TV-Series
Description
Hikaru Hazama is a prominent character who first appears as a skilled and driven blader in the Beyblade: Metal Fusion narrative. Her full name is also sometimes rendered as Hikaru Hasama, with the latter being the correct spelling based on the katakana presentation of her surname. She is introduced as a wandering blader with a cool and reserved demeanor, traveling from place to place in search of strong opponents to challenge. Her appearance is characterized by blue hair, bluish-purple eyes, and a distinctive outfit consisting of a red jacket over a white and blue shirt, tan shorts, and brown boots. She keeps her beyblade on her right hip and projects a confident, almost uninterested air when facing adversaries.
The roots of Hikaru's personality lie in her past experiences as a young blader, where repeated defeats at the hands of others who would smirk at her tears caused her to become cold and closed off. A pivotal influence was her ill mother, who taught her that determination is everything and never to abandon her goals, a lesson that became the driving force behind her ambition. Her primary motivation is to become the strongest blader, partly to fulfill the dream her mother could not achieve. This desire for strength leads her to Metal Bey City, where she is goaded by Benkei Hanawa into seeking out the legendary blader Gingka Hagane.
Her role in the story begins as a rival and an antagonist of sorts. Upon arriving in the city, she easily defeats Benkei and his entire group of Face Hunters. However, her path to Gingka is blocked by Kenta Yumiya, who pretends to be Gingka to protect the ill Gingka from a battle. Hikaru defeats Kenta repeatedly, taking all of his Bey Points without much difficulty, and showing little emotion as he cries in frustration. This initial coldness begins to thaw after a genuine rematch with the real Kenta, where she loses after he unlocks his special move. Satisfied and intrigued by his growth, she acknowledges him, marking the start of her integration into the main group of bladers. Following this, she finally battles Gingka and loses, but his encouragement to focus on having fun rather than just winning helps her begin to heal her old emotional wounds.
Throughout the Survival Battle and the lead-up to the Battle Bladers tournament, Hikaru proves herself a capable and strategic blader, holding her own against powerful rivals like Kyoya Tategami. However, her journey takes a severe turn in the main tournament when her first-round opponent is the fearsful Dragon Emperor, Ryuga. The battle with Ryuga is one-sided and traumatic; her special move, Infinite Assault, is easily shattered, and Lightning L-Drago drains her power, leaving her in a comatose state for the remainder of the tournament. This event fundamentally alters the course of her life.
Following her defeat by Ryuga, Hikaru undergoes the most significant character development in the series. She becomes deeply traumatized, developing a fear of dark powers that causes her to flinch and panic when confronted with similar forces, such as when Tsubasa Otori's dark side emerges. This trauma leads her to abandon her dream of being a competitive blader. In the subsequent Metal Masters story arc, she transitions to a new role, becoming the calm, professional, and dedicated assistant to Ryo Hagane, Gingka's father, at the World Beyblade Battle Association (WBBA). Her outfit changes to a dark blue office suit, reflecting her shift from a wandering blader to a supportive staff member. While she no longer battles competitively, she uses her knowledge and experience to support others, ensuring that bladers can enjoy the sport without experiencing the trauma she did. She does, on rare occasions of great necessity, wield her beyblade Storm Aquario again to help her friends, proving that her skills remain intact.
Her key relationships are central to her arc. Her bond with Gingka shifts from rivalry to friendship and respect after his words help her. Her connection with Kenta is a major turning point, as his persistence and growth humble her and open her up to friendship. Her relationship with Ryo Hagane becomes her new anchor, as she acts as the organized and serious foil to his forgetful and impulsive nature, making her an invaluable asset to the WBBA. Finally, her trauma is intrinsically linked to Ryuga, whose power continues to affect her long after their battle.
In terms of notable abilities, Hikaru's strength lies in her strategic and tricky battle style. She wields the Beyblade Storm Aquario, known as Wind Aquario in the original version. Her signature special move is Infinity Wave, renamed Infinite Assault in the English dub. This technique involves having her Beyblade move at extreme speeds to create multiple afterimages and illusions of itself, confusing her opponent and making the real Aquario difficult to target. However, a critical weakness of this ability is that once the real Beyblade is detected or if it endures a powerful, wide-area attack, the strategy fails, leaving her vulnerable. This tactical approach reflects her calculating personality, but her physical power is often shown to be lower than that of the series' top-tier bladers.
