Candy and Prince on the Hill (Part 2)
I truly appreciate the ongoing support from the administrator of the Facebook page, William Albert Andrew (el príncipe de la colina). She has continuously provided various resources and her insights to inspire me to keep my blog alive. For example, almost right after I published my previous post, Candy and Prince on the Hill, she sent me the link to this set of manga cover images from her page because she figured the words on the book sleeves conveyed important messages. She was absolutely right! ❤ The words on the yellow and red sleeves brought a big smile to my face. 😀
Note that this is the original manga version of “Candy Candy”, published in only 2 large volumes as the Collectors’ Edition (愛藏版), by the publisher chuokoronsha in August, 1991.
First, even before we discuss the wordings on the sleeves, you can see the images of Prince on the Hill on Book 1 and Candy on Book 2. The sleeves mentioned Igarashi’s cosplay (コスチューム プレイ) albums 2 and 3 respectively.
Now, what are the words on the yellow sleeve next to Prince on the Hill?
何か大切なものを忘れかけている (Forgetting about something important)
あなたに贈る愛の物語 (A love story presented to you)
I gather it meant Prince on the Hill had forgotten his precious badge, leaving a clue to his true identity. 😉 The words on the red sleeve next to happy Candy are the famous words from Prince on the Hill to Candy on Pony’s Hill:
キャンディ、きみは ないてる顔より (Candy, compared to your crying face)
笑った顔のほうがかわいいよ (Your smiling face is prettier)
Actually, in the manga Prince on the Hill had only said the second line to “little girl” (he didn’t know her name), as shown in my earlier post, The day her life changed (Part 2). At the end of the manga he repeated the exact words as a hint for Candy. ❤❤
Anyway, the publisher of the manga collectors’ edition basically indicated that Candy Candy is a love story between Candy and Prince on the Hill. 😀 Yes, Candy had fallen in love with other young men in between, but at the end, she was back to her prince, as described in the epilogue of Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS). If you don’t believe me, please read Candy’s letters to Prince on the Hill with an open mind. The fact that Albert was willing to confess to be Prince on the Hill means that they were more than friends and definitely not family.
Here, let me continue where I left off in Part 1 of this series, Candy and Prince on the Hill. Just before Candy dropped the bomb, asking Albert if she should call him “father”, she brought up the following (CCFS Vol 2, p. 309):
なんでも分かちあおうーーーそう言ってくれたアルバートさんの言葉、忘れません。(I do not forget the words which Albert-san said to me, “let’s share everything…”)
In the manga, one day after regaining his past memory, Albert made this suggestion to Candy when sharing a sandwich with her. With teary eyes, she promised to share her troubles and concerns with him for as long as she lived (in CCFS this was changed to sharing her joy and grief). Most of us believe that she hadn’t yet understood the depth of the meaning behind his words back then. Later, after Albert unexpectedly vanished in Candy’s life, she recalled this sandwich sharing proposal and realized she could actually talk to him just about anything (as discussed in The day her life changed (Part 6)).
Now, in this letter, why do you think Candy brought up this “sharing” agreement that Albert had suggested to her long time ago? Not only that, she stressed that she didn’t forget. 🙄
If you combine with what I explained in my previous post, you might notice that Candy was essentially outlining different stages of her feelings for Albert: (1) the beginning days in the House of Magnolia (2) overall penniless but happy (3) the promise to share everything with each other (4) the thought of living with him is not bad at all
Do you see what I see? 😉 That her feelings for him had evolved over time? She was telling him in this letter that she had already liked him even before knowing his true identity? 🙂 You might want to read my old posts, Love grew into romance, Part 2 and Part 3.
When they started living together, he was a friend and her patient, amnesiac and lost. She was worried but willed herself to take care of him till his recovery. Although they barely made ends meet, they had been happy together. She probably referred to the time after being fired from the hospital. I don’t think Dr. Martin paid her well, and Albert only had a part-time job, washing dishes. Then, months after breaking up with Terry, Albert suddenly suggested Candy share everything with him for the rest of her life. She was greatly moved and promised him without hesitation. Lastly, although she still wished he would recover, she realized that it wasn’t bad to continue living with him as brother and sister. I suppose by then she was so used to having him by her side that she was uncertain if she wanted him to leave her.
