REVIEW: ‘Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings In Russian’ Episode 3 — “And So They Met”

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 3 does a fantastic job of filling in many narrative blanks and revealing more about its characters and their relationship with each other. Episode 3 picks up right from where the previous episode ended and sees Alya arriving home, greeted by her older sister, Mariya. Alya confides in her sister about meeting Kuze and his sister at the mall, looking sad in the process but hiding her jealousy at their relationship.

This leads Mariya to tease her about liking Kuze and ask what she sees in him, as she usually is not fond of unmotivated slackers. This triggers a new flashback about Alya’s past, revealing that she’s always been an overachiever, right from when she was young. We see Alya in grade school as she tries her best with a group project to which she and a few classmates were assigned.

Whichever group performs the best will win the competition, and Alya, being the overachiever she is, tries her best to win. Unfortunately, her group members do not reciprocate this effort, and because of this, she doesn’t win. After this, she vows to always try her best to do things alone and never rely on others.

The flashback jumps a few years later, showing Alya in middle school. We see how she first met Kuze, who we learn was always an unmotivated slacker in all aspects of school. Kuze also learns how motivated Alya really is, and the two quickly argue because of this. However, Kuze tells Alya that she should learn to rely on others, and instead of doing things herself, she should learn to cooperate and motivate others to help out. This exchange results in the two of them becoming closer, and their relationship has since slowly blossomed into a strong friendship.

These flashback scenes reveal more about the protagonists and explain why they act the way they do. However, the subject of being an overachiever and learning how to rely on others is incredibly uninteresting, and the episode tries to present it as something larger than it is.

After these flashbacks, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 3 switches back to the present day as the sisters conclude their conversation. But not before Mariya fawns over a boy she once knew when she was younger. In the next scene, Kuze covers for his sister at the Student Council. There, he meets Mariya, who, coincidentally, is also part of the Student Council. The two are tasked to buy items for the Council room. Mariya introduces herself to Kuze, and she shows signs that hints she’s met Kuze before. She asks him for his given name, and, hearing his response, Mariya looks shocked. She then speaks to him in Russian, but Kuze, still pretending to be oblivious about his knowledge of the language, pretends he doesn’t understand.

The two then head out to their task, and Kuze learns how eccentric Mariya is compared to her sister. They finally arrive at a tea shop, and Kuze, feeling out of his element, briefly reflects on his past. We then see another flashback where we learn his parents separated while he was a kid. He decided to stay with his father while his sister stayed with his mother. This explains why, in the previous episode, we learn the two siblings don’t live together. The episode ends with Mariya comforting Kuze right before accidently pouring hot tea over him leading to a humorous conclusion.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 3 provides much for viewers to unpack. We learn new details about the protagonists’ lives and backgrounds. It also focuses more on Mariya, Alya’s older sister, who we now know likely has a deeper connection with Kuze, even if he has yet to realize it. The episode does an excellent job of expanding the narrative with subtle hints sprinkled throughout, some of which began right from episode one. As such, attentive viewers will appreciate this episode as more details that support pre-established knowledge are provided.

Production-wise, the anime has maintained its superb animation, and this episode highlights its excellent voice actors. The Russian-speaking actors featured in the first half all do an amazing job at their roles. It’s also worth highlighting that each episode has featured a different ending theme and animation sequence, and each has been really captivating so far.

All in all, so far, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 3 is by far the best episode narratively. It does a great job of giving us more details about its characters in both direct and subtle ways.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Episode 3 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.