AnimeJapan 2024 was held at “Tokyo Big Sight” from March 23rd to March 24th (Sat & Sun). While more than 100 anime titles were introduced, the "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian" stage was held on the GREEN STAGE, located in one corner of the venue!　Here is a report from the stage, where the cast made a guest appearance and provided new information.

As the starting time rolled around, a brand new preview was shown! After the screening, Kohei Amasaki (Masachika Kuze) appeared on stage and asked the audience to shout the names of the characters when the guests came out. “Alya! Yuki! Ayano! Masha!” was in turn shouted out as Sumire Uesaka (Alya), Wakana Maruoka (Yuki Suo), Saya Aizawa (Ayano Kimijima), and Yukiyo Fujii (Masha) took the stage.

First, as the voice actors were sinking their teeth into the acrylic stands of each character on the desks in front of them, the "Favorite Characters! Roshidere" corner started. In this corner, the audience was asked to share their favorite parts, and certain points of the work were introduced along the themes of "Explosive Tsundere" and "Attractive Characters.”

Under the category "Explosive Tsundere," Amasaki-san and Uesaka-san performed a passage taken from the original novel, and the other cast members and audience alike were completely entranced by their performance! With interesting tidbits like: Uesaka-san's line "Милашка" (Mirashka) means "supremely cute!”, the talk proceeded with a Russian language lesson. Maruoka-san said excitedly, "I couldn't stop reading the original story because it has the perfect balance of tsun and dere! Fujii-san said, "The original story is wonderful, but when I heard Uesaka-san's character Alya at the recording studio, I was shaken!” also exciting the audience with expectations for the broadcast of the TV anime.

As for the "Attractive Characters" section, the participants talked about their first impressions of the characters they play. Uesaka-san excitedly claimed, "My love for silver-haired heroines is etched in my DNA!” Maruoka-san said, "Some of you will only know her from the anime, so I can't talk about her character in depth yet, but she gets more and more interesting the deeper you dig!” Maruoka-san claimed that Ayano's charms go far beyond first impressions. Fujii-san thanked the entire cast, saying "I was worried because I haven't played a character like Masha recently, but everyone provided me with so much encouragement!” She thanked the entire cast for their support. Aizawa-san analyzed Ayano, saying, "While she is a character who doesn't talk much, and her facial expression doesn't really change, she is a very special girl.”
At the end of the corner, a new key visual was unveiled! An illustration of Masachika and the other five members gathered in one place, and all the cast members were excited to see which character was facing which.

During the "Character Support Speech," Uesaka-san, Maruoka-san, Fujii-san, and Aizawa-san did their best to show off the charm of the characters they play! The order was decided by Amasaki-san, by drawing straws. Uesaka-san, who came first, said, "I thought she seemed unapproachable, but she's actually right next to you, and being adorable in Russian! This is the best kind of thing!" introducing a point that can only be experienced from Alya's point of view!　Maruoka-san, who went second, took on a mail-order shopping show style (?!) and said, "She’s very nice. She’s a swamp! You all love swamps, don't you?” Aizawa-san asked the audience, "Don't you want a maid, too?” and introduced Ayano with a campaign speech-like catch phrase, "One for the family: Ayano Kimishima," and a modified version of the title, "A super-dominant maid who will never be able to blurt out cute Russian words for the rest of her life.” Fujii-san, who was the last to speak, shouted, as if at the previous three presentations, "Let's vote already!” She then said, "Modern people are tired! The heroine will soothe you overwhelmingly!” to show off her character’s charm. “Masha is Alya's big sister. If you choose her, Alya is part of the package!” she said, trying to bring in the votes.

After listening to her speech, the audience voted, and the winner was… Fujii-san’s Masha! She commented on her victory with a smile, saying “I look forward to working with both of my sisters!”

After the game corner, information on the original novel, comic book adaptation, “Anime Japan” limited edition goods, collaboration café, and POP UP SHOP was introduced!　As a first public announcement, the web radio program "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian" featuring Amasaki-san and Uesaka-san as hosts, and a special event (including the fastest screening of the first episode) with the five cast members on the stage just before the broadcast was announced! The audience applauded with delight.
After listening to her speech, the audience voted, and the winner was… Fujii-san’s Masha! She commented on her victory with a smile, saying “I look forward to working with both of my sisters!”

At the closing, the cast gave messages about the anime starting in July. "I'm already having a lot of fun during the recording sessions, and I hope everyone can feel the atmosphere as if they were there at the school" (Aizawa-san), "We have been recording in harmony since the first episode. I can't wait to deliver such a light-hearted and heartwarming story to everyone! (Fujii-san), "I'm looking forward to the day when you all get to know various aspects of Yuki! If you are a fan of the original story, let's watch together with big grins on our faces!" (Maruoka-san) "The scenes where Alya gets all cute in Russian are key, so I'm trying to pronounce the words in a cute way. We are working together with the original author and sound director on how to make Alya as cute as possible, so please look forward to it! (Uesaka-san), "I think we will see a new side of Kuze-kun in the anime. So I’m taking the role as seriously as I can! Anyway, Alya is so cute, so please look forward to every episode starting in July! (Amasaki-san).
The stage closed with each of them expressing their expectations and excitement for the new adaptation.