I had the same reactions, watched it quite quickly and was surprised to do so.
This show was very balanced in every aspect and once the rules are set, they are never to get cheated on a cheap "well it's magic..." excuse.

For Chagum's father ordering Chagum to forget Balsa is very normal. Chagum has always been his successor, and as such has to only focus on that. Chagum knows that and although he will not totally forget Balsa, he'll be up to expectations regarding his rank.

I also liked the 8 fighters, they are not the best in every aspect of combat or strategy, they are very good overall, but each of them as a gift in one of the qualities needed for the group to be very efficient.
I liked how Balsa defeated them, but not as easily as a typical anime hero would... she was severly injured and death was near... very plausible.
And yes, some fighting scenes were awesome, pretty much like dance, most of the time very quick to conclusion as it could be in real life I guess.

I hope too that the next chapters will be animated, by the same studios with quality on par with this one.