I can’t really say whether the new one is better or worse than the old, but I think it’s probably worth watching for a Spice and Wolf fan. My impression is that the execution was pretty good; most of my hangups have to do with fundamental writing choices that would probably be in both versions of the show. It’s not like re-makes are always bad; just look at Fullmetal Alchemist!
They still make some incredibly cool Transformers toys, as long as you have enormous piles of money to pay for them with.