Ranked #672

Shugo Chara!

The Mahou Shoujo genre is all too often populated with casts of sweet, brightly animated lolis who are surrounded by perverted adults and magical animals. Couple this together with overly long and usually indecent (given the ages of the characters) transformation scenes and stupid inane plots that make watching children's programming with your kids seem smart by comparison. Shugo Chara! takes those stereotypes and blows them up completely, and leaves us with one of the most wonderful and enjoyable anime experiences ever.

I found this series to be a breath of fresh air. While the premise of the story is nothing that we haven’t seen before, it just feels like an original idea. The plot is very much typical of a Mahou Shoujo series. If you’ve seen a series such as Sailor Moon, then you’re going to find a lot of similarities. Our heroine, Amu Hinamori, finds herself thrust into a magical world she never realized was around her until she wakes up one morning with three eggs in her bed. These eggs soon hatch revealing her Shugo Chara, or Guardian Characters. We soon find out that everyone has these eggs in their hearts as a representation of their hopes and dreams for the future. Amu becomes friends with others who have guardian characters and begins to battle against the evil organization called Easter, to protect everyone’s heart egg and find the mysterious one known as the embryo.

The story moves along nicely early on, introducing us to the world and the characters while explaining origins and back story. There is a lot of pretty good magical action and surprises along the way. What was maybe the most surprising to me was the depth of the romance and relationships part of the story. Considering the ages of the characters, I was not initially all that optimistic about a story that myself, a twenty-something adult could relate that much to. But I was surprised to find Amu to be a very complex character with a lot of emotional depth. She grows tremendously as a character from the beginning to the end of this season.

However, Shugo Chara! is not without its faults. One of the most glaring is the number of recap episodes throughout the series. I never have understood the necessity to devote an entire episode towards a recap in this day and age. In the age of DVRs, internet streaming, and downloading, the necessity to have recaps for new viewers seems like a waste of time to me. The other major issue was that there was a lot of what I would term "filler" episodes. Stories that did nothing to advance the overall plot in anyway. For filler they were not bad stories and a lot of them did serve to let us get to know the series huge cast. But really the most annoying was the amount of it after the main plotline from the second half was concluded. It felt a bit anti-climatic and was disappointing to have to sit through 7-8 episodes before the season finally concluded with something involving the main storyline.

The cast for Shugo Chara is enormous. Normally I would say this is a major drawback but in this case it really wasn’t. The key to the whole series is Amu and her guardians. For me, Amu has already moved into my favorite anime characters of all time. She is someone I think every girl (and boys too I think) will find something to relate to themselves. I think her internal insecurities and her outside persona and the struggle to be accepted by society yet still be true to yourself is something that will resonate with viewers. Her conflicted heart over her romantic feelings for various boys and her own lack of confidence over her own "true self" I believe will also strike a nerve. In a lot of ways I think she is the most "real" anime character I’ve ever seen.

There are simply too many other characters to cover in detail with the scope of this review. Amu's guardians Ran, Miki, and Su are adorable and lovable aspects of her personality. The same could be said for all of the other guardian characters and their relationships with their owners. The most important and interesting of the supporting cast is Ikuto. I see him as a Tuxedo Mask type character from Sailor Moon. He comes to Amu's rescue when she needs it but isn’t necessarily on her side. His intentions remain obscure for the entire season so we will have to wait to find the answers to that. The rest of the cast, while enjoyable, is far more stereotypical and shallow. You’re bound to have a few favorites from them and even the villains, but this is a story about Amu.

The artwork and animation is outstanding. I absolutely loved the character designs and styling. I felt it was a very fresh look. The backgrounds and settings are a bit over the top at times but beautifully drawn. The guardian characters are completely adorable and are a certainty to steal your heart away. The various magical transformations, even in their full form are reasonably short and devoid of pedo fan service. This was possibly the most refreshing aspect of the whole show. The music is equally brilliant. The various opening and ending themes were catchy tunes that captured the spirit and essence of the show.

My enjoyment of this series was really off the charts. I really wanted to give this show a perfect score but the way the story drags on with little happening towards the end hurts its overall score. If you’re even have a passing interest in Mahou Shoujo stories, then Shugo Chara! has to be at the top of your watch list. For everyone else, your mileage may vary but I think your seriously missing out if you don’t give this show a try.
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Any fan of Mahou Shoujo anime should really enjoy Shugo Chara!, especially since it's been a while since we've seen a Mahou Shoujo anime which has more plot than using sparkle rays to blast some monsters.

Shugo Chara! has all the classic Mahou Shoujo elements; blasting away a similar enemy in fillers, overly long transformation sequences, a "chosen" and "special" heroine, and the classic idea of making enemies into friends.

But Shugo Chara! has what a lot of Mahou Shoujo seem to be missing. A nice message and some good romance. It's not just about blasting away the enemy, it's about a young girls confusion over her "true self," something that a lot of people can probably identify with. Amu also finds herself confused very often over what she's feeling over certain guys in her life. After all, good shoujo needs a nice love triangle, doesn't it?

All of the characters in Shugo Chara! are also incredibly entertaining. The Guardians, Easter's two pawns Ikuto and Utau, and certainly Amu herself. Even the fillers are mildly fun to watch...if you're not looking for substance, but just fun.

