It's a hard line for artists to toe. Too much emphasis on ethnic features, and the reaction is "The racism, it BURNS!" Not enough, and the reaction is more, "Hey, the artist forgot she's supposed to be Asian." Few artists have enough skill to hit just the right degree. (Actually, most artists seem to have all they can do to keep the characters recognizable from scene to scene.)
The art here IS rather cartoony (which I think works fine). The facial expressions and body language have a lot of personality. It just makes me wonder if maybe art like this was in a comic fans didn't like for the characters that the reaction might be negative.