Hikaru Makiba (牧葉 ひかる, Makiba Hikaru) is the daughter of ranch owner Danbei Makiba and the older sister of Goro Makiba. She shares a close friendship with Duke Fleed, and upon discovering the truth about his role in protecting Earth from the Vegan Empire, she decides to joins him, becoming the pilot of the Marine Spazer.
Background[]
Hikaru first met Duke when Dr. Umon visited the Makiba Ranch. Duke introduced himself as Daisuke Umon, Dr. Umon's son, and was offered a chance to work with the Makibas. Hikaru went on to developed a crush on Daisuke. However, his secrecy about his double life as the pilot of Grandizer created tensions between the two, as Duke refused to disclosure the reason behind his sudden absences.
Appearance[]
Hikaru has short finely kept brown hair that she brushes every morning, brown eyes with an average height and build for a girl in her late teens. Her clothing during the first half of the series was a light yellow shirt with a sun hat and pink skirt. Starting in episode 38 she started wearing a yellow sweater with a sleeveless blue shirt that had a red accessory at the opening of the chest area and a skirt held up by a belt with pants worn under it, she also started having a slightly different hairstyle.
As a pilot, Hikaru wears a sleek, form-fitting suit that combines white and red, adorned with yellow dots on the chest. Her helmet matches the design of her suit, completing her striking pilot look.
Personality[]
While Hikaru is usually friendly and mild mannered, she can also be bossy, often calling out her father, Goro and Duke on their misbehavior.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Hikaru acts as the head honcho of her family whenever her father, Danbei is fooling around. She loves her brother Goro Makiba very much. While Hikaru loves her father, she not afraid to get in his face whenever he is slacking off or doing something she doesn't like.
Duke Fleed[]
First meeting Duke as Daisuke, she becomes one of his closest friends. Hikaru also started growing romantic feelings for him even mentioning Daisuke in her sleep. She also seeks ways to be alone with Duke as shown in episode 14 and she sings about her and Daisuke while she brushes her hair. When she found Duke's true identity, Hikaru decides to assist him in any way she can before eventually joining him in battle.
Koji Kabuto[]
Hikaru met Koji Kabuto when he arrived at her family's ranch with the TFO and was impressed with what he could do. However, she gets annoyed when Koji starts to flirt with her as she loves Duke and prefers to be friends with Koji.
Maria Fleed[]
When Duke's sister Maria Fleed joined their team, Hikaru got along with Maria sharing time with her and bringing Maria to her family ranch at times.
Abilities[]
Hikaru has rode horses for a very long time in her life, and to great lengths as well. She is also a highly accomplished gymnast, winning a competition in high school. Hikaru also has very impressive piloting skills, mastering the Marine Spazer in a short time.
History[]
Hikaru was present when the Vegan Empire UFOs started to invade. When Daisuke was missing work and making excuses to leave with Koji, she immediately became suspicious. Eventually, Daisuke revealed himself as Duke Fleed, prince of the now ruined Planet Fleed in episode 23, Hikaru was shocked by this but wanted to help Duke. At the start of the series, Hikaru usually ended up being the damsel-in distress until she became fed up with it and when Koji was bedridden, Hikaru used the Double Spazer to help Duke in episode 36. She impressed Duke and Koji with her skills in piloting the Marine Spazer afterwards. Joining Duke and Koji in their adventures, they eventually meet Maria, Duke's long-lost sister who joins them. After the final battle with the Vegan Empire, Hikaru and Koji bid their good-byes to Duke and Maria.
Etymology[]
- The name Hikaru is written in hiragana (ひかる), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (光 or 輝), it could possibly mean:
- 光 - "light".
- 輝 - "brightness, radiance, shine, sparkle, gleam, twinkle".
- Hikaru's surname Makiba means "shepherd, tend cattle" (牧) (maki) and "leaf, plane, lobe, needle, blade, spear, counter for flat things, fragment, piece" (葉) (ha/ba).
- 'Maki' in Makiba means "Shepard", alluding to the fact that Hikaru's family owns a ranch.
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