Hello my friends, in light of COVID-19 cases still being very active around the globe, likely due to relaxed regulations in some regions, I hope you and your loved ones will continue to thrive during this strange time in our lives. It seems to me a lot of you have embraced the “new normal” fairly well so far.
Once again, it’s my honour to have the privilege to read your brilliant contributions to Let’s imagine…. What a pleasant surprise to have received over 20 submissions! Have you heard my heartfelt applause? 👏👏👏 To those who haven’t yet read the diary entries, I highly recommend you give them a try. For sure you will be delighted!
The overall positive feedback has been very encouraging, and no doubt the participants are familiar with Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) and the manga / anime version. Some of you have even read more than one official translation of CCFS. To me, you’re more than readers or subscribers of my blog. In fact, I consider some of you as contributors, and without your inputs or insights, my recent posts would not have been as intriguing! I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support, and your participation is the fuel that keeps me motivated. 💖
Hence, I like to take this opportunity to restate my preferences when it comes to personal messages. If it’s about getting my permission or anything about my blog, I will try my best to reply within a day or so, but please understand I don’t have time and leisure to get into lengthy conversations with individuals, including any question related to CCFS. It so happens that a couple of people I don’t know contacted me in private lately, and I politely told them both to post their questions on my blog instead or join the ongoing discussions. I usually approve newcomers’ comments unless they are inappropriate, rude or offensive.
There’s one more announcement. Some of you have expressed interests in reading the Old CC novel. If you like, my series Did Candy find her happiness was based on the extracts or spoilers of the old novel. Yet, I got better news. Fay has gathered plenty of pictures and materials from various Candy Candy fans and created a wonderful document in English about the Old CC novel! Please click the link to take a look! I’ll surely read it myself too. 🙂
Back to the fanfics that you have submitted, when I was reading them I noticed several common themes: (1) Candy bade farewell to her past and welcomed an uncertain future with the assurance that Albert loved her. (2) Candy was happy that Albert (aka W. A. Ardlay) had gradually opened up more about himself and/or was willing to express his feelings or opinions. (3) Candy missed her days living with Albert in the House of Magnolia and how his sudden absence made her realize he had held a special place in her heart.
About the first point, it was already obvious in the old novel, and in CCFS it’s even more pronounced — Candy’s resolve not to open her old diary but to entrust it with Albert. It was evidently not a rash decision at all, as explained in many of the fanfics. Well done, my friends! About the second point, to me Albert was more open in the CCFS Epilogue than in the equivalent section in the Old CC novel. For example, in the old novel, he wrote in his letter why he had kept his recovery a secret from Candy, something like “The reason? I will leave it to your imagination”. Yet he added that he preferred living with Candy than going back to the Ardlay’s mansion. I forgot the exact wording, so I’d better check Fay’s document when I have a chance. 🙂 On the other hand, in CCFS he clearly indicated that he didn’t want to leave the heartwarming life. The literal translation is the life “with warmth (lovingness)” (ぬくもりのある).
Another example is that Albert was not shy from writing to Candy that he wanted to investigate what exactly would give her happiness. I don’t recall reading this in the spoilers of the old novel. He was serious about her, without a doubt, and rather than writing to Candy about Rosemary (in the old novel), Albert verbally told her about the story behind his cute nickname and how his late sister had fought bravely for true love. He also let Candy call him Little Bert, and this fact alone made her feel exhilarated, and she was totally honest about it in her letter to him. 💞 This part was missing in the old novel, as far as I know. There are more examples, but I’ll let you read the old novel that Fay has prepared with love.
About Candy missing Albert during his absence, I’m very impressed with your stories. You ladies have described Candy’s yearning very well. Imagine living with someone outside your family for many months — if you two have been incompatible or arguing (fighting) all the time, once this person is gone you would have been relieved or never wanted to see him (her) again, right? But for Candy, she missed Albert the person and his companionship a lot, and it’s not a kind of homesickness that she experienced. In CCFS Candy was aware “living with a family member” was different. Even though she could not quite explain it, she admitted Albert was special to her. In the manga, this was when Candy was feeling unbearably lonely but continued living in that apartment, as though she was hoping Albert would come home to her one day.
