you can trust me, trust nobody; when you're older you might understand
a fanlisting
shugo chara!
Shugo Chara! is a series by Peach-Pit, and has been put to anime by Satelight. It first aired in October 2007 and has since gained three seasons, the first two being at 51 episodes long. The story follows Hinamori Amu, someone revered to be cool and spicy even though she herself feels like she's faking her personality. One night, she wishes to her 'guardian' that she could become more like her true self. The next morning, she finds three eggs - her guardian characters, Ran, Miki, and Su. She later joins the Guardians, a group of students who take it upon themselves to cleanse all X-Eggs (kids with damaged dreams' eggs) in the area. Meanwhile, the company Easter is aginst them, in attempts to get the Embyro for unknown purposes, controlling Ikuto and Utau to do their bidding until they finally gain freedom. Shugo Chara! follows all the characters, but specificially Amu, as they mature and develop through elementary school.
tsukiyomi ikuto
Ikuto is the oldest of the main cast of the series; at the start, he is around seventeen years old, whilst the majority weigh in at about eleven to twelve. He also has a younger sister, Utau, who, as odds would have it, has a brother complex over him. Like the large majority of his family, Ikuto is also particularly musical - he inherited a passion for playing the violin, similar to his father; whilst not doing Easter's bidding, he is usually seen with it in some shape or form.
Ikuto is perhaps the oldest owner of a permenant shugo chara, which for him, is the mischevious Yoru; who reflects his desire to be free like a stray cat. When he transforms with Yoru, they become Black Lynx. Whilst under the control of his stepfather, he transforms with a black egg into Death Rebel. His final transformation is Seven Sea's Treasure.
At the beginning of the series, Ikuto is particularly enigmatic; from his first appearence he is pretty much shown as an antaganist, but at the same time, he never really sticks to one side, always flitting about from one to the other - as upon his first few meetings with Amu, a softer side of him begins to show. It is around this time that Easter's involvement behind the scenes becomes apparant. Said company is, for the large part, is in the control of Ikuto's stepfather - due to the mistakes of his and Utau's parents in the past, they have little choice but to do as they are told and remain in the chains that bind them both. Whilst his sister has shreds of freedom, Ikuto accepts and takes the brunt of the hate towards them, suffering in silence all the while; corrupting himself even though he knows it is wrong. Likewise, he distances himself from others, delibrately hurting them, so they won't get involved with him, so he won't have the people he cares about get trapped like he is.
After Utau is freed, he becomes the main antaganist of the story, though not by choice, as this time, he is truly being controlled as a puppet to do another's bidding. It is only by Amu saving him that he is eventually released from their control, and he fights against Easter in the final chapters to resolve the problems and issues and mysteries that surround the company itself. Eventually, the story transpires to him gaining the freedom he always wanted, and Ikuto thus goes in search overseas for his true father, who disappeared many years ago to play the violin, much like Ikuto plays the violin himself.
It's also worthy to note Amu's (the main heroine of Shugo Chara!) importance to Ikuto. At the start, it seems to just be a curiosity he develops for her, since he has the Dumpty Key, which matches with Amu's Humpty Lock. He eventually develops feelings for her (which he confesses, twice, much to her disbelief), and even from the start he was never truly violent towards her. It is the trust and faith he has in the girl he loves that eventually helps to release him, and give him the courage to go and search for his father, as he once did as a child.
why
When Ikuto first stepped onto the scene, I shared a similar opinion to Amu: I wasn't quite sure what to think of him, be it good, bad, admiration, or hate. But that feeling quickly dissipated as I watched, and read, through the series. Over the years I've really come to love him. The main thing, really, for me, is the depths of his personality. Ikuto is the kind of person to keep all his troubles to himself, to do bad things so others will hate him so they won't get involved... it's just heartbreaking. He's so unbelievably selfless that you can't help but want him to have an ending where he can finally do what he wants, finally do what he pleases - it's fufilling to see him be able to take those steps, to change. He just lets himself be broken to save everyone around him, and there can be nothing more admirable than that.
That's not to say that I don't love his playful side, because it's one thing that always makes me laugh and smile. He's so evasive, stubborn, and mischevious when he wants to be. His antics with Amu always, always make me laugh. He's just a really nice guy... when he wants to be, of course.
still so hard to be who you are yet you've come this far