Shugo Chara!
Encyclopedia
, also known as My Guardian Characters, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the manga author
duo, Peach-Pit
. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her classmates, contrasts with her introverted personality. When Amu wishes for the courage to be reborn as her would-be self, she is surprised to find three colorful eggs the next morning, which hatch into three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Su.
Shugo Chara! is serialized in the magazine Nakayoshi
and published by Kodansha
in Japan
. Del Rey
has licensed the English language
manga rights, releasing the first volume on March 27, 2007. It won the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award
for best children's manga.
Shugo Chara! has also been adapted into a fifty-one episode anime
television series of the same title produced by Satelight
under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and debuted on October 6, 2007 on TV Tokyo
. On July 20, 2008, Anime News Network
reported that the Shugo Chara! anime would be continued for a second year under the title Shugo Chara!! Doki—, the first episode airing on October 10, 2008; the official anime website later announced an October 4, 2008 start date.
On October 3, 2009, Shugo Chara! began featuring another series. The new program, Shugo Chara Party! containing Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi! follow the current anime series as its power-up. The last episode aired on March 26, 2010.
Meanwhile, the Easter Company is extracting people's eggs in search of a special egg called the Embryo. The Embryo is believed to grant any wish to the one who possesses it. However, the process creates X Eggs and X Characters.
Later on in the series, a fourth (yellow) egg named Dia is born. Unlike Amu's other Guardian Characters, she is only seen a few times in the series. Due to Amu's mixed feelings before Dia was born, her egg has an X on it and is "stolen" by Utau Hoshina, who uses Dia for her concerts planned by Easter. Later on, Dia is purified and becomes a regular Guardian Character. She would then would appear in times of heavy crisis.
, Amu tackles issues such as alienation and fitting in at school. Unlike most heroines in other magical girl series, Amu is neither the perfect sweetheart nor a complete klutz. Amu gets grumpy and frequently talks back to others in contrast to the polite schoolgirls that fill the genre.
Amu's Guardian Characters—Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia—aid her in her quest of self-discovery. Each Guardian Character represents an aspect of Amu's true self. Ran represents Amu's desire to be more honest and athletic, Miki represents Amu's desire to be more level headed and artistic, Su represents Amu's desire to be more caring and improve her cooking and housekeeping skills, while Dia represents Amu's radiance. Moreover, the Character Guardians are the ones who help Amu learn about her true self. They can also perform a "Character Change" where Amu's personality is replaced by an entirely different one.
However, Amu is not the only one with Guardian Characters. Each of the Guardians—Tadase Hotori, Nadeshiko (Nagihiko) Fujisaki, Kukai Soma, and Yaya Yuiki—have their own Guardian Characters. Amu also encounters Ikuto Tsukiyomi and Utau Hoshina (her last name actually being Tsukiyomi), two siblings who also have Guardian Characters and are employed by the Easter Company to search for the Embryo. As the series continues, Utau and Ikuto become extremely close friends with Amu.
Eventually, Nadeshiko Fujisaki and Kukai Souma leave the Guardians and are replaced by Rima Mashiro and Kairi Sanjo respectively. Kairi later leaves and is replaced by Nagihiko Fujisaki, Nadeshiko's real identity, as the third Jack's chair, with his new Guardian Character, Rhythm. Later in the series, Nagihiko once again faces Temari, his former Guardian Character, before Rhythm.
magazine. The first volume collection was then republished on July 6, 2006 by Nakayoshi publisher Kodansha
. In addition to the regular volumes, the series is being released in limited editions in Japan, each of which include different cover art from the regular editions, metallic foil sleeves, and a set of postcards featuring Amu in various outfits and poses following the color theme of the dust jackets. Del Rey Manga
announced that it acquired the English language
rights to Shugo Chara! during MangaNEXT
2006 and released the first volume on March 27, 2007. Kodansha Comics USA
will keep publishing the series in 2011.
