Shugo Chara!: Who Do You Want to Be?, Vol. 1 (Shugo Chara!, #1)

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Shugo Chara!: Who Do You Want to Be?, Vol. 1 (Shugo Chara! #1)

by Peach-Pit

4.12 · rating details · 2,679 ratings · 78 reviews

WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?

Everybody at Seiyo Elementary thinks that stylish and super cool Amu has it all: But nobody knows the real Amu, a shy girl who wishes she had the courage to truly be herself. Changing Amu’s life is going to take more than wishes and dreams–it’s going to take a little magic! One morning, Amu finds a surprise in her bed: three strange little eggs. Each ...more

Paperback, 208 pages

Published March 27th 2007 by Del Rey

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Oct 30, 2011

Theresa ♥ rated it

Recommends it for: Fellow humans who wish for a cute, original mahou-shoujo story

Shelves: manga, the-original-shelf, the-romantic-manga-shelf, the-beautiful-art-and-cover-shelf

1. The art is beautiful.
2. The idea is WAAAAY original. I CAN'T FIND ANOTHER PLOT LIKE IT!!
3. It teaches a valuable lesson that I ENCOURAGE MY REVIEW READERS TO FIND OUT FOR THEMSELVES. :)

Shugo Chara (NOTE: Pronounced Shoo-goh kah-rah! People have been calling it Shoo-goh cha-rah and I have the immediate urge to correct them! But I wouldn't know--I'm just a fan of pronouncing things the japanese way.) starts out as story about a young 4th grader (I can't believe how young...more

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Apr 01, 2011

Sparo127 rated it

Shugo Chara is a lovely manga series! It turned out better than I had expected to be. Amu Hinamori, the main character, acting 'cool and spicy' at her school but that wasn't her true character. So she wish to be reborn as her true self. Her wish came true and there were three eggs on her bed. She was astonished about it. She brought them at her school where she met the Guardians of Seiyo Elementary. She had a crush with the prince, Tadase who was in the king chair. Once she confessed to him that...more

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Mar 15, 2011

Lexi rated it

Shelves: great-not-favorite

This adorable story with cute characters and a mysterious plot is definitely different from most manga out there. Following elementary student and accidentally acclaimed badass, Amu Hinamori, we learn about the Shugo Chara, or "Guardian Characters" and their roles in the world of this story.
The pace was slower in general, but it was the perfect pace for this story. The plot is different and always tries to keep you guessing. The artwork is great with lots of attention to detail. T...more

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Dec 14, 2010

Suzanne rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Review #15 ~I think~ ) This is one of the best manga I've read. I love the story plot so far and I also love the pictures... The pictures are detailed and very cute. The main character,fourth grader Amu, doesn't like the ways she acts, or how she fits into the community. People see Amu as the cool punk girl because of the clothing she wears( that her mother bought her). Her personality is nothing like that though. So one night, Amu wished so bad that she could "start over." The next mo...moreReview #15 ~I think~ ) This is one of the best manga I've read. I love the story plot so far and I also love the pictures... The pictures are detailed and very cute. The main character,fourth grader Amu, doesn't like the ways she acts, or how she fits into the community. People see Amu as the cool punk girl because of the clothing she wears( that her mother bought her). Her personality is nothing like that though. So one night, Amu wished so bad that she could "start over." The next morning, thinking she gave "birth" to them, she found three eggs on her bed. Not knowing what they were, she took them to school. When she gets to school she meets the "Prince", Tadase Hotori, and she falls in love with him right away. The "Prince" goes up to her and seems to realize that she has "the eggs." Surprised, she slaps his hand from reaching her. Everyone was surprised in what she did. She regretted it. During the Guardian, "something changed her character." In the middle of the meeting, she "character changed." In other words, her personality changed. She had confessed her love head-on. Embarrassed, she ran away from the meeting.

While running, she wishes that she would fall in a hole... Which she does... She falls down a man-hole, landing safely on the ground. There she finds a guy who wants her (character) eggs. He steals one of them and then trouble kicks in. They are both about to be buried alive when the stolen egg hatched and "thing" (Guardian Character) flew Amu out of the hole. The other guy (Ikuto) got out himself with his Guardian Character.

