Anne Boonchuy vs Hikaru Shidou (Amphibia vs Magic Knight Rayearth)

Anne Boonchuy vs Hikaru Shidou (Amphibia vs Magic Knight Rayearth)

“Home is not where you live, but who cares when you’re gone.” - Darren Korb




Anne Boonchuy, the World-Hopping girl of Calamity from Amphibia.


Hikaru Shidou, the Magic Knight from another world, and pilot of Rayearth.


New environments can be scary, especially for these two schoolgirls that were isekai’d into another world. And with deadly monsters and foes around each corner, they would have to fight for their right to survive. But with their friends by their side, they never gave up, pushing ahead of each obstacle in their way, and eventually becoming heroes of their new worlds.


But when these two girls from another world meet, who will be the one to come out on top? Will Anne bring calamity to the Magic Knight, or will Hikaru prove her will to be stronger? Read on to find out who would win a DEATH BATTLE!!!!


Before We Start…


The media I will be using for Anne is rather simple. I will be focusing on the Amphibia cartoon, plus Marcy’s Journal. 


For Hikaru, things are a bit more complex. The Magic Knight Rayearth manga and anime will be given the main focus. Though the anime does deviate quite a bit from the manga, a majority of it was written by CLAMP member Ohkawa, making it valid for use. However, I will not be using anything from the 1997 OVA, or the various video games, as CLAMP had no involvement in the making of those. I will also not be using anything from the 30th anniversary Magic Knight Rayearth adaptation. The reason for this is because, at the time of me starting this blog, it was just announced, with no release date. I figured it was better to do this blog now and not wait until the new anime was over, since I have no idea when it’s coming out, or even how long it could be.


I will also not be using any crossovers for either character (The Owl House, Gravity Falls, Disney All-Stars Racers, Super Robot Wars, and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles) in order to keep the focus on their own series.


Lastly, huge credit to G1’s Luz vs Anne blog for being a great reference for information and calcs on Anne’s side, and to RedHeadedElf for helping with calcs on Hikaru’s side.


Major spoilers for both series. You have been warned.

Background

Anne Boonchuy

(By Cabbage)

“Caught ya! Thought you got the best of ol' Anne, eh? Well, you didn't!”


“Who am I?” This is a question that has troubled the minds of youths all around the world. “What do I want to do with my life?” “What do I want to be when I grow up?” For middle school student Anne Boonchuy, she was about to find the answer to those questions in the strangest way possible.


Anne was a normal kid growing up in L.A. She went to school, hung out with her friends Sasha and Marcy, and helped out at her parents' restaurant. But everything changed when, on her birthday, she skipped class with her friends and was convinced by them to steal a weird music box from a thrift store. Upon opening the box, a bright light consumed them, and they were no longer on Earth. The music box had transported them to another world, called Amphibia.


Separated from her human friends and all alone with the music box, Anne began looking for a way back. She would spend some time in Amphibia’s wilderness on her own, and would then befriend a young frog boy named Sprig, a very enthusiastic and devoted kid. After convincing the nearby town of Wartwood that she wasn’t a monster, she was taken in by Sprig’s family, the Plantars. There was Hop Pop, the patriarch of the family, who was rather traditional and overprotective of his family. And also Polly, a young tadpole who was outgoing and fearless (almost a bit too much). With them, Anne found a place to stay while she and the Plantars searched for her friends and a way to get home.


Throughout her quest, Anne went through many misadventures, uncovered long lost secrets of both Amphibia and the Plantars, and helped anyone she met along the way. Anne made many mistakes along the way, but she always owned up to them, and grew from each one.


Eventually, she would find Sasha again, though it wouldn’t be the happy reunion they were hoping for. Sasha had been transported to toad tower, where the toads who enforce the law of Wartwood and the surrounding areas would be headquartered at. Sasha had become the lieutenant of Grime, the leader of toad tower, who saw frogs as beneath him. They rounded up all of the residents of Wartwood, intending to make them prisoners. Anne stood up to Sasha, rejecting her manipulations thanks to the help of her friends, and fought for their freedom. Anne won the fight, though at the cost of her friendship with Sasha. The fight had seemingly broken the bond between them, and they didn’t know if it would ever be renewed.


Soon after this, Anne and the Plantars began their travel to Newtopia, the capital of Amphibia, in hopes of finding Marcy, and uncovering the secrets behind the music box that transported them there. After several misadventures along the way, they finally made it to Newtopia, where Anne was reunited with Marcy. This reunion was a happy one, and Anne saw that Marcy had embraced her new life in Amphibia. They later met Andrias, King of Amphibia, who agreed to help them find a way home. They later learned that the gems in the box were drained of their power, and they needed to be recharged at various temples. Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars would journey to these temples, recharging the stones one by one. They would even reunite with Sasha, who seemed to want to try and make amends with Anne. It seemed like everything was going so well for them.


But then they returned to Newtopia, where everything changed. Sasha betrayed them again, leading a coup that managed to imprison King Andrias and take over Newtopia. Anne and everyone else fought hard to stop Sasha, and eventually succeeded, but this did not make everything better. Andrias revealed his true motives. He wanted to use the power of the music box to reignite Newtopia’s legacy of multiversal conquest. Anne and her friends fought against Andrias, and she unlocked her connections with one of the three stones. But their efforts were fruitless, and Anne and the Plantars were sent back to Earth by Marcy.


Back in L.A., Anne reunited with her parents, and introduced them to the Plantars. Here, she would search tirelessly for a way back to Amphibia. While searching for a way back, she dealt with killer assassins sent by Andrias, and FBI agents who wanted the Plantars. But Anne evaded them all, and with the help of her family and some friends, managed to create a portal back to Amphibia. Back in Amphibia however, things haven’t gone well at all. The land had been ruined, stripped of its resources to fuel Andrias’s robot army, and everyone was fighting for their lives.


