No one ever mentions dr. slum, its always dragon ball...
The problem with the clothes is that most of the games take place in a middle age Europe style world, where it would seem out of place to wear something eye catching unless you had money, or your profession required a different look, which some of the charicters in dragon quest have, and those charicters usually have unique outfits, if your character is suppose to be, for example, a son of a farmer, you would expect him to look the part. Thought the monsters, as you said before, are always well designed. Half of the fights I tend to get weirded out. "MY GOD that bell just BIT ME". I love it. Much of his art work is more on the side of weird. The mana games share this, but his are of a "what is that?!?" nature.
One thing i notice in cross is that many (not all) of the charicters seemed to share a common expressionless face. When they where happy, they would smile a little, when they where sad, they would frown a little. Some parts I thought should have been, angrier or more surprised, it seemed they just shrugged it off, then again, you did have a lot of charicters in that game.
(regardless, I loved the game the game greatly, the art was lovely, i just wish there was more Crono, or Magus, or frog/Glenn)
Then there is that cursed purple hair, any male character that Akira draws who has purple hair is apparently trunks, he might not look anything like trunks, but everyone is going to call him trunks.
True, he wouldn't work well with just Mitsuda, but what about Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu like in the good old days.
Kato has made pretty up beat stories, energetic story, in the pass, their styles would mix well together, they have before.
Honne, maybe not, but they did work together in the past on CT.
Perhaps it wouldn't be as poetic, but it would surely be entertaining.
I often wounder how Chrono trigger would have looked, if it was made today.
