by Sumire Uesaka. Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian features animation production by Dōga Kōbō (Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA, A Bridge to the Starry Skies). Created by Sunsunsun, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian features original character designs by Momoco.

Masachika Kuze (Kōhei Amasaki) has the pleasure of sitting right beside Alisa "Alya" Mikhailovna Kujō (Sumire Uesaka) during school class. Alya is a cute and sweet girl of Japanese and Russian descent. Everything about Alya seems perfect – including her ability to balance Japanese and Russian.

The Russian comments come left and right. While Alya is near perfection, Kuze is known as being a bit of a slacker, and is often called out for it – alongside his nerdy style. Can the two classmates discover more than friendship?

The characters make the anime. One of the strongest points of the entire anime series is indeed the fun cast of characters. Alya is a wonderful lead protagonist and her sense of charm and personality make things more enjoyable. There is a warmth and beauty to her and she brings out a lot of great vitality within the series. The charm is exuded in spades. Kuze is another compelling lead and he adds the comedic sensibilities needed to make the series all the better. The contrast between these two protagonists also makes the series all the more compelling. The characters have good chemistry between one another and the question surrounding their friendship and relationship is something bringing audiences back for more.

The score composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Jujutsu Kaisen, Teasing Master Takagi-san) is well-done and is one of the highlights of the series. Tsutsumi made a solid score and the efforts certainly add a lot to the production. The music is brimming with creativity and fun and there is a lot to appreciate within that. A well-done effort all around.

The character designs by Yūhei Murota (Love Live! School idol project, Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers) are effective and certainly work well with the cast of characters. The lead protagonists have especially compelling character designs. The artwork is effective and certainly impresses at showcasing these characters. The supporting cast of characters is well highlighted, too. A good effort all around.

The animation is stunning. One of the best qualities of the series is certainly the top-tier animation quality. The animation features compelling art direction by Risa Wakabayashi (Eromanga Sensei, Kaguya-sama: Love is War). The animation style is wonderful and something that provides an abundance of warmth, charm, and splendor. The style is quite effective and visuals are all the more immersive as a result.

The cinematography by Seiichi Sugiura (Asteroid in Love, Osamake: Romcom Where The Childhood Friend Won't Lose) is another effective and compelling aspect of the release. The cinematography shines through. The visuals are consistently impressive. The bright and robust looking cinematography helps for the entire anime to shine. The results are fantastic and true to the animation team, too.

Written and directed by Ryota Itoh (My Senpai Is Annoying, Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie), Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is a cute and charming anime production. There are a lot of wonderfully charming elements to the series. Itoh is a talent and his sense of style works well for bringing out the best within the characters and their journey. The anime has a good balance of romance and comedy. Combining genre elements for fans, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian works well overall, providing a winning formula for the fanbase.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition video looks crisp and beautiful on the release. Colors pop with considerable depth and detail. The visuals look outstanding and every iota of the crisp line artwork is well detailed. The character artwork is brought to life well and the cinematography shines well on the release.

One of the best qualities of the Blu-ray disc format is the superior video encoding. The video quality looks fantastic and often benefits from improved video bit-rates compared to streaming video services. For home theater enthusiasts who want the best possible presentation, the physical media option is an undeniably compelling one for those who value quality and getting the absolute best out of the presentation.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is presented on Blu-ray with a selection of audio options. The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The sound direction by Takeshi Takadera (Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress, Kamisama Dolls) is well reproduced on the release. The English audio has compelling fidelity and benefits from the surround sound encoding. The surround sound audio is something that allows for a more immersive soundstage.

One cool thing about physical media and Blu-ray is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services only offer lossy (non-lossless) audio encoding. For home theater enthusiast and audiophiles alike, the physical media option is something that provides clear advantages. Lossless audio is a great thing.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The collectors edition from Crunchyroll includes a deluxe chipboard artwork with additional key artwork, the case inside provides more artwork, and the set comes with a nice selection of art-cards. The effect is additional key art for the series and it makes the collectors edition all the nicer for series fans. Fans of physical media appreciate these extra physical goodies and the packaging efforts.

On disc supplements include:

Disc 1:

Web Previews (HD, 2:43)

Character Promo Videos (HD, 4:07)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Ending Songs (HD, 8:48)

Disc 2:

Web Previews (HD, 3:04)

Promo Videos (HD, 4:33)

Commercials (HD, 00:34)

Textless Ending Songs (HD, 9:13)

Unfortunately, the supplemental package is a bit sparse otherwise. The release could have been a bit better had it included some more robust supplemental features like audio commentaries, behind the scenes, cast/crew interviews, art galleries, photo galleries, and more. The extras that are included are standard variety and don't offer much in depth into the production of the series. In an era of streaming also being an option, these types of bonus features can make a nice difference between a pass and a buy for some fans.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is a well-done romantic comedy anime series. The series has a fun cast of characters. The characters certainly do add to the production and bring it something fun and special. The animation is beautiful and makes a wonderful impression, too. The Blu-ray release provides a nice collectors edition art-box, art cards, and a selection of bonus features. The Blu-ray offers a quality high- definition transfer and lossless audio encoding. Fans of the series will want to consider a purchase. Recommended.