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My Opinion On “Kung Fu Panda: Paws of Destiny”

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!

TOP 10 TV SHOWS I watched in 2021

I’m like two months late with this wrap-up but here we go!

1.     Genera+ion (2021) on HBO MAX

it’s about a group of gen z kids exploring their identity and finding family amongst friends.

my favorite show ever! “genera+ion” is the kind of story i dreamed of for years but never expected to actually get. 

“genera+ion” went there and did that. multiple poc and queer characters! the different povs storytelling! the found family trope! teenagers talking and looking like teenagers! it’s not overdramatized, there’s no unnecessary trauma dumping, and no sexualizing teenagers. it is refreshing, relatable, and authentic. this is the best show recipe for me.

it was unfairly canceled by hbo max, but I believe it still works as a stand alone story and is worth checking out.  

2.     Daybreak (2019) on NETFLIX

it’s a post-apocalyptic reality where all adults had turned into zombies and the teenagers are left to fend for themselves. the main character sets on a quest to find his girlfriend with the help of his sidekicks, while trying to avoid getting eaten.

it’s a shame I overlooked this show when it first came out because it turned out to be a perfect fit for me. I’m usually not a fan of dystopian stories BUT this show has my favorite type of humor and way of storytelling. I’m talking breaking the fourth wall, insertion of animated scenes, absurdity and chaos all around.

I must admit, the main character wasn’t that compelling to me (perhaps that’s the reason why I didn’t pick up the show when it was premiering). same goes for his love interest. although I did like the unmasking of the manic pixie dream girl archetype. [slight spoilers] for most of the show the audience sees Sam and their relationship only from Josh’s perspective. but Josh turns out to be an unreliable narrator, when Sam becomes an actual person instead of the idiolized version created in josh’s head. I don’t think we get to see shows exposing their main male characters as “the nice guy” very often, so that’s the part of their story arc that I liked. [spoilers over]

for the most part I was much more invested in the secondary characters (wesley, turbo, kj, eli & mona lisa are my favorite). and I think the cast really is an ensemble, even though there’s a designated main character. other characters also get to exist on their own and even take over the narration.  

i also much preferred the love story ivolving secondary characters. it came as a huge plot-twist surprise, and embodied some of my favorite tropes.

I watched this show twice and it goes on my all time favorites list for sure, along with genera+ion.

3.     I know what you did last summer (2021) on AMAZON PRIME

if you’ve seen the 1997 cult classic you already know the premise. a group of friends cover up a murder, and a year later start getting threats from an anonymous who claims to “know what they did last summer”. however, apart from the familiar concept, the show is quite different from the movie, with a new setting and new characters.

most reviews i’ve seen of this show were negative, but I LOVED IT. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that the plot twists, and all the clues, and foreshadowings worked for me, and the finale gave me everything I wanted. it was so twisted and toxic and didn’t shy away from it, but it was also funny and entertaining. plus, I’m obsessed with the sapphic love storyline and the characters involved in it (almost as obsessed as they’re with each other but I’m not that unhealthy).

I feel like I can’t rationally explain why I love this show so much, maybe the writers and I are just on the same wavelength. I think if you’re gen z and you like messy characters (and thrillers, duh) you have a higher chance of enjoying this series.

4.     Young royals (2021) on NETFLIX

it’s a series about a swedish prince struggling to balance the matters of the heart with the responsibility of the crown, after his parents sent him off to a boarding school.

this show manages to stay relatable and grounded even though we’re following a literal royal in a prestigious school. it’s real, vulnerable, and cleverly written. and it’s a beautiful heartbreaking love story. it’s been compared to “skam” so if you’re a fan of it (and good television), this one’s for you.

5.     Betty (2020) on HBO MAX

a remake of the 2018 movie skate kitchen. it follows a diverse group of young women navigating the predominantly male oriented world of skateboarding.

it’s always great to see stories about strong female friendships, and this one also feels like a “found family” trope (which I love! and I mean, who doesn’t?). it feels very real as well, like we’re just watching people’s lives without them being overdramatized. it’s beautifully styled, and it makes you want to learn how to skate.

