Just like I did in that Fates thread, I'll list the tiers, with the order within the tiers being in no particular order (it'll be characters that are playable and characters who made a big impression).
The Big Three
Luceebo (I actually got a Lucina amiibo and this is what I call it, lmao), Owain Needs No Aid, You Betrayed the Law(rent)
The Grand Council
Sumia, Inigo, Thotja (I've fallen in love with this dumb, derisive nickname, lmao), Henry, Gregor, Google Chrome, Robin the Bank (both of them), Morgana (both), Virion, Cordelia, Maribelle, Lissa, Cynthia, Nah, Frederick Please, Mustafa Kemal Pasha (feel free to spam my DM's with all the AMKs in the world, Turks), Tiki, Noire, Tom Brady, Olivia, Cherche, Basilio
The Conscripts
Gaius, Sully, Miriel, Kjelle, Vaike, Nowi, Libral, Lon'qu, Say'ri, Severa, Panne, Geromeno, Gangrene, Walmart (and his entire gang, for that matter), Phila, Emmeryn, Yen'fay, Aversa, Stahlin (our leader, with faith in the people), Validar, Anna
The Convicts
Ricken, Donnel
So I have some things to say about the characters I bolded (as well as some of the more controversial characters and the two convicts), but lemme just go over my overall assessment first.
Numbers as far as characters I like are much better than those in Fates. The thing I've found is the characters in Fates are a lot more polarizing for me than in Awakening, for both better and worse. IloveOboro, Takumi, and Mozu... so much so that I think I may even love them more than Lucina. Though I also dislike Corrin and others I put in the "convicts" section of the Fates counterpart to this thread a lot more than I dislike Ricken and Donnel. The fact that there's only two characters in the "convicts" section is a good sign, but there are still signs of the... questionable direction casts would go in the future among this cast.
Here's the thing about the characters I bolded; simply, they're wasted potential. They are characters who show up and maybe could've had some sort of interesting role, but simply fall flat. Phila could easily be replaced with a generic, faceless NPC, and there'd be no impact. Walhart's henchmen aren't amazing, but their issue is I think they focused too much on making Sat AM cartoon villains - they're amusing, but I think their gimmicks and gags take away from Walhart's role and impact. Walhart was to serve as a mirror to Chrom - what solving all problems with the sword would look like at its full and worst extent. But they do little to capitalize on Walhart as a character - his arc is cut short in favor of the Grima plotline. All in all, I think these, as well as the Robinsexuals, were a sign of things to come - we got a taste of wasted potential in Awakening, then in Fates we got a banquet of the stuff.
As for the "convicts"... I am just not a fan of the shota archetype in Ricken's case. I dunno, I just really don't like it. I don't mind having a childlike character (or just have them straight up be a goddamn child, Christ almighty these Japanese media companies playing risky with this crap), but such characters can be more than just "hey, I'm not a kid!" Maybe I just haven't explored enough of Ricken's character, but I don't really care to. As for Donnel... unfortunately it has little to do with him as a character and more with just all the memeing about him - it's kinda soured my opinion of him, sadly.
Two other characters I wanted to talk about are Tharja and Nowi. I honestly just like Tharja's creepy hex witch vibe. Like, it seems like a lot of people complain about how she does morally abhorrent or questionable things to her allies, but... like, she never seemed like she was supposed to be a paragon of virtue? She only joined because she figured that if she fought for the Plegians she'd just die for a f*ckless king and she doesn't really have much loyalty towards either side - seems like it's more a matter of "whichever side will keep me alive the longest", and she seems to figure her chances are better under a trusting prince than a psychotic king. She's like the darker side of Miriel, where she likes experimenting and research, but in darker and more grotesque fields and with not-so-ethical means. I guess I can understand people not liking such a character, but somehow such a character appeals to me just fine.
In regards to Nowi... I almost feel like I probably should've put her in the "convicts" section because I find her kinda grating, but I just don't care much about her? Not even all the... questionable people I met online with questionable "causes" who associated themselves with her were enough to make me outright hate her. I dunno, she's just kinda... whatever for me.
All in all, Awakening has an overall better cast than Fates IMO, but Fates has some stars that shine brighter for me than any in Awakening. Though I understand if people disagree with this assessment, as it's all subjective in the end. The biggest challenge for me was deciding which among the "Grand Council" to put as my third choice among "The Big Three". I feel like Laurent has always just been a character that's appealed to me. He's like a more humanized version of Miriel - an intellect with his own share of scars and more overt emotions.
