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Description
Same Face Syndrome: it's a common problem in anime! Many beautiful, beautiful styles tend to have this style! Despite the beautiful character designs, it can be STUPIDLY distracting to see faces that look so similar.
Personally, I'm not a fan of SAO, but I acknowledge how beautiful the style is! Unfortunately, it has a terrible case of Same-Face Syndrome.
I even started One Piece again, which I love, but the female characters have an awful case of same-face syndrome, especially in the earlier episodes.
I've also seen artists struggling with trying to figure out how to make their characters more visually diverse!

I've been trying to implement ways to avoid same-face syndrome in my own style, and that's when it hit me.
I think characters' differences shouldn't just be in color palette, hairstyles, and costumes. No tattoos, no scars, no freckles, no nothing.

If you can take away all defining features, leaving only the face, and still have the characters be recognizable and mostly distinguishable from each other, then you've got some good character design!

So, here's the WRITTEN version of the above image-based tutorial!
[NOTE: THIS CAN ALSO BE USED IN CARTOONS, BUT I'VE GEARED THIS MORE TOWARDS AN ANIME STYLE]

FIRST!
Start out with a base!
Make it the "average" of your style. This way, your characters will look like they all belong in the same universe.
Keep in mind:

Before you begin, remember to consider the following:
  - What's my character's race? This will change nose, face and eye shape. Eg: Asian characters, depending on region, may have a more almond-shaped eye shape or have monolid eyes. Middle Eastern characters could be more likely to have a Hooked/Roman nose [Be sure to avoid racial stereotyping! Look up references so you can properly stylize racial traits!]
  - What's your character's age? This will change their face shape and how many wrinkles they have. Eg: A 45 year old may have some wrinkles or just a few signs of aging, while a 60 year old will be more visibly aged. Children have chubbier cheeks too! [Don't be afraid to make aged characters with wrinkles and creases! I can't speak for everybody, but I know a lot of artists, including myself, that are sick of young-looking old people!]
  - What's your character's personality? This might change aspects (such as eye shapes and orientation) to portray the personality. Eg: A cheerier character may have rounder, brighter eyes and dimples while a lazy or sad character may have drooping eyes with bags under them. [Generally this question affects eyes, but feel free to get creative!!]
  - What's your character's design? If you've already designed what the character wears or what their color scheme is, how does that affect their physical traits in your mind's eye? [I recommend making the face before you make the design, though. Figure out the body shape first, though! That affects the face shape]

HERE WE GO

  FIRST UP,
      FACE SHAPE
What kind of shape does your character have? Are their cheeks chubby or defined? Do they have a square or triangular jaw? Are the earlobes attached or not?
  Some common ones to use are:
  Lean, Chubby, Muscular, Round, Square, Oval
This change helps best for characters with different body types and heights!

NEXT
    NOSE SHAPE
This, and the following traits, have HUGE effects on the face. Hell, just adding a hooked nose on a character makes them much different! (Seriously, imagine Asuna with a hooked nose -- much different). This, in my opinion, is easily the most underused and crucial character trait a person can use.
  Here are some ones to try using:
  Roman/Hooked, Flat, Round, Thin, Up-turned, Grecian/Thick
These noses can be used for most races as well!

  NEXT
      EYE SHAPE
This is the most commonly utilized difference between characters. It's incredibly effective, but it can be a bit tiring for people who want distinguishable characters and are out of eye-shapes to use. They're definitely the most effective in portraying a character's personality.
You can also completely change a character's eyes just by shrinking or growing their iris size! It's called "Sanpaku", when there's schlera space above or below (or in the case of some characters in anime, all around) the iris (see Subaru from Re:Zero).
You can also change eyelash shape as well!
  Here are some you can try:
  Almond, Round, Slanted, Drooped, Square, Defined
These eyes can be used for literally anybody! If you're unsure of how to approach the other traits, start here to test the waters!

