Character development is about what you'd expect with the limited runtime, Leila exists to get hurt/kidnapped and the final villain comes out of nowhere in the last 20 minutes. Definitely an improvement over the 1985 adaptation, although it would perhaps have fared better as a 12-episode series or even a short OVA series. Many characters felt underdeveloped, especially if watching this as a standalone adaptation.
Despite originally being dubbed in English, and having 'western' characters, this kind of hammy writing deserved an equally hammy Japanese cast.