By the way, the apartment shown in the anime version was quite unrealistic. They couldn’t possibly afford a two-bedroom apartment, which means that they were confined in a tiny place as illustrated in the manga version, day in and day out, for likely more than two years. Thus, they must have got along extremely well, or else Candy wouldn’t have treasured and enjoyed Albert’s companionship this much, even contemplating to continue living with him. Sigh. ❤
In any case, as mentioned before, some time had elapsed since Candy’s discovery of Albert’s full name, and many things had happened, including Archie and Annie’s engagement, the reconstruction of the Pony’s Home, etc. We know that Candy addressed Albert as Granduncle William sometimes, even treating him like an old man, so why did Candy ask Albert out of the blue if she must call him “father” in this letter? 😕
Some of you said that it was Candy’s way to probe Albert’s feelings for her, which I totally agree. 😀 Great minds think alike again, my friends! ❤ Apparently, Candy wanted to delve into the truth of Albert’s feelings and who she really was to him, because no matter how she looked at it, their legal relationship had remained a predicament.
Come to think of it, soon after Albert’s confession, Candy had explicitly demanded him to take a holiday for her birthday, but he couldn’t take a day off. Yet, he had written pages and pages to her, explaining in detail why he had appeared on Pony’s Hill so long ago, dressed in Scottish kilt. His lengthy reply to her question made her shed lots of tears, and she felt that they had grown much closer as a result. Moreover, in his letter he honestly admitted of having conflicting emotions (Part 2). Therefore, I strongly believe she had high hopes something would happen when she arrived at Chicago with others.
Indeed, Albert had given Candy plenty of birthday presents, but as I have explained before, she had desired his presence more than anything else. In addition, she was possibly hoping for some sort of love confirmation from him, say he would tell her that she was more than just a friend to him?
Hence, imagine her immense disappointment when Candy hadn’t had a chance to talk to Albert before leaving Chicago. 😮 🙁 Perhaps she even began to doubt if she had jumped to conclusions. The fact that he had confessed to be her prince might not necessarily mean he had romantic feelings for her. 🙁 The nagging doubts had probably driven her crazy, and that resulted in asking the provocative “father” question.
After that question, Candy left a blank line to open a new paragraph, asking,
そう、アルバートさんの記憶はいつ戻ったのでしょうか？(So, when did Albert-san’s memory come back?)
This is the second time she asked him about his recovery. First time, she wanted to know if he had already recovered when she had shown him the precious silver badge and told him about Prince on the Hill back in the apartment. This time, I have a feeling she was dying to know if he had already recovered before suggesting sharing the sandwich with her. The timing was highly crucial to her. I suppose she had finally comprehended the significance of his sandwich proposal, and that’s why she wrote that she didn’t forget it was him who had suggested this. 😉
Then, before Candy ended her letter, she penned an interesting statement about Africa.
アフリカでの話も今度聞かせてね……って、いつになるのやら……。
Since the highlighted words above, って, is used to quote something, the way she wrote suggests that she quoted her own words, “also tell me the story in Africa this time”. Occasionally, people quoted their own words to remind someone or get attention from somebody (like a child telling his mother, “I said, ‘I am hungry’, mom…”)
You see what I mean? In Candy’s case, she wrote “also… this time”, so very likely she had asked Albert about Africa upon her arrival at Chicago, but he couldn’t afford the leisure and time for story telling. What’s more, Candy ended this sentence with a strong hint of uncertainty, wondering when this would take place. That is, when Albert would really find time to give her his full attention.
Therefore, I have the impression Candy was getting impatient. On the other hand, have you wondered why Candy hadn’t yet asked Albert about Africa? 😮 After all, she had long known that he had recovered. For one thing, he was terribly busy as the patriarch and a businessman, and she had moved back to Pony’s Home. For another, I figure this has something to do with her anger towards him ever since her discovery of their legal relationship. For your interest, please read my earlier post, Why angry, for so long? 🙂
All in all, Candy was sharing her “sandwich”, letting her prince know again and again of her disappointment and frustration that he hadn’t spent enough time with her ever since his confession on the hill, not even during her stay in Chicago. She couldn’t talk to him about casual things, like his experience in Africa (which he had to allocate way more than a few minutes), let alone deep and personal matters.
