Spoilers obviously since this discusses the ending and death scenes:
I have to agree with what an earlier poster said that this series lacked direction. Despite the plot, the series went
nowhere. The main characters were cliched and I didn't care that they died. The characters that were not one-dimensional were the first to die (Blue, old man, Tsume). While of course, Kiba and Cheza, the most personality-lacking, cliched characters of the entire show are given a dramatic focus. Phfft.
Not to mention how melodramatic the deaths were. Cher falls off a cliff, yet she's still alive, hardly bleeding, and can talk. Um, yeah. I have to admit the scene was beautiful but it lacked strength. A few other deaths similarly defied realism. This is obviously a fantasy series, but it could have at least tried to keep the deaths from being over the top and rushed. I felt the time constraints too much.
That being said, the ending was still depressing even for me who didn't care for the characters. The sense of desolation from the coming destruction of the world was well done in the empty setting. Music, A+++++++.
This series had such an amazing premise and artwork, its a shame about the plot and characters.