Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, is a Japanese light novel series written by SunSunSun and illustrated by Momoco. It was originally published online as two short stories on the novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on May 6 and May 27, 2020, respectively, before being acquired by Kadokawa Shoten, who have published the series since February 2021 under their Sneaker Bunko imprint. The story follows a beautiful and talented young Russo-Japanese girl who is a popular transfer student at her new high school in Japan, often sporting a cold shoulder with a lazy and unmotivated boy while earning high marks in class.
A manga adaptation by Saho Tenamachi began serialization online in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app and website in October 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by Doga Kobo aired from July to September 2024, with a second season being announced.
By August 2024, over 500,000 light novel copies have been sold in circulation.
Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou, nicknamed Alya, is a high school girl with silver hair who looks so beautiful that she turns heads wherever she goes, but her aloof and cold demeanor makes people around her feel uneasy. Masachika Kuze, who sits next to Alya, is an unmotivated student who just stays up late at night and is a sleepyhead at school. Alya often complains about Masachika but seems to be secretly in love with him, and occasionally makes flirtatious remarks in Russian. However, she does not realise that Masachika also harbours a secret crush for her and understands Russian, and her flirty comments towards him constantly leave him perplexed and flustered.
Before the light novel's publication, two short stories were published on Shōsetsuka ni Narō on May 6 and May 27, 2020. However, the stories and characters in the web version are completely different from the published novel.
In an interview with Japanese magazine Da Vinci in 2021, SunSunSun told that he initially wanted the series to take place in an isekai setting where the heroine gets transported to another world where no one could understand the Japanese language, except for the protagonist who was planned to be reincarnated as well. The idea was scrapped since he felt that it would be troublesome to explain the new environment, so he went with a real-world setting instead. Regarding Alya's half-Russian heritage, the author stated that he was influenced by the beauty of Russian women.
The light novel series is written by SunSunSun and illustrated by Momoco. In June 2020, SunSunSun first received an invitation from Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko for whether the imprint could publish the work. On December 22, 2020, it was announced the short stories published on Shōsetsuka ni Narō would be published by Kadokawa Shoten under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint after being adapted as a series. The title of the series follows the title of one of the two short stories. The first volume was published on February 27, 2021. As of November 2024, nine volumes and two short story volumes have been released.
At Sakura-Con 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English publication.
A manga adaptation with art by Saho Tenamachi began serialization in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app and website on October 29, 2022. The first tankōbon volume was released on March 9, 2023. The series is published in English on Kodansha's "K Manga" app. On December 16, 2024, Yen Press announced that they also licensed the manga for English print publication.
An anime television series adaptation was announced in March 2023. It is produced by Doga Kobo, with series direction and screenplay by Ryota Itoh, character designs handled by Yūhei Murota who also serves as chief animation director, and music composition by Hiroaki Tsutsumi. Ryō Kobayashi serves as a producer. The anime series was originally scheduled for April 2024, but was later delayed, and eventually aired from July 3 to September 18, 2024, on Tokyo MX and various other networks. The opening theme song is "Ichiban Kagayaku Hoshi" (1番輝く星, "The Brightest Star"), while each episode features a different ending theme song which are covers of pre-existing Japanese songs, all performed by Sumire Uesaka as her character Alya. Crunchyroll streamed the series. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand).
Following the first season finale, a second season was announced.
An audiobook adaptation based on the light novel series was first produced and published in Japanese with Sumire Uesaka and Kōhei Amasaki voicing the main characters Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou and Masachika Kuze respectively.
In March 2024, Yen Audio, a subsidiary of Yen Press, announced to produce an English-languaged audiobook based on the light novels. The first audiobook was published on August 13, 2024, with Taylor Meskimen as narrator.
On July 17, 2024, the production of a smartphone game titled Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian: Puzzle Party! (時々ボソッとロシア語でデレる隣のアーリャさん パズルパーティ！, Tokidoki Bosotto Roshiago de Dereru Tonari no Ārya-san Pazuru Pāti!) for Android and iOS devices was announced and the pre-registration phase started. Developed by Poppin Games Japan, the puzzle game was released on September 19, 2024.
A VTuber model of Alya debuted in July 2021 to promote the release of the second light novel volume.
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian ranked ninth in the 2022 edition of Takarajimasha's annual light novel guide book Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! in the bunkobon category, and fifth overall among the other new series of that year. It also ranked fifth in the bunkobon category of the 2023 edition, and third in the 2024 and 2025 editions. At the 2021 Next Light Novel Awards, the series placed first in the Librarian's Choice category. It also ranked second in the Web Publication category, and ninth in the overall category. By April 2022, the series has 500,000 copies in circulation. In August 2024, it has reported that the series became the first to reach five million copies in the history of Kadokawa Shoten's Sneaker Bunko imprint's romantic comedy stories.
According to Kadokawa Corporation, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian was the fifth most successful franchise of the company in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2024. The company stated that the franchise managed to accumulate around 1 billion yen in revenue based on manga and light novel licensing, manga and light novel sales as well as streaming revenue for the anime series.
The first season of the anime series won Slice of Life Anime of the Year and Supporting Girl of the Year (Yuki Suou) while receiving eight other nominations, including Anime of the Year at the 11th Anime Trending Awards.