Overall, Shugo Chara! is a good anime to watch. It's been compared to great anime like CardCaptor Sakura, and while I wouldn't go that far, it is definitely the best Mahou Shoujo anime in a while and it does have the appeal to span multiple ages (I've encountered fans from ages 10-30). So, if you're a fan of mahou shoujo, or just shoujo in general, you really can't miss Shugo Chara! (though, I will just leave off mentioning the fillers to warn any impatient viewers). read more

This is my first review so please stay with me:

Shugo Chara,
When I first saw the description I must admit I was skeptical. For one thing it revolves around an elementary student, and for another it was labled under romance. (I watch a ton of High School Drama's so I'm always on the lookout for a good romance anime)

I clicked on episode one and figured "Eh, why not give it a try". Within the first two seconds I almost stopped it.
"All kids have an egg in their soul"..... You can see where im coming from?
But I didn't, I stuck to it. And I am so glad I did.

This anime has me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait until the next episode comes out. For one thing It does have a great romance plot developing, (Ikuto Tsukiyomi is soooo hot *Im not a fangirl, i swear*) and, although the story is cheesy sometimes, something about it has just hooked me and I cannot stop watching it.

So, basically what im trying to say is, Give this anime a try.
You may love it,
You may hate it,
You may become obssesed with it (Which is actually quite easy to do)
However you react, you have to at least give this anime a shot.

Im glad I did. read more

Shugo Chara! is about a teenage girl named Hinamori Amu, who acts cool on the outside but is actually very shy. She wishes to become her would-be self and gets three shugo chara which are like guardian angels that represent your would be self. The story revolves around the guardians a soceity of people with shugo charas includingAmu and their adventures to find themselves and the ledgerndary Embryo which grants any wish.

This anime has a unique storyline and is a pleasure to watch. Like any typical magical girl anime you have flashy transformation and destroying evil which takes the form of X eggs and characters in this anime, because of this it can be a bit cliche. The story does have some interesting developments but it also contains a lo of fillers which can be quite annoying at times. It is lighthearted and comical with a tinge of drama.However, for such a long series the story still lacks depth and this could have been made up by using the filler episodes to create more developments in the story.

The art was so-so. Nothing special, just your typical shuojo style characters with big eyes and varying hair styles.Nothing bad about it but nothing good either.

The sound was also ok. I think the voice actors did a good job though and each character was fitted with the perfect voices(quite cute especially the shugo charas). Besides that the songs sung during the show by Utau were quite good. But other than that not much else was done to enhance the atmosphere through the songs.

The characters were done up quite well partly due to the long span of the anime, most of the characters received some kind of depth and character development was visible throughoutthe show. Perhaps the fillers could have helped create even more depth for the characters. Even the villains get some depth. Very little romance is involved in this anime and is very suttle. Most of the interactions between the characters is merely friendly not intimate but there are some small occurences here and there.

Overall, i think the anime was not not as good as i had anticipated because it lacked the depth for a long span of 51 episodes and the fillers were quite annoying towards the end with the anime not going anywhere. But it is an interesting anime to watch because many can identify with the theme of a would be self and there are some meaningful messages embedded in the anime. Hopefully the second series will outdo the first. read more

My first review ever, sorry if it's bad.
And the anime is still airing now I'm writing time.

Story
The story is about somebody know as a cool girl, Amu. But it is not her real being self. On a day she finds 3 eggs out them coming Ran, Miki and Suu her 3 charackters how she wanna be. When she joins te guardians she get the job as a joker and find the x eggs but of course there are allot of problems do deal with...
About the story, you will like it if you like comedy and allot of fantasy together. So I give it a 9 because I'm into comedy and fantasy.

Art
All I can say the art is really good. You see it's one of the new animes and that comes allot back everytime so also a 9.

Sound
I have nothing bad to say about this the voice actors are good in the roll and the music from the opening and endings are also good but I still give it only a 8.

Charackter
Well the charackters are well in there roll. The maincharackters are: Amu and her charackters, you see that well coming everytime and what you also see is in most every episode a other main charackter in it also for 1 ep. I can't say something bad about this so I give it a 9.

Enjoyment
I really really enjoy the show so I give it a 10. If you really are into Fantasy, Comedy animes you should watch this it's allot of fun.

Overall
I was thinking 3 9's, 1 8 and 1 10 so overall I will give it a 9 and for everybody enjoy the show :D read more

Alright..
Since the first season of Shugo Chara is coming to a close.. I would like to grade it thus far.
I might update this after the first season has finished airing

Story : The story for Shugo Chara is your typical magical girl anime, and yet, it's not. You have the one girl who falls in love with a prince type character but cannot confess her love and nothing seems to go her way. But Amu is not the typical girl who nobody likes and doesn't fit in. No, she's the complete opposite. 'Cool and Spicy' schoolgirl, Hinamori Amu, who doesn't know exactally how to act. Born from these feelings were three eggs, and the story follows through there. Some parts can be pretty generic, but other parts have you on the edge of your seat, wanting more.

