History Manga / HikariNoDensetsu

* ShoutOut: In Volume 8 of the manga parodies Cyndi Lauper's ''She's So Unusual'' cover with Hikari's hairstyle and pose being the exact same as Lauper's.

''Hikaru No Densetsu (光の伝説)'' is a 1985 manga series written by Izumi Aso which centers around a young girl, Hikari Kamijou, who strives to be a great Olympist like her idol, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diliana_Georgieva Diliana Georgieva]]. She takes her dream very seriously and aims to get the World Cup one day. Amongst her friends are her childhood friend the rock singer Mao Natsukawa, her rival and the best gymnast at school Shiina Hazuki, and her wealthy classmate turned trainer Takaaki Ooishi. As Hikari aims to one day accomplish her dream, she juggles her complicated interpersonal relationships, personal feelings and struggles of feeling inferior - while finding her true companions are along the way.

* PhenotypeStereotype: Any time Balkan/Eastern European characters are depicted, they always have blonde hair and blue eyes. Unusually, Diliana Georgeiva in real life had dark hair, but she's also depicted as blonde.

* SensualSlavs: Diliana Georgieva is Bulgarian and very beautiful, with flowing, long blonde hair and thin, elegant blue eyes. Ditto for Maria Lenova, who's also Bulgarian and has adorable, wide eyes and ginger reddish-blonde hair.

* AmbiguousSituatuon: [[spoiler: The manga's finale - did Hikari win or not? Why was she smiling?]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: And CelebrityCameo in the form of Diliana Georgieva, a famed Bulgarian gymnast who inspired Hikari to be a great athlete.

* SchoolIdol: Both Hikari and Shiina; Hikari is a patient learner that produces amazing results once she's given some polish, while Shiina has already dominated the school's "best gymnast" role for years before Hikari showed up.
* SensualSpandex: Most of the characters, which is totally justified since this is a manga/anime about rhythmic gymnastics.

** In the manga, Shiina was from a rich family, being wealthy enough to hire a personal maid. This wasn't present in the anime.
** In RealLife, Diliana Georgieva has dark brown hair, as expected for a Bulgarian. The anime makes her a blonde.

* AttentionWhore: Megumi. Before Hikari joined, she was Aika Academy's second best athlete after Shiina, and now that she's third place she constantly tries to take the spotlight back from her.

* BumblingDad: Hikari's dad always has his nose in a newspaper and it's actually hard to tell if he's invested in what's going on or not.

* CoolBigSis: Miyako to Hikari; it's mentioned that Hikari often goes to her about advice about school and boys.
* CommonalityConnection: Takaaki and Hikari first bonded when he saw her potential for sports and took a shine to her. Unfortunately Shiina and Takaaki also bond over their shared love of sports, and [[LoveTriangle well...]]

* GoodParents: Takeshi and Hitomi are loving parents to Hikari and her sister Miyako, the latter making a fuss over her daughter being a gymnast and encourages her to follow her dream.

* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler: By the end of the anime, Takaaki ends up with....Shiina. However, Hikari realizes that she's always loved Mao, and they become an item.]]

* DubNameChange: In the French dub:
** Hikari Kamijou became '''Cynthia Duval'''.
** Shiina Hazumi became '''Déborah'''.
** Mao Natsukawa became '''Frédéric'''.
** Takaaki Ooishi became '''Willy'''.

* AdaptationDyeJob:
** Hikari is depicted with blonde hair in the manga, but the anime makes her a ginger.

* AlwaysSecondBest: PlayedForDrama; [[spoiler: Hikari felt this way about Shiina, fearing that she would eventually capture Takaaki's heart, and training as hard as she could to impress him. She ends up surpassing Shiina in ability, but Takaaki still falls for her, piercing Hikari in the heart.]]

* BettyAndVeronica:
** To Takaaki, the Archie, Shiina is the Betty (sweet, innocent and not a single violent bone in her body) while Hikari is the Veronica (outgoing, confident and a PluckyGirl to the nth degree).
** Also to Hikari, Mao is the Betty (her childhood friend who's endlessly supporting and understanding to her) while Takaaki is the Veronica (a wealthy student who helps make her dream happen by helping her train).

* EverythingIsSexierInFrench: A variant, except it's Italian instead of French - [[spoiler: Mao sings an Italian song to show his love for Hikari in the finale.]]
* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: The main characters all ttend Aika Academy. Mao, Shiina and Takaaki are third formers, while Hikari is a second former, and all of them are part of the school's sports clubs (with the exception of Mao, who plays in a band).
* FirstGirlWins: [[spoiler: Played straight in the manga where Hikari ends up with her childhood friend Mao and Takaaki ends up with his childhood friend Shiina; averted in the anime where Hikari and Takaaki end up together.]]
* ForeignCultureFetish: Hikari has one for UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}}; Hikari's idol is from there, and she recommends that Hikari go to the country to learn to be a skilled gymnast, which she eagerly accepts. One arc is also about her rivals from Bulgaria, Maria Lenova and Elena Berkova, the latter being extremely pushy about her desire to usurp Hikari.
* FriendlyRivalry: Even though they're as different as night and day, Hikari and Shiina have no anmosity against one another (even if they're hurt about bith having feelings for Takaaki) and support each other whatever way they can.

