Prince on the Hill
Even though Yumiko Igarashi has made some minor mistakes when drawing Prince on the Hill in the manga (as mentioned in Love Triangle (Part 8)), I must say she did an excellent job overall. It was very convincing to us manga readers that the mysterious but nice guy was very handsome. Not only little Candy named him Prince on the Hill with a valid reason, but his brief appearance gave her a lasting impression.
Usually the first guy who appears in a story is an important character, and Prince on the Hill is no exception (from the beginning to the end). Because of his badge, Candy stumbled upon the Ardlay’s premises, and due to the striking resemblance, Candy fell for Anthony instead of Archie or Stear. They were all kind to her and good looking in different ways, but she picked Anthony. Yet, in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS), Candy described Anthony this way (from spoilers):
The boy at the rose gate looked alike her Prince but his shiny blond hair and smile were fainter than the Prince she thought.
If you want to read more about Prince on the Hill, I have written quite a few posts concerning his impact on Candy, like these two posts: Candy’s memory of Prince on the Hill and Candy’s first letter to Prince on the Hill. 🙂
In other words, if Mizuki intended to give Terry to Candy, why created the character Prince on the Hill? Not only that, Candy could never forget him and often carried his badge with her. Unbeknownst to her, her prince came and went in her life, and without him, she would have had a completely different life, possibly being a child labor somewhere. Later, her prince lost his memory and also fell in love with her.
Some people claimed that Mizuki “changed her mind”, so she wrote CCFS. If that was the case, why did Candy in her thirties say her life changed the day Annie left Pony’s Home (see spoilers from the CCFS prologue)?
… Beautiful May. The Pony’s Home in lush green of the trees. We were there, Annie and I. When my life changed significantly, the day when Annie was adopted by the Brightons…
Guess what? The story of CCFS began with Annie being adopted, and in retrospect, it was also the day Candy met her Prince on the Hill. 😉
Not to mention that in the CCFS epilogue, Candy kept calling Albert “Prince” or “Prince on the Hill”, so much so that he had to ask her to stop. 😆
Besides, Mizuki modified the way Prince on the Hill confessed to Candy in CCFS. In the manga, after Albert’s confession, Candy ran happily into her prince’s outstretched arms. Then the story ended (or it’s the beginning of another story of Candy and her prince). In CCFS, the ending was nearly the same, except it wasn’t a confession this time, but Candy also happily ran into Anohito’s outstretched arms after he came home.
Now, putting two and two together, isn’t it very obvious what Mizuki had in mind? 😉
Inspired by Albert’s letter in CCFS when he described in detail his runaway incident to Candy, I’ve attempted to draw Prince on the Hill by modifying Igarashi’s original illustration. In my imagination, it was early afternoon when he climbed the hill, admiring the panoramic view of the area. This happened prior to the arrival of a certain crybaby. 🙂 It seems very windy up on the hill in the original drawing. In order to make it more realistic, I made Albert’s hair look ruffled. 🙂
I couldn’t decide whether to draw him more like Anthony or Albert as an adult. If he was indeed seventeen as written in CCFS, it’s nearly impossible Candy couldn’t recognize Albert some years later as explained in Age difference between Candy and Albert. Therefore, I opted to draw him as a boy in his mid-teens, when he likely just started his growth spurt, so I imagine him to be around 1.65m tall. By seventeen of age, he should be much closer to his adult height (1.85m) and size.
Furthermore, I thought of drawing his famous badge as well, which wasn’t in the original drawing either. However, I changed my mind at the last minute because I figure the badge wasn’t meant to be a pin with a sharp point on the back. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense how Candy could dangle it around her neck under her clothes (wouldn’t it hurt?). 😉
Other than drawing the bagpipe differently, I also selected one of the easier tartans to draw his kilt and the long plaid, which are both longer because the kilt is knee-length and the plaid is supposed to be a blanket. I thought of using greenish tartan, but I chose red/black at last.
Last but not the least, this is the present I have promised Reeka, as mentioned in Welcome 2015!, but she didn’t want her name on the drawing, so I respect her wish. I’ll also use this as the cover photo for the French version of “It must have been love” to show my gratitude for Antlay, which I will post some time in February. She has asked me once why I didn’t draw Prince on the Hill, and believe me, I was afraid I wouldn’t do a good job. No kidding. 😆
I’m not saying that this new drawing is good enough, but at least I can say aloud that I have put in lots of time and effort into this. 😛
Hope you like it! 😀
Dear Ms Puddle,
You did it again. Beautiful, wonderful drawing!
