This will be very short, mainly because
- There's a lot of variety in each character
- I don't really know enough for detailed breakdowns. -_-
Anyway, let's just do it alphabetically like the wiki does. A quick explanation of the character's playability, what they remind me of in one sentence, and decent choices for an Arcana.
AKANE
A well-rounded character who has good normals and strong damage off most combos. She does have her own gauge to keep track of, though - the Kotodama, which serves to power up some of her moves.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That highschool kid everyone thought was awesome, except combined with Scooby Doo.
ARCANA CHOICES: Akane works well with almost any Arcana - she's that strong on her own.
ANGELIA
Clash, clash, clash! Ange is all about flying around the screen and charging your opponent. Her range is disappointing, but if she can get on top of her opponent it's hard to get back out.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: Millia Rage, except a loli. Look at that goddamn hair!
ARCANA CHOICES: Choose an Arcana that helps Ange's weak neutral game. Wind gives her extra mobility, Halo gives her good specials...there's a lot of options here.
CATHERINE
Giant robots. What do you expect? Big range and a variety of good pressure options make her terrifying in the corner.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: If a Playboy model gained a degree in robotics. Then aged backwards 10 years.
ARCANA CHOICES: Wind is the most popular choice for Catherine - it gives her a big boost to speed, which she sort of needs.
CLARICE
Do you like flying around the screen and frustrating your opponent with long-range specials? Do you like having no health at all? If so, Clarice is the character for you!
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: A walking oxymoron. Seriously, a demonic nun?
ARCANA CHOICES: WindwindwindwindWIND. Makes an already fast character insanely speedy.
DOROTHY
Be as confusing as you can be. Dorothy's about traps, misdirection, and confusing your opponent into messing up. Setups galore!
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That kid at the talent show who tried too hard and everyone felt kinda bad for.
ARCANA CHOICES: Love is, as always, a safe choice for Dorothy, covering several of her weaknesses.
EKO
Multi-hitting specials, momentum killing moves - Eko is a strange character, and one who needs a little thought before playing. This trickery makes up for her below-average specials.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: The girl who's always talking to her imaginary friend, except this one actually beats people up.
ARCANA CHOICES: Fire turns small hits into big damage, and Eko needs that.
ELSA
Long range moves? Nope.
Good pressure, great knockdown options? Yup.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: The long lost bastard daughter of the Belmont family.
ARCANA CHOICES: Several arcana can cover Elsa's weak points. Love gives her projectiles, Thunder helps with her clash game, Wind lets her get in faster, and so on.
FIONA
Look at that massive sword and tell me you can't guess how Fiona plays. Slow as hell, but DAMN does she hit hard.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: King Arthur, minus the charisma, plus talent in sweeping floors.
ARCANA CHOICES: Mainly Fiona wants any Arcana that builds meter fast and aids her defense - she can't really use them much combo-wise. Hence, again, Love's a safe choice.
HEART
The game's protagonist. Runs a simple high-low game, very easy for beginners to pick up. Easy meterless damage, too.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: Every generic superhero in existence, fighting for LOVE AND JUSTICE!
ARCANA CHOICES: Conveniently, Heart works well with Love, making her stronger in just about every department.
KAMUI
The closest thing this game has to a Chun Li. Great normals that easily combo into supers, and a gambit move that allows her to get even more damage.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: Every serious-business swordsman you've ever seen in a goddamn anime.
ARCANA CHOICES: Plant makes Kamui's range even better and gives her more comboability than ever.
KIRA
Yes, she's the grappler. Yes, she's in a swimsuit. And yes, she will beat you into the ground if you don't take her seriously.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That asshole cousin who you were too young to fight with.
ARCANA CHOICES: Metal buffs her health even higher than it usually is, and gives her some nice small confirms for good damage.
KONOHA
Naruto has nothing on this shit. Her range is poor and her damage is questionable, but she's got an answer to just about everything, and maybe the most useful Critical Heart in the game. There's a lot to learn about her, though, so maybe leave her until you're familiar with how the game works.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: The Japanese Scrappy Doo.
ARCANA CHOICES: Konoha works with a lot of Arcana. As always Love is a good choice for beginners, but she has better options for advanced play. Flower, Thunder, Wind...there's a lot of options.