Anne met up with the frog residents of Wartwood, and discovered that Sasha was there. The two would reconcile, and spearhead a rebellion against Andrias. It was a long and hard fought battle, but Anne and the others eventually defeated Andrias, saved Marcy from his clutches, and took back the music box. It wasn’t over though, as the Core, a mental collection of the greatest minds in Newtopia and Andrias’s ancestors, escaped. Taking to the moon, it planned to wipe out all life on Amphibia in order to start over. Anne, Sasha, and Marcy would then use the full combined power of the gems in order to combat the Core, but it wasn’t working. Anne had to use the secret spell, the power of the combined might of the three gems, in order to defeat the Core once and for all. It came with a great price though, the power of the three stones was too much for her to handle, and Anne Boonchuy died.


Or did she? Anne then woke up in what seemed to be another world, where she met the Guardian, the creator of the three gems, who watched over the multiverse. It was so impressed by Anne’s actions, it decided to offer Anne the opportunity to take over for them. Anne refused saying that she’d probably make a terrible Guardian due to her lack of experience. The Guardian was amazed by Anne’s choice, and decided to send her back to Amphibia. After reuniting with everyone, it was revealed that the Guardian had left her with three shards with power very similar to the gems, but it was only enough for a one way trip back home. After a heartfelt goodbye to everyone she met in Amphibia, she would leave through the portal back to Earth alongside Sasha and Marcy.


Anne had finally found the answer to the question she was asked so long ago. No longer was she the kid who took the easy way, letting others step on her. Now, she was a brave and empathetic person who would stand up for herself and others. If there’s anything Anne’s journey in Amphibia taught her, it was how to love herself.


Hikaru Shidou

(By Cabbage)

“We are the Magic Knights, chosen by fate to save this world.”


It happened on a normal day. A school was taking its students on a field trip to Tokyo Tower. While everyone bemoaned the decision to go there, one student was excited for it. That student's name is Hikaru Shidou. A pure and honest girl, Hikaru was more than happy to go on this trip, and enjoyed her time looking through a telescope. When she ran out of money to use it, she was gifted some by a student from another school, Fuu Hououji, a kind and calm girl, yet rather blunt. While trying to thank her for the money, she got lost in the crowd of yet another school and met a student from there named Umi Ryuuzaki, an outspoken and sassy girl. When they met up with Fuu, they heard a voice call out to them, calling for them to rescue something called Cephiro. Then, a bright light consumed them, and they were no longer in Tokyo.


They were transported high in the sky, falling to the ground. Hikaru looked out and saw a great sea, a flying temple, and a volcano, nothing she had seen in Tokyo. The three girls were then rescued by a giant flying fish, and safely brought to land. They then met up with Clef, a master mage, who then told them they were now in the land of Cephiro, and what the purpose of their summoning was. The Princess Emeraude, the Pillar of Cephiro, was captured by the High Priest Zagato. She could no longer pray for Cephiro’s safety, thus causing the land to break apart, and monsters to roam free. Emeraude had called out to the three girls, summoning them to Cephiro to become the legendary Magic Knights and save her from Zagato.


While Umi and Fuu were rather cautious and skeptical of the whole thing, Hikaru was anything but. She enthusiastically took on the mantle of being a Magic Knight, dedicating herself to the cause of saving Princess Emeraude. Umi and Fuu were eventually won over, and the three accepted Clef’s gifts of armor and magic, ready to go on their quest.


But time was of the essence, for the land was rapidly falling apart. Worse, Zagato knew of their coming, and sent his minions after them to kill the Magic Knights. They needed weapons to fight them off, and so they journeyed to meet Presea, a master smith who would make them powerful weapons to combat Zagato and his minions. However, Presea needed a special mineral to make these weapons, Escudo. It could only be found in the Spring of Eterna. Upon arriving, Hikaru was forced to undergo a trial to obtain the Escudo. She faced down an illusion of her pet dog from home, Hikari, defeating it and taking the Escudo back to Presea. Upon making the Escudo swords, they left on their journey, tasked with awakening the three Rune Gods in order to get the power needed to defeat Zagato. They also took a little fluff ball named Mokona with them, who proved to be a rather good support for them, magically making shelter and food for them.


Their journey to awaken the three Rune Gods took them throughout all of Cephiro, from the bottom of the sea, a palace in the sky, and the inside of a volcano. Trial after trial awaited the Magic Knights, their bond growing ever stronger with each one. They awakened each of the Rune Gods, proving their strength of will to each of them. Hikaru awakened the third one, Rayearth, who slept in a volcano. With all three Rune Gods awoken, the time to confront Zagato was at hand.


They journeyed to where Princess Emeraude was being held captive, and confronted Zagato in battle. It was a hard fight, but the Magic Knights pulled through in the end. Zagato was destroyed, but this did not mean that the battle was over.


Princess Emeraude herself appeared before the Magic Knights, enraged at Zagato’s death, and attacked them. It was then that the Magic Knights learned the truth of why they were summoned. They were to save Emeraude, not from Zagato, but from herself. The two had fallen in love, but being the Pillar meant that Emeraude could only pray for all of Cephiro, with no thought to just herself or Zagato. Saddened by her inability to perform her duty as the Pillar, Emeraude summoned Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu to Cephiro in order to end her grief by killing her. The Magic Knights were distraught by what they had learned, but they still held to their duty, and killed Emeraude. The girls were then transported back to Tokyo, saddened by how everything unfolded.


