Character Discussion/Appreciation: Shidou Hikaru

[suzanami]

((The character discussion posts were previously called "Character of the Day".  They're now Discussion/Appreciation posts.  Feel free to revive any of them.  --suzanami))
((Also because this was previously a general discussion, some older posts aren't totally praising her but the thread has now become a love-fest celebrating her))

Thought I'd pep up the board with some relevant MKR discussion!  We're going to be doing a Character of the Day!  The idea is to just discuss anything about the character: role in the series, good vs bad points, love interests, likes and dislikes, voice, image songs... Anything!

To start off, let's talk about our focal character:

SHIDOU HIKARU

[Cassiopeia]

I actually like Hikaru very much! I think she is awsome! Though I love the Lantis/Hikaru Pairing rather than the eagle one. I love Eagle too much to give him to Hikaru! XD...

[Milieva]

I'll likely add more later as I am currently getting ready to leave for class. *drinks tea*

In My honest opinion, Hikaru is not a very deep character at least not from my point of view, do rmember that it has been a few years (trans:6) since I have watched the full series through.

She seems all sort of bubbley and yes, she seems to be honestly upset over all that has happened, but I just don't feel her, you know.  Umi is my all time favorite, most likely because I relate to her, and Fuu is right up there for nearly the same reason, but Hikaru is rather left out in the cold.   I cannot understand where she is coming from. I don't feel her full motivation.

As for love:

Eagle:  I think he is more worried about Lantis and his friendship with him. In the manga he plays a bit of matchmaker with Hikaru and Lantis.  I don't think he is interested in Hikaru in any sort of a romantic sense. He seems to be one that would do best just being with his pals (i.e. Geo and Zazu) on that nice boring all male crewed ship. then again the seems to be something going on with him and Geo, at least from Geo's side.  It could all be unrequited, or simply a strong friendship.

Lantis: Damn that boy needs to be dumped in a field of flowers and kittens for a few days.  he is so gloom and doom.  What the hell did the fun loving Eagle see in him as a friend.  He does seem to feel something toward Hikaru as he looks after her, but he is so damned on dimentional who can tell. Eagle thinks there's something her though, and he knows this boy better than I do.

[Down]

*has had FAR too much tea* Yay for tea! ((we should have a tea party! ...not like the Boston one, though. XD))

Hikaru... I don't really know what I think of Hikaru. She's my least favourite of the three knights, at any rate - and I don't particulaly like her in the anime (I think. My anime and I are on seperate continents! *weeps* Tis been a while since last I watched the whole of it, too). But then there are moments when I'm fond of her - notably, the ones where you get past the bubbly niavity to the strength beneath. XD

She's just... far more of a child, to me, than the other two. (Actually, in that way she reminds me REALLY STRONGLY of Lucy in 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' - and 'The Last Battle' ~ the innocent whose belief is strongest and everything. I never liked Lucy too much in comparasion either, heh. XD But then, I identify with the elder sibling looking after the younger - I have a little brother. It's easier for me to feel with and for Umi and Fuu, or Peter and Susan...)

I don't know. I like my characters to be more mature, and understand more, and decide to go for it anyway. XD


(plz ignore if this comment is out of it or sounds odd or pretencious or anything. FAR too much tea and return of the king. ^^;;

[suzanami]

I agree that Hikaru got the short end of the stick in character depth.  It's like CLAMP was too concerned about their ghey bishies, as usual, to give their lead heroine too much characterization.  I feel bad for her. D:
I like her in the manga, though she's still not so deep.  Mostly because she doesn't steal away all the screen- (page-?) time from Umi and Fuu; while Hikaru is definitely the lead, Fuu and Umi's relationships are very important, too, including with each other. (I love Umi/Fuu friendship ♥)  She's naive in the manga, but she's believeable.  I didn't care for her in the anime, especially the second season.  While Hikaru is very much at the extreme ends of the spectrum, her whole EMO DEPRESSION was so dull.  She is the kind of person to get very depressed easily, but not wallow in it like she did in the anime.  I felt it was really unfair to her, how the anime painted her.

I like writing happy, genki Hikaru-chan, though.  Quite a bit.  I usually use her as a supporting character because I never know what else to do with her, but I do enjoy when she's there very much. :P


As for relationships...  The manga paints her as Umi and Fuu's little sister as much as their friend.  I think Umi and Fuu are each other's best friends, personally, and Hikaru's best friend is... like, everyone.  I'd say Eagle, at least in the long run.

Speaking of him...   I do like the Lantis/Hikaru/Eagle dynamic, especially how complicated it was in the anime.  (I do love the bit where Eagle tells her she is much prettier with a smile.)  I still don't understand Lantis/Hikaru.  I know CLAMP can actually do different pairings than Cute Shoujo with Tall, Dark And Bishie.  I just...  Opposites don't attract as much as people think, because you need something in common.  L/H?  They both RLY wanna save Cephiro and they have relationships with Eagle...  That's about it. 

