Hikari no Densetsu

Hikari no Densetsu (光の伝説, lit. Legend of Light or Hikari's Legend) is a manga by Izumi Asou that ran in Shueisha's Margaret magazine from 1985 to 1988 and was recopilated in 16 volumes (first edition) and later in 8 (2008 edition). The anime adaptation, made by Tatsunoko Production, lasted only 19 episodes on TV Asahi in 1986, but would become quite popular in Europe despite poor ratings in Japan.

The protagonist is Hikari Kamijou (also known as Hilary or Cynthia in European dubs), a middle schooler who idolizes the Bulgarian gymnastics champion Diliana Georgieva and aspires to be a a great gym practicioner. Initially she's a bit clumsy when practising her routines, but she shows flashes of raw talent and decides to persevere anyway no matter what.

Hikari also has the encouragement of two of her seniors from the gym club, Hazuki Shiina and Takaaki Ooishi, who realize Hikari's potential and want her to develop it. Hikari's other big support is the leader of a local band, her childhood friend Mao Natsukawa. Soon, a Love Dodecahedron starts blooming... but at the same time the four youngsters work hard to go forward and reach their dreams...

Tropes used in Hikari no Densetsu include:

• Alpha Bitch: Megumi Mita, a redheaded girl who's also in the gym club and is quite stuck-up to Hikari.
• Ascended Extra: Hikari's family and Mao's manager got spotlight once in a while in the anime.
• Big Friendly Dog: Hikari's dog, Chachamaru.
• Canon Immigrant: Mao Natsukawa was actually an anime-only character for a while, only appearing in the manga from the fourth volume onwards.
• Childhood Friends: Mao and Hikari, who can potentially go into Childhood Friend Romance. It happens in the manga.
• Cool Big Sis: Hikari's older sister, Miyako
• Covered Up: The opening theme song, "Seasons of the Heart," is a rewrite of "Letters in May," a song first recorded in 1983 (in Japanese) by French-Canadian singer/TV presenter Nathalie Simard.
• Cut Short: The anime - one of Tatsunoko's rare attempts at the shoujo genre - flopped badly in Japan, and outta its planned 26 episodes only 19 were made. Ironically, it was a HUGE hit in Europe when it was aired in 1988 thanks to the Seoul Summer Olympics.
• Elevator School: Aikoh is said to have junior high, high school and college courses.
• Friendly Rival: Hazuki Shiina and Maria Lenova.
• Ill Girl: Hazuki, in the manga.
• Insufferable Genius: Megumi may be a bitch, but she's genuinely talented.
• Japanese School Club: Hikari, Hazuki and Ooishi's gymnastic clubs, and arguably Mao's band since they rehearse at school.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mao is prickly, prone to fighting and snarking, but a good person all around.
• Lovable Jock: Ooishi
• Love Dodecahedron: Mao is in love with Hikari, she's in love with Ooishi and so is Hazuki, and it's not clear which girl is the one Ooishi favors since he cares for both of them. Not helped by Hazuki and Hikari's close Friendly Rivalry that at times feels a bit like Romantic Two-Girl Friendship, or by Mao sometimes teasing Ooishi. The anime and the manga resolve this differently: in the first Hikari and Ooishi get together while Mao goes to England to keep with his promising career and Hazuki retires to become a Cool Teacher for future gym kiddos, whereas in the second [[Names to Know in Anime|Hazuki and Ooishi hook up and intend to get married while Hikari and Mao get together in the Olympics.]]hook up and intend to get married while Hikari and Mao get together in the Olympics.
• Names to Know in Anime: Interestingly many of the anime staff would go on to work on Ranma 1/2, including director Tomomi Mochizuki and animator Asami Endo.
• New Transfer Student: Hikari, but only in the manga.
• Passionate Sports Girl: Hikari is the biggest example, but Hazuki and Diliana count as well too.
• Sailor Fuku: Aikoh Junior High has these for the girls.
• Sempai Kouhai: Hikari is a second-year student while Hazuki and Ooishi are third-years.
• Tall, Dark and Handsome: Ooishi
• Tall, Dark and Snarky: Mao
• Those Two Girls: Yuuko Doi and Satomi Yamazaki
• Tsundere: Hikari, to Mao
• Took a Level In Badass: Hikari does improve a LOT in her gymnastics as the series progresses.