Reviews for The Girl Downstairs

Good news for readers of the source material! The ending of this adaptation is different and it's in the extra 10 minute episode, so you might enjoy this. Anyways, this is a decent romance story. It’s about how the main character and his love interests try to make sense of their crisscrossed desires, all the while with fluttering hearts and fluctuating passions. Throughout the plot, these vicissitudes of love are shown with a playful yet thoughtful tone. We see the characters bantering with one another, enjoying their youthful camaraderie in college and at home. We see the pasts of the characters - some distressing, all sentimental- that delve deep into their fears and uncertainties and contextualize their actions. We come to see how personalities shift, but more clearly, how the characters slowly change the way they act and think, often spurred by each other.

I like how the story shows that the development of love is not always linear or straightforward, but more often full of cuts, crevices, and U-turns. In addition, some of the more meaningful scenes are subtle instead of melodramatic, a creative decision that I respect. Not to say that there aren’t overflowing tears or emotional outbursts, but they feel well-placed and not too frequent. In this sense, the treatment of romance is relatively mature, so while I haven’t seen much romance stuff, I think this is a good addition to the genre.

Despite these highlights, the show has some issues. There are some parts that feel tacked on and don’t contribute to the rest of the story much. Perhaps more concerning, one person starts off promising in terms of characterization, but her importance to the story isn’t really established and she ends up becoming a bumbling side observer to the core conflict. Also there are many parts that I personally cringed at but you know what, the story ends fine so I’m just gonna ignore them in my adjusted score.

Adjusted score: 7 / 10. Personal score: 5 / 10.

Not too sweet romance. Somehow it's both a "mature/grown-up" & "coming-of-age" story. The characters are interesting and three-dimensional with things to like, dislike & not fully understand about them. I didn't read the source material & despite my fear of love triangles I really enjoyed the story. The animation is absolutely beautiful, especially the hair, facial expressions, and body language. The lighting, shading, movement, well really overall everything in my humble opinion it's quite visually striking and smooth. The soundtrack is limited, but that might count in its favor as one continues to watch the music ques create anexpected atmosphere. I enjoyed the music in the show. I found the Chinese voice-acting to be really enjoyable. The voices were beautiful & carried the right amount of emotion & nuance.

Even though the story is mainly told from the Male Lead's perspective I'd classify this as a josei. Quite a non-cliché romance story with some light psychological twists and turns. I'd recommend it to watchers who like romance or even slice-of-life. Even if you don't like romance it's a good story about the challenges of starting a new beginning in life.

Warning: No ecchi, no harem, no oppais. It's quite a wholesome show with no erotic references. If you dislike love triangles you might still enjoy this, but be warned many girls like one kind of indecisive unremarkable guy.

I just created this MAL account just for this review. So here are my takeaways: - OP was hella addicting and all OST's were top notch. - Story itself was good and the romance was 10/10. Leads too much chemistry. I'm really invested with the story that i have to finish it in one seating since the story is not the "TYPICAL" romance we are seeing in most animes. I felt like it was a sort of k-drama in the anime setting. - The animation was really captivating tho still need some improvement. I've watch many anime's mostly produced in Japan, but this one is kind ofdifferent and i like it very much. IDK how to describe it but the characters were well portrayed so kudos to Red Dog Culture House. I became a simp for the FL.

- Hoping for season 2 but for god's sake please don't follow the original ending xD

- It's been a long time since i've watch an anime and this anime is like a breath of fresh air for me. So i'll give it a 10/10.

I did not expect this to be good, but it turned out to be spectacular. The animation is much better than your typical romance anime, and the excellent sound design really helps you feel the doki doki. The characters feel fleshed out and natural (even the crazy ones), and the story, while feeling melodramatic at times, has enough twists and turns to feel exciting. I appreciate that the characters are adults and they act more mature than the typical romance. The main conflict is a love triangle between the handsome Juntang (the protagonist), the beautiful idol Shiya, and the studious childhood sweetheart Zhu Zhu. Shiya isdirect and pushy with her love for Juntang, but Juntang is saving himself for Zhu Zhu, whom he has had a crush on forever.

I think what sets this apart is what it _doesn't_ do. In your typical romance drama, you have conflicts arising from poor communication which creates misunderstandings that triggers certain characters to go batshit insane. Then we yell at the screen 'why would you do that?' and resign to the realization that the characters are not people but plot devices. While a central conflict _is_ caused by Zhu Zhu's lack of communication, it doesn't create unnatural responses.