* LoveDodecahedron: Hikari and Takaaki started as friends, but over the years Hikari began seeing him as more than that. Shiina also has feelings for Takaaki, and this causes a rift in her and Hikari's friendship. Meanwhile Mao has always had eyes for Hikari, but she's oblivious to his feelings.
* MeaningfulAppearance: Hikari has wild, unkempt, red hair, to represent that she's a PassionateSportsGirl and is willing to take on any challenge. Shiina has a PrimAndProperBun to represent her dignified status as Aika Academy's SchoolIdol, but her few unkempt hairs hint that she's not as perfect as she seems.
* PassionateSportsGirl: The anime centers around two: Hikari (a playful {{tomboy}} naturally talented at sports despite her petite build) and Shiina (who's Aika Academy's greatest gymnast and said to be the secondcoming of Hiroko Yamazaki). The girls have a FriendlyRivalry in spite of the fact that they both aim to represent Japan in the Olympics and like the same boy. This trope also applies to many other characters like Maria, Elena, Lisa, Valerie, Michelle, Meiling, Joyce, Nikolina, Tatiana, Sophie, Endira, Irene and Regina.
* PluckyGirl: Hikari is determined to be an Olympian no matter what, and trains rigorously for the day she'll get to fight for the World Cup.
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Shiina is the rich suitor, being a SpoiledSweet girl from a wealthy family, while Hikari is the poor student, and ordinary girl blessed with great athletic skill. [[spoiler: Takaaki marries Shiina in the manga, but the anime changes this to him getting with Hikari]].

* SensualSpandex: Most of the characters which is totally justified since this is a manga/anime about rhythmic gymnastics.

* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The anime was dubbed into French, Spanish, Italian and German, and received alternative theme songs in each language. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJNGm6pA6S0 Here]] is the French one and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30-24Ksh5gM here]] is the Italian one.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Hikari is depicted with blonde hair in the manga, but the anime makes her a ginger.

* ForeignCultureFetish: Hikari has one for UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}}; Hikari's idol is from there, and she recommends that Hikari go to the country to learn to be a skilled gymnast, which she eagerly accepts. One arc is also about her rivals from Bulgaria, Maria Lenova and Elena Berkova, the former being extremely pushy about her desire to usurp Hikari.

* GrayAndWhiteMorality: Every character has an element of good in them, no matter how cold or aloof they are

* MenaingfulAppearance: Hikari has wild, unkempt, red hair, to represent that she's a PassionateSportsGirl and is willing to take on any challenge. Shiina has a PrimAndProperBun to represent her dignified status as Aika Academy's SchoolIdol, but her few unkempt hairs hint that she's not as perfect as she seems.

* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The anime was dubbed into French, Spanish, Italian and German, and has openings in those languages.

* ForeignCultireFetish: Hikari has one for UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}}; Hikari's idol is from there, and she recommends that Hikari go to the country to learn to be a skilled gymnast, which she eagerly accepts. One arc is also about her rivals from Bulgaria, Maria Lenova and Elena Berkova, the former being extremely pushy about her desire to usurp Hikari.

* RichSuitorPoorSuiter: Shiina is the rich suitor, being a SpoiledSweet girl from a wealthy family, while Hikari is the poor student, and ordinary girl blessed with great athletic skill. [[spoiler: Takaaki marries Shiina in the manga, but the anime changes this to him getting with Hikari]].

* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: Hikari's hair is orange (which is odd, but plausible for a Japanese person), while Mao's is...''purple''?

The manga ran from 1985-1988, ending at 16 volumes, in the {{shojo}} magazine ''Margaret'', which was published by Shueisha. In 1986, it received an anime adaptation by Creator/TatsunokoProductions and aired on TV Asahi, while Tomomi Mochizuki served as it's director.

* UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}}: Bulgaria is an important plot point in the anime; Hikari's idol is from there, and she recommends that Hikari go to the country to learn to be a skilled gymnast. One arc is also about her rivals from Bulgaria, Maria Lenova and Elena Berkova, the former being extremely pushy about her desire to usurp Hikari.

* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler: By the end of the anime, Takaaki ends up with....Shiina. However, Hikari realizes that she's always loved Mao, and they become an item.]]

''Hikaru No Densetsu'' is a 1985 manga series written by Izumi Aso which centers around a young girl, Hikari Kamijou, who strives to be a great Olympist like her idol, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diliana_Georgieva Diliana Georgieva]]. She takes her dream very seriously and aims to get the World Cup one day. Amongst her friends are her childhood friend the rock singer Mao Natsukawa, her rival and the best gymnast at school Shiina Hazuki, and her wealthy classmate turned trainer Takaaki Ooishi. As Hikari aims to one day accomplish her dream, she juggles her complicated interpersonal relationships, personal feelings and struggles of feeling inferior - while finding her true companions are along the way.

!!''Hikaru No Densetsu'' has examples of: