Tier wise in PvP (1v1);
SS
aidoji
S: Ayane, Imu, Kanu, Hakufu, Ryofu
A: Naraku, Kagura, Miyabi, Homura, Ayame, Yomi, Ikaruga
B and C: Everyone else
D: Rin, Hanabi
E: Minori, Ryona
Daidoji is undisputedly the best as she is extremely difficult to challenge on the ground and in the air. And can launch you for an aerial rave from the ground OR the air and stun you at the same time. Super difficult to approach her because she can wall you out with square into dash attack with ease.
Ayane's only semi bad match up is Daidoji because of Daidoji's air game (although I've beaten good Daidoji's getting around it). The only downsides to Ayane in this game is that her air game (outside of aerial rave) is just decent) and she has no shinobi transformation for additional health. However, she is basically the best character on the ground (with Daidoji) because of her dash attack being a high damaging guard break that you have to burst out of. Or you will just eat the following combo or get caught up in a semi-infinite attempt (mix up to bait out bursts). She can close the distance easily and zone you out so well with kunais (which do good damage and can daze you, and they stun if you take more than 4-5 at a time).
The Ikki characters have no transformations either but they have sort of the same things Ayane has that make them stronger than the senran cast.
Imu has electric which stuns you, plus she can daze you fairly easily so her damage just piles up because she just forces you to burst if you don't get away. Her air game is strong as well as her ground game. Not to mention all of her supers are powerful, and her lvl 3 will just kill you no matter what you do if you get caught.
Naraku, all she has to do is get in with charged square and you are forced to burst or die. Charged square attacks are her strength but all of the better characters punish her so badly the moment she whiffs. Ayane just flatout destroys this character, but the rest of the non-high tier characters have trouble with her since she's still very mobile. And in general, if you're caught with a charged square, that's it.
Kagura is literally just Triangle and supers, that's it. And sadly just these two things really does a lot more than most of the characters in this game lol.
Miyabi is very good but probably more average feeling by comparison to everyone else in front of her. Amazing lvl 2 super, and her lvl 3 super on initiation is powerful. Strong charged square projectiles, great dash attacks and very good in the air (including aerial rave). But everyone else in front do what she does better outside of supers and her projectiles.
Homura is super mashy but that's how you have to play her to get the most out of her. Very good dash attack and strings to mix up your guard break on the dash attack and strong supers. Lvl 3 super on initiation can either kill or do a ton of damage.
Ayame is just really solid with great supers, especially her lvl 3 and great mobility. Her dash attack makes it hard to get in on her. She's not particularly powerful but she's pretty great overall.
Yomi's charge attacks are what seperate her from B and C tier because they stun you, while she can quickly launch you and deal a lot of damage. She has a ton of health with and without Shinobi Transformation. And a lot of armor as well, making it pretty tough to kill her when she's played well. Strong supers, in ST (shinobi transformation) her launchers have a lot of range and do a lot of damage.
Ikaruga is solid with decent supers, but has really good mobility and damage to go with it.
Rin is awful in a 1v1 setting, low health, no armor, no threatening guard breaks. The only things good about her are her supers and her mobility. But she can't do anything to any of the top/high tiers without taking damage or dying. She can't do much to the B-C tiers for the same reason unless she is outplaying people.
Hanabi has a lot of armor and health but she barely has any tools or any sort of speed to keep up without sacrificing damage to really win (unless you're outplaying someone almost perfectly).
Minori and Ryona are just bad.
I don't place Frantic Mode in, if a character needs Frantic mode to be considered good then they're just not a good character then.
I'm surprised I'm still ranked at 90 in Shinobi Deathmatch. I haven't touched this game in almost two months until last night, lol.