Editorial
The Shugo Chara Hype
I have previously mentioned that one of the likely reason why they are extending—or why they can extend—Shugo Chara to 52 episodes is because of the show’s marketability, or perceived profitability.
The manga was already popular before the anime hype, mostly among shoujo fans, but it was not until the anime aired that it became mainstream, or is on the verge of becoming one. The anime was well-received, by both men and women, young and old, despite its cuteness, frilliness, and saccharine shoujo goodness, supposedly aimed at young girls. The lightheartedness of the show, with its loveable characters and overall enjoyableness factor is what most likely contributed to this. Enjoyableness in this sense encompasses the smuttiness of the show, thanks to Ikuto~, which I believe guys enjoy in this show as well, pervs and non-pervs alike. In case of pervs who want to see more of the SekuHara (sexually harassing) Ikuto, it can also be interpreted as “projecting themselves to Ikuto”, with whatever desires they might have on loli Amu >.>’’’’
The reception of old kimoota (kimochi warui otaku) guys to this show is attested by both these fanboys, and even more wild fanboys. The girls weren’t as active as the guys in the Shugo Chara events scene, but I’m sure they are just around the corner *points to self and these women* There’s also this kimoota who recently appeared, taking a footage of himself doing the LOVE POWAH attack, half naked while wearing the Humpty Lock toy *shudder*
The Tons-O-Merchandise
As I mentioned at the start of this post, the primary reason they most likely have in extending Shugo Chara is commercialization purposes, best seen in the number of merchandise it has spawned so far.
Seeing names like KONAMI and Takara Tomy as sponsors of this anime right when it aired already indicated that this is going to spawn lots of merchandise, particularly toys and games. And certainly, the merchandise boom came after the anime hit the airwaves.
First, we have this Amu hair-tie, which was the mail-order present from Nakayoshi’s November 2007 issue. It wasn’t officially sold in stores, but who knows, we might just see more of these coming real soon.
For the Amu wannabes, there’s this Shugo Chara pouch, to go along with a COOL and SPICY Amu uniform for cosplaying. Most of the outfits and accessories of the characters in this series might just be turned into a commodity.
Love the Suzuki daydream pic =P Amu’s “groom” looks like Ikuto, but the height isn’t quite right.
Then we have the Flow Cards (was this made to sound like Clow Cards? o_O), which can grow in infinite number like that of Pokemon or Yugioh. In the case of Shugo Chara, almost every scene in the anime could be turned into one of these cards, with some card-original scenes as well, like the case with the above cards.
Pokemon, I choose Shugo Chara over you! Shugo Chara RULEZ!
If Shugo Chara is gonna air on Cartoon Network, it might just turn out to be the female counterpart of Pokemon, whose merchandise will be seen side by side the Pokemon stuffs. And I start to envision young girls asking for Shugo Chara stuffs instead of Barbies.
Having more Shugo Charas will also mean more toys and whatever stuffs for almost each and every one of them, ranging from plushies, figurines, stickers, coloring books, and the like.
Suu plushie with Suisei Seki desu~ collection of a Japanese fan
It goes without saying that the Shugo Charas will be turned into cute plushies, so fans can cuddle them at home. I want a plushie too~ >__<
The Humpty Lock!! And the Three Eggs!
I believe this is the Humpty Lock being worn by the otaku in the video, which glows when one of the eggs comes into contact with it o__O
stickers~ ^^;;
This comes in different Shugo Chara varieties as well. I know it’s for kids, but I don’t think I’ll be able to resist buying it. Good thing I’m not in Japan anymore o__O
Aside from these novelty items, I can already see a Shugo Chara console game coming out sometime soon from Konami, hopefully an RPG-ish otome game =P
In the next few weeks, perhaps Toys R’Us will be colored pink, turned COOL and SPICY by the number of Shugo Chara stuffs being sold in stores. The last time I went to Japan, I remember seeing lots of Kirarin Revolution stuffs, which might just be the same fate as Shugo Chara, especially if they continue to keep the anime alive (extend the anime? orz).
oh, and Utau who has just appeared in the last episode has her Character Song album slated for release this coming December. The first in the series of Character Songs they’ll be releasing. To think that we barely heard her talk yet… lol. Oh well, it’s Mizuki Nana~
EDIT: (forgot to add this earlier =__=)
With all this hype, we might just see something like this car soon LOL. It doesn’t really look… COOL and SPICY though. More like gayy… >.>”
The Shugo Chara Language
Aside from merchandise, this series is also spawning its own breed of language, which might be known as しゅ語キャラ (read as “Shugo Chara”, with the “go” having the kanji for language) sooner or later. Some of the “Shugo Chara-esque phrases” I’ve been seeing in the Japanese community as of late are 「私の財布をアンロック」(UNLOCK my wallet! - for buying the tons of SC goods),「コミック買う勇気無いやつは周りの目を気にしないキモオタにキャラなりして…」(Guys who don’t have the courage to buy the manga should just chara-nari into a kimoota and never mind the people around them >.>”’), and other phrases patterned after the lyrics of the OP “なりたいようになればいいじゃん” “やりたいようにやればいじゃん”
I’ve found myself using the Shugo Chara slangs as well, referring to transforming a person’s character or attitude as chara change, or telling someone to unlock their inner fanboyism ^^;;;;
The Future of Shugo Chara?
Most of the people I know who watched the series have easily become Shugo Chara fans. There’s something in it for just about everyone, from shoujo fans to lolicons, even simple people with an open mind to watching this kind of anime. The Shugo Chara hype is especially obvious in Japan, where many people have fallen for its moe charms. I remember reading an article in the recent Newtype, which praised Peach Pit for their works Rozen Maiden and Shugo Chara, thought to be ingenius by how it adapted the problems plaguing young kids nowadays. Even the staff confessed to being knocked out by the cuteness of the series.
