Easter weekend is coming up, and I will have a day off tomorrow. Other than attending the online Good Friday service, I don’t have any concrete plan. How about you? Last year around this time I did not foresee that the pandemic would last this long. 🙁
I have lots on my mind lately, but let me get straight to the point. Due to some recent enthusiastic feedback to my first fanfic Love Never Fails, also the longest one ever, I suddenly felt like re-reading a random chapter (about half-way through the story). I could hardly believe that I didn’t stop after that chapter and literally got hooked until I finished reading the epilogue. One possible reason is that I only remembered the major scenes or turning points but have forgotten some minor details already. Though I was quite embarrassed to spot some obvious mistakes here and there, and some sentences were even garbled (words were missing for unknown reason), I was hit by nostalgia and recalled the late nights when I was writing pages after pages or drawing various fanarts for this story. For example, this was the montage that I did years ago.
For those who have read Love Never Fails might know that I have added at least a handful of my characters to enrich the story; now that I look back, I think my favourite original character is Anna Gibson. In my imagination she looks like Zooey Deschanel in “500 days of Summer”. Needless to say, I love Candy and Albert as a loving couple as well as other CC characters, including Terry (I made him slightly different, lol). 🙂 What struck me the most however, was that in the story some characters had been seriously affected by the Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 influenza pandemic. Back then, when I wrote about people wearing masks because many were dying every day, it never crossed my mind that there would be another pandemic in less than a decade, and I myself have to wear masks whenever I go out. 🙁
Anyway, I don’t want to spoil too much about my fanfic in case some of you have not read it yet. At any rate, even with vaccinations rolling out since early this year, the surge of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world is alarming to say the least. Let’s remind ourselves to stay vigilant about protection measures and practice personal hygiene.
After walking down the memory lane, I was inspired to draw again. Yes I was bogged down earlier but it’s about time I pick up my drawing pad. What’s more, I felt the urge to write again. I’ve got some ideas since last year, and yet I’ve been putting it off. Not only it’s time-consuming to write, but it also can be draining sometimes. While weighing my options, I decided to publish one more post about Nakayoshi Magazine. Many thanks to CandyAlbert for her contributions!
Some of you are aware that the Candy Candy manga was first serialized in Nakayoshi Magazine in April 1975, and the series ended in March 1979. CandyAlbert has kindly shared a set of images published in March 1975, served as teasers about a new manga series, Candy Candy, illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi. Unlike my previous posts, I won’t translate everything but will provide a summary instead.
The following one is the most important, I think. The bolded words, starting from the left, are “Big News!”, “Candy Candy”, and “Large Scale Sweet Romance”. The words right beside the Scottish boy can be translated as “Igarashi sensei is highly motivated to present to you the long-awaited new serialization.” The bubble next to it says “full of happy and sad romance!” (The word for “tears” is used here actually).
By the way, don’t you think Prince on the Hill looks different from the one shown in the manga? Which one do you prefer? 😉 IMHO his kilt is too short, almost like a mini-skirt. 😀 The small prints beside little Candy can be paraphrased as “Precocious Candy. Tomboyish Candy. Dreaming of love, what’s the path of freckled Candy after leaving the orphanage?”
The next two pages mentioned similar things about Candy, this time with the beret looking hat that goes with a kilt. Both pages announced that the new series in Spring would be captivating (or fascinating). In the picture on the right hand side, can you find the smiling girl with short, straight black hair? I think Igarashi drew herself and said “Hi, good day, starting next month, I will do my best to (give you) a wonderful serialization. Nice to meet you.”
I think Igarashi sensei had indeed showcased her talents in presenting Candy Candy story to her readers. One example is her perfect illustration of Georges. If you click the above link the CC fan said his unofficial birthday is coming up (so he’s about 20 years older than Candy), and this fan said Igarashi’s Georges was very cool, which I couldn’t have agreed more. Many of you simply call him George, but his name, written in Japanese katakana, is ジョルジュ, which is the French name Georges. After all, Albert’s late father first met him in France.
In addition, CandyAlbert also sent me the following preview (only occupied the top half of the page), published nearly four years later in February 1979. It was about the very last installment of the manga series that was coming up soon. The titles can be loosely translated as “This smiling face, only next month! Goodbye, Candy. Finally the end! Immortal masterpiece (sweet romance).”
The small prints were about Neal’s forced engagement and that Candy was desperate to make her earnest request of Granduncle William to call it off.
Do you see a dark figure dressed in Scottish costume, carrying a bagpipe and standing on top of a hill? Isn’t it interesting that Prince on the Hill is shown in this preview as well as the first announcement of the new series? 😉
If I’m not mistaken, none of these teasers or previews displayed the author’s name, neither her pen name Mizuki nor her real name Nagita, only Igarashi’s name. I wonder whether it was a common practice…? 🤔
Thank you all for reading, and if any of you find any typo or mistake, please kindly let me know. I think I will not publish another post about Nakayoshi, for the next little while anyway, unless it’s irresistible. 😛 I want to spend more time on entertaining my imagination such that I can look back in the near future with a big smile on my face.
Before I go, I’d like to share the Facebook page Los hilos Invisibles de Candy Candy and El Portal de Sakura. The Facebook page has interesting posts, and the latter, recommended by Hope, is a translation of Keiko Nagita’s interview about Candy’s three loves.
Bye now, my friends! Remember, social distancing remains one of the most effective ways to protect ourselves. Take care and stay safe!