The series was put on hiatus along with two other series, Rozen Maiden
and Zombie-Loan
, in December 2008 due to a sudden illness and hospitalization. One month later, Peach-Pit announced that all three series will resume and thanked their fans for the support during the illness.
There is a spin off manga series called Shugo Chara Chan!, featuring drawings by Mizushima Naftaren, which is in yonkoma
(4-panel) comics style and focuses on Amu's guardians. Currently there are three volumes. There is no special edition version of the spin off series.
The January issue of Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine confirmed on December 1, 2009 that Peach-Pit would be ending the Shugo Chara! manga in the next issue on December 28. A sequel series was later announced, titled Shugo Chara! Encore!, and began in the April 2010 issue of Nakayoshi.
television series of the same title in 2007. The television series is produced by Satelight
under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and was first broadcast on the Japanese network, TV Tokyo
. Consisting of fifty-one episodes, the first episode, , aired on October 6, 2007. The episodes are rebroadcast by five other networks within a few days after the initial broadcast on TV Tokyo.
Six pieces of theme music
by the J-pop
group Buono!
are used for the first season—two opening themes and four closing themes. The opening theme for the first twenty-six episodes is ; and the last twenty-five episodes, . The closing theme for the first twelve episodes is ; episodes thirteen to twenty-six, ; episodes twenty-seven to thirty-nine, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"; and the last twelve episodes, . There are also four insert songs, all sung by Nana Mizuki
: "Meikyū Butterfly", first sung in episode 12; "Black Diamond", first in episode 39; "Heartful Song", first in episode 47; and "Taiyou ga Niau yo", first in episode 93.
A second year of episodes, under the title , began airing the week after the fifty-first episode, on October 4, 2008; previously, Anime News Network
reported that it was scheduled for October 10, 2008 on AT-X. Two opening themes sung by Shugo Chara Egg! and another two by Guardians 4 have been used; the opening theme for the first twelve episodes is ; the second is , used in episodes sixty-five to episode seventy-six; and the third opening is , by Guardians 4
. The fourth and final opening is "School Days" sung by Guardians 4. The ending theme is by Buono!. A second ending theme, , also by Buono!, took its place from episode 69 to 76. The third ending, "MY BOY", also sung by Buono!, started showing from episode 77 to 89. The fourth ending theme is called "Take it Easy!", also sung by Buono!, took its place from episode 90 and onwards. The opening theme for the Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki segment is "Watashi no Tamago" (My Egg) performed by Shugo Chara! Egg, while the opening for Shugo Chara! Party itself is "Party Time!" by Guardians 4. The first ending is "Bravo! Bravo!" performed by Buono!.
Crunchyroll
announced on November 19, 2008 that it will be streaming Shugo Chara! with English subtitles along with other anime series from TV Tokyo.
On August 25, 2009, Anime News Network
reported that a new series will premiere in Japan
, October 3. The new series titled Shugo Chara Party! featuring anime and live-action segments will contain the Anime Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki, the "power-up" of the ongoing Shugo Chara!! Doki— anime as its main segment and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi!, anime shorts starring Ran, Miki, Su, and Diamond. Director Kenji Yasuda is announced to continue to oversee both Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi!.
, a member of Shugo Chara Egg! and S/mileage
, as Amu. The rest of the members of Shugo Chara Egg! also appeared in the musical with minor roles. The DVD for the musical was released on October 23, 2009.
has released three video games, based on the manga, for the Nintendo DS
. The first, titled , was released in Japan on March 13, 2008. The second game, titled , was released in Japan on November 6, 2008. Two songs from the game, and , were released as a CD single on November 5, 2008. The third game, titled , was released in Japan on August 6, 2009.
' genre."
