Sugar Apple Fairy Tale

In the kingdom of Highland, fairies lived freely until humans betrayed them. Once a fairy has been stripped of a wing, whoever possesses it holds the fairy's life in their hands. Taking advantage of this, humans enslaved fairies, but 15-year-old Ann Halford longs to see the day when fairies and humans are treated as equals.

The aspiring confectioner dreams of becoming a Silver Sugar Master just like her late mother. In order to achieve this lofty goal, Ann sets out for the capital of Lewiston, home to the annual Royal Candy Fair. However, to be bestowed the elusive title, Ann's confection crafted from silver sugar must be recognized with a royal medal at the event.

Ann hires a sharp-tongued warrior fairy, Shall Fen Shall, to be her bodyguard for the perilous journey ahead. After saving him from his cruel fairy trader, she promises to return Shall's wing to him once they reach the capital, much to his confusion. But as the pair travel further along, the time they spend together grows, and they learn more about each other and their true desires.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shall Fen Shall Main

Mizunaka, Masaaki Japanese

Halford, Ann Main

Nukui, Yuka Japanese

Hingley, Alph Supporting

Terashima, Takuma Japanese

Mythrill Rid Pod Supporting

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Benjamin Supporting

Suzuki, Minori Japanese

Powell, Keith Supporting

Uemura, Yuuto Japanese

Salim Supporting

Ban, Taito Japanese

Mercury, Hugh Supporting

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Lusel El Min Supporting

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Dale Supporting

Ichikawa, Aoi Japanese

Matsui, Yuuko Producer

Matsukura, Yuuji Producer

Takahashi, Kanako Producer

Ogura, Rie Producer

Reviews

Apr 1, 2023

todorokoo

Recommended

I have arrived in defense of one of my favorite releases of the season. Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is dramatic, angsty, beautiful and SO shoujo.

As someone who is a massive shoujo consumer, be it in manga or anime form, I can with confidence say that it has been a while since we got a shoujo adaptation that had a big budget and where the studio didn't seem to give up on it halfway through the season. This is a massive plus in my book because shoujo deserves GOOD adaptations as much the shounen and seinen demographic (don't even get me started on josei because we ... live in the trenches).

The story of Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is very dramatic but at the same time also very slice of life. Personally, I think that they balanced these two very well. There are some extremely annoying characters in this (Bridget, I hate you so bad), but also some very lovely characters. Our MC Ann is a flawed protagonist; she's a hypocrite at times, she's idealistic and she's very stubborn. These characteristics, however, are what make her interesting and multidimensional. We still have a lot to learn about Shall, as of now he's mostly a mystery to both the audience and Ann. I'm excited to see more of him in July. The side characters are less developed, but they all have their own quirks and motivations that we slowly see throughout the season. Mythrill Lid Pod might have been my favorite character of this series, his presence is delightful, and he brings lots of happiness to the show.

The art and color palette are beautiful. The animation is smooth, and it is one of the best we have had for shoujo in recent years, J.C. Staff did an excellent job.

Certain aspects of this show, such the slavery, are for sure problematic. Nevertheless, there's also commentary on these topics and they aren't just brushed off and never brought up again. Most characters are very flawed and the villains are sometimes just too corny. I do like how the story touches on e.g. sexism and misogyny, even if it is a fantasy setting.

[SPOILERS FOR EP 12] The finale was definitely bittersweet, I may or may not have shed a few tears. This just shows that I have grown to really love Ann and Shall these past few months. I'm going to be honest, if this show didn't receive a 2nd cour it would have affected my opinions on it a lot. For now, I'm hopeful and look forward to their reunion. Based on what we have seen from Ann we can definitely expect her to not give up on Shall!

Overall: I can 100% recommend this to fellow shoujo & josei fans and if you are new to the demographic, I hope you can watch this without bias. I'm so happy that the shoujo demographic has received a worthy adaptation, and I can't wait for the return of this show!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Mar 24, 2023

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Sigh, would someone help me remember why Shoujo shows that were once the rage in the past, now fall into obscurity?

In the never-ending world of fantasy, there are distinct personalities and features that help make it stand out. But it's often a taboo to have inequality in the world, such as masters and slaves, tradition vs. modern, and gender equality. Such is the case with novelist Miri Mikawa's completed 17-volume LN that is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale from 2010 to 2015, it sure took over a decade to finally have an anime adaptation, courtesy of J.C.Staff. But with every Shoujo-esque work that's clearly targeted ... at the female demographic, the Shonen or Seinen in us (if you're a young teenager or adult male) will definitely have something to say about a Shoujo show, in both good and bad ways.

In this season, there're quite a few "master and slaves" types of shows, such as Vinland Saga's Farmland arc (which is the immaculate kind) and this show, which true to be honest, raises some red flags. In Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, the kingdoms are treated in such a way that there are both humans and fairies, but that the fairies are controlled by the humans with one side of their wings as collateral. No matter how good or bad the human master is, the fairies are slaves to their work and bidding, and just like any abusive person, would lash out at them by using their given wings to forcefully torment them.

