Hikaru Amano first appears as a supporting character in the television series before her role in the film Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness. By the time of the movie, she is twenty-three years old, having aged five years since the end of the Jovian War. Following the conflict, she left military service to pursue her long-held dream of becoming a professional manga artist, but the pressures of her chosen career have left her chronically overstressed. Despite stepping away from combat, she is recruited by Ruri Hoshino and returns to piloting the Aestivalis once more during the events of the film.

In terms of personality, Hikaru is widely known for being bubbly, energetic, and highly eccentric. She is an unabashed and devoted fan of the classic anime series Gekigangar 3. This enthusiasm borders on obsessive, as she is a dedicated creator of doujinshi, often imagining stories featuring herself or romantic relationships between the male characters. In her youth, she was prone to speaking rapidly about herself, sharing personal details like her blood type and specific food preferences. While she presents a cheerful and playful exterior, often joining with her friend Izumi Maki to tease their fellow pilot Ryoko Subaru, she also possesses a more serious and crafty side. Beneath the surface, she has a tendency to keep others at an emotional distance, a trait that was shaped by a past romantic disappointment. Only her closest friends from her time on the Nadesico are truly familiar with her deeper self.

Her role in Prince of Darkness is that of a returning ally who has moved on to a different life, only to be drawn back into the cockpit due to a new crisis. She represents the passage of time and the changing paths of the original crew, showing that while some have become leaders like Ruri, others have pursued civilian dreams. Her motivation for rejoining the fight is not just duty or a sense of heroism, but a willingness to help her old shipmates when they are in need. As a pilot, she remains exceptionally skilled, demonstrating that her abilities have not dulled despite her years away from active combat.

Hikaru maintains key relationships with her former teammates. She is part of a trio of original Aestivalis pilots that includes Ryoko Subaru and Izumi Maki. She shares a particularly strong and long-standing bond with these two women, as they have served together and understand one another beyond surface impressions. She is also deeply loyal to Ruri Hoshino, the captain of the Nadesico B, who personally recruited her for the mission. Her background includes a talent for making plastic models, a hobby she once practiced with the ship's chief mechanic.

Throughout her development from the television series to the film, Hikaru matures from an eighteen-year-old aspiring artist and frontline soldier into a stressed but functioning professional in the creative industry. The movie shows the results of her ambition, as she has indeed published her own manga in a boy's magazine. However, this success comes with the significant pressure of deadlines, a stark contrast to the relative freedom of her youth. Despite this stress, returning to piloting for the Nadesico allows her to reconnect with her past and showcase her enduring talents.

Hikaru possesses notable abilities both on and off the battlefield. Professionally, she has realized her dream of becoming a published manga artist. As a pilot, she is highly capable, piloting a custom orange Aestivalis. Her combat style is characterized as technical and agile, relying on sharp observational skills and curvilinear movements rather than brute force. This allows her to exploit gaps in an opponent's defenses with ease, a skill she retains even after a five-year hiatus from piloting.