Candy Candy

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Caught this anime and manga series when I was a kid, the impression it left... Long lasting after all these years. And I still laugh and cry with it regardless how many times I'd watched it.

As this is quite a long series, you can see characters develop; who eventually mature to become better persons (thou not all became better ;P). I think the series emphasized strongly on themes such as love, friendship, positivity, generosity and perseverance etc; which importance transcend age and time.

This is truly an all time classic (I hope my children will watch and learn from it someday).

(just for the record, this is a slight alteration of my anime review)

STORY SECTION: 7/10 [Hard to swallow but digests nicely.]
If you are not accustomed to melodramatic stories, you will definitely hate it. It is filled with Deus Ex Machina situations, were every plot twist is either too good or too bad to be true.

In the beginning of the 20th century, a baby girl is abandoned in the doorstep of an orphanage. The girl was named Candice (Candy for short) and was raised by nuns, along with other orphans. The first part of the story is her happy life there, making friends and playing games, ... while wishing for lovable parents to come for her. Really cute and joyful times, most of us would find vomiting…

She is eventually taken as aid in a rich family. After a really tearful departing from the orphanage, she expects to have a happy life in an easy-going household. Unfortunately, the kids in the mansion are a pair of spoiled aristocrats that spend their carefree lives by tormenting peasants and pulling cruel jokes on Candy. And the adults there are snobby and joyless who dislike all aspects of her cheery personality. It will make you want to strangle them!

It’s here where she falls in love with a (literally) prince in shinning armor and experiences her first romance. There are good times and there are bad times but this relationship will have a tragic conclusion. She later becomes a nurse during First World War and experiences one tragedy over another. She reunites with old friends, falls in love again and starts to learn about her real family.

The conclusion is sad but satisfactory, making you weep at the series’ end. As I said already, you must bear its unreal plot twists. It is only a good drama/romance thanks to them.

CHARACTER SECTION: 7/10 [Extreme versions of good and evil but likable nonetheless.]
Heck, what is there to say? Every character in the series seems to be cursed as the worst of possibilities happens always when things are about to pick up. They are all either too sweet or completely heartless.
Candy is always cheery and cries a lot.
Most orphans and poor people are kind and perky.
The aristocrats are serious and complete assholes all the time.
Grown men are the epitome of kindness and ideal husbands.
Plus, all those optical tricks (see below) make them enjoyable most of the time.

ART SECTION: 9/10 [Retro and yet a sight for shore eyes.]
The mangaka used every optical trick used for atmosphere enhancement there was. The girls have big, star-filled eyes, really sweet smiles, tears of sadness and joy every 2 pages, sun rays that pass before their faces, cherry blossoms fill the screen, breezy lines that go beyond the frame borders and many more. The depiction of the era the story takes place is not very detailed but it is romance inspiring by itself, so it improves the atmosphere even more. But seriously, for the time it was made this was as good as it gets.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 7/10 [You will like it if you are not a Narutard-like viewer.]
The story is quite sappy and melodramatic most of the time but it is still the best historical, girly drama I know of in manga form. If only some parts were more fast-paced, it wouldn’t be boring at times.

VALUE SECTION: 7/10 [Like old wine, it only gets better as time goes by]
Rather cheesy but still very well made for its kind.

Candy Candy it wasn't the first shojo, but it's really hard to me to imagine a series more influential that this. This manga is a classic, with a story and characters in the style of the best works of the bronte sisters. This manga has his lows and flaws, bu it always keeps quality telling a story that's still enjoyable, refreshing and malkes you feel, despite all the shojo manga that has been published after this. But, how?
like i've said before, the story remains me a lot to the bronte sisters' works, specially jane eyre: orphan girl, rich family, a tortured and problematic love ... interest like Terry... Candy is a relly great character, and the rest of the cast would sure make you love them, with a few exceptions, but of course, Eliza was supposed to be a bitch . There's a lot of drama and romance, but don't cheesy and cheap drama and romance, it's really well written drama and romance.
You won't believe the amount of shojo that it was still influencied by this series, some of them really contemporary.