The red is a strange choice indeed, and I wonder if red&black would help instead of light and dark reds.
The main thing that bugs me though, is the hat. It bulges out too much in the top left, and is a bit too steeply angled in on the top right. Also the eyes aren't quite right, at the moment they seem a bit too rounded, giving him a puzzled and a 'I'm a bit stupid', kind of expression - compared to the more coy glance over the shoulder.
Actually, on second thought, it may not be the hat, and might be the angle his head meets it - whichever it is, they don't quite line up properly.
Certainly a lot of dithering there, but the style works well.
-Z-