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.
This wasn't on my list to watch but saw a post praising the chemistry of the main casts that led me check this out.
I have seen a handful of school romance-comedy anime where popular girl falling for an average boy. Almost in all those stories, the boy character is like edgy or super loner type. It is refreshing to see the boy is having a banter with the lead female cast in this one. Love that fun and friendly chemistry of the main casts.
Animation is also really good for my school romance-comedy anime series standard.
I don't expect much from this kind of show (not really my genre) but this was a lot of fun. Both of our leads have strong characterization and their dynamic is fun. I always like when a teenage romance leans in to the awkwardness that comes with that, specifically the characters not really knowing where their own boundaries are. It's a bit hornier than I would prefer, but not enough to kill the vibe for me. I can only hope that it doesn't go the harem route, since I typically find those kinds of stories deeply boring.
Overall, I'd give this premier a 4/5 and I'll definitely be back next week.
This pretty much echoes my experience as well. I felt that the horniness around the stocking scene is a bit out of place given what we know about the characters so far. I think this show is going to live or die by the writing and chemistry between the main pair. I think this show has potential.
@wjs018@ani.social, I'll say that the source material...isn't really this horny. For some reason, I get the feeling that side of the characters has been tuned up for views, unfortunately.
Yeah, that checks out. By no means is it the first time that it has happened to a series. Like mentioned above, it isn't so bad that I won't be watching, but it just felt off.
Unfortunate, as I too would've liked it to be a bit less horny (the sock scene could've ended without him actually doing it, her raised leg could've been enough for him to peek and start the following scene).