Forum - View topicShugo Chara!
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ryokoalways
Posts: 562 |
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Shugo Chara!
I was browsing through Animate in Akihabara when I came across the manga, and went to look it up as it not only caught my interest, but it also is supposedly fairly popular. Does anyone have an opinion regarding this series? I don't believe that this has been discussed on the board yet. The premise isn't anything great, I'm curious as to why this series managed to gain a pretty nice reputation. [EDIT: Added Encyc. link as well as this thread to the All Discussions index. -TK] |
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GreatTeacherKen
Posts: 59 |
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I haven't read the manga, so I can only speak for the anime.
For a show that's set to be 52 episodes long, it has really good animation. And I think a lot of the show's appeal (and I'd agree that this so far is the show's greatest strength) has to do with the main character, Amu Hinamori who is a great mix of strong and vulnerable. I think a lot of people can easily relate to her main issue even though the premise is fantastical in nature. Her conflict about her true self is one that is very grounded in reality. Not to mention her reactions to the crazy magical girl stuff that happens to her are pretty funny and I really like her fashion sense. Last edited by GreatTeacherKen on Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:00 am; edited 2 times in total |
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kizzmequik_74
 Posts: 302 Location: QC, Philippines |
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I agree. I've been following this series for the current season (I'm down about two episodes from current), and its greatest strength really is Hinamori Amu, the main character. She has a realistically grounded inner conflict, which really is a marker of a strong mahou shoujo series; also, she's the deadpan snarker type, and that balances her character out quite a bit. The supporting cast deserves some mention as well: colorful, fun, interesting, especially the teacher, and Ikuto, the nekomimi guy.
If anything, I'm a bit weirded out by the gradient-looking hair highlights in the show, but aside from that, and the usual trappings of the mahou shoujo series (stock-footage transformations, mascots), it's a technically solid show. |
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jetz
 Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
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I dropped the series after 2 episodes but it's not because I hated it - I just didn't think I should prioritize it over other series I'm currently watching. From what I've seen, it's your typical mahou shoujo anime - cutesy, girly, a lot of fantasy, etc. But I have to agree. Amu is an interesting girl that a lot of young people can relate with. I also like her fashion sense.
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selenta
 Subscriber Posts: 1774 Location: Seattle, WA |
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It's pretty cheesy, truth be told. The fights are one sided and formulaic, Su is positively irritating, the bad guy teacher is frustratingly generic feeling, and the little sister (while not unrealistic) probably falls into the 'nothing but irritating' category as well. Of course, I'm still watching it though.
 Thankfully though, all four of the things I dislike about the show get almost no screen time.
The animation is pretty good, but for me (and this is going to sound really stupid), I think I'm watching it just because I like Amu's character design. Even though the show is far from 'deep' by almost any definition of the word, I still like it for reasons I can't even begin to explain. |
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ryokoalways
Posts: 562 |
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I've read the first volume, it's not bad like you guys said. It's not great, but it can become a pretty good series. Although I still don't quite understand the immense popularity for it in Japan though.
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Manganime00
 Posts: 57 |
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Okay I have to disagree with the animation. I mean sure the clothes are great, the eyes are large and beautiful, but their faces are just so darn angular. When I see their chins from a side point of view it's like someone hacked off a piece of their face. Aside from that the animation is good.
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demonroach
 Posts: 89 |
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The animation is great overall. I think the alien in disguise thing works well. They look just like DearS chars. 
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MagicallyDelicious
 Posts: 157 |
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I was talking with some friends of mine about the anime "Shugo Chara!" and we were wondering why we haven't heard anything about the anime being licensed for release in the U.S.... if I missed the announcement, who licensed it? I'm talking about the anime, not the manga.
