Was Terry too emotionally damaged for Candy?

The event that made Terry who he was when Candy met him (Chapter 4)

Since returning to the Candy Universe, I realised that there is one problem that the anti-Terry fans would always judge Terry on: He slapped Candy after she slapped him after he kissed her without her permission. While it is indeed not acceptable to slap any decent girls (I think Eliza needs some big slaps, though!), I don’t think Terry’s action should be seen on its own. It has its larger context; namely the scars of emotional abuse.

Terry kissed Candy during the dance in the May Festival because the jealous Terry was irked at Candy for always mentioning the deceased Anthony. On cue, Candy slapped Terry (take that, Terry!). And then Terry slapped her back, but not because she slapped him. Terry slapped Candy back because she said he was a “mannerless juvenile delinquent”. For Terry, Candy had no rights to judge him as a delinquent, for he had a very emotionally traumatic childhood. To complete the slapping session, Candy slapped Terry back.

Of course, I disagree with Terry slapping Candy. I am okay with Candy slapping Terry because he did ask for it. So I’m glad that Candy didn’t lose her spunk and slapped Terry back.

Epilogue (Anohito’s voice, smile and his open arms)

Is Terry's smile also Anohito's smile? (manga from Chapter 4,
art by Igarashi Yumiko, story by Mizuki Kyoko)

In this post, we will look at the three aspects on that passage: Anohito’s voice, his smile, and his open arms to which Candy run into. I have explained them sporadically in the summary of Nee-chan’s blog, but I think a more dedicated post on this passage is needed.

After a laborious day (I kid you not), using Jisho, Romajidesu, and Nihongo-pro, I finally deciphered the whole Epilogue in Japanese script. Before I resume, though, I’d like to reiterate the importance of Candy’s monologues (including Prologue and Epilogue). These monologues show what happened in Candy’s current life with Anohito. We can decipher Anohito’s identity from the hints in Candy Candy Final Story flashbacks and manga. I agree with Scottie that the anime isn’t as faithful as manga, so I don’t use the anime as a source. 

It has to be said: even though Candy still had emotions to Terry by the time she wrote her unsent letter, she could have changed by the time Terry sent her his letter post-Susanna’s death. Also, although I couldn’t detect any romance between Candy and Albert in her last letter to Albert, her feelings to him could also have changed by the time Terry sent her his letter post-Susanna’s death. I have to take those possibilities into account. Having said that, Albert’s habits and Terry’s habits found in the manga and CCFS flashbacks are still very useful when analyzing Candy’s monologues. Those are historical records of Terry’s and Albert’s personalities, and we should not discount them in analyzing Candy’s monologues.

A new Candy (and Terry) blog!

Candy and Terry, art by Marco Albiero

Hi there! Since I found out about Candy Candy the Final Story, I have made four Candy-related posts in my personal blog. However, knowing my penchant of writing something I'm passionate about (ahem, my old wuxia mania, for instance...), today I've decided to make a new blog specifically about Candy and Terry.

I owe the birth this blog to many fans at the CandyTerry.com, particularly webmistress Nila. The "Shakespearean Fool" part of the blog name was originally inspired by Josephine Hymes, for she wrote Candy nicknaming Terry as a "Pompous Fool" in her amazing "The Season of Daffodils" fan-fiction.

Then I found out that there are Shakespearean fools in Shakespeare plays. Hence I think Terry - as a Shakespearean actor - would not mind to be called a "Shakespearean Fool", for he was usually a fool when he was in love...



Email me if you'd like to talk to me privately, otherwise, drop a comment on the posts!

Although the blog focuses more on Candy and Terry, I love most of Candy Candy characters (except for the Lagans and the Marlowes). I particularly love William Albert Ardlay and Alistair Cornwell, so I might celebrate them as well in future posts.

Candy Candy Final Story Proposed Chronology and Timeline

In which the blog authoress postulates her theory about the chronology and timeline of Candy Candy the Final Story. Scroll down to the end of the letter – I mean, post – to read the proposed timeline.

Candy's wish to be with Terry has be granted! (panel from Chapter 8,
story by Mizuki Kyoto, art by Igarashi Yumiko)

Thanks to Nila from the CandyTerry.com, I’ve gained access to the precious unofficial English translations of the Candy Candy the Final Story. The translations were done by many fans, and because I do not have their permissions to disclose their screen names, I will not attribute the translators one by one. Suffice to say I’m forever grateful for their service. If you’d like to read those translations, contact Nila at the CT Forum for access.

I was rather worried before reading the novel, worried that it would be too difficult to understand. However, the novel turns out to be not so difficult to follow. Nagita Keiko wrote CCFS in flashback styles, here represented by a third person reminiscence of the events in Candy’s life from her childhood at Pony’s Home until she left St. Paul’s. Those events are divided into two volumes, Volume 1 (up to Candy knowing Terry’s lineage secret at St. Paul’s) and Volume 2 (until Candy left St. Paul’s to pursue Terry in America). Volume 1 contains Chapter 1 (Anthony’s story) and Chapter 2 (Terry’s story), while the first part of Volume 2 contains Candy’s life with Terry in St. Paul’s London.  Candy only returned to her present time twice until this moment: the first one was after reminiscing on Anthony’s death and the second one was when she started to reminisce on her journey to and in the UK.  I think these recollections or monologues serve the novel well, for it bridges us back to the “present moment” where Candy was at her new home by the Avon River.

