Tag Archives: shugo chara

To Be, or Not to Be Cool and Spicy: Shugo Chara, episode 27 and on

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Hinamori Amu is now in the 6th grade (her sister Ami just starting kindergarten), and she has to face the new school year while dealing with the departure of two of her closest friends, Nadeshiko the queen and Kuukai the jack. Hinamori Amu receives her 4th guardian egg, while we find out that Utau has a second Shugo Chara, an angel named Eru.

Get it? A devil named iru and an Angel named Eru. DebIRU, EnjERU.

Ha ha. Ha.

Ha.

Much like Miyazawa in Kare Kano, Amu’s cool and spicy persona has begun to break down, and it turns out that the other kids are noticing. Amu, who was used to thinking of her outer person as her “character” hiding her true self, is now unsure of what part actually is the real her, or hontou no jibun as the 1st Ending theme is called.

I feel for you, cool and spicy one, though the very fact that you question both the coolness and level of spice shows signs of actual maturity.

I’ve spoken at length multiple times about how highly I regard Shugo Chara, and it looks like for this second part of the anime they’ve decided to ramp up the plot immediately. Episode 27 immediately throws down the gauntlet with a few surprising twists, and while it’s probably quickly resolved by episode 28 (as these things tend to go), they’ve made sure that 27 and on won’t be quite the same as the previous episodes.

Oh, and no new opening (yet). We get a new ending theme, though.

Shugo Chara!: No, Seriously, I Really Do Like It

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I’ve talked about Shugo Chara! here in the past, but I feel that I haven’t done a proper job of conveying how highly I think of the series, so I’m here to correct that. I’ve already summarized the basic premise Shugo Chara! in my first post on it, so I won’t really elaborate on that point.

Honestly, I’m almost surprised at how well Shugo Chara! has held up. It’s simply a joy to watch every episode, to see the interactions between the characters, to cheer for Hinamori Amu as she falls in love and teaches herself and others to never give up on their dreams. I mean, who doesn’t want to support a girl who more than anything wants to be herself, only to realize that the “herself” she wants to be has limitless potential? A person can never be too old to reach for the stars, especially when those stars are deep within one’s own heart.

The show is simply very strong on a variety of technical notes. It has a very bright and refreshing artwork with a heavy pink and plaid motif. The humor brings a smile to my face with its charming innocence. The theme songs are catchy and match the opening visuals quite well. The overarching plot is something to watch out for, but on a purely episodic level and everywhere in between Shugo Chara! keeps my attention.

And the characters! I won’t go too much into them, but I will say that it would have been so very, very easy to make a lot of the characters annoying and unbearable. Amu’s sister, fellow Shugo Chara owner Yaya, and especially the Shugo Charas themselves all had the potential to be deal breakers, but they are all very enjoyable characters. Especially Yaya.

Though I do find it odd that the person Yaya wishes to be is a baby. I wonder if she’s maybe an older sister who has to take care of her younger siblings, and she wishes she could live a more normal life at home. I’m probably reading too much into it.

I can safely say that Shugo Chara! is the best Peach Pit series I’ve seen. Yes, more than Rozen Maiden. And yes, especially more than DearS. Shugo Chara! is perhaps the finest modern mahou shoujo series I’ve seen since Cardcaptor Sakura.

Oh, and the best Shugo Chara? Miki, by far. I’m just saying.

Let me explain

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Shugo Chara! is getting serious and yet somehow remains lighthearted. I am continuously pleased with just how well this show is going. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Shugo Chara! is exactly what I was looking for in an anime, and it really stands out among the other shows airing right now.

Actually, I just made this post for that screenshot.  Yaya isn’t even my favorite character but man this was totally worth it.

Shugo Chara: 12 Episodes Later and Still Good

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I am quite pleased with the way Shugo Chara has progressed. It is slated for a long episode count, and so it would be easy for the show to fall into the trap of endless episodic filler, but Shugo Chara manages to make progress with every episode. Either the overall story is advanced, or we learn more about at least one character. The steps are small but steady, and I am personally am a fan of this type of pacing.

The way the show is paced, combined with the overall cute, girlish aesthetics of the show, it makes for an anime I can visit every week with no irritation or desire to see the plot move forward, so when it does happen I am pleasantly surprised.

Shugo Chara: It’s All Right

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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!)