Carlo Santos, writing for Anime News Network
, states, "The best thing since Sugar Sugar Rune
? Maybe not ... but it's damn close." In a later review, Santos compares Shugo Chara! to Cardcaptor Sakura
and Sailor Moon
, adding, "it addresses the complexities of the human psyche, from joke characters like the fortune-teller who doesn't trust her own abilities, to Nikaidou's own personal conflict over his childhood dreams."
Along with the positive reviews, Shugo Chara! was awarded the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award
for best children's manga. The anime adaptation became one of the 10 most watched anime programs during the week of April 7–13, 2008, when its April 12 broadcast received an average household viewership rating of 4.2%. It later returned to the top 10 during the week of July 21–27, 2008, when its July 26 broadcast received an average rating of 4.1%.
The series was listed as being the 4th best-selling shojo manga property and the 14th best overall manga property in America for the first quarter of 2009. Jason Thompson
felt that the manga focused on self-esteem, and that the artist's drawing skills carried the work.
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
duo, Peach-Pit
PEACH-PIT
is a female manga artist duo in Japan, made up of and . Their group name derives from the diner hangout Peach-Pit from the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Although both have similar styles, with some artwork it is possible to identify which artist drew it. Both are known for their bishōjo styled works...
. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her classmates, contrasts with her introverted personality. When Amu wishes for the courage to be reborn as her would-be self, she is surprised to find three colorful eggs the next morning, which hatch into three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Su.
Shugo Chara! is serialized in the magazine Nakayoshi
Nakayoshi
is a shōjo manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First published in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 50 years worth of manga publication history. The target demographic for Nakayoshi is aimed at young girls between...
and published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Del Rey
Del Rey Manga
was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
has licensed the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
manga rights, releasing the first volume on March 27, 2007. It won the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
for best children's manga.
Shugo Chara! has also been adapted into a fifty-one episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series of the same title produced by Satelight
Satelight
is a Japanese animation studio.-History:The studio was founded on December 1995, in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, their first project being Bit the Cupid, the world's first fully digitally-animated television series. The name Satelight consists of S for Sapporo, A for Animate, T for Technology and E for...
under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and debuted on October 6, 2007 on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
. On July 20, 2008, Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
reported that the Shugo Chara! anime would be continued for a second year under the title Shugo Chara!! Doki—, the first episode airing on October 10, 2008; the official anime website later announced an October 4, 2008 start date.
On October 3, 2009, Shugo Chara! began featuring another series. The new program, Shugo Chara Party! containing Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi! follow the current anime series as its power-up. The last episode aired on March 26, 2010.
Plot
The main character of the story Amu Hinamori, is a student at Seiyo Elementary. At first glance, her classmates refer to her as "cool and spicy" and rumors speculate about her personal life. However, her real personality is that of a very shy girl who has trouble showing her true personality. One night, Amu wishes for the courage to show her "would-be" self, and the next morning finds three brightly colored eggs—red, blue, and green—in her bed. At first, she is alarmed, but realizes she must have really wished to change. These eggs hatch into three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Su. The Guardian Characters aid Amu in discovering who she truly is and help fulfill Amu's dreams. the guardian characters represent her dream. Amu's life becomes much more complex as she struggles to deal with her "would-be selves" and the Seiyo Elementary's Guardians, who each have a Guardian Character of their own. Later on,they recruit Amu as the "Joker" to search for X Eggs and X Characters, the corrupted forms of people's dreams, so the Guardians can purify their dreams.Meanwhile, the Easter Company is extracting people's eggs in search of a special egg called the Embryo. The Embryo is believed to grant any wish to the one who possesses it. However, the process creates X Eggs and X Characters.
Later on in the series, a fourth (yellow) egg named Dia is born. Unlike Amu's other Guardian Characters, she is only seen a few times in the series. Due to Amu's mixed feelings before Dia was born, her egg has an X on it and is "stolen" by Utau Hoshina, who uses Dia for her concerts planned by Easter. Later on, Dia is purified and becomes a regular Guardian Character. She would then would appear in times of heavy crisis.
