#first being put against zir and conia in chapter 1

[amelikos]

I wonder if they will explore Liko and Onyx's rivalry a bit more after this episode. It feels very intentional that we got Amethio acknowledging Liko by name and as a person with her own goal in HZ065, and Onyx also acknowledging Liko by name and as a worthy opponent in HZ066, even willing to reveal his own name as a sign of respect and telling her not to forget it (and Liko acknowledged him in turn and said his name as he was leaving). Adding to that, all the similarities between Onyx and Amethio (and even Liko), as they are honorable opponents..

This episode concluded the battles between Liko and Onyx, and Roy and Sango that were built up ever since the end of chapter 1. Liko and Roy went from not being able to face them in HZ025, to holding on their own with difficulty against them in HZ043, to finally winning against them in HZ066. So I wonder if there will be more opportunities for interactions between them all in the future (Onyx telling Liko to remember his name possibly hints at more developments later down the road), or if Liko and Roy will now be put up against other Explorers opponents such as Spinel and Agate. So far, Friede is the only who stands a chance against Spinel's Blacky.

Either way, it was fun seeing the contrasts between Liko and Onyx's battle and Roy and Sango's battle. Liko and Onyx's last interaction felt very formal, and Onyx thought of his mission and tried to take Terapagos when he had the opportunity to do so. Sango didn't care about any of that and said so herself, she just wanted to have fun. And Roy actually went along with her fun, and kept battling her until their battle reached a conclusion. Sango genuinely seemed to have fun going all out during their battle and wanted to keep on going too.