Finally, she signed her letter with
あなたの美しき養女より (from your beautiful adopted daughter)
Note that she used the ancient version of the adjective, beautiful (the bolded words). This matches with the ancient honorific she had used for “father” (父上さま) in her teasing question earlier. She restated their legal relationship here by addressing herself as his adopted daughter. You see? Candy was being honest with her prince but teasingly playful at the same time. 😉 Besides, I feel that she was fishing compliments from him. Do you think she wanted to know if she looked beautiful to him? 😉 😛
Can’t you see how much Candy missed Albert by now? 🙄 Yes, despite being so preoccupied with work, he did write prompt and long replies to her, and yet she preferred his company, so much so that she deliberately refrained from writing another long letter to him after this, as discussed in my early post, I wish you were here… 😉 😛
It’s incredible I have to write two long posts just for the last two paragraphs of this letter! 😆 Anyway, I’ll continue to talk about the parallels between Daddy-Long-Legs and Candy Candy in Part 3. I’d like to hear your thoughts, and have a nice weekend, my friends! ❤❤❤
Many Thanks for this new great post, Ms Puddle! 😀 I know I’m late and I have some posts to catch up! So many things to discuss, I will share my insights only on four main points of your post:
1) Images and words on sleeves speak volumes, indeed! No Anthony and no Terry here, only POTH and Candy! On the first volume there is Pony’s Home and on the second there is a mansion looks like a castle in a fairy tales, don’t you think? It could be a symbol of the house where she lives, Pony’s home in her childhood, where she also met her Prince and the mansion in Chicago I suppose, so the home of her POTH who was also Albert! If you see what I meant! 😉
2) I agree that Candy did not understand the depth of the meaning of the sandwich sharing scene. I even think that Albert might have wanted to leave a clue to his true feelings for her. When Candy realized later that she could just tell all to Albert, this fact is just eloquent! Especially when you know Candy who often doesn’t share her feelings, especially her sorrows with others, and even with Terry, it was the opposite happened, it was Terry who disclosed his troubles, for example with his family, and yet, only because she discovered by accident the photo of his mother, Eleanor Baker!!! Terry even discovered, astonished, some aspects of her life, only when Archie and Stear spoke to him while Candy was going to be removed from St. Paul College. Later in New York, he even hidden the truth about Suzanna’s accident! Candy never “shared a sandwich” with Terry!
3) When Candy thought it would not be so bad after all to continue living with him if he did not find his memory, this reminds me of a parallel scene in which Albert thinks the same, while Candy just left for New York, we see him sad, looking away (Volume 7 p76). He thought it was not necessary to regain his memory, so he could continue to live with Candy and to share the good times.
4) About Africa, I wonder if Candy would not also dig about the nurse he had met who looked like her. In her place I would have asked myself the question, namely, if Albert was in love with this nurse? after all he had spoken of her in his letter to Candy and she could have felt that this woman had been important to him, don’t you think?
I hope I was clear enough because today I have troubles to explain myself, too bad! 🙁
Oh! About my first point, I forgot to add, I agree with you, the important thing was forgotten is obviously the badge of the POTH. And yet, his famous sentence! What more is needed to prove this love story is all about Candy and Albert from the beginning to the end! 💘 💙 😍
Dear Candy Bert, yes indeed, no Terry and no Anthony, but only POTH, his badge and his famous words to Candy. 💟💓💖 Even to this day, I think the anime didn’t do POTH justice. 😭 It was misleading and created many disappointments among fans. The manga itself can’t be more clear with whom Candy ended up, and as you said, the house/mansion shown on the cover pages are likely Pony’s Home and Albert’s mansion. 😀
I totally agree with you about Candy being unable to share her deeper thoughts with Terry… the bantering between them didn’t lead her to open her heart to him. 😔 Like you, Terry was able to tell her about his mother only because Candy had discovered his dark secrets by accident, again and again. Otherwise, he couldn’t bring himself to tell Candy anything deep, and the fact that he hadn’t confessed the truth about Susanna’s dire situation speaks volumes of his fragile relationship with Candy. 😐
Great point, Candy Bert! Albert himself had also considered the prospect of living with Candy without his past memory. They must have got along extremely well as roommates… sigh. 😍💑
About Africa, you’re so right! How come this had never crossed my mind? LOL… yeah, many fanfic writers have written something about that American nurse too, including you, my friend. 😘😙
Hi Ms.Puddle!