In this show, both Shiya and Zhu Zhu are developed enough that we can empathize with them. It's not exactly clear who, if any, would win out in the end. Shiya is crazy and stalkerish, but displays enough emotion to be taken seriously. Zhu Zhu is the childhood sweetheart, but is absent for critical time periods. On the other hand, Ruoli is more of an afterthought; she never was in the running to begin with and didn't really need to be there. In fact, she adds a certain amount of cringe which detracts from the show.

From what I heard, the show doesn't adapt the full source material, but this show tells a complete story with a satisfying conclusion.

This series was pretty interesting at first, but the more episodes I watched the more I started to dislike it. I had hoped for getting the typical anime romance feels, but unfortunately I was very disappointed. The part of the series that I liked was that love isn't straightforward, rather more like a roller coaster that is unpredictable. But it got to a point where I stopped caring about what kind of ending the series would have. The OSTs were literally carrying me through the series, because they were, in my opinion, the best part of every episode. I have watched a lot of romance animebecause it is my favourite genre. This has to be the first one that I didn't feel a connection to most of the characters. I was mostly bored or frustrated through the whole series. I took the series very seriously, which is why it's so sad that I am feeling the way I am feeling about this series.

I don't know why this series made such a bad impression for me. Maybe it is because it was the first chinese anime I have watched or just simply that this series is not my taste of romance anime.

My adjusted score: 6/10. My personal score: 5/10 (if not even lower). It's up to you if you want to watch it or not.

I'm surprised I liked it. Surely one of the underated romance anime on 2023. Too bad each episode is only 12mins and 22 episodes only. But one season was honestly enough Even though its chinese dub to be honeset it sounds good and natural. Storywise kinda similar to Golden time but more serious and flirty. The animation was really nice and smooth. And I really liked the background music good job first chinese anime I really liked. Characters and story was kinda realistic not gonna lie. those scenes apparently happens irl I feel like other would like this too but may not appreciate it because of the chinesedub which was suprsingly ok and natural.

Highly recommended, at first glance, this Chinese animation captivates with its vibrant and visually stimulating aesthetics, setting it apart from the conventional Japanese animation styles that have, in recent times, remained somewhat conservative. It is my fervent wish that Chinese animation continues to refine its craft and assumes a dominant position in the global animation industry. The narrative within this animated gem is notably robust, crafting a captivating narrative that skillfully navigates the realms of romance and ecchi elements. However, it is paramount to underline that the storytelling exudes a supremacy that eclipses the more risqué facets. The story itself stands as a veritable paragon ofuniqueness and deviation from the prevailing trends in Japanese anime today. In sum, this presentation comes enthusiastically commended.

This donghua is an adaptation of the Korean manhwa, Lee Doona!. I did read the manhwa so I will be reviewing this as both a donghua and as an adaptation. I will also use the manhwa translation names as opposed to the Chinese Pinyin names in this review. Plot Summary: Our MC, Joon, is a new college student, having worked hard to study and test into the college his high school crush is attending. Upon moving into a share house, he meets a weird but strangely familiar looking woman at the the entrance. He soon recognizes her as the recently retired idol, Lee Duna. Once recognized,Duna, afraid of having her location revealed, waits outside to request/threaten him not to tell anyone. This wait prompts her to collapse and Joon, as a new dormmate, to help her. And thus the two become closer, beginning Joon's tumultuous "spring" (romanctic life).

Plot

This donghua adaptation is about a new college student Joon, who now attends the college of his crush and whom he wants to get into a relationship with. Since the story is set in a modern college setting (likely Korea, since it is a manhwa), there are drinking parties and many activities stereotypically associated with college. This donghua falls under the romance category, with multiple potential candidates for our MC. The plot progression is not perfectly linear so watching it as single episodes may cause some confusion (usually resolved with the pre-OP scene in next episode); however, this is not much of a problem if you binge watch the show. The show starts off with a "conclusion" of what we can expect in this season, then goes back to tell the story on how it reached that point (this follows the manhwa so I can't exactly fault it). Many people like to skip the OP and ED, so I do warn you to be wary of doing that with this show, as there are rather important plot elements/exposition pre-OP, usually expanding on side character backstories or continuations of previous episode events.

Characters

The characters are all believeable and unique enough to recognize individually. All the characters were great, and I like them all. The internal monologues provided good insight into each characters thoughts at certain times, though if you don't have a sharp ear you may not notice the difference in intonation that differentiates between speech and internal monologues. How the characters evolve/change throughout the season is also great a believeable, helped by all the monologues/character thoughts.

