i remember really getting into all the FF characters. after 10 none of them ever appealed to me. i like lightning but the rest of the characters are bums in 13. did i just grow old or something?

You don't like sahz? I think he comes across as a pretty normal likeable guy. The fact that sahz isn't "a character" is what makes him a really good character.

So far so good. I know I'm going to hate Vanille and definitely Hope, but they turned out to be likeable in their own ways.

sahz has a weird moment were he bumped into the girl and i though he was a perv ever since. its not his fault, it was just a weird scene. why'd they do that to him. Hope is a baby, who seems like dead weight. but some how his boomerang destroys enemies. 

Sazh is a pretty cool and down to earth guy, he's easily the most natural character in any FF. 
 
Lighting is ok, if not a little dull.  
 
I actually like Snow a lot though, he initally annoyed me with all his crap about 'being the hero' but he seems to be growing up and becoming more responsible as the game goes on so he's getting better. 
 
Hope is intresting, only really for the first half of the game though were he seems to have a purpose, after that... annoying. 
 
Fang is cool but mostly forgetable 
 
and Vanille, well, the less said about that anime mess the better.

Nope I really don't like any characters in thid game.

I was just talking about this with my boyfriend. These are just our first impressions though (6 hours in):
 
Lightning: Wasn't what I expected (which is good). Her gruff uneasonablness is charming like when she repeatedly punches Snow in the face lol
Snow: Was hesitant at first, being the westernized, bulky guy with a stupid beanie on his head - but he's come to grow on me. Not my 'hero' yet though, contrary to what he clearly thinks of himself.
Sazh: Wasn't sure at first, token black funny guy - wa skind of a bit too transparent. But i've come to remember why token black funny guys are awesome...
Vanille: Annoying voice, and always seems as though she's having an orgasm, which makes me feel uncomfortable beause she also happens to be about 6 years old... But it's early days... maybe she'll die.
Shinji Ikari: Didn't you realize he was in it? You might have thought there was a small, boy character named Hope, but nope, It's Shinji.
Serah: is now crystal, so don't care...
No viliains yet....
 
I think that's everyone so far. 
With exception to Vanille, and i suppose Shinji, the characters so far seem noticeably more westernized than previous ff games.

Lightning seems alright; the only character that seems "real" is Sazh. Snow seemed alright at the start but it seems like his personality and behavior is too young for whatever age he is ( i think he's like 27, makes him seem like a pedo cause sarah looks like she's 15) Vanille sounds like that Australian take on the stereotypical American high school preppy  cheerleader. and Hope.......that first scene when they take on the Fal'ce and he runs......its bad enough the developers made him a pussy, but they also made him into a coward.
 
i'm only 3hrs in

35 hours in.
Really dig Lightning, Sazh, and Fang
Vanille and Hope dont bother me as much as I thought generic kids ina  JRPG would. Cant fucking stand Snow though.

I don't think impressions from very early on in the game carry much weight honestly because things change so much. 
 
For example Hope really pulled it back for me. He was annoying as fuck early on but he sucks it up as the game moves on. The Shinji comparisons are more in line with his japanese version. Hope's japanese voice actor made him come off so much worse than the english version. 
 
Vanille is the typical genki girl, only with an australian accent. She reigns it in a bit as the game goes on, and it does explain that she's putting on a brave face for other people's benefit early on in the game. Still sort of annoying, but way less than she could have been. 
 
Like Mariek mentioned, Lightning, Sahz and Fang are solid characters.  
 
I think Snow would have played better if he was more Kamina from Gurren Lagann style over-the-top so that it was amusing at least. He falls just short of that and it gets a tad weird when he starts second guessing himself. Not a bad character, I just think he could have been done a bit better.

Sazh and Snow I like. I want to like Lighning but right now she's a huge bitch.

They're alright 
 
They have dumb names though

I think they're a very natural and believable cast, especially Sazh. I have to say, they do change a lot over the course of the game, so you'd really have to finish it to judge the characters properly...

Around 17 hours in and here is my opinions so far:

Lightning : Easily the best character, for the early hours of the game you don't learn much of anything about the character but this changes over a short span of time.

Snow : Very fun character, probably the most relatable of all of the characters and is a lot deeper than your typical muscle bound moron he seems to be at the beginning.

Hope : Not my favourite character by any means, but he is a slow burner that has gotten progressively better as time went on

Vanille : Energetic, funny and adds a bit of life to the dire situations especially in the earlier situations of the game

Sazh : Extremely likeable character, will have you laughing out loud at certain stages of the game with his dialogue (had me doing so in the first chapter at one comment!)

Fang : Pretty forgettable, but a solid character storyline wise.

Finished the game. 30-something hours~
 
Lightning, Sazh and Fang are all solid characters, but only Sazh really exists beyond the archetype he's modeled after. Lightning and Fang are serviceable but boring.
 
Hope starts out unbearable but really get his shit together by the end. Vanille changes over time, too, but her super-Japanese affectations just obliterate any potential she has for likability.
 
