The characters you can choose to play as have gotten quite a makeover. They look much more anime than they used to. The clothes, hair, and names are still the same, but the features and animations are quite different. The dancing simulation they do behind the arrows has gotten considerably better. It still doesn't really match the arrows that you are hitting, but they also no longer look as if they're having a seizure on the faster songs.
As I've said in previous reviews, the real reason that we keep buying new versions of DDR is to get new songs. There are over 70 songs on this release, over 40 of them unlocked when you start the game. Most of these are remixes and covers, though. The most exciting to me was the remix of "Boys" by Smile.dk, just because it hasn't been on an American console release before (it was in an arcade version). Anyway, there's not that many major artist songs on this one like there have been on some of the others. There is a cover of Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" and the original MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This". There are a few more licensed songs, but nothing I would write home about.