Later on in the story, the Guardian members are recruiting new members. In which they chose Amu (because she had three Guardian Characters). Amu declines but the Guardian members don't give up too easily. In the end, they get her to join... (They kind of forced her actually...).

In the end of this volume, Amu cooks for Tadase, she meets up with Ikuto again, and she finds out about her job.

This book is filled with fantasy and it also related to our community theme. I give it five stars!(less)

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Nov 25, 2009

Rose rated it

Shelves: favourites

My review will be on the original non-edited version that some kind people translate for us on the internet cos Del Rey suck (no offence to you guys and all) and 'edit' (or as I like to say, make loads of mistake in) the translation... WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY ANNOYING!!! Seriously annoying... seriously, seriously annoying... you don't know how long I can rant about something like that cos I appreciate the Japanese culture and language so much... (speaking of which, anyone wanna lend me £1000 so ...moreMy review will be on the original non-edited version that some kind people translate for us on the internet cos Del Rey suck (no offence to you guys and all) and 'edit' (or as I like to say, make loads of mistake in) the translation... WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY ANNOYING!!! Seriously annoying... seriously, seriously annoying... you don't know how long I can rant about something like that cos I appreciate the Japanese culture and language so much... (speaking of which, anyone wanna lend me £1000 so I can go there?)

The story focuses on the life of Hinamori Amu (or Amu Hinamori if you prefer the english term...) who is respected and known for her 'cool and spicy' exterior self. However, deep down Amu is just a shy, quiet girl (like me) who finds it a bit (VERY) hard to be honest and express her feelings... (OMG! WE'RE TWINS!!! Apart from the cool and spicy part... but I'm not a nerd, geek, etc either... just normal XD)... EVEN HER PARENTS THINK SHE'S 'COOL AND SPICY!!!'
One day, after (being forced to) watch a fat psychic woman go on about Guardian Characters on the TV she goes to her room and wishes that she could be a more open, honest girl (or something like that... it's been like a year ever since I read Chapter 1 people! I'm on Vol.10, Ch.46...)
So if by magic, the next day, she finds some brightly coloured and patterned eggs on her bed... then she starts to panic as all partially sane people would if they found out they had just 'layed' an egg...
Of course, I haven't told you about the guy Amu likes yet, mostly cos I HATE HATE HATE him until he apologizes and learns to work together with my 2nd favourite character... (Utau's my first!!!) but she has a crush on Hotori Tadase (Tadase Hotori) aka the prince of the school... he belongs to something sorta like a school council which are the 'Guardians' or the school... In this belongs Tadase (King chair), Fujisaki Nadeshiko (Queen's chair - who is later replaced), Sohma Kuukai (Jack's chair - who is later replaced when he graduates... *sob*) and Yuiki Yaya (Ace Chair). Like Amu, they all have guardian characters too! So once they spot her guardian characters, BANG, she's part of them (mostly cos she's an idiot and can't say no to the stupid kiddy king who turns not so stupid around chapter 35ish...)!!!
I also forgot to mention Amu's Shugo Chara are Ran (who's symbol is the heart) who's very sporty, Miki (spade) who's very artistic and Suu (Club/Clover) who has amazing domestic skills!!! (Later on she also gets another character who you can probably work out by yourself...)... Now if you don't see the connection betweeen all of this READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AGAIN UNTIL YOU DO!!!
I'm getting tired now, so I'll just introduce a few more main characters before you go off to mangafox.com to read it... or you can buy it which Peach-Pit will appreciate, read it then read the one on the internet cos it's tons better than the Del Rey one!!!
There's Tsukiyomi Ikuto, another one of Amu's love interests and my 2nd fave character... you can have your own view on him but he is pure awesomenss and as Phoebe and Philippa (my BFFs) would say 'Well fit!!!'.
Also there's Hoshina Utau... don't judge her right away cos that's not what she's truly like and she's not really evil... just looking out for a certain someone... (but I still support Amu X Ikuto!!!)
There's also the replacements for the guardians who resign but I don't want to completely spoil the story...
And there's also the big bad evil (not really but still...) company who crush people's dreams so they can get the 'Embryo' (not explaining, go read the manga already...) for their boss, known as 'Gozen'...

