V5 is shaping up nicely. (based also on your later drawings) I don't think "you're doing it wrong"... maybe just not up to your personal standards? Like, 'di mo feel na tama. As Pao would say, "wrong 'yung feeling", however nebulous it might seem, and correct to other people?

P.S.

It now occurs to me that I have no right haranguing anime-type artists when my own drawings (at least that old Fennec) lean very strongly to the cartoony/anime-inspired as well.

I need to learn to shade... *sets that among goals for the summer*

- bunny