And one fairy would like to change that perception, thanks to someone that he would meet along the way. The main female Protag-chan Anne Helford has quite the dramatic life: the daughter of a beloved Silver Sugar Master (the title only bestowed by property), she passed on before Anne could ever mature and make her dream of becoming a Silver Sugar Master known to her. It's with that purpose that she sets on the long and winding journey to become just that, but with the kingdom's regulations that every human has a choice to affiliate themselves with fairies, Anne decides to purchase a fairy to act as her protector on her long travels. But what she got in return was a matter of pride and constant mutant understanding: the warrior fairy in the form of Challe Fen Challe who is more than meets the eye.

Essentially, Anne's journey of becoming the Silver Sugar Master is a road that filled with thorns and backlashes, as many as it could fill. Starting with the fairies that she affiliates herself with, Mythril Lid Pod is the small water fairy that she saved from a ruthless fairy hunter, and despite his childlike innocence plus the hatred of humans from how he was treated, he honours Anne saving him as a repayment of favour, eventually being a travel companion and a friend along the way. The main fairy in question, Challe Fen Challe is a warrior fairy serving as Anne's bodyguard, and although he hits the mark of the typical Ikemen being very handsome and beautiful, he has a sharp tongue that's not afraid to say what's on his mind, and with his master in toll, Challe constantly teasing Anne by calling her "Scarecrow" is the hallmark of a possible romance, because you can't take the romance out of a Shoujo work, as much as she works hard to bring out the best in her. Challe once had someone that was close with him but got killed thanks to the whole human-fairy enslavement rule, and eventually like Mythril Lid Pod, distrusts humans to an extreme degree. Though with Anne, both human and fairy take a while to get used to each other's quirks, and for the human who dislikes the gap between humans and fairies for slavery, promises something that is unheard of: letting one part of the wing that's reserved for the human masters, be returned to him on the basis that he doesn't run away from her willy-nilly, and as much as the warrior fairy himself gets a lot of scorn, he becomes trustworthy and protects her in the line of her dream enough for her to fall in love with him as time passes...because I must stress this again, the story would fall flat if there isn't any semblance of a relationship.

I don't know what it is about this show that likes to glorify inferior superiority, but there must be a hook, and this comes in the form of Jonas Anders. The former friend turned rival; Jonas is simply put: a man in agnostic denial. Once a friend that was as happy-go-lucky as he is to spell out that both him and Anne were going to be a married couple, ultimately, Jonas is a jerk of many proportions, using his past to anchor his present, like steal Anne's beautiful sugar confections and make it as his own. The reason for his inexcusable behaviour, is that he is the nephew of the Radcliffe Workshop under Marcus and owing to the school's hack-of-a-job inferiority complex to teach budding sugar artisans like Jonas, the biblical saying of "The Devil is here to seek and destroy" is as real as it could get. The unrepentable young man constantly in bickering against Anne, he is the epitome of selfishness. But, to talk about the Royals here, it would definitely taste even more sweeter. The Silver Sugar Viscount Hugh Mercury is a talented sugar artisan and knows when works like Anne's can be praised to high regard for the quality work that she has put out with all her heart. The same can be said for Alph "Kat" Hingley, who is also a Silver Sugar Master and respects Anne's hard work as well, at the cost of misunderstanding and a no-nonsense front if anyone tries to accuse Anne of unfairness. Last but not least, there is Keith Powell, the son of the previous Silver Sugar Viscount, who is affiliated with Kat and Anne's mother through surrounding his entire life with sugar confections, but never competes due to favouritism. And most certainly, he sees Anne like a legit, worthy rival, instead of Jonas and the others of the Radcliffe Workshop. Overall, the side characters support well, that is all except Jonas and his band of thieving rascals of the Radcliffe Workshop.

This show produced under the reins of J.C.Staff, it looks pretty, beautiful and whimsical from the fantasy standpoint. It's a lot of bright and vibrant colours to add to the allure of wonderful sugar confections that almost looked like it wasn't hand-made, but from the hard work of its artisans. A good job on that front. The OST complements the light-hearted show with Minori Suzuki and Sumire Moroboshi's OP and ED respectively, and that's all I can say about the other aspects of the show.

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is both sweet and savoury. It can get sour from the many little things affecting it, from the slavery to the kinda-forced romance that most Shoujo shows tend to get plagued with for a moving story plot badly. But above all, it's light and delicate, and must be taken with a dose of fluff and air to properly enjoy and appreciate the show for what it is.

This is a love-hate show, and enjoy this or not, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is a tale of the light and airy type. Who knows, you might like it...that's if you can muster the Shoujo tropes, which to me, this is yet another mediocre showing.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jul 10, 2023

Rift_Warden

Not Recommended

Funny

To say that the ending ruined the whole show is an understatement... This is a show of suffering. It should be called Sugar Apple Fairy Hell

The show sells itself as quite a laid back and feel good anime, but at the end, I feel everything but this. I'm writing the review because it was a bitter ending, not sweet in the slightest, nor warranted.

To start, characters who had committed irreperable deeds had been kept relevant throughout the show. There were constant feelings throughout of revenge and vengeance, but by the very people who were the perpetrators. Even the MC, who had suffered throughout the show, ... never showed signs of revenge, and if they were even slightly sane, probably a few annoying characters might be dead or in jail.

The main character is extremely spineless when it comes to others, she battles to save them from simple situations, yet when she is in peril herself, overcomes insane feats, (maybe because she has the support of many and can't do anything alone)

Anyways, the show has some nice points throughout, but one would expect it to mainly leave people feeling bitter

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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