Utawarerumono is an interesting comparison, and I'm not sure it's a widely known fact that Sola and Uta have the same director (which is one of the reasons I mentioned it in my review). Uta I'd have given similar rating, but in my eyes it's a slightly better anime... although obviously very different. But both series have flaws and, in my eyes, both series had awesome potential that they just didn't live up to. And while Sola's flaws were weak lead characters and inconsistent plot, I'd say Uta's flaws were inconsistent pacing and too many side characters that turned into chess pieces. But purely from looking at Kobayashi's
list of projects, I can't say I'd rate him highly, and Sola hasn't changed that opinion... although on the other hand, ep 5 of Rozen Maiden was a work of genius.