Art : I have heard that some people are not fond of the artwork, but I for one adore it. It's a very average style, nothing much to rave about and yet nothing to completely complain about. I still laugh at all of Amu's expressions though, the sparkles around Tadase, and Ikuto's generic 'I don't care' glance.

Sound : I love all of the voice actors for this series. Each one fits so very well. You also might recognize Ikuto Tsukiyomi's voice actor, who also played Tomoya Okazaki in Clannad. And Utau is voiced by the extremally talented singer, Nana Mizuki. All and all, the staff did an awesome job with this cast.

Character : Characters. Characters. So many characters in Shugo Chara. Yet, all so unique, having some special attribute that when you hear a description word your mind automatically jumps to a specific character in Shugo Chara. I personally adore all the characters in my own way, some may have favorites and some may dislike a certain character to no end, but you'll certainly never forget them.

Enjoyment : So far, I have really enjoyed Shugo Chara! It may have it's extreme ups and it can certainly have it's extreme downs, but I think many people will in fact, enjoy this series. There are rumors of a second season because of the increasing manga material and I am pretty sure I am going to watch and compare, telling you guys if you should stick around or if you should drop the series completely, but it's up to you to take the first step. Will you dare to try Shugo Chara? read more

(My First Review)

In this Anime, “True Self Character” and one’s “Dream” are the keys to the plot/story and these are represented by “ShugoChara” (Character Guardian) and “Egg”.

Character, everyone has a character, the way we act, Energetic, Cool, Quiet, Arrogant etc. So often due to our surrounding, we have to employ different characters for instance, Amu had to create a elder sister character due to her younger sister. We hold different characters and in Shugo Chara!, these “Character Guardians” are born out of your wish or your true character.
Dreams, everyone has a dream. A dream is very fragile, it can easily disappear due under many circumstances and it may affect your life. The dream is usually what we want to be in future, it can be a person you admire or a career you dream of working towards. And as we know, a dream act as very important role for a kid, it is a great motivation and decides the future of one’s life. In other cases than your wished and true character, Character Guardians can also be born out of your dream, which is also partly our true self. As I said, dream is very fragile, and due to the fragility, Character Guardians may disappear or the Egg will become somewhat “hopeless” the way I call it. The fragility may apply to lack of self-confidence, feels hopeless, loss of trust to your dream or your Character Guardian.

So that’s the plot. The story features Amu, a girl who has a very different character from her “True Self”. She didn’t like her façade character and prayed to be her “Would-be self”. Since then she holds three Character Guardians that presents different characters for her. She is a unique person or “the chosen one”, she holds three character guardians as other usually holds one. She was also given the “lock” later that makes her stronger such as the ability to use “Character Transform” that allows her to save other people’s egg/dream.
There’s one more important thing, that is the “Embryo”, the special egg that grants any wish. All characters in the Shugo Chara! seeks and fights for it.

Story: 9/10
Heartwarming, inspirational slice of life, school story accompanied with magic theme combining with the plot above, it brings you a potential story. The only thing left is to see how well it develops throughout the 52 episodes.
Most episodes are stand-alone episodes, some spanning across a few episodes. Each arc/episodes features Amu saving other kids’ egg/dream from being destroyed as well as dealing her own problems and her friends. As the story develops, she makes friend and she meets different challenges that some wavers her confidence and the question of right and wrong. It is a very relaxing anime as well as Amu’s different characters and her character guardians bring her troubles time to time.

Art: 7.5/10
Character art is good but sometimes inconsistent, the environment art is great for a TV series, its consistent. The typical shoujo magical girl transforming is up to my expectation, but nothing unique. The colourful palette brings relaxation and joy to fun, happy, heartwarming episodes and turns dull during episodes with Amu being depressing. The palette is being used appropriately. There are also some cute scenes with cute expressions making the anime more enjoyable. The animation is smooth, nothing wrong. Overall, it’s good.

Sound: 7.5/10
Joyful music and dramatic music used appropriately, but not particularly special. Sparkling sound effects used during character transformation and when magical power was used. Great voice acting for each character, as expected from anime, I really liked the voices for the Character Guardians, they’re cute and funny. Overall it’s great.

Character: 8/10
Diverse characters. The one that attracted me towards the anime is the plot and the main character, Amu. Amu’s character design is excellent with punk rock style clothing in pink not just in casual clothing but also applying to her school uniform. One thing we get bored with an anime is the main character’s character. But in Shugo Chara!, you’ll never get bored because she has another three characters!! You’ll never get bored of Amu, trust me and you’ll get amused with her being in other three characters, almost being like a person with bipolar disorder. Other characters are great with interesting multiple personality and character guardian contributing to the energetic, fun story.

Enjoyment: 8.5/10
Very enjoyable. Overall, great plot with good story development, amusing characters, it’s just so fun.

