The artwork and animation are of course very good. In the last few years animation has really shined with embracing high definition, and there is a certain quality that we are getting used to (and in some cases expecting). This series holds that quality and doesn't waver. It has catchy intro music, and the songs throughout each episode fit very nicely into the story. Best of all, the voice acting works really well. This series delivers in the most basic and necessary of areas which gives it a couple of shiny gold stars.
The characters are kind of up and down. I think it was the amount of young children characters that filled the story. It was a bit much at times, but the main and most important of characters were so well done that I could ignore that fact. Everyone had bright and lively personalities, and they were developed very well considering the lack of background stories. In fact, we do get a little of a couple characters backgrounds, but mostly we are left with questions. It's not a major flaw in the design, but it is what brought the series down to an 8 instead of a 9 for me. I wanted to know much much more about the main characters because that was the biggest mystery in this story.
Mentioning story, I do have the say that the simple yet entertaining plot was fun to watch. I compared this show to Alice and Wonderland and Fairy Tail for a very big reason. You get your zany magical fighting and action, and then you have your bizarre spiritual world storyline/themes/concept. This is not a ripoff of either, it's actually very different in a lot ways, but it just reminded me so much of those two. The entire point of this story is that these three human kids from different dimensions have to help save this community of "no-names" by competing for them in magical games in this sort of fairy tale/spiritual dimension/world. If you love fantasy, that's what you get.
Where this series goes wrong is in how short it is. I wish it was done in a few more episodes. I wish we had more background of the characters. I wish I would stop saying "I wish". Seriously though, it has some flaws, but I really enjoyed it. It has high repeat value, and it has a lot of good things going for it. It is based on a light novel series that I have not read, but I hope there is more to come in a second series/season. If not, then I can whimper and say "fine" and maybe deal with the cliffhanger/open ending that we are left with.
All that aside, this is a must see for fantasy geeks like myself. It's fun and at times a little exciting. It has good humor and much more. Check this short series out.
