[FairyKing]

Episode 6, with not one but TWO new warriors! Ling Chuan makes his long-awaited debut as Tamir, and I really love how his transformation, suit, and fighting style all contrast with Wan Ning as Baatar, more armored and relying on weapons. There's notably no Phantom God involved, which is especially interesting after the beginning of this episode was all about explaining the Phantom Gods. I like it, it symbolizes how Ling Chuan made his power himself, showing his strength but also his flaws. If he's really the hero of humanity he claims to be, why wouldn't the Phantom Gods, who are formed from humanity's hopes, resonate with him? Maybe I'm reading too deep into it, but I'm interested to see where the story goes with this.

And the other new warrior is Hot Evil Lady herself (who I will continue to call that until she gets a proper name), revealing an extremely cool battle form. I think technically it counts as a monster rather than a true "dark" counterpart to Baatar and Tamir, since she only uses a Phantom Core without a belt? But she still gets a fancy transformation sequence, and her design does feel more similar to the heroes in an ominous way, especially the prominent horns and glowing visor on her helmet. The real danger though is how she's clearly a match for Tamir in power, even after getting shot and retreating she still doesn't seem beaten, so I expect she'll be a major threat to our heroes.* Honestly, maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for toku villainesses, but I really loved her fighting debut!

*(Unless this is leading up to her getting destroyed and a new villain stepping in to take her place, but that would be shockingly out-of-nowhere for a show that's had really tight foreshadowing so far.)