Kids have some aspirations on how they want to grow up. Some kids dream of their professions, like being in famous sports teams or passing their knowledge to the next generations or saving lives or expressing themselves in their works of art. Other kids wish about less tangible things, like having everyone be at peace or making everyone happy around them or to always be together with the people they care about. There are also kids who want to change themselves so that they can make their dreams into reality. Shugo Chara turns that dream into a pretty egg that comes out of your heart and becomes a chibi character that embodies what you want to be. It is light-hearted – but can have heavy themes at times, – very bright and sparkly during the whole show, and each character has their own development.
Hinamori Amu pretends to be a really cool and spicy girl in school, but is actually softer and shy when no one is looking. One night, she wished to change and to to be able to show what she really is to everyone. The next morning, there were three pretty eggs on her bed, and a small child character that portrayed a part of the personality Amu wanted to be came out of each egg. She is then invited to join a special mission of the student council, who all have their own pretty eggs (called heart’s eggs) and characters, to eradicate what are dark eggs with X on them and purify them, since those are actually heart’s eggs that their owners gave up on. The student council members and Amu can transform themselves with the aid of their characters or chara to transform and gain unique abilities to purify the eggs.
- Satelite, 2007
In some ways, Shugo Chara is like a magical girl anime. Shiny transformation sequences, check. Non-human talking familiars, check. Mission to remove bad entities wherever she goes, check. The transformations are not restricted to girls though, since there are two boys in the student council when it was first introduced and they have their own charas, too.
- Satelite, 2007
The plot of the anime is well-defined and has an appropriate timeline. Flashbacks are rare, and if shown, do coincide with events from the present without adding new elements into the story. It still falls under the shoujou genre and thus still has romantic elements between the characters of the story, like between Amu and the student council president, Hotori Tadase.
- Satelite, 2007
Despite its mellow tone and portrayal, a rather difficult theme comes in very early in the series that makes it a bit hard for young kids to watch. For one, charas look like little humans and can communicate and complete actions. They are also the embodiment of a child’s innocent desire to become what they want to be. Eggs are actually very fragile things. The student council attempts to purify the eggs so that the children that made them can finally believe in themselves again. If they are destroyed, so is the hope of the child they came from.
Large eyes, round faces, and soft limbs are common in the series since most of the main cast are composed of middle school students. The animations and backgrounds are drawn fairly average and the colors are quite bright, especially in transformation sequences.
Each of the characters who have a heart’s egg have a wish to change. This is how they develop each as separate characters. This is also because Amu’s words are able to affect whomever she is talking to, ally or enemy. Even characters who do not have heart’s eggs but have a lot of interaction with Amu become dynamic as well.
- Satelite, 2007
Like the animation, the songs played for the openings and endings are also very bright. The pop openings always make you want to jump or move around and they reference the anime a bit in their lyrics. Ending songs are also very energetic in nature and tend to be more rock. The anime also features a few insert songs since one of its characters, Hoshina Utau, is an idol and the messages of her songs are more mature, concerning about love.
- Satelite, 2007
Shugo Chara will not be exactly the first in my recommendations, but it does certainly have a few things viewers can learn from. You may need to be a slightly older child to be able to understand a few of the themes shown in this anime, but that does not mean that you should stop enjoying your time as one. It even encourages you to still believe in dreams no matter what age you are in. You may not be able to form a heart’s egg, but what is important is that you never give up on bettering yourself. Just hop a bit, take a step, and jump for it.