This leads me to the topic of this post: “the Incident of Two Badges”, which took place in the manga episodes after Albert had disappeared in Candy’s life. She missed him so much that she blindly went to an unknown place Rockstown to find him, just because he had sent her a gift from that town. When the manga was serialized in the Nakayoshi magazine (January and February editions in 1979), there were discrepancies between the manga and the author’s manuscripts. As Nagita (her pen name Mizuki) reviewed the galley proof (the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and/or proofreaders), she was quite angry at both Igarashi and the editor in charge for making changes without her consent.
Remember I mentioned the website, “Candy Candy Bootlegs”, in Love happens when least expected? It has a page titled “The incident of Candy Candy last episode and Two badges – from the log of Kyoko Mizuki’s official bulletin board”. I don’t plan to translate everything on this page, but I’ll give a summary and talk about the highlights. Those of you who know about this incident please check if I have misinterpreted anything and feel free to point it out. 🙂
Before Nagita went traveling (writing for another magazine and finishing up the Candy Candy story in France), she passed her manuscripts to the editor in charge, who should be responsible to proofread Yumiko Igarashi’s drafts based on the manuscripts. This was not the same editor whom Nagita had worked with since the beginning, and this new editor was also busy with another manga for young girls.
While the author was away, Igarashi did not faithfully follow the manuscripts and even added new ideas or changed the plot to the point that enraged Nagita, who unfortunately had not been able to check the storyboard beforehand. As a matter of fact, this was not the first time Igarashi changed the story without permission (like how exactly Stear was killed in the war), which had already upset the author, but Nagita found this Incident of Two Badges intolerable. She made Igarashi rearrange or redraw some scenes when publishing the manga bound as books, and only then the readers got to read the original plot based on the manuscripts.
Arguably, the outline had remained the same:
(1) Albert had disappeared
(2) A parcel was delivered from Rockstown with Albert’s name
(3) Candy saw Terry in the roadside theatre
(4) Candy was home alone. Georges was coming to pick her up.
However, the details in each episode were quite different. I’ve seen those pictures from the magazine before, but too bad I do not have any copy of those pictures myself. Instead, let me translate and paraphrase the comparisons based on the page on Candy Candy Bootlegs. Before I begin, if you have the manga, please turn to the episode soon after Albert’s disappearance. What you have in your hands should be the right version (unless you have the Nakayoshi magazine 😉 ).
Please note that we read from right to left then top to bottom in Japanese manga, as shown below. I only show the first three pages in the correct sequence, and for the scenes that are the same the details have been omitted:
- Albert has disappeared. Candy, being alone, shuddered in loneliness. Her monologue began, “Where are you…”
- The first time I chased after Albert-san…
- He left Lakewood without saying goodbye…
- The same in London…
- But… I believed we would be able to meet again somewhere… one day he would suddenly appear in front of me…
- He was always like that…
- When I was feeling sad, when I was feeling heart-broken, Albert-san would always tenderly hold me in his arms…
- But now….
- I want to see him…. I want to see Albert-san right now
- Where should I go to find you…
- A parcel was delivered from Rockstown with Albert’s name
- Candy saw Terry in the roadside theatre. Terry saw an “illusion” of Candy amongst the guests, and his passion for acting returned
- Terry’s background was his own image being an active Broadway actor and his monologue began:
- The revival of the days at Stratford… Broadway theatre…
- That’s my acting!
- Candy was home alone. Georges was coming to pick her up. She was all by herself, immersed in her memories of her days with Albert-san:
- She looked at the matching mugs and began reminiscing…
- I like the color of this curtain. Great
- Matching pajamas?