Time passed by, and all Hikaru could think about was what she had done to Emeraude, and the desire to go back to Cephiro. Upon taking a trip to Tokyo Tower and expressing this desire to Umi and Fuu, a bright light had consumed them, and they were transported back to Cephiro. While the trio were initially excited, they quickly learned that the situation for the land was dire. Without the Pillar supporting Cephiro, the land fell apart, leaving just a tiny sliver of land for the remaining people. Worse, other countries had begun to invade Cephiro, intent on taking the Power of the Pillar for themselves.


Despite having not being asked to help, and having no stake in the fight, the three girls decided to fight for Cephiro while searching for a new Pillar. This decision to fight led her to Eagle Vision, the commander of Autozam, one of the invading countries. Despite Hikaru’s wish to not fight, Eagle pushed through. But before the fight could escalate, they were interrupted by a newcomer, a knight in black armor. Hikaru eventually learned that he was Lantis, the brother of Zagato. Hikaru tried to apologize for killing his brother, but Lantis told her not to worry, for the Pillar system itself was to blame.


The fighting between Cephiro and the three countries grew worse, culminating in a clash between all three of them at the same time. It was here that Mokona decided to intervene, showing his true colors as the creator of the world and the Pillar system itself. The Candidate for the next Pillar would come down to two people, Hikaru and Eagle Vision. Mokona sent them to another dimension to battle each other and see whose will was stronger. Hikaru won the fight by showing her true strength of heart as she refused to fight Eagle. She attempted to bring him back to Cephiro with her, but was stopped by Mokona. Umi and Fuu came to her rescue, and together they managed to return with Eagle.


Hikaru, recognizing all of the sorrow that the Pillar system had brought to everyone, decided to abolish the system for good, giving up its power in return. The land and its people were allowed to live for themselves, with no one needing to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of everyone. It was a new beginning for this land, and all it needed was a new name. What name will you choose?


Experience & Skill

Anne Boonchuy

Throughout Anne’s multiversal journey, which lasted roughly a year according to this timeline, Anne has fought a wide variety of foes. From giant bugs, killer moths, huge crabs, large sea snakes, robot-frogs, and the US government. You name it, she’s probably fought it. Though most of her survival can be thanked by the Plantar family keeping an eye on her, she was able to survive for a week or two all on her own.


She was also taught swordsmanship as well, by a newt named Tritonio. It was under his tutelage that she became a more creative swordfighter, being able to use the sun’s reflection off of her sword to blind her opponents. It’s likely thanks to Tritonio that Anne was able to hold her own against Sasha’s sword fighting multiple times. Anne was even capable of taking down an entire hallway of FBI agents with nothing but a fake plastic lightsaber toy.


Anne wasn’t completely without combat experience going into Amphibia, having taken Muay Thai lessons. Muay Thai is a traditional Thai martial art known as the “Art of eight limbs” as it uses the full body for fighting (fists, elbows, knees, and legs) focusing on strikes, sweeps, and clinching techniques. While her exact mastery is unknown, Anne is knowledgeable enough to be capable of teaching Muay Thai to someone else.

Hikaru Shidou

Hikaru has fought many foes throughout her journey. From giant monsters, to warriors from other planets. She’s shown to be rather clever in a fight, figuring out a mud monster's weakness and tricking it into falling into a pond.


Hikaru is most well known for her skill with the blade. She was trained in her parents kendo dojo, even being skilled enough to defeat her father when she was only in kindergarten. Her swordplay was put to the test in Cephiro, where she dueled Lafarga, considered to be a master sword fighter, and managed to defeat him.


In a fight, Hikaru will push herself to her absolute limits to achieve victory. Even after running a large distance, getting cut up by thorns, falling into a ravine and climbing out, she won't back down.

Equipment

Anne Boonchuy

Tennis Racket

A pink tennis racket Anne used at school. Given her prior experience with tennis, even making it to varsity, she’s quite adept at using it as a weapon, and can even dual wield it along with her sword.

Tritonio’s Ancestral Sword

Anne has used many swords during her time in Amphibia, but her most notable one is the one she was gifted by Tritonio. This sword, which sometimes glows blue, has been passed down through his family for many generations (though he was likely lying about that), he eventually gave it to Anne when he began training her in swordsmanship.

Backpack

A backpack Anne brought with her to Amphibia. It holds pretty much everything she needs. Her clothes, a tennis racket, the music box, a journal, etc.

Phone

Anne’s cellphone. Though it doesn’t have much in the way of combat abilities, being able to play music and stream TV shows more than makes up for it. It can also somehow hold a 10,000% battery charge.

Chestplate

A chestplate Anne received before heading to the third temple. It was a little weird how she was just wearing the same outfit throughout all her time in Amphibia, so Marcy decided it was due for a makeover. After some trial and error, she ended up with this simple chestplate, which suited her perfectly.

Bath Bomb

A bath bomb Anne unknowingly brought from home. It creates a huge explosion capable of cleaning even the toughest of stains.

Mantis Scythe

The Plantar family scythe, made from a stick being tied to the scythe of a giant mantis. Though originally intended to cut crops, Anne has been shown to be capable of using it as a baseball bat.

Beetle Jerky

Anne’s favorite food in Amphibia. Eating it can even restore some of her health.

Hikaru Shidou

Escudo Sword

A sword made from the legendary ore, Escudo, which is said to be the strongest mineral in all of Cephiro. Weapons made from Escudo have the ability to evolve, growing stronger alongside whoever wields them, changing its shape as well. On the flipside, the weapons will remain unchanged if the person wielding them doesn’t change either. While not in use, it remains inside the glove jewel on Hikaru’s left hand, and can be summoned at will from it.


Escudo swords can kill monsters made of light. They can even permanently kill a monster that could revive upon death from normal weapons, and grow stronger from it.