It´s nice to hear from you again! It seems to be Candy met her Prince on the hill, when she was 6 and he was
aprox.17 She mentioned it before she was going to The Leagan’s with Mr.Stuart, who was in charge to take Candy to their mansion, then she was aprox.12 when she met them and the Ardley’s Clan as well!
Anyway, thanks for your recent posts and drawings. Can’t wait to see more ! DefinItely, love change people!
Best regards,
Brenda
Nice to hear from you too, Brenda! Thanks for your input. 😘
Yes, love changes people, and in CCFS, both little Candy and Albert had changed after that brief encounter on the Hill. Neither of them forgot each other, and Albert knew all along Candy was that little crybaby near the orphanage. Only years later he learned that he had been her first love. Imagine his reaction after his recovery… 😉
Have a nice Sunday! 😍
Hello Ms Puddle
Oui c’est encore moi désolé pour le retard. Les mots écrits au bas des deux couvertures des deux volumes sont incroyables. Dans le premier vous l’avez dit c’est sans aucun doute le médaillon du POTH. Imaginons un instant que Candy n’est pas trouvé le médaillon, Albert aurait-il reconnu Candy quand il l’a sauvé prés de la cascade ? Probablement pas si elle ne portait pas le médaillon autour de son cou, aurait-il adopté la petite fille qui l’avait fait rire sur la colline de Pony, je n’en suis pas sûre non plus. Il est clair que ce médaillon est un objet extrêmement important qui les a liés définitivement et pour toujours. Et à la fin nous savons qu’entre un journal et un médaillon, lequel de ces deux objets Candy décide de garder près d’elle. 😀
Les mots écrits sur le deuxième volume sont bien sûr les mêmes que ce prononcés par le POTH dans le premier volume, ce qui lie les deux volumes, sans compter comme vous l’avez dit le dessin du POTH sur le premier et Candy sur le deuxième. Et cette phrase “A love story presented to you” il est clair que c’est celle entre Candy et le POTH, il n’y a que ces deux personnages sur les 2 volumes et seul les mots et le médaillon du POTH sonts incrits noir sur blanc, rien sur Anthony ni Terry, il faut être aveugle ou borné pour ne pas voir la vérité en face.
J’adore ce post Ms Puddle, un grand post qui m’a fait sourire quand je l’ai lu 😀
Bonjour Antlay! Thank you very much for reading this post. Glad this made you smile. 😆 I could hardly believe I had written such a long one lol… 😂
Yes, the words and pictures on the cover pages mean a lot to us. With two volumes in the set, POTH and Candy were the only ones shown, and it was a love story. Sigh… 😆
Though Albert said Candy hadn’t changed much (he recognized her) when he rescued her from drowning, the fact that she had his badge dangling around her neck must have struck him hard. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t have carried the badge with her.
You’re absolutely right, that between the badge and the diary, Candy chose to keep the badge, 😄 which represented POTH all these years. When he decided to confess to her on Pony’s Hill, he repeated the same phrase to her as his hint, which means that he hadn’t forgotten that brief encounter either. He was willing to reveal to her that he was her first love. It’s a love story between them indeed. 💗💗
Thank you for sharing and translating those to us, Ms Puddle! They’re written on the cover sleeves, which we know it’s kinda like a tagline on movie poster. An idea of what the story is all about. It’s meant to catch people’s interest and entice them to read the book or watch the movie. 🙂 So my friend, yes, these lines brought smile to my face as well.