Overall: 8.5/10
I really liked it. One thing we get from an animation is inspiration towards our real life, what we learn from the story. Shugo Chara! has been very inspirational and what I really like is the plot of metaphor of “Character Guardian” (Our Would-be self) and “Egg” (Dream) is so true that simple captures the struggle and the fragile dreams of all kids.
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Of all the numerous Mahou Shoujo/Magical Girls anime series, Shugo Chara! is one of the best. The majority of animes in this genre tend to be along the same plotline: a ditzy heroine gets magical powers and is given the responsibility to save the world somehow; we all know the story. Shugo Chara!, however, is a breath of fresh air amidst this crazy monotony. First off, Amu, our main character, isn't the stereotypical ditzy heroine (gasp!). Instead, she the "cool and spicy" new student. Second, Amu and Co. aren't just saving the world. Instead, this anime focuses on dreams, goals, wishes, and your "would-be self". How many times can we honestly say we've seen that in a Mahou Shoujo anime? It may not be a story comparable to, say,the infamous Cardcaptor Sakura, but it ranks fairly high up there. And as a bonus, it's comparitavely free of filler. (That's just RELATIVELY, though.)

The animation is great, the art is colorful, and some of the objects (e.g., Heart's Eggs, X Eggs, Humpty Lock, etc.) look almost computer-animeated. The art style is the standard big-eyed Shoujo style, which complements the anime's story and charcters pretty well.

The music, too, is also great. The two openings are a lot less cutesy than the ones in the Doki!! series, which I'm sure most of us older fans appreciate. Even some of the background music, specifically the action scene music, is catchy enough to make you want to download it. No, seriously. Not to mention Utau's songs.

The characters are unique. Some may get annoying at times, but every series has its share of obnoxious characters. Each character has their quirks, hidden traits, likes and dislikes. Some characters do seem to be slightly stereotypical (e.g., Ran, Suu, etc.), though.

If you're looking for a series to watch, Shugo Chara! is a good pick. The filler may become a nuisance in the Doki! season, but don't let that deter you from the first. read more

Giving Shugo Chara! a try is an absolute must for anyone who is a fan of shoujo or mahou shoujo: because basically, it has all the ingrediants for one. Costumes that cannot possibly be practical but are cute, enemies that are defeated by the power of good, bright colours, younger aged characters and so on. But it doesn't only have that. It has a lot more alongside it. Much more - stuff that other mahou shoujo doesn't tend to have.

It's geared for younger viewers esentially, but Shugo Chara! is one of those animes that has many levels. It''s underneath its typical deminour that it shines. It's in those many levels that it has the ability to span to so many different people in so many different ways.

STORY: As I've said before, it's typically beat the bad guys by cleansing the eggs, lots of sparkles and shiny moments and some romance here and there. There's also a lot of laughs and unsuspecting moments along the way, which makes watching SC! all the more worthwhile. But it has a very essential message behind it, a message that everyone can connect with. How many times have you pretended to be different to fit in? How many times have you wished you could be more like your true self in front of everyone? That's what Shugo Chara seems to ask and addresses. The focus is on the characters and the routes they take to become their true selves; it's not all about defeating good and evil.

ART: To be blunt, it's adorable. It's quite bright to appeal to younger viewers, but it isn't blinding. The colours all work together to create a believable world. It's very rare for any of it to be cheaply done - it's usually very good quality animation and artwork. Overall, it really adds to the atmosphere Shugo Chara brings - and even if the story and everything else is wonderful, if the art is bad, it isn't likely you're going to be able to watch it week in week out.

SOUND: Typically simple, nice sounds throughout the episodes with recurring ones for the themes of characters and the cleansing of X-Eggs, with slight changes for each transformation. But I like the sound - it adds to the atmosphere. The opening and endings also deserve a mention here - Buono! was a wonderful creation for SC!, and even if I don't have the time or should be doing something else, I always watch through the opening and endings because I like the music. It's very cutesy, which isn't typically what I'm into, but I like it. It's different.

Lastly for sound, the voices are all a wonderful pick. I'd say a shout out for Kanae Ito (Amu) is in order here - it's her first role, but she does it all perfectly. She isn't overbearing or annoying or frustrating - but she's believable.

CHARACTERS: This is another area where SC! shines. The characters are not so-mind-blowingly-over-powered that they're unbelievable. Each one has their own flaws, their own doubts and personal problems. Each character is loveable on varying degrees, and that's because they're so believable. For several characters, too, I didn't like them for the first few episodes they were in. But as I grew to understand them and learn why they act like they do, what they're hiding behind the mask they give to the outside world, you start to fall in love with them. Because you can relate.

Amu is also a refreshing heroine for shoujo. She completely contradicts the trend of cute characters that need protecting by everyone around her - she can be cute, but not overbearingly so. Her complete attitude is a draw in which is why peope like her, even though she fines it fake. Overall, the characters will grow on you in their own way over time.

ENJOYMENT: It's funny, it has romance, it's not too hard to understand and isn't at all confusing. It's simple in some respects but very effective. And it's easy to connect to, so very much easy to enjoy. read more

This show is surprisingly long, I would not have imagined it was 51 episodes. It's also quite hard to say why I like it. It's a childish show, and the transformation of her character is overly dramatized. I also hate how each episode starts with a weird voice saying "All kids have an egg in their soul..." in English. The story is interesting, and has some plot twists, but not very many. If you like light, easy-going shows with not much complications, then you will like Shugo Chara! The art is also great. I love how much detail is everywhere, and the different outfits the characters wear when they "Chara-Change." Sounds are alright, I haven't really noticed them so they're not overly great, and not overly annoying. Also, the time it takes for Amu-chan to do her "Chara-Change" is too long. But pretty much any anime with transformations take a long time for the characters to transform. Overall it's a great show and I would recommend it to anyone, guy or girl, even thou it's on the 'cute' side. read more

Shugo Chara! Stands out amoungst mahou shojou (magical girl) anime. While it appeases all aspects of mahou shoujo, girl with powers, transformations, roamance, 'cute' themes and such it also includes just that little something that stands out so much.

