When I decided to commence yet another round of reading the manga (while watching the anime), I didn’t think I would be heavily invested in the efforts nor did I think I would make any new observation/finding, considering how familiar I am with the story.
Let’s just say I couldn’t be more wrong. But this is what makes it interesting and gives me that little pull and tug to continue reading and watching (and scrutinizing and analyzing).
Beautiful Illusion 
What else coud add to your extense and deep Analysis 🙂 …let me share some thoughts.
First of all my statment: I found Annie way more likeable in Manga, we´ll see in next volumes she´s not a selfish girl, her temper is different than Candy, but she also has a good and tender Heart.
Second…well, In Manga or Anime and despite the fawls we can find in this one, One of the features in POTH along the Story is to bring happiness to Candy, even if she´s in her worst moment.
She´s not going to see her best Friend anymore, she felt alone, and the lack of Parents appears in this part.
So, the brief time they spent together in their first encounter ease Candy.
And third, In manga, the pass of Time it´s clearer than in Anime, so we can follow the sequence of events and also the Charachter´s Ages, I´m wating fo you post about this topic.
Last but not least: Time has passed and Candy was twelve when she left Pony´s Home, she knows it´s her time to move on…In Anime her departure was a little bit reckless, it was like ” the pendant in Leagan´s cars it´s alike my Princes left behind, therefore I must go with them and nothing else matters”. Some of that kind of childish attitudes I don´t like of our beloved female protagonist but only in Anime, don´t misundertand what I mean.
You’re right about Annie. In the episode where she comes to visit the Legans, we can see her tender heart. She’s so conflicted to see her pet racoon Clin, but at the same time she doesn’t want to lose her happiness, which makes total sense. But the part where she doesn’t tell the truth about Neil being the perpetrator who causes the horse to run off wildly still bothered me. I wish she would’ve been more honest.
About POTH, I’m going to write a separate post about this, so we can discuss more at length. Instead of analyzing it from Candy’s POV, which can readily be deduced by reading the manga and watching the anime, I’m going to examine the scene from Albert’s POV. POTH’s appearance certainly takes Candy’s mind out of the misery of losing her friend, and it gives her something new to fix on, a new dream to wish upon. In the manga, with the clear time lapse, she continues to return to the hill (maybe every day?) with the hope of seeing him again. But then she turns 12 and has to leave the orphanage.
And I agree 100% with your last point. The feelings evoked by her departing the Pony Home are different between the manga and the anime. In the manga, it’s a poignant scene while in the anime, it’s more positive with hope sprouting in her. I understand why you prefer the manga. Either the anime or the manga is okay to me; both scenario seem plausible. My problem is with the missing time lapse in the anime that causes a major error.
Wow Beautiful Illusion, I must say this is a very interesting analysis. I grew up watching the Anime version but perhaps because I was very young I couldn’t feel any ill feelings toward Annie, and when she finally settled her tumultuous confusion and / or any bad feelings toward Candy that was for me her strong sister, I couldn’t see her like I notice many fans do ( an evil envious, selfish, manipulative girl ) for me those personality traits belong with Elisa Leagan.
I think the hatred toward the girl herself is more because there’s a belief that she forced Archie into a relationship with her out of pity but I doubt it, Archie was a smart, strong thinker and even stubborn to take a girl out of pity, anyway let’s not get off topic hahahaha.
I didn’t think Candy harassed the mail man, for me it was funny, specially because she was a little girl in my eyes anyway, I like the humor in the anime which you can’t grasp in the Manga too subtle for the audience. Even as an adult I think in that sense Anime was funny but for the rest I completely agree with you, anime not only “murders” the Annie character but many others as well, specially our beloved Albert which I won’t even go there until you post more.
I would love to read your analysis in their age differences, I think it is the most confusing point of all, if Albert was 17-18 years old when meeting Candy for the first time then he was a midget which he’s not, I don’t think Igarashi sketching proportions were based on Japanese sizes, we are talking about a 7 heads and not an 8 head for the age they want to portrait, not to mention there’s a gradual increase in the size of the head of about 3 inches from a toddler to an adult and my dear Albert is tall, so for me this is the most outrageous mistake they have done when trying to show Albert’s age, just plain absurd, because then it will mean he was like 23-24 when Candy fell from the waterfall, come on give me a break just right there….and according to anime he was 20 when he sees Candy in London and you hear him saying it to her. For me it would make more sense than all the anomalies and age theories Mizuki was unable to clarify in all her stories which don’t even match Igarashi sketching, again, nothing but vague reference, even in the Daddy long legs novel the guy shows his age. Ok… I got off the topic hahahahaha…. Just take in consideration that fact when writing your analysis…..Will read the next :D!