Hikaru’s own Escudo Sword has some unique properties to it. It can fire off energy blasts, and if anyone besides Hikaru were to try and wield it for themselves, it would burst into flames and set the person on fire.

Evolving Armor

Special armor given to Hikaru by Clef. Like her Escudo sword, this armor is capable of evolving and growing stronger as well, though it is never explicitly stated to be made of the same material. The glove jewel on her left hand is capable of storing objects in it.


On her second journey to Cephiro, Hikaru was given a set of armor that will change its form depending on the task at hand, most notably changing when she summons Rayearth.

Abilities

Anne Boonchuy

Plantar Family Hunting Dance

A traditional, and ritualistic hunting dance created by Leif. It mesmerizes any animal that sees it, and puts them in a trance where they can be controlled by the dancer. It was even able to affect Barrel, implying that it can work on more intelligent creatures.

Hikaru Shidou

Willpower

Also known as belief, or the strength of heart. In Cephiro, everything is governed by will. It is used to control one’s magic, empowering or weakening it depending on the user's will. Even early on her journey, Hikaru was capable of strengthening her will to compete with experienced mages. She can use her will to summon flames and coat her sword in fire to increase the power of her strikes. By the end of her journey, Hikaru was considered to have the strongest willpower in all of Cephiro.

Flame Arrow

Also known as “Fire Arrow.” This is the first magic spell that Hikaru learned, showcasing her affinity for fire magic. Hikaru summons fire and sends it darting towards her enemy.

Ruby Lightning

Also known as “Crimson Lightning.” Hikaru’s second and most powerful spell. Hikaru gathers lighting-like energy between her hands before sending it at her opponent, resulting in a huge exlposion.

Animal Communication

Hikaru has the uncanny ability to understand what an animal is trying to communicate, saying that she understands them perfectly. Even from a young age, she was able to understand what her dog, Hikari, was saying.

Forcefield

Hikaru is capable of using her will to create a forcefield around her body that any attack will bounce off of.

Portal Creation

Hikaru can create a portal connecting Earth and Cephiro, though it is unknown if she can do this on her own, or if she can only do it with Umi and Fuu.

Fourth Wall Awareness

Hikaru has displayed some minor fourth wall awareness, where she directly asked the reader at the end of the manga to make a new name for “The World Formerly Known As Cephiro.”

Resistances

Poison: Hikaru was able to fight off Alcyone’s poison, and her armor evolving completely canceled it out

Heat: Hikaru was unaffected by the heat from the inside a volcano

Time Stop: When Hikaru was sent to an alternate dimension where time was stopped, she was still able to move around

Forms


Anne Boonchuy

Calamity Powers (Partial)

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy represent the three figures in the Olms prophecy. The prophecy speaks of three figures that would be summoned to save Amphibia in a time of crisis. Anne is connected to the blue gem, representing heart and responsibility, and can use this power to achieve amazing things. Even as early as the first episode, Anne could use her latent powers to enhance her strength and save Sprig from a giant mantis. Anne and the others would later unknowingly give their powers to recharge the stones, though Anne still kept a small portion of hers thanks to a faulty charge system.


What remained of Anne’s power would fully emerge later when, in a fit of rage and sadness at seeing her best friend be seemingly killed, Anne transformed, gaining a glowing blue aura and hair. This form grants Anne incredibly enhanced strength and speed, enough to easily handle any enemy she may have had trouble with before. She can fly, create shockwaves, and produce a lightning-like energy that can damage her surroundings. She can also use telekinesis with it and empower objects to enhance their strength. It even slows down her perception of time, making it easier for her to react to things and plan her next move.


This form does come at a cost, though. It places a massive strain on her body, and pushing herself hard enough in this form can even incapacitate her for a bit. While further use has given her more control and  even lessen the strain, extended use can still prove too much for her at times. Despite that, Anne can push herself beyond her normal limits thanks to the support of her loved ones (and K-Pop).

Hikaru Shidou

Rayearth, Lord of Fire

One of the three Rune Gods of Cephiro (also known as the Mashin), and the titular mech. Originally appearing as a wolf with a mane of fire, Rayearth was impressed by Hikaru’s willpower, and became a giant mech for her to “don” in battle. When not in use, Rayearth sleeps in another dimension outside of Cephiro. Hikaru can summon Rayearth by speaking his name. She controls Rayearth with her will, acting as an extension of herself, even copying her movements.


The power of the Rune Gods is immense, capable of one-shotting anything that gave Hikaru trouble before. They can fly large distances, even breaching into space. Rayearth can communicate telepathically with Hikaru, offering her advice and warning her of any incoming danger. If Hikaru is ever in danger outside of Rayearth, the Rune God can summon her back inside it to protect her. In battle, Rayearth can summon a manifestation of Hikaru’s Escudo sword at will, and can fire off energy blasts from it, and it carries a long shield with a claw at the end that can be used for attacking. Rayearth can even use her Flame Arrow and Ruby Lightning spells.


Donning Rayearth does have a couple of drawbacks, however. Any damage that Rayearth takes is directly transferred to Hikaru herself. And if Hikaru were to ever go unconscious, Rayearth will disappear back to its own dimension.

