It's been a long time since I watched this show for the first time. I was drawn to it because the animation for the time was quite good. The vivid colors and the drawing style was quite appealing. I agree, right now it looks a bit dated. However the story was also interesting and original for the time. This was before Isekais were a thing, and being transported to a new world was not as common to see on stories.
Many are comparing the original Rayearth with the new one and are pleased by the enhanced color pallet and transformation sequence. Some might be shocked for the wrong reasons, but is def causing a stir online. I also watched the show with high expectations and I most say I enjoyed it.
First thing that I notice is that the story starts just as the original in Tokyo 1993, which is the year that the original show was launched. Another fact that I didn't know is that the girls were not friends, actually they come from 3 different schools. Two of them, from elitist private schools. The interaction was kept to a minimum before they get summoned from Tokyo into the real world.
The anime holds the original comedy from the time. I remember seen those change of temper from being serious to switching to complete goofiness. This is something that was common back in the Ranma, Inuyasha, and Dragon Quest. This helps break the tension or build the character design, just like we saw Mayor Kusanagi on the latest show of Ghost In the Shell. Instead of being always serious all the time, the girls also flip from seriousness to joke around.
This first episode is too early to tell if the show will keep the quality of the first iteration, but as far as the animation goes, it truly is memorable. Maybe not as much as in the past, but it is quite good.
Have you watch Rayearth yet? Will you wait until the end of the season to bench it? Did you watched the original show in the 90s?