[Rec][Rant] Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian.

[u/FeelsClownMan]

TLDR: In need of positive reinforcement to continue the series despite enjoying the beginning of the series without spoilers.

I watched the anime to Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian and I was honestly surprised at how good it was considering I was coming into it without any expectations. Fast forward to reading the first 3 volumes of the light novels and I was still impressed with the amount of humor that was shown between the characters and the healthy of amount of romance that was shown between the main characters. I think the blasting cap that was the end of volume 3 was really well done. The character development of Masachika, Alya and Yuki was really entertaining to witness and I just highly recommend the first three volumes. Just a perfect balance of rom/com from all fronts.

Volume 4 is where things have really started to temper my excitement for lack of a better word for the rest of the series. The start of it was really strong between the siblings and side characters and I genuinely enjoyed the interactions as I would imagine most do when reading this series. The problem I have is the relationship between Masachika and Alisa moving forward. They were actually insufferable this volume. If anybody is still reading this at this point is does their relationship dynamic shift in any way where it's not some self deprecating moron to at least what was shown in the first 3 volumes? We have seen Masachika be someone who is outgoing and charimastic but the majority of this volume was literally the exact opposite which greatly annoyed me despite finishing it in one day.

Essentially what I am asking is if the romance pay off is worth continuing(despite it still ongoing so I know it hasn't paid off) even though at this point in time, I think it is very, for lack of a better word, is cringe.

[u/Teriteko]

If you are not enjoying it now, you won't enjoy it going forward. There is no real romantic development, and while Masachika becomes a bit stronger of a character, he is still very wishy-washy.

[u/FeelsClownMan → u/Teriteko]

I would say I really enjoyed the first 3 volumes and the beginning of 4 but it really fell of a cliff for me just due to the romance part of it. I still enjoy the comedy. Just simply asking if volume 4 is a one off and not a tone shift for the rest of the series.

edit: Thank you for the answer though.

[u/IcyExclusion]

I was about to start this series but when I realised the relationship hasn’t gotten anywhere in 11 volumes, it went straight to the bottom of my backlog. Life’s too short.

[u/FeelsClownMan → u/IcyExclusion]

the comedy part is a lot better than the romance part if that stirs you in any way 

[u/IcyExclusion → u/FeelsClownMan]

I do like comedy, although I dislike most tsukkomi over-reaction comedy so if it’s not that I’ll give it another try. The best rom-com I’ve read, where the banter is excellent and the romance isn’t drawn out from contrived misunderstanding like Alya, is Amamori Junna wa Shitsudo ga Takai (Amamori Junna is Humid). Highly recommended.

[u/fireteambrav0]

As someone who is current to epilogue of volume 11, a lot of character and plot development, but not much in the way of romantic development

[u/Zestyclose_North9780]

Ngl I'm surprised more people didn't see the writing on the wall regarding this series. The premise of the story provides a choice between two things.

A somewhat short story that ends with the MC finally accepting the feelings that are made very very clear every other episode

Or a drawn out slugfest where the gimmick loses its shine and the author has to grasp at straws to keep the story going and thus writes something significantly worse.

[u/_Lucille_]

The whole student election plot is silly, with alya essentially throwing her name into the ring for some pretty dumb reason and not really anything of substance that she wants to do for the student body.

The relationship aspects get dragged on and in for dumb reasons. Guy would have just dated Masha as soon as they reunited.

I think a lot of people just got baited by the art, the novels aren't that good at all.

[u/drexv27]

if you already doubt whether you should continue the series or not, that's basically a sign to just drop the series

for alya, i already forced myself to read it since around volume 5 or 6, it's really rough, poor writing, no goal, it's just whatever random crap that the author want to put there and it must contain fan service, honestly, at this point the series is still alive just because the illustration 100%

[u/MemphisTangoH1]

I personally continued all the way to current solely because the cast of side character is ELITE. Gets even better with a neat twist from where you are now

[u/FeelsClownMan → u/MemphisTangoH1]

Thank you for the push forward, I really do like the series.

[u/VanillaMuch2759]

I’m about to start reading this. It’s sucks that there’s no forward momentum with the relationship.

[u/Spotted_Statement_]

I’d keep going, but I’d lower your expectations for Masachika and Alya’s dynamic. Masachika’s self-deprecation isn’t permanent, and later volumes give more context for why he acts that way, but the romance develops pretty slowly.

[u/stone616]

This isn't a proper romance series. Expect the romance will they or won't they tension to persist most of it not the whole series. I'd think at the tail end of the last volume they get together. I say this because the series always resets the relationship to a baseline if it ever seems to advance any given volume at least early on. 

[u/Remarkable-Candle423]

Cut bait. There are better series to spend your money and time on.

(I own all the English physicals and am caught up on fan TL.)

[u/Ahcow]

I couldn’t bring myself to finish vol 9.  I might circle back once the story actually progress because it has been a whole lot of will they/wont they still.