I just finished the rest of the old series just after this first episode aired, though I was coincidentally watching it mostly on the day it'll be airing now. This is (probably dumbly) my first experience with Dragon Quest, but though by the books, it is shounen at its damn finest, just about (can't wait for Popp). Though it is mostly the same content as the older pilot, it did feel like there was some faster pacing, with the additional flashbacks the watchers of the older series can appreciate, since it directly deals with the last arc that was adapted, so there's certainly a lot to look forward to.
Being officially translated and released in Latin America back then, it obviously wasn't as popular in NA and other places, so here's hoping the wider release of new Dai is a good. I keep hoping at least something less mainstream that I post gets some good discussion, and it never does, so I'll sprinkle in the rare anime I'll be watching that has a chance of being a bit more mainstream too.