* BaseBreakingCharacter: Kozue is an iconic PassionateSportsGirl in the anime world and many people praise her for her strength, determination, self-sacrifice, and how she prioritizes hard work over her love life. But there are also people who don't find her a completely good role model: while she ''did'' have a positive influence on the viewers (she inspired many young girls to start playing volleyball), other people don't like how she obsessively prioritizes volleyball over everything (like refusing to leave a volleyball game even when they tell her that her boyfriend is dying in the hospital after a tragic accident).
* FandomRivalry: German fans often compare ''Manga/HikariNoDensetsu'' with "[[Manga/AttackNumberOne Mila Superstar]]", because the latter has more popularity in the country.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
** The original anime has many fans in Europe, particularly in Germany, where it was known as ''Mila Superstar'', with Kozue renamed Mila. Even more so, considering it came out more than 23 years ago since its original release (1993), even beating out Anime/HeidiGirlOfTheAlps as one of the oldest Animes to become popular in Germany.
** The original anime is also beloved in Italy, where it was known as ''Mimì e la nazionale di pallavolo'' (with Kozue renamed Mimì). It was AdoredByTheNetwork and re-ran several times on many Italian channels like Canale 5, Euro TV, Nickelodeon and Rete 4.
* IronWoobie: Kozue suffers a lot, both physically and mentally, because of the TrainingFromHell or bad luck in general. She has been victim of mistreatment, violence, injuries, disease, and loss of loved ones. Despite being often demoralized, she always finds a way to pick herself up, without giving up her volleyball dream.
* MemeticMutation: "Dakedo...namida ga dechau, onnanoko da mon."[[note]] "But I'll shed my tears. I'm just a girl after all..."[[/note]]
* ValuesDissonance: Kozue and the athletes work themselves to the bone and sacrifice their own health for their training, with even the coach being indifferent to the effects of the rigorous training and telling them to do better. This mirrors Japan's overwork culture and sense of duty towards the collective, but in the West this comes off as masochistic.
* ValuesResonance: Attack number One has a lead female character whose priority is her own life and her dreams for the future, rather than ''just'' having a love interest... in TheSixties and TheSeventies. From Website/TheOtherWiki:
-->"Kazuko Suzuki describes Attack No. 1 as an "innovation on the campus story", where a heroine would go to college and meet her future husband. She describes Kozue as "psychologically independent", as Kozue has realised that she must strive to create her own happiness and continues to strive on after [[spoiler: her boyfriend's death.]]"
----