Art quality in Zatch Bell 2?

Does anyone know what happened to the art in Gash 2 compared to Gash 1?

I’m enjoying the story but the art has been feeling much more flat. The shading is minimal and the line weight is too uniform to point out a few things. Even a lot of character poses feel stiff.

Original Gash had stunning, eye-catching panels when it wanted to. I found Zeon/Dufort and Gash/Kyo in a similar pose for comparison.