The story centers on elementary school girl 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.

Del Rey has licensed the English language manga rights, releasing the first volume on March 27, 2007.

has also been adapted into a fifty-one episode anime television series of the same title produced by Satelight under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and debuted on October 6, 2007 on TV Tokyo.

[1][2] The main protagonist of the story, Amu Hinamori, is a female student attending Seiyo Elementary.

[3] At first glance, her classmates refer to her attitude and appearance as "cool and spicy" and rumors speculate about her personal life.

One night, Amu wishes for the courage to show her "would-be" self, and the next morning, she finds three brightly colored eggs—pink, blue, and green—in her bed.

Due to Amu's mixed feelings before Diamond was born, she becomes an X character and is "stolen" by idol singer Hoshina Utau, who uses Diamond to character change for her concerts, planned by Easter as part of their plan to get the Embryo.

In December 2005, Peach Pit announced that they were working on a new shōjo manga series called Shugo Chara!

In addition to the regular volumes, the series was released in limited editions in Japan, each of which included different cover art from the regular editions, metallic foil sleeves, and a set of postcards featuring Amu in various outfits and poses following the color theme of the dust jackets.

[5] Del Rey Manga announced that it acquired the English language rights to Shugo Chara!

One month later, Peach-Pit announced that all three series will resume and thanked their fans for the support during the illness.

[8] There is a four-volume spin-off manga series called Shugo Chara Chan!, featuring drawings by Mizushima Naftaren, which is in yonkoma (4-panel) comics style and focuses on Amu's guardians.

[9] The January issue of Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine confirmed on December 1, 2009, that Peach-Pit would be ending the Shugo Chara!

The television series is produced by Satelight under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and was first broadcast on the Japanese network, TV Tokyo.

The opening theme for the first twenty-six episodes is "Kokoro no Tamago" (こころのたまご, lit.

"Egg of the Heart"); and the last twenty-five episodes, "Minna Daisuki" (みんなだいすき, lit.

The closing theme for the first twelve episodes is "Honto no Jibun" (ホントのじぶん, lit.

and another two by Guardians 4 have been used; the opening theme for the first twelve episodes is "Minna no Tamago" (みんなのたまご, lit.

Dokki Doki segment is "Watashi no Tamago" (My Egg) performed by Shugo Chara!

[17] On August 25, 2009, Anime News Network reported that a new series will premiere in Japan on October 3, 2009.

[18] On May 1, 2009, news reports revealed Yuuka Maeda in the lead role as Amu, Kanon Fukuda as Nadeshiko, and Akari Saho and Ayaka Wada as part of the ensemble cast.

[19][20] Other cast members for the musical included Hidemi Hikita as Tadase, Meimi Tamura as Yaya, Yuta Koseki as Kukai, Karin Yagishita as Rima, Reo Sawada as Kairi, KENN as Ikuto, and Misaki Yonemura as Utau.

Project stated that Maeda, Fukuda, and Wada were withdrawing from Shugo Chara Egg!

[22] Konami has released three video games, based on the manga, for the Nintendo DS.

[23] It follows Amu's adventures as she purifies X Eggs, as well as pursuing any of the love interests available (Ikuto, Tadase, Kairi, Nikaidou and Nagihiko).

[24] It's a raising sim where Amu must develop her relationship with any of the available characters (the Guardians, Ikuto, Utau, Nikaidou and Nagihiko) during three months, with the target of bringing a partner to the "Best Friends Festival".

Phil Theobald, writing for Newtype USA, states that while the premise may be fairly complicated, "the clean art and solid storytelling by Peach-Pit make it easy to follow."

to Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, adding, "it addresses the complexities of the human psyche, from joke characters like the fortune-teller who doesn't trust her own abilities, to Nikaidou's own personal conflict over his childhood dreams.

[34][35] Jason Thompson felt that the manga focused on self-esteem, and that the artist's drawing skills carried the work.