NEXT
    EYEBROWS
This is the second most utilized, but is seemingly a bit more subtle since anime characters tend to be underappreciated.
The eyebrows are also a great way to portray personality, and if you have a stylized series then it's easier to get away with getting silly! (Lookin' at you, Sanji)
  Some you can try are:
  Thin, Short, Circular (cute lil stubs), Thick, Unkempt, Arched, Furrowed, None at all!!
Eyebrows allow for more interesting expressions even when the character's face is neutral! Seriously, pay attention to real eyebrows on real people!

NEXT
    MOUTH
Mouths aren't really used well, I think. Depends on the series. You can get away with everybody having the same mouth for the most part, but it can really change how somebody appears. It's also great for personality portrayal.
You can try these ones:
Wide, Pursed, Narrow, Defined, Square, Triangular
Lip shape can change between races as well, so keep that in mind if you want to have defined lips!

Finally, go forth and add the rest of the details!

      Final Thoughts: Why is important? Why make characters diverse?

Your characters don't have to be ethnically diverse or have a bunch of characters with different sexual orientations or backgrounds.
BUT, by doing that, by making characters look all the same, you'll ultimately alienate your audience.
Seeing everybody with the same thing is kind of off-putting!
Living in Canada, I've lived among all kinds of people! My university is an eclectic bouquet of people from all over the world!
When I read or watch something that has a character who looks or acts a little like me, I feel like I'm validated!
Now, living in JAPAN, I've realized even people in the same ethnicity have a lot of different facial traits!
I think we should try and make characters who people all around the world can point at and say "I want to dress up as this character!" or "This character reminds me of me!"
The world is filled with so many kinds of beautiful people!
Also, there isn't really a good excuse not to.

But, at the end of the day, whether the characters are Asian or Haitian or European, making characters that are just visually diverse enough will not only normalize different designs, but make your art and stories more memorable!

So, let's do our best to make some cool characters!!
You'll do great!

FINAL FINAL THOUGHT

Try and push yourself to add different details!
Just start small -- give a character a Roman Nose. Give another one a different mouth.
Push yourself to try, even if you're not sure it looks good.
Art is all about pushing our boundaries and getting better!
Take it at your own pace and do your best!

Description
Same Face Syndrome: it's a common problem in anime! Many beautiful, beautiful styles tend to have this style! Despite the beautiful character designs, it can be STUPIDLY distracting to see faces that look so similar.
Personally, I'm not a fan of SAO, but I acknowledge how beautiful the style is! Unfortunately, it has a terrible case of Same-Face Syndrome.
I even started One Piece again, which I love, but the female characters have an awful case of same-face syndrome, especially in the earlier episodes.
I've also seen artists struggling with trying to figure out how to make their characters more visually diverse!

I've been trying to implement ways to avoid same-face syndrome in my own style, and that's when it hit me.
I think characters' differences shouldn't just be in color palette, hairstyles, and costumes. No tattoos, no scars, no freckles, no nothing.

If you can take away all defining features, leaving only the face, and still have the characters be recognizable and mostly distinguishable from each other, then you've got some good character design!

So, here's the WRITTEN version of the above image-based tutorial!
[NOTE: THIS CAN ALSO BE USED IN CARTOONS, BUT I'VE GEARED THIS MORE TOWARDS AN ANIME STYLE]

FIRST!
Start out with a base!
Make it the "average" of your style. This way, your characters will look like they all belong in the same universe.
Keep in mind:

Before you begin, remember to consider the following:
  - What's my character's race? This will change nose, face and eye shape. Eg: Asian characters, depending on region, may have a more almond-shaped eye shape or have monolid eyes. Middle Eastern characters could be more likely to have a Hooked/Roman nose [Be sure to avoid racial stereotyping! Look up references so you can properly stylize racial traits!]
  - What's your character's age? This will change their face shape and how many wrinkles they have. Eg: A 45 year old may have some wrinkles or just a few signs of aging, while a 60 year old will be more visibly aged. Children have chubbier cheeks too! [Don't be afraid to make aged characters with wrinkles and creases! I can't speak for everybody, but I know a lot of artists, including myself, that are sick of young-looking old people!]
  - What's your character's personality? This might change aspects (such as eye shapes and orientation) to portray the personality. Eg: A cheerier character may have rounder, brighter eyes and dimples while a lazy or sad character may have drooping eyes with bags under them. [Generally this question affects eyes, but feel free to get creative!!]
  - What's your character's design? If you've already designed what the character wears or what their color scheme is, how does that affect their physical traits in your mind's eye? [I recommend making the face before you make the design, though. Figure out the body shape first, though! That affects the face shape]

