Product Code Database
Kyandi Kyandi is a Japanese series created by Japanese writer Keiko Nagita under the pen name Kyoko Mizuki. The main character, Candice "Candy" White Ardley, is a blonde girl with freckles, large emerald green eyes and long hair, worn in pigtails with bows. Candy Candy first appeared as a manga in April 1975, written by Mizuki and illustrated by manga artist Yumiko Igarashi, a collaboration which was put together by the Japanese magazine Nakayoshi who were interested in recreating a "masterpiece" manga in the same vein as Heidi, Anne of Green Gables and other famous classic titles of literature read predominantly by young girls. The manga series ran for four years, and won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo in 1977. The story was adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation. There are also three animated short films.
When she turns 12, Candy is taken in by the Leagan family as a companion for their daughter Eliza. The Leagans treat her poorly and eventually make Candy a servant girl. While there, Candy also meets three boys: Anthony Brown, who looks exactly like the "Prince on the Hill", and the Cornwell brothers, the inventive Alistair and the flamboyant Archibald (Stair and Archie). They all become smitten with Candy and become friends. Candy has special feelings for Anthony, and he is her "first, innocent love". This does not go unnoticed by Eliza, who is also interested in Anthony, and she wants desperately to send Candy away. Both she and her brother Neil bully Candy at every opportunity. On one such an occasion, the two siblings plot against Candy, and she ends up being accused of stealing, causing her to run away. She wants to return to Pony's Home, but falls asleep inside a small boat and is in danger of falling off a waterfall. A mysterious bearded man who lives in a hut with animals saves her, introducing himself as Albert. Candy feels how kind this man is and he leaves a deep impression on her. Candy returns to the Leagans, and as a punishment for "stealing", she is sent away to work on their family farm in Mexico. Through the efforts of her friends, who write a letter to their rich Great Uncle William Ardlay, the head of the Ardlay clan, Candy is rescued when Great Uncle William allegedly adopts her. His true identity remains a mystery until the end of the story and the adoption is never confirmed but continuously disputed, especially amongst the members of the Ardlay family.
During Candy's pseudo-adoption party, Anthony dies in a hunting accident when he was thrown off his horse. Candy is completely distraught and decides she wants to return to Pony's Home. Georges, the personal assistant to Great Uncle William, appears one day and asks Candy to come with him. Great Uncle William will be sending her, along with Archie, Stair and the Leagan siblings, to London to study at the prestigious St. Paul's College. It is here she meets and becomes attracted to Terrence (Terrius/Terry) Granchester, the illegitimate child of a British Duke and an American Broadway actress, Eleanor Baker. Terry is a teenager characterized by having an explosive and violent personality, as well as having problems with alcohol consumption. Candy sees him for the first time, crying, on New Year's Eve while both are aboard the boat to London. Terry is Candy's "second and passionate love that has to be broken". Circumstances divide the pair when Eliza Leagan schemes to have Candy expelled from St. Paul's by manipulating them into a scandal.
After the scandal, Terry leaves St. Paul's to protect Candy's reputation and pursue his aspiration to become a theatre actor. When Candy finds out, she also decides to leave the school in order to find her own path in life. She is hopeful she will meet Terry and Albert again as all characters embark on their individual life journeys in the United States. Candy is training to become a nurse in Chicago around the time of World War I, and Terry is pursuing a career as a rising star actor in New York. Meanwhile, they find each other again and hope to resume their relationship, albeit only a long-distance one through letters. At the same time, an actress and colleague in his theatre troupe, Susanna, is attracted to Terry. She confesses her love to him one evening at the theatre, but Terry never tells her about Candy even though he had numerous opportunities to do so. Instead, Terry confesses to himself that he is also attracted to Susanna. Furthermore, rumors had been surfacing that Terry and Susanna were intimately involved as they were spending much time together during their rehearsals as "Romeo and Juliet". During a rehearsal, a stage light comes loose and before it falls on Terry, Susanna pushes him aside, but in the process she gets injured and eventually loses her leg. Susanna's mother blackmails Terry to marry Susanna, as he is the reason that her daughter's career is over. In the meantime, Susanna descends into depression and she attempts to commit suicide, feeling that as long as she is alive she will be a burden for both Candy and Terry. Candy winds up saving her from falling from the hospital roof, but Terry, feeling responsible, is torn between his love for Candy and his duty to stay by Susanna's side. Candy, upon seeing the desperate turmoil on Terry's face, decides to sacrifice her own happiness, and leaves Terry behind with Susanna. She returns to Chicago to continue her life. Terry, on the other hand, does not stop Candy from leaving but returns to Susanna, whom he is also attracted to. Besides, Terry had already decided to stay with Susanna and Candy eventually came to realize his intentions.
