I am glad for the existence of Shugo Chara.

I’d been lamenting the sheer lack of legitimately girly magical girl shows as of late. Ones without that unfortunate veneer of obvious otaku appeal that you see in so much mahou shoujo these days. Not to say appealing to otaku is bad, but I’d simply been getting tired of things like Nanoha or Pretty Cure (granted, Pretty Cure is less guilty of this). The last show I could think of that was legitimately girly was Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu!

In comes Shugo Chara.

Hinamori Amu, a girl whose facade as a rough and tough loner does not match her girly inner self. She wishes she could be more true to herself, and her wish is granted in the form of Guardian Characters, or Shugo Chara. These cute little fairy-type mascots let her do things she would be too hesitant to try normally, and when in danger she can do a more powerful “Character Transformation.”

Even the character transformations are good and cute. Not Futagohime good, but at least the outfits are stylish and girly. The Spade Amulet transformation is particularly good.

Frilly shirt, striped stockings, shorts, big ol’ boots and even a beret. It’s like they read my mind.

Even if this show does attract an otaku audience, at the very least it feels like a clean show. It’s full of joy and wonder, and you almost wouldn’t realize that the manga was created by Peach Pit, creators of Rozen Maiden.

And that is all right.

(Do! Do! Do! Dreaming!)