Shugo Chara! (しゅごキャラ!, Shugo Kyara!?) is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary schoolgirl 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.

Plot:

The heroine of the story, Amu Hinamori, is a student at Seiyo Elementary. At first glance, her classmates deem her "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. Amu's life becomes much more complex as she struggles to deal with her "would-be" selves and the Seiyo Elementary's Guardians, who recruit Amu to search for X Eggs and X Characters, the corrupted forms of peoples' dreams.

Meanwhile, the Easter Company is extracting people's eggs in search of a special egg called the Embryo. The Embryo is believed to able to grant any wish to the one who possesses it. However, the process creates X Eggs and X Characters.

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 Maiden, 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 Diamond—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 domestic skills, while Diamond represents Amu's desire to be guided, a leader, and improve her musical skills. Moreover, the Character Guardians are more than mere mascots who help Amu learn about her true self. They can also perform a "Character Transformation" 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 Fujisaki, Kukai Soma, and Yaya Yuiki—have their own Guardian Characters. Amu also encounters Ikuto Tsukiyomi and Utau Hoshina, two siblings who also have Guardian Characters and are employed by the Easter Company to search for the Embryo.

Eventually, Nadeshiko Fujisaki and Kukai Soma 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.