Hikari No Densetsu

Hikari No Densetsu (光の伝説) is a Manga of Izumi Asô and a Anime Tatsunoko Production whose topic is the Eurhythmics and sporting. In France, animates it is known under the title Cynthia or the rate/rhythm of the life .

Animates (produced in 1986) counts only 19 episodes (instead of 26 as envisaged) because of an insufficient rate of audience in Japan, in spite of its success in Europe (especially in France, Italy, Germany and Spain).

History

The heroin of the history, Hikari Uenaga, is a fifteen year old schoolgirl who is discovered a passion for the Eurhythmics and sporting by seeing her idol, Diliana Gueorguiva, to gain a competition in spite of its young age. When it meets its god, this one proposes to him to involve it in Bulgaria where it practices the GRS professionally. Hikari accepts and begins quickly its drive. Several years later, Hikari is involved hard to become best the gymnaste of its school, and becomes member of the team of GRS.

At the beginning, Hikari does not seem very gifted, but that changes when it meets Takaaki Ooishi, a comrade who the assistance to improve his performances in GRS. Ooishi is the most popular boy and best the gymnaste of all the school. With its assistance and its support, Hikari reveals its true talents in a competition inter-colleges. This revelation quickly brings it to the same level of popularity as best the gymnaste of its college, Hazuki Shiina, in national competitions. Both quickly start to be involved for the world tournament.

Hikari starts to admire and respect Ooishi for its assistance, and is discovered soon feelings for him. During this time, it becomes also friendly with Hazuki. A healthy competition develops between them, and they admire each one the assets of the other. Whereas Hazuki represents the quiet aspect, elegant, gracious and sober of the GRS, Hikari makes burst the coloured, fresh and energetic aspect of this sport. Whereas Hikari binds friendship to Hazuki, she would like to have her flexibility, her esthetic direction and her grace, while Hazuki admires the potential, the power and the pétillance of Hikari.

Even if Hikari does not show its force in its spectacles, it has a natural direction of the observation which enables him to learn the techniques better than Hazuki, and with time, it becomes able to exceed it. However, there is an aspect on which Hikari must work: it needs to put more grace and of elegance in its choreographies. She reaches that point with the assistance of Mao Natsukawa.

Mao Natsukawa is a friend of childhood of Hikari, he is the singer of a group of Rock called Mr. D. Mao, like Hikari, has great dreams: he dreams to become a star world of the rock'n'roll. While working to carry out its dream, it helps Hikari to carry out to it his by creating the music on which it makes its choreographies. Together, they form an impressive duet which imposes the respect of the judges and the admiration of the spectators. Although he teases Hikari unceasingly, Mao is always there when it needs him.

During years, Mao starts to like Hikari deeply, but it has evil to express its feelings for it. When there are tensions between them, that feels in the performances of Hikari, but when they are plain they become invincible. Even if they are very dependant, Hikari is in love with Ooishi, which sometimes puts at evil its friendship with Mao. This one knows the feelings of Hikari, but remains at its sides no matter what it arrives.

This “triangle in love” becomes a “square in love” when Hikari discovers that Hazuki is also in love with Takaaki Ooishi. From now on, though friends, they are rival in sport as in love. Hikari does not know what Ooishi feels for it, and it is always nervous when it is in trimmings. She thinks that, now that she must become best the gymnaste, Ooishi could be in love with Shiina because she has more talent. Hikari recovers to improve in GRS, and takes part in national competitions and international where it meets new rivals. It is at this stage that the history of the manga and the animated series separate.

The outcome

In animates

In the animated series, Hikari conquers the heart of Ooishi and the history finishes a few years later: Hikari is Olympic champion, Ooishi recovers from a lesion but prepares to return in the Olympic Games, Mao works on his career of musician and Hazuki was withdrawn from the competitions and works like entraîneuse for young people gymnastes out of grass.

In the manga

The end of the manga is very different. The competition between Hikari and Hazuki finishes when Hikari gains a national tournament which gives him opportunity of taking part in the Olympic Games of Seoul of 1988. That means that Hikari finally became true a gymnaste, better than Hazuki. But if it exceeded Hazuki in GRS, they are always rival for the love of Ooishi, especially which it appears that Ooishi had of the feelings for the two young girls. It is there that the history of Hikari No Densetsu - Seoul starts. Hikari, Mao, Hazuki, Ooishi and other athletes come to take part in the Olymiques Plays of Seoul. There, Hikari discovers that Ooishi and Hazuki are in love, and that they will marry.