I think Hikaru's feelings for Lantis stem from guilt, to be honest.  Not that her feelings aren't genuine, but they stemmed from something fragile and negative like that.  I don't like her with Eagle all that much (though moreso in the manga, just friends in the anime), either.
I think Lantis should OT3 with Eagle and Geo.  And Hikaru should hook up with Zazu.  I MEAN MY GOD HOW CUTE WOULD THAT BE.


I found a Japanese fanart that embodies how I feel about Lantis/Hikaru.  I don't usually repost their fanarts, but I have got to share this doodle:



Sorry but... LMAO. XD;


Hikaru doesn't get enough in-depth defense, though!  Usually just "OMG, how can you not like Hikaru she's soooo cute!!!!!"  I'd like something a bit more in-depth, analytical.  I do like her, she's just low on my list of favorites. D:

[Down]

^ you make much more sense than I did. I'm jealous. XD

But, YES. (To pretty much everything you said, though I think Ascot/Zazu would be cuter. XD) That her feelings for Lantis stem from guilt (if she truely has any - I'm not sure she's mature enough to really be in love, but then I was basically in love with my dance partner by the age of 11, so I really shouldn't judge that so harshly, I guess... >.>) makes so much SENSE.

...and then when she compares Eagle/Lantis to Emeraude/Zagato (or should that be the other way around?), that's rather... telling. Or at least I think so... *gets distracted into (trying to) read that bit and see how close the translation  I remember is to the japanese and loses all track of what I was doing...* There's such a strong feeling of guilt over Lantis, over killing his brother, in what she tells Eagle then. (And when Lantis threatens to kill Mokona if Eagle and Hikaru don't return, Eagle is 'Eagle', but Hikaru is 'the girl from another world', and second, which would seem to imply where his feelings actually lie even if he is a bit confused about it...?)

[Cassiopeia]

I think the problem is everyone usually dislikes the main charachter anyways... O.o Even though I love Umi, I still think Hikaru is great because she still acts like a kid! Which is kind of cool in my thinking because I think people who want to grow up fast is just not seeing what they have now. Hikaru really embrases the staying a kid inside as long as you possibly can concept. ^_^. I guess that's why I like her so much.

[Itena]

Okay, time for a new post in an old thread! ;P

And I'd have to say, as a hard-core fan of Hikaru's(she's number one character for all anime in my eyes), that my post will be in defense for her:

Hikaru's so awesome, how can't you not like her?!!!11!! D:

Now that the n3wbish argument is out of the way, let's actually go to the real thing. <3

Well, in truth, there is no way that I could completely convince you that Hikaru's awesome, since in the end it depends on your opinion, since these are just fictional characters. I can, however, say why I think she's awesome.


Hikaru seems to be just an overly cute character at first, with a child-like aura around her, and an extreme animal lover, as well as a person of utmost innocence. But as the mission of the Magic Knights is put on her shoulders, that's when her true character starts to shine, and we really see what she's made of.

In my opinion, the cute, child-like image weren't a permanent part of her. I remember reading a theory on this; that she used this image to bring happiness to others. She realized how much her brothers loved her and needed to protect her, so she presented a guise of just being a bright, sunny, and happy-go-lucky type of person.

As soon as she came to Cephiro though, this new mission pushed her out of that guise. If we go by the anime(I have only seen the first volume of the manga anyhow, since I don't have enough money yet to by the rest TT^TT), By the second episode, she is a serious young lady on a mission. All of a sudden, her boundless energy had something to focus on, making her the motivated leader of the group.

Now that this cuteness image is out of the way, I can talk about her true personality. Hikaru is a person with an extremely strong will and heart(it's kind of obvious, seeing as how she eventually became the pillar); which automatically gives her a big advantage, seeing as how Cephiro is a land of will. She also seems to be a natural warrior, and has the backbone that a warrior needs(take a look at episode 14, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about). If Hikaru wasn't there, Umi and Fuu probably wouldn't of lasted very long in Cephiro. Therefore it was a given that she'd be the leader of the group; the inspiration for the magic knights.

But it's not as if she has no flaws, and it's in the second season that these show the most. It becomes apparent that she, despite her strong will and firm sense of values, becomes easily depressed in serious times. I think that a big reason that she becomes depressed is because of her low self-esteem. It was quite clear that she had a very low  view of herself during the second season; Nova being solid proof of that. But in the end she was able to overcome that, and I think that a person who can overcome one's flaws is a person who deserves respect.

(Ahaha, this post was completed within a few hours since I had other things to do in between, so the flow/wording may not be at it's best.) 

[Kisumisu]

If Hikaru wasn't there, Umi and Fuu probably wouldn't of lasted very long in Cephiro.

