User reviews

A very heartwarming anime series, even if the plot often goes into a sad territory, with many tragedies happening to the cheerful protagonist; yet somehow she always keeps her optimism and high spirits.

These kind of sad stories, often referred as "traumatizing" by some older viewers, are actually very important to children: Not to make them "more thankful", but in order to empathize with the struggles of much less fortunate people.

Avoiding sadness and harshness in modern fiction actually does a disservice to children, turning everything into a vapid exercise of escapism that might be provide some fun, but ultimately end being an empty experience.

Learning about pain (And also overcoming pain, like Candy often does) is actually a very valuable experience that shouldn't be dismissed.

Shows like this have a timeless quality, disregard of the somewhat dated animation due its beautiful story, filled with both joy and sadness. Both are important, and more complement each other in a wonderful manner.

Such is life, such is childhood.

Most people of my generation watched Candy Candy when they were still children. Howvr, I saw it recently for the first time. Even if I am now an adult, I agree with all the commentaries. Candy, Candy is indeed one of the vest cartoons ever made. I would like to emphasize something few people said. The soundtrack is beautiful and perfectly conveys the different moods and feelings. It was made by Takeo Watanabe.

The story is very beautiful too! A young girl orphan and her adventures in two family mainly, from her birth to her 18 year-old approximatively. The story focuses mainly on her two loves : Anthony, a fair-haired boy, who dies falling from his horse, and Terry, a brown young man. Of course living this love is made difficult by the events, some people (like Eliza) and so on... Th end is a little sad since some characters had died like Anthony, or Allister (Candy's friend whose plane is shot down during WWI) whereas Terry had to marry another girl. However, it is quite optimistic since Candy is still very young and has all her life forward.

There is also an alternative version, the Italian one; In Italy, the official ending was substituted by an Italian one, a happy end with Candy and Terry reuniting. So this is a cartoon for the whole family from 2 to 102.

Candy Candy is a great anime. First of all, it certainly has the best soundtrack in all the animes. anyone who has even watched only one episode picks up the "watashi wa watashi wa watashi wa candy" lyrics at once. This anime series is about friendship, love without any expectations, being kind and all other feelings we lose while growing up. Candy is really great for kids as it teaches being good for just the sake of being good. I think that it is even better for grown ups as it helps us learn those long-lost virtues I have mentioned above. Also, for the people who have watched this when they were little and when there were only a couple of TV channels and a handful of cartoons only in the mornings, this series is a good reminder of childhood memories.

I remember in the early '80s, when we had only two TV stations, both state-run, that there was a great publicity for a Japanese animated series with a lot of episodes, which would be dubbed in Greek and even the title song would be translated. My memory doesn't serve me too well, as I have forgotten the actors and actresses and the singer of the Greek version, but it caused quite a stir.

Compared to other cartoon/anime dubs I've seen, the voice acting was superb and I occasionally see some episodes running on regional channels. It's always very enjoyable, I must say. The anime style of that era happens to be my favorite: detailed, beautiful, hand-drawn landscapes, rather realistic character designs, without the featureless faces seen in modern productions...

It marked my youth. Although many people would say it was a girlie show, lots of boys watched it. Even now, as an adult, I can watch it and get pleasure from it.

Those were the days... Really great anime and cartoon shows, with well-written scenarios and complex character descriptions.

I first saw Candy Candy while I was a little girl living in Hong Kong in the late 1970s. Her sweet demeanor, courage, and the many compelling stories captivated my imagination. Frankly, I haven't seen another anime since that touches my heart the way Candy Candy did, and still do whenever I watch her series again. I think it's a combination of excellent stories, characters and art work. Candy Candy is a true classic that should be carried on generation after generation.

Here is a Candy Candy fan club for all her fans. Keep Candy Alive for generations to come!! http://candycandyfans.ning.com/ (just copy and paste this link to your browser or email me at candyfansclub@gmail.com).

