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I decided to make this because I don’t a lot of people really talk about this series and I personally would like more people to know about it so more people can express their opinions on it
I’m going to list my pros and cons and then I’m going to state my overall opinion. There is no specific order for these lists. I’m adding them as soon as they pop into my head
Pros.
1. Po is not the entitled, lazy brat he was in “Legends of Awesomeness”. That alone is something I can gladly say about the show.
2. Sassy grandma panda is a delight.
3. I adore the use of songs with Chinese lyrics when doing montage sequences and one beautiful love song. It’s those little details that make me appreciate a series. Now if only I spoke Mandarin Chinese.
4. I only find 1 out of four of the Panda kids grating (more on that in cons). Nu Hai is my favorite.
5. I think the show has great antagonists, both the comedic and serious ones.
6. Mei Mei is a fabulous drama queen. Even though, I’m a Tipo shipper I’m not as bother with her conversing with Po. I find their interactions hilarious with how uncomfortable she makes him feel.
7. I personally like the use of the Four Constellations because I love Chinese mythology and I don’t mind the show having fantasy elements to it. After all, the first movie’s conflict ended with a magical equivalent of “pull my finger”.
8. The character models are leagues above the previous spinoff show on Nick.
9. I enjoyed binge-watching the whole season. However, I recommend you don’t do it all in one day. I feel it is best to space out the time you watch the episodes. I kind of got tired of the show after watching it all in one day. Then again, I was watching it during a time when I had booked schedule, so I didn’t allow myself breathing time for the show when I should of.
Cons:
No Furious Five and Shifu. I accepted the fact before watching the show that the Furious Five were probably not going to appear. That still doesn’t change the fact that it sucks that the Furious 5 didn’t interact with the Panda kids. I get that Po has to be the main teacher. I’m not asking them to be in all the episodes. I just feel that it would have been nice if the Furious 5 dropped by in one episode, tell the panda kids about their experiences in kung fu lessons, and drop by in the grand finale to help in the final battle. Heck, it would have been so easy to pick which Furious to help which student. Each would have had at least two of the Furious Five that would help them with one thing or another.
Nu Hai: Tigress (by default because she has an action figure of her) and Viper (she would help Nu Hai with flexibility and she is the closest thing to a dragon out of all the Furious Five).
Jing: Tigress (because she’s a tiger, I also feel this could cause a conflict with Nu Hai if Tigress started requiring to spend a little more time with Jing than her. Just something to challenge Nu Hai and Jing’s friendship. I just personally don’t like that in the show they’re best friends, but they don’t really show reasons why besides they’re both girls. Plus, the dragon and tiger are supposed to be rivals. so that would have been great for symbolism), Crane (He could have helped with her issues in confidence in her own abilities) and Mantis (Mantis is sort of the defacto healer of the group and could have helped her with patience about her powers).
Fan Tong: Crane (the closest thing to a phoenix in the group. Crane also could have help Fan Tong with his confidence issues), Viper (she could have helped him with his own bravery problems by talking about her own when she was younger), Tigress (She could have had a moment with Fan Tong that even the most hardcore of creatures can still be scared), and Monkey (I could see them practicing with staffs together to help him hone his skills with a sword).
Bao: Mantis (Given that he got the turtle, Mantis would be perfect in helping him with being patient and more precise. You know, because turtles are slow.), Monkey (He could talk to Bao about being more compassionate to other people and help Bao let go of his entitlement issues.)
Po would obviously still be their main teacher for all of the kids. It just would have been nice for them to drop by and give their own words of wisdom to the kids. Oh well, it didn’t happen so all we can do is just accept it and move on. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to see them in season two (I won’t hold my breath on that though).
Lastly, Shifu was just as much of an influence on Po as Oogway was and I feel he deserves to be there to help the panda just as much as the dead tortoise. I would also love to see him banter with Mr. Ping and Li Shan as a sort of father ragtag group of friends or something. XD
2. I really could do without the use of modern quotes like “cuteness overload” or “I can’t even” in Ancient China. A character even mentioned pizza in one episode.
3. Bao is leaning towards to being basically LOA Po in child form and I hate it.
4. I can’t stand those cutesy rodents and their high pitched voices. How old are they supposed to be anyway?
5. Giant Spider, Nuff said. I can only suspend my disbelief so much for this show, but I can’t fathom this thing could ever exist in the official canon. At least this is just a noncanon spinoff like LOA.
6. Bunnidharma. I just found him really annoying and oddly designed because we already have a cuter design for rabbits. It doesn’t help that he is voiced by James Sie, Monkey’s VA in LOA.
7. A character mentioned a character called in Ke-Pa in the show. Please leave LOA out this, thank you. I don’t care if it turns out to be a different Ke-Pa, they knew what they were doing!
8. Some episode plots or arcs can be sort of predictable, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad it’s just something that could be improved upon.
Overall, “Kung Fu Panda: Paws of Destiny” is not perfect by any means. I found some things in this show grating when I binged the first season. I think it’s worth watching at least once to get a feel of the series. I personally liked the show and found some moments funny or interesting. My personal favorite scene is a scene with Mr. Ping, a cart, and a pink background.
Although, I won’t lie there will be moments in this show when you’ll probably be thinking how this is definitely something the Furious 5 and Shifu should have witnessed, especially the finale. I still like the show and the characters that already exist in it (except for Bao, Bunnidharma, and those annoying panda cub sized rodents). I only hope that more people will watch the series so we can get a season two. If anything, I just really want season two to happen in hope that maybe Shifu and the Furious 5 will finally make an appearance. If not, I will still in enjoy it for Po.
I hope this post made a difference for you in some way. Stay awesome!