Characters
The main heroine of the story is Amu Hinamori, a popular girl who is actually insecure. Peach-Pit uses Amu to explore differences between one's true self and the self that is presented to others. Like Jun Sakurada in Peach-Pit's previous work, Rozen MaidenRozen Maiden
is a manga series created by Peach-Pit. The story centers on Jun Sakurada, a young hikikomori boy that forms a bond with Shinku, a living doll of the "Rozen Maiden" series, who was created by the mysterious dollmaker Rozen hundreds of years ago...
, Amu tackles issues such as alienation and fitting in at school. Unlike most heroines in other magical girl series, Amu is neither the perfect sweetheart nor a complete klutz. Amu gets grumpy and frequently talks back to others in contrast to the polite schoolgirls that fill the genre.
Amu's Guardian Characters—Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia—aid her in her quest of self-discovery. Each Guardian Character represents an aspect of Amu's true self. Ran represents Amu's desire to be more honest and athletic, Miki represents Amu's desire to be more level headed and artistic, Su represents Amu's desire to be more caring and improve her cooking and housekeeping skills, while Dia represents Amu's radiance. Moreover, the Character Guardians are the ones who help Amu learn about her true self. They can also perform a "Character Change" where Amu's personality is replaced by an entirely different one.
However, Amu is not the only one with Guardian Characters. Each of the Guardians—Tadase Hotori, Nadeshiko (Nagihiko) Fujisaki, Kukai Soma, and Yaya Yuiki—have their own Guardian Characters. Amu also encounters Ikuto Tsukiyomi and Utau Hoshina (her last name actually being Tsukiyomi), two siblings who also have Guardian Characters and are employed by the Easter Company to search for the Embryo. As the series continues, Utau and Ikuto become extremely close friends with Amu.
Eventually, Nadeshiko Fujisaki and Kukai Souma leave the Guardians and are replaced by Rima Mashiro and Kairi Sanjo respectively. Kairi later leaves and is replaced by Nagihiko Fujisaki, Nadeshiko's real identity, as the third Jack's chair, with his new Guardian Character, Rhythm. Later in the series, Nagihiko once again faces Temari, his former Guardian Character, before Rhythm.
Manga
In December 2005, Peach Pit announced that they were working on a new shōjo manga series called Shugo Chara! The first chapter was published in the February 2006 edition of NakayoshiNakayoshi
is a shōjo manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First published in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 50 years worth of manga publication history. The target demographic for Nakayoshi is aimed at young girls between...
magazine. The first volume collection was then republished on July 6, 2006 by Nakayoshi publisher Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. In addition to the regular volumes, the series is being released in limited editions in Japan, each of which include different cover art from the regular editions, metallic foil sleeves, and a set of postcards featuring Amu in various outfits and poses following the color theme of the dust jackets. Del Rey Manga
Del Rey Manga
was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
announced that it acquired the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
rights to Shugo Chara! during MangaNEXT
MangaNEXT
MangaNEXT is a fan convention focused exclusively on Japanese manga. It is organized by Universal Animation, Inc., the organization behind AnimeNEXT which was launched in 2002. MangaNEXT took place on October 6, 2006 at the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands in Secaucus, New Jersey. This was the site of the...
2006 and released the first volume on March 27, 2007. Kodansha Comics USA
Kodansha Comics USA
Kodansha Comics USA is a manga publishing imprint. It is the American subsidiary of Japanese publisher Kodansha. The company was formed on July 1, 2008. Their launching titles were the re-prints of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell and Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira manga, previously published by Dark...
will keep publishing the series in 2011.
The series was put on hiatus along with two other series, Rozen Maiden
Rozen Maiden
is a manga series created by Peach-Pit. The story centers on Jun Sakurada, a young hikikomori boy that forms a bond with Shinku, a living doll of the "Rozen Maiden" series, who was created by the mysterious dollmaker Rozen hundreds of years ago...
and Zombie-Loan
Zombie-Loan
is a Japanese manga series created by Peach-Pit: Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara. It is published by Square Enix and is serialized in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine GFantasy. The series is licensed in the United States by Yen Press....
