First of all, I'd like to say that the score I gave is clearly biased, but this manga doesn't deserve anything less than 8.

Shugo Chara! may look like a typical shoujo, but its peculiarities make it unique in my opinion; the main character, Amu, has doubts and insecurities normally present at her age, the classic love indecision seen in any lead in the genre, and a will for being the best she can be that seems innovative to me in this category. There is the everlasting love triangle, but it doesn't maintain itself as the primary aspect of her life. The little 10, 12 and even 14 yo me could see themselves (myself (?)) in her and feel motivated for solving the questions that were brought up.

Each time I re-read it, its flaws become more evident, and you must read it acknowledging them (most of them centering around romantic relationships); they could've easily been removed or changed into something more fitting to the story... but yeah, they're there and there's not much we can do about it. Despite them, in my opinion the good messages in the manga can bring much good to youths who grow confused and scared of never finding themselves - after all, that's the base of the story: Who I am and who I want to be?

Shugo Chara is a kids' mahou shoujo manga, and follows the structure of the genre presented in most of its titles; but first of all it's a story that deconstructs and questions genre views, brings to children meaningful questionings in the process of growing up, and a good message about all the possibilities of who you could be, but most importantly, about the wonderfulness of being who you are.