So yeah, 10/10 for Art, 9.5/10 for characters and 9/10 for story!!!(less)

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Apr 27, 2009

Espo rated it

Shelves: manga, favourites

Ah, Shugo Chara!. This is a series which really does break away from the boundaries and conventions of its preordained genre and give you something new for the audience. It takes the stereotypical aspects of mahou shoujo, of course, but it runs with them - uses some more than others and disregards some of the more cliché ones. It's not all about the sparkles and the saving the world and the impossibly comfortable outfits and impossible hair colours and so forth. Okay, it is about all of that, bu...moreAh, Shugo Chara!. This is a series which really does break away from the boundaries and conventions of its preordained genre and give you something new for the audience. It takes the stereotypical aspects of mahou shoujo, of course, but it runs with them - uses some more than others and disregards some of the more cliché ones. It's not all about the sparkles and the saving the world and the impossibly comfortable outfits and impossible hair colours and so forth. Okay, it is about all of that, but not to horrific, endearing degrees. Most of all, to me, it's about a group of characters with real problems as they step into teendom and independance and learn to find their true selves.

First, let's face it - how many times have you questioned who you are? Questioned your true self? Probably a fair few. I know I have. That was probably one of my lures to the series. It really is something that most anyone can relate to.

Amu Hinamori feels outcast from the rest of her class - to them, she plays her false persona, a 'cool and spicy' girl who is too endearingly cool to approach, and has everyone under her thumb, and never looses pace, and so forth. The truth is she doesn't feel that way at all - that's not who she is on the inside, which is a stubbornly caring cool yet kindhearted girl who just wants to be accepted and be true to herself. So, she wishes - and the next day three eggs, which turn out to be her very own guardian characters (Shugo Chara) appear before her, which leads to her being drafted into the Guardians, and then join in the mission to effectively get hold of the Embyro and stop a company named Easter from destroying the souls of children and erasing their dreams.

However, it's not all about Amu. Which, even though I love her dearly, is a strong selling point. It is very, very difficult to hate any character in this series for any given length of time. They're not 2-dimensional - they're fleshed out and given histories, backgrounds, real life problems, such as parents who fight over work and younger siblings taking over your limelight and so forth. True, you may not be a fan of every character, but there will definately be one that reaches out and calls to you after the series breaks through their false personalties to the raw character underneath. Ikuto also gets a mention because hey, Ikuto.

And as it goes further on, it's just a really touching series that has messages behind it, and is a wonderful read. Fully reccommend you to keep reading to the currently translated volumes and beyond.(less)

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Aug 15, 2010

potatochip rated it

Shelves: manga, fantasy, romance, comedy

While this is an irresistibly cute manga, don't be fooled by the overly cutesy character design because the female lead has more than enough charm and personality to win over both male and female readers. I watched the anime first and loved it due to the lovable main character, beautiful art/attractive character deigns, and simple yet sweet premise and so far the manga definitely feels like it's worth the read. It's genuinely funny (it made me laugh out loud at times) and even though the general...more

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May 07, 2010

Margaryta rated it

Shelves: manga, favourite-books

Holy, this was an amazing manga series! First of all, nothing like this out of manga have I ever seen. And I so doubt I ever will. This manga stands alone from everything else, especially in the whole entire concept.

Amu is really an example of a girl in elementary school who is misunderstood and not given a chance to fix her mistakes, but she really wants another chance at a good life. Tadase and Ikuto are two boys that help her along the way, both becoming crushes but she does event...more

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Oct 16, 2010

tor added it

Shelves: manga

Since I don't want to clutter, my review of the whole series is gonna be here.

