Originally posted here at Anime Radius.

For the past eight volumes, Shugo Chara! has been stressing to its readers that the inner heart is what matters and that a person's strength will overcome any obstacle - and they have managed to keep emphasizing these healthy goals without blowing them out of proportion or sounding like an after school program. These issues have been best showcased in our heroine of the series, Amu Hinamori, who started out as someone with low self-esteem who tried to match her outwardly cheerful persona with the painfully awkward person that lay inside herself, who has for lack of a more appropos term transformed into someone who is confident and strong and able to stand up with the other Guardians on equal ground - and in volume nine, we see Amu's journey to become a better person reach its cresting point with the unlocking of the Humpty Lock via the Dumpty Key and why she was chosen to be a Guardian in the first place.

Another person besides Amu who is rising to the challenge of character development is Yaya Yuiki, the Ace Chair and youngest member of the Guardians. Once seen as pretty much the crybaby immature member of the team, Yaya comes into her own during the fight against the - err - evil possessed dog. Let us not dwell too long over the fact that a dog, even if possessed by the power of an X Egg, could easily beat up so many magic-using Guardians before Yaya and Utau work together, or we'll start to wonder why Peach-Pit couldn't have come up with a more convincing mini-boss for Yaya to beat. Still, seeing Yaya stand up to protect her friends with her own magic and proving that even little kids can sometimes take on burdens further highlights the importance of inner strength in people - and also adds a much needed element of humor to the events leading up to the Ikuto/Tadase/Amu fight at the top. Seeing Tadase and Ikuto battle it out is the near-height of action in the ninth volume until the sudden plot twist at the end, and it will certainly not disappoint anyone interested in seeing them fight and how their respective abilities clash. Add to that all the new insight into the Hoshina family and any Ikuto fan would be hard pressed not to love this latest volume.

As usual, Peach-Pit brings their usual art style to the world of Shugo Chara!, improving upon the usual tropish hallmarks of magical girl manga with flashy fight scenes and cool fashion, especially when it comes to the numerous Character Transformations - like Amu's final CT thanks to the lock-and-key combination. With the reveal of the Embryo and its inevitable capture (which felt slightly underwhelming in context, given how flashy everything else was), it's clear that Shugo Chara! is gearing up for the big finale - the Guardians versus Easter Corporation, with the literal hearts and minds of the people of the world at stake. Can Peach-Pit possibly wrap everything up in the next two volumes in a way that will please all of their fans? Possibly, although knowing PP it won't really be the end (they have a history of continuing series in separate 'sequel' series', as they did with Rozen Maiden). Still, for a series on the edge of ending, volume nine has all the action and intrigue of its predecessors that it will leave readers looking forward to the release of volume ten early next year - and I think it will be worth the wait.
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