Story:
The basic theme of every episode is simple, beat the bad guys, cleanse some eggs, drabble in romance and the such. However, Shugo Chara! has an over all story which brings the main cahracter, Amu, to the brink of depression and the theme of becoming ones true self is interesting. Rather than the story being about the powers and the magic and some war that's been going on for years, the story is about the characters themselves, finding themselves and others. This is something that stands out for me.

Art:
The orignal style of Peach-Pit carries over to the anime. It's a sweet style that dosn't have the cliche 'my-eyes-are-twice-the-size-of-my-face'. The proportions are nice and the characters are cute, suiting the anime perfectly!

Sound:
I can't particully say I love the op's and ed's however they are fun. The voices are not ear splitting nor whining, it's very refreshing.

Character:
Amu is a character that impresses me alot. She isn't overly ditsy or loud. Instead she is character who eveyone thinks is cool and calm but is actually shy and cute. She reminds me of Ryuuji from ToraDora (looks like a deliquint but is actually quite kind). This is so rare in a magical girl it's also quite refreshing.
Another thing that amazes me is the love triangles. This developed to the point of a RPG game! While she could fall for the prince, Tadase, her relationship with the cliche boy seems so shallow and a much deeper understanding is shown between her and Ikuto. But you never know.

Enjoyment and overall:
I personally love this anime, it's a nice surprise and twist on the mahou shoujo genre that was much needed! Thankyou Peach-Pit! read more

Shugo chara didn't caught my eyes in the first place. when i was surfing on crunchyroll.com i saw this anime being featured and it is an all time favourite.
the first thing that came to my mind is " it look kinda childish, the pink hair girl is a kid so this should be a kiddy anime " . but later on my friend told me that shugo chara is nice and ask me to give it a try. i trusted her as she know more about anime stuffs than me, i was totally a noob. the plot found on internet is very simplified. so i guess it won't interest you if you only base on the given storyline. the anime is so much better than i thought.

the first episode makes me wanna go on to the next and suprisingly i finished 49 episodes in 3 days. i am currently waiting for episode 50 to be subbed.

the storyline is quite unique, it says that every kid has their would-be self and one day they will become their would-be self. amu, (the main character of the anime) who appear to be cool with attitude to the others. but actually she is just an ordinary girl who is shy inside. she has 3 eggs heart, spade, clover who turns into her shugo charas which are good in sport, art and cooking respectively. she can do a character change to her would-be self and also tranformation which fight the x characters. her alliances are the so called guardians who act as the student council in school. they each have their own shugo chara too but they can't transform like what amu did.

amu soon joined them but part of the reason is to get close to her ideal prince tadase. their main aim is to find an embryo which can grant any wishes. i really like the bond of their friendship and also the different characteristics of their shugo charas and it is really fun to see them having a character change. the one who look gentle and elegant actually turns out to be a fierce and harsh one and tadase character change is really hilarious.
never mention the word prince in front of him cause the 'king' will appear.

another reason that i love this anime so much is because of another character which is ikuto. go to episode 3, you will fall in love with the scene where amu and ikuto has the eye contact at the kitchen. the way ikuto teases amu is really cute. this is why many of us gone crazy over amuto moments. another character utau who is a popular singer inside act another important role too. i think she is really pretty and her transformations are cool and awesome too. that is why i think the art of shugo chara worth a 9.

all the characters have their unique point and the story developed very well. one of my favourite episode is 29 because so many unexpected things happened in one episode.

IT IS A 'COOL AND SPICY' ANIME ! recommend for shoujo lover. i don't think it suit guys but it depends actually. i can't say that every girls will like this or no guys will get addicted to it. you shall give it a try yourself.

my first review , sorry if there are any grammer error . read more

I don't feel like sugar coating this, so I'll just come out and say it: I hated Shugo Chara. Despite the pages of praise, the only thing I found I actually liked about this were the characters. Not all of them, mind. Just five or six.

The premise was cute, I'll admit, having a special place in your heart for who you want to be, and sometimes being able to meet that person. But by episode 30, I really wanted to stop watching it. By episode 35, I did, until someone told me the final arc of Doki was really good. Man, am I gullible. The sad thing is, most of the fanfiction of this utilizes this idea in a better way than the canon story.

Most episodes being filler didn't help, either. They even had a formula: Amu meets n, a person who is skilled at/in love with n. At/before a really important event, n will somehow mess up/be rejected, and a member of Easter will replace n's heart's egg with an X egg. Amu wil find the egg, make the same gasping noise, character transform,l then spew some stunningly cliche trite and purify n's heart egg. n then usually proceeds to never show his or her face again. They eventually do some variations, such as the x eggs hatching (Gasp.), or the X egg is a person's chara. Expanding on that more, if someone is not a Guardian or an employee of Easter ends up with a chara, you can bet it's going to become an X Egg. Out of the 50 episodes, I recall about 30 being filler.

