, also known as ''My Guardian Characters'', is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

shōjo manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...

series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her classmates, contrasts with her

introvert Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's o ...

ed 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. The manga has been adapted to three animated seasons. The anime adaptation consists of twelve opening and ending singles (six for endings, four for openings and two containing both), two insert song singles, two character albums, four original soundtracks, one game single, and four drama CDs. This article also includes a description of some of the groups formed to deliver these songs.

Shugo Chara Egg!

was a

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...

project group formed by

Up-Front Promotion is a Japanese holding company for various entertainment companies. Its subsidiaries include the talent agency Up-Front Promotion and Up-Front Works, a music production and sales company that manages such record labels as Zetima, Piccolo Town, ...

in 2008 and associated with

Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but ...

. The group was created to perform music for the ''

Shugo Chara! , also known as ''My Guardian Characters'', is a Japanese shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga series created by the Mangaka, manga author duo, Peach-Pit (manga artist duo), Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, w ...

'' anime series. The members' original line-up consisted of trainees from Hello! Project's pre-debut team, Hello! Pro Egg:

Yuuka Maeda is a former Japanese singer. After joining Hello Pro Egg, a trainee program associated with Hello! Project, she achieved early fame as Amulet Heart in Shugo Chara Egg! before debuting in S/mileage, a Japanese idol girl group associated with ...

, Akari Saho,

Kanon Fukuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer. She is a former member of ZOC, Hello! Project idol group Angerme and Shugo Chara Egg!. Career Early years with Hello! Project On April 4, 2009, Tsunku announced a new girl group consisting of ...

and

Ayaka Wada is a Japanese singer and idol signed to YU-M Entertainment. She was a first generation member and the leader of Angerme as well as the leader of Hello! Project. * Biography Wada joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Pro Egg in June 2 ...

. Aside from performing music for ''Shugo Chara!'', Shugo Chara Egg! also starred in its

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

adaptation, ''Shugo Chara! the Musical''. After Maeda, Fukuda, and Wada departed to debut in Smileage, they were replaced by

Mizuki Fukumura is a Japanese singer and actress. She is a former ninth-generation member, leader of the pop group Morning Musume as well as the seventh leader of Hello Project. Prior to becoming part of Morning Musume, Fukumura was known as a member of the se ...

, Irori Maeda, and Nanami Tanabe, who hosted the live-action segments in ''Shugo Chara! Party!''

2008–2009: Debut, ''Shugo Chara! the Musical''

On September 3, 2008,

announced that they would be forming a collaboration subgroup set to debut in October to perform theme songs for the ''

'' anime series, with members from Hello! Project's pre-debut trainee team, Hello Pro Egg. The members were revealed during a ''Shugo Chara!'' event on September 20, 2008 attended by 1,000 people, featuring

as Amulet Heart, Akari Saho as Amulet Spade,

as Amulet Clover, and

as Amulet Diamond. Shugo Chara Egg!'s debut single, "Minna no Tamago", was featured as the opening theme song for ''Shugo Chara!'' beginning October 4, 2008, with the single released on December 10, 2008. The single also included a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

titled "Hajimari no Uta." The video single was released on January 21, 2009. On December 26, 2008, their second single, "Shugo Shugo!", was announced as the new opening theme song for the newest season of the show, ''Shugo Chara! Doki'', set to broadcast in January 2009 with a physical release on February 25, 2009. In April 2009, Shugo Chara Egg! performed a cover version of Guardians 4's debut song "Omakase Guardian", which was released as a

on the single. A

adaptation of ''Shugo Chara!'' set to run from August 13 to August 23 was announced in January 2009, with all members of Shugo Chara Egg! appearing in the play. On May 1, 2009, news reports revealed Maeda in the lead role as Amu, Fukuda as Nadeshiko, and Saho and Wada as part of the ensemble cast. Shortly after the announcement, Hello! Project stated that Maeda, Fukuda, and Wada were withdrawing from the group after the musical to debut in Smileage. Their final song with the group was a cover version of Guardian 4's song "School Days", which appeared as a

on the single and released on September 2, 2009.

2009–2010: Line-up changes and disbandment

The October 2009 issue of ''

Nakayoshi is a monthly Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga List of manga magazines, magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized ...

