The story is actually more complex than SEED, filled with more moral ambiguity and dyanmic characters. However, it is told in an *extremely* heavy handed fashion, so those desiring cerebral and subtle storytelling may find the presentation to be overbearing. On the contrary, those who enjoy anime with a direct style may find it refreshing to see everything portrayed in an explicit manner. If you fall into the first camp, then Destiny (and likely SEED as well) are not for you, but if you are autism brain like me I think you will get a lot out of the plot!
The new characters from Destiny are all great, and have a wonderful dynamic with each other as well as the old characters from season one. At times the original cast can feel like they have diminshed agency (especially during the middle portion) but if you stick it out you will be rewarded with a great conclusion to their character arcs. The generous 50 episode length gives everyone their chance to shine, and all the side characters feel like fully fleshed out people with the attention they deserve. My personal favorite from the Destiny cast was Meer Campbell ;) (Lacus's doppleganger)
The animation and soundtrack are PEAK. The epitome of a good looking 2000s mecha anime. You will never skip the classic OPs filled with banger J-pop tunes. The fight scenes are filled with great military sci-fi action with diverse hardware.
Do yourself a favor and enjoy this wonderful character driven war drama. Don't be dissuaded by some of the negative discourse, there is a reason the core fandom loves SEED Destiny!
