Your identity becomes clearer in a group setting for example, I have 2 regulars I play with. 1 is a Light Bowgun User, the other generally switched between Hammers and Lances, while I have been the Dual Sword User (Though I'm trying to switch to Gunlances), each of these uses have roles and as you play you see their skill in their role, you see their play style, you see their faults, and you see them as a character. Granted there aren't like millions and millions of armor options to choose from but most people pick a favorite, some mix and match for suitable abilities.
Really when you play it for a while you'll see the RPG elements in the game.
As for my definition of an RPG, I would define it as any game where you gain experience and get stronger.
And I know what you're thinking, "there's no levels, how can it meet your definition by that logic?" and that is a good point, but it does meet the requirement when you bring you, the player into the mix, as mentioned by Hatsunechan:
Quote from Hatsunechan;1166517:
You can be endgame and have the best equipment in the game, but it wont stop you from being 2-3 shotted by some of the stronger monsters. It works the same way the other way around too, you can easily solo the game completely naked if you're good enough.
Player experience is this RPGs "experience system", while obviously the equipment is you getting stronger.
TLDR; Play it with friends, but have an open mind because it starts slow. All of them do.
As a side note I've played the series since the first one on PSP with 2000 hours on that game alone(probably 4000-5000 Hours in the franchise). I know the ins and outs of the gameplay (maybe not all the weapons or monster patterns but still) and the only time Monster Hunter disappointed me was when it switched to the Wii and took out half the content IE Monsters and Weapons (Which was fixed in the Wii U/3DS version and then some). This is fantastic franchise and if you have an open mind and play through it a bit, you'll see why it's fun and that fun is more fun with a group [S]especially over skype[/S]. Trust me, the lack of aesthetic individuality won't make a difference in the long run, most of the time when you choose your weapon(s) of choice you generally stick with them for a good while once you find that weapon that you really identify with.
The only negative thing about monster hunter I can even remotely give is that once you're a hardcore fan and you see news of the next installment, you become depressed that USA doesn't get it for 1 Year+ after it's release in Japan [S]*coughMonsterHunter4cough*[/S]