September 29th, 2024

-shugo chara, ~or~ what it means to be yourself-

Happy September! The buses are trundling around town each morning, the leaves are starting to change, and the weather's getting cooler... or not? It's actually really hot where I am lately! I'm not a fan of the cold by any means but MAN am I excited for Halloween coming up! Aaanyway, I've been watching the iconic 2007 magical girl anime Shugo Chara lately! I just got to the end of the first arc/season, and I have so many thoughts!

Where should I start..? Well, I guess with a bit of an intro! Shugo Chara is a 2007 anime adaptation of the hit manga by Peach-Pit, the same duo that made Rozen Maiden(another favorite aaa!). It's all about a fifth-grade girl, Hinamori Amu, whose tough and stubborn outward character betrays her true, more fragile personality. She feels disjointed from her family and, having just transferred to a new school, has no friends. One night, she prays for the courage to be her "would-be self, " and the next morning, wakes up to find three magical eggs in her bed. They hatch into cute, floating fairy chibi things called Shugo Chara(Guardian Characters), and they represent the person she wants to be. She later meets a group of kids that all have their own Shugo Chara, but here's the catch; they each have one, and she has three! The story follows Amu and her new friends as they try to find out who is distorting and destroying the "heart's eggs" of the children around them, developing new magical powers and meeting all sorts of colorful characters along the way.

I want to talk about a particular aspect of the show that really gets me thinking. So Amu has three Shugo Charas right? Ran, a peppy, go-getting cheerleader. Miki, a thoughtful, kinda snarky artist. and Su, the sweet-as-sugar but airheaded baker. So each of those characters symbolize who Amu wants to be? Or aspects of her future self? It's just fascinating. The other characters already kind of embody their Shugo Charas. For instance, Kukai. He wants to be a sports star, he is a sports star. Or Nadeshiko. She wants to be a perfect traditional dancer(and in my opinion, a stereotypically perfect woman), and she is basically already there. Very simple.

But here's my headcanon. Amu has spent so long embodying the personality she felt she had to take on ever since her little sister was born that she doesn't even know who she is anymore. I mean, she doesn't even unmask around her family. Even at first when her Shugo Charas hatch, she repeatedly exclaims "This is so not me!" in an attempt to distance herself from those parts of herself, but she clearly enjoys when she can magically "Chara Change" and more align with any of their personalities and skills. Amu has three Shugo Charas because under all the stancing and fog, she really has dreams for who she wants to be, and they've forced themselves out into the open to save her from her own fear and indecisiveness.

Or maybe it's just a kids' show. You can't keep me from overanalyzing these things!

It's just cool! You don't see a kids' show go into a concept like this in this way very often. When I was a kid and I was asked what I want to be when I grew up, everyone around me seemed to have an answer, but not me. It was something of a worrying subject for me. Seeing a character in a cartoon be out of touch with her dreams and not know what she wants to be when she gets older is relatable and refreshing for me specifically, and I'm sure some folks reading this have felt aimless in that way too.

What matters is that you embrace the things that make you happy, and if that leads to a career or lifestyle or you, then you can make it happen! Dreams come true with a little work and a lot of optimism. And even if your dreams don't lie with a career, there are so many things to live for outside of a job, trust me!

Alright then! We're right on the cusp of one of the most fun times of year! I'll have something fun and spooky prepared for you next time!