Kmadness Asianaddict: September 2013

After much procrastination, I’ve finally finished Panda and Hedgehog! Before I dissect this (and by dissect I mean the characters), I admit, although I had many complaints and rants about this drama, it was cute, delicious, and the story line was easy to follow. I honestly think that if this drama didn’t have Donghae, so much aegyo, and cute chemistry between characters, I probably wouldn’t have liked it AS much. From my last review I explained what the basic story line was about, so I won’t go into the stories as much as the characters. And if there are people who read this and haven’t finished the series yet, I'll TRY not to give the WHOLE story line away.

First let’s talk about the characters and the relations. Although I thought the Panda and Seung Ji pairing was pretty cute, they weren’t the couple I loved the most. Their chemistry was okay for me. Their interaction was entertaining (especially the fact that Panda is basically an idiot) and I preferred friendship over a relationship. I probably liked the height difference more than anything. The three relationships I loved watching was Seung Ji and Won Il, Seung Ji and his grandfather, and Won Il and Won Yi (and probably all her relationships). For Seung Ji and Won Il, there was bromance. As a drama fanatic, of course I love bromance. When it comes to romantic comedy’s I’m all for the bromance. Between these two rivals in love, they definitely have a love and hate relationship. They might be rivals fighting over who wins Panda’s heart, but they both can’t help but enjoy each other’s company. No matter how informal Seung Ji can be, Won Il finds him quite endearing. As their become “closer” you get really torn between who gets the girl. We obviously knew who was going to get the girl, but I was torn, and for me to be torn is a rare occasion. There was a point in the drama where I felt like those boys should ditch Panda and just carry on with their bromance.

Stills of the pairings:

A drunk but adorable Seungji

Sums up my OTP

Bbo bbo for Seungji? :3

Halbe taking care of a drunk Seungji

Ko Seungji, nicknamed Hedgehog, was played by Lee Donghae. You would probably recognize him as one of the members of Super Junior. This was his first main lead and I honestly can say he did a great job! Sure, his acting wasn’t as good as other actors, but it wasn’t bad. The way Donghae portrayed Seungji was great. His delivery at playing a rough on the outside but kind and softhearted on the inside character was convincible. It was cute and this is probably the only time you’ll see him and his aegyo’s WITHOUT being embarrassed. His character was likeable as soon as he was introduced. It’s probably a different introduction to what I’ve seen. His intro is him yelling and chasing after a thief. And sure Seungji didn’t have the greatest or easiest life, his character in fact, had to go through a lot of trial and error, but his attitude is what attracts viewers. His basic “Press on and carry on” attitude was what that made him so attractive. His stubbornness to never give up. Donghae had said in a interview that he could relate to Seungji because his character had a similar background, and that similarly, they both have a hard time expressing their emotions and are both straight forward. The writers purposely wrote Seungji as a similar to Donghae, so he would have a easier time to relate to it.

The next character is Choi Won Il, played by Choi Jin Hyuk. This was the first drama I’ve seen him in. A

talented actor who probably deserves more spotlight and popularity!

In the first episode Won Il has just come back from the U.S. His "dad" is the owner and chef of Saint Honore. The viewer can obviously tell at the beginning of the drama that they (Won Il and "dad'') don’t have a good relationship. He doesn’t have any respect for him and I was pretty okay with that. And obviously, Won Il has a crush on Panda, his childhood friend, who shows no particular love interest in him, poor guy.

What I liked about Won Il was that he wasn't afraid to speak out. He’s not one of those characters where they won’t speak because they’re afraid of how the other person would respond. He would make jabs and just show he didn’t like his father, which of course made me happy. I do like a man who’ll stand up and won’t be pushed down so easily.

He also had a very cute personality. A man who had no experience with the opposite sex. And when he’d see Seungji and Panda together, he brought out those pouty lips and jealous side. Of course you felt bad for him, but couldn’t help but go “awwwww…fjdsjfkdj”. This is acatually one of those rare dramas where I felt insanely bad that the third main wasn't going to get the girl. I think this was the first drama where I didn't want the girl to have neither guy.

Pan Dayang. A character I really would like to skip over. The actress played by her is Yoon Seung Ah. You probably recognize her as the best friend in Mischivious Kiss. She even plays the younger sister in the newest drama Empire of Gold. The actress herself is amazing and she acts very good! She’s actually really cute, considering her age *wink

But the character she played, didn’t fly in my book. Da Yang was insanely annoying. I didn’t enjoy her until towards the end of the series, unfortunately. She was over the top sensitive, naïve, and childish (considering she’s a 20 something year old). And the pout of her lips drove me insane. I don’t know if she was told to pout and talk with a pout, but that irritated me. It wasn’t cute. To top it off, Panda let Seungji buy and replace a lot of the baking ingredients when they go shopping. When they went to clothes shop, thinking about it now, I still don't understand why she said they should go on a pretend "date". At this point Seungji was falling for her, he just wasn't aware of it. And during that time, he willingly bought the clothes for her. The only thing he wants her to promise her is she do what he wants the next time which she consents to. But of course, she breaks the promise. Panda gets mad and doesn't want to do what Seungji wants. 'Course, I think she's crazy. I'd love to do whatever he wanted..how could you say no and NOT be attracted to his face at this point?? It's beyond me.

The other characters within the series either appealed to you or obviously, you hate them.

One of the other supporting characters were WonYi, Won Il’s sister. Okay, I’m just going to say, she was probably the best supporting character in the series. Her tomboyish and bubbly personality won me over. Plus, the fact that she called the other guys in the series hyung were absolutely adorable AND this girl can take her alcohol like a beast!

Because I think Won Yi is probably one of the best funny supporting characters, enjoy some pics of her xD

This girl loves money

The rare Seungji and Won Yi moments

The antagonist of the drama drove me insane to no end. And literally, he was pretty insane. PLUS Choi Jae Kyum has the nerve to steal my Seungji’s macaroon ideas and claim them as his idea! Then this man has another nerve to stalk Seunji’s mom (*SPOILER) and think she wants to take revenge on him..yeah very insane. As we know, she just wanted to start over. But I guess what’ s a drama without psychotic characters?

So What Did I Think of It?

I admit for me, and like I stated in my last review, episode 1 was slow for me. And I think it's why I had such a hard time watching ep 2. I just wanted to see Seungji, Won Il, and Panda interaction since they all hadn't met yet. Luckily and finally, the story line started picking up at episode 3. There was definitely more interaction from then on, there was also stress, compliments of Pa Da Yang. Episode 3 is a pretty important one, since it explains how Won Il and Panda know each other. So since it's a pretty important beginning ep, I want to talk about my favorite moments.
Although Won Il studied in America for 14 years, the affection that Panda still had for her childhood friend was very adorable. When I mean adorable, I mean Da Yang calling Won Il by his nickname, Pangy. And that's all I can give her. Sorry Panda. Of course, this episode wouldn't be complete without some Halbe and Seungji moments. One cute moment was Seungji's drunk moment (this was in ep. 2 but whatever). It was start of some beautiful and memorable moments between these two. The last cute moment was between the Choi siblings. What's not to like about the siblings? From Won Yi's love experience to Won Il being totally a noob to this kinda thing, you can't help but love the sibling

If you focus on the characters more than the storyline itself, I think you might like it. I think it also depends on what kind of taste you have in a drama. If you don’t mind a predictable storyline with right away likeable characters, then this is the drama for you. If not, then you should give it a shot anyway. Not only are there yummy good looking men (*Cough shirtless Donghae *cough) in this (BROMANCE), but also yummy and creative deserts.