Quick Night Rambling

I don’t have much free time at the moment, as it’s the middle of the week and I’m quite exhausted after a long hard day’s work while another one is already lurking in the back, ready to pounce on me as soon as the day springs up tomorrow. Hence, I need to retire to bed soon, or else I won’t be able to wake up on time.

But I would like to share the good news with you.

First, I’ve finished translating all the letters between Albert and Candy from the novel. Yay! I can’t believe it myself, but I was able to sail through the rest of the letters without any problem, other than the usual struggles with particles and modifiers, which can change the tone of the phrase drastically. I’m currently reviewing and editing the translated letters to ensure they’re accurate and make perfect sense in English, as there were some parts that were translated literally but sounded really awkward in English. With respect to the content, as I found with the other letters I previously translated, these ones also contain more interesting tidbits that are not mentioned in CCFS. I’m contemplating to do a head-to-head comparison of the letters of the novel vs. CCFS. I thought that may be a topic of interest for some of you avid CC fans. Yes? 😀

I plan to publish all the letters eventually, which will conclude my first translation project—the correspondence between Albert and Candy from Candy Candy Original Novel. I thought I wouldn’t be able to complete them by end of the year. So I’m patting myself on the back for that feat. At this rate, I’m considering to extend the project longer, translating the other letters as well. One that I think will be interesting to dig further is the letter Candy addressed to Anthony, which, along with the ones designated for Terry and Susanna, can be found in chapter 6, prior to Albert and Candy’s Correspondence in volume 3, the last volume of the novel. The title of the chapter is “Unsent Letters”.

Second, chapter 12 of Awakening is almost ready for release. Once it’s beta-ed and polished, it will be published. Since I’ve made you wait long enough, I’ll give you a sneak peek a day prior, but for the full version you have to read either in FF or Reverie 😀

Third, chapter 12 of All I Want is stewing. My target is to post this by end of next week, but we’ll see whether I’ll be able to achieve that. This week has been extremely busy for me that I haven’t had any time nor the energy to do anything that requires deep concentration, such as writing.

Last, yes, I know you must all have been wondering what happens with Forever and a Day. Sorry. I decided to postpone the update until all the chapters have been published in FF. Rest assured, chapter 5 is ready to be released.

Phew! That’s quite a bit of updates…

Surely, those will keep me tied up for a while. Hopefully, they’ll do the same for you as well.

Till next time,

forever

Update and Progress

Guess what?

Before I elaborate further, read the following passages:

“Somehow, it seems like I was mesmerized by your marvelous eyes.”

“If you were going to be this busy, it would’ve been better for you not to reveal yourself, isn’t it, “Little Bert”?”

Candy Candy Novel Rambling Part II: A Long Period of Courtship?

If you read my letter 2 rambling, you know that I think Albert is courting Candy through their correspondence. How long do you think their courtship lasts? Going back to the final scene of the manga, we see Albert presenting …

Anime/Manga Recommendation: Meiji Hiiro Kitan and Meiji Melancholia

Another article in less than a week?

Is this for real? Yes it is, since you’ve all been so understanding and supportive 😀

You surely don’t want to miss this if you’ve been wondering about another series that has protagonists similar to Albert and Candy in Candy Candy. Yes, there’s Love So Life, and maybe Emma too to an extent. But I might have just found another one with a storyline that is more compelling than the other two. Well, I certainly think so 😀

Meiji Hiiro Kitan (明治緋色綺譚) and its sequel, Meiji Melancholia (明治メランコリア) are manga by Rikachi (リカチ). The two titles are serialized in Be Love, a manga magazine aimed for adult women (yes, such a thing exists :D).

The series was completely out of my radar until about a month ago, when one leisure browsing on a stressful night led to a stumble upon this hidden gem.

The art, as you can see from the cover image below, is very appealing. Rikachi sensei is obviously an amazing artist.

However, I must admit that it wasn’t the pretty art that first drew me to the series. Rather it was the two leads, Tsugaru and Suzuko, and that even upon a quick glance at the synopsis below, I just couldn’t stop imagining Albert & Candy in the same setting and scenario.

Synopsis from Aerandria Scans:
It’s the middle of the Meiji Era and our heroine, little Suzu, is sold to the red lights district. However, the rich heir of a dry goods store, Tsugaru, buys her freedom for no apparent reason. She is deeply grateful for being saved, but she doesn’t understand why he paid so much money for her and the only explanation he offers is “we have a bond.”

She tries to unravel the mystery of his feelings and gradually grows from a little girl to a young woman, always by his side. A gentle and slow-paced love story set in the Meiji Era.

Tsugaru & Suzuko

From the synopsis you could probably tell this is yet another age-gap romance. The kind of trope that satisfies my guilty pleasure craving 😀

Actually, this isn’t the only series of this particular breed of romance manga I’m following. There are a few, but none had truly grabbed me as Meiji Hiiro Kitan had.

No doubt this manga has become my new obsession—which isn’t a bad thing, considering how this could spark more inspirations, in the same way an impulsive re-read of Garasu no Kamen had reintroduced me to Candy Candy, which later had galvanized me into writing my first CC fic, and a brisk liaison with Emma had led me to pen Awakening.

As it turns out, the tradition still holds. I’ve regained a renewed determination to continue my ongoing stories, and I owe it all to Meiji.

So… Have I managed to rouse your curiosity yet?

