Senran Kagura

Senran Kagura is a series of brawler games with a couple of spin-offs in other genres. All the games feature busty schoolgirl ninjas who take clothing damage.

The cast is huge and growing, and characters are not always portrayed identically between games. As a result, these tiers can change drastically as I play more games. The current state reflects having played Senran Kagura Burst, Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus, Senran Kagura: Bon Appétit, Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson, Senran Kagura: Estival Versus, and Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash.

Because there are so many girls, I’m also breaking my normal pattern and presenting full tiers for all the playable characters - though only the top tiers get write-ups.

Waifu Tier
ⓘ
The best of the best. Only one character may be in this tier for a given work or medium. This character... is Mai Waifu.

Ikaruga
from Senran Kagura
A third-year student at Hanzō National Academy and the class representative, Ikaruga is perhaps the most serious and disciplined of the playable cast. Graceful and dignified both with and without her sword Hien, she holds her classmates to a high standard and treats her rivals with respect.

Ikaruga was born in the slums and adopted by a wealthy family who recognized her potential as a shinobi. But she has never forgotten her humble beginnings and always shows concern for others. In addition to giving to charity, she performs free stage shows for the children of the slums as the hero BC Mask.

Harem Tier
ⓘ
The characters who, while not quite waifu material, rise above the rest.

Katsuragi
from Senran Kagura
Another third-year student at Hanzō National Academy, Katsuragi is a powerful shinobi. She’s very energetic, enthusiastic, and spirited, and tries to connect to and cheer up those around her. With her classmates that often means joking around, sharing advice, or engaging in some friendly groping, as Katsuragi is also a fan of the female form and breasts in particular. With her rivals it means connecting through the thrill of competition and battle, and in particular she’s awakened the enjoyment of the same in the mostly-emotionless Hikage.

Katsuragi’s parents are fugitive shinobi marked for execution due to refusing to carry out an ordered assassination. Her true reason for working so hard to become the strongest shinobi she can is to rise high enough in the world of the shinobi that she can have her parents pardoned.

Her Bon Appétit song isn’t bad either:
Murasaki
from Senran Kagura
A second-year student at Hebijō Clandestine Girls' Academy, Murasaki is a member of a long line of evil shinobi and inheritor of a dangerous and hard to control power called the Root of Calamity. After accidentally injuring her sister Imu with this power as a child, Murasaki shut herself off from the world and avoided all attempts to train her as a shinobi. Things only got worse when her parents gained her entrance to Hebijō Academy by tricking her into killing an exam representative, which earned her a passing grade.

Murasaki mostly stays in her room with her beloved stuffed bear Bebeby. She enjoys reading stories online and is a devoted fan of Mirai’s serial fiction. She’s understandably rather cynical and untrusting, but her ultimate obstacle is her own guilt. This makes her the biggest woobie in Senran Kagura - her secret ninja arts, in increasing order of power, are called “Stay Away”, “Just Let Me Die”, and “Someone, Save Me,” while her side story in Shinovi Versus culminates in a boss fight against herself.

She also has the best song in Bon Appétit:

High Tier
ⓘ
I like these characters a lot.

Mirai
from Senran Kagura
Yozakura
from Senran Kagura
Minori
from Senran Kagura
Hanabi
from Senran Kagura
Murakumo
from Senran Kagura
Yomi
from Senran Kagura
I used to really like Yomi - she was originally the Senran Kagura Waifu. But her personality substantially derailed and she became obsessed with bean sprouts and instead of actually helping the poor just wanted to look poor.