Anohito analyses recap and Candy Candy end theme

Candy imagining herself and Terry, Chapter 4

I’ve recapped the summary of a Japanese blog about Anohito last weekend (I nicknamed the author as "Nee-chan"). It’s a rather long post, so I better make a more simplified recap of Anohito facts and analyses. I will also present an interesting epiphany I obtained from listening to Candy Candy end theme (“Ashita ga suki”), the lyrics of which were written by Mizuki Kyoko (a.k.a Nagita Keiko) herself.

In recapping the analyses of Anohito, I use Nee-chan’s blog posts and also Scottie’s post. To be fair(er) to pro-Albert fans, I’ll refrain from talking about two main events in the Candy Candy the Final Story, i.e. Susanna Marlowe’s death and Terry’s letter to Candy afterwards. I will not analyse Candy’s unsent email to Terry, because, assuming that Candy later fell in love with Albert, that letter, and Terry’s letter to Candy post-Susanna’s death, became a moot point. However, if Candy later fell in love with Albert, I don’t think that Candy would not reply to Terry’s letter, as Bequi claimed. I think Candy would still write to Terry, but she would inform the poor man that her heart now belonged to someone else…

I will also exclude the last few letters between Albert and Candy in the Epilogue of CCFS, because as I said in my previous post, the nature of those letters is such that those letters had to be exchanged immediately after Candy learned that Albert also the Prince of the Hill. Thus, those letters cannot be the chronological epilogue, as Scottie rightly argued. Those letters should be placed way earlier in the chronology. Regarding a letter from Candy to Albert where she was thinking of returning her own diary back to Albert for safe keep, I still think that the letter is also not part of the chronological epilogue. The tone of her letter (p. 322 Japanese ver.) makes me think that her heartbreak (because of the separation with Terry) wasn't truly healed yet, hence she wanted Albert to keep her diary once more. She did say that she was happy, but the tone denies that ("At this time, the diary that you have returned to me is with me. But I have not opened it."). You can read the translation at CT Forum, but you need to register first (contact Nila for registration).

Candy Candy the Final Story: summary of a Japanese blog on Anohito

This post contains my summary of some blog posts of a Japanese Candy-Terry fan. Notable findings (to me) are the original Japanese scripts for the complete collections of Shakespeare leather-bound books, the two references to daffodils, the "Uncle William" reference in Candy's very important monologue, and my realising that the letters between Candy and Albert should indeed be placed way earlier in the chronology, instead of placed in the Epilogue.

Candy saw Terry in Scotland, Chapter 3
(story by Mizuki Kyoko, art by Igarashi Yumiko)

I've finished re-reading the Candy Candy manga. I’m glad to report that I still think Candy should end up with Terry, although Albert is truly a magnificent person. Truly, Albert was indeed an admirable person, and had CCFS not been published, I’d still consider him as Candy’s eventual husband, although not by choice (because Candy would still be with Terry had the New York incident not happened).

During my re-reading, I also cried several times, particularly when Anthony, Archie and Mr McGregor died. Unexpectedly, I didn't cry when Terry and Candy broke up, but it's mostly I think because I know Nagita Keiko has mercifully killed Susannah Marlowe hence freeing Terry to pursue Candy again. I was still gutted, though, seeing Terry chasing Candy down the stairs and hugging her, sobbing helplessly, didn’t want to let her go. Then, arriving at Chapter 9, I burst into tears as I read the Rockstown section, where Candy saw the despair Terry had post break up... and I cried again when he rose from his drunken stupor and embraced his true acting talent once more. I was once again sad when Candy, sitting by the fire with William Albert Ardlay next to her, reminiscing of another hearth in Scotland, in front of which she sat with Terry. 

Candy Candy the Final Story: the Real Happy Ending

Terence G. Granchester and Candy White Ardlay (art by Yumiko Igarashi)

Created by Kyoko Mizuki and drawn by Yumiko Igarashi, Candy Candy was my first anime, if not the second, after Lulu the Flower Princess. That was way back in the mid 1980s when I was about 9-10 years old, when all mangas and animes were innocent and non-exploitative…

I love Candy for her exuberant character, despite all the hardship she had to endure as an orphan in Indiana USA. I thought that Candy would be forever with Anthony Brown, the sweetheart she met during her trying days at the Lagan House. Yet, I never finished her story, for somehow my VHS/Beta rental store stopped supplying her stories. Then when I was already in college, this was already 1992 onwards, I started reading Candy Candy manga from cover-to-cover, all the nine volumes. I remember the days when I went to Gramedia just to buy the next CC instalment. I returned to her early days in Pony Home, her beautiful days with Anthony Brown, Alistair Cornwell and Archibald Cornwell, her broken heart when [SPOILERS] Anthony died… and then my heart beat when she met Terence Granchester. Terry, the naughty yet broken boy who made her laugh again (but not before forcing her to face her nightmares about Anthony).

Then, as I reached for Volume 7, I cried my heart out when she and Terry broke up. Not because they grew out of love… but because Candy chose to leave Terry to Susanna Marlowe, a girl who rescued Terry during an accident. My heart broke when Candy left Susanna’s hospital in a snow blizzard, as Terry tried to stop her from leaving…