To me it seems as if he’s looking longingly at Pony’s Home, or maybe I’m wrong.
Thank you very much, CKati! 😀 Yes, you can say that he seemed to be looking longingly down there. 🙂 In the original drawing, Albert faced that way too as though he was looking at Pony’s Home, but in fact, he still had no clue back then that he would end up paying for the reconstruction of this orphanage in the future just because someone very important in his life cared about this orphanage so much 😉
Oh, my dearest Ms Puddle,
It is such a lovely piece of art! I can almost feel the way he was feeling at that time. Probably he was just looking for a special spot where to manage his own feelings. He needed some kind of freedom, cause he probably felt in a golden cage. The way the wind was blowing in his face and his hair could be like a caress from Mother Nature. The kind of bond he felt towards nature afterwards might be explained in here. He was a lonely boy, yet he could feel connected to his surroundings. He was considering his own problems and limits, pondering how miserable he felt, when suddenly he realized that there were others (Candy in this case) who suffered worst things. It became such an important moment in his life, that he would always cherish “Pony’s Hill”.
You are doing such a great job! I loved it! Keep it up, my friend!
Hola SweetCandyAndley, mi querida amiga! Nice to hear that you love this drawing, and thank you so much for your kind words. In fact, you read my mind! I was gonna talk about something similar to what you said in your comment, but this post was quite long already, so I cut it short. 🙂 Thank you for reminding me, my friend!
Is a beautiful job, Albert looks so handsome in this kilt, and you have reason, Albert hasn´t 17 when he meets candy, he maybe could be have 14??? and be around 1.65 ….. is very difficult to believe he has 17, when in this age his appearance almost could be like now as an adult.
Thank you, Criss, for your encouragement! 🙂 Yes, when a boy is 17, he’s almost an adult, so he won’t look boyish anymore. In the manga, Prince on the Hill looked more like 14 or at most 15 😉
Ms Puddle, I just love the way you drew it… the skirt lenght, the colors, how the breeze blows his hair, I can feel like I’m in the top off the hill with him, and the way he’s looking down to Pony’s Home… awwww <3 Love it!
Not long time ago, some girls and me were talking about Albert's features and the ones of the POTH. You are right, a boy in his seventeens is so close to have reached his height and I guess that was the case of Albert but… his features still have to change. It's just my guessing, but I think because the years elapsed between their first met and the time he found her in the cascade, There is no way she could reconigze him. That happened to me last year. I met a boy, grandchild of a friend, around 8 years ago, he was a teenager by that time, but when I met with him again lastyear, I couldn't tell who he was. I only felt I knew him from somewhere but could tell from where. It was until my friend told me that I said… what???? is he Jason? Until then, I associated my memories with what I had in front of me. He was the same kid with more matures features. And Albert, well, he also was wearing a beard.
3 things are the ones Candy couldn't forget about the prince of the hill… the color of his hair, his voice and his sweet smile. I guess when she met once again Albert in London, she didn't associate those things with him, having the old memory of Albert, indicating he's a different person from her prince. That is why she was shocked when he made 'the confession', until then, she compared the description of her prince with Albert, indicating they both were the very same person. Hmmm hope I could explain myself. :p
Bonjour Chère Ms Puddle,
Personnellement, je m’étais toujours imaginé le Tartan du Prince de la Colline dans des teintes vertes et bleues rappelant ainsi celles des yeux d’Albert et de Candy mais quand j’ai vu votre dessin… le résultat en rouge et noir est tout simplement splendide ! Merci pour ce magnifique chef d’œuvre ! <3 <3 <3 J’adore le doux visage et les yeux couleur azur si lumineux et effectivement peut-être un peu mélancolique d’Albert mais n’oublions pas qu’il était malheureux à l’époque (isolé, perte de sa sœur…). J’aime aussi la « Maison de Pony » faisant référence à Candy. On dirait que le regard d’Albert se porte vers elle, comme s'il se languissait !
Quant à ce personnage du Prince de la Colline, pour moi c’est un fil conducteur depuis le début jusqu’à la fin de l’histoire. C’est lui qui a était le phare du cœur de Candy. Quand elle a rencontré Anthony, elle a d’ailleurs cru que c’était son Prince et je pense, qu’au départ en tout cas, elle en est tombée amoureuse pour cette raison ! Ensuite, quand elle a vu Terry sur le Mauritania pour la 1ère fois elle a pensé voir Anthony donc quelque part son Prince aussi puisqu'ils se ressemblaient! Ce qui est amusant est le paradoxe que le seul qui ne lui ait jamais rappelé son Prince est justement Albert ! Il faut dire qu’avec son déguisement près de la chute d’eau c’était impossible et puis il était devenu adulte. Les garçons changent beaucoup entre l’adolescence et l’âge adulte.