By learning that, Hikari is deeply disturbed, and when she seeks support at Mao, he turns the back, tired to him to always hear it of Ooishi. He is frustrated because Hikari thinks only of Ooishi whereas at the bottom of itself, it always knew (even if at the beginning he had feelings for it) that Ooishi rather regards it as his/her friend or her little sister.

When Mao leaves Hikari, it realizes at which point it for her and at which point it is important misses it. She includes/understands whereas she has also feelings for him. Even if it is not there to look at it, Hikari is given to prove in Natsukawa which it represents a big part of its life and its success and which it is more important than a competition of gymnastics. Finally, Hikari and Mao will prove in the world that their love made of them of true champions.

At the end of the manga, Hikari takes part the GRS proof of the Olympic Games. During his choreography, Mao sings an Italian love song for it, even if it is contrary with the payment to use a vocal music during the competitions. The judges risk to disqualify it, but Hikari and Mao are applauded by the public and their friends Ooishi and Shiina, which came to see them. Before one intends the judges to return their verdict, Hikari and Mao leave the place of the test and move quickly towards the exit. Ooishi and Shiina follow them and call them while smiling. Whereas they move towards the exit, Mao and Hikari look behind them. The manga finishes on an image of Hikari which smiles, suggesting perhaps that it did not gain a medal, but which it will have a bright future with Mao.

Characters

The history of the manga as of the animated series turns mainly around Hikari and of its dream to become one of best the gymnastes in the world. Whereas the history of the manga as animates develops, it turns around Hikari, Ooishi and Shiina, as well as the incidents, the misunderstandings and their training of the life whereas they work hard to carry out their dreams of Olympic glory. Into the animated series, Mao is introduced quickly into the history, and passes from the statute of supporting character to that of main character in some episodes; in the manga, it appears only starting from volume 4. The animated series insists also sometimes more on supporting characters like the manager of Mao or the family of Hikari or on “observers”, either to plant the decoration of a scene or to clarify certain points, a current method in animates years 1980 with today. It uses also some flashbacks for the same reasons. Certain minor characters miss relief and of character, because they were often used to reinforce the visual quality of the history, or because the animated series was to be concluded at the end of 19 episodes, and consequently, the producers were to limit the supporting characters to concentrate on the main characters, in order to give to the srie a correct end in spite of the small number of episodes.

The manga

The manga was initially published in the Japan in the weekly magazine Margaret Magazine by Shueisha, with a first publication in February 1986. The series finished in 1988 and was published in 16 small volumes. Recently, in 2000, the manga was republished in Japan in 8 volumes in version connected Tankobon : less volumes, but containing more episodes in larger pages. This new version also has covers different from those of the original, mixing photographs of gymnastes in black and white and drawings of Hikari in black and white. The series manga was also published in Italy by Star Comics in the Starlight publication, under the name of the leggenda di Hikari , and was published in 16 volumes from which the covers differ little from the original. The editions Star Comics republished the manga recently, with the first volume in May 2003 and the last in August 2004. The manga was not published in Germany, France or Spain, where the animated series however met a big hit. Considering the current popularity of the mangas in these countries, it is possible that it is published in the near future.

The animated series

Japanese production

The animated series, produced by Tatsunoko Production and carried out by Tomomi Mochizuki, was initially diffused in Japan from May 3rd, 1986 to September 20th, 1986, Saturday evening of 19:00 to 19:30.

Scenario of Hideki Sonoda, Mami Watanabe and Yasushi Hirano according to the original history of Izumi Aso
Music of Eiji Kawamura, words of Goro Matsui (credits of beginning and end)
Character design : Michitaka Kikuchi and Toyoko Hashimoto
Artistic director: Hisato Otaki
Direction of animation: Chuuichi Iguchi, Matsuri Okuda, Naoyuki Onda, Takayuki Goto, Yumiko Suda
Director of the photography: Kazunori Hashimoto
Backgrounds: Kumiko Tada

Izumi Aso played the part of consulting to keep the coherent scenario and characters.

