[Suzu]

Personally, I prefer Wizard by far over Faiz. Not only did I like the show much more design-wise, but I also thougt the characters were... more likeable. Not necessarily better developed, but I could warm up with most of them far easier than with those in Faiz.
Takumi just was being an idiot most of the time (which is a pity, because the actor seems like a nice person). Then we had Yuji, who was sorta interesting throughout the majority and just went totally nuts (in a negative sense) at the end.
Keitaro and Yuka were okay, but their stories didn't have a very good build-up, so they barely left any impact on me.
Kaido was somewhat annoying most of the time while I just generally disliked Mari, mostly for being boring and overly naive.(Already couldn't warm up with the actress in Kiva, because I hated Mio.)
The villains were all characters I never cared for anyway, same goes for Mihara.
I also heavily disliked how the characters dealt with friendship. I mean, Takumi believes Kusaka, the guy who tried to make everyone think bad of him, more than his friend, Yuji? And Yuji, who knows that Faiz can also be used by other Orphenochs, just assumes that Takumi attacked him, despite them making up before? Yeah sure. Great friends they are.

My problem with Faiz wasn't about being "dark", it was more about missing a story I cared for, like in one that was told enjoyable. I mean, if people can enjoy Faiz, wow, great for you. But I pretty much spend this show waiting for the end, because I couldn't stand it anymore. I always try and give every show a chance until the end, but Faiz never used that chance- at least not for me.