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Before watching this movie, I made some research on it and "don't expect to understand this one" seemed to be the key phrase. Still, the synopsis was interesting enough and so I watched it anyway (I'm a sucker for Chinese folklore), although just expecting eye candy. In the end, I liked it! Though I warn you in advance: if you are not familiar with Chinese folklore (specially the tale of Xiao Qian and the tax collector Ning), you will find some of the concepts awkward, at best. Like, for example, the idea of ghost busting: if you are not familiar with the myths of supernatural ... powers possessed by Taoist masters, you will most likely laugh at it while recalling a certain American movie that has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Story/World:
Although it's not mandatory to know Chinese folklore in order to watch (and enjoy) the movie, you will miss out on a great deal if you don't keep up with all the Chinese mythological references (which the movie expects you to know, since it doesn't explain any of them). That said, the story is very singular, although odd and many times incomprehensible.
We follow Ning, a debt collector, and his dog Solid Gold. They're wandering around (seemingly aimlessly) and end up in a ghost town. It's a story of a human falling in love with an enchanting ghost, followed by bizarre giant monsters, with some generic warriors helping along the way. And don't forget all the Chinese mythology references too (eye candy).
Basically, don't watch this for the story if you have a short attention span. Although the creative storyline isn't necessarily directed to adults, it demands the comprehension of those at least 10 and up.

Art/Animation:
The art is nice. The character designs are Disney-ish in an unique way.
Animation-wise, watching it now, don't expect something grand. The animation is quite good for its time (for the characters and its motions, I mean) but it's outdated (this movie is over 10 years old). That being said, lets also not forget that this is Chinese animation so, obviously, the style is also different. Animation excels in character motions, specially in action scenes, which are greatly done, using very creative camera angles and charming colors. Down side would be the the CG used, which is on the very low quality side. In fact, the use of both 2D and 3D don't go very well together: the 2D is great, the 3D fails.

Character:
Character designs are unique to the individuals. A lot of the personality can be deduced from how the characters look like. Of course, most of them are pretty linear, like the "I trust everyone" Ning (you wouldn't expect that kind of personality on a debt collector xD), the "worship me" Evil Mountain, the "I'm awesome" Ten Miles, the "I'm god" White Cloud or the "too good for you" Shine. However, although there is nothing utterly wrong, nothing really stands out in this department.

Sound:
Sound, sadly, is its biggest failing. The film was originally designed specifically around doing both Cantonese and Mandarin so you'd expect some failure there but, oddly enough, that's not where the failures appear. Actually, both audio languages are quite nice: the Cantonese brings less harsh character voices, since the dialogue sounds more like singing than talking, while the Mandarin is far more serious, with the extra work gone into drama. No, the problem is not the audio language.
We then have a few Disney-ish musical moments throughout the movie, although they sound lovely in both audio tracks. No, the problem is also not in the songs.
Unfortunately, it's the effects that fail the whole sound experience. They are mediocre and banal, at best. I even recognized sounds from a game, as well as numerous other films.
Although the dramatic aspects are well held, very often the sound intrudes on a well animated tense moment, ruining the whole experience.
The English dub is another fail, although not as prominent, because I recognize that it's somewhat hard to translate Chinese into English without it reading rather strange (cultural relativism). Nevertheless, the dialog is incredibly cheesy and, on many occasions, fails to deliver the original meaning of the story. I don't recommend it. The Mandarin and Cantonese tracks are both quite good and, although you are probably used to the clearer Japanese language, Chinese is very melodic so give it a try.

Enjoyment:
I liked the story and there were a few hilarious moments and awesome action scenes, but that was it. You can tell the movie is very ambitious and wildly imaginative. The love story portrayed is universal enough to be understood by anyone. So, if you can overlook the pathetic CG and the miserable sound effects, this movie will be something worth your time, otherwise, you watch it for the myth references only.

Overall:
Sadly, it fails to stand out thanks to several factors already stated and though it is re-watchable once or twice (to hear both audio tracks), that is about all.