, in December 2008 due to a sudden illness and hospitalization. One month later, Peach-Pit announced that all three series will resume and thanked their fans for the support during the illness.
There is a spin off manga series called Shugo Chara Chan!, featuring drawings by Mizushima Naftaren, which is in yonkoma
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
(4-panel) comics style and focuses on Amu's guardians. Currently there are three volumes. There is no special edition version of the spin off series.
The January issue of Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine confirmed on December 1, 2009 that Peach-Pit would be ending the Shugo Chara! manga in the next issue on December 28. A sequel series was later announced, titled Shugo Chara! Encore!, and began in the April 2010 issue of Nakayoshi.
Anime
Shugo Chara! was adapted into an animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series of the same title in 2007. The television series is produced by Satelight
Satelight
is a Japanese animation studio.-History:The studio was founded on December 1995, in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, their first project being Bit the Cupid, the world's first fully digitally-animated television series. The name Satelight consists of S for Sapporo, A for Animate, T for Technology and E for...
under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and was first broadcast on the Japanese network, TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
. Consisting of fifty-one episodes, the first episode, , aired on October 6, 2007. The episodes are rebroadcast by five other networks within a few days after the initial broadcast on TV Tokyo.
Six pieces of theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
by the J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
group Buono!
Buono!
is a Hello! Project unit consisting of three members: Momoko Tsugunaga and Miyabi Natsuyaki from Berryz Koubou, and Airi Suzuki from ℃-ute. The name translates into 'tasty', more specifically when used to imply food possesses a pleasant palate...
are used for the first season—two opening themes and four closing themes. The opening theme for the first twenty-six episodes is ; and the last twenty-five episodes, . The closing theme for the first twelve episodes is ; episodes thirteen to twenty-six, ; episodes twenty-seven to thirty-nine, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"; and the last twelve episodes, . There are also four insert songs, all sung by Nana Mizuki
Nana Mizuki
is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress. She was born and raised in Niihama, Ehime, Japan, Mizuki was trained as an enka singer. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1998; however, she released her debut single "Omoi", under the King Records label on December 6, 2000...
: "Meikyū Butterfly", first sung in episode 12; "Black Diamond", first in episode 39; "Heartful Song", first in episode 47; and "Taiyou ga Niau yo", first in episode 93.
A second year of episodes, under the title , began airing the week after the fifty-first episode, on October 4, 2008; previously, Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
reported that it was scheduled for October 10, 2008 on AT-X. Two opening themes sung by Shugo Chara Egg! and another two by Guardians 4 have been used; the opening theme for the first twelve episodes is ; the second is , used in episodes sixty-five to episode seventy-six; and the third opening is , by Guardians 4
Guardians 4
is a Hello! Project unit consisting of leader Aika Mitsui from Morning Musume, Yurina Kumai and Risako Sugaya from Berryz Kobo, and Saki Nakajima from C-ute. It was formed for the sake of performing music for the Shugo Chara! anime...
. The fourth and final opening is "School Days" sung by Guardians 4. The ending theme is by Buono!. A second ending theme, , also by Buono!, took its place from episode 69 to 76. The third ending, "MY BOY", also sung by Buono!, started showing from episode 77 to 89. The fourth ending theme is called "Take it Easy!", also sung by Buono!, took its place from episode 90 and onwards. The opening theme for the Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki segment is "Watashi no Tamago" (My Egg) performed by Shugo Chara! Egg, while the opening for Shugo Chara! Party itself is "Party Time!" by Guardians 4. The first ending is "Bravo! Bravo!" performed by Buono!.
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
announced on November 19, 2008 that it will be streaming Shugo Chara! with English subtitles along with other anime series from TV Tokyo.
