It's pretty awesome. I can't liken it to the titles you listed, which are all pretty different amongst themselves anyway. As the title suggests it can be damn dark at times, but it's not drudged in it to the core like, say, the Kenshin movies. It has some light-heartedness in it and tends to be quite optimistic even when the plot takes a depressing turn (which you'll see often).
I'd recommend just hitting it up. It's one of those series that you can watch for the action or for the story, one episode at a time or all at once. It basically has something for everyone regardless of whether or not you watch anime often.
On a side note, there's a second season slated for release.
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