Hikaru Koragi

Gender: Female

Birthday: July 18

Age: 20 at the time of chapter 52, during Akane Ousaki's first year as an apprentice in June

Education: Junior college graduate

Place of origin: Fukuoka Prefecture

Occupation: Voice actress, actress, rakugo performer

Voice actor: Rie Takahashi

Hikaru Koragi is one of the most prominent female voice actresses to appear in the Karaku Cup, standing out for both her popularity and her ability.

She is described as so beautiful that people turn around to look at her, and Arakawa Issei also praises her for having star presence.

She became widely known for playing Saruel in Eden's Nova.

Even so, she believes that the praise she received was for the work itself rather than for her own talent.

She also dislikes being valued mainly for her looks.

Because of that, she enters the Karaku Cup to build and prove her skill as a performer.

At first glance, she gives off the impression of being calm and refined.

In reality, she is intensely competitive and hates to lose.

She usually presents herself as a gentle, polished city woman.

However, she is originally from Fukuoka, and her regional accent becomes much stronger when she talks with her family or gets emotionally worked up.

Hikaru is friendly, polite, and very good with fans.

Her public image is soft and graceful, but underneath that is a fierce fighting spirit.

Her competitiveness shows up in blunt and memorable ways.

When she later realizes that someone she had politely nodded to at the Karaku Cup was Karashi Nerimaya, the previous champion, she jokes that she should have glared at him instead.

She is also extremely ambitious and hardworking.

Her dedication eventually wins over her manager, who initially opposed her attempt to take on rakugo but later becomes one of her biggest supporters.

Her strong will may have roots in her upbringing.

She has an older brother who is two years ahead of her, and she often played with his male friends, which likely helped shape her bold and defiant personality.

Reason for entering

Hikaru enters the Karaku Cup to test her own worth as a performer.

That year, the contestant pool had been greatly expanded, and Arakawa Issei, famous as the leading rakugo master of his era, served as a judge.

Many actors and voice actors participated.

Among all the entertainment professionals who entered, Hikaru is the only one to make it through the preliminaries.

Rivalry with Akane Ousaki

When she learns that the little-known and younger Akane Ousaki is being presented by the event host, the rising rakugo performer Arakawa, as a favorite to win, Hikaru immediately identifies her as a rival.

Akane's growing buzz and unusual background make her someone Hikaru believes she must surpass if she wants to become the star of the event.

On the surface, Hikaru treats Akane kindly.

Inside, however, she burns with a powerful sense of competition.

Performance and defeat

In the main event, Hikaru performs Shibahama using a highly theatrical approach.

She draws in an audience that had come with all kinds of preconceived labels, such as "beautiful woman," "Saruel," "popular voice actress," and "amateur at rakugo."

Her performance leaves a strong impression, and Arakawa Issei praises the sheer level of her expressive ability as a performer.

She demonstrates remarkable acting skill sharpened through her voice acting career.

Even so, she is defeated by Akane Ousaki, whose overwhelming mastery as a rakugo artist surpasses her.

Afterward, Hikaru is shaken by Akane's extremely high-level performance of Jugemu.

She also notices that even after such an extraordinary showing, Arakawa Issei remains unexpectedly cold toward Akane.

From this, Hikaru realizes both that Akane is already operating in the realm of professionals and that Hikaru herself was only being praised as an amateur with unusual talent.

Scouted by Arakawa Ikken

After the Karaku Cup, Hikaru cannot let go of her desire for a rematch with Akane.

At that point, she is approached and scouted by Arakawa Ikken.

She becomes his apprentice and begins performing rakugo while continuing her voice acting career.

As a rakugo performer, she takes the name Arakawa Hikaru.

Growth in the craft

When she reunites with Akane at the apprentice training gathering, Hikaru openly declares that she became a rakugo performer in order to defeat Akane.

Her fixation on Akane is intense, and she clearly sees her as the person who pulled her into the world of rakugo.

She is especially suited to the style of performance associated with the period when rakugo was mainly heard over radio.

Her background as a voice actress gives her a natural strength in vocal expression.

Arakawa Ikken's teaching style appears to suit her perfectly.

Her growth is described as explosive, and she quickly rises while managing the demanding life of both a professional voice actress and a member of the Arakawa school.

In the preliminary round of the apprentice training event, Hikaru performs Tsukiya Mugen, a story she learned from Urara.

In the following selection round, she performs Hanami no Adauchi.

There, she earns praise for her "eight-blind-masseur" technique, a performance feat in which she switches voice and characterization instantly from role to role.

This display allows her to finally achieve revenge against Akane.

While Akane is away in France, Hikaru is promoted to the rank of second-level performer.

Three years later, she is described as even more popular, balancing her status as a successful voice actress with her growing fame as a rakugo artist.

Her rivalry with Akane only seems to intensify after they go some time without seeing one another.

That renewed competitive fire pushes her to even greater momentum.

Appearance and presence

Hikaru is famous for her beauty and natural glamour.

Her appearance attracts immediate attention, but she refuses to rely on that alone.

Performance style

Her biggest strength is her expressive versatility.

She can captivate an audience through acting, vocal control, and rapid shifts between characters.

Dialect

Although she usually speaks in a polished and controlled manner, her Fukuoka accent comes out clearly in private or when she gets heated.

This gap between her composed image and her emotional core is one of her most charming traits.

Eden's Nova — Saruel

Shibahama — performed at the Karaku Cup

Jugemu — Akane Ousaki's standout performance that overwhelms her

Tsukiya Mugen — performed in the preliminary round of the apprentice training event

Hanami no Adauchi — performed in the following selection round