I love the show, for a great many reasons, many of which have already been covered by other contributors.
It's not a perfect work, by any means. There are some pretty glaring continuity errors, and I found
the episode with the CMC's doing the talent show painful to watch. But over-all, pretty darn good, and
just about perfect for my daughter & I to watch together.
Not every episode is an out-of-the park hit, but more than a handful are.
Some episodes are very cliche, other episodes love turning cliches on their heads.
Even many characters that aren't around very long are well portrayed positive characters with some
depth. Think of Chief Thunderhooves and Little Strongheart.
I love the world that it has been set in--mythic backstory, sweet primary setting surrounded by epic danger.
I love the reoccuring theme of forgiveness. Judge me if you want.
Now, OP, this statement of yours troubles me a bit:
Zeke63 said:
the show just feels vacant of any literary substance or tension, plot wise.
What do you mean by literary substance? Because the most common theme I see throughout the series is:
"My friends and I are not perfect. Sometimes one or more of us really screw up, or have very wrong ideas.
When this happens, we try to help each other through it, and sometimes grow as individuals or a group in
the process."
And (no offence, what you perceive is what you perceive) but if that is lacking in literary substance,
then the Odyssey would have to be considered a simple travelogue.