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Aikoh Academy
Main characters
As a whole
- Betty and Veronica:
- To Takaaki, the Archie, Shiina is the Betty (sweet, innocent and not a single violent bone in her body) while Hikari is the Veronica (outgoing, confident and a Plucky Girl to the nth degree).
- Also to Hikari, Mao is the Betty (her childhood friend who's endlessly supporting and understanding to her) while Takaaki is the Veronica (a wealthy student who helps make her dream happen by helping her train).
- Everyone Went to School Together: The main characters all attend Aikoh Academy. Mao, Shiina and Takaaki are third formers, while Hikari is a second former, and all of them are part of the school's sports clubs (with the exception of Mao, who plays in a band).
- First Girl Wins: Played straight in the manga where Hikari ends up with her childhood friend Mao and Takaaki ends up with his childhood friend Shiina; averted in the anime where Hikari and Takaaki end up together.
- Friendly Rivalry: Even though they're as different as night and day, Hikari and Shiina have no anmosity against one another (even if they're hurt about both having feelings for Takaaki) and support each other whatever way they can.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: They consist of two boys (Mao, Takaaki) and two girls (Shiina, Hikari).
- Love Dodecahedron: Hikari and Takaaki started as friends, but over the years Hikari began seeing him as more than that. Shiina also has feelings for Takaaki, and this causes a rift in her and Hikari's friendship. Meanwhile Mao has always had eyes for Hikari, but she's oblivious to his feelings.
- Meaningful Appearance: Hikari has wild, unkempt, red hair, to represent that she's a Passionate Sports Girl and is willing to take on any challenge. Shiina has a Prim and Proper Bun to represent her dignified status as Aika Academy's School Idol, but her few unkempt hairs hint that she's not as perfect as she seems.
- Passionate Sports Girl: The anime centers around two: Hikari (a playful tomboy naturally talented at sports despite her petite build) and Shiina (who's Aika Academy's greatest gymnast and said to be the secondcoming of Hiroko Yamazaki). The girls have a Friendly Rivalry in spite of the fact that they both aim to represent Japan in the Olympics and like the same boy. This trope also applies to many other characters like Maria, Elena, Lisa, Valerie, Michelle, Meiling, Joyce, Nikolina, Tatiana, Sophie, Endira, Irene and Regina.
- Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: To Takaaki, Shiina is the rich suitor, being a Spoiled Sweet girl from a wealthy family, while Hikari is the poor student, and ordinary girl blessed with great athletic skill. Takaaki marries Shiina in the manga, but the anime changes this to him getting with Hikari.
- School Idol: Both Hikari and Shiina; Hikari is a patient learner that produces amazing results once she's given some polish, while Shiina has already dominated the school's "best gymnast" role for years before Hikari showed up.
- Victorious Childhood Friend: By the end of the manga, Takaaki ends up with....Shiina. However, Hikari realizes that she's always loved Mao, and they become an item. In the anime this was changed to Takaaki/Hikari being canon.
Hikari Kamijou
Hikari Kamijou (上条 光)
Voiced by: Tsukasa Ito (Japanese), Laurence Crouzet (French), Paola Tovaglia (Italian), Stefanie Kindermann (German)
A 14 year old girl with a passion for sports and a second former at Aiba Academy. She catches the eye of Diliana Georgieva, and after being recommended to go to Bulgaria, begins her journey of becoming a skilled gymnast.
Click here to see her alternative outfit
Click here to see her alternative outfit
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Hikari is depicted with blonde hair in the manga, but the anime makes her a ginger.
- Always Second Best: Played for Drama; Hikari felt this way about Shiina, fearing that she would eventually capture Takaaki's heart, and training as hard as she could to impress him. She ends up surpassing Shiina in ability, but Takaaki still falls for her, piercing Hikari in the heart.
- Dub Name Change:
- She became Cynthia Duval in the French dub.
- She became Hilary in the Italian dub.
- She became Valentina in the European Spanish dub.
- Fictional Fan, Real Celebrity: Ever since Diliana Georgieva made history in multiple Olympic events during The '80s, Hikari has idealized her and wished to be just like her, having posters of her in her room and taking up rhythmatic gymnasts at her school club.
- Fiery Redhead: She has red hair, is an outgoing tomboy, and a natural when it comes to rhymathic gymnastics.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Hikari has one for Bulgaria; Diliana Georgieva is from there, and she recommends that Hikari go to the country to learn to be a skilled gymnast. One arc is also about her rivals from Bulgaria, Maria Lenova and Elena Berkova, the latter being extremely pushy about her desire to usurp Hikari.