If you’re slightly interested and want to know more about the series, or you’re just plain curious about Albert & Candy from the Meiji Era, read along 😀

Continue reading ->

 

Candy Candy Novel Rambling Part I: The End of the Manga = The Beginning of a Courtship?

Here you go, the first update. A short rambling on our favorite subject. Umm… Okay, maybe that’s not completely true. To some of you, this may be a brand new article you’ve never read before, but to some of you, …

Reverie Update: Letter 2 – Albert’s Reply to Candy

Happy weekend everyone!

Finally, there’s no more issue with login and registration for Reverie reported.

Yay!!!

You know what that means? We can go back to the fun stuff.

Yay!!!

Sorry for the spill of enthusiasm there. But I’m just happy everything seems to be in perfect order.

And…

I have a treat for you. A real update this time.

Yep. Letter 2 has been posted and can be found here. It’s a short one, so I was able to finish working on it within a day.

In addition, I also did some minor editing and refinement on letter 1 and 10. Plus I replaced the images with the correct ones for Letter 1.

Letter 1, if you haven’t read it yet, picks up right after the final scene in the manga. Well, I’m using the words right after very loosely here, since the actual timing when Candy wrote the first letter is unknown–yet from the content, I can tell it must have happened not too long after Albert’s POTH revelation on Pony Hill since the letter is pretty much filled with her candid thoughts and profound feelings about that, something that manga readers can only entertain a guess upon. Perhaps she wrote it the night after the revelation?

As for letter 2… Let me say that once again it includes more details (of which I wasn’t aware previously) pertaining to the scene at the end of the manga. The main context of this letter is Albert’s reply to Candy. He answers all her questions (and the readers’ as well) and more.

Apparently, our debonair hero decided to pull off one last runaway stint… Well, sort of…

And he’s insecure and also jealous?  Hmmm… 😕

😀

Continue reading->

Letter 10 – Albert’s Letter to Candy: Scottish Countrymen, What?!!!

Hello everyone,

I don’t have much time now as it’s my bedtime and tomorrow is the usual workday. And I’m half asleep while I’m typing this. (So please pardon any mistake in advance)

But I decided to sneak in bearing more treat for you before I turn in for the night 😀

Another update in less than a week?

Yep. I feel bad for the severe lack of updates. So you could take this as a compensation.

It took me a while to finish translating this particular letter. And that was simply because I had no time. If that hadn’t be the case, I would’ve been able to translate more letter.

I know I didn’t do the translation in the right order. But I will in the next update, starting with letter 2 and so on. As for letter 11 and a portion of letter 10, they were already translated a while back to be included in the manga rambling post.

Anyway…

Letter 10. A very engaging letter I must say. A long one that contains a lot of interesting details.

Did you know that the Andrews weren’t ‘actually’ of noble blood?

And Albert was quite bitter… very bitter–poor man…

But he certainly was smooth in the end when he asked Candy to come with him on a trip 😀

Well, those are some of the details revealed in the letter. I’ll write a separate post to talk more about this.

In the mean time, enjoy reading it–but you can ignore the images as I haven’t uploaded the correct ones (and there’s no note). I’ll do that and add the notes once I have more time.

PS – Shortly, I’ll send the password through email to those who had requested it.

Update & Random Post of the Week: Dr. Seuss Has Spoken. Candy is in love with Albert ;)

Dr. Seuss???

No. Really.

The wise doctor apparently knows a thing or two about love, not just about the “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Cat in the Hat”.

See according to him…

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
― Dr. Seuss

EH?!!!

When have we seen Candy struggling to fall asleep?

Candy Candy Manga Rambling Part IX: In which there can be one and only one ending

I don’t know how many times I’ve chanced upon comments about readers expressing their disappointments over the ending of the Candy Candy manga.

“That’s it? Where’s the happy ending?”
“Oh well, Candy Candy is not really centered around romance, so it makes sense when…”
“The main plot is about growing up, about overcoming adversity, about never giving up.”
“While there’s a bit of romance, the actual message is…”
And so on and so forth.

So the argument here is that Candy Candy is not a romance story, and supposedly that’s propagated by the less-than-satisfying ending, an ending that many claim as open and ambiguous.

However…

If the main theme is NOT romance, then shouldn’t it end on a much subdued note and the last panel appear like this?

Where Candy is by herself, reminiscing over the past and sighing in gratefulness for everything she has experienced. And now she’s ready to face tomorrow, whatever tomorrow might bring. Wiping her tears, she smiles wistfully at the sky before her lips stretch wider and wider into a hopeful grin. The end.

BUT…

We all know it doesn’t end like that. It ends on a high note. She doesn’t end up alone. Someone is there with her. Albert. A man who has been her everything. Her friend, her knight, and her prince.

That sounds like the perfect ending of a true, classic romance novel to me, don’t you think?

So why some people still insist Candy Candy is not a romance story, the ending is unclear and not final, and Albert is not the male protagonist?

Continue reading ->

Candy Candy Manga Rambling Part VIII: William Albert Andrew (Ardlay): A Tale of the Runaway Heir

If by some miraculous power I were granted an opportunity to rewrite Candy Candy, I would write the story from the male protagonist POV and re-title it “A Tale of the Runaway Heir”.

Cheesy much?

Maybe. But what could be a more fitting title than that?

All things considered, that’s what the story is about if we see it from the hero’s vantage point. It’s about Albert, a reluctant heir of the Andrews, running away from his destiny.

Continue reading ->