Feats

Anne Boonchuy

Overall

  • Defeated numerous beasts,robots, frogs, toads, and newts

  • Bested Sasha in combat twice

  • Defeated Andrias when he was in his Dyoplosaurus Mech

  • Resolved many conflicts in Amphibia

  • Was Elected Frog of the Year by Wartood citizens

  • Escaped from being held by the FBI

  • Stopped Newtopia’s invasion of Earth

  • Successfully destroyed the Core and saved Amphibia

  • Was the first person in 10,000 years to use the gems for good

  • Offered to take up the position of Guardian of the Multiverse

  • First Thai protagonist in a Disney show

Power

Speed

Durability

Hikaru Shidou

Overall

  • Saved many people from monsters

  • Was chosen by Princess Emeraude to be one of the Magic Knights

  • Fought off Zagato’s minions multiple times

  • Quickly learned how to use magic

  • Defeated Lafarga, and helped free him from mind control

  • Successfully revived the Rune God, Rayearth

  • Defeated Zagato

  • Defeated Princess Emeraude, freeing her from the burden of the Pillar system

  • Fought Eagle Vision in combat multiple times

  • Overcame her own self hatred and accepted Nova

  • Became the Pillar of Cephiro, and used its power to abolish the Pillar system for good

  • Starred in Super Robot Wars

Power

In base form:

With Rayearth:

Speed

In base form:

With Rayearth:

Durability

In base form:

With Rayearth:

Scaling

Anne Boonchuy

Sasha & Marcy

Anne’s two best friends. She has fought beside them, and even against them multiple times.

The Plantars

The frog family that took Anne in. They’ve been through thick and thin together, often fighting the same enemies and taking the same punishment together.

Frobo & Other Frobots

Andrias’s robot army, also called Frog Robots. And also Frobo, Polly’s best friend. Anne and others have fought Frobots many times over.

King Andrias

The King of Amphibia. As mentioned before, Anne has been able to fight against him and beat him multiple times.

Darcy and The Core

The Core, the collection of all of Amphibia’s greatest minds, and Andrias’s ancestors. When it took control of Marcy’s body, they became Darcy. Sasha and others have fought against Darcy.

Hikaru Shidou

Umi & Fuu

The other two students that were chosen to become Magic Knights alongside Hikaru. The three have been together through thick and thin, fighting alongside each other throughout their journey, so Hikaru would scale to any feats these two have

Zagato’s Minions

Zagato’s five minions: Alcyone, Ascot, Caldina, Lafarga, and Inouva. Hikaru has fought against, and even alongside them multiple times, meaning that she can scale to their feats.

Lantis

Zagato’s brother, and the captain of Princess Emeraude’s private guard. Hikaru has fought alongside him multiple times, and is considered stronger than him.

Eagle Vision

The commander of Autozam, pilot of the FTO, who seeks to become the next Pillar. Hikaru has fought him multiple times.

Princess Emeraude

The Pillar of Cephiro who prays for peace in the land. More about her feats and scaling later.

Nova

A monster born from Hikaru’s soul at her grief over being forced to kill Princess Emeraude. Appears only in the anime. They have fought multiple times, with Hikaru ultimately coming out on top.

Mokona

Seemingly a happy-go-lucky fluff ball without a care in the world, he is actually a powerful deity who created the Pillar system of Cephiro. More notes on scaling in Before the Verdict.

Weaknesses

Anne Boonchuy

Anne isn’t much of a strategist, often preferring to run in head first without much of a plan. This recklessness has gotten her into trouble more often than not, though she has gotten better about it as time went on. Her Calamity powers drain a lot of her energy, and can leave incapacitated if she pushes herself too much.

Hikaru Shidou

Hikaru can be rather naive at times, and this has put her and her friends in danger many times. She is also prone to letting her negative feelings consume her, namely guilt, which has nearly gotten her killed before. In battle, if Hikaru were to ever lose the will to fight, her sword will disappear back into her glove jewel. With Rayearth, any damage it takes will appear on her as well, and the Rune God will disappear back to its own dimension if Hikaru were to ever go unconscious.

Before the Verdict

Anne’s higher forms, and the Pillar of Cephiro

You might be wondering why Anne isn’t being given her higher forms here, or why Hikaru isn’t being given the Pillar of Cephiro. To put it simply, they’re non-standard. 


For Anne, her full powered calamity form required Sasha and Marcy being present to help, and they also had to willingly give up their gems for Anne to use her white form. These forms aren’t something Anne can transform into on her own.


For Hikaru, things are a little different. In both the manga and the anime, Hikaru did fully become the Pillar, but only for a very brief period of time, not even a minute, and used it to abolish the Pillar system for good.


All in all, these higher forms and powers have too many caveats for them to be considered standard for either character.

Are the lasers legit?

There are many feats from both series with characters dodging supposed lasers. So why aren’t they being used here? Wouldn’t both be at lightspeed? To put it simply, there are way too many inconsistencies for the lasers of both series for them to be legitimately light speed. 


Let’s start with Amphibia. To give an example of the level of inconsistency we’re dealing with here, this Frobot laser in particular shows both properties of force and burning all at once. Yeah, off to a great start. And the rest of the lasers are very similar to this one, where they are shown destroying objects with force or causing explosions. With that in mind, it’s pretty clear that these lasers aren’t legitimately light speed.


But what about any statements? Are there any statements, from characters or anyone that worked on the show, that could support these lasers being light speed? Well, Matt Braly has said that the lasers are meant to be very fast, but it’d be very generous to assume that this means the Frobot lasers are light speed. It just isn’t an explicit statement, and it could mean anything in regards to how fast they are.


There’s also Marcy calling the lasers from the first temple “real lasers”, but this also has problems. While Marcy is not dumb at all, she’s actually one of the smartest characters around, she’s also very easily excitable and prone to exaggeration. There’s little reason to assume she isn’t doing the same here. Furthermore, the temple lasers themselves have contradictions, not being in a straight line and having properties of electricity.


What about Magic Knight Rayearth? Well, the lasers there aren’t much better. First, there’s the one monster that appears to be made of light. This one is just blatantly not light speed. It isn’t a beam moving in a straight line, it shows force, it doesn’t burn, it doesn’t bounce off of reflective surfaces, and no statements to back up it being light speed exist.


