He will fit better if the lion sword have the ability "when this personality wins a conflict, honor him", instead of "gain 1 honor".

Against crane he helps more defending in political, but against militar decks like crab or unicorn, and using the way of lion you can easily win a conflict.

It is entirely possible he won't make sense in a bushi rush style deck, which does appear to be the main focus of the core only Lion card pool. Though I have to reiterate that FFG usually cultivates several deck themes in the background. As time goes on the strategies that seem less viable now for each faction most likely will get more support. I wonder how long this game will go before we see a new set of strongholds. Also I wonder how much of an impact the role cards will have in shaping your deck strategy. Also how often we'll get new role cards.

Oddly enough, I actually think Toturi is better than Hotaru because Lion have Spiritcaller. Being able to cheat him out is great. It also means that if you do seem him on a flip, you don't have to worry about over-investing in him or losing him to Void Conflicts which I like.

As has been mentioned here, I imagine we'll see a Lion theme where Toturi shines. Plus, with other champions down the road they can fit the rush theme and fit into the story at different points.