Shugo Chara

47 episodes later and I am just not get around to writing about this show. Better late than never!

Cool and spicy!

This show starts off with showing us the everyday life of 5th grader Amu. Her classmates have decided that her personality is “cool and spicy” and treat her as such, making her feel a little left out and unapproachable. Inside, Amu feels nothing like the cool and spicy persona she seems stuck with at school. She is a shy and really confused, as most girls her age are. She wants to be someone else, yet still herself, aka her would be self. She makes a wish one night that somehow she can become the person she is meant to be. She wakes up the next morning…and there are three brightly colored eggs in her bed. Soon these eggs hatch into Guardian Characters. They are small, fairy like creatures and they each embody something she wants to strive to become as her would be self. If that wasn’t crazy enough, there is an organization called EASTER that is running around stealing these would be self eggs to try to find a special egg, the Embryo. Amu just HAPPENS to go to the school where the student council (named the Guardians) is an organization that protects everyone’s would be self eggs. Amu finds herself trapped in a love triangle with the leader of the Guardians, Tadase, and the bad boy who is WORKING for EASTER, Ikuto.


More about Shugo Chara...

Amu's reaction to the eggs is crack filled.

So let’s start off with the Guardian Characters shall we? Guardian Characters are small fairy like creatures that resemble what the owner desires for themselves. Guardian Charas can do a character change and give that person those abilities that they desire for themselves. Amu's main Chara's are Ran, Miki, and Suu. Ran, who is dressed like a mini cheerleader, changes Amu to be more athletic and confident. Miki is dressed like a little artist and changes Amu to be artistic and calm. Suu is a mini chef and changes Amu to be compassionate and better at domestic skills, such as sewing and cooking. Not all the character changes are good or positive. Tadase’s would be self is Kiseki, a prince set on world domination and when Tadase hears the word Prince, he goes insane and cackles on about how he is the best. Nadeshiko (as this character is first introduced) would be self is Temari, a girl dressed in a traditional kimono representing Nadeshiko’s desire to be a dancer. However, Nadeshiko’s character change is that of a psychopathic fighter who breaks everything in sight. Yaya’s Chara is a baby looking character named Pepe and I will give you one guess what she turns into. :P Also, when you do a character change, you get a little hair clip in your hair to represent your CHANGE. Cheesy, but very cute.

The Guardians and their magical capes!

Amulet Heart!

However, that is not all Charas can do. This anime takes a magical girl turn when Amu is given the Humpty Lock. It is a lock that allows her to do Character Changes with her Charas. What that basically means is…she gets to wear their outfit and can do one or two magical girl moves to stop the bad Charas. Oh, and you also get that nifty magical girl transformation sequences. The only other person who can do a transformation for most of the series is the “enemy” Utau, a singer also working for EASTER. Later on, Amu is able to use her Humpty Lock to “unlock” other charas from other characters and transform herself and the original owner. Another Guardian, Rima is able to transform on her own without the aid of the Humpy lock.

The magical Humpty Lock!!!

On the first episode, Amu discovers three eggs in her bed and magically the next day, Ran character changes her to confess her love to Tadase (did I mention they were in 5th grade). He rejects her cause he is mean like that and she runs out cry. She runs into Ikuto and his cat like chara Yoru. Her first egg hatches and she transforms into Ran before she is splatted on the ground after falling. The next day she is asked to join the student council, the Guardians (yes, they could have done a much better job selecting different names). The Guardians are the school council members that are supposed to do the paper work and planning of different events at the school. In reality, these four members have Charas too and work together to protect the future dreams/eggs of other children. Tadase is the head of the council and is in the King’s position (everything in this show has to do with eggs or cards). Amu has a crush on him, but Tadase has crush on Amulet Heart, Amu’s character transformation with Ran. Nadeshiko takes the Queen’s chair, but leaves for a semester to study abroad. She is supposed to return and take over the Jack’s chair. Nadeshiko and Amu were best friends when she (he) left to study overseas, so I wonder how this relationship will change when Amu finds out Nadeshiko is really Nagihiko. Kukai is the first person in the Jack’s chair and he is the older kid out of the bunch. He graduates and leaves to go to junior high, but has made a few appearances since. Amu has been shown crushing on him a few times. Kukai’s would be self is a soccer player. Kairi, a 4th grader, takes over the Jack's chair, but it turns out he is working for EASTER. He has a change of heart and ends up helping the Guardians before he leaves. He also falls in love with Amu. Kairi‘s would be self is a samurai. Rima takes over the Queen’s chair. She comes off pretty rude and cold at first, but it is later revealed she has had crappy parents. Amu and Rima become closer throughout the series. Rima’s would be self is a comedian. Yaya occupies the Ace’s chair and is basically the most annoying person out the bunch. Her would be self is that of a baby, since she is so jealous of her baby brother. She really cannot fight or help anyone out…so she pisses me off. After Amu is convinced she should join the Guardians, she becomes the Joker, but refuses to wear the cape (the cape is pretty special).