Before Candy and Terry broke up, Candy had become the nurse and caretaker of Albert, who by chance was brought to Chicago hospital suffering amnesia after a WWI bomb explosion on a train in Italy. After a while as a hospital patient, Candy decides to take Albert into her apartment in Magnolia House, to care for him and help him regain his memory. Albert is the one who comforts Candy when she returns severely depressed after her break up with Terry. Albert ultimately regains his memory, and briefly disappears, leading Candy once more to a broken Terry, who is acting at a travelling theatre stage in Rockstown. She returns home when she sees Terry regaining his old spark, supposedly having seen her in the audience. Candy continues her quest to try to find Albert but to no avail. Once back at Pony's Home, Neal Leagan, who has become infatuated with her, tries to force Candy to accept an engagement. Albert reappears and finally reveals his true identity to Candy; he is the "Great Uncle William". He stops the engagement with Neil, and at the end of the manga, Albert also reveals to Candy that he was the seventeen-year-old boy at the Hill that day she was crying; hence, her "Prince on the Hill". Candy runs with tears into his open arms.
Albert is a powerful businessman who enjoys the simple life, loves to travel (especially to England where he completed his university studies), and has a special connection with animals (he has the gift of communicating with them through the mind). Throughout the story, it is revealed that he is actually 'Great-Uncle William.' At a very young age, he becomes the head of the Ardley family after his parents and his sister, Rosemary (Albert is Anthony's uncle), die, leaving him as the sole heir. It is Great-Aunt Elroy who does not allow him to reveal his identity, and that is why everyone knows him as "Albert". "We finally know who Candy married" - January 25, 2021. The expression "Great-Uncle" used in English to refer to him corresponds to a free translation of the phrase "一族の総長", whose closest approximation would actually be under the concept of "Patriarch".
He is the one who uttered the most important phrase in the franchise, the one that inspired Candy throughout her life and all generations in real life:
"Why are you crying? You're much prettier when you laugh than when you cry."
At that moment, Candy smiles and gives the "Prince of the Hill" a flower. He then leaves without saying his name, but he loses a badge (happiness talisman) that Candy keeps as a lucky charm, being her proof that 'her prince' had not been a dream. "Candy’s memory of Prince on the Hill" - January 24, 2015.
In Italy, the anime's ending was changed, albeit without the involvement of Keiko Nagita or Toei Animation. In the Italian version, Candy and Terry meet again at a train station, deciding to stay together. This ending is strictly only shown in the Italian version of the anime and nowhere else, but the animation sequences were from previous episodes, this ending is not canonical, it is unofficial, and it has been rejected by Nagita.
In 2010, the novel Candy Candy: The Final Story was re-written one last time by Keiko Nagita (the real name of Kyoko Mizuki). In this significantly revised novel edition, Suzanna dies and Candy finds out while reading her obituary in a newspaper. During his stage career, Terry is known as Terence Graham. He no longer is using his father's surname "Granchester" as he had renounced it upon his departure from the UK several years ago. The novel ends with Candy in her mid-30s living near Avon river in England, with the man she loves the most as World War II is approaching. The identity of this man is never revealed in the text. Keiko Nagita leaves it up to the readers' interpretation to decide who that man is as he could be a character mentioned or not mentioned in the novel. In addition, there is no indication whether Candy is married or not, whether she has continued her career, or if she has children of her own. All the readers know is that she is happy to be with the man she loves and most importantly, she has eventually found peace with her own self putting behind her traumatic past. However, all the clues and revelations mentioned in the book point to 'anohito' being Albert, especially considering that the description of both is exactly the same, emphasizing the characteristic of the 'sweet voice' that generates the same impact on her.