Then there are the lasers from Lantis and Eagle Vision. For Lantis, his is referred to as a laser beam by Umi, but this doesn’t mean that it’s legitimately light speed. The statement isn’t explicit, for one, and it doesn’t show any properties of how lasers work. And the fact that Umi here is drawn in a chibi style makes it likely that she’s just exaggerating. For Eagle Vision, the only explicit laser statements are from the FTO, nothing Eagle actually has on his person. And anything he does have on him that could resemble a laser doesn’t follow how they actually work, such as how this one bends.


All in all, the lasers in both series have too many contradictions to be counted as light speed, and what statements exist that could support it have many problems.

Nova’s Dimension

In the Magic Knight Rayearth anime, a character named Nova creates an alternate dimension. The creation of this dimension is fully attributed to her by the Rune Gods, and it’s even backed up by Clef. Both the Run Gods and Clef are known for giving reliable advice to the Magic Knights, and have no reason to lie here. The creation of this dimension is also never refuted by anyone, which helps make it a valid feat for Nova.


That all said, is there any way to actually quantify this feat? How big is this dimension? Some have said that it’s as big as a universe, but I disagree with that. It’s never stated to be as big as a universe, and the fact that there are clouds in the sky prevents us from seeing beyond where Nova and the Magic Knights are at. There’s no reason to believe that it’s the size of a universe.


Is that it? Is this feat really unquantifiable? Well, maybe not. One of the Rune Gods says that it is “Cephiro, and yet not Cephiro”. Basically saying that it’s similar to Cephiro, but not exactly the same. We know that Cephiro is a whole planet, so this would imply that the dimension Nova created is of a similar size, which would make this a planet level feat, which I think is the highest this feat can be reasonably argued at.


Is it legit? I’d say no. The Rune God's statement is far too vague for it to be proven that the dimension is the size of a planet, and the “yet not Cephiro” part could be used to argue against that as well. The best way to judge this feat is to go with what we actually see, which isn’t much more than the immediate location where the characters are at.

Planet Level Pillar?

The whole plot of Magic Knight Rayearth is about stopping the end of the world, and to use the Pillar of Cephiro to do that. The Pillar of Cephiro has the power to keep the whole world together, preventing it from breaking apart. Many have said that this means that the Pillar would have planet level power. It seems pretty simple, but it becomes more complicated when you look further into it.


For starters, we never actually see an active Pillar in action, supporting Cephiro. The only time an active Pillar exists is when Hikaru becomes the Pillar at the end of the story, but the only thing she does with it is immediately get rid of its power, so we can’t draw any conclusions from there. For most of the series, the Pillar is either unable to support Cephiro, or doesn’t exist yet to support it.


While we never see a Pillar in action, we do have statements about its power that we can look at. It’s stated multiple times that the Pillar has the power to keep the world whole, and that the world will fall apart without the Pillar there to support it. These statements may seem like they would support the planet level placement, there’s a few big problems that would prevent that from being fully legitimate.


The first problem, how Cephiro is actually destroyed. The world doesn’t fall apart immediately. Rather, a series of natural disasters (earthquakes, storms, etc.) slowly tear the planet apart piece by piece. While the power of these disasters could be calculated, the energy that would be needed to stop these and keep the planet “whole” wouldn’t be anywhere close to planet level.


The second issue is the timeframe, or lack thereof. We simply don’t know how long it has taken for the planet to actually fall apart. We don’t know how long Emeraude wasn’t supporting Cephiro before the Magic Knights were summoned, we don’t know exactly how much time the Magic Knights spent in Cephiro (on both trips), and we don’t know how long Cephiro has gone on without a Pillar between the first and second parts of the series. We don’t even know if a new Pillar could be capable of instantly restoring the entire planet all at once, only that it would stop the destruction.


But what about the barrier? Emeraude managed to create a barrier that surrounded all of Cephiro. Wouldn’t that be planet level? I think the main problem with that is the fact that we don’t have any context for how the barrier was formed. We don’t see its creation, nor its disappearance either. Given the timeframe issues listed out before, it is likely that this barrier took time for the Pillar to create.


Even if the Pillar being Planet level was legit, you could poke holes in Hikaru being able to scale to it. In her fight with Emeraude, Hikaru and the other Magic Knights were completely bodied by her, and they needed to use the combined mech in order to defeat her. Throughout the series, the power of the Pillar is considered to be a level of power that is completely above everyone, which would further go against the idea of anyone scaling to its power.


In conclusion, while it is debatable, I think there’s too many holes in the idea of the Pillar being solidly planet level, and arguments against character’s scaling doesn’t help it either.

The Road to the Pillar

Near the end of the Magic Knight Rayearth manga, Hikaru and Eagle Vision travel down the Road to the Pillar to have a duel in order to see who’s will is stronger in order for one of them to become the new Pillar of Cephiro. Hikaru proves her will to be stronger, and has to journey back through the Road to the Pillar back to Cephiro to become the Pillar. However, in doing so, Eagle will die. Hikaru, refusing to let him die, drags him back through the Road with her. This causes the Road to begin killing the both of them, though Hikaru persists through it with all her will. Eventually, Umi and Fuu come to her rescue from the other side, and with the combined mech, manage to make it all the way through the Road.


Seeing as how the Road was created by Mokona, the creator of the universe, some people argue this as a feat of downscaling for Hikaru. It makes sense, as she did survive on her own for a time, and the combined mech fully surviving it would give the idea that the normal Rayearth can downscale to a third of Mokona’s power. However, I disagree with this for one big reason.


