As of late, I've been watching MKR again, this time all of it in the dubbed version. The voice actress that they cast for Hikaru (Julie Maddelina) always seemed so wrong for Hikaru compared to the original Japanese version. In the Manga Hikaru is often picked on by her classmates and also Umi for being "boyish" or that she "talks like a boy". The second statement could mean two things - either her voice sounds like a boy's or that she uses the speech of a boy. In Japanese there are differences between the words used by male and female speakers. The reason for this little note is that Julie's cute little girl voice in the English version somehow seems more natural for a person of Hikaru's stature, she really is a little girl. So was it possible that those who produced the original version made the casting mistake? Most likely we'll never know, unless I'm able to meet with one of the Clamp team someday.



*gets starry eyed*

I don't remember exactly where that scene with Umi was, I'll have to go through the manga more closely to find it. But I think you're right about Hikaru being influenced by her brothers. Being the youngest and the only girl, she would have a tough time making her own place in her family. Being around boys all of the time, naturally she would learn their behaviors and even their speech as well. So sending her to an all girls school is a somewhat .. erm .. I dunno .. inappropriate(?) thing to do since Hikaru socializes with boys all of the rest of the time.



Hikaru also keeps her hair braided all the time, which makes it appear short like a boy's. If you remember the bath scene from episode 31, we get to see her in the bath with her hair unbraided, and she looks much more feminine than she normally does. The comments of the others to that extent cause her to blush, showing that she is quite unaccustomed to that kind of attention.