- I bought the morning cups with initials… good bargain
- We said we were to decide together but in the end Candy has chosen it herself
- Candy’s monologue: living here alone is too lonely…
- Candy heard kids playing outside, which reminded her of her childhood on Pony’s Hill
- Pony’s Hill… children’s laughter…
- Miss Pony… Sister Lane…
- Warm light by the window, sitting together by the fireplace…
- Welcome back, Candy… this is your birthplace…
- Candy’s monologue: I want to go back to Pony’s Hill! Yes, go back! I hate being alone! And… I will find a nursing job near Pony’s Home where I can commute from there…
- Candy confirmed her origin, and when she was anticipating her future as a nurse there was a knock on the door. It was Georges when the door was opened.
Below was what got published in Nakayoshi magazine in January and February, 1979:
- Albert has disappeared. Candy, being alone, shuddered in loneliness. She discovered the badge of her prince under the pillow, which reminded her of her childhood on Pony’s Hill
- Pony’s Hill… children’s laughter…
- Miss Pony… Sister Lane…
- Warm light by the window, sitting together by the fireplace…
- Welcome back, Candy… this is your birthplace…
- Candy’s monologue: I want to go back to Pony’s Hill! Yes, go back! I hate being alone! And… I will find a nursing job near Pony’s Home where I can commute from there…
- The badge of her prince rang near her chest. Her monologue began,
- There are two badges of my prince!
- One of them… I’ve been wearing it all this time…
- The other one is from under the pillow…
- Why… in such place…
- This bed… Albert-san is using it…
- Perhaps… perhaps Albert-san is a family member of the Ardlays…?
- Albert-san is…
- Go see him… I want to see him to confirm this…
- Albert-san where are you?
- A parcel was delivered from Rockstown with Albert’s name
- Candy saw Terry in the roadside theatre. Terry saw an “illusion” of Candy amongst the guests, and his passion for acting returned
- Terry’s background was a smiling image of Candy and his monologue began:
- Even if it’s an illusion, don’t disappear!
- I’m now acting for you!
- Candy was home alone. Georges was coming to pick her up. She was all by herself, immersed in her memories of her days with Albert-san. Her monologue began,
- Albert-san, I’m going back to Pony’s Home
- Living here alone is too lonely…
- Albert-san… the first time I chased after Albert-san…
- He left Lakewood without saying goodbye…
- The same in London…
- But… I believed we would be able to meet again somewhere… one day he would suddenly appear in front of me…
- He was always like that…
- When I was feeling sad, when I was feeling heart-broken, Albert-san would always tenderly hold me in his arms…
- I want to see him…. I want to see Albert-san as soon as possible…
- As Candy’s longing for Albert-san intensified, there was a knock on the door. Candy thought, Albert-san! It was Georges when the door was opened.
So what do you think? Personally, I prefer the official version much more, because Candy went to Rockstown because she wanted to see Albert, not because she wanted to confirm his identity. What’s more, one of my favourite scenes was missing:
But the major complaints from Nagita were not about any of this. First, the Incident of Two Badges had somewhat ruined the story (no more surprise near the end), although the editor and Igarashi gave the excuse that it was convenient to use some foreshadowing at this point. In addition, Nagita planned to portray Candy and Terry’s individual decisions to restore their careers, having overcome the pains from the bitter breakup, but the changes made without permission had placed more emphasis on romance. In fact, Nagita and the original editor aimed to publish a drama about the growth of a young girl, but Igarashi and the new editor wanted to change the direction into making it a “sweet love story”.
Last but not the least, in the manga, when Candy found Terry in the miserable roadside theatre, she was rather saddened. Yet, in CCFS, I feel that she was more disappointed and vexed, and she almost wanted to jump on the stage to punch Terry. I wonder if this was actually what Nagita had written in her manuscripts, because this part is similar in the old novel (but instead of writing about this to Miss Baker, Candy put this in her unsent letter to Terry). Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I hope you find this lengthy post interesting, not confusing. 😉