Interview with Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian Creator Sunsunsun

Sunsunsun, the original author of the series. Today, we asked them what it was like writing the series and how exactly it transitioned into so many different forms.

ANN: Communication and language are big elements of this series. Of all the languages and cultures to choose from, how did you choose Russian? In an interview with Da Vinci, you mentioned the beauty of Russian women as influential in choosing Alya's heritage; are there examples of actresses or celebrities that you found particularly striking?

Sunsunsun: I chose Russian mainly because many Japanese people would likely say, "I know the language itself, but I can't understand a word when I hear it." For the same reason, languages like German, French, and Italian were also candidates. However, when I thought about what country I wanted the heroine to have heritage from, what came to mind was the Russian cityscapes I had seen on TV—streets blanketed in white snow and women as beautiful and pure as the snow itself. So, I didn't have any particular famous person in mind as an inspiration.

Alya is a character who is struggling to fit in at her new school. Do you relate to her struggle at all? Were there any specific inspirations for what she is going through?

Sunsunsun: I personally have a hard time relying on others, so I can really understand Alya's feelings. The episode where she made a presentation all by herself without asking her classmates for help is actually based on my own experience from elementary school. Back then, I didn't have someone like Masachika—someone who would casually lend a hand while making lighthearted jokes—but if I had, that person might have become truly irreplaceable to me. Just like Masachika is to Alya. (laughs)

Yuki Suou became a fan-favorite character thanks to her energy and love of anime tropes. Did you anticipate she would resonate with so many anime fans? Was it fun writing a lot of her meta-references?

Sunsunsun: Yuki is an otaku who has analyzed the ideal little sister character that otaku dream of and consciously embodies it herself. Even while writing the original story, I had a feeling that she would deeply resonate with a certain group of otaku. Also, since I'm an otaku myself, writing her geeky lines and actions was incredibly fun for me.

I always found the family drama revolving around Masachika and Yuki particularly fascinating. Were there any challenges in setting up that backstory and how it affects those characters in the present?

Sunsunsun: I had thoroughly developed the story of the Suou family, the household where Masachika and Yuki were born, from the very beginning of writing RoshiDere, so I didn't struggle much with writing it. If anything, I debated how much of their story to include since, in romantic comedies, the heroine's family background tends to get more focus than the protagonist's. In the end, I dedicated almost the entirety of Volume 9 to depicting the Suou family's story in detail. Since it seems to have been well received, I felt relieved about that decision.

The audience is introduced to mock debates between students as they aim for the student council president position. What was it like to develop the topics and arguments for these debates? Was it difficult at all trying to make one side look more right or correct than the other?

Sunsunsun: In the debate, Alya and the others structure their speeches to make the audience empathize with their arguments. I believe this is similar to how novelists write stories by thinking while considering how to make readers empathize with their characters and themes. Because of this connection, I didn't find depicting these kinds of discussions particularly difficult. Also, rather than focusing on which side is more “correct”, I approached it from the perspective of both sides being valid, but with one being more likely to resonate with the general public.

What was your initial reaction when the anime adaptation was announced? How involved were you with the production? Were there any moments in particular that you were looking forward to seeing animated?

Sunsunsun: When the anime adaptation was announced, to be honest, it didn't feel real at first. But as production progressed, the reality of it gradually sank in. Regarding the anime production, I was involved almost entirely within the scope that the original author can participate in. The scene I was most looking forward to seeing in the anime was, of course, Masachika's highlight at the end of Volume 1 and Alya's heartfelt RoshiDere moment.

What was the process for working with Momoco-san to create the visual look of the characters? What were key character design points that you felt helped establish each character's personality?

Sunsunsun: When I first received the character designs, it felt a bit like meeting someone in person for the first time after only interacting with them online—kind of like, "Oh, so this is what you look like." As the story progressed, I gradually felt that the characters' appearances and personalities became more cohesive in my mind. The most important aspect of the character design was definitely Yuki's striking duality. Since her ojou-sama mode and imouto mode needed to have a clearly distinguishable visual contrast, I provided quite detailed instructions to ensure that the gap was well expressed.

The story and characters' transition from original short stories to the light novel version are very different. What was the story of deciding what to change and what to keep the same between the two versions?

Sunsunsun: When adapting the story into a full-length novel, my editor pointed out, "If such a beautiful girl were openly affectionate [dere/でれる] toward a regular high school boy sitting next to her, he would naturally make a move." I completely agreed. So, I asked myself: "Why don't these two end up as a couple?"

To address this, while keeping the core concept of the heroine expressing her affection in Russian, I decided to change both the protagonist and heroine from the short story version. For the protagonist, I created a boy with low self-esteem who is ive when it comes to romance.

As for the heroine, rather than genuinely confessing her feelings in Russian from the start, I emphasized the nuance that she's actually teasing the protagonist behind his back. This way, since neither of them believes the other is being “seriously” affectionate (dere/でれる), their emotional distance remains intact, preventing their relationship from progressing too quickly.

Since the Alya-san story was originally envisioned as an isekai story before becoming a story set in the real world, do you still have an interest in writing an isekai story in the future?

Sunsunsun: It's not that I have no desire to write fantasy rather than isekai stories, but with so many isekai fantasy works already flooding the market, I don't really feel the need to write one commercially at this point. That said, I have already written a pseudo-isekai story where the RoshiDere characters end up in a fantasy world as a Blu-ray bonus. So, I suppose my urge to write fantasy has been satisfied through that project (laughs).

---

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. Yen Press, BookWalker Global, and J-Novel Club are subsidiaries of KWE.