Are you aware that there is a long list of manga created by our very own Yumiko Igarashi other than Candy Candy, Georgie, and Mayme Angel?
You can find the complete list here
Quite impressive isn’t it? And versatile too. The titles stretch across nearly all the different genres in the manga world, from shoujo to josei, from fantasy to shounen. Her earliest work dates back to 1973, two years before Candy Candy was published on Nakayoshi
The good news is that two of her most recent works have been fully translated and officially published in English. They are both available in e-book at Amazon, if you’re interested to check them out.
The first is a 1-volume Harlequin manga called “The Impossible Woman”, adapted from a novel with the same title written by renowned romance novelist Emma Darcy.
The second one is “Josephine The French Rose”. It’s a 4-volume historical romance series retelling the story of Josephine, the first wife of Napoleon I, which was written by Kaoru Ochiai.
Since I haven’t read “Josephine, I can’t give my opinion other than to say that the art looks beautiful. After all, it’s Igarashi’s works. That along the historical premise gave me enough reason to add it to my list. So perhaps in the near future, I can make another post to talk about it.
As for the Harlequin manga…
Here’s the synopsis from Amazon:
“Malcolm thought marriage was some sort of trap. Judy Campbell was youthful, petite and feminine—hardly the usual description of a truck-driving, sod-toting landscape gardener. But then, Malcolm Stewart was no ordinary client, either. The celebrated Sydney architect was handsome, funny and generous, and altogether too easy to fall in love with. Which made for an impossible situation, considering his attitude to marriage. It hurt Judy to learn that the man she loved resisted giving himself to a lifetime commitment. But it simply was not in her nature to settle for anything less.”
There’s nothing terribly exciting about the story. In fact, the plot is rather predictable–but that’s not surprising at all. What can you expect from a one volume manga? Even more so that it’s a Harlequin romance, which is known for their ‘cheesy’ quality. Not much really.
Still, it’s an entertaining read with a quick-witted heroine who isn’t wimpy and ditzy despite her Barbie-doll appearance, and an utterly charming hero who doesn’t beat around the bush. If you want something quick and light to read, after a long, grueling day at the office, this one would do the job. Besides, Igarashi’s drawings are always so nice to look at. And while Judy looks and acts a lot like a blue-eyed Candy (just look at her picture above), Malcolm looks and behaves nothing like Albert. But there’s something about him that makes me think of Albert. Perhaps both men are natural charmers, who enjoy role playing 😉
And then there’s the feeling that this could be a really good alternate universe, modern world Albert & Candy story. Really.
Just take a look at the scans below…
But proceed only if you don’t mind to be spoiled. You’ve been warned.
The protagonists first meeting. A case of mistaken identity? Really cute. Well, there’s no prince this time. But do you notice the striking height difference? Just like Albert and Candy 😉
Didn’t I say he’s a charmer? He is. Big time. Yet you can tell he’s quite smitten by her already and will do anything to get on her good side.
Judy certainly knows what she’s doing. And if he still has doubts about her ability, he won’t anymore now.
Like I said, he goes straight for the kill. No beating around the bush. I can see a modern Albert using this move on a sweet, innocent, unsuspecting Candy 😀
Just like Albert, Malcolm didn’t tell Judy who he really was in the beginning. But Judy isn’t exactly crying for joy when she finds out the truth.
Did I say that Judy looks like Candy? When I saw this panel for the first time, I thought this must be how Candy would look when she’s in her early twenties.
Then came this very umm… intriguing panel. And I couldn’t stop giggling (and cackling) maniacally while my imagination ran wild, very wild.
That’s certainly a nice image of an adult Candy, don’t you think?
😀
So has any of you read either mangas yet? I would love to hear your thoughts if you have.
In the next post, I’ll talk about another work by Igarashi: Akage no Anne which was adapted from the famous work by L.M. Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables.
Till next time
Hugs and kisses ❤
-forever-
Beautiful Illusion 