Maria Mikhailovna Kujou is a main supporting character in the light novel series "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian," known at school as the "Madonna of the Academy" for her beauty, warmth, and overwhelming maternal aura.
She is the older sister of Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou and the first love of Masachika Kuze, although this connection is not immediately recognized when they reunite.
Full Name: Maria Mikhailovna Kujou
Native Spelling: Мария Михайловна Кудзё
Nickname: Masha (Маша)
Gender: Female
Age: 16 → 17
Birthday: December 24
Height: 160 cm
Blood Type: B
Birthplace: Vladivostok, Russian Federation
School: Seirei Academy High School Division, Year 2
Position: Student Council Secretary
Alias: Madonna of the Academy
First Appearance Series: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian
Voice Actress (Anime Adaptation): Yukiyo Fujii
Maria is regarded as one of the two greatest beauties of her grade, standing alongside Chisaki Sarashina.
Her gentle expression and warm smile add to her saintly image, which earns her the nickname "Madonna of the Academy."
In childhood she had blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to her younger sister Alisa.
As she grew older, her appearance changed significantly, and she now has brown hair and brown eyes.
She has an outstanding figure with excellent proportions, though she is described as being slightly more fleshed out than Alisa.
This combination of mature curves and soft demeanor contributes heavily to her motherly charm.
Maria has an easygoing, dreamy temperament and often gives off a calm, unhurried impression.
Despite this, she is extremely capable, handling student council clerical work quickly and efficiently, with very high practical skills.
She is heavily sister-obsessed, doting on Alisa to the point that Alisa herself feels somewhat uncomfortable and overwhelmed.
Maria genuinely wants Alisa to call her “big sister” in Japanese rather than “Masha,” showing a strong desire for familial closeness.
Her behavior can appear whimsical or fairy-tale-like, especially when she acts freely around people she trusts, such as Masachika Kuze or Yuki Suou.
Masachika once noted that when she helped Yuki with shopping, her unpredictable, free-spirited actions were worrying even to him.
Maria is often perceived as a natural airhead, but in reality, she believes she is thinking things through logically.
Her issue is that she tends to skip over the explanation of her thought process and only voices the conclusion, making her seem more scatterbrained than she actually is.
Around people she trusts, her guard drops and she relaxes, which can amplify both her whimsical side and her overwhelming maternal aura.
Masachika, struck by this aura, even imagines that she could temporarily induce emotional regression in almost anyone if she truly wanted to, simply by smothering them with kindness.
When she panics or becomes emotionally overwhelmed, Russian slips out unconsciously.
This linguistic quirk hints at how deeply her Russian identity remains rooted despite her life in Japan.
With Alisa Mikhailovna Kujou
Maria is Alisa’s older sister and an extreme siscon.
She adores Alisa dearly and wishes to be treated as a beloved big sister, not just as “Masha.”
Alisa, however, has a certain sense of discomfort toward Maria’s intensity, finding it difficult to handle her overwhelming affection.
This creates a small emotional gap between them, even though Maria’s feelings are entirely positive and protective.
Maria’s dream in Japan is for Alisa to call her “big sister” rather than by her nickname.
Her behavior toward Alisa is a mix of doting, overprotective, and slightly overbearing love.
With Masachika Kuze
Maria’s most important romantic relationship centers on Masachika Kuze, whom she first met as a child in a park.
At that time, she was playing with a Japanese child and tried to communicate in Japanese but could not make herself understood, which left her crying and frustrated.
Masachika, who had just begun studying Russian, approached and spoke to her in broken Russian.
Through this, he managed to comfort her, and they introduced themselves to each other.
During that self-introduction, Masachika’s pronunciation of her name was poor.
His attempt to say “Marichka” or something similar ended up sounding like “Masachka,” which led to the pet-name form that later became connected to “Masha.”
From that meeting onward, the two deepened their relationship and spent time together, leaving a strong impression on both.
For Maria, Masachika became her first love and the person she considered her destined partner.
However, due to her parents’ work, Maria had to part ways with him.
At that time, her Japanese skills were still lacking, and combined with Masachika’s misunderstandings, her true feelings did not get across.
This miscommunication produced a psychological rift between them.
Masachika ended up with a distorted perception of that farewell, and his heartbreak contributed to him unconsciously sealing off the memory.
Later, whenever Maria was confessed to by others, she claimed to already have a boyfriend referred to as “Saku-kun” or “Sa-kun,” crushing those confessions.
To outsiders, this sounded like an excuse or a gentleman’s agreement to keep suitors away, but she treated this “boyfriend” as very real.
She wears a pendant containing the photo of this boy, indicating a long-distance relationship.
In truth, this “Sa-kun” is none other than the childhood Masachika Kuze.
Because her appearance changed from blonde hair and blue eyes to brown hair and eyes, Masachika fails to recognize her as his first love when they reunite.
On top of that, his heartbreak and emotional self-protection cause him to block out those memories, making it even harder for him to connect “Masha” with the girl from his past.
When they first meet again at Seirei Academy, Maria’s generous motherly behavior and free-spirited attitude toward Masachika are, in her heart, essentially date-like interactions with her long-lost first love.
Her old pet-name for him evolved from the mispronounced “Masachka,” and in Russian, calling out to him as “Masa-kun” or the equivalent did not land well, further complicating recognition.
At one point, Maria tells Masachika that she does not want to fight with Alisa over him and entrusts her feelings to him, stepping back on the surface.
However, after a certain promise is fulfilled and emotional accounts are settled, she becomes more straightforward and honest about her own feelings again.
Deep down, Maria still entertains the hope that, in the end, Masachika might choose her.
This lingering wish gives her character a quiet, bittersweet romantic tension beneath her gentle smile.
With Other Characters
Maria interacts often with student council members, including Yuki Suou, where her free-spirited nature occasionally causes headaches for those around her.
Even so, her competence and reliability in both work and academics earn her respect.
Her reputation as the “Madonna of the Academy” stems not only from her looks but also from her care for others, which makes her widely liked.
She has a talent for putting people at ease and, unintentionally, for disarming them emotionally.
Within the narrative of "Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian," Maria serves as both emotional support and a source of romantic complexity.
She is deeply tied to Masachika’s past and present, acting as a living key to memories he has tried to lock away.
Her heavy-siscon tendencies toward Alisa add comedy and familial warmth to the story.
At the same time, her hidden identity as Masachika’s first love provides dramatic tension and future potential for conflict and resolution.
Her tendency to revert to Russian under stress underscores the series’ central motif of language and hidden feelings.
Maria’s mix of competence, emotional openness, and occasional obliviousness makes her an especially vivid and memorable character in the ensemble.
💬 Community Discussion
Talk about this anime with people who actually care.