I would argue that Sekai aside, Fumina and Yuuma are both far more interesting than either of the original leads. They both have rivalries built into their back stories, rivalries that are established early and resolved in a satisfying if predictable way. This is done by having the protagonists often interact with their rivals well before they meet in battle, something that wasn't usually the case in the original.
Story wise, this follows the typical anime tournament structure like the original. The obligatory training episodes were a lot more engrossing then in other shows, especially with the Meijins around. There really isn't an antagonist (unlike the original), so the story does lean on personal rivalries to add weight to the battles, which I believe was a good decision.
Battle animation hasn't missed a beat, though like the original, but the over-reliance on Sekai using some new DBZ-esque attack gets rather tiresome. I guess if you liked G Gundam, this might be a positive.
Overall, a solid series that maintains the quality of the original, while providing protagonists with more interesting back stories.
