There are some anime that are easy to an intro for as there's so much to say about them and then there's this anime where it's hard just trying to do an intro for it. As there's really nothing in this anime's first two episodes that really stand out apart from the fact that the main female character not only isn't all that likable but also speak Russian from time and so then join me as I review the first two episodes of the show that has an episode that's also the name of the show with the episodes in question being called simply just "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings In Russian" and "So Much For Childhood Friends" enjoy.
The plot of these first two episodes it the first thing that's wrong with both of these episodes as neither have any kind of pot whatsoever. While yes granted the second episodes does have somewhat of a loose plot with the characters going clothes shopping that's really it and even then that very loose plot isn't enough to sustain an entire twenty two minuet episode and as a result of that is the fact that while episode two does come of slightly better just on the mere fact that it has a plot episode one has no plot to speak with that episode really being the one that really did need a plot as it had so many things to set up like the characters , the world and the plot of the show and while ti did do all of those things it forgot to do the most important thing and that's have a story in it and as a result of that is the fact that the episode really does feel aimless and rather pointless as well where as with episode two it at least does have sone sort of a plot with the plot also being really entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in y freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in these episodes is Aaron Dismuke as Masachika Kuze and Pokemon star and voice acting legend Sarah Natochenny as Alisa "Alya" Mikhailovna Kujo. Also starring in these episodes is Corey Wilder as Takeshi Maruyama , Joshua Waters as Hikaru Kiyomiya , Jill Harris as Mariya "Masha" Mikhailovna Kujo , The Fruit Of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made star Reshel Mae as Yuki Suou and Izzi Raine as Sayaka Taniyama.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty not that bad. However that's also the problem as the acting that's in these very episodes wasn't all that good either not because of the quality of the voice actors but because of the fact that this shows voice director Shawn Gann really doesn't know how to get a good performance out of his cast and as a result of that is the fact that these episodes actors really do come across as being lost and really unsure of what kind of performance to really give with the acting in these episodes not really being helped by the fact that the scripts for both of these episodes is just so bad as it gives these episodes actors absolutely nothing to work with interms of what it is that there respective characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does hurt the overall quality of the acting that's in these very episodes.
Doing the animation for these episodes is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Doga Kobo. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all honesty not that bad as the character do have some really nice and fluid movements to them but at the same time the backgrounds just look really flat and uninteresting and while the character designs do look good and look like they fit in with the world that this show takes place in they just look like the typical anime designs that you'd expect to see in a slice of life show like this one and while the animation as was said does look good it could have been so much better and while this might be due to budget constraints there really could have been alot more effort put into the animation that's in these episodes.
These two episodes do introduce the mystery of who the young girl is in the episodes flashback scenes which does work. As it seems like the little girl is going to be playing an important part of the show and the shows plot and with that in mind it does make sense that that character would be introduced in the first episode of the show as it lets us the audience know that Masachika does know some Russian which is an important aspect of the shows first episode but at the same time tho the flashback scenes could have been a bit longer as those are some of the best scenes in both episodes as it's something that does add a layer of mystery to the show something which would be missing if those scenes were cut from both episodes and even the animation in those scenes is alot better then the animation in the present day scenes as well which makes it look like that the makers of this show put alot more effort into those flashback scenes and care more about those flashback scenes then they do about the scenes that are set in the present day.
For some strange reason these first two episodes really go out of there way into making Alya a really unlikable character. As all she does is bring down everybody around her for no reason even tho they all like her and while this wouldn't be an issue if she was a side character as then you at the very least have the main character to keep your focus but as she's the main character then it is a huge problem as she's the character that your meant to like and while her being unlikable might be the point as it's stated in episode two that she really doesn't have any friends it's still something that doesn't fix the issue of her being an unlikable character and it's something that makes you wonder why alot of people like her and at the very least try to be friendly to her when she's anything but friendly to them and heck the only likable character in both of these episodes is oddly enough Yuki Suou and even then she has scenes that make her come across as a fairly unlikable character especially in the shows second episode which granted does go along way into making Alya a somewhat more likable character you only get one chance to make a good first impression and sadly episode one didn't make that good of a first impression with Aly coming across as an extremely unlikeable character.
For some reason this series is getting really high scores on MyAnimeList with it so far having a score from them of a 8.12 and being ranked at 477. While this show has only aired a few episodes and as a result of that is the fact that the rating and raking for the show could drop the show has also been getting from romantic comedy fans on MyAnimeList and it's hard to see why as this show isn't that good with it being predictable from a romance point of view as you can tell right away who is going to end up with and what will be the main third act break up as they just straight up tell you what that will be as it turns out that Masachika can speak some Russian something that his love interest Alya doesn't know and speaks some sentences in Russian when she wants to speak her true feeling s which you just know is going to cause a rift between them and cause them to hate each other around episode ten as Masachika doesn't tell Alya that he can understand everything that she's saying which makes it painfully obvious that this is a basically a lier revealed type of story as well as being a romantic comedy show as well.
Now then episode one of this show has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets and forty seconds and episode two has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly twenty four minuets and forty seconds. Which is pretty much the bogstanderd running time for this show and while both episodes really don't have alot there interms of plot to really over that amount of running time they so easily could have done if episode one actually had a plot and if episode two focused and expanded upon it's shopping plot instead of just starting that plot when the episode is about half way done as there is alot of potential in both of these episodes for both of these episodes to be some really fun episodes both of which are let down due to the fact that both episodes really don't take full advantage of there respective running time as neither episode develops there characters nor gives us the audience the chance to get to know these characters either which does make it hard for us to care for those characters as the episodes don't take the time to give to give us a reason a to care for any of its characters but I will admit that both of these episodes really do have some really good pacing to them tho.
So now then as this is comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes well then in all honesty i in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in these very episodes was in all not that bad. Even tho alot of the jokes in both of these episodes was basically the kind of jokes that you would find in shows like High School DXD and that's really it which us fine if you like those jokes where a girl beats up a the main male character just for looking at her underwear but at the same time when that's the only joke in both of these episodes it is something that gets old fast and it makes you wonder where the rest of the jokes from these first two episodes are as there's nothing that's all that funny in both of these episodes and while yes there are a few different joke in these episodes especially in the first episode they are very few and far between but when the episode does indeed tell a different joke it can be a good joke not because it's something that's genuinely funny but rather it's because it's something that's totally different from the types of jokes that we had been getting up until that point which makes you wonder why these episodes didn't have alot of different jokes as that's when both of these episodes are at there absolutely best in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall while both of these episodes do have potential and whole this show does have some really good potential to be a really good show neither one of these first two episodes do the show justice and while the shows second episode is a little bit purely because of the fact that it has somewhat of a plot it's still not that good of an episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in these very episodes in this very review and as such that means that both of these episodes really do earn themselves a combined grand old total score of exactly a 6.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally sued in this very review from the official Roshidere fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from these very episodes that I used in this very review being the really great the official Roshidere fandom wiki page simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from these very episodes and are really of course on the official Roshidere fandom wiki page are also really all fairly high in quality and really as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.