# Falling Into Your Smile (2021)

> An amateur female gamer joins an all-male e-sports team and fights her way toward the world championship.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/80610

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 31
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, comedy
- Created by: Qing Mei
- Network: Youku
- Cast: Xu Kai, Cheng Xiao, Zhai Xiaowen, Yao Chi, Zhou Yiran, Rachel Wang, Xiao Kaizhong, Gao Han
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11290960/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, warm, comedic, uplifting, sincere

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series highly, praising its esports competition scenes and its warm team dynamics.

## Synopsis

Falling Into Your Smile (2021) is a Chinese scripted esports drama and comedy created by Qing Mei and broadcast on Youku. Tong Yao (Cheng Xiao), an amateur gamer known in play as Smiling, joins an all-male e-sports team and must prove her skill among teammates who doubt her place. Lu Sicheng (Xu Kai), called Chessman, leads the squad, while Jian Yang (Zhai Xiaowen) and Ai Jia (Zhou Yiran) round out the core lineup alongside supporting players such as Lao Mao (Xiao Kaizhong). The engine of the series is practical: each episode is built around ranked matches, strategy sessions, team training and rivalries that test whether an outsider can earn trust and help the squad climb toward the world championships. Its shape is a single season of thirty-one episodes, a serialized competition story in which wins and losses accumulate. Set in the contemporary online gaming scene, it moves through practice rooms, arenas and team dormitories. The tone is warm and breezy, with comedic moments, friendship, and a gentle romantic undercurrent. Fans of Haikyu!!, Go Go Squid! and Joy of Life will find resonance in its sports-team camaraderie and underdog ambition, a light but heartfelt take on competitive youth.

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