In general, I think that by the time of SCIV, the character's renders started to look more questionable (moreso on some of the characters, not all). In my opinion, it looks like they were trying to add more anime traits into the characters in SCIV and a lot more in SCV. I'm used to it now but I wasn't back then. In SC2-3, even though the graphics weren't as detailed and polished like they are now, I could tell that they tried to make the characters look like their heritage to a certain degree. I'll never forget the Soul Calibur 3 promotional art with how they rendered Xianghua, Yun-Seong, Taki, Sophitia, & Kilik looked like their nationalities.
the renders that bother me in this game (V) are...
-Viola: I don't really care about her bust size. I mean, if they were a tinsy bit bigger, it'd fill out her dress more but I don't mind her small breast. But I do wish they made her taller as well. She looks a little too short in her render. And yeah, her dress looks a bit too long. They should have made it a tiny bit shorter but I think the reason it looks so long is because they made Viola short. Also, in the face area, I wish they made her look more older. She's supposed to be in her 20s(?) but she looks like a teenager to me. Other then that, Viola is awesome, like I said before, she's my favorite new character on the female side.
-Ivy: Her face looks slightly better this time around in my opinion. But her outfit looks a bit too bulky on her. In her artwork, she looks bad ass and everything looks like it fits snuggly but comfortably. In her render, it looks like they are more bulky. But I do like her SCV outfit a lot more then her IV outfit this time around. I just wish for the future that when they do her face, they make her appear more feminine like the good old days of SC2-3.
-Leixia: Her outfit looks alright but her face... Umm no... She doesn't look Asian at all to me. She just look a generic anime girl. I hope that in the next game, they refine her face and make her look a bit more Chinese like her mother.
-Nightmare: He looks awesome but he looks a lot shorter then I remember... lol Hopefully if they continue to use him, they make him a bit more taller.
-Tira: I love love love Tira but she doesn't really look her age. Now, I'm not sure if Soul Edge took over her during her teens and that is why she isn't physically showing some age but still, if that's not the case, I would have liked if they made her face look a bit more older. And probably tone down the size of her irises.
-Xiba: Personally, I think he looks so adorable. But yeah, his haircut looks really gross. I think they should have went with a bushy shaggy side swept hairstyle instead of the messy looking faux-hawk. They also should tone down his neck. And I'd really like if next time around, they made his face look more youthful Chinese instead of anime-like. His body type doesn't bother me too much since he trains in the mountains, so of course he'd become more ripped. lol
-Natsu: I'm a little used to her barbie ninja get up even if I still don't necessarily like it. I do hope in the next game, if they age her, she dawns a more dark ninja-like outfit. I just don't like the whole sparkle-Naruto esq ninja style they did her in. But I do love her moveset and personality and I do use her a lot so yeah. :D Also, I'm not sure if she's Asian or European? But I hope they make her face look more refined instead of the anime route.
And that's pretty much it. I know I used the word "anime" too much but it's true. It's like they are stepping away from the Fantasy meets slight realism/slight anime with just full on fantasy meets anime archetype. I liked the former artistic direction but that's just me. I look at it like I look at the Dead or Alive series. The Dead or Alive series characters looked like anime barbies but in the latest installment that's coming out this month (Dead or Alive 5), they look more refined and less anime doll like.
But anyway, that's just my 2 cents. ^^;