Shade

Shade (シェイド; Sheido), also known as Eclipse, is the prince of Moon Kingdom and the older brother of Princess Milky. At first he was a mysterious figure under the disguise of Eclipse, but is now an ally of Fine and Rein as Prince Shade. He was also informally the 'Master' of Tio.

Appearance
Shade has sharp, blue eyes and dark messy blue hair. He has slightly tanned skin and is quite tall for boys his age. As Eclipse, his outfit consists of a dark blue cowboy hat, and a black coat over a light blue shirt with a yellow tie. He wears long, gray pants and white cowboy boots. When travelling, he is always seen with his pet and use of transport, Regina, who always and only listen to him alone. He always carries a whip for combat. As Prince Shade, he wears a golden coloured coat with a short navy, blue cape over the neck. The symbols on the end on the coat indicates that he is the prince of the moon kingdom

Characteristics
Shade is calm and level-headed by nature, and as such, rarely panics or gets flustered. Compared to many of the other characters, he is considerably more pragmatic, to the point of ignoring other people's feelings in order to force them to face reality. This down-to-earth attitude, combined with his keen observation skills, makes him an accomplished strategist.

For the most part, Shade is a loner, operating independently and according to his own plans, with complete disregard for laws and other people from time to time. However, he means well - his goal has been to save the Mysterious Star from the very beginning - he just finds people (and laws) to be extremely burdensome at times. Despite this, he works well with others and appears to care a lot for his teammates, often taking leadership in group endeavors.

It has been shown that Shade is generally distrustful of others. Although his cynicality is likely what led him to be a loner in the first place, it has been well-placed on occasion, as his suspicions of the minister eventually led him to keep tabs on the man, who turned out to be conspiring against the whole star.

It is suggested that Shade is an intelligent and well-read person. His room is stocked with books and telescopes (possibly indicating an interest in astronomy), and he demonstrates a good deal of knowledge in botany later on in Gyu! Additionally, he is shown to be eloquent in speech, earning much praise from his fellow princes and princesses at the Sunny Kingdom summit.

At the beginning of the series (under the alias of Eclipse), Shade was a shown to be a capable spy, following the twin princesses around in order to see the extent of their powers. He was also able to infiltrate several kingdoms in order to accomplish his goal of taking control of the Prominence (which he later abandoned) and saving the Mysterious Star.

As Eclipse, Shade can be extremely rude, cold and mean. He is not afraid to bark at people, and has made some of the colder comments in the anime.

He cares deeply for his family and has even risked being severely injured in order to protect his mother and sister.

Plot
Shade is first seen at the end of the first episode, observing the twins from afar. He would not approach them until the second episode when he tells them about the Bo Dragon.

Anime
Shade is shown to have feelings for Rein at first, repeatedly coming to her rescue. However by the first season finale it is shown that he has returned Fine's feelings. He continues to have feelings for Fine into the second season.

In the second season finale, he rushes to Fine's side when he realizes she has lost her happiness and goes so far as to cry when she does not show signs of returning to normal. He eventually manages to have Fine return to her true self. The two then dance together when a small party is held to celebrate the defeat of the Black Crystal King.

Manga
In the manga, Shade develops feelings for Rein. Despite Rein's best efforts to try and get Shade to notice Fine's feelings he continues to pursue Rein.

The end of the manga implies that Rein has begun to return his feelings.

Character Connections
Prince Bright: Shade has a long and complicated history with Bright. The two first met in Episode 5, with Shade disguised as Eclipse. Bright mistook Shade for a thief, and had guards corner him. He apologizes later and politely invites Shade to join the party, only to receive a curt response on Shade's part. The two begin to recognize each other as enemies in Episode 9, when Shade lured the twin princesses into a trap, wanting to see the extent of the powers of the Prominence. They officially recognize each other as opposition in Episode 13, when Bright begins to believe that Shade is trying to hurt Fine. The two have engaged in a number of duels since then. It is shown that Bright is easily flustered by Shade's rude comments.

Princess Fine: In the anime Shade had feelings for Rein at first, but by the first season finale he will come to return Fine's feelings. He continues to have feelings for her in the second season. He accepted Fine's Valentine's chocolates in the second season, even though they tasted horrible. In the second season finale he shed tears for Fine after she lost her happiness and hoped that she would go back to normal (eventually her happiness is restored). He seems to not mind Fine running off to go eat cakes when the two were dancing together. In the manga, Fine's feelings remain unrequited.

Princess Rein: In the manga, Rein is Shade's main love interest and remains so. Shade was shown to care a great deal about Rein, always rushing to her rescue, even refusing to let go of her after she almost fell down a cliff side. Despite Rein's best efforts of trying to get Shade to notice Fine's feelings he continued to pursue Rein, even attempting to kiss her (only to be stopped by Milky and Fine who noticed that Rein was uncomfortable). At first she seemed put off by his advances, but by the end of the manga it is implied that she eventually returns them. In the anime, Shade's feelings for Rein would fade as they shift to Fine.

Princess Milky: Milky is Shade's younger sister. He is shown to care a great deal about her and reads her stories in his free time. Despite the fact that Milky can only babble he still understands her well in the anime.

Queen Moon Malia: Malia is Shade and Milky's mother. Shade is shown to worry about her greatly when she becomes ill. Malia apologizes for worrying him, but he insists that it's not her own fault.

Trivia

 * Fine and Shade (and possibly Narlo) are the only one's who can understand Milky when she's talking.
 * In the manga, Shade's real name is Eclipse unlike in the anime where it is only an alias.
 * His appearance is also different in the manga, having black hair and purplish-gray eyes. Shade's ears are also pierced.