My mum decided one day to show me and my sister Candy Candy for a girly movie night and we were like 'a 30 year old anime that you liked when you were little? muum we're teenagers! we've got better things to watch' But after watching a few episodes we were obsessed with Candy (even singing the title song at random times)!! :) The storyline is absolutely the sweetest and saddest ever and it is soo soo funny and romantic! It made me feel so many emotions... It was nice for my mum to see it again cos it reminded her of her childhood and its is now part of me and my sister which is great(or cheesy...dunno :P)!! i will always love Candy, and Terry and all her friends!! My mum also says that i remind her of Candy yay!:) Ooohh yeah, and i recommend Perrine Monogatari which i watched when i was 10 and Tom Sawyer no Bōken which is basically The adventure of Tom sawyer...:)

I saw the Japanese series a long way back, when i was just a little kid. I never forgot the child holding a white rose or the opening/ending theme songs ... I still remember singing them (in my own way of course) when I used to play on a swing. I saw it again now, being a grown up. It impressed me deeply, as it shows life through the eyes of a child always bright, what it means to endure when it's difficult, how hard it is to let go ... a lesson of how life is, beautifully carved with strong character types. A cartoon that shows most of the lessons a person goes through as it matures. Smiles, tears, joy, sadness, achievements, failures, love, hate, friendship, hostility ... you name it, and you'll probably find it here. Maybe we should learn to smile more, to love more, to be more cheerful and optimistic, to let go.

This is a must watch for everyone doesn't matter how old you are and what year you find it.

Following the life of an orphan girl from baby to adulthood surrounded by people that truly love her and despise her. There are a lot going on throughout the story and always full of emotions from sadness to happiness, anger to laughter, rivalry to friendship, also romance and despair. There is never a dull moment and the pacing is just right.

Infinity out of 10. If you miss this anime in this lifetime, be sure to check it out in the next life xD

Candy Candy is one of the best animes I have ever seen. I rewmber seeing this anime in the early 90s were in my country it was called Candy Candy Candy. Later on when In 2000 when remember the anime series I found out that it was originally a prose novel turned into a manga series, turned into an anime series and that because of legal problems between the writer and drawer it is likely that it will never be seen on TV for a long time. I also found out that the story was never finnished and that there is one third novel that was never turned into part of the anime nor the manga series. I just hope that in the future both the writer and drawer come to an agreement and the anime and manga will be re-mastered and sold overseas someday.

Wow! I was very surprised to see that there where so many people who remembers and loves the Candy Candy series. I like many others in here also remembers Candy from my childhood and I nearly cried when I a couple days ago found some episodes with English subtitles. The anthem is so sad and if you know the plot of the story you get even more emotional. At first I saw it in Japanese, and even though I didn't understand halt of what they said, the pictures and music brings up the intended emotions. After seen the Japanese version I found it in English, and it was even BETTER! When you really understand the lyrics to the opening song, you cry even before seen det series :) I strongly recommend this anime, and hope that they some day will release all 115 episodes in English (or at least with English subtitles!)

This anime will not be perfect for the family and also will never be remembered because better if candy loved Anthony she should give up her pony home behavior and thus tragedies would not occur and that is why the Leagan family was more successful. So if candy better wanted to stay in the pony home she better tell Anthony that she better break her heart and she would never be adopted by those arrogant and capricious rich families.

...this is a cartoon I strongly remember from my childhood. Couldn't have been more than five years old when my parents brought home Candy Candy for the first time. In each episode there's both laughter, crying, love and evil. Candy's originally an orphan found in the snow one day by one of the teachers from the orphanage. She grows up there but get's adopted. This family she gets to isn't such a pleasant family. Well, the father is, but the children and their mother is dreadful. While living with them Candy falls in love with a beautiful stranger that she meets one day in the forrest.

I really loved this cartoon as a child and I still do. Can't wait until I get children of my own so that I can introduce them to the wonderful world of Candy.