Animation

The animation is 2D, which is a bit different from my usual preferance, but the art style and animation quality is pretty good. The designs are basically pulled directly from the manhwa, and the asthetic is consistant with our modern world (it is set in "today's" world afterall).

Overall/Final

I very much enjoyed this romance donghua. While it is a bit different from my usual preferances, I still think it did a good job presenting the story. I very much enjoyed this romance donghua, though some of the narration about "future events and their conclusion" worry me. The progression of the relationships were reasonable and the characters, especially the MC, was not too dumbed down (like many romantic/harem works). I highly recommend this to anyone who likes the fluttery romance stories. It does have some drama and cringy moments, but overall an enjoyable watch.

Adaptation Review (may contain spoilers):

The adaptation of The Girl Downstairs Manhwa is probably the closest one will ever get to a perfect adaptation. When watching this, there are 2 things that stand out as different from the source. Those 2 differences are:

-Removal of the Fairy: So the fairy in the manhwa was a semi-supernatural author tsukommi self insert which was a bit annoying. The removal, in my opinion, was a good call.

-Severely toned down drinking and smoking: The FMC Lee Duna was a very heavy smoker; this got removed and replaced with "playing with a lighter". In addition, only drinking that is directly relevant to the core story is adapted, some of the less relevant displays of drinking were removed.

There is two big cuts from the manhwa to the adaptation: the Busan trip (got changed), where lots of "degenerate" behavior and irresponsible drinking happened, and the picnic that the group of 6 went out on that led to the subsequent drinking party that led to the group breakup.

There are also some minor changes, like minor changes to where some events take place, but what the scenes portrayed was not modified, so no harm no foul, though it does create minor disconnects.

For presentation, Lee Duna's instability is not as well portrayed. They could have better showed her drastic mood swings.

Overall, this was a very very faithful adaptation of the original story, where there are some changes to presentation, focusing on visual in the donghua vs text/monologues in the manhwa. The differences in atmosphere are so small it is scary how close it is to the original work. In fact, its faithfulness both excites and worries me; I love perfectly faithful adaptations, but the foreshadowing narration and knowing how the original ended scares me (the original ending was very disappointing and unfulfilling). If this adaptation did not cut out those two events, it would have been rated a 9.8 on the faithfulness scale. On a final note, the donghua adapts chapters 1-54 of the manhwa.

Adaptation score(how faithful to source): 9/10

Edit: Of course, right after I finish watching and post this review there is an "extra" episode that gets released. I'm not sure how canon it is, but be sure to find and watch it. I guess it could be considered an ending.

First of all,having a story based on university romance is kinda unusual and fun,maybe since im not a highschool student anymore := Characters are pretty typical,even though Juntang (male lead) is not a typical weak character,luckily. (but pretty weak in terms of making a decision.) The story is simply full of back and forths,self doubts,undecisiveness centered around the male lead.Which made it hard to keep watching for me but that painful experiences totally pays off when you see storyline is going better and completed almost perfectly. Besides of that,ambience music is absolutely awesome even though it is limited,I really enjoyed hearing it and even added on my spotify playlist. Itotally recommend if you want to see a dramatic university romance and well designed characters.

And I want to add this,

If you love someone never put the confession off,let them know your feelings

otherwise you will witness them changing cities,countries or becoming a

stranger in the end,maybe they will be with someone else until you build your

confidence up.

Didn’t expect to like this, but I kinda did. I usually don’t go for romance stuff especially not the overly dramatic kind but this one felt… weirdly grounded? Like, some of the situations were actually too real, in a “yep, people really do act like that” kind of way. Not always in a good way, but that’s what made it interesting. It’s short 12 min per episode, 22 eps total. Felt a bit rushed sometimes, but honestly I’m glad it didn’t drag out. One season was enough. I don’t think I could’ve handled a second. The animation? Honestly, it’s too pretty. Like, sometimes I juststopped paying attention to the story because the visuals were that good. Smooth, detailed, expressive the kind of animation that makes you want to pause and admire every frame. The background music is subtle but works well, so no complaints there.

Okay, real talk though I’m totally obsessed with Shiya. Like, she’s honestly the best part of the whole thing. Her character hits all the right notes for me, and I found myself rooting for her way more than I thought I would. If you watch this, prepare to get hooked on her too.

The story reminded me a little of Golden Time but with less fluff and more awkward tension. Not super romantic in the typical sense, but it felt kind of mature? Or like, emotionally chaotic in a way that isn’t just drama for the sake of drama. It made sense. Not perfect. Kinda clunky at times. But worth checking out if you want something a little different and if you want to fangirl over Shiya with me.