The roots of Hikaru's personality lie in her past experiences as a young blader, where repeated defeats at the hands of others who would smirk at her tears caused her to become cold and closed off. A pivotal influence was her ill mother, who taught her that determination is everything and never to abandon her goals, a lesson that became the driving force behind her ambition. Her primary motivation is to become the strongest blader, partly to fulfill the dream her mother could not achieve. This desire for strength leads her to Metal Bey City, where she is goaded by Benkei Hanawa into seeking out the legendary blader Gingka Hagane.
Her role in the story begins as a rival and an antagonist of sorts. Upon arriving in the city, she easily defeats Benkei and his entire group of Face Hunters. However, her path to Gingka is blocked by Kenta Yumiya, who pretends to be Gingka to protect the ill Gingka from a battle. Hikaru defeats Kenta repeatedly, taking all of his Bey Points without much difficulty, and showing little emotion as he cries in frustration. This initial coldness begins to thaw after a genuine rematch with the real Kenta, where she loses after he unlocks his special move. Satisfied and intrigued by his growth, she acknowledges him, marking the start of her integration into the main group of bladers. Following this, she finally battles Gingka and loses, but his encouragement to focus on having fun rather than just winning helps her begin to heal her old emotional wounds.
Throughout the Survival Battle and the lead-up to the Battle Bladers tournament, Hikaru proves herself a capable and strategic blader, holding her own against powerful rivals like Kyoya Tategami. However, her journey takes a severe turn in the main tournament when her first-round opponent is the fearsful Dragon Emperor, Ryuga. The battle with Ryuga is one-sided and traumatic; her special move, Infinite Assault, is easily shattered, and Lightning L-Drago drains her power, leaving her in a comatose state for the remainder of the tournament. This event fundamentally alters the course of her life.
Following her defeat by Ryuga, Hikaru undergoes the most significant character development in the series. She becomes deeply traumatized, developing a fear of dark powers that causes her to flinch and panic when confronted with similar forces, such as when Tsubasa Otori's dark side emerges. This trauma leads her to abandon her dream of being a competitive blader. In the subsequent Metal Masters story arc, she transitions to a new role, becoming the calm, professional, and dedicated assistant to Ryo Hagane, Gingka's father, at the World Beyblade Battle Association (WBBA). Her outfit changes to a dark blue office suit, reflecting her shift from a wandering blader to a supportive staff member. While she no longer battles competitively, she uses her knowledge and experience to support others, ensuring that bladers can enjoy the sport without experiencing the trauma she did. She does, on rare occasions of great necessity, wield her beyblade Storm Aquario again to help her friends, proving that her skills remain intact.
Her key relationships are central to her arc. Her bond with Gingka shifts from rivalry to friendship and respect after his words help her. Her connection with Kenta is a major turning point, as his persistence and growth humble her and open her up to friendship. Her relationship with Ryo Hagane becomes her new anchor, as she acts as the organized and serious foil to his forgetful and impulsive nature, making her an invaluable asset to the WBBA. Finally, her trauma is intrinsically linked to Ryuga, whose power continues to affect her long after their battle.
In terms of notable abilities, Hikaru's strength lies in her strategic and tricky battle style. She wields the Beyblade Storm Aquario, known as Wind Aquario in the original version. Her signature special move is Infinity Wave, renamed Infinite Assault in the English dub. This technique involves having her Beyblade move at extreme speeds to create multiple afterimages and illusions of itself, confusing her opponent and making the real Aquario difficult to target. However, a critical weakness of this ability is that once the real Beyblade is detected or if it endures a powerful, wide-area attack, the strategy fails, leaving her vulnerable. This tactical approach reflects her calculating personality, but her physical power is often shown to be lower than that of the series' top-tier bladers.