You have probably already seen or, at least, heard about Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira. The movie was beautifully drawn, with complex characters and admired for its illustrations of technology. So, when Bandai Entertainment announced that Otomo was working on a new anime series, his fans were naturally excited.
Disappointment came in when I learned that Otomo was only designing the characters and the technological look of the series rather than writing the stories. However, after watching this OVA series with 7 episodes, I can now say I was impressed, although it could have been so much better plot-wise.

Freedom is set in 2267 in the moon colony Eden, ... after the Earth has been left uninhabitable due to an ecological disaster.
The world of the series really is impressive. There are no giant mechas or spaceships travelling at the speed of light. Instead of relying on useless fantasies, Freedom goes beyond your average anime series and presents us with a more realistic world, where people work and live in. And besides, you never see anything happening on the moon so that is definitely a plus.

The biggest fault in Freedom lies, without a doubt, in the plot.
Screaming Akira, this series follows a group of teenagers, led by Takeru, who spend their time racing and working on their “vehicle”, a three-wheeled motorcycle. Whenever they get in trouble, they are assigned to community service, or “volunteer work”, as the CAC calls it, which basically consists of walking along a tube on the lunar surface to check for leaks. It is during this tedious duty that Takeru witnesses a satellite smash into the Moon’s surface nearby and within discovers a photograph of a woman standing over a group of children on what looks like Earth. We will basically follow Takeru in his search for this woman.
It takes two episodes (out of only 7) for the story to take that important twist that moves things forward and, even after that, things seem to progress rather slowly. There is, in fact, too much talk and not enough plot.
Another negative aspect is that there was too much Cup Noodle product placement. Although Freedom was originally made as an advertising campaign, it doesn’t look good. If this was a TV-series, it would be alright, but not as an OVA.

The artwork and animation are two of the strongest points of Freedom.
The artwork is like an evolved form of Akira, since the style is basically the same.
Animation is amazing, but it might require getting used to. Freedom is one of the very few anime (that I know of) to be made totally in 3D cell-shaded CG. Most people will probably need to get used to the style, but once you can look beyond this, you’ll be rewarded by a great series.
The quality of art and motions is really well done. Their awkward motions are vividly portrayed. The racing scenes look like an upgraded version of the bike-chasing scenes in Akira, and they are also excellent.
The opening is fantastic. I specially like how they associate things, like the vehicle with a kid’s tricycle. And the race sequence is like a manga brought to life and evolves as important events take place along the series. Truly amazing.

If you’ve seen Ergo Proxy, you’ll probably detect resemblances in the soundtrack. Yes, the author is the same (Ike Yoshihiro) and the music style is also similar. I shouldn’t need to say anything else. The soundtrack is spectacular.
The opening was one of the best ones I’ve seen. The song matches perfectly with the animated sequences. The singer’s name also speaks for itself (Utada Hikaru). As for the ending, despite being just instrumental, it strengthens the powerful climaxes on the first three episodes.
As for the voice cast, it's not outstanding, but gets the job done (except maybe Sanae Kobayashi, who had a rather mediocre performance as Ao).

The characters are the biggest strength of this series, although they’re just a group of hot-headed teenagers. Freedom is what a shounen anime should be. Shounen animes often forget that every teenage boy is an idiot. Freedom portrays that in a pretty realistic way, as their personality is consistent throughout, as opposed to the regular shounen with random idiotic "filler" scenes that are used not as part of the character, but simply as comedic relief. This is much better than your regular lead who just wants to become the best in the world, which just leads them to brainless directions without any real goal in mind… not really that interesting for me.
Flaws in the character department mostly appear in the last episode because the creators decided to be too epic for their own good, and some characters become a bit unrealistic for the sake of a more "epic" ending.

The enjoyment department is incredibly subjective but, personally, Freedom has its moments. Those moments are usually action scenes and the climaxes of the episode, which are, without a doubt, breath taking. Past those parts, most of it is average.

Overall, Freedom is a very good sci-fi anime with great characters, a nice OST and a powerful animation and it's definitely a must watch for fans of the genre.