Pour moi il serait logique que Candy termine sa vie dans CCFS avec son 1er amour donc son Prince. La boucle serait bouclée ! Sinon effectivement pourquoi faire apparaitre ce personnage tout au long de l’histoire ? Cela n’aurait pas de sens ! Albert a été son pilier, son refuge, son protecteur même au péril de sa vie (attaque du lion) tout au long de son existence!
De plus du point de vue caractère, je trouve que Terry correspond moins à Candy et pourtant j’ai étais bouleversée quand ils ont rompu mais avec le recul et la maturité je me suis rendue compte, grâce aussi à vous Ms Puddle, qu’Albert est sa véritable âme sœur ! Terry est un jeune homme déchiré, révolté qui a été rejeté toute sa vie qui s’est construit une muraille pour se protéger. Mais impulsif et sarcastique aussi. Albert a beaucoup souffert lui aussi mais il a réagi autrement de par sa personnalité plus altruiste, tout comme Candy. Il s’est ouvert sur le monde, la nature, les animaux d’où son voyage en Afrique par exemple ! La reconstruction de l’orphelinat aussi… Ils ont beaucoup plus de points communs. Mais ce n'est que mon avis! 😉
Voilà, j’ai fini par choisir de m’exprimer en français car c’est plus évident pour moi d’être fidèle à ma pensée dans ma langue maternelle et puis au moins cela montre que vous avez des fans partout dans le monde ! 😉 🙂 😀
Ah ! Most important, I like, I love your drawing Ms Puddle ! ❤❤❤
Waow !!! Et bien cela valait le coup d’attendre. Votre dessin Ms Puddle est incroyable, fantastique, j’ai du mal à trouver les mots pour le qualifier. Albert est si mignon avec ce visage d’adolescent portant le kilt. Le choix du tartan rouge et noir, personnellement j’adore c’est bien mieux que le vert. Et tous ces détails, franchement je suis heureuse que vous ayez décidé de le dessiner, Il est si parfait, et j’étais convaincue de votre capacité à faire un tel dessin, avec un talent tel que le votre, qui pourrait en douter !
Je suis heureuse et plus qu’honorée d’avoir choisi ce dessin en couverture de votre histoire “It must have been love”. Cela plaira beaucoup je suis sûre aux lecteus français !
Quant à la fameuse scène à la fin du manga et celle de CCFS, qui sont identiques, si MIZUKI avait décidé de choisir un autre homme qu’Albert, je pense qu’elle n’aurait pas clôturer CCFS de la même façon. Right ?
Once again, thank you so much! The Prince on The Hill sure looks charming here. His expression is a bit melancholy, yet his eyes show tenderness. I like it very very much, Ms Puddle.
POTH was indeed a very important character in CC. As we once discussed, it made no sense that Mizuki created a character who only appeared very very brief in earlier chapter, and only made him reappeared at the very end of the story – if that character was not important. And how the whole story and background of The Ardlays which Mizuki created was so wasteful if Candy ended up with someone else ( here some believed it’s Terry) and moved to England. Non sense. — I know I am like a broken record for repeating it again and again, but I just couldn’t help. Those ignorants were helpless. 🙁
MsPuddle, you’re right about Albert’s appearance must be changed due to his age, otherwise Candy should recognised him when she met him again in Chicago Hospital. However, I kinda think the changes were more to his body. After this scene, he went to London for school and he started his free-spirit lifestyle as vagabond. And remember that albert had never appeared with his short and blonde hair until Candy was back from NY. And I could understand why Candy had never recognised him as POTH. The first time she saw him with short blonde hair, her thought was in somewhere else. And just like Louis Lane never suspected Clark Kent was Superman, sure Candy was never thinking that possibility, too. She was even in a state of thinking POTH was only in her dream, if it was not for his badge :).
Ah Ms Puddle, can I consider myself insane if every time I think about Candy-Albert’s love story, my heart feels warm and I feel like smiling all the time 🙂 🙂
Dear Reeka, if you consider yourself insane, then I must say I feel the same way. Should we create a new psychological description, “The POTH Syndrome” LOL! Maybe Ms Puddle could become our therapist!
No seriously I can’t be your therapist, lol! I am actually in the same club, but I’m sure we are not the only ones. 😉 This is why I like reading comments from you and the others! 🙂