So this is what you’ve told me about the letter. Yes, now I can see what you see, Ms Puddle. I totally agree with what you’ve written here. Hahahaha I wonder how many times have you been reading these letters? Hundreds, millions? 🙂 I envy you for being able to understand Japanese, although very slow like you always say. I think I have to continue my study very soon!
To me, I have a feeling Candy had realised that she might start to fall in love with Albert way long before Albert had left her that night. That’s why she mentioned those moments. And I guess she’s trying to find if during their cohabitation Albert had been developing his feeling to her as well. 🙂 She’s trying so hard to find the truth on this letter, wasn’t she? Starting to be impatient she was.
I’m even thinking, when she asked Albert tell her when his memory did exactly come back and demanded him to tell her about Africa … she’s actually trying to figure out something. Two things have come in my mind. First, she’s trying to figure out whether Albert had feeling for her as a result of them living together and he’s purely clueless to the fact she’s his adoptive daughter. Or second, she wanted to know if Albert had had a feeling for her since she was still with Terry. She might be worried she had been involuntarily hurting his feeling.
And that sign she made on this letter, “from your beautiful adopted daughter”. Hahahaha she’s being provocative through out the letter. A bit coquettish, I may say. :D. I agree with you, Ms Puddle, she’s fishing a compliment from him. Candy! Now I’m more sure on this stage, they had been very open showing their affection to each other. I believe they’d been sharing many hugs and kisses ( like kissing her on forehead or cheeks), too. That’s why Candy could be this daring.
Btw, I’ve just remembered something. You mentioned that although she wanted Albert to recover, she’s not sure if she’s happy when Albert should leave. Do you notice that after she came back from NY, she had never tried to give Albert shock therapy again? If I recall correctly, no signs of her worrying his amnesiac state as well.
Right on, Reeka! 👍 That’s exactly what I think, what shows on the sleeves speak volumes. 😍
Glad you agree with what I said, my friend! No I haven’t read hundred or million times lol… 😆 This particular letter didn’t catch my attention much until recently, when I actually read it in Japanese. It’s simply amazing how much Candy missed Albert, as explained in this post and my previous one. 😄
Well said, Reeka, and I’m in complete agreement with you! 💕 Regarding Candy’s shock therapy, I also wrote a bit about that in LNF before, my friend. 😘 I think back then subconsciously Candy no longer wanted to separate herself from her roommate, and here in this letter, she was ready to reveal that. I have a feeling that she had never told him about how her feelings had evolved.
Like you, I also think Candy realized, with hindsight, that she had begun to develop strong feelings for Albert long before his disappearance. I can’t agree more with you about how hard she was trying to find the answers in her letter. All these questions that you have listed might have been on Candy’s mind for a long time, possibly during Albert’s absence in her life (before her discovery of his true identity)… What do you think? 😉
Do you think somewhat hypothetical questions had come across Candy’s mind? How if Albert had regained memory later than he did? ( of course you would agree with me, Ms Puddle, it’s your plot on LNF lol). How if She had been more attentive and not dwelled on Terry’s too long? And how come she hadn’t realised his true intention on sandwich sharing proposal?
Yeah I guess she had this slight regret for not realising what had been going on between them two much earlier.
Interesting what you said on last paragraph, my friend! Yes, she might have regretted a lot during her lonely period after Albert’s sudden disappearance. It makes sense. Imagine how desperate she had been at that time. Igarashi had drawn the scene perfectly, so much so she had spent more than two pages to draw Candy’s anguish. Remember that in manga, usually they don’t waste much effort and page on insignificant event. That alone should tell readers something, right, Ms Puddle?
Then, the discovery of his true identity. Oh sure she was confused and totally lost to find the truth.
