# The Girl Downstairs (2023)

> A freshman's crush on a classmate turns into an unexpected romance with a former idol while a friendship trio strains under unspoken feelings.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/142569

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 22
- Episode runtime: 12 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, romance, drama
- Network: bilibili
- Cast: Su Shangqing, Liu Yuanyuan, Cai Na, Qing Liu, Liu Yiming, Tong Yin, Xiaofeng Lai
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28216375/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: wistful, tender, bittersweet, gentle, lingering

## Synopsis

The Girl Downstairs (2023) is a Chinese donghua romance series adapted from a webtoon and produced by bilibili, with Red Dog Culture House and BoomStudio involved. Freshman Yuan Juntang (voiced by Su Shangqing) enrolls at Minsong University hoping to get closer to Zhu Zhu (voiced by Qing Liu), the classmate he has long adored. Their dynamic shifts when Li Shiya (voiced by Cai Na), once his idol, returns to campus after a temporary absence and befriends him, forming a trio with Zhu Zhu. Zhu Zhu clearly senses Yuan Juntang's affection but holds back, keeping a careful distance rather than accepting or refusing him, while Yuan Juntang and Li Shiya grow closer in ways that go beyond friendship. The engine of the series is this tangle of unspoken feelings, the small daily moments of a university friend group, and the question of what each character is willing to admit. Told across a single season of 22 short episodes of about twelve minutes each, it moves at a gentle, measured pace rather than through big set pieces. Its tone is wistful, tender and quietly aching, with an emotional register that lingers after the final episode. Set in a contemporary Chinese campus, it offers the atmosphere of school life with the intimacy of a love story. Fans of Heartstopper, Given and Our Dating Story will find resonance in its youthful longing and tender, slow-building bonds.

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