Key points
- Alya emerges victorious from the presidential election after a thrilling game of wits and strategic speeches.
- Masachika's intellectual brilliance and last-minute changes to his speech lead to a decisive victory for Alya.
- For the first time, the show features an original ending theme and a second season has been confirmed.
The following contains spoilers for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 12, “Facing Forward,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian has finally reached its conclusion, with the season ending on a rather emotional note. From Yuki's transition to the season's final villain to Masachika revealing his intellectual genius and cunning nature, the final episode hit all the right notes to satisfy fans of this intriguing bilingual romance.
Alya may have been the underdog in this year's presidential election, yet her speech clearly established her as the future president. While it was already clear that Alya would end up winning alongside Masachika, the events that unfolded and led to the conclusion remained completely engaging until the very end. With the series already confirmed for another season, it's safe to say that Sometimes Alya hides her feelings in Russian the season finale did justice to the series.
A game of wits between brothers
Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian may have started out as a romantic comedy, but its ending was nothing less than a thrilling game of wits. With the final episode focused entirely on the speeches that would change the course of the campaign, Yuki and Alya clashed in a battle of psychological warfare.
It's like dealing with a dog that bites. I want to pet him and love him, but I also have to discipline him so he doesn't bite again.
While Yuki's decisive attacks were quick and highly strategic, she was no match for Alya's secret weapon: Masachika. With her intuition, coupled with Masachika's last-minute changes to her speech, Alya ended up taking down Yuki in one fell swoop.
Yuki's Strategic Move
Despite being marketed as a romantic comedy with a bilingual love story, Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian ended up taking on the image of a psychological drama. With Masachika and Yuki's mental acrobatics and the constant back and forth, the final episode of the series was nothing less than an exciting competition. Yuki had already shown his cunning side in last week's episode, with this being Masachika's time to show his true genius personality.
I'll just stick to my original plan and aim for a landslide victory.
Yuki had calculated every possible outcome of the speech, which led her to choose to go first and win over the masses with one surprise move. Her strategy was to use her experience as the student council president of her middle school, combined with her networking at her current school to sway public opinion. With Ayano sealing the deal with a cute but blunt speech praising Yuki, the duo had successfully set themselves up for a landslide victory.
Masachika's Counterattack
Masachika finally showed his true colors in his counterattack to Yuki's psychological warfare. The laid-back Otaku revealed himself to be a cunning genius in disguise, transforming himself into Alya's strategic advisor to win over public opinion. While Alya's speech was perfect and sincere, her presentation in Russian is what truly sealed the deal for her campaign. By introducing herself in Russian, Alya broke the atmosphere that Yuki and Ayano had created, in turn drawing the public towards her.
However, this was not the only aspect of his counterattack, as the final blow to Yuki's plans was Masachika's carefully crafted speech. His decision to side with Alya instead of Yuki had caused the students to question his credibility, but with his meticulous speech, Masachika was able to present the real reason why he decided to support Alya. With such a decisive counterattack to Yuki's offensive, Alya and Masachika have clearly won the hearts of the audience, a fitting conclusion to this intense romantic comedy.
A novelty in the series
For the first time the show featured an original ending theme song
For the season finale of Alya sometimes hides her feelings in RussianThe series, for the first time, debuted an original ending theme song. Breaking with the tradition of featuring covers of classic J-Pop songs for the series' ending themes, the show debuted a special song featuring vocals by Alya Kujou.
While fans were hoping for a Russian song to make the rounds in the season finale, an original title sung by Alya's voice actress is still a treat in and of itself. The studio's decision to revive classic titles with Alya's voice was certainly a bold move, but it clearly paid off in adding a nostalgic touch to the series.
Compliance for season renewal
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Confirmed for Season 2
Sometimes Alya hides her feelings in Russian season finale was immediately followed by the confirmation of a second season for the series. The announcement was accompanied by a special promotional video revealing the season renewal. The title light novel will be adapted from volume four onwards, continuing Alya and Masachika's bilingual romance on screen.
The second season will focus on the summer vacation arc of the light novels, which means you can expect plenty of fanservice moments and romantic escapades. While the first season subverted most of the show's romantic subplots, it's likely that the new adaptation will focus on the real-life romance between Alya and Masachika.