Characters in Shugo Chara vary greatly. Amongst the main cast, there was a pleasant diversity, although there were a few obnoxious characters. I'm not talking about the reoccurring characters like Saaya, I'm thinking of Kiseki. Was he supposed to be funny? He almost annoyed me as much as Tadase. Why did I find Tadase irritating? Because a main character should be memorable, but I can barely remember anything about him other Amu's endless fawning over him.

Onto aesthetics! The art in Shugo Chara is fine, but there isn't anything truly outstanding. I liked most day to day outfits for the characters, Amu's in particular, but I disliked ALL of the character transformations, though. If I had to pick the absolute worst of the transformations, I'd say Amulet Clover, Clown Drop, and Dear Baby. They missed cute by miles, and strayed far into the territories of awkwardness and stupidity. As for the music in the anime, the openings are all guaranteed starters of uncomfortable conversations. Generally, the sound track was unimpressive unless Ikuto was playing on his violin, or Utau was debuting a new song.

So to sum up, Shugo Chara is an anime I might have enjoyed, however the huge portion of filler, and the general dragged out impression it gave me ruined it. For me, the show (including Doki!) was dull and altogether not worth the 102 episodes I struggled through, and certainly not deserving of the praise many of the reviews give it. The fact that so many animes I adore have run for a single season, while this one goes on for 3, with two of the seasons having double, or even quadruple times the amount of episodes as them really annoys me, especially as a simple story like this could have been done in half the episodes at double quality. I wouldn't really recommend this for a person who likes seeing characters ending up together (due to how it has the most disappointing romance ending ever devised by man) , but if you're a magical girl fan, go nuts. read more

Its my first time writing a review so... I will try my best. Just note that what I am writing now will be my impression of both 'Shugo chara!' and 'shugo chara doki!' (both seasons).

I thought the anime started off really well. First of all, some people may not mind the art in anime so much, saying tings like "Oh, art doesn't matter so much as long as I can differentiate between different characters" but for me, I can't stand to watch an anime that does not have good art. But for this anime, that was not a problem at all. The artwork was perfect! and most of all hinamori amu (the most important protagonist) was designed really well. I would further like to mention that her voice acting was great too! It was natural, and really did suit the character well I think. Thus in terms of art and voice, no problems what so ever.

The idea of the story itself, I thought, was unique and captured my interest initially at the beginning. However, bearing in mind that this show is meant for children, it became pretty repetitive throughout with lots, and I mean lots of filler episodes (especially in season 2) . Now, my age is definitely not be categorized as 'child' so I really don't have the right to complain about fillers despite how annoyed I felt during my way through the episodes. It felt as though these fillers blocked the progression of the story way too much. But if I put myself in perspective of a child watching the same anime, I'm sure I would have gotten excited whenever Amu did a character transformation. In fact, that would have been ALL I cared about so as a child, filler or not, as long as she made that transformation I would have enjoyed it. My point is that given my age, and yours too (i'm sure) we don't have the right to complain about fillers since we, in the first place, are watching a show that was meant for kids in the first place. So for me at least, despite my hatred of these filler episodes, I came to understand their worth and managed to keep hold till the end.

The first season went pretty well I thought. The story progressed well, posing questions and uncertainty, developments between character relationships etc. Its this 'development' that we look for, and the first season managed to do just this and made it enjoyable for me to view. However the second season was different. It undoubtedly lacked the depth which was present in the first season and, as I said above, was highly concentrated with fillers. I'm sure even with these, the story could have progressed as well as it did in the first season, but instead, I felt like there was a huge separation from the 'main plot' to 'side plot'. For instance, serious event takes place and causes despair but in the next episode all the seriousness is suddenly neutralized by a rather boring filler episode. I'm sure the fillers could have been made better than that, or even, made in a different order so that it does not interrupt the tension that was built up from before. I am not complaining about the existence of these filler episodes, do not misunderstand. I am merely noting that these could have been made with a bit more care so that it does not disturb the development of the anime. Perhaps then, for older audiences, it could have been much more enjoyable.
So I thought that there was a dramatic change in the level of enjoyment from my initial sense of satisfaction in the first season to utter disappointment in the second.

Now for the characters.. I really liked Hinamori Amu. She is energetic, kind, cute and straightforward. All the qualities that you would look for in a perfect protagonist in an anime like this. Not just her, but all the other characters were great too. In terms of the relationships between these characters, I really initially loved the fact that Nadeshiko and Amu were so close. After all, she was Amu's first friend ever and her 'best' friend. The close friendship between them made me feel happy for Amu but I was rather disappointed later on, and the reason for that is not what you may expect. But since I don't want to write any spoilers, I will prohibit myself from saying it out loud. The other two main characters of the story is Ikuto and Tadase. The love triangle the goes on between the two and amu is rather obvious from the start so no spoilers there. Given that amu and tadase are elementary school students, a part of me says that heavy romance is not possible. However there indeed exists elements of romance in here and so another part of me screams that even if 'light' romance, there should be a proper pair at least. The ending of the anime provided me with the worst pairings possible and I'm sure 99% of mature viewers were disappointed with the outcome . But Oh well, that is my opinion only. I'm only suggesting that if romance is what you are looking for, this anime is not really the right one to watch but i must admit, it is cute when amu blushes. Maybe that may perhaps change your thoughts, I don't know. Romance is not really a big part so... yeah. Anyway the character desgns, I thought, were really good. Tadase the typical princely figure with Ikuto being the character that has a much more playful attitude, especially towards the one he likes.