In short? I really liked it. Amu is a good character, despite being a shoujo protagonist, and her problems are real problems. Well, apart from the charas. The art is nice on the eyes, and peach-pit does a good job with clothing. The only thing I think that would squick people out some is Amuto. But whatever floats your boat~

I personally like the anime, partially because of the cute voices (squee...more

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Aug 20, 2011

Paola E rated it

Shugo Chara vol.1
Peach Pit, Shugo Chara, Kondasha publishing’s, 2007, 200p
Have you ever felt like someone that you’re not and just keep acting like it? And you just wished that you can change yourself? That’s how Hinamori Amu feels in the cute little manga made by Peach Pit. This is one of the cutest manga I have read in my entire life, it’s just so darn adorable it will make your teeth rot I swear. Now join me as I tell Amu’s story as it starts out with three little eggs.
...moreShugo Chara vol.1
Peach Pit, Shugo Chara, Kondasha publishing’s, 2007, 200p
Have you ever felt like someone that you’re not and just keep acting like it? And you just wished that you can change yourself? That’s how Hinamori Amu feels in the cute little manga made by Peach Pit. This is one of the cutest manga I have read in my entire life, it’s just so darn adorable it will make your teeth rot I swear. Now join me as I tell Amu’s story as it starts out with three little eggs.
Taking place in Tokyo Japan, at Seiyo Elementary which Hinamori Amu is a 5th grade student in the star class. Her classmates see her as ‘cool and spicy’ since at school she has that tough girl look and doesn’t care for cutesy things and some rumors speculate about her personal life. But Amu is actually a really shy girl who actually loves cute things; the rumors of her personal life are just a big fat lie. But she doesn’t have the guts to tell everyone that, she doesn’t want everyone to think of her as a weakling so one night she prays for herself to change; to be courageous artistic and talented. But the next day when she woke up she saw that she actually laid a red, blue, and green egg that later hatched into Ran, Miki, and Su who are actually her would be self. Soon the school guardians who also have charas (would be self) recruit Amu as their ‘joker’ to purify the x eggs and x characters who come from someone’s corrupted dreams. But it’s not going to be easy since a company named Easter is the cause of all this, just because their looking for the Embryo which can grant any wish. Will Amu and the others get to it before they do?
Peach pit did an amazing job writing this series of 11 books. I just thought the idea of the little fairies as there would be self was so cute. I just love reading this series. I kind of feel like Amu does…..this is a great fantasy graphic novel…..I would recommend it to any fantasy manga lovers………….CIAO!

(less)

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May 13, 2008

Nick rated it

Shelves: manga

Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: Created by Peach-Pit, the series is a shōjo manga that follows Amu Hinamori, a student at Seiyo Elementary. Amu has a reputation for being stylish and cool (that's her to the left), but she's really very shy. One night, she makes a wish that she could be her real self, and the next morning she finds three brightly colored eggs in her bed. Each egg eventually hatches a Guardian Character, angel-like beings able to change Amu into a new personality. She also has t...more

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Oct 04, 2010

Shelly - The Illustrated Librarian - rated it

Shelves: manga, guardian-characters, japanese, school-girls

Super-cute manga about a school girl who wishes she could be the person she wants to be, and not the shy girl she feels like. When she awakens to find three eggs in her bed, hilarity ensues. She ends up with three chibi friends that give her a "Character Change" when she needs to excel. Basically bringing out the best in her. All in all, a little odd, but there were some sub-plots hinted at that make me want to try more volumes of the title. Oh, and did I mention the super-cuteness?

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Oct 17, 2011

Yeji rated it

very cute! i feel kinda too old for this, but its wayy too cute to give up! saw the first ep. of this on TV once, liked it, started reading the manga and watched the anime, and now? now i LOVE it!!! veryy cute (again) ^-^

i love the plot line and how it has a sweet meaning in it. this this one of the best (and only) manga ive ever read. i love the anime as well, altho the manga has more stuff in it. either way, Shugo Chara is awesome!!!

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Jul 28, 2011

Timothy rated it

Shelves: manga

An interesting series with an appealing character and art. At first I have to admit that I wasn't sure how I'd like this series. After all, it deals with eggs as a source of power. However, the art is drawn well enough for me to not really have any qualms about this idiosyncrasy and I really like the humor. Also, it deals with the issues alot people had when growing up trying to determine your own identity, the 'what makes you YOU'. I'm sure alot of us wished we were more like the jock, the...more

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Jan 13, 2010

Anna rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 30, 2008

Connie rated it

Recommends it for: annie, elaine,

Recommended to Connie by: forgot

Everyone at Seigo Elementary thinks that stylish Amu has it all. But know one knows Amu's real self; the shy one. Changing Hinamori Amu's life is gonna take more than wishes and dreams, even if there is magic involved! One morning, Amu finds 3 eggs on her bed, each inside is a guardian angel, with different personalitys and charactistics.

