To me it was a get away from the norm we're used to seeing: Naruto, Cowboy Bebop, DBZ, Eva, etc. Not nearly as action packed as those, but with plenty of anime out there like it, it doesn't need to be.
If you're looking for plenty of action stick to the Narutos and Dragonball Z animes but if you're seen enough of that to last a lifetime and are looking for something different, Saiunkoku might be what you need.
And I do hope Geneon gets to licensing (through FUNimation) the second seasons of some of their shows.
I really enjoyed watching Saiunkoku Season 1 and would like to see Season 2.