6.     Cruel summer (2021) on FREEFORM, HULU & AMAZON PRIME

the action simultaneously takes place over 3 summers during the 90s. after it-girl kate mysteriously goes missing, another girl takes her place as the popular one, along with her friends and boyfriend. the narrative switches between two girls, while we try to uncover who’s telling the truth about what happened.

i’ve seen people compare it to “pretty little liars”. it doesn’t give me the same feeling, but I guess it does have similar themes. like, a popular girl disappears, only this one isn’t the embodiment of evil, there’s a teacher-student relationship but here it’s not treated like something romantic or desirable, and the lying - which is a big part of both shows - but here the build-up actually pays off.

some of the acting and dialogue can be a bit awkward, but olivia holt’s performance makes up for all of it. she carried this show. this is by far her best acting performance (with “cloak&dagger” being second).

7.     The lying game (2011) on AMAZON PRIME 

Emma finds out she has an identical twin sister Sutton, from whom she was separated at birth. Sutton asks Emma to take her place for a couple days to go look for their birth mother. However, things get messy when Emma discovers that Sutton has more secrets than she led on.

this might seem like an outlier on this list, being made over a decade ago and all. however, this is the third show with an “identity theft” theme here, so it’s very on brand for me.

as gen z, the only nostalgia I get is for the 2010s and back then I used to watch a ton of teen dramas that nobody cared about: “the secret circle”, “twisted”, “switched at birth”, “make it or break it”, “10 things I hate about you”, etc. the only show that escaped my attention was “the lying game”. I decided to fix that.

I missed the vibe of those shows that I used to watch as a kid. if you’re like me, you will enjoy this. just don’t come in expecting great writing, thought-out storylines, or high-level production. it’s full of missed opportunities, unanswered questions, cartoonish villains, and characters that come, disappear, and are never brought up again. (if anything, this show is like “pretty little liars”!) but it also has entertaining love storyline(s), and a likeable cast of characters. not counting Sutton of course, she’s a disaster. I know this is based on a book, but I feel like the success of “the vampire diaries” inspired the show’s twin sisters. the actress looks like Nina Dobrev, and they went with the nice sister vs evil sister. only here the mean one is underdeveloped to the point of her being completely unsympathetic. she just becomes an annoying villain with no real motive.

beware! the show leaves off on a cliffhanger so don’t look forward to getting the mystery solved, just enjoy the ride of a 2011 teen messy drama.

8.     Shadow & bone (2021) on NETFLIX

based on the worldwide bestselling Grishaverse novels, “shadow and bone” follows an orphan Alina Starkov in a fantasy world full of magic, darkness and danger.

not being a fantasy fan, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this. I don’t have anything negative to say. it seems like a great book adaptation. the level of production that went into this is incredible, the world-building and the characters are captivating. i’m looking forward to season 2.

9.     Chucky (2021) on SYFY

the continuation of the “child’s play” movie franchise. a Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, and thus begins a series of horrifying murders in the town of Hackensack.

this show turned a bit too cheesy and far-fetched for my taste by the end. but i’ve been told that it kept the same tone from the movies (i’ve never seen one, this was my first introduction to chucky), so that must be good for the original fans. overall, I still enjoyed it. it’s gay, campy, and very disturbing. it’s also always great to see teenagers playing teenagers. safe to say, i’m never buying a vintage doll.

10.     The girl in the woods (2021) on PEACOCK

Tasha and Nolan meet a mysterious girl who escaped from a colony that guards a secret door in the woods.

so, i’m not into watching scary stuff, which you probably wouldn’t think looking at this list. but somehow, despite being very creepy, this show manages to feel warm and safe. most of it comes from the relationships between the three main characters. this series also has the best portrayal of a non-binary character that i’ve ever seen. they get to explore their identity and face the issues that come with it, without it coming off as a trauma story. also, they’re the best effing character. 

it’s a cute short thriller. bonus point, it has Sofia Bryant from “I am not okay with it”.

 phew! this was fun! and here’s top 4 worst shows I watched last year: 1. bridgerton 2. ginny and georgia 3. one of us is lying 4. gossip girl (2021)