Summary
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Episode 8, “The Student Council Assembly,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
With the series nearing the end of its run,Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian’snarrative has taken a somewhat more intense turn. The show has been gearing towards the presidential elections forthe student councilfor quite a while now, and this week’s episode features a glimpse of what’s to come. After Sayaka Taniyama’s provocation and a call for a general meeting, the only course of action left for Alya was to take her aggressor head-on.
The general meeting has unraveled a few more mysteries within the narrative, as the conclusion revealed Taniyama’s intent behind confronting the pair, and her past encounter with Yuki and Masachika in middle school. A new character has also made an appearance, who is likely to be the last addition to the series’ lineup for this season.
The Agenda Behind the General Meeting
A general meeting usually has one clear agenda, yet there was another covert agenda behind this assembly. On the surface, the purpose of the meeting was to introduce a teacher review process for the selection of members of the student council, a motion that would essentially strip the President and Vice President of their autonomy and involve teachers in the dealings of the student body. This would mean that students with good grades and punctuality would only be eligible to become council members.
However, Taniyama had one more hidden agenda behind this assembly — undermining Alya’s presidential campaign. By effectively defeatingAlya and Masachikain a general meeting, Taniyama would have kicked the pair out of the running, since it would have been nigh impossible to convince the students to vote for Alya after such a mortifying defeat.
Moreover, by getting this motion approved, Taniyama would have killed two birds with one stone, as the teacher review process would strip Masachika from his student council membership over his poor grades. Calling the general meeting was certainly a decisive move on Taniyama’s part, though she undermined her opponents’ wits and adaptability, as defeat became inevitable once Masachika stepped in and swayed the public’s opinion.
The Reason Behind Taniyama’s Provocation
Taniyama Viewed Masachika and Yuki as the Ultimate Pairing
Taniyama’s provocation against Alya and Masachika over simply running against Yuki initially seems rather out of place, especially since she was beaten by Yuki in her middle school presidential elections. Logically, she should be rooting for anyone running against her former rival, yet Taniyama almost worships Yuki, even to the point of calling Alya shameless for being her competitor.
After being beaten in the general meeting, Taniyama eventually revealed her true intentions, which largely came as a surprise to most. Since she was beaten byYuki and Masachikain middle school, she saw the two as the perfect pair, one formed out of mutual respect and trust. Facing defeat at their hands almost became a sacred experience for her, as she finally gave up on pursuing presidency again.
When I saw those two, I thought they were the ideal ones. A relationship where they completely trust one another and have each other’s backs.
Since Masachika left Yuki for Alya, Taniyama viewed his actions as betrayal, and believed that Masachika was merely messing around by switching sides. In a way, Taniyama saw the two as the ultimate pairing,and Alya Kujouwas throwing a wrench into her ideal pairing by stealing Masachika. While Taniyama’s actions stemmed from a sort of irrational obsession, her reasoning had some logic, especially since she was unaware of Masachika’s true intentions.
A New Character Joins the Scene
Nonoa Miyamae is the Newest Character in the Series
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russianhas expanded its roster considerably since the series’ premiere, yet the show continues to introduce new characters more than half-way through the season. The latest character to join the scene is Nonoa Miyamae, Taniyama’s childhood friend and her current partner in the general meeting.
Miyamae initially seems like a social butterfly, yet herbubbly personality is merely a facade. In reality, she lacks any semblance of empathy and compassion, and she isn’t above using backhanded tactics to get the upper hand. Miyamae is the first character in the show who seems to have a more antagonistic side to her, though it seems that her role is merely that of an ancillary character.
Miyamae is at the top of the school hierarchy. In terms of connections, she’s certainly one of the best in school.
This Week’s Ending Features Another J-Pop Classic
This Week’s Ending Features a Cover of CHE.R.RY by Yui
Keeping up with the initial promise of featuring covers of classicJ-Pop songs in the ending, this week’s episode features a cover of the song CHE.R.RY by Yui, a famed Japanese artist from the 2000s. Yui was able to break her record for the highest sales in a week, with the track eventually becoming a cult-classic within the J-pop landscape.
While Yui retired from her solo career in 2012, her singles continue to influence modern J-Pop even a decade later. For fans of the series, the song becomes even more special with the voice actress of Alya herself singing a cover of CHE.R.RY.
