OVA
Description
Hikaru Shido is one of the three main protagonists of the anime and manga series Magic Knight Rayearth. She is a fourteen-year-old eighth-grade student from Tokyo who is small for her age, with bright red eyes and scarlet hair that is often depicted as pink in some versions. Because of her short stature, she is frequently mistaken for an elementary school student. Hikaru is the youngest child in her family and has three older brothers named Masaru, Satoru, and Kakeru. Her family runs a kendo dojo, and Hikaru has practiced kendo since she was very young, which contributes to her tomboyish personality and her skill with a sword. Her birthday is August 8.
Hikaru is best characterized by her headstrong, determined, and passionate nature. She is often impulsive and, in many ways, quite childish, but these traits are balanced by a fierce loyalty to her friends and a remarkably strong will. Despite her simplicity and innocence, she is frequently the bravest and most emotionally resilient of the three Magic Knights, and she is often the one who encourages her companions Umi and Fuu to look on the bright side of difficult situations. Hikaru is very enthusiastic and is the first to accept her duties as a Magic Knight, driven by her desire to save the world of Cephiro so she can return home to her beloved pet dog, Hikari.
Her role in the story is vital as she represents the element of fire among the three Magic Knights. Throughout the first arc, she grows from a spirited but somewhat naive girl into the de facto leader of the group. After the traumatic experience of being forced to kill Princess Emeraude, Hikaru is deeply affected, and a sense of guilt begins to weigh on her conscience. In the second season, this internal turmoil manifests physically in the world of Cephiro, creating a shadowy duplicate of herself named Nova, who represents her fears, self-doubt, and repressed pain. Hikaru must eventually confront and accept this darker part of herself to move forward. She ultimately becomes the new Pillar of Cephiro, but her most significant act is using her wish to dismantle the Pillar system entirely, believing that the world should not depend on the self-sacrifice of a single person.
Hikaru develops a deep bond of friendship with her fellow Magic Knights, Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji, which becomes the emotional core of the series. In the second season, she meets Lantis, the younger brother of the late High Priest Zagato, and she falls in love with him. Despite her guilt over killing his brother, Lantis does not blame her, and they grow very close. She also forms an unexpected friendship with Eagle Vision, the leader of the invading nation of Autozam, and shows him great compassion even as they compete to become the Pillar. Due to her pure and innocent nature, Hikaru tends to love everyone equally, which sometimes leads to naive or humorous situations, such as when she innocently declares she wants to marry both Lantis and Eagle.
As the Magic Knight of fire, Hikaru specializes in offensive fire-based magic. She wields a sword as her primary weapon, which is enhanced by the magical substance escudo. Her most frequently used spell is Flame Arrow, in which she unleashes a stream of fire from her hand. Her other major spell is Crimson Lightning, also known as Ruby Lightning, which is considered her most powerful attack. In this spell, she gathers red lightning energy in the form of powerful orbs. Like the other knights, Hikaru also pilots a powerful golem-like being called a Rune God, which is named Rayearth.
Hikaru is best characterized by her headstrong, determined, and passionate nature. She is often impulsive and, in many ways, quite childish, but these traits are balanced by a fierce loyalty to her friends and a remarkably strong will. Despite her simplicity and innocence, she is frequently the bravest and most emotionally resilient of the three Magic Knights, and she is often the one who encourages her companions Umi and Fuu to look on the bright side of difficult situations. Hikaru is very enthusiastic and is the first to accept her duties as a Magic Knight, driven by her desire to save the world of Cephiro so she can return home to her beloved pet dog, Hikari.
Her role in the story is vital as she represents the element of fire among the three Magic Knights. Throughout the first arc, she grows from a spirited but somewhat naive girl into the de facto leader of the group. After the traumatic experience of being forced to kill Princess Emeraude, Hikaru is deeply affected, and a sense of guilt begins to weigh on her conscience. In the second season, this internal turmoil manifests physically in the world of Cephiro, creating a shadowy duplicate of herself named Nova, who represents her fears, self-doubt, and repressed pain. Hikaru must eventually confront and accept this darker part of herself to move forward. She ultimately becomes the new Pillar of Cephiro, but her most significant act is using her wish to dismantle the Pillar system entirely, believing that the world should not depend on the self-sacrifice of a single person.
Hikaru develops a deep bond of friendship with her fellow Magic Knights, Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji, which becomes the emotional core of the series. In the second season, she meets Lantis, the younger brother of the late High Priest Zagato, and she falls in love with him. Despite her guilt over killing his brother, Lantis does not blame her, and they grow very close. She also forms an unexpected friendship with Eagle Vision, the leader of the invading nation of Autozam, and shows him great compassion even as they compete to become the Pillar. Due to her pure and innocent nature, Hikaru tends to love everyone equally, which sometimes leads to naive or humorous situations, such as when she innocently declares she wants to marry both Lantis and Eagle.
As the Magic Knight of fire, Hikaru specializes in offensive fire-based magic. She wields a sword as her primary weapon, which is enhanced by the magical substance escudo. Her most frequently used spell is Flame Arrow, in which she unleashes a stream of fire from her hand. Her other major spell is Crimson Lightning, also known as Ruby Lightning, which is considered her most powerful attack. In this spell, she gathers red lightning energy in the form of powerful orbs. Like the other knights, Hikaru also pilots a powerful golem-like being called a Rune God, which is named Rayearth.