- Hero-Worshipper: To Diliana Georgieva. She's an inspiration to Hikari, and the reason why she does gymnastics for a living.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: She has deep blue eyes and is a cheerful, cheeky girl with big dreams and a lot of raw passion.
- Pink Is Feminine: In both her casual outfit and Sensual Spandex, Hikari wears hot pink clothing.
- Plucky Girl: Hikari is determined to be an Olympian no matter what, and trains rigorously for the day she'll get to fight for the World Cup.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: She has ginger red hair that she ties into a short ponytail.
- Took a Level in Badass: She becomes a lot more competent with gymnastics as the series goes on.
Takaaki Ooishi
Takaaki Ooishi (大石 誉昭)
Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Mark Lesser (French), Gabriele Calindri (Italian)
The star athlete of the boy's gymnastics team. He sees Hikari's potential and offers to train her.
Takaaki Ooishi
- Abusive Parents: His father refuses to allow him to become a gymnast and often screams at him over it, and Takaaki is rebellious towards him as a result.
- Dub Name Change:
- Takaaki became Willy Corbier in the French dub.
- He was called Mario in the European Spanish dub.
- Commonality Connection: Takaaki and Hikari first bonded when he saw her potential for sports and took a shine to her. Unfortunately Shiina and Takaaki also bond over their shared love of sports, and well...
- Happily Married: In the manga, he is engaged to Shiina by the finale, and couldn't be happier.
- Icy Blue Eyes: He has icy blue eyes, but he's a bubbly and likable person, and both Hikari and Shiina have crushes on him.
- Lovable Jock: He's a great gymnast and a likable Nice Guy.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: A tall, popular, handsome guy with black hair. Two girls are attracted to him.
Shiina Hazuki
Shiina Hazuki (椎名葉月)
Voiced by: Michie Tomizawa (Japanese), Maïté Monceau (French), Patrizia Salmoiraghi (Italian), Unknown (German)
The most skilled athlete in the entire school, second to none. Like Hikari, she dreams of being a great gymnast.
Shiina Hazuki
- The Ace: Beautiful, talented, the daughter of a rich father and the best rhythmic gymnast in Aika Academy. She's so perfect that Hikari often feels self concsious around her and worries that Takaaki may like her more. And he does...at least in the manga.
- Dub Name Change:
- She became Déborah Steller in the French dub.
- She became Lilliana in the European Spanish dub.
- Good Is Not Nice: She wants Hikari to pursue her dreams of being a star athlete, but won't hesitate to call her out when she's slacking off and acting unfit for her role.
- Ill Girl: In the manga, her Olympic abilities were severely impacted by her aplastic anemia, and she was constantly in and out of hospitals as a result. In the anime, this is downplayed as she goes to the hospital (it's not specified what exactly for) and she mentions there are a lot of obstacles to her becoming a gymnast.
- Prim and Proper Bun: She has long waist-length hair, that she ties in a bun.
- Spoiled Sweet: She is endlessly humble in spite of her luxurious lifestyle and doesn't look down on Hikari (or feel threatened by her) during gym practice.
- Token Rich Student: Shiina is the daughter of a boutique owner and lives a pampered lifestyle, even having her own personal maid.
Mao Natsukawa
Mao Natsukawa (夏川 真生)
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Inoue (Japanese), Gilles Laurent (French), Luigi Rosa (Italian), Konstantin Graudus (German)
The frontman of the band "Mr. D" and Hikari's childhood friend who secretly yearns for her.
Mao Natsukawa
- Butt-Monkey: He likes Hikari, who likes Takaaki, and he's forced to seal his lips as she fawns over him. And at one point he gets punched by Hikari's dad.
- Childhood Friend Romance: He and Hikari are childhood friends. At the end of the manga, they get together.
- Dub Name Change:
- He became Frédéric in the French dub.
- He became Coque in the European Spanish dub.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: A variant, except it's Italian instead of French - Mao sings an Italian song to show his love for Hikari in the finale.
- Intimate Artistry: In the manga, he loved watching Hikari dance to his music.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be snarky and rude, but is a good person who is always ready to support Hikari.
- Non Conformist Dyed Hair: His hair is purple, but the front lock is a lighter shade, implying it may be dyed.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He has dark puple hair, is quite attractive, and has an aloof and snarky demeanor towards Hikari.
Other
Megumi Mita
Megumi Mita (三田 恵)
Voiced by: Chie Kojiro (Japanese), Unknown (French), Dania Cericola (Italian), Daniela Reidies (German)
A girl who happens to be in the same rhythmatic gymnastics class as Hikari and Shiina.