On August 25, 2009, Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
reported that a new series will premiere in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, October 3. The new series titled Shugo Chara Party! featuring anime and live-action segments will contain the Anime Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki, the "power-up" of the ongoing Shugo Chara!! Doki— anime as its main segment and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi!, anime shorts starring Ran, Miki, Su, and Diamond. Director Kenji Yasuda is announced to continue to oversee both Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi!.
Musical
A musical for Shugo Chara! played in early 2009 and starred 14-year-old Yuuka MaedaYuuka Maeda
, born on December 28, 1994 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese pop singer and a member of S/mileage, under Hello! Project.-2004:Maeda Yuuka joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Pro Egg in June 2004 when she passed the auditions alongside thirty-two other girls...
, a member of Shugo Chara Egg! and S/mileage
S/mileage
is a Japanese girl group which originally consisted of four former Hello! Pro Egg members. They graduated from Egg status in 2010 and became full time members of Hello! Project. In 2010, they won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist...
, as Amu. The rest of the members of Shugo Chara Egg! also appeared in the musical with minor roles. The DVD for the musical was released on October 23, 2009.
Video games
KonamiKonami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
has released three video games, based on the manga, for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The first, titled , was released in Japan on March 13, 2008. The second game, titled , was released in Japan on November 6, 2008. Two songs from the game, and , were released as a CD single on November 5, 2008. The third game, titled , was released in Japan on August 6, 2009.
Reception
The Shugo Chara! manga has received positive reviews from English language critics. Phil Theobald, writing for Newtype USA, states that while the premise may be fairly complicated, "the clean art and solid storytelling by Peach-Pit make it easy to follow." Thobald goes on to say that Shugo Chara! is "an interesting and humorous spin on the classic 'magical girlMagical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
' genre."
Carlo Santos, writing for Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
, states, "The best thing since Sugar Sugar Rune
Sugar Sugar Rune
or Sugar² Rune is a manga by Moyoco Anno and an anime TV series based upon it. The anime series' time slot was replaced by Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z in mid-2006.- Story :...
? Maybe not ... but it's damn close." In a later review, Santos compares Shugo Chara! to Cardcaptor Sakura
Cardcaptor Sakura
, abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. The manga was originally serialized monthly in Nakayoshi from the May 1996 until the June 2000 issue, and later published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha...
and Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
, adding, "it addresses the complexities of the human psyche, from joke characters like the fortune-teller who doesn't trust her own abilities, to Nikaidou's own personal conflict over his childhood dreams."
Along with the positive reviews, Shugo Chara! was awarded the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
for best children's manga. The anime adaptation became one of the 10 most watched anime programs during the week of April 7–13, 2008, when its April 12 broadcast received an average household viewership rating of 4.2%. It later returned to the top 10 during the week of July 21–27, 2008, when its July 26 broadcast received an average rating of 4.1%.
The series was listed as being the 4th best-selling shojo manga property and the 14th best overall manga property in America for the first quarter of 2009. Jason Thompson
Jason Thompson (writer)
Jason Thompson is a manga critic, journalist, writer and comics artist.-Life and career:...
felt that the manga focused on self-esteem, and that the artist's drawing skills carried the work.
External links
- Shugo Chara! official website by Peach-PitPEACH-PITis a female manga artist duo in Japan, made up of and . Their group name derives from the diner hangout Peach-Pit from the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Although both have similar styles, with some artwork it is possible to identify which artist drew it. Both are known for their bishōjo styled works...
- Shugo Chara! at Del Rey MangaDel Rey Mangawas the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
- Anime official website
- TV Tokyo Shugo Chara! website
- TV Tokyo Shugo Chara!! Doki— website
- TV Tokyo Shugo Chara! Party! website
- The official Shugo Chara! Takara-Tomy site
- The official Shugo Chara! Konami NDS game site
- "Shugo Chara Chan!" spin-off series