>>723007780
I would argue that they're intrinsically tied. People place value on units because of the character attached to them. They'll try to make favorite characters work, even when they're bad.
Amelia, Nino, and Lyn are prime examples of this. If Amelia and everyone else in Sacred Stones were just generic faceless Advance Wars units, nobody would try and train up "that weak lance user at the midway point who has bad growths." Everyone would ignore her.
But because she's a cute girl with a sad backstory and possible romance endings, people try to make her work.