Keila,
You’re absolutely right. At what time in our life we watch the series makes a huge difference in our reactions. I remember as a kid when I watched Candy anime for the first time, I didn’t care much about details or the intricacies of human emotions. I only watched the show for the show, without any expectation. However, now, not only that I’m watching it as an adult, but I also intend to search for flaws, discrepancies, and errors with my fine toothed comb. So I’m watching it with critical eyes.
But you brought up a good point about the amount of humor in the anime, which makes the tone between the anime and the manga different. The anime, at least up to the episode I’m currently at, is funnier with lots of more melodramatic moments while the manga is more subdued and melancholic.
From the story telling perspective, the anime fails in a lot of aspects. We agree that it does a poor job with the characters exposition, not just for Annie, but also Candy (that Mexico’s arc is really too much). I’ve not seen much of Albert yet, but from the few scenes he appears, I’m not too impressed. And I’m not sure how I should feel about Anthony’s drastic transformation in the anime. Beside poor characterization, the anime is also annoyingly draggy and cluttered with scenes that are downright ridiculous, not to mention unrealistic.
Ah the age and time lapse… LOL. It has become one of the most controversial topics here.
Honestly. I think Mizuki made the mistake from the beginning. She didn’t really do her research for her writing, and thus there are so many inconsistencies and errors within her story.
But surely, that’s a very interesting perspective, Keila. I’ve never thought of that. But you’re right. I never once believe he’s 17-18 yr when he first appears as POTH. He’s more like a 14 yr boy.
I heard that this is one of Mizuki’s mistakes. When the manga was first published, she intended Albert to be 14 year, and thus he was depicted as such. But later in CCFS she changed his age to 17. I’m not really sure the reason or whether or not this is true. But that would make perfect sense.
Really though I don’t understand why she’s so adamant to keep Albert’s age a secret. The age gap with Candy? I don’t think that’s a big deal at all. In their era, age means nothing, and it’s normal for women to marry men twice their age. I wish Mizuki would’ve been more clear.
I just realise your readers here address you as Beautiful Illusion :), not Forever like me. If you don’t mind I’ll keep calling you Forever because I get used to it. Please tell me if you mind that.
Now let’s talk about this topic, shall we?
I had watched anime first when I was very little, but I watched only until the tragic episode of Anthony’s death. The place my mom rented the video from never had the next episode. Then many years later, on my teen years, Candy Candy was published in my country, along with Doraemon and Kung Fu Boy, they were the pioneers of manga madness in my country. When I read CC manga, frankly I forgot the details in anime. And I never thought of that again until later on I bought the whole set of anime, … and turned out disliking it!
You’re right, Forever, anime has unnecessary detail showing the rebel ( or should I say Tomboy) side of Candy. Meanwhile in manga, we know Candy was a naughty little girl, but as you said, she obviously has a heart of gold, naive and very sweet. Remember the scene where she tied the ducklings to the mother so they’re not getting lost? And Annie, .. I don’t know what reason they had in mind to change Annie’s characters. No wonder some fanfics portray her as a bad manipulative friend, a traitor, or a jealous bitch. Annie is just too weak, both physically and mentally. I once disliked her for interrupting Archie when he was about to confess his love to Candy.
About the age gap between Candy and Albert, … so in anime it’s around 7-8 years, similar like in manga. In CCFS, it’s changed to 11. Some people found this age gap to against Albert and Candy pairing, they said the gap is huge. Hmm they certainly are not familiar with Glass Mask. 🙂 What would they say to know Masumi fell in love with Maya since she’s 11 and he stole a kiss when she’s unconscious when she’s just 14-15? 🙂
However, I prefer the age in manga. POTH sure is closer to 14-15 y.o. rather than 17? And for Candy, I prefer her on her 6, so the whole meeting her prince scene would look more make sense. It’s natural for a 6 y.o. girl to cry her heart out and unaware with her surrounding. And it’s also natural for her to babble non sense so POTH could disappeared unnoticeably.
