The third volume of the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian manga sounds like it is leaning harder into the messy emotional side of young romance — and honestly, that is where this series works best.
At its core, Alya is still a slice-of-life rom-com about Alisa “Alya” Mikhailovna Kujou and Masachika Kuze slowly figuring out what they mean to each other. But Volume 3 is not just about cute reactions, awkward flirting, or those small “eh, are they finally getting closer?” moments. This time, the spotlight is on jealousy.
And not just one person being jealous, either. The volume apparently explores envy from three different angles: Alya, Yuki, and Masachika.
For Alya, the situation is the most obvious. She has feelings for Masachika, and by this point she is starting to treat their private moments as something special. So when Yuki enters the picture and seems unusually close to him, Alya gets rattled.
From Alya’s point of view, Yuki is just Masachika’s childhood friend. She sees Yuki making requests, sharing memories, teasing him, and getting reactions from him that feel way too familiar. That is enough to trigger the classic rom-com jealousy spiral. One example mentioned is Alya trying to keep up by eating ramen that is too spicy for her, basically because she does not want to lose face. Very relatable, very dumb, very teenage.
The twist, of course, is that Yuki is not just some childhood friend. She is actually Masachika’s younger sister. But because of their family situation, he is no longer officially recognised as her brother. That makes Yuki’s jealousy more complicated. Her teasing is funny on the surface, but underneath it, there is a sense that she misses the sibling relationship they used to have.
That gives Volume 3 a bit more emotional weight than a normal “love rival appears” setup. Yuki is not simply trying to mess with Alya for fun. There is also some sadness there, because she is watching someone else become important to Masachika while her own bond with him has been damaged by family circumstances.
The most interesting angle, though, is Masachika himself. His envy is not really romantic jealousy. Instead, he admires Alya’s confidence and drive. When Alya talks about wanting to become student council president simply because it is what she wants, Masachika sees something in her that he feels he lacks. He is impressed by how passionate she is, especially compared to his own complicated past.
That is a smart direction for the series. Envy in anime and manga is usually framed as toxic or dramatic, but here it seems more human. Sometimes jealousy means you want to be closer to someone. Sometimes it comes from feeling left behind. And sometimes it is because you see another person shining in a way you wish you could.
For Malaysian and SEA anime fans, this is probably why Alya has found a crowd beyond the usual rom-com audience. Yes, the Russian-language teasing gimmick is the hook. But the series also understands that school romance is rarely clean. People get insecure, family baggage leaks into friendships, and one small misunderstanding can turn into a whole internal boss fight.
Volumes 1 to 3 of the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian manga are available through Yen Press. There is currently no release window for Volume 4. Yen Press also publishes the light novel and audiobook versions, while the anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Source: Siliconera