Troy Baker cannot save Snow.

" They're alright  They have dumb names though "

i like snow, sazh

Snow wins because he's voiced by Kanji.

Some of the worst characters and dialogue to come out of a big budget game like this.
 
They look nice, though.

Sazh is a really likeable guy in my opinion. You like Lightning, really? She's kinda inconsistent with her emotions and she's so narrow minded in the beginning it's hard to like her. Snow is just cheesey but I think he's probably more relateable to the Japanese market as he represents more their ideal of a "hero" than the western ideal. Vanille's voice actor is pretty grating so that's an automatic disqualification. Hope is whiney, but you get used to that playing JRPGs I guess. Fang is pretty cool, though not a particularly deep character. 

Hope and Snow are chick names and therefore i can't take either character seriously. Only Lightning and Sazh are good.

I thought X had some of the best characters, but to answer your question, I generally like all of the characters in XIII with the exception of Hope, and I hear he's supposed to mature a decent amount after the story progresses more, so maybe he'll grow on me.
 
I still hate him though...

Sazh: Wasn't sure at first, token black funny guy - wa skind of a bit too transparent. But i've come to remember why token black funny guys are awesome...   

• I like Snow, I like to think of him as a Hobo Surfer Dude.
• Lightning - I hate her, If only I could kill her off and make somone else the leader.
• Hope is anoying, he should have been killed by now.  Vanille has more balls than him.
•  Vanille is cool, would have been awesome with out the aussie accent. Why do the latest games have aussie VA's?
•  Sazh is cool but needs to stop pranceing around while shooting.
  

I like all the characters, though Sazh by far the most.  All of them develop so much past what they were to start the game.   
 
I'm amused that Lambert keeps posting in every FFXIII thread despite his supposed empassioned hatred of the game...

I think Sazh is definitely the best character in the cast, but I like all of them. Lightning is a great protagonist, Snow is really likable, and I have a soft spot for Vanille as well. I really think this game has a very well rounded cast, and they all complement and contrast each other well.

It makes me sad to think about it.  I absolutely love the characters in this game....except one.  That red-headed girl is the most annoying thing in the history of anything.

" @SuperSecretAgenda: dude it's final fantasy what do you expect :) "

I like pretty much all the characters apart from Vanille maybe. Snow and Sazh are probably my favorites.

" @DAFTPUNK said:

" @SuperSecretAgenda: dude it's final fantasy what do you expect :) "

Now that I think about it...  No. Every game had names that made some sense -until- FF13. Cloud was the only person (as far as I know) that was named after some sort of...inanimate object or thought.  Snow Lightning Vanille (Vanilla) Hope...  Come on... "

I'm digging Lightning, Sazh, Fang and even Vanille.  Like many others pointed out, Sazh is probably the best one out of all for being the most grounded.  As for Vanille, I guess I've gotten used to the whole 'anime girl' archetype she usually goes into, but she has her moments and contrasts the rest of the cast well.  I tolerate Snow and Hope.  Snow's hero bit really bugged me at the beginning.  I mean despite all the things that's happening to him he's unnaturally positive - whatever he's on, I want some of it.  And Hope is...well his name is Hope, but his character is shaping out well in my chapter.  The dudes that probably annoyed me the most was Snow's little NORA gang.  I'm hoping they all die at some point.   

I like Fang, Why? because she has the best summon in FF history BAHAMUT!

i never really liked any of them to be honest

They're all interesting in their own way and have grown on me as I've played.

" @KuwabaraTheMan: Is this considered a spoiler? O.o "

I would like Fang better if she was named Shelia or Doreen instead...also she should crack open a stubby of Vic Bitter or XXXX when in conversions.
 
Likewise my impression of Snow would increase 10 fold if he told Hope to Get Bent!

I can't stand Snow, Hope and Vanille they have the most annoying voices i've ever heard and Hope is just a whiney little pain in the arse. 
 
It dawned on my why there are australians in the voice acting too, they are trying to show that Fang and Vanille are from another time/place and tbh there are no other english accents that you can use that will be taken seriously in a fantasy game.

Lightning is awesome and it's cool to see a female character that isn't all about the tits

Sazh is BY FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR my favorite. Cannot stand the rest of the cast.

Sahz is great. Lightning is cool (and her model is one of my favorite models ever in a game). Snow is ok. Hope is meh.. Vanille is probably the worst character ive ever seen in a videogame, and I dont just mean her voice actress (who is also terrible). I don't have the 6th yt, but i've seen her in cut scenes, seems cool

" You don't like sahz? I think he comes across as a pretty normal likeable guy. The fact that sahz isn't "a character" is what makes him a really good character. "

I like all the characters and I think their individual stories are amazing and love how they all tie with one another creating some nice twists. Snow and Fang are my least favourite thou and I like how Hope develops as the game goes on. 
 
I think Square have done a really good job creating these characters.