I feel I may give away SOME of the story line so read at your own risk.
(Yes it's true, I don't doubt for a second Inuyasha is based off this, so I thought this could be the stronger of the two and I think initially it really seemed that way.)
Story:
Later in the series I realised something so forgive me for getting a bit spoilery but, the girls are under the constant threat of rape, that really started to grate.
Another pattern which was a common theme is that the couple kept getting separated for no good reason, which was true of another anime released around that time and as a fan of romance it drove me crazy. I feel if less time was focused on them running away from each other focus could've gone on what I think would've made this series stronger. Parts of the story did use the rinse/repeat method so we see our heroes make the same mistakes and it gets pretty frustrating to watch.
Also a point I found lacked lustre is one of the main sevens power seemed like a good plot device to aid the gang. Only so little of them was seen that it came increasingly apparent this was not an option.
I really thought as we were little by little introduced to the rest of the seven they'd become a merry gang, using their special powers as if they were a tag-team, for me I'd have found this more enjoyable, but it was not to be.
Again closer to the ending of the series the heroes are faced with great peril and unless I missed something, despite the threat having the upper hand just seemed to go 'meh' and leave them be. Some other little things around that time aren't explained very well.
Art:
Pretty good, no complaints.
Sound:
Great theme song. VAs were good. One in particular must of been the inspiration for aforementioned anime.
Character:
Eh...
So they're the band of seven...only about two of them are given next to zero screen time after their introductions and another increasingly less. I thought this would be remedied later in the series after some circumstances, but not so. One in particular just ends up being sort of there.
I also found it odd that initially Miaka seemed pretty spunky and seemed a physical match against the average joes who attacked her. Only, increasingly she became the damsel in distress, so for me she lost her appeal. Though she did show her strength in other ways.
The main villains motives were only explained in the last few episodes so in one way it really turned things on their head, in another, for the most part they seemed really one dimensional.
The characters we did see more of were really loveable and a joy to watch. You're made to really care about those characters and that's what made this series so compelling, in spite of everything.
Enjoyment/Overall: By all means it wasn't all bad and I'm glad I stuck it out as I did consider dropping it. Though I realise I haven't sold it well... I enjoyed the ending enough that I may grudgingly watch the OVA's.