Let’s get this out of the way: The Girl Downstairs (aka Aishang Ta de Liyou) sets itself up as a coming-of-age romance with three pillars—Yo, the awkward “nice guy;” Mio, the “mysterious” ex-idol neighbor; and Makoto, the childhood friend carrying a heart shaped by years of quiet resilience. And somewhere in all the posts gushing about Mio’s “deep trauma” and “growth,” a majority of viewers have collectively decided to trample over one of the most genuine, come-from-behind heroines I’ve seen in years. Mio. Mio. Mio. “Oh, she’s so beautiful! She lives downstairs! She wasonce an idol and doesn’t trust anyone because of her traumatizing past!”

Sorry, but in what universe is this a novelty? Mio fits the ancient

anime cliche of “main love interest who drops into the MC’s lap, armed

only with her proximity, tragic backstory, and enough glamor to make

every secondary female fade into a living prop.” Want to make your

protagonist’s love life interesting? Just throw a lonely, dazzling,

conveniently available girl with no other female cousins, friends, or

work colleagues in the building…until the plot needs more drama.

Meanwhile, let’s talk about the real backbone of this show: Makoto.

Years upon years of emotional suffocation under a tyrannical father.

Unable to express herself or chase any kind of happiness that wasn’t

pre-approved by her household. She’s not just “waiting” for Yo to notice

her; she’s actively fighting the invisible war so many real-world girls

face: you can’t just like who you want, or go where you want, or feel

what you want— not when your very existence is policed morning, noon,

and night. Yet Makoto never once becomes a wilting flower. She studies

her ass off for freedom she’s been taught not to even dream of, trying

to preserve some speck of hope and dignity.

AND FOR WHAT? So the show can pull that tired “childhood promise vs

thrillingly new femme fatale” dilemma? Guess which one the writers (and,

let’s face it, the genre at large) are going to reward.

Let’s examine the supposed “romantic competition.” Mio is introduced as

an emotional bomb (which, okay, honestly, is a compelling start), but as

soon as she moves in it’s just endless scenes of “Oh, look how difficult

it is to live as a former star!” I get it: you’re traumatized by

internet trolls and stalkers. That is absolutely a story worth telling,

but at what point does Mio’s entire presence become pure plot

lubrication? She needs Yo not because he understands her, but because

the story needs someone to hold her hand while she slowly learns how to

order yakisoba like a commoner. She’s “mysterious.” She’s “wounded.”

She’s “daring” (because proximity equals inevitability, apparently), and

Yo is so frankly ordinary that his only real romantic flaw is failing to

realize the person with depth is right there, battered by family, not by

crowd-funding scandals.

And don’t start with “well, YO had a reason for moving past Makoto!” He

didn’t. Not a real one. The only thing Mio ever proves to Yo is that

she’s right there, emotionally available, and willing to throw a

dramatic fit when the script requires. That’s it. Makoto? She’s shown

layers—hesitation, hope, jealousy, even the ability to let go with grace

(when was the last time a best girl wasn’t written as a weepy mess of

passive happiness for the main couple?). She’s put in the work

and—here’s the kicker—already knows the MC loves her back. But she can’t

act because she’s literally raised within emotional barbed wire. When

FINALLY given what she’s desperately hoped for—a real shot at being with

Yo—her story is still sidelined for Pretty Idol Tragedy, a character so

overexposed she literally attracts stalkers on her day off.

The real crime here isn’t just that Makoto loses; it’s how little the

narrative values the struggles she’s had vs those of a popular new

person. Makoto’s development isn’t slowed down by her; it’s slowed down

by life itself. Where’s the reward for tenacity, for years of quiet

hope, for someone who, at every fork in the road, chooses loyalty and

patience instead of running off for the nearest rebound? Nope. We needed

more time for idol hair perms and “let’s be friends, but maybe more”

hand-holding farce.

And while we’re at it…Sara. The “senior” who gloms onto the plot for six

episodes and then, once finally realizing she’s not MC material, shrugs

and goes “guess I’m just another stepping stone for the favored couple!”

Despite possibly being the most practical character in the show, her

noodly romantic arc never rises above “Was that kiss a big deal? Eh,

time to wait another three episodes for a character revelation that

never comes.” She, more than Makoto, exemplifies another anime

platitude—a woman with apparent maturity who cannot, under any

circumstances, move on from a non-relationship with a first-year she met

ONCE at a party. Please. Maybe that’s realistic at 17, but as a college

junior?