Shugo Chara is popular, and will be even more so as the series goes on. I just hope it won’t suffer the same commercialization crap as other series and continue to be an enjoyable watch despite its length (52 is rumored at this point, which might be less, or more), and hopefully, stay faithful to the main plot despite 80% fillers comprising the show.
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31 comments for “The Shugo Chara Hype”
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Lol holy crap where can I buy the humpty lock or the eggs? I wanna cosplay Amu next year!! XDDDDDDDDD
All.. this merchandise.. ME WANT!! now.. just to wait for my local Anime store to stock up on them ;3. It will be pricey, but its worth it if I can get one of the dolls….
As for the influx of male fans compared to female ones, I was a bit shocked when I saw that– I guess the show targeted the wrong audience of only young girls and turned into an “enjoyable by all ages show”– thats good
I believe the groom is Ikuto, if you look closely, you see a hint of blue. I’m assuming that this is in the future, Amu has matured ( both mentally and physically) and is wearing heels to make the height difference smaller.:D
I like Shugo Chara as much as the next person, but I can’t help but notice that most of the examples you pointed out are actually found in most popular anime. More than half of the anime shown these days get their own trading card game, of which people collect for like a couple of months and then sell them off for little value as the hype dies down.
Not to mention figures, as even Moyashimon has a bunch of them. Anime is just commercialised these days, which can be good considering we get to own those items. But bad when the staff makes decisions based on monetary considerations.
Daaamn, I wanna actually cosplay Amu now
OMFG IKUTO PLAYING THE VIOLIN!!! *///*
*fangasms*
And it DOES look like Ikuto is the “groom.” If he was taller that would definitely be him 8] But he would probably go off the card
So. much. kawaii. shugo. chara-ness.
*___*
Oh!!!! Shugo Chara plushie??? I want that now. So kawaii!!! >.
Initially I didn’t really like Shugo Chara because it reminded me so much of Sailormoon and Care Bears. But the third episode onwards really started to grab me and now its one of the anime I look forward most to every week
I want Miki and Yoru’s egg
i like the amu pouch, i think it’s cute^_^
i agree with @ShiningNinja. the eternal love card does seem to hint at ikuto. who else has very obvious blue hair?XD
52 eps, wow that’s long… somehow i see we’re in for some long filler episode arcs which is what’s happening with dgrayman, bleach and naruto. i just hope it doesn’t stray too much from the main storyline.
Cool and Spicy indeed. But those fanboys are scary!
@Hinano: w00t! cosplay Amu and you’ll be all COOL and SPICY!
All these items are available from Amazon JP. I haven’t checked any other stores that sells them.
@ShiningNinja: ooh! I forgot the possibility of Amu growing taller and/or wearing heels!
@tj: yup, most popular animes go into this trend, which simply means that Shugo Chara falls under the “popular” category indeed, thanks to the anime as well.
I actually think the staff based their decision regarding the anime’s length and overall direction on the commercialization aspect… which is a bit sad. I’m just hoping it turns out enjoyable, at the very least =__=
@Tomochii-Chan: It’ll be great to see you and Hinano cosplaying as Amu! :p
@Starry: …and I believe there’s gonna be even more plushies in the future! *___*
@Nekonron: wai~ Shugo Chara convert! :3
@beingmeyuki: I just hope it’ll take the same direction as the One Piece fillers, where most of the filler scenes actually lead to the main events of the manga.
@DS: the wild fanboys certainly are =___=
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has started adding Shugo Chara! phrases to her everyday speech. “Hop, Step, Jump!” and “Unlock” (complete with hand motions, LOL!) are the main ones I find myself doing.
the car doesnt look gay it looks awsome ^^
For real, that car is amazing…….LOL
well, something about this show put me off right from the start so i never dled it. Think i’ll give it a whirl, see if it grabs me, since i am after all a HUGE shoujo addict
where can u fnd the cosplay?
@Ojamajo_LimePie: LOL! Shugo Chara is soo influential
@momoka & Totali: you’ll certainly stand out among the crowd with that car, that’s for sure :p
@Tiamat’s Disciple: you might want to give the manga a try instead, if you still don’t find the anime to your liking :3
@amu: I found it being auctioned in yahoo JP before… I have no idea where else to buy it o___o
thats so cool!
i really want the shugo chara eggs and humpty lock D;
OMG!^^ Where can I buy all of this??
@Liinae and ClariCANDYXD: the only place I know where to buy these stuff is through Amazon JP:
Shugo Chara stuffs in Amazon
I don’t know where else to buy them ^^;;;
Nyaaaaaaaaaan!!! If the Shugo Chara merchandise is at an anime convention like Otakon, I’M SO BUYING IT!!!
Actually there is a deck of Shugo Chara cards (regular ones) in the magazine that publishes it as well. Is Amazon JP the only place to purchase this stuff? I can’t speak/read Japanese at all so I can’t really order from there…
@wandering-dreamer: I haven’t looked around other sites yet, but you can still order from Amazon JP even without Nihongo knowledge. There’s actually an English option there hehe.
I clicked on the display in English link, but now many fewer items pop up so that might not help so much. Maybe if I get an account I could get this to work, but I think I’ll wait another day for that.
woah that groom does look like ikuto o.o just behind the roses is a bit of ikuto’s pretty blue hair ^.^
I want to cosplay as Amu 4 Nekocon next year I need to find her uniform and purchase it. Help me guys >_
@Eleanor: the only place where I saw that being sold is in yahoo auction… x__x
Omg, i want those things!
Where can i get them?!
tell me where to get this stuff PLEASE!!!!!
where can u get amu hair ties?
they r so cute!