I also think that Shugo Chara! would be a perfect anime for Cartoon Network or something along those lines... I could see it filling the void that shows like Sailor Moon left behind years ago. I honestly think it would really take off as a show on Saturday mornings... after Pokemon or what have you, with lots of pre-teen girls (and guys, probably) watching it. There really isn't much content that they would have to edit, either, since it's a pretty tame and cute show. I was just wondering if anyone else has thought about this or thinks it's likely to happen. Are there even any companies right now in the position to get Shugo Chara on the air? EDIT: Thank you to whoever merged this with the Shugo Chara thread... I even did a Search and didn't find this thread, I guess cause it was so old. |
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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Haven't gotten to see the series yet but I'm enjoying the manga quite a bit. I'm quite fond of magical girl series. |
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Truered
 Posts: 515 Location: Uni |
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Shugo Chara? It's a bit cheesy, very formulaic, quite childish and something I would never publicly admit to liking.
Having said that I'm up to episode 20 and it keeps pulling me back  I like cute anime, and even though I can predict the final four-five minutes before I even start watching the episode I still find the build up during the episode fun.
However after being stung by the Rozen maiden manga, I'm leaving the Shugo Chara one alone until there's a sign it might actually have a satisfying ending. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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Patachu
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 1325 Location: San Diego |
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Nope, no license yet.  I wish this were true, but I don't know if Shugo Chara could succeed in the current market the way Sailor Moon did over a decade ago. SM really came in the right place at the right time and that's never going to happen again. The way US anime licensors are right now, I think they really only want to go for stuff with swords, explosions and hot cartoon babes, or even "critically acclaimed favorites." I think there's also this mindset going around that "shoujo anime doesn't sell" (often because girls prefer manga instead).
Honestly, the only magical girl anime that would succeed today IS a Sailor Moon re-release, and that's because of the nostalgia factor more than anything else.
I can attest to the strong audience of teen and pre-teen girls (the demographic of people commenting on my Youtube clip of Renai Rider frightens and amuses me), but somehow you gotta convince the people who put stuff on TV that Shugo Chara on CN would totally be profitable and emerge as the "girls' version of Naruto" or something. Then again, I look at The Click column on this site and see just how much anime runs on North American TV these days, and you never know...
I hate to be one of those people who says "it gets better later on," but ... yeah.  The early-episode fillers are rather BLEH and it doesn't truly start kicking ass and taking names until the Nikaidou arc spoiler[where Amu uses all three transformations in one ep and all that awesome stuff that was in Vol. 3 of the manga happens]. Luckily you're only about 2 or 3 episodes away from that.
But the real, REAL payoff is the arc running from the late 20's through early 40's (with some filler along the way; holy crap they really had to pad this series because it's 52 eps). I can't give away too much but episodes 41-43 of Shugo Chara are some of the best adventure anime I have seen all year. Also, for catboy lovers, spoiler[the Ice CreAmu episode]. In general: I see there have been a lot of "this a guilty pleasure and ehhhh I'm not really sure why I like it but I kinda do" responses but I think in a few years it will be held as a beloved magical girl classic in the same vein as Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. I mean, c'mon, those ones had their share of filler eps as well and kept on beating the "believe in yourself and follow your dreams!" message every 22 minutes, and that hasn't stopped people from liking them a lot. |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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[quote="Patachu"]
If anyone thinks that shougo anime wouldn't sell in the US then they probably have not been keeping up with the fansubs. I actually think that if Shugo Chara was released in the US with a good dub and shown on TV it could bring in lots of younger girls (who have never seen Cardcaptors or Sailor Moon) in the same way that CCS and SM did. Also, this anime has shown to be very popular (I think it's one of the all time favorites on CR) and fairly well known so I'm hoping that it gets licensed by December, no idea if it will or not though. Anyway, even though the story itself isn't very original, I think that is has quite a following because of how cute it is and the message, stay true to yourself but yet don't be afraid to try something new. The message is really emphasized in the anime and it's a good, uplifting message, one that everyone needs to hear now and then. |
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Truered
Posts: 515 Location: Uni |
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I need to get back to watching it. This latter part of the summer holiday I've watched hardly anything. However funny story- I once saw you mention Shugo Chara in another thread, somehow mistook you for someone else (stupid summer braincell loss) and thought "if they liked it it must be good" One of the best mistakes on a forum I made this summer.
Also I really like the first opening theme (and to a lesser extent the first ending). Itunes lists my play count for that as being over 50... 
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