Hikaru would have been killed by this. Yes, she did manage to survive being inside the Road for a time, it still would’ve ultimately killed her if Umi and Fuu were even a second too late in saving her. The time Hikaru was actually taking the full force of the Road was also very brief, likely not even lasting a minute. Just because a character isn’t instantly atomized by an attack, doesn’t mean that they actually scale to it. While the combined mech does fully survive it, the idea that the normal Rune Gods can downscale to a third of its power has little merit. The mechanics of how the combined mech are never fully explained, the Rune Gods by themselves don’t have any feats even near this level of power, and the idea of downscaling would go against the fact that Hikaru would’ve been killed by the Road.


This may seem like a rather simple feat on the surface. But once you take a deeper look into it, you’ll see that there are some rather big holes in it. With all of this in mind, it’s obvious that this cannot let Hikaru scale to Mokona, at least not yet.

Bonus Fanart

(By u/StQuentinScar)


(By u/ForsakenBeef69)


(By u/202naFrevilS)


(By u/202naFrevilS)



Verdict

Stats

When it comes to strength, things are pretty simple for both. On the low end side, she has many direct feats and scaling in the city block to multi-city block range. In her Calamity form, she was even capable of casually enlarging a portal to Amphibia, which is insanely impressive when you take into account the fact that 2 megatons worth of energy could just barely create a tiny one.


At her best though, would be scaling to the Frobots. Anne has proven capable of casually slicing them apart multiple times, and would scale to whatever feats they have. Which would include the giant flames produced by their full throttle when a group of them helped push the moon. Now the actual moon push itself is a pretty obvious outlier, since the scaling would imply that Anne in her base form is comparable to the full powered Calamity form. However, the fire the Frobots made is a feat all of their own, which doesn’t imply any weird scaling chains, making it perfectly fine to use. Dividing the fire’s energy by the amount of Frobots present, including Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, would cap this feat at 112.8 gigatons of TNT, or large island level. Very impressive, especially when you take into account the fact that the Frobots were damaged from a battle beforehand, meaning that the full power of them would be higher, though likely only by a slight amount. And let’s not forget Anne’s partial Calamity form, which would let her upscale from this feat massively.


For Hikaru, most direct feats she and others have end up being in the building to multi-city block range. However, scaling her to Inouva’s cloud splitting death explosion, which she directly caused, would get 5.5 gigatons of TNT at its highest, or island level. Pretty good, but it’s not much compared to the Frobot’s full throttle feat, which is 20.5 times higher than it. Hikaru could use her willpower to make herself stronger, but the gap is just too big for that to be reliable. And while Rayearth is much stronger than Hikaru is on her own, the gap is a bit too big to assume that it can match Anne. It wouldn’t mean much anyways, given how much upscaling Anne’s partial Calamity form gives her.


Speed is a little complicated for Anne. She can keep up with Frobots, which could fly to the moon in a short period of time. This would get as high as Mach 193.6, which is massively hypersonic. Like I said before, the Frobots were damaged before doing this feat, meaning that their full speed, and Anne’s would upscale a bit. However, Anne’s partial Calamity form can get much higher. The Core’s helmet was capable of flying to the moon in only a few seconds, which gets 21% the speed of light. Scaling Anne’s Calamity form to this would make sense, as any amount of its power and speed should be above that of a simple helmet. She can even keep up with Andrias’s Dyoplosaurus mech, which should very easily be technologically superior to the helmet in terms of speed. For Hikaru, she was capable of dodging Inouva’s lightning attack, which gets Mach 943. The lightning came directly from a cloud to the ground, so it should be comparable to natural lightning. Rayearth itself would also be much faster than Hikaru is on her own.


The only way to get base Anne faster would be to scale her to Hop Pop’s sub-relativistic feat, but there’s a lot of problems with that. First off, it’s a gag feat. It happens in the middle of a montage of the Plantars trying to escape the library, where we’re meant to laugh at their failures. It’s also just an animation quirk, where Hop Pop isn’t meant to actually be moving in tandem with light here. All in all, it’s a very clear outlier for the series.


Hikaru may be a bit faster than base Anne (about 4.8 times faster specifically), but that’s all she has going for her here. Anne’s Calamity form would be very easily blitzing Hikaru, even taking into account upscaling from Rayearth, and is much stronger as well. With all that said, Anne’s Calamity form would take the stat trinity.

Arsenal & Abilities

When it comes to their arsenals, it’s very much a case of quantity vs quality. Between Anne’s sword, tennis racket, scythe, bath bomb, etc., it’s clear that she’s carrying the larger arsenal here. However, they all pale in comparison to Hikaru’s Escudo sword. Made from the strongest ore in all of Cephiro, with the ability to grow stronger with Hikaru, and being able to fire off energy blasts from a range, it’s got everything Anne has beat. And if Anne were to ever try and somehow take Hikaru’s sword for herself, it will light her on fire. Even comparing their armors is a similar story, with Anne’s being a simple chestpiece, and Hikaru’s being very similar to her Escudo sword.


Things are a bit different when it comes to their abilities, though. Hikaru’s more esoteric abilities, like animal communication and fourth wall awareness, aren’t gonna have any impact here. The portal isn’t gonna work either. Although Anne has no counter to BFR, it’s highly questionable if Hikaru would ever try to use it in a fight, or even if she can use it on her own. The forcefield is pretty unreliable, given the strength difference between them. Hikaru’s best abilities here would be her Flame Arrow and Crimson Lightning spells, but they’re no game changer here. Both are rather simple ranged attacks, with the only difference being that Crimson Lightning is stronger.