Yes, Forever, it’s sad to think that Candy had to leave Pony Home because she wasn’t adopted until she’s 12. Come to think about it, it’s a bit strange, isn’t it? We all know how cute she is when she’s little and how beautiful she becomes when she’s older. Like Annie said : everyone like Candy. But hey, … if not like that, she would’t meet Albert, right? 🙂
Thank you, Forever. I look forward to your next post! Take care.
I’m slowly reading all the comments but when I read yours and got to the part about how you were introduced to the series, I must post a quick reply first before writing a more proper one.
Your story sounds awfully similar to mine. By any chance are you from Indonesia, Reeka? 🙂
I AM! OMG .. don’t say you are as well. I’m stoked!
Well… Once upon a time I was born there…
So, yes, technically I am.
😀
🙂 I did guess you are from SEA because you read Glass Mask and such an avid manga reader. Gosh! It’s so exciting … though I don’t see any reason why I am excited! LOL
You have similar experience like me … renting CC video, running to the nearest Gramedia every month to get your copy of CC manga 🙂 … so I assume you had at least spent your early teenage years there, too, right? I’ve moved overseas as well for since 8 years ago. Not far tough from the homeland, though.
Really nice to find someone with the same root in this CC World. I had only met one before.
Geez, several typos!! It’s almost 1 a.m., so excuse my errors. I bet you know where the typos are. Sorry.
Hi Reeka.
I got your PM but haven’t had a chance to log in to ff.net so let me answer your message here. I’d leave the details out as I don’t want to stir up a commotion.
I read about her in-depth analysis on the subject a while back. While I was impressed with the extensive research, I’m not entirely convinced with the theory and hypothesis that were presented.
What you told me about this whole new idea sounds way too farfetched IMO. It seems someone has taken this analysis and reading-between-the-lines thing way too far and out of context. I see no such correlation between the manga and all those things you mentioned. I don’t see it at all, unlike Garasu no Kamen, where I can clearly perceive the concepts being subliminally or plainly weaved into the storylines. And we all know how ‘spiritual’ Miuchi sensei is, that she’s a devout member of a certain occult. On the other hand, from what I’ve gathered from her essay, etc, Mizuki doesn’t strike me as someone who’s into spiritual matters. Rather, she’s one who’s bestowed with vast imagination, even since she was a kid. In her essay, she stated how the Andrews family was originated from her childhood imagination, an imaginary family she created to help fight off loneliness. There’s no spiritual or pious connotation whatsoever, and she also claimed how the story was heavily influenced by Western novels, such as Daddy Long Legs, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, etc.
If there’s any hints of religious or spiritual principles, the closest thing is the concept of love as defined by Ancient Greek philosophy, which is often quoted in Christian teachings. But then again any romance story would’ve used this concept as well, even though the extent maybe different–so this isn’t something that’s unique to CC.
But at the end of the day, who knows? Only the author knows for sure. Mizuki can do whatever she wants. Besides, as an author myself, I can attest that your belief and principle will reflect on what you write and how you write no matter what.
Doing some analysis is fine but over doing it combined with taking it out of context and manipulating ordinary observation into something extraordinary is not–as this will only lead to misconception that could spur a lot of confusion (and panic).
So Reeka, you should stick to your own belief. Don’t let others mislead you, especially if it could take the fun away from you.
To me Candy Candy is a story about the evolution of love between two people in the most subtle way, from strangers, to friends, to loves. And that’s it.
🙂
Hi! Thanks for your prompt reply.
Oh dear, don’t worry about me 🙂 I sent you message not because I felt doubt about what I believe. I didn’t even read the post properly, I just skimmed it through, just to get the idea what she talks about. And because I didn’t believe what I saw, I felt like talking it with someone. But clearly, someone has to be extremely genius to imagine such thing.
You are absolutely right about Daddy Long Legs’ influence. It’s something that couldn’t be ignored. And yes, I agree with you, totally, that if there is a meaningful message behind this whole beautiful CC story, it’s about the evolution of love between Candy and her prince. That everything will be beautiful at its time. 🙂
Thank you!