LIESELOTTE
Every anime fighter needs a character who's actually two characters. Playing Liese requires you to control her and also keep track of her doll Elfriede. Think Carl from Blazblue and you'll be close.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That girl in school who always creeped you out and you had no idea why.
ARCANA CHOICES: Typically you want an arcana that makes your mixup/trap game even better than it is. Good examples are Halo, Time and Evil.
LILICA
Lilica has two or three moves which she can cancel into several variants to keep her opponent guessing. She's fast, with good damage, but to pay it off her health is below average.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: Like, y'know, every totally trendy teenager who will never stop talking about how totally trendy she is.
ARCANA CHOICES: You're already fast. Wind makes you LIKE A FREAKING BULLET. It also makes your defense paper-thin, so don't get hit. :<
MAORI
Secret Marvel character in AH3! Maori's game revolves around her long-range normals and calling on her assists for backup when necessary. Just don't get caught in close range.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: holy crap look at those boobs this girl is like 14 what the hell japan
ARCANA CHOICES: Flower helps Maori's keepaway game a lot. It gives her easy safe supers, and the fastest burst recovery in the game.
MEI-FANG
It's like Fei Long grew boobs and was a robot. Mei-Fang's combos are strange, but if you can land them the damage is superb. Imagine Rekkas
that can loop.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: The Terminator, if he'd been made in China.
ARCANA CHOICES: Mei-Fang's default Arcana, Fire, is incredibly good for her. It buffs her damage and gives her the potential for rekka loops off of Extend combos.
NAZUNA
Another massive keepaway character, Nazuna's absurd range and strong specials give her great zoning. Just...don't let your opponent in, okay?
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: Nakoruru for the new generation.
ARCANA CHOICES: Her default Arcana, Flower, is a decent starting choice. Time is a great option, but it is a very complicated Arcana that changes a lot of moves, so it's probably best to leave until you're familiar with the system.
PETRA
Who says you can't bring a gun to a swordfight? Petra's good at a distance and surprisingly solid up close, and she's the only character in the game with a dedicated dodge move.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: Anastasia, with added firepower.
ARCANA CHOICES: Love is (yet again) the go-to option for beginners. Petra has some nice work with Tyr, too - it makes her EF combos potentially devastating.
SAKI
Tired of only have back charges and down charges in your fighting games? Play Saki. She's got so many charge moves it's amazing she doesn't have a neutral charge.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That girl who has a crush on you but is too proud to ever admit it.
ARCANA CHOICES: Saki's own Arcana, Thunder, gives her a TON of clash frames on everything. Get in, and make your opponent work.
SCHARLACHROT
It's like if Akuma had a child with Chun Li. Good damage, insane spacing, miserable life.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That girl who goes nuts and kills everyone in all those horror films.
ARCANA CHOICES: PLANT SCHARL. It's so useful and popular that it's almost a meme. That said, it turns an already low-health character into someone who might die if someone blows on her hard enough.
WEISS
Or Weiß, but never WeiB. Learn your German. Weiss is all about turning your hand into a sword and giving all of your normals above average ability - without it, she's lacking a little in most departments.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: The foreigner who has no idea what anything is.
ARCANA CHOICES: Anything that gives Weiss a chance to equip a sword is good. Extra damage is nice, too. Love, Thunder, Time...
YORIKO
She's on the slow side, but she's got something worth using at any distance. If she gets the chance, she'll buff herself with the Ancient Talisman special - assuming you can draw a pentagram with your stick. How's your exec?
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: That kid in class who was into fortune telling except she's accidentally summoned the KING OF DEMONS. Sucks to be her.
ARCANA CHOICES: Sin projectiles give Yoriko more time to prepare her Talismans and help her zoning in general.
ZENIA
Projectiles? Zoning? Fuck that, I wanna get in and punch things!
Zenia's a fierce rushdown character. She has to work to get in, but then it's hard to get her out. She's all about the Edinorog - the gauntlet on her fist that she has to charge in some of her attacks. Think of Makoto's drives in Blazblue.
SHE'S KIND OF LIKE: The Mariachi for the modern era. She has a violin case that TURNS INTO A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
ARCANA CHOICES: Go for something that makes Zenia's close range damage even better. Metal is a popular choice.
