Are you playing Tactics Ogre on the PSP? I can't say much for the SNES/PlayStation version if that's the case, but...

As far as characters, I guess it never bothered me. The passive skills aren't just stat adjusters, they fundamentally change the make up and role of that unit. Strengthen and Spellcraft drastically improve attacking power, but then you also get to decide if you want your Reptile Hoplite to avoid ranged attacks, mitigate magic damage, or deal extra damage against Golems. Yes, the skill list is incredibly long, but no more than it has to be to accomodate the average range of classes and abilities in a traditional SRPG. The only difference is, it's broken apart everything you thought you knew about classes and lets you decide how to put it all back together.

Also, I don't just play it for the gameplay. I play it for the great writing, the wonderful music, and the branching storylines.