Ahead of the English dub season’s conclusion on October 2nd, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Natochenny, voice of Alisa “Alya” Mikhailovna Kujo in Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, known as Roshidere for short. Apart from her time voicing Alya, Natochenny is best known for her work as Ash Ketchum and a litany of other characters in Pokémon and as the narrator of Marvel’s serial drama Black Widow: Bad Blood.
This season, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian dominated our weekly polls, frequently finishing in the top three spots and taking quite a few number one spots at that. This was against some strong competition from other romance and comedy shows, some top tier shonen, and popular returning series. Voice acting is certainly a component of the show’s popularity; both in the original Japanese and English dub, delivery and timing are large parts of the show’s comedy and an even larger part about how it communicates a special message and energy.
We spoke with Natochenny about her experience becoming part of the Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian project, her own Russian speaking, and what it was like performing such a unique and memorable character.
Becoming Alya & Joining Roshidere
One of the most interesting aspects of casting Natochenny as Alya is that Russian was actually her first language. This created a few interesting parallels and opportunities that I was excited to see the English dub take advantage of. It meant the dubbed version of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian could present a natural, organic Russian accent during Russian scenes. Moreover, it meant that the actor voicing Alya had some shared experiences with Alya in terms of background. Next to the stellar performance in general, this made for a casting choice that could not have been a better fit. I started the conversation by asking Natochenny to speak to that aspect of her upbringing.
“My whole family is from Russia and Ukraine, and Russian was my 1st language. I was not spoken to in English until I went to kindergarten; my parents thought that would be fun. So I didn’t speak English until I basically went to kindergarten. And I learned how to read really, really quickly. That’s my claim to fame.”
This of course prompted additional questions about the reasons for the casting. Natochenny noted that while her speaking Russian was part of why she was approached for the role, it also had to do with some shared traits between her and Alya.
“Yeah, they approached me for it, and I think my speaking Russian had a lot to do with it, and I think just my general personality, Alya and I share a lot in common. So it was kind of an obvious ask for them and an obvious yes for me.”
She explained that she’d had some experiences similar to Alya as well when it came to being a foreign-language speaker in a classroom of many English speakers.
“I grew up in New York City. There were Russian kids in my class, and you know, we’ve always been kind of accepting of of other cultures, so I never really felt like an outsider per se. But I did feel a little bit different compared to most of my fellow students. So there was an element of that, and I was also the kid who dug for worms in the dirt during recess, so that I think that’s what made me even more different than just speaking another language.”
Natochenny hadn’t heard of the series prior to being approached for the role and it seems like her first reaction to it is perfectly in line with that of a lot of fans: that the show is cute and heartwarming. She explained her reaction to the premise of the series.
“I thought it was really adorable. I love the idea that this outsider comes to a new school and is shy, very talented, and very confident, but also harbors this deep shyness. and that it comes out of her in her native language. I think that’s really adorable.”
Performance and Popularity
As mentioned previously, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian performed quite well in weekly polls across the entire season. Natochenny remarked that she wasn’t shocked at this popularity. She explained that “popularity is a coincidence” but that ultimately she wasn’t shocked that the show was popular. When asked what about the show made it so popular between its romantic and comedic elements, she had this to say.
“Yeah, I think it’s all of the above. I think it’s her character. I think it’s the romance between her and Masachika. I think it’s the kind of jealousy and competitiveness with the other girls in the class, and her drive and her growth over the course of the series. She warms up so much, and it’s just so gratifying to watch her do that, warming up to Masachika and warming up so much romantically and in their professional partnership. It’s really cool to watch a character go through that change.”
“I think every well-written character, which [Alya] is [one of], has many, many sides to them, and I would feel unnatural not playing all of those sides. So it’s been really nice to get to explore all of her sides.”
Speaking toward the Russian dialogue scenes, Natochenny explained that those lines carried a natural tone for her, and that she had some opportunities to revise the Russian dialogue either to adjust the number of words said or ensure that the lines had a more natural feel to them. I asked how she approached these sections as well as what effect the original Japanese versions of the lines had, if any.
“I’ve been actively trying to be natural in my own tone and my own performance, and doing what’s true to me as an actor. We watch everything that the Japanese actors and the Japanese team have done, and I love everything they’ve done. She’s [Sumire Uesaka] really wonderful. And her Russian is really good. So it’s been really fun to see that aspect of it. But again, thankfully we had the freedom to to do what we wanted, and to rewrite certain little moments where it was appropriate to, and make it our own.”
“Our writer, Matthew Greenbaum, is fantastic. So the English stuff I barely touched. There were Russian speakers on the team that I never met. And I just made things a little bit more comfortable for myself. Sometimes I would call my mom because she was born and raised in Russia. So I’m like, ‘Wait, does this sound right? This doesn’t feel natural to me.’ And she would help me a little bit, or confirm that everything that was written was actually fine. So yeah, this is a team effort. But great writers all around.”
The most difficult part about this role for her? Saying goodbye to it, even if only briefly.
“I’ll really miss playing her. Honestly, I can’t say I had a particularly difficult time with this character, because we have a lot in common, and it was so well written, and there wasn’t a lot there was hardly any yelling. There was definitely no screaming. It wasn’t vocally stressful. It was kind of a dream job. So I’m really looking forward to season 2.”
Favorite Moments and Characters
To close, I asked about some favorite moments and favorite non-Alya characters. For her favorite moments, Natochenny pointed to the particularly touching scene where Alya and Masachika first become student council running mates, simultaneously committing to one another as potential president and vice president while also deepening their emotional connection substantially. She also pointed to the incredibly clip-worthy shopping mall scene.
“Yeah, I love the scene where they basically profess their love to each other. She gains a partner for the Student Council, and a love interest. Anytime she opens up to him, and anytime she has vulnerable moments, those are my favorite scenes. There was a scene where she takes him shopping, and she’s like, ‘All right. I’m gonna show him all the versions of myself that I can be,’ and puts on all these outfits. And she’s like, ‘Here, I’m a tomboy, you like tomboys.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re actually really cute.’ And then she puts on a sexy outfit. And he’s like, ‘Whoa, it’s yeah. Yeah. It’s very, very cute.'”
As for a favorite non-Alya character, Natochenny pointed to a popular pick: Yuki, agreeing (with me) that she has perfect Gremlin energy.
“Probably Yuki. What a little rabble-rouser! She’s a lot of fun. I stand by my girl Alya, but I mean she’s pretty funny.”
Finally, I wanted to know if she, like Alya, had moments where she slipped into Russian, and she explained that in fact she does.
“I do actually, yeah. It happens. It happens when I’m when I’m very despondent. There are Russian ways to put things that are way stronger in Russian. Yeah, that that kind of comes out sometimes. But I’m just being funny. It’s not really like I can’t help it. I kind of do it as a joke. Everybody knows that I’m a Russian speaker, so.”
We’d like to thank Sarah Natochenny for taking the time to speak with us about voicing Alya and all things Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. It was quite an entertaining conversation and a great chance to speak with one of the best cast characters this season. All subtitled episodes of Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian are now available only on Crunchyroll, and the English dub finale will premiere on October 2. Season 2 is currently in production.
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