'' revealed

and Irori Maeda as the new Amulet Heart and Amulet Clover, and they would be hosting the live-action segments of ''Shugo Chara!s newest season, ''Shugo Chara! Party!'', with Saho. The group released the song "Watashi no Tamago" as a double

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

to Guardian 4's third single, "Party Time", on November 18, 2009. Nanami Tanabe was chosen to replace Wada's role as Amulet Diamond in January 2010. On January 20, 2010, Shugo Chara Egg! released the song as a

to Guardian 4's final single. On March 10, 2010, a compilation album was released featuring songs by Shugo Chara Egg!, Guardians 4, and

Buono! Buono! was a subgroup of the Japanese girl groups Berryz Kobo and Cute, formed in 2007 by Up-Front Promotion and associated with Hello! Project. The members consisted of Momoko Tsugunaga and Miyabi Natsuyaki from Berryz Kobo, and Airi Suzuki ...

, titled ''Shugo Chara! Song Best''. The DVD compilation featuring their music videos, titled ''Shugo Chara! Clip Best'', was released on March 17, 2010. After the final episode of ''Shugo Chara! Party'' aired March 27, 2010, activities for the group ended.

Members

* as Amulet Spade (2008-2010) * as Amulet Heart (2009-2010) * as Amulet Clover (2009-2010) * as Amulet Diamond (2009-2010)

Former members

* as Amulet Heart (2008) * as Amulet Clover (2008) * as Amulet Dia (2008)

Television

Theater

Guardians 4

was a

project group formed by

in 2009 and associated with

. The group was created to perform music for the ''

'' anime series. The members consist of

Aika Mitsui is a Japanese singer. She is a member of Hello! Project and a former member of the J-pop group Morning Musume, joining as a member of the eighth generation from the audition in Japan during December 2006. Mitsui's audition process was documente ...

from

Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...

Yurina Kumai is a Japanese model and former singer. Kumai began her career as a member of Hello! Project Kids in 2002. In 2004, she debuted as a member of Berryz Kobo, a girl group associated with the musical collective Hello! Project. During her time with ...

and

Risako Sugaya is a former Japanese singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Berryz Kobo from 2004 to 2015. Career 2002–2004: Hello! Project Kids, ...

from

Berryz Kobo was a Japanese idol girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members consisted of Hello! Project Kids members Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Chinami Tokunaga, Maa ...

, and Saki Nakajima from Cute.

History

In April 2009,

announced a new subgroup to perform music for the second season of the ''

'' anime series, titled ''Shugo Chara!! Doki''. The group features

from

and

from

, and Saki Nakajima from Cute. Their debut single, "Omakase Guardian", was first broadcast as ''Shugo Chara!! Dokis opening theme song on April 4, 2009, beginning with episode 77. The song was released as a single on May 27, 2009, along with a cover version by Shugo Chara Egg! and "Summer Has Come!" as

songs. The video single was released on June 10, 2009. Guardians 4 released their second single, "School Days", as the second opening theme song of ''Shugo Chara!! Doki'' on September 2, 2009. The single contained a cover version of the song by Shugo Chara Egg! and "Itsuka Koko de" as

songs. The video single was released on September 16, 2009. After the song was featured for two months, Guardians 4 released the song "Party Time" as the first opening song to ''Shugo Chara!s third season, ''Shugo Chara! Party!'', which began broadcast in October 2009. "Party Time" was released on November 18, 2009, as a double

single with "Watashi no Tamago", the series' ending theme song, by Shugo Chara Egg! The video single was released on December 2, 2009. Guardians 4 released their final single as a group, "Going On!", as the final opening theme song for ''Shugo Chara! Party!'' on January 20, 2010, which contained the

by Shugo Chara Egg! The video single was released on February 3, 2010. On March 10, 2010, a compilation album was released featuring songs by Guardians 4,

, and Shugo Chara Egg!, titled ''Shugo Chara! Song Best''. The DVD compilation featuring their music videos, titled ''Shugo Chara! Clip Best'', was released on March 17, 2010. After the final episode of ''Shugo Chara! Party'' aired March 27, 2010, activities for the group ended.

Members

* from

* from Cute * from

Endings

Honto no Jibun

is the first single by the

unit

, featuring

Airi Suzuki is a Japanese singer, actress, model, and radio personality associated with Up-Front Works. In 2002, she joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Project Kids and later debuted as the lead vocalist of the Japanese idol girl group Cute (Japan ...

Miyabi Natsuyaki is a Japanese singer. Her career began in 2002 when she passed the audition for Hello! Project Kids, an all-female child pop group under Hello! Project. She continued to sing in that group and became a part of four smaller groups composed of ...