Episodes

List of episodes Hikari No Densetsu

At the time of the animated series production, the manga was not finished, so that the producers were not sure exact duration of the series. They were based finally on 26 episodes (the median number for this kind of animates, at the time the record was of 52 episodes). But considering its low level of audience in Japan, the series remained unfinished at the end of 19 episodes, the last episodes telling the end of the history to haste and conclusive by an open end. The series was diffused abroad during the Olympic Games of Seoul in 1988, hoping that would improve the audiences. Later in 1988, the series was diffused in Europe where it met much success, in particular in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In each country, the titles of the episodes changed; those of the english language version were simple translations of the original Japanese titles.

Recent news affirms that chains of Télévision as Telecinco projects to remake to double the series and to repeat it in Spain then in other European countries. These rumors are confirmed by the Spanish magazine Minami , and it would seem that Telecinco is in full negotiation for the repeat broadcast of the series. It would also seem that the series is in the course of Re-doubling in Musigrama Studios in Spain, but that was not confirmed by Telecinco.

An urban legend a long time ran on the existence of one twentieth episode of Hikari No Densetsu , which would have been produced but ever diffused. This rumor seems false because it there forever have any information on such an episode, and the recent exits in VHS and DVD of the series do not contain a twentieth episode.

Doubling

Japanese voices

Hikari - Tsukasa Itou
Ooishi - Nobuo Tobita
Shiina - Michie Tomizawa
Miyako Kamijou - Hiromi Tsuru
Mao Natsukawa - Yoshimasa Inoue

The actors lending their voices to the characters were for certain veterans on the matter, like Nobuo Tobita, Michie Tomizawa or Hiromi Tsuru, accompanied by several new and little experienced actors, like Tsukasa Itou, actress who doubled Hikari and sang the credits of beginning and end. Another remarkable member of the team was Inoue Yoshimasa, the voice of Mao in the series. Yoshimasa made a special appearance there, because he is mainly lyric writer for series such as Nadia and the secrecy of blue water or Peter Pan . Yoshimasa wrote all the songs which Natsukawa in the series sings, while it makes its only appearance like Seiyuu .

French voices

Cynthia Duval (Hikari Uenaga) - Laurence Crouzet
Rita Mézière (Mizuki Amamiya) - Fatiha Chriette
Frederic (Mao Natsukawa) - Gilles Laurent
Deborah Steller (Hazuki Shiina) - Maïté Heap
Willy Corbier (Yoshiaki Ooishi) - Mark To injure
Frederic (Mao Natsukawa, song) - Jean-Claude Corbel
Catherine and Dora (Satomi and Yukko) - (Gilded) Annabelle Roux
Mère of Cynthia (n/a) - Colette Venhard
Père of Cynthia (n/a) - Jean-Pierre Denys
Christine, Michele (n/a) - Marie-Christine Robert
Commentateur - Serge Blumenthal

When the series was doubled in French in 1988, the casting of the voices was similar to that of Japan because it included/understood at the same time experienced actors as Mark To injure (which started very early by doubling cartoons of Walt Disney like Pinocchio or Aristochats ), and of the new voices as Fatiha Chriette which made there its only appearance as actress of doubling. There were also people who were rather singers or lyric writers, as Jean-Claude Corbel who doubled the songs of Frederic, while its spoken voice was doubled by Gilles Laurent.

Spanish voices

Valentina (Hikari Uenaga) - Pilar Aguado González.
Mario (Takaaki Oiishi) - Cholo Moratalla
Lilliana (Hazuki Shiina) - Carmen Cervantes
Hull (Mao Natsukawa) - Iván Jara
Commentator - Jesús Rodrlguez
Mother of Mario - María Julia Díaz
Gilded (n/a) - Marta Sáinz
Silvia (n/a) - Sara Vivas
additional Voix - Jose Carabias

Italian voices

Hilary Kamiji (Hikari Uenaga) - Paola Maralli
Willy Corbier (Takaaki Oiishi) - Gabriele Calindri
Debbie Shina (Hazuki Shiina) - Patrizia Salmoiraghi
Federico (Mao Natsukawa) - Luigi Rosa
Sister of Hilary (n/a) - Daniela Fava
Gilded and Maria (n/a) - Marcella Silvestri
Mère of Hilary (n/a) - Rossana Bassani

