According the the DLC schedule, Makoto is out on August 5th, along with the Version 1.01 patch.
The finer details on 1.01 are scarce. It may make Rachel viable again (likely, since she has been an absolute wreck since CS, most Rachel players had no choice but to abandon her), and it may also nerf Litchi (sadly likely, as they overdid it on her sorely needed damage buff from CT).
That said, even though Litchi has gone from the bottom to the top in terms of viability, it seems a lot of people aren't playing her, going for the easier characters and Hazama. Litchi's combos are really long, like 10+ moves rather often, so they take a lot of dedication to learn. In a way, she's similar to Rachel in how much time you have to put into her, which is why she's my new main.
plus she has big boobies!
I should really get into the story mode to unlock Mu, but most of them are locked until you play Ragna's, and I hate Ranga. Also, I've spent most of my time with the game having to learn a new character since they trashed Rachel.
That said, the tutorial modes are surprisingly awesome. Rachel narrates/instructs, and some of her lines are really funny. The Beginner Mode control scheme also lets button-masher friends who aren't used to fighting games play semi-competitively.
edit:
I forgot. Most of the forum members interested in BlazBlue are on the PS3, but for anyone on the Xbox 360, my gamertag is Ryllharu, and I'll be on after 4pm EST during the week or in the gotwoot IRC channel. If you want to play a few bouts, find me at one spot or the other.
I've switched my main to Litchi, am trying to learn Tsubaki, and will most likely pick up either Makoto or delta-11/nu-13.