I definitely get a more RPG vibe from this, yeah. I'm just an impatient action junkie.
The new one seems slower, which probably works if you're going for that drama. The sequence is itching my brain a little, though. Both the actions of "raising the arm to horizontal" and "Flicking the magic projectile" seem to cause a reasonably similar amount of displacement of clothing. While dramatic, I can't help but think that the first one takes away from the impact of the actual flick.
I'd be tempted to either remove the first "impact" from the animation and use a fluid motion all the way up until the flick, or add some particle or air displacement effects to the actual flick to give it more impact.
But... Well, see previous comment re: action junkie. I don't play games with turn-based fight sequences, mainly because they bore me to tears.