Overall I think this show was good. It was good, but not good enough. Note that I haven't written anything to do with the third season, 'shugo chara party' because it is useless to write about. There is absolutely no point in watching that. Not only is Ikuto kicked out from it, even Amu appears less and less frequently. Anyway, I thought initially shugo chara was great, but as I watched on, it became less and less enjoyable for me to watch. Eventually I dropped in during the third season. And trust me, it is not only me who feels this way. Season 3 only has under 30 episodes because of the loss of popularity. I don't find that strange given that they changed the whole show completely.

So to finalize, I do not recommend you to put hours and hours watching this. My recommendation is for you to read the manga and enjoy the story with better development, formation of a proper pair, and most of all less time!. The manga is concise and follows the story directly! it will take you less time to finish with more enjoyment than the manga. read more

Shugo Chara is one of my favorite animes, and that's because i think a lot of people can relate to this show. I mean i know their were times for me, were i wished i could come out of my shell and just be the real me around people, and that's one of the things this show is about.

I give the story a 10. In my opinion this wasn't your everyday shoujo manga. There is a lot to this show, that people of all ages can relate to in one way or another. As the story progressed you could clearly see all of the characters truly coming out of their shells and start being true to who they really are.

I gave the art an 8. I really liked the art. I thought it was cute and totally fit the aspect of the characters. Although their was nothing that really stuck out to me in the WOW factor, but overall it was still pretty good.

I gave the characters a 10. The thing ii loved most about this anime was certain characters, and how they grew with each episode. Although their were some of your typical shoujo characters. You had your jock, your prince, and your bad boy. However each one of them brought something different to these typical types of characters. And you see it more and more as the story progresses's.

Overall i gave the anime a 10. It was sweet, funny, and very relate-able more so than any other anime i have ever seen. And it is one of those shows that you can re-watch as many times as you like and never get sick of it! I highly recommend this show!! read more

'Shugo Chara!' is a cute anime that can be enjoyed by all ages. It is more geared towards girls, but has some aspects that guys may also like.

The story line is unique and it has some twists here and there. I found the art style of this anime very good, its especially good for those who wish to learn to draw anime, and are looking for different types of art styles. Although, the art style for Shugo Chara is reather common, but it is still very lively with the bright colours x]. The sound affects and music were matching and each seemed to have a unique ring to it. The characters in this particular anime stand out amongst many other anime due to the character development. I find that almost all the characters in Shugo Chara showed great amounts of character development.

The overall enjoyment of the series for me was a 10/10. I found the series very humorous from beginning to end, and the constant climaxes kept me hooked to this anime.

Overall I give Shugo Chara a 9/10

If you haven't checked out 'Shugo Chara!' yet then you better go now. You will not want to miss this anime. =D read more

Shugo Chara! is a magical girl type of anime where they do this and that. I mean transform into weird outfits. Yes. You get the picture. Actually, the story is quite good. Making x eggs back into the normal eggs. Quite the uniques. But eventually, seeing that over and over brings you the snores. It's like this; The story of one kid, later his/her dreams are crushed. Then it becomes an x egg and Amu saves the day. Then the kid realises that his/her dream can come true cause Amu advises her/him. Bla bla bla. It's her job anyway.

Shugo Chara is good BUT I can say Shugo Chara is overrated. Plus the dull and boring Hinamori Amu who's 'cool & spicy' but actually a shy girl. I don't know what people see in this dull girl. There's romance as well where Amu is confused with her feelings since there's two guys to choose from. One, the cool and hot Tsukiyomi Ikuto and the kind and prince-like Tadase. In my opinion, I really prefer Tadase with Amu cause they look really cute together and of the SAME age. Unlike, Amu and Ikuto. I don't like this couple. Don't know why. It kinda annoys me. Or maybe I'm just jealous cause Ikuto flirts Amu and he's so cold towards Utau.

About the characters, Amu; the boring dull girl who's confused over love. Ami; stupid and annoying. Ikuto; the hot cat guy who plays the violin charmingly. Tadase; the kiddy prince. Yaya; the idiotic noisy girl who acts like a baby. Kukai; the cute guy who's like an older brother. Rima; the pathetic quiet girl who actually loves gags. In conclusion, most of the girls SUCK real bad while the guys are devastatingly GOOD LOOKING and CHARMING.