HERE WE GO

  FIRST UP,
      FACE SHAPE
What kind of shape does your character have? Are their cheeks chubby or defined? Do they have a square or triangular jaw? Are the earlobes attached or not?
  Some common ones to use are:
  Lean, Chubby, Muscular, Round, Square, Oval
This change helps best for characters with different body types and heights!

NEXT
    NOSE SHAPE
This, and the following traits, have HUGE effects on the face. Hell, just adding a hooked nose on a character makes them much different! (Seriously, imagine Asuna with a hooked nose -- much different). This, in my opinion, is easily the most underused and crucial character trait a person can use.
  Here are some ones to try using:
  Roman/Hooked, Flat, Round, Thin, Up-turned, Grecian/Thick
These noses can be used for most races as well!

  NEXT
      EYE SHAPE
This is the most commonly utilized difference between characters. It's incredibly effective, but it can be a bit tiring for people who want distinguishable characters and are out of eye-shapes to use. They're definitely the most effective in portraying a character's personality.
You can also completely change a character's eyes just by shrinking or growing their iris size! It's called "Sanpaku", when there's schlera space above or below (or in the case of some characters in anime, all around) the iris (see Subaru from Re:Zero).
You can also change eyelash shape as well!
  Here are some you can try:
  Almond, Round, Slanted, Drooped, Square, Defined
These eyes can be used for literally anybody! If you're unsure of how to approach the other traits, start here to test the waters!

NEXT
    EYEBROWS
This is the second most utilized, but is seemingly a bit more subtle since anime characters tend to be underappreciated.
The eyebrows are also a great way to portray personality, and if you have a stylized series then it's easier to get away with getting silly! (Lookin' at you, Sanji)
  Some you can try are:
  Thin, Short, Circular (cute lil stubs), Thick, Unkempt, Arched, Furrowed, None at all!!
Eyebrows allow for more interesting expressions even when the character's face is neutral! Seriously, pay attention to real eyebrows on real people!

NEXT
    MOUTH
Mouths aren't really used well, I think. Depends on the series. You can get away with everybody having the same mouth for the most part, but it can really change how somebody appears. It's also great for personality portrayal.
You can try these ones:
Wide, Pursed, Narrow, Defined, Square, Triangular
Lip shape can change between races as well, so keep that in mind if you want to have defined lips!

Finally, go forth and add the rest of the details!

      Final Thoughts: Why is important? Why make characters diverse?

Your characters don't have to be ethnically diverse or have a bunch of characters with different sexual orientations or backgrounds.
BUT, by doing that, by making characters look all the same, you'll ultimately alienate your audience.
Seeing everybody with the same thing is kind of off-putting!
Living in Canada, I've lived among all kinds of people! My university is an eclectic bouquet of people from all over the world!
When I read or watch something that has a character who looks or acts a little like me, I feel like I'm validated!
Now, living in JAPAN, I've realized even people in the same ethnicity have a lot of different facial traits!
I think we should try and make characters who people all around the world can point at and say "I want to dress up as this character!" or "This character reminds me of me!"
The world is filled with so many kinds of beautiful people!
Also, there isn't really a good excuse not to.

But, at the end of the day, whether the characters are Asian or Haitian or European, making characters that are just visually diverse enough will not only normalize different designs, but make your art and stories more memorable!

So, let's do our best to make some cool characters!!
You'll do great!

FINAL FINAL THOUGHT

Try and push yourself to add different details!
Just start small -- give a character a Roman Nose. Give another one a different mouth.
Push yourself to try, even if you're not sure it looks good.
Art is all about pushing our boundaries and getting better!
Take it at your own pace and do your best!