In 2010, Mizuki rewrote from the start and published the " Candy Candy Final Story" ( CCFS), which was published in two volumes and not three volumes as the earlier novels. She announced that this was her final effort to tell the story as she always intended from the beginning, without the influence of the manga illustrator or the manga production team. In broad lines most of the plot of the story remains the same as with the previous novel editions, with many minor details having been changed. A significant change is Susanna's death as well as a brief and cryptic note signed with the initials "T.G.", which comes right after the death of the actress in the book. A further noteworthily intriguing change is that the story continues with the "Epilogue" centering on the intricate and nuanced relationship between Candy and Albert, which evolves into a deeper connection. The style of the writing seems to be more mature and sophisticated. Keiko Nagita herself has said this novel edition is for Candy's fans who are now adults. Furthermore, she specifies that she wants her readers to imagine the characters' appearances based on the manga illustrations of Yumiko Igarashi as there are almost no such descriptions found in her own novel.
The final section of the novel or "Epilogue" is where a series of letters are exchanged between Candy and Albert. They describe the aftermath from the revelations about Albert being the "Great Uncle William" and the "Prince of the Hill". Albert's past is also explored, as a young boy in the Ardlay clan and how he became the mysterious Great Uncle William. Through their correspondence, Candy and Albert express their inner emotions as well as yearning for the days they had been living together at the "Magnolia House". Albert even confesses to Candy in one of his letters that upon regaining his memory he began to feign amnesia in order to continue living with her because he loved being by her side and was happy. This exchange of letters ends with Candy expressing her intention to return her diary to Albert and see him again. Subsequently, Candy includes a recollection of her (unsent) letter to Anthony where she reflects upon her life thus far. Keiko Nagita also added a final scene where Candy, in her thirties and living near Avon river, greets her beloved as he enters their home. The man's name is never revealed, but Nagita said that she was satisfied knowing that Candy now lived a happy life with that mystery man. Keiko Nagita also made it clear that the identity of "anohito" means nothing to her as her focus is on the psychophysical development of Candy as well as her eventual emotional maturity and perseverance.
In regard to further translations of Nagita's novel, there are three official translations. In 2015, the Italian publisher Kappalab obtained the copyright to publish CCFS in its entirety in Italian. The first volume was published in early 2015, while the second volume was released that summer. The second official translation was in French via Pika Roman Editions in 2019, again in two volumes. Thirdly, the book was published in Spanish under Arechi Manga shortly after in late 2019 but in a single volume, which were titled "The Prince of the Hill".
There are three animated : Candy Candy: The Call of Spring/The May Festival (1978), Candy Candy's Summer Vacation (1978) and Candy Candy the Movie (1992).
| + List of Candy Candy VHSs released in Japan | |
| TE-M884 | |
| TE-M262 | |
| VRTM-00643 | |
| VRTM-00106 | |
| VRTM-00818 | |
| VRTM-00800 | |
| VRTM-00311 | |
| VRTM-00707 | |
CANDY CANDY Original Movie
| TE-M156 |
| TE-M437 | |
|
In 1980, ZIV International acquired the U.S. rights to the series. The first two episodes were dubbed into English, with a new theme song and score created by in-house composer Mark Mercury. This was ultimately condensed into a straight-to-video production, released on tape in 1981 by Media Home Entertainment and then by Family Home Entertainment. It is unknown if any more episodes were dubbed for the American market. None of these have been subsequently reissued.
In September 2003, a toy manufacturer based in Misato, Saitama sued the two copyright managers of Candy Candy for 11 million for loss of revenue due to legal battle between Mizuki and Igarashi. The manufacturer was commissioned by the copyright managers to produce Candy Candy jigsaw puzzles without being informed that they could be immediately dismissed by Mizuki any time for copyright infringement. The Tokyo high court ordered the copyright managers to pay 7.8 million to the toy company.
|
|