To sum up: The Girl Downstairs spends twelve episodes telling you all

sorts of trite things about trauma, about finding yourself, about how

love is a complicated tangle. But when push comes to shove, all it

reinforces is that if you’re not the Shiny New Thing, you’ll lose out to

whichever magic pixie idol lives in your proximity. Working hard on

yourself, enduring years of heartbreak, and actually loving the main

character while respecting his boundaries? Doesn’t matter. Being

impossible to ignore is all that counts. Makoto, you were robbed. Your

journey was the most relatable, your pain the most real, your growth the

most hard-earned. But the genre doesn’t care. And unless rom-coms kick

this “main character blindness” for anything but the

idol/neighbor-with-a-past, neither will anime.

Critical Review Score: 1/10. MAL Rating Score: 10/10. Fuck you.

MORE LIKE A BIASED REVIEW (QUITE UNPROFFESIONAL BUT REAL) Did not know i was waiting for this my entire life! Instead watched those petty animes with harem, ecchi, stupid comedy bits, and romance was like always some innocent thing which idk is maybe some Japanese kink but I dont enjoy at all. Not confessing for 1000ep straight, misunderstanding, stupid and unreasonable love triangles. Shyness and blushing all over the place. Makes me sick So this was definitely a change of pace. I rated it 10/10 just becuz of biased reason definitely its not 10/10 and im not tryna sell that out either. Fmc is the most beautiful animatedcharacter i have ever seen, loved her personality as well. Mc is good as well.

Thankfully they changed the manhwa ending (what a joke).

OST are 10/10 ended up in my playlist just uplifts the scenes.

Overall- 9/10 (but still rated 10)

I rewatch it quite often and hope it gets a totally newly written season 2 (with the anime route they took)

if you are into a romance with fewer cliches and stuff this is for you, It is a romance unlike any other it actually focuses on their love towards each other although the pacing is quite messy you'll understand it. and it is quite adorable it's not like your typical anime with ecchi stiff sure there are a few but they don't go overboard with fan service. This is the first Korean anime I watched based on a webtoon and I jumped in blind expecting it to be trash cuz of my hatred towards it but turns out it was okay not the best but itwas okay I gave it a 7 outta 10 i recommend it!

this anime would be rarely highly as a 9, but after watching its sister show “Doona!”, opinion and feeling of the anime has drastically dropped Let me explain: The production of the show is great: The anime seems to have a lot of work put into it, with a great soundtrack to even listen to, which helps have a lively aspect to the show for a romance plot it tends to keep track with its progresses and tries to keep the realism within it, but it felt generic, buildup of these characters falling in love, struggles of being in love. There should also be a little mention ofthe side characters; they play a pivotal role in development of the main characters and the relationship, but I can also argue the harem aspect was being sprinkled, which isn’t no problem but shows us much about romance and the struggle of it

Overall, the anime is great because it’s satisfying in the way you have an ending that as the audience would love to strive for.

However, the praises must come with some negatives as the anime like I said is generic, but I feel the need to mention its sister show (Doona!) seem to outshine and probably execute the anime and its romance element way better.

I feel like I need to mention this is because Doona has as much relevance to each other due to how similar they are but how different they executed the plot, from more detailing of side characters to the ending of the main character, felt more emotional and attaching than what the anime was trying to achieve

As the Anime provided a happy ending, it did the opposite, shattered the audiences hope of romance and quite frankly it teaches a lesson of romance that most shows try to convey, that love doesn’t always work out.

I felt like this is what the anime tries to do but just fails to work out, with a sort of Romeo and Juliet plot of forbidden love working out, but not in it’s real life adaptation

Overall, my feelings for the anime will always strive to a 9, and I hope you experience both what the anime and the sister show can provide, with the lessons of romance the author was trying to convey within its writing and the details that come along with it

Side Note:

The review of the anime was well needed due to interest in the messages and details this anime provides and long lasting impact it could have as a romance anime in its respective genre, it is equally good as its sister show but if it executed the “bittersweet” ending rather than feed audience needs, the anime would bypass its sister show any day of the week. Hence the reason why I mentioned Doona! And The girl downstairs is because they interlink and are both of the same plot, but providing alternative endings but in its own art form which is great for the audience

9/10

The anime is great With good animation (love the intro) But too cliché and predictable. Someone who has been in love with his childhood friend (who actually loved him back but never said anything because of her parents 😭) for practically forever and who dumped her for an idol he just met... I do dislike the possessive Character of Duna Which is too present. However, it is good that they put aspects of celebrity that some people do not see, in particular the fact that they have no private life. Personally I think That some people may like it but unfortunately it wasn't really my thing.