Before the English dub wraps up on October 2, we had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Natochenny, who voices Alisa “Alya” Mikhailovna Kujo in Alya Sometimes Hides Her Emotions in Russian, calling Roshidere for short. In addition to her time voicing Alya, Natochenny is best known for playing Ash Ketchum and a host of other characters in Pokémon as well as being the narrator of the Marvel television series Black Widow: Bad Blood.
This season, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Emotions in Russian has dominated our weekly polls, regularly placing in the top three and pretty much taking the number one spot there. This is against strong competition from other comedy and romance shows, several top dramas and popular returning series. The voice acting is certainly part of the show's popularity; both in the original Japanese and English dubs, delivery and timing are important parts of the film's humor and an even more important part of how the film conveys a message and special energy.
We spoke to Natochenny about her experience starring in Alya Sometimes Hiding Her Emotions in the Russian project, her own ability to speak Russian, and portraying a unique character and how memorable it is.
Become Alya and join Roshidere
One of the most interesting aspects of casting Natochenny as Alya is that Russian is actually her first language. This creates some interesting parallels and opportunities that I'm excited to see the English dub take advantage of. That means the dubbed version of Alya Sometimes hiding her emotions in Russian can portray a natural, organic Russian accent in scenes set in Russia. Furthermore, it means that Alya's voice actor already has some experiences in common with Alya in terms of background. Aside from the overall excellent performance, this makes for an incredibly fitting casting choice. I started the conversation by asking Natochenny to talk about that aspect of her upbringing.
“My whole family is from Russia and Ukraine, and Russian is my first language. I wasn't allowed to speak English until kindergarten; My parents thought it would be fun. So I didn't speak English until I went to kindergarten. And I learned how to read very quickly. That was my claim to fame.”
This of course raises further questions about the reasons for choosing the actors. Natochenny noted that while her speaking Russian was part of the reason she was chosen for the role, it also had to do with some shared characteristics between her and Alya.
“Yeah, they approached me about that, and I I think my Russian speaking has a lot to do with that, and I think just my general personality, Alya and I have a lot in common. So that was obviously a request for them and an obvious yes for me.”
She explained that she had some similar experiences to Alya being a foreign speaker in a classroom full of English speakers.
“I grew up in New York City. There were Russian kids in my class, and you know, we were always accepting of other cultures, so I never really felt like an outsider. But I actually felt a bit different from most of my classmates. So there was an element of that, and I was also the kid who dug in the dirt during recess, so I think that's what set me apart more than just speaking another language.”
Natochenny had never heard of the movie before being offered the role, and it seems her first reaction to it was completely in line with the reaction of a lot of fans: that the movie was cute and moving. She explained her reaction to the series' premise.
“I think it's really adorable. I like the idea that this outsider comes to a new school and is shy and very talented and very confident, but also has this deep shyness. and it came from her native language. I think that's really lovely.”
Performance and popularity
As mentioned before, Alya Sometimes Hiding Her Emotions in Russian has performed quite well in weekly polls throughout the season. Natochenny commented that she was not shocked by this popularity. She explained that “being famous is a coincidence” but ultimately she wasn't shocked when the show became popular. When asked what makes the movie so popular between the romance and comedy elements, she said this.
“Yeah, I think it's all of the above. I think that's her personality. I think it's a romance between her and Masachika. I think it's kind of jealous and competitive with the other girls in her class as well as her motivation and growth throughout the series. She warms up a lot, and it's fun to see her do that, warms up to Masachika and warms up a lot romantically as well as in their professional partnership. It's interesting to see a character go through that change.”
“I think every character is well-written, which [Alya] To be [một trong]have so many sides, and it would feel unnatural for me not to play all of them. So it was great to explore all sides of her.”
Speaking about the Russian dialogue scenes, Natochenny explained that the lines sounded natural to her and that she had several opportunities to revise the Russian dialogue to adjust the number of words spoken. or ensure that the lines have a more natural feel to them. I asked her how she approached these parts and what impact, if any, the original Japanese version had.
“I actively tried to be natural in my own tone and performance, and do what was right for me as an actor. We watched everything the Japanese actors and Japanese crew did and I loved everything they did. She [Sumire Uesaka] really great. And her Russian is really good. So it's interesting to see that side of it. But again, luckily we had the freedom to do what we wanted and rewrite certain little moments where it felt right and make it our own.”
“Our writer, Matthew Greenbaum, is amazing. So the English stuff I barely touch. There are Russian speakers in the team whom I have never met. And I just made things a little more comfortable for myself. Sometimes I call my mother because she was born and raised in Russia. So I said, 'Wait, does this sound right? This doesn't seem natural to me at all.' And she would help me out a little bit or confirm that everything was written down really well. Yes, this was a team effort. But there are great writers all around.”
The most difficult part for you in this role? Say goodbye to it, even if just for a short time.
“I will really miss playing her. Honestly, I can't say I had a particularly hard time with this character, because we have a lot in common, and it's very well written, and there's hardly a lot in common so There was hardly any screaming. There was definitely no screaming. It does not cause vocal strain. It's a dream job. So I'm really looking forward to part 2.”
Favorite moments and characters
To close, I asked about some favorite moments and favorite non-Alya characters. As for her favorite moments, Natochenny singled out the particularly touching scene where Alya and Masachika first become friends running the student council, pledging to each other as president and vice president potential president, while also deepening their emotional connection. She also pointed to the shopping mall scene which is absolutely worth seeing.
“Yeah, I like the scene where they basically express their love to each other. She gets a partner for the Student Council and a love interest. Whenever she opens up to him and whenever she has vulnerable moments, those are my favorite scenes. There's a scene where she takes him shopping and she's like, 'Okay. I would show him all the versions of myself that I could be' and wear all these outfits. And she said,'Here, I'm a tomboy, you like tomboys.'And he said,'Yeah, you're really cute.'And then she put on a sexy outfit. And he said,'Oh, that's right. Yes. It's very, very cute.'”
As for a favorite non-Alya character, Natochenny pointed to a popular choice: Yuki, agreeing (with me) that she has the perfect Gremlin energy.
“Probably Yuki. What a rabble-rouser! She is very cheerful. I support my girl Alya, but I mean she's pretty funny.”
Finally, I wanted to know if she, like Alya, had moments when she accidentally spoke Russian and she explained that in fact she did..
“I really know, yes. It happens. It happened when I was very depressed. There are many Russian ways to express things more strongly in Russian. Yes, that happens sometimes. But I'm just laughing. It's not really like I can't help it. I did it as a joke. Everyone knows I'm a Russian speaker.”
We want to thank Sarah Natochenny for taking the time to talk to us about voicing Alya and all things Alya Sometimes Hides Her Emotions In Russian. It was a pretty interesting conversation and a great opportunity to talk to one of this season's best characters. All subtitled episodes of Alya Sometimes Hide Her Feelings in Russian are currently available exclusively on Crunchyroll, and the English-dubbed final season will premiere on October 2. Season 2 is currently in production.
