I had a little bit of time today, so I thought I would check this out before a lot of other shows get going for the season. Overall, it was fine. I think Alya is a kind of fresh take on a tsundere in that she verbalizes her tsun in Japanese and then verbalizes her dere in Russian.

I was kind of surprised that we learn so early in the story that the MC also knows Russian. I had figured that might make for a good reveal later. He has to basically act like he doesn’t understand in the same way that Miko has to pretend not to see ghosts in Mieruko-chan. Speaking of Mieruko-chan, this show reminded me of that in the fan service that felt a little out of place. Like, if Alya is too embarrassed to speak to the MC, why is she suddenly teasing him Nagatoro-style with stockings?

In any case, I think there is good potential here, so I am going to try to give it another episode or two. I think a lot of the success or failure of this show is going to depend on the banter and chemistry between the main pair.

@rikka@ani.social I am in this screenshot and I don’t like it.