Ah, my friend, I feel like reading your LNF all over again. 😊😊
Yes, Reeka, that’s possible! Who knows what went through Candy’s mind during Albert’s absence. I completely agree with you about how marvelously Igarashi conveyed in her drawings Candy’s anguish and loneliness without Albert by her side… Sigh. 😢
In CCFS, Mizuki changed this part slightly because Candy didn’t know Albert had already recovered his memory. Nevertheless, he was a grownup, and he was more than capable to take care of himself. So why did Candy worry about him this much? Even spent many sleepless nights? I’ll talk more about this in a different post. 🙂 😉
Then, as you said, Candy’s discovery of Albert’s true identity: the manga scenes were beautiful and touching to say the least. Their interaction was a bit awkward in the beginning, but the way Igarashi drew those scenes implied something was going on between these two souls. Don’t you think? 😉 😄
Dear Reeka, thank you very much for remembering my long fanfic, LNF!! 😘😍
Hello dear friends Ms Puddle and Reeka!! Been so busy lately… I just have to say love everything you are saying about Candy regretting not realizing Albert’s feelings for her until Albert was gone. Like you Reeka, I also feel that she spent way too much time dwelling on Terry for too long and was blinded to see how she really felt about Albert. And I do believe she loved him way before Albert left her. I believe that she needed to see Terry one final time to put a complete closure to this chapter in her life and you see this when she walked off that theater after seeing Terry perform and she said that she needed to find Albert in the manga. She realigned her priorities after she knew that Terry would recover. Does this plot match CCFS, Ms Puddle?
Also, Ms Puddle, does Candy in CCFS really did not know that Albert had recovered his memory when he left the Magnolia house? We know he confesses this to Candy in his letter to her when she wakes up the next morning in the manga.
Thanks for dropping by despite being so busy, dear Evelyn! 😘
You know what, to me Candy had been worrying about Terry more than grieving over the loss. She had actually “recovered” from the breakup much better than Terry because she had Albert by her side (as she herself said in her unsent letter to Terry).
Like you, Evelyn, I believe Candy had developed strong feelings for Albert way before his disappearance. 💕 Regrettably, in CCFS this whole section isn’t as clear as what’s shown in the manga, so in order to understand Candy’s inner feelings in CCFS, we have to rely on the manga version to fill in the blanks. However, it’s true that Mizuki had changed this slightly that Albert didn’t tell Candy he had recovered before vanishing. He only left money and said he had troubled her enough. Honestly, I don’t like this change, but I’ll discuss more one day. If I don’t remember, please remind me. 😀😁
I totally agree with you Ms Puddle!! Your observation is consistent with her behavior right after she realized that Terry was going to be fine she was able to walk away from the theater, wished him happiness so she could have her own happiness and continued looking for Albert! 🙂 It was quite a change in behavior from the moment she walked in to the moment she walked away I always thought! Look forward to your future comments on this at a later date!! 💕💕💕
Dear Evelyn, regarding Candy’s inner feelings, it is slightly different in CCFS. If I remember correctly, Candy left the theatre still confused. 😶 Before she could clear her thoughts Miss Baker talked to her. Anyway, later in Candy’s letter to Miss Baker, Candy deliberately told Miss Baker that she had gone to Rockstown to look for someone who had helped her a lot but missing. I have a feeling Candy wanted to clarify in a polite way that she hadn’t gone to Rockstown for Terry (as Miss Baker might have assumed… 😜).
Hi Evelyn! How are you?
Yes, I agree with you that Candy needed one final goodbye to Terry. Thing had happened so fast and really unexpected in NY. And it’s never okay to be the one who had to step out of the triangle and “replaced” by another person. So, it’s understood that she needed a closure. And I utterly thank Mizuki for that Rockstown plot. Brilliant, was’t it?
Well, Ms Puddle, I don’t like the change on CCFS, too, regarding Albert telling her about his recovery. However, now that I’m thinking about it, it could be because it would somehow hurt Candy more if he told her so? I mean, they had been close for years … It would be less hurt if he pretended he’s still amnesiac and hadn’t remembered her much. Well, undoubtedly it was one of a very few flaws Albert had done. He’s confused ( one in love often feels confused! LOL) and needed to make decision in a second for not tarnishing Candy’s reputation further more. Again, although it hurt Candy so much, I thank Mizuki for the plot for everything following this afterward.
Enjoy your weekend, ladies!
Very interesting comment, Reeka. I plan to talk about Albert’s mistakes of leaving Candy unexpectedly in a new post, and I’ll quote you. Thanks Reeka. 😘