The pint-sized, but hard willedRed Headed Heroine. Hikaru is cheery and excitable, but surprisingly shows a lot of wisdom and is probably the most mature of the team. She gets chosen as the Magic Knight of Fire and her Rune God is Rayearth. She is the one who is most crushed when she killed Emeraude, leaving a lot of guilt that forms up into a being called Nova. She later gets picked as the new Pillar of Cephiro, thereby granting her godlikepower, but relinquishes it immediately so the power of the land can belong to the people living there.Fire symbolizes energy, passion and will. Hikaru has all of these in spades.She doesn't think much about love, but managed to garner the interest of both Lantis and Eagle. When asked why (in the manga), she just states she loves both of them equally and will marry both. How far this goes is under debate by the fandom.Tropes associated with Hikaru:
A God Am I: Immediately relinquished when she gets the power and gives it to everyone in Cephiro, so the Pillar system disappears.
Badass Adorable: While Umi and Fuu may qualify as well, Hikaru takes the cake.
Big Brother Instinct (Not her. But she has three big brothers, two of them have this)
Bokukko: She's said to be cute... in a boyish way. In the Dark Horse manga re-release, Fuu also notes that Hikaru speaks like a boy in an omake.
Even the Girls Want Her: Very popular in her all-girls school (although the re-release translates it as her classmates making fun of her rather than actually having affection). And then there's Nova...
In the Spanish language dub, Eagle is female. Les Yay, anyone?
The Messiah: Particularly in the second half, when she frequently remarks on Eagle's "sad eyes."
Wise Beyond Their Years: Despite her youthfulness, she's the closest thing the Magic Knights have to a leader. And she figures out a way to reinvent the Pillar System without destroying Cephiro.
The tallest of the girls, coming from a rich family and attends a private school for rich girls. Umi at first is the least willing to do her job, and comes off very snobbish and uncaring about things. However, amongst the girls, she can be seen as the most developed out of them, as the situation completely demands her to really mature up, and she really did, becoming a much more admirable character. She's also pretty handy with a rapier, being in the fencing team of the school. She is the Magic Knight of Water and her Rune God is Seles. Seems a bit obsessed on eating Mokona, who annoys her greatly.Water symbolizes emotion, and Umi is the most tempermental of the Magic Knights. It also symbolizes cleansing and rebirth, and Umi's role in Ascot's heel-face turn hints at this.She doesn't have much romance going on either, but she is quite fond of Clef. Ascot also shows feelings towards her, but it's not known whether she returns his feelings.Tropes associated with Umi:
Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts out as a Spoiled Brat who just wants to go home, and chews Clef out when he makes his first appearance. Her later reaction to him...
She also plays a big part in getting Ascot to perform a Heel Face Turn. This works so well that by the second manga, he aged up because he developed a staggeringly obvious crush on her.)
The resident "bookworm" of the girls. Attends a school reserved for geniuses and talented girls. Fuu is extremely polite to a fault, adding suffixes to EVERYONE she meets. Despite that, her analytical skills are formidable. She also likes RPGs. She's always seen with her glasses, and only unequips it when she is riding her Rune God. She is a member of archery club and for the earlier part, uses a bow and arrow before switching to a BFS. She is selected as the Magic Knight of Wind, and her Rune God is Windam.Air symbolizes intellect and communication. Fuu is the most intellectual of the Magic Knights, and she always speaks with precision.She's also the only character involved in a real romance, with Ferio.Tropes associated with Fuu:
Adaptation Dye Job: She's blonde in the manga but has light brown hair in the anime and OVA.
The Archer: Initially. Later drops it for the sword, although she gets to show off her archery skills again in the second season of the anime.
BFS: While the other Escudo swords display more ornate hilts as they evolve, Fuu's just gets bigger and bigger—by the time they're ready to face Zagato, it's a good foot taller than she is long.
Cloudcuckoolander: Very, very mild example. Every so often she will come to extremely bizarre conclusions. Or try to reassure her friends that they shouldn't worry about falling from the stratosphere because they will black out before they die.
The Medic: Her green winds can also heal injuries.
Official Couple: Her and Ferio, pretty much the most canon and obvious in the show. The games try to dial this down slightly, but it's still very obvious.
Otaku: In the first volume, she is constantly pointing out the ways their adventure is similar to a fantasy RPG. (Or dismayed when they clearly have not leveled up enough to take on Alcyone, who appears right after they meet Clef.)
The Unintelligible: All he ever says is "Puu!" (Fortunately, Hikaru seems able to understand him.)
Clef
Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (Japanese), Steve Cannon (English, TV Series), Immy Uncle (English, OVA)
Tropes associated with Clef:
The Atoner: In the second half. He blames himself for letting the situation with Emeraude get as bad as it did, as well as for the heartbreak the Magic Knights suffered.
Berserk Button: Assuming that he's a child and otherwise making cracks about his height.
Metaphorically True: Everything he says about the Magic Knight legend at the beginning. He's well aware of what they're really supposed to do, but he masks it by talking about Zagato instead.
In the Dark Horse retranslation, this becomes an outright lie; he tells them that defeating Zagato will "restore Emeraude's rule."
Jerkass Façade: Puts on one of these temporarily, in the anime.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: He doesn't remember he is Emeraude's brother in the first season of the anime, since she deleted his memories of their time together. Subverted: he asked her to do so.
Punch Clock Villain: She's in it for the money, and quite happy to leave the Magic Knights alone when Fuu defeats her, since she was only obligated to try and stop them.
Died Happily Ever After : At the end of season 1, she is finally with Zagato, happily forever and ever.
Distressed Damsel Subverted: she entered the dungeon she's "imprisoned" in by herself. Zagato is there because of his love for her while she tries to dissuade him from attacking the Magic Knights.
The son of Autozam's president and commander of the battleship sent to Cephrio in Part II. He's also the pilot of the FTO.Tropes associated with Eagle:
Anti-Villain: He wants to bring the Pillar system to Autozam to solve their pollution crisis.
She's a Man in Japan: Eagle Vision is depicted as female in the Latin American dub as a way to avoid Ho Yay with Lantis and Geo Metro. The result is a Romantic Two-Girl Friendship with Hikaru.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Even before he turned into the Big Bad, Zagato still disagreed heavily with the whole Pillar system, therefore he wanted to tear it down to save his beloved Emeraude from pretty much commiting assisted suicide.
I Owe You My Life: It's implied that Innouva was regarded not too highly in Cephiro as a result of his true form. Zagato giving him some measure of dignity and self worth is what motivated Innouva to serve him in the first place.
Sleep Mode Size: He's a Big Badass Wolf in his normal mode, purposedly took the form of a bishonen to serve Zagato better and only stops doing so for his last battle.