German voices

Hikari Kamiyo (Hikari Uenaga) - Stefanie Kindermann
Ohishi (Takaaki Oiishi) - Till Demtröder
Hatsuki (Hazuki Shiina) - Ulrike Ritscher
Natsukawa (Mao Natsukawa) - Konstantin Graudus
Jimmy (n/a) - Marek Erhardt
Isabella Grothe (n/a) - Frau Kamiu
DOI (n/a) - Simone Seidenberg
Keesu (n/a) - Uwe Job
Eva Michaelis (n/a) - Satomi Yamazaki
Mita (n/a) - Daniela Reidies
Chaari (n/a) - Alexander Draeger

Original and alternate titles

Credits

Exits in VHS and DVD

Reception

In Japan, the manga of Izumi Aso became popular at the beginning of its publication by Shueisha and Margaret Magazine with the end of the year 1985. That made it possible the author to continue the history to make it longer. In the middle of the year 1986, Tatsunoko Productions adapted the manga in animated series, hoping to benefit from the popularity of the kind Shojo in the years 1980. It was one of the rare attempts at Tatsunoko Productions in the kind shojo . Animates was not a great success in Japan, and its diffusion stopped earlier than envisaged because of the low levels of audience: it stopped at the end of 19 episodes whereas the producers had envisaged 26 of them. The manga, on the other hand, remained popular and continued to be published by Margaret Magazine until Aso finishes the series at the end of 16 volumes.

The animated series would perhaps never have been diffused in-outside of Japan without the Olympic Games of Seoul in 1988, which included tests of eurhythmics and sporting, which gave the idea to repeat the series in 1988. Tatsunoko Productions decided to export it in Europe where eurhythmics and sporting was popular. Very quickly, the series gained a great success in all the European countries where it was diffused, in particular in France, Italy, Germany and Spain. It was initially diffused in Italy on Italia Uno in 1988, under the name of Hilary , and during the same year in France on the Five, under the name of Cynthia or the rate/rhythm of the life . In 1991, it was diffused in Spain on Telecinco under the name of Piruetas , heroin being renamed Valentina. Lastly, the diffusion in Germany took place in 1994 on Tele Fünf under the name of Die Kleinen Superstars . The series was criticized in Europe, one reproached him for not reproducing the movements correctly, and for showing choreographies of too short gymnastics compared to the true tests which can last up to two minutes thirty. In spite of that, the series is always popular in Europe.

Animates forever diffused with the the United States. The manga, on its side, is for the moment published only in Japan and in Italy. Even in Japan, the series Hikari No Densetsu is one of rare animate and mangas sport whose subject is eurhythmics and sporting.

Version Hentai and parodies

For a long time in the years 1980 and 1990, of the rumors ran on the existence of a version hentai of Hikari No Densetsu . There is no proof that a version hentai existed; however, there exists a series which parodied Hikari No Densetsu , and which could be at the origin of this rumor. Hikari No Densetsu was parodied by Cream Lemon , a series hentai of the years 1980. In the second season of the series ( New Cream Lemon ), the second episode, heading White Shadow , tell the history of a young person gymnaste who resembles Hikari. The episode includes also two male characters pointing out Mao and Ooishi. The fans of the manga and the animated series do not regard this episode as a true parody, because it contains few references to the series and its quality is bad. The episode was published in the United States by Excalibur Films in VHS and DVD, under the name of Black Widow (the black Widow) with other episodes of Cream Lemon , in a trilogy entitled Pandora An Erotic Trilogy - Brothers Grime Adult Cartoon Volume 3 ; the episode is in English, not censured.

Anecdotes

Mao Natsukawa appraît in the series animated before appearing in the manga; that explains the physical differences between the Mao of the manga and the Mao of animates.
the name and the age of Hikari change in the various versions of the series: in Italy it is fourteen years old and is called Hilary, in Germany it is thirteen years old and is called Hikari, in France it is fifteen years old and is called Cynthia, in Spain it is twelve years old and is called Valentina.
In Italy, a filmed version based on the animated series was created in the years 1980, but the images and the dialogs were of bad quality.
In the 8th volume of the manga, the author parodies Cyndi Lauper, by representing Hikari with the hairstyle, the skirt and the posture of the singer on the small pocket of her album She' S So Unusual .

References

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