Left to right (bottom): Takaaki, Shiina, Mao and Hikari
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, 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.The manga ran from 1985-1988, ending at 16 volumes, in the Shōjo magazine Margaret, which was published by Shueisha. In 1986, it received an anime adaptation by Tatsunoko Production and aired on TV Asahi, while Tomomi Mochizuki served as it's director.
Hikaru No Densetsu has examples of:
- The '80s: Written in the 80s and
takes place there; the final arc is in 1988, at the time of the Seoul Summer Olympics. - Adaptational Alternate Ending: Hoo boy, the anime and manga both end significantly differently, especially when tying up the love triangle strings.
- In the manga, Ooishi and Hazuki become engaged. Heartbroken at her feelings being rejected, Hikari cries to Mao. Mao feels neglected, and Hikari realizes that she loves him too. She decides to prove to him that her love is genuine. When the 1988 Seoul Olympics finally take place, even though vocal music is banned, Mao sings an Italian love song for Hikari while the audience cheers. It's never shown if Hikari won or not, but to her, it's not important - she's with her beloved, and that's all that matters.
- In the anime, Ooishi is charmed by Hikari's skills and falls for her. Post Time Skip, all four of the main characters have grown up and pursued different careers. Hikari is an Olympian like she's always dreamed of being, and Hazumi is a gym teacher for aspiring students. Mao is a musician and working on getting gigs for his band. Ooishi, however, was the subject of an accident and is being treated for his injuries, but is expected to recover and have a fulfilling future with Hikari.
- Adaptation Deviation:
- In the manga, Hikari says her favourite team is The Ocean. In the anime, this was changed to the Lions.
- In the manga, Hikari's family refused to let her move to Bulgaria and train under Georgieva. In the anime, they let her, and she says that she has no place in Japan.
- In the manga, Shiina suffered from aplastic anemia, but in the anime this was cut out. Though Shiina is seen at the hospital at one point, implying she's an Ill Girl.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Mao Natsukawa appears in the anime series before appearing in the manga; this explains the physical differences between the manga's Mao and the anime's Mao.
- Adapted Out: Many of the competitors mentioned below don't make it to the anime adaptation because it was Cut Short.
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The anime was dubbed into French, Spanish, Italian and German, and received alternative theme songs in each language. Here is the French one and here is the Italian one.
- Always Identical Twins: Sachiko and Eriko Kido are identical twins who not only look similar, act similar and have the same interests, but have the same voice actress in the Japanese version.
- Ambiguously Related: There are two characters with the surname "Gallow" - Nikolina Gallow and Michelle Gallow - and they're both rhythmic gymnasts, but it's never mentioned if they're related or not.
- Ambiguous Situation: The manga's finale - did Hikari win or not? Why was she smiling?
- Anime Chinese Girl: Thankfully averted with Meiling Chen, a rhythmatic gymnast from Hong Kong. She is from the Chinese mainland, but she averts many of the negative stereotypes associated with the trope and is a bubbly girl who befriends Hikari.
- Balkan Bastard: Elena is Bulgarian and hypercompetetive towards Hikari, being needlessly aggressive towards her. She's not happy when she's demoted later.
- Big Fancy House: Shiina, who is from the wealthy Hazami family, lives in a deluxe mansion.
- Bittersweet Ending: Downplayed in the manga and more on the "sweet" side: Hikari may have not won the gold medal, but she's finally with the man she loves and the whole world cheers for their union.
- Canon Foreigner: In the anime, Takaaki has a father who opposes his son being a gymnast and gets into arguements with him over it. He wasn't present in the manga.
- Coming of Age Story: The series focuses on a fourteen year old girl striving to make it to the big leagues and put her name on the map alongside many Real Life Olympian; it ends during the Real Life Seoul 1988 event, when she's old enough to compete.
- Compilation Movie: The Italian dub of the anime was compressed into one after the airing of the anime series, but it has been lost to time.
- Compressed Adaptation: There were plans to fully adapt the manga in 26 episodes, but low ratings caused the studio to cut the series short.
- Cut Short: The anime did not do well in Japan and was cut off after 19 episodes. It was originally planned to run for 26.
- Distant Finale: In the anime, Hikari finally becomes a faithful gymnast, just like she's dreamed off, and her friends have pursued various careers related to their passions. Averted in the manga, where it ends at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
- Gray And White Morality: Every character has an element of good in them, no matter how cold or aloof they are, and they're just as hopeful as Hikari.
- Hope Spot: Hikari manages to catch Diliana Georgieva's eye one day; this kick starts the possibility of following her footsteps into being a gold medalist like her.
- Leg Focus: Every time Hikari, Shiina, Megumi, Maria and any other female athlete does something stunt related, the camera focuses on their legs and feet.
- Phenotype Stereotype: Any time Balkan/Eastern European characters are depicted, they always have blonde hair and blue eyes. Even Diliana Georgeiva, who has dark hair in real life, is depicted as blonde.
- The Rival: At least one per arc - it's Shiina for most of the series, but Hikari also clashes with Elena Berakova (who's arrogant about shutting her down) and also competes with Maria and Megumi.
- Satellite Character: The representative athlete girls of the other countries - Lisa Webb from New Zealand, Sophie Wenzel from East Germany, Nelly Szewinska from Yugoslavia, Endira Paltz from Romania, Joyce Hart from Canada and Valerie Nielsen from America - are given little to no characterization apart from being Hikari's competitors.
- Sensual Spandex: Most of the characters, which is totally justified since this is a manga/anime about rhythmic gymnastics.
- Shōjo: About a sports-loving tomboy, her complicated feelings for her male peers, and her Friendly Rivalry with Aika Academy's Ace Athlete.
- Shout-Out: 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.
- Time Skip: Anime-only, the Distant Finale shows what happened to the cast after they graduated school.
- World of Technicolor Hair: Hikari's hair is orange (which is odd, but plausible for a Japanese person), while Mao's is...purple?
- World Tour: The manga/anime take place in Japan, then Bulgaria, and then Seoul. London is also an important setting for one arc.