See how calm he is...

And she is fine too..nothing to see here. :O

The Guardians work to protect the other would be Chara’s of other children. The series really focuses are issues of self esteem and working to make your dreams come true. EASTER sent out several people to put doubt into children’s hearts. Children then start to question if they are good enough to make their dreams come true and their would be self eggs turn dark with an X on them. EASTER usually takes off after that and the egg turns into X Characters. These X Eggs and Characters can be destroyed, but Amu rather takes the time to remind the kids and the charas that they should never give up on their dreams and you should never stop believing. Several times in the series it is an adult who loses their dream and Amu helps them out. The idea of having an egg inside me waiting to morph into a fairy is a little creepy. However, the overall theme of striving to be yourself and that everyone suffers with self doubt at times is a really nice theme for younger viewers would will probably overlook a plot hole or two.

Super X Character!

Now, I realize that this is an anime aimed at younger viewers. They might not pick up on issues that older viewers would. With that said, I have a problem with Ikuto. He is the “bad boy” working for EASTER just so he can find the embryo. It is said that the embryo can grant a wish, although no one has found one yet. Now Amu is in 5th grade when this story starts. 5th grade is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too young to be having romantic thoughts and dates. Ikuto is the “older boy” and I realize that makes him cool. However, he is WAAAAAAAAAAAY too old for an 11 year old. I was pretending that he was junior high so it did not seem SO bad, but according to sources, he might be 17. That is a little too much of an ick factor for me. He is a good source of eye candy and I see why fans like him so much. I just wish his age was closer to Amu’s so it would not make her jail bait. Oh, and he is a MUCH better choice than Tadase in my eyes. :P

I get it, he is eye candy!

He is a little bad...

A character I do enjoy a lot is Utau. She is the younger sister of Ikuto (although that does not stop her from trying to make out with at times). She is also working for EASTER so she can help Ikuto obtain the Embryo. She works as a singer and draws people’s would be eggs out through songs (under the premise I GUESS that people are sad they will never be a singer like her?) She does this through live audiences and later, through a C.D. Had Ikuto not been so caught up on Amu, Utau might not have been so ticked off at the Guardians and be a pain in their butts. Utau is also special because she has two charas when most people have one (of course Amu is trying to set a Chara record or something). II is the “demon” like Chara while El is the angel side. Utau can also transform with Chara’s other than her own, when she sorta steals Amu’s later in the show. But, being as this show is more a happy magical girl show, no bad guys really DIE and they all see the error of their ways later. Amu helps Utau find her true self and Utau leaves EASTER to become a star on her own.

Utau is cute when she is not being a pain in the butt!

I think this is her cutest transformation.

The Chara that Utau STEALS from Amu is Dia. Dia is Amu’s fourth egg that is born probably out of Amu’s desire to be a great singer like Utau. However, Amu has a moment of self doubt and Dia leaves her to be with Utau. Amu spends a great deal of time trying to get her back, but Utau becomes more powerful with Dia, leaving her other Chara’s in the dust. Amu finally proves her worth to Dia and she does come back to Amu. :( But they only do one character transformation before she goes back into her egg. Of course, I have only seen through episode 47, so maybe Dia will be born in the near future. Dia is my favorite Chara out of the whole show.

DIA IS THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD!!

I hope people cosplay her in the future :)

This show is rather simple in its basic concept, but has a lot of information. While there are moments that the fillers bore me to tears and several left out details have me rolling my eyes, I find this show enjoyable. The art is cute, the characters are cute, and it is a nice change of pace from other animes that have characters dying every other episode. It has been so popular, it has been picked up for another year. :) I just hope they have enough material to produce a great second year and not kill it with fillers like some shows tend to do. I have enjoyed the 47 episodes I have watched and look forward to more episodes in the future. It is a great anime that you can just watch and not worry about your favorite character dying.