This review will be for the whole series.When I finished the official last chapter of Shugo Chara! back in 2010, I was an emotional wreck. Some people don't understand; I was obsessed with this series. The idea was original, the characters pleasant and adorable, the plot perfect with just the right amount of dark/light elements.
I was devastated when it ended.
Granted, I probably hadn't stuck to it for no more than a year and a half. I found out about it around the summer of 2009, and it ended with the Encore chapters around spring 2010. But hell, it was beautiful, it was lovely, it was memorable. I totally adored the idea and all the unique elements to it. Every character kept surprising me. Hell, Amu kept surprising me. I cried, I laughed, I fumed, I had fangirl-giggly moments. I experienced so many emotions reading this. And while a part of me knew that this series was going to end, I kept it pushed back to the farthest of my mind. I enjoyed the brief moments we got an insight into everyone's thoughts. I also enjoyed how our "dark, brooding, mysterious" Tsukiyomi Ikuto wasn't just like because Peach-Pit made him to attract fangirls. His reasons for being who he was were amazingly crafted and so realistic. Amu's reasons for being insecure were rightfully challenged. Everything about this manga was beautiful.
In conclusion, there are probably no words or gifs to describe how I felt about this manga. Each character evoked such heartwrenching emotions from the pits of my heart. All in all, this whole series was about growth and finding one's true self. We saw that. We saw the growth in Amu and in Ikuto and in Tadase. We saw the growth in each one of these characters. The growth was so big that, comparing their previous selves vs. their present selves, made me cry with such bittersweetness -- because they were growing. They grew, they surpassed all their trials and achieved each of their respective endings to their respective stories.
My only regret? That I was not able to find out about this series sooner.
Five billion stars out of five billions stars.