I hope that I find the 2nd and 3rd season a really good catch. And I hope I can find the good qualities in Hinamori Amu cause hundreds of people were able to see it. read more

Shugo Chara!!!! I'm just going to come right out and say it: It's AWESOME! Finally, a shoujo that isn't like all the others!
Shugo Chara is about Amu, a girl who is known as "Cool & spicy" [if that doesn't already make you laugh, I don't know what will] by her classmates. She doesn't have any friends because she gives off this cool, "do whatever you want" demeanor, but inside she is very lonely and doesn't like how people see her. Amu, convinced she is not her "would be self" prays to be remade, and the next morning wakes up to find three eggs in her bed.
So let me say here: DO NOT LET THE EGGS THROW YOU OFF!!!! The whole egg concept is kind of dumb [the opening theme starts out saying "all kids have an egg in their heart" which, if you think about it, kind of sounds like some illness] but it totally works. Amu can be remade into three different would-be-selves, and her Charas (the would-be-selves that were born from the eggs) are so cute!
The romance in Shugo Chara is also wonderful. Coming from someone that is a huge Itazura na Kiss fan, I really wanted to watch something that had some romance in it and Shugo Chara delivers. What's so great is that you have absolutely no idea who she will end up with (but you'll be voting for Ikuto, because he is H-O-T).

My only complaint is the egg thing again. The fact that she her transformation, er, "thing" (like Sailor Moon's mirror compact) is called the Humpty Lock, and that the evil force is called the Easter Company. I don't like the egg-ness of all of that, but if you ignore it, you see some GREAT characters. The character transformations are hilarious, and this anime will guarantee you some laughs. DEFINITELY give it a try and you'll see how great it is. Shugo Chara is quickly becoming my favorite shoujo of all time!

Story--like I said, it's a good story, typical shoujo, but with a twist. That's why I gave it a ten. The villains are not what you're used to!

Art--I personally love the art, you get used to Amu's pink hair. :p

Sound--The voices fit each character and Amu actually has a really good voice.

Character--Amu is not your typical shoujo girl. Though she is weak because she doesn't know who she really is, she is funny and never acts in the typical shoujo-ditzy-clueless-I'm-Sailor Moon/Mermaid Melody-way. She doesn't act for the guys that she likes, she acts for herself.

Enjoyment--Fantastic! Like I said, it's a hilarious story and I rarely laugh when watching anime.

Overall--A perfect ten. Even the filler episodes are great. read more

this is also my very first review.. so if its bad..

I think it's just great this anime.. i saw the first opening an i thought what a cute song .. at first when i saw the transformations i was thinking *another childish anime..* but now i know i was totally wrong!!
it seems childish and stupid but in reality it's very funny.. i think it's a little about how real people feel.. never showing there true self.. + they added this really great humor!!!
what i think is the funniest in the anime is the reaction of the charaters ..
also when they do a character change.. it's sooo not what you expected.. and that's what makes it's soo funny :D

i think the thing that makes the characters soo intresting is that there all soo different.
and in most animes the characters have a very simple character.. but this is the other way around.. the characters themselves are actually very complicated..
what i like the most in animes is that there's romance but whit a funny side ... when there all blushing and all ..

what i am really trying to say is that you can't judge the anime before you really seen it.. just watch!!!! read more

At first, I wasn't sure about watching Shugo Chara, but I kept on going, and here's what I think:

Shugo Chara is a typical Mahou Shoujo series, and yet it's not. It's got all the typical features, like transformations, beating bad guys, etc. However, it's also got what many Mahou Shoujos lack. REALLY good romance. I probably would've dropped the series if it weren't for the romance. Thanks to that, I finished it and Shugo Chara Doki AND Shugo Chara Party and ever read a bit of Shugo Chara Encore 'cuz it had my two favourite couples in it.;)

The art was pretty good. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either.

I never really noticed the sound, but then again, that's not necessarily bad or good. I'm not really a good judge of sound either way.

Characters were good. I had no opinion on Tadase really, he never stood out to me. I dislike Amu. I generally tend to dislike those perfect main characters that are so much better than anyone else, and Amu was one of them. Even though she was so weak, she was better than anyone else. Even though she goes through less suffering than anyone else, she thinks she knows it all. And even though it wasn't her real personality, everybody loved her cool and spicy self. All the guys seemed to like her.
On to the characters I love: Utau, Rima, Kukai, and Nagihiko. I also liked Ikuto, but I'm not like some of his crazy fans. I loved Utau, she was one of those characters that was strong and did everything she could for someone that she loved, even if it was bad. That's my favourite type of character. Rima was great too, I liked how she wanted to make everyone laugh. It's a wonderful dream. I just really liked her. Kukai was awesome. I loved how he cheered everyone up. How, even though he never reallly went through anything horrible, he could still understand the feelings of those who had, and helped them get through their tough times. I liked how Nagihiko was so kind, yet had a guardian character like Temari, who went crazy when she snapped, and Rhythm, who was a playboy.
By now, you might be able to guess who my 2 favourite couples are: KUtau (Kukai X Utau) and RimaHiko (Rima X Nagihiko). They're just so cute together and so amazing. Kukai is totally made for Utau. And I love Rima and Nagihiko's rivalry romance.;D

I enjoyed the romance parts the best. However, I was disappointed that there were so few scenes of Kukai and Rimahiko. It seemed like it was all based on Amu and Tadase and Ikuto. Overall, it was pretty good. read more