Magic Knight Rayearth was one of the first manga series I ever read, and helped in forever sealing my interest in the magical girl genre. I loved the Magic Knight trio and the friendship the girls shared, but Hikaru's drive to help and protect others as well as her compassionate, optimistic personality really stood out for me. The ending to Part 1 DESTROYED 10-year-old me and I remember reading that ending while on the way to a funeral and my aunt was convinced that I was crying over the deceased relative I barely knew, when in reality I was crying over a fictional character. Magic Knight Rayearth was also one of the first anime I ever bought, and the first opening theme, "The Unyielding Wish" by Naomi Tamura, is my favorite anime opening of all-time. (Also, I love the English version of "Still Embracing Light and Darkness" by Sandy Fox!) While cosplaying from this series has been a dream of mine for years, I would always put it off because this series means so much to me, hence I would want everything to be perfect. (also, Hikaru's sword was intimidating.) In the end, I'm glad I put this on the back-burner for a year and a half and I'm so happy with how everything came out nearly 80 hours later!