..But... Then there would be only 1 Magic Knight? I think that they (obviously) all need each other. ( Clich?! )

And Hikaru is mentally vulnerable, I mean, she would give up everything if someone threatened her friends lives. Well, I don't hate her but I don't love her either.

[Itena]

Point taken.

Although, personally, I'd disagree that she'd give up on everything if her friends were endangered....but that's just my own analysis of her character(and, in the end, I may just be biased ha ha), and there's no telling if she would since the series is over.

Lol, reminds me of Usagi from Sailor Moon in the first movie; she did exactly that. ^^;

[Itena]

I just noticed something, like, JUST now....

My little brother has the exactly the same birthday that Hikaru has... O_O;;;;

[Milieva]

My little brother has the exactly the same birthday that Hikaru has... O_O;;;;

Add one of my best friends and my cousin to that list as well. ^.~

[dinosaurjam]

Hullo! Reviving this thread to jabber a little bit about Hikaru. I actually rewatched season one a month or two ago and wrote a little about some of my issues with Hikaru's characters in the anime vs. in the manga, and because I'm a lazyass I'm just going to copy and paste some of my thoughts over here. Including a Dungeons & Dragons reference, because ~it's an RPG lolz~.

-----

Hikaru. If I had a nickel for every time your impulsiveness got yourself and/or others in trouble, I?d have a lot of nickels.

Manga!Hikaru has a totally high Wisdom score. Anime!Hikaru has neither high Wisdom or Intelligence, but apparently has like an 18 in Charisma.

That is all.

-----

Okay, so I like Hikaru. I do. But I IMMENSELY prefer her in the manga versus in the anime, and it really boils down to the fact that the anime acts like Hikaru is special, whereas in the manga, Hikaru IS special.

-----

I?m not sure if I have the stomach to re-watch season two right now. The manga was lovely, and there are aspects of the anime?s second season I like, but it?s just HIKARU IS SPECIAL HIKARU IS SPECIAL HIKARU IS SPECIAL. Ugh. Like, I know the girl becomes Pillar and all, so yes she?s special, but it goes back to that point above where in the manga, you actually believe it. In the anime, it?s just people telling you HIKARU IS SPECIAL over and over. It?s like the Bechdel Test, but instead of ?Do two women ever have a conversation alone that doesn?t involve discussion of male characters or men,? it?s ?Do any characters every have a conversation that doesn?t involve discussion of HIkaru?? Blurgh.

I don?t mind the trope of a character who?s special and pure and inspires other around to goodness. I mean, I LOVE Sailor Moon. But in the anime, Hikaru?s ~specialness~ just feels so forced instead of being an innate part of who she is.

-----

So yeah. That's my overall feeling on Hikaru. I like her! I do. But she frustrates me in the anime because she's supposed to be this special person who draws people to her, but I don't believe it. The anime tells us she is, the characters act like she is, but I don't feel it from her. It feels forced.

In the manga, I believe she's special. I believe in her pure heart and her innate goodness as being so strong and powerful they can move others to action. I love her. And her anime incarnation bothers me because it feels like a cheapened version of that, and that makes me sad.

[suzanami]

In the manga, I believe she's special. I believe in her pure heart and her innate goodness as being so strong and powerful they can move others to action. I love her. And her anime incarnation bothers me because it feels like a cheapened version of that, and that makes me sad.

This is basically my problem with Hikaru in the anime.  I love her in the manga.  She's still my third-favorite of the knights, but I love her all the same.  In the anime, I just...  I just don't buy it.  I know what people've said to explain that she's not a shallow character in the anime, but like dinosaurjam said, it feels forced and artificial.  "See see see she's not just all genki!  She how she cries and angsts to the point where it cripples her character development and takes over the thoughts of all other characters!?  See how complex she is?????"  It's hard to put into words why the handling of her character irks me so much in the anime (season two of the anime actually made me outright dislike her briefly) but dinosaurjam does a really good job of articulating it here.

[shinomu]

Okay, so I started writing after I read this topic and it turned into a HUGE MONSTER. I really like Hikaru, and mostly, I like the possibilities left open by the end of the manga, so here's my sort of analysis on her (and this might seem unbelievable, but it's still very incomplete, haha). Oh, yes, this is based on the manga, since I watched the anime once when I was like 12...

So, first I?d like to emphasize the fact that the girls were only 14 when they went to Cephiro the first time. They?re only starting their teenage years and the real formation of their personalities and Cephiro is most definitely a mark on the transition they?re making between childhood and teenage years.

For the very first time we see Hikaru, she?s having a blast at the school trip while her classmates don?t really get how she could find it fun. I think this part is very important because it says how much she?s comfortable having fun by and being herself (and how it seems she never gives a damn about demeaning opinions of others about her behavior). She allows herself to be happy to her heart content and that attracts Fuu, who says something along the lines of Hikaru?s happiness could make her feel happy just by looking.

