Panda and Hedgehog (2012)

As I'm thinking about what to write, I remember talking to my husband about this drama one night and trying to break it down for him and it got a bit messy. I guess that's a fair description for this drama. It started out really cute, then the love triangle gets thrown in, complicated back stories arise and, at last, there's a dramatic turn of events once everything is revealed. The whole thing was just a bit messy. Halfway through I couldn't really figure out where this drama was trying to go. The story wasn't horrible, just could have been cleaned up a bit instead of going in a bunch of different directions.

I did like almost all of the characters, with the exception of Panda and Won Il's mom and step dad. I really liked the scenes between Hedgehog and Grandpa and Hedgehog and Won Il. I think it's the first time I really could care less about the actual love story and liked the bromance between the 2 male leads better. Some people have mentioned Donghae's acting. I didn't think it was bad at all and definitely improved throughout the drama.

I only gave the music a 6 just because I really didn't pay attention to most of it. The only songs I remember from the drama are Owl City's Good Time since it's a song I actually know haha. And they also had Gangnam Style in there which I thought was funny bc of all the hype that song is getting. But other than that, I don't remember.

Anyway, I liked it but didn't love it. Kept me interested enough to watch it every week but not to the point that I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode.

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Of the few dramas I have watched, Panda and Hedgehog was easily the most disappointing. It had such a strong premise and beginning, such cute characters and a storyline that just made you smile with every episode. In fact the happy feeling from the first 5 episodes is fairly reminiscent of the way To The Beautiful You made me feel.

Then they turned Pan Da into this annoying caricature of a woman, and started trying to throw in twists that were obvious from a mile away. I know there is a Korean term for it, but for me, this show just kept jumping the shark!

But enough negativity, since there really are some good things about this show that make it worth watching. Firstly, Won Yi. She made this show worth watching, she was so ridiculously adorable and over the top, I swear I have a minor crush on her! Also, Hedgehog's character was so fun to watch, even when the crap hit the proverbial fan. He was like the Energizer Bunny, not stopping for anything. His "1, 2, 3 Go!" was just adorable and watching his feelings develop (very quickly, I might add) for Pan Da just made you love him all the more.

The cast of supporting characters also really helped in making this a fun drama to watch. I will admit, I cried pretty hard towards the end, and I wouldn't have if it weren't for the amazing job the cast did with a sometimes ridiculous script.

If you are looking for something cute, fluffy and no where near groundbreaking or deep, then this is what you want!

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