Rayearth does have some unique abilities, but not much. It allows Hikaru to fly, being able to match Anne’s Calamity form with that. Rayearth can also communicate telepathically with Hikaru, offering her advice. Essentially, Hikaru has two minds to fight against Anne’s one. Rayearth is also much larger, though Anne does have experience against larger foes.


On the other hand, Anne has quite the bag of tricks she can work with. With her Calamity powers, Anne can fly, use telekinesis, empower objects to make them stronger, has AoE moves in the form of shockwaves and lightning, and her time dilation lets her easily react to everything going on around her.


When comparing the two of them, it’s clear that Anne has the edge in abilities. While Hikaru does have more ranged attacks, and can match in flight with Rayearth, Anne’s calamity powers are simply far more versatile. Her telekinesis can let her overwhelm Hikaru, and her AoE moves mean that Hikaru’s movement is gonna be rather limited. Time dilation is also a huge edge, as it gives Anne more time to react to and avoid Hikaru’s attacks, and more time to plan out her own attacks as well. And thanks to her speed advantage, it’s also gonna make Hikaru look like a statue in Anne’s eyes.


However, Anne’s Calamity form does have one big drawback. She’s on a time limit in this form, and can very easily incapacitate herself when it’s meant. While Anne can push herself beyond her normal limits if she’s properly motivated, which she likely would be in a life or death battle, If she pushes herself too hard in this form, it may very well be the end for her. Rayearth, on the other hand, doesn’t have such restrictions. It can stay out as long as Hikaru wants, and will only disappear when Hikaru herself is knocked unconscious. However, outlasting Anne isn’t gonna be a reliable option for Hikaru. Anne’s Calamity form can last for multiple minutes, more than enough time for her to get the win with her advantages in stats and abilities.


To summarize, while Hikaru may have the better arsenal here, Anne’s abilities are simply far more versatile, enough to let her completely overwhelm the Magic Knight.

Tertiary Factors

As far as direct combat experience is concerned, Anne should take the edge here. Her multiversal journey lasted roughly one year, give or take. Hikaru’s time spent in Cephiro is relatively unknown, likely just a few weeks, maybe a month at most. Anne also has fought a wider variety of foes. Wild monsters, killer robots, the US government, she’s fought a lot of different things. Hikaru has fought a lot of foes, but there’s not nearly as much variety with them. Most monsters are just big strong things, and most of her human foe’s remain pretty similar as well.


For skill, it’s double sided, with both excelling in different areas.


Hikaru would take the edge in swordplay. While Anne is certainly no slouch when it comes to the blade, and has proven to be creative with it in the right situation, her training and experience with it simply do not hold a candle to Hikaru. Hikaru has fought way more with the sword, pretty much every fight. Hikaru also had a lot of training in her family's kendo dojo, and was even capable of beating her father in a match when she was in kindergarten. And it’s not like he let her win either, considering that he went on a years-long journey afterward to train more because of how thoroughly he was beaten by her. While in Cephiro, she was even capable of fighting on par with Lafarga, who is considered a master swordsman.


In regards to hand-to-hand skill, however, Anne holds a very clear edge here. She has fought with martial arts multiple times, and has had formal training in the form of Muay Thai. While her exact master with it is unknown, she has been shown to be capable of being able to teach Muay Thai to someone else. While Anne may only have a decent skill level in regards to martial arts, it’s still leagues above Hikaru. The Magic Knight has no showings of fighting hand-to-hand, so it is very easy to say that Anne would win very cleanly if the fight came down to it.


Hikaru may have the edge in swordsmanship, but Anne overall takes this category with her greater experience and martial skill.

Conclusion

Anne Boonchuy

“I think the reason I don't want a new look is because I'm finally happy with who I see in the mirror right now. So whatever I put on, I just want to be able to see the same me looking back.”


Advantages:

  • Stronger and more durable

  • Faster in Calamity form…

  • Strength advantage can let her break past Hikaru’s forcefield

  • More direct combat experience

  • Better hand-to-hand skill

  • Larger arsenal of weapons…

  • Calamity powers are more versatile

  • Time dilation lets her easily avoid all of Hikaru’s attacks

  • Has fought foe’s the size of Rayearth before

  • The power of K-Pop

  • Amphibia is the best Disney cartoon don’t @ me

Disadvantages:

  • …but slower in base form

  • Less skilled with the blade

  • …but none of them are as good as Hikaru’s Escudo sword

  • Inferior armor

  • Could incapacitate herself if pushed too hard in her Calamity form

  • Can’t handle spice

  • Was not a good person at the beginning of the series ngl

Hikaru Shidou

"I promised to Umi and Fuu that I'd remain by their side. And I refuse... to break that promise!"


Advantages:

  • Faster than base Anne…

  • Escudo sword is a better weapon than anything Anne has

  • Superior Armor

  • Better ranged attacks

  • More skilled with the blade

  • Rayearth can communicate with Hikaru and assist her mid battle

  • Size advantage with Rayearth

  • Rayearth doesn’t drain her energy like Anne’s Calamity form does

  • Drip


Disadvantages:

  • Weaker and less durable

  • …but slower than Anne’s Calamity form

  • Forcefield is unreliable with the strength gap

  • Smaller arsenal of weapons

  • Magic attacks are less versatile

  • More esoteric abilities are useless

  • Less direct combat experience

  • Far less skilled in hand-to-hand

  • Shorty

  • Reused animation

When it’s all said and done, both are very capable fighters, but the result is very clear cut. Hikaru’s not one to go out without a fight, and could hold her own with her better weaponry and swordsmanship. But against Anne’s greater strength, versatile abilities, and experience, Hikaru is gonna crumble. In the end, Hikaru croaked, while Anne hopped to victory.


The winner is Anne Boonchuy.




Next Time…

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