Megumi Mita
- Alpha Bitch: She's a competitive girl in the gym club who hates Hikari and wants to prove she's better than her.
- Attention Whore: Before Hikari joined, she was Aikoh Academy's second best athlete after Shiina, and now that she's third place she constantly tries to take the spotlight back from her.
- Boyish Short Hair: Her hair is inches above her ears and shaved into a flat cut.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: At the end of the series, she starts to see Hikari as a Worthy Opponent and even applauds one of her performances.
- Fiery Redhead: She has ginger hair and is a gymnast obsessed with showing her strength to Hikari so she can alleviate her inferiority complex.
- Insufferable Genius: Despite being stuck-up, she's genuinely talented and skilled at gymnastics.
- The Resenter: She hates Hikari for pushing her down the popularity scale, even though Hikari never intended this.
Kamijou family
As a whole
- Good Parents: Takeshi and Hitomi are loving parents to Hikari and her sister Miyako, the latter making a fuss over her daughter being a gymnast and encourages her to follow her dream.
Takeshi Kamijou
Takeshi Kamijou (上条 武)
Voiced by: Aruno Tahara (Japanese), Unknown (French), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (German)
Hikari's father.
Takeshi Kamijo
- Bumbling Dad: Hikari's dad always has his nose in a newspaper and it's actually hard to tell if he's invested in what's going on or not.
- Would Hurt a Child: Takeshi beats up Mao and the whole exchange is Played for Laughs.
Hitomi Kamijou
Hitomi Kamijou (上条 ひとみ)
Voiced by: Yoshiko Ohta (Japanese), Unknown (French), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (German)
Hikari's mother.
Hitomi Kamijo
- Big Fun: She's on the tubby side and some of her fat is visible on her face, but she's a kindly woman nonetheless.
Miyako Kamijou
Miyako Kamijou (上条 都)
Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese), Unknown (French), Daniela Fava (Italian), Unknown (German)
Hikari's big sister, who attends college.
Miyako Kamijo
- Cool Big Sis: Miyako to Hikari; it's mentioned that Hikari often goes to her about advice about school and boys.
- Meganekko: She has large, adorable puppy-dog eyes, and wears glasses. She is a timid but respectful young lady.
- Troll: She's not above giving her dad a heart attack by implying that Hikari's out kissing boys, though she means it in good fun.
Other
Diliana Georgeiva
Diliana Georgieva (Диляна Георгиева; ディアナ・グロイチェワ)
Voiced by: Mika Doi (Japanese), Unknown (French), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (German)
In Real Life, Diliana Georgeiva was a Bulgarian gymnast who won a gold medal and is hailed as one of Bulgaria's most skilled athletes. In the manga/anime, she's one of Hikari's inspirations.
Diliana Georgieva
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In Real Life, Diliana Georgieva has dark brown hair. The anime makes her a blonde.
- Bitch Slap: She slaps Maria for her disgraceful conduct, shocking Hikari. Though Diliana does reassure her little protege afterwards.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: She has blonde hair and has many fanboys and fangirls who are inspired by her to become athletes.
- Good Is Not Nice: She's often strict and blunt to Maria and Hikari, but that's because she wants the best for them and knows they have a lot of potential.
- Historical Domain Character: And Celebrity Cameo, as Diliana Georgieva is the famed Bulgarian gymnast who inspired Hikari to be a great athlete.
- Sensual Slavs: She is Bulgarian and very beautiful, with flowing, long blonde hair and thin, elegant blue eyes.
- True Blue Femininity: She wears a dark blue form-fitting dress and pearl earrings.
Maria Lenova
Maria Lenova (マリア・レノバ)
Voiced by: Unknown (Japanese), Unknown (French), Unknown (Italian), Unknown (German)
Diliana Georgieva's protege. She is to replace Georgieva once she retires and trains under her.
Maria Lenova
- Been There, Shaped History: She's a young girl trained by her idol Diliana Georgieva to succeed her as Bulgaria's representative. As adorable as that idea sounds, it's fictional.
- Kiddie Kid: When she's with Hikari & Co., she's not above throwing the sea water at them and eating ice cream.
- Passionate Sports Girl: So much that Diliana Georgieva herself took her under her wing and is training her to take her place once she retires.
- The Rival: As the protege of Diliana, she is this to Hikari who's Diliana's number one fangirl. They strive to give each other a memorable performance at the Olympics.
- Sensual Slavs: She's Bulgarian and has adorable, wide eyes and ginger reddish-blonde hair.
- Token White: Though she's Bulgarian, she comes back to Japan temporarily to hang out with Hikari and her friends, making her the Sixth Ranger and only non-Japanese of their group.