Momoko Tsugunaga is a Japanese former singer, actress, and radio personality. Tsugunaga joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Project Kids at the age of 10 and later became part of the girl groups Berryz Kobo and Buono! Following Berryz Kobo's hiatus, sh ...

as the main performers and

Maimi Yajima is a Japanese singer and actress. She was a member and the leader of Cute, a girl idol group within Hello! Project. Career Yajima first joined Hello! Project in 2002 as one of the fifteen children chosen from the Hello! Project Kids audi ...

and

Chisato Okai (born June 21, 1994, in Saitama, Japan) is a former Japanese pop singer, actress, model, and television personality. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became one of the main vocalists of the Japane ...

as background characters in the song's

Promotional Video In video production, a promotional video is marketing or advertising: Arts, media and entertainment * Promotional recording, an audio or video recording distributed to publicize a recording * Trailer (promotion), a commercial advertisement for a ...

. Honto no Jibun is the first song used for the ending theme of the anime

, and ''Kokoro no Tamago'', the B-side of the CD, is the first song used for the opening theme.

Renai Rider

is the second single by the

unit

. The title song is used for the second ending theme of ''

''.

Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! is the third single by the

unit

. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! is the third song used for the ending theme of the anime

, and ''Minna Daisuki'', the B-side of the CD, is the second song used for the opening theme.

Gachinko de Ikou!

is the fourth single by the

unit

. The title song is used for the fourth ending theme of ''

''.

Rottara Rottara

is the fifth single by the

unit

. The title song is used for the first ending theme of '' Shugo Chara!! Doki—''.

Minna no Tamago

is the first single by the

unit ''Shugo Chara Egg!''. The title song is the first song used for the opening theme of '' Shugo Chara!! Doki—''.

Co-no-Mi-chi

is the sixth single by the

unit

. The title song is the second song used for the ending theme of '' Shugo Chara!! Doki—''.

Shugo Shugo!

is the second single by the

unit ''Shugo Chara Egg!''. The title song is the second song used for the opening theme of '' Shugo Chara!! Doki—''.

MY BOY

MY BOY is the seventh single by the

unit

. The title song is the third song used for the ending theme of Shugo Chara!! Doki—.

Omakase♪Guardian

is the first single by the

unit Guardians 4 featuring

, Saki Nakajima and

. The title song is the third song used for the opening theme of '' Shugo Chara!! Doki—''.

Take It Easy!

Take it Easy! is the eighth single by the

unit

. The title song is the fourth song used for the ending theme of Shugo Chara!! Doki—.

School Days

School Days is the second single by the

unit Guardians 4. The title song is the fourth song used for the opening theme of '' Shugo Chara!! Doki—''.

PARTY TIME

PARTY TIME is the third single by the

unit Guardians 4. The title song is the first song used for the opening theme of '' Shugo Chara Party''. The B-side is ''Watashi no Tamago'', which is performed by the

unit ''Shugo Chara Egg!'' and is used as the 1st opening theme of '' Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki'' and '' Shugo Chara Party''.

Bravo☆Bravo

Bravo☆Bravo is the ninth single by the

unit

. The title song is the first song used for the ending theme of '' Shugo Chara Party''.

Going On!

Going On! is the fourth single by the

unit Guardians 4. The title song is the second song used for the opening theme of '' Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki'' and '' Shugo Chara Party''.

Our Songs

Insert Songs

Meikyū Butterfly

BLACK DIAMOND

Character Song Albums

Shugo Chara! Character Song Album Best!

Shugo Chara! Character Song Album Best! 2

Shugo Chara! Character Song Album Best! 3

Soundtracks

Shugo Chara! Original Soundtrack Vol.1

Shugo Chara! Original Soundtrack Vol.2

Shugo Chara! Original Soundtrack Vol.3

Shugo Chara! Original Soundtrack Vol.4

Shugo Chara!! Doki Original Soundtrack Vol.1

Shugo Chara!! Doki Original Soundtrack Vol.2

Others

Niji-iro Chara Change!

Chart performance

Singles

For ''Shugo Chara Egg!'': For ''Guardians 4'':

Video singles

For ''Shugo Chara Egg!'': For ''Guardians 4'':

Notes

References

External links

Anime official website

Official Buono site
*
Official Guardians4 site

Guardians 4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shugo Chara Anime soundtracks

Soundtracks A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

Discographies of Japanese artists Lists of soundtracks