Hikari Horaki

Hikari Horaki
洞木 ヒカリ
National Heritage	Japanese
Relations	Kodama (older sister); Nozomi (younger sister)
Age	13
Birthday	2/18/2002
Height	153cm
Seiyū	Junko Iwao
Voice Actor	(English): Carol Amerson (TV and films), Leah Clark (Rebuild), Abby Trott (Netflix) (Italian): Federica De Bortoli (Brazilian): Tatiane Keplermaier, Márcia Regina (French): Brigitte Aubry (German): Ilona Otto , Anni C. Salander (Netflix)

Hikari Horaki is the class representative of Class 2-A, the 8th grade class that all Eva pilots (and potential pilots) attend in the series. She has two sisters: her older sister, Kodama, and her younger sister, Nozomi, both unseen characters. She says that she is the only one that cooks for her entire family, heavily implying that her mother is dead. Her place as a potential Children would bear this out.

Profile

Hikari is the "class representative" (often shortened to "class rep"): in Japan this is a student leader elected by the class, whose duties include making sure that assigned daily routines (watering the plants/flowers, feeding the goldfish, etc.) are carried out, and generally seeing that good order and decorum are observed in class. Class reps also lead the class in the "Rise! Bow!" ceremonial greeting when the teacher enters the room (which Hikari is seen doing several times during the series). Essentially, "class representative" is more or less equivalent to "class president" in North American schools.

Because a major part of her job is to make sure the class follows proper protocol, Hikari first appears to be slightly aggressive and rigid. She might believe that herself, as she apparently thinks that her skill in cooking might be unexpected when she tells Toji about it (presuming that something so feminine would be at odds with her strong promotion of the rules).

Hikari is friends with Asuka Langley Soryu. In Episode 15 Hikari set Asuka up on a date with a friend of her older sister's, and in Episode 23 Hikari let Asuka stay at her house during a point in her nervous breakdown. Hikari told Asuka, "I think it's okay for you to do whatever you want and I won't say anything, because I think you did your best, Asuka", further suggesting that Hikari is somewhat less assertive outside of her classroom duties.

In Rebuild of Evangelion

Hikari is somewhat less prominent in Rebuild of Evangelion, appearing in a few scenes in Evangelion 1.0. Her relationship with Asuka Shikinami Langley in Evangelion 2.0 is not one of friendship, unlike in the case of the old Asuka: when Hikari asks Asuka Shikinami if she can share her lunch, the latter rudely refuses. She is last seen being shielded by Toji from missile explosions during Zeruel's attack on Tokyo-3. She is not even mentioned in Evangelion 3.0.

Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (SPOILERS)

SPOILER WARNING! This article or section contains spoiler information from Evangelion media that has been recently released and/or is of limited distribution. Do not read any further if you do not want to spoil your experience of said media.

In Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Hikari is an adult and lives in the survivor's village, with her husband Toji and her father Bunzaemon Horaki. Hikari and Toji have a baby daughter, called Tsubame Suzuhara. Like Kensuke and her husband, she is friendly to Shinji and Rei, but realizes that Rei Q is not the same Rei they used to know, and gives her the name "lookalike". Rei Q is very curious about her child and the act of nursing, and Hikari explains that the child needs her milk to grow. Hikari takes an active part in helping Rei Q understand village life and find a place in the community.

• Tsubame is (unconfirmed, but extremely likely) named for a train service of the newer Kyushu Shinkansen, retaining the train reference in Hikari's name.

In Other Media

In the Manga

In the manga, Hikari is depicted with a slightly different shade of hair. She is still friends with Asuka but the two are not shown together as much, and her feelings for Toji are even stronger than in the show, providing grounds for a major tragedy when Toji is killed by Eva-01 during the manga version of the Bardiel incident.

Notes

• Hikari (Light), Nozomi (Wish), and Kodama (Echo) are the names of the three train services of the Tokaido Shinkansen, the first Bullet Train line in Japan. The original trains were the Hikari service, the slower Kodama trains were introduced next, followed by the much faster Nozomi trains, the three Horaki sisters being named in the order of increasing speeds.
  • With the 500 series Eva promotion, the Evangelion store finally released merchandise showing images of Kodama and Nozomi[1]. Artwork of all three sisters was featured on the Evangelion Shinkansen during the period that the train operated, and the three sisters(all voiced by Junko Iwao) made a prominent appearance in the Evangelion crossover episode of the "Henkei Robo Shinkalion" anime.
• The family surname is taken from the novel Ai to Gensou no Fascism (The Fascism of Love and Fantasy) by Ryu Murakami, from which the full names of Toji and Kensuke are also derived.

Characters

Main characters: Shinji Ikari | Rei Ayanami | Asuka Langley Soryu

Nerv staff: Misato Katsuragi | Gendo Ikari | Ritsuko Akagi | Kozo Fuyutsuki | Ryoji Kaji | Maya Ibuki | Makoto Hyuga | Shigeru Aoba

Classmates: Toji Suzuhara | Kensuke Aida | Hikari Horaki

Other characters: Kaworu Nagisa | Yui Ikari | Naoko Akagi | Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu | Dr. Katsuragi | Keel Lorenz | Pen Pen

Rebuild of Evangelion: Asuka Shikinami Langley | Mari Makinami Illustrious | Sakura Suzuhara | Ryoji Kaji (Jr)

Miscellaneous: Minor Characters | Minor Characters (Rebuild) | Extracanonical Characters

Theory and Analysis: Name Origins (Warships) | Designs | Relationships | Profiles

Resources: 2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji