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The mysterious boy, the romantic boy, the fashionable boy, plus the geeky one, and the much despised spoiled-rich brat; all in one story.  But the one I heart the most is the rebel one with a darker image.  This is the colorful world of Candy, a cheerful orphaned girl.  This is “Candy Candy”.

“Candy Candy” is written by Kyoko Mizuki (her real name is Keiko Nagita) and was first published as a novel in 1975 before it was published as a manga illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi.  The manga ran for almost four years (1975-1979) in a monthly magazine Nakayoshi (from Japanese publisher Kodansha) and resulted in a total of nine volumes of manga originally.  There was also a 115-episode of anime based on the same manga aired initially in 1976.

And that’s exactly what I had thought before.  I read it during middle school, and by then, “Candy Candy” was already almost twenty years since its first publication.  I was truly reluctant at first considering I hated the cheesy, wishy-washy love story (you know, shoujo manga, they are for girls).  Come on, I’d rather have read Agatha Christie’s Poirot series than manga (“Manga is for kids, I’m NOT a kid anymore”).

But boy, I was so wrong.  During a stay in a cousin’s place, and you know you wouldn’t want to go to bed even if you’re told to (particularly WHEN you were told to), I gave “Candy Candy” a try.  After all, reading reduces the noise after everyone else falls asleep so the chances of getting discovered that you are not sleeping is also reduced.  I was never sleeping that night finishing all nine volumes of the (should I say it again) shoujo manga.

Exactly!  And literally my eyes were read when I finished the story since I was crying so much. 

Yes it was, but for a good reason.  When you think about most love stories, boy meets girl and they fall in love with each other, and like a fairy tale, they live happily ever after, right? 

“Candy Candy” is not so much a love story by that definition.  I would consider it as a LIFE story of this orphaned girl called Candy.  I don’t want to spoil the story (and rob that first time reading experience from you), but I will say this: true love means wishing the happiness of each other even if it means you have to sacrifice the relationship itself; and happiness does not mean you have to stay together with your true love; and friends and family are the precious gems of life.  I guess I spoiled it anyway.

I will say that there is no conclusive ending, but a happy one otherwise.  I think what makes it different from most of the shoujo manga out there is that Candy’ love life evolved with her as she grew up just like our own love life (you know how many crushes you have and how many times you change love interests).

And thus, it was easy to be emotionally attached to Candy.  I felt her joy and her pain at the same time.  She grew up in front of my eyes and I fell in love with the people around her.  Somehow, during reading her story, I was pulled into her world with my own world dissolved away.  I was living her life then. 

Phew, what a nostalgic moment, recalling the time I read “Candy Candy” for the first time.  The sweet old days.

Note:

• For more information on “Candy Candy”, you can always google the title and/or the author(s).  Full summary can be found in Wikipedia (spoiler alerts). 
• The manga has not been published in the US (any publisher wants to pick it up?). 
• The anime was aired so long time ago that it might be difficult to find the copies in the market. 
• Due to some legal issues, again, finding the original series of both the manga and the anime might be a headache. 
• The original novel was in Japanese only, so go figure.