So I think this is something that really defines Hikaru throughought the series. She is a positive reference able to move people and, ultimately, sustain them, be a pillar of force. She?s the kind of person with such a natural charisma that people might, on a first stance, be immediately attracted to or repelled by (I?d say it?s very rare to find people so honest to themselves).

But she also, of course, have a lot of strength, physical and emotionally. I believe her relationship with her brothers have a lot to do with it. Of course that?s also where most of her naivety comes from, I?m pretty sure Masaru and Kakeru would love for their little sister to remain small and precious forever. But it?s also really great how tight a connection she has with her siblings, and I really love how Satoru seems very happy to see her growing by herself (and with the help of her new friends). I think her impulsivity might also come from the fact that her brothers dote on her so much.

And then she had that wild and childish imagination about heroes and adventure that was completely crashed after the end of the first part. This is where the growing up truly begins, once her worldview is shattered and she finally realizes how everyone has more dimension than she?d originally give them. But she?s still a child trying to make sense of this all, and it?s not easy. By her (very sporadic, sadly) conversations with Umi and Fuu you can get a sense of a really great friendship forming not only around the fact that they suffered a trauma together, but how they deal with it, change with it, grow and, most of all, share what they think. Hikaru also seems to create a sort of family like feel with the people around her, and I think it is very important to her to have people to look up to and to trust.  Alone, I do believe she?d have trouble keeping herself together (I sort of hypothesized about this on a cracky fanfiction XD).

In the end, I think she?ll mature very slowly, but surely, into a great woman. She?s a very open minded person who likes to experience new things. I think her charisma will make her sort of evolve into a really charming young woman (and dotted with a small amount of malice it will turn to be a killer charm, especially since she can be really badass).

So on love and relationships (as if this is not already long enough lol):

While I picture Fuu and Ferio being the sort of young couple who?ll be together forever from the very start, Hikaru will take a long time to see herself having a real relationship.

Since I favor the Lantis/Eagle/Hikaru dynamics, I?ll try and explain a bit on them, but I also believe that there?s some magical reason why we like the characters and couples/threesomes we do, and if we try to explain that, we might risk losing that incantation.

But between those three what I see is them being a constant presence by each other?s side as they (very slowly) grow together and, most importantly, help each other heal. At some point, when Hikaru is a bit emotionally mature (cause, seriously, whoever gets 100% emotionally mature?), she?ll finally start realizing what Lantis and Eagle mean to her and vice versa. And then she?ll comprehend about love outside the ?love=family? box. By then, I see them three as stronger, more definite persons who are ridiculously comfortable with each other and who can create a long lasting bond.

I also feel the need to describe Lantis and Eagle on this matter. But first, I need to explain that I see Cephiro with the sort of system where people will need to take big responsibilities very quickly, especially if they have great power. The knights were only children when they were taught magic to basically assist a suicide. So Lantis, in this setting, was a younger brother who didn?t know how to deal with the scenario Zagato and Emeraude painted. So he ran away from Cephiro, from having to face reality and, in the end, he kept running away from trying to heal the gash all this mess left in his heart.

He found some solace in discovering new worlds and finally making some new friends, but in the end, he still needed to confront the life he tried so hard to leave behind (ultimately I don?t think Lantis knew how to handle ALL THE FEELS). So Eagle was someone he felt he could trust and be open with, but Hikaru is the one with the most chances of helping him rebuild. She?s the field with cute baby animals and happiness he needed to be thrown in. I think he was attracted by the mixture of her very strong heart, the way she dealt with her own insecurities, how she related to her friends and tried futilely to protect them somehow, and what a ridiculous beacon of sunshine she is inside. And that is only hinted by the end of the series, I think their meetings during second series mostly served for them to create a deep respect for each other, as they couldn?t yet make sense of the something else that sparked there (hello, middle of a war). It all started moving for him from the point Hikaru and Eagle battled each other and the resulting end. So by then his biggest resolution (destroying the pillar system) came to an end and he needed to finally face all the emotional consequences he tried so hard to run from. Then ~~~character growth!!! and everything I already said above XD.

Eagle is also someone who'll need a long time because let?s face it, he wasn?t exactly counting on going on after the Pillar question was solved. He was very certain of his death and didn?t plan much beyond. I think in the meantime he heals his body, he?ll struggle really hard with what he wants to do with the life he never planned on having to continue.

So, in the end, this is a threesome that?ll  have to wait the longest time ever to be together. But hey, there?s no problem since cephirians can live like forever. Also just imagine the glorious amount of sex that?ll come out of it once they get together.

So, yes, this is a glimpse on the idea of Hikaru I built over the years. XD