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Nov 16, 2010

Daisy Ho rated it

Shelves: comics

This book is mainly about a girl called Amu who always help the people around her and she doesn't mind what other people tells something bad about her. So, I think she is so nice even though she will act like cool to other people... But, I think the reason why I like this book because she really helps people whenever people need help!!!

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Nov 24, 2009

H.orses rated it

How would you like to wake up to a pile of strangely colored eggs next to you? Odd, I know. But if each held a different power and a different inner self you might not want to scramble them so badly anymore. This is a cute little series I really enjoyed, the plot is definitely different, and I like that.

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Jan 06, 2011

Hannah Quirk rated it

Shelves: manga

I loved it. Sometimes the words and characters are to jumbled up and hard to follow, thats my only reason for giving it a 4. It's a cutesy manga, it's no gore fest. There is a little violence, but really? Nothing to worry about.

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Oct 11, 2010

Erica - Bonner Springs Library rated it

Shelves: 2009, graphic-novel, ya

I had a hard time following the story and following the characters. This probably wasn't the best introduction to manga series for me. I really struggled with figuring out who was who and who was talking when.

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Aug 01, 2009

Kristen rated it

This book tells a story of how people dreams can be very different and interesting. Every human has a soul which is an egg. Even some lucky people have there own charas which a there soul egg but that already crakcked open. It shows what they really truely want to be. But sometimes dreams can change from time to time. This girl Amu doesnt know what she wants her dream to be. Aside from that she helps cleanse X eggs which are souls that people just do not believe in themselves. This great series ...more

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Sep 21, 2011

Michelle Ng rated it

This book is so good I really enjoyed it!! ;)

I had wanted to read Volume 2 once I read this! It's just really interesting and cool. It talk about a girl getting a "X" Egg! it's really interesting so you should check it out!

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Mar 17, 2011

Fable rated it

Such a cute story! Although it does get kind of dragged out towards the end. Recommended it to some friends and they also loved it. Good for people who like to read cute stories with cute characters.

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Oct 14, 2009

Erica rated it

Shelves: ya, 2009, graphic-novel

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Feb 01, 2011

Christine rated it

Shelves: ya

I liked the story's premise, but it read like the usual girl manga type, which bugged me since the characters are in Elementary School. They're 11, at best, and acting like teenagers.

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Feb 11, 2011

Douglas rated it

Shelves: manga, borrowed

Wacky beginning to a cute series. I'm reading it with my 12yo daughter. I don't love it as much as she does, but the art is top notch, and there are genuinely funny sequences.

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Nov 06, 2011

Laura rated it

A very cute manga and romance. Also check out the anime it will not disappoint! --->http://www.animeseason.com/shugo-chara/

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Oct 13, 2009

Emily rated it

Again with the manga. lol. But they are still really interesting and I feel accomplished for reading two of them.

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Nov 16, 2010

Emma rated it

Shelves: manga

Amazing!! I read all of them!! I am a total Amuto fan!!!!!!!! I hope amu picks Ikuto overe tadase!!!!!!!

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Jan 01, 2012

Emily rated it

Shelves: graphic-novels, read-in-2008

It was cute. It was an interesting idea and it was cute. I don't really like cute mangas though.

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About Peach-Pit

Peach-Pit is a female manga artist duo in Japan, made up of Banri Sendo (千道万里) and Shibuko Ebara (えばら渋子). Their group name derives from the diner hangout in 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 two of them grew up together and went to the...more

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Books by Peach-Pit

Shugo Chara!: Friends in Need, Vol. 2 (Shugo Chara!, #2)

Shugo Chara!: Can a Bad Guy Turn Good?, Vol. 3 (Shugo Chara!, #3)

Shugo Chara!: Character Swap!, Vol. 4 (Shugo Chara!, #4)

Shugo Chara!: Black Cat, Vol. 7 (Shugo Chara!, #7)

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