For those who liked Candy Candy, I recommend Sandybell, or Hello Sandybell as it is called.

I guess for those of us who grew up with the adventures of Candy Candy, at least the way I feel, is that she became part of me. Even now, as an adult, when things go not as expected or even when things go right, I reminisce on the lessons learned about life, love, friendship, hard work, forgiveness and a positive outlook in life... and I can not help but bring out a big smile and hum or sing the entrance tune. Candy candy became a companion through those sometimes ackward pre-teen and teen years and showed me that there is always hope for a better tomorrow and it starts with our choices today. It is wonderful. I simply love watching it. I never tire of it. : ) If you have not had the opportunity to see the series... I hope you will, so you might discover the beautiful world of Candy candy.

I have seen the series. All of it. I watched it when I was a little girl, as a teenager and now as a young adult. It still makes me cry and it helps me to remember that no matter what we go through in life we must always keep a positive attitude. It also reminds me of the many envious people I have met thought my life. I wish they would play this animation in the United States, it would help many children who suffer for any reason and it would teach them to always be good to people. I think we need more of this cartoons instead of the violent ones that are shown on TV. It is not only that the animation is pretty, but the message behind it is beautiful too, and for those of us who watched it in our childhood it brings great memories.

This was the best cartoon in my childhood :) just love it so much :)

I saw candy candy since 1980 and its simple the best anime ever made in that decade, The story of this orphan her childhood, her friends, the grownup to the teenage and the people her love, forget romantic novels, forget titanic, this is the most romantic cartoon ever made. If are you sad or unhappy see it! because this little girl and her adventures make you smile and make you to see the life in other form. In my country this anime is a great successful event and I dont lose the repetitions of this anime. Its wonderful. My qualification 10/10

To me, Candy Candy was always the epitome of kitsch. The over-the-top drama, coupled with the overload of pinks, laces, and ruffles wasn't even feminine; it was surreal.

I'm sure the creators were trying to hit some of those tragedy marks that made Marco (1976) so poignant, but this whole show only made me and my brother and sister laugh like crazy.

Candy Candy was way too much and that was awesome. Even her eyes had a hallucinating amount of sparkles that made her look alien.

In a nutshell: this show was a BLAST!

Again with a series overstretched to a 100+ episodes runtime with no reason to do it other than somebody dictated it, and again the ideas were lost before the final 115 episode landmark and in particular by episode 90 all that it was left was a streak of bad episodes after bad episodes after episode with padded time thanks to prolonged closeups etc. Etc. Etc. At least in this case before the 91 episode landmark the material was all top notch, so I give it an 8 out of 10 for the sheer awesomeness of what happened in that period of time, amongst the best ever put on screen in terms of shoujo animation, and for the fact that it lasted longer than with the series in the title of this review.

I love this show Candy Candy. They used to be my favorite cartoon since I was little in 1980 and on. I keep watching them until I was old since they repeat them in Dominican Republic. For us this type of cartoon teaches kids good morals and to be affectionate because they are very sentimental. I used to dream of Anthony and Terry it was like a soap opera for kids. Even when I went to Spain in the year 2000 and I was already in my 20's I watched it over there too but the Spaniard version which is different than the Latin American Spanish doubled version. I liked our version better from Latin America. It sounded more like them. I own two video cds with the whole show which I bought on eBay and I watch it from time to time. I never get tire of it. There will never be any cartoons like Candy Candy. And the two main song I love them. I memorized them and use to play singing it. I still remember them word by word. It's so amazing I wish kids now would enjoy watching something like that instead of all the violence they now watch. Hope you can watch it if you haven't.

There are no exaggerations here, there is only a deep dose of optimism and hope for whatever happens to us to never give up. We would be different people without Candy and her friends as we grew up with them with tears, smiles, laughter, and joyful moments.

In my opinion, since I am a big fan, I assume that one must read the manga and the novel to get the story well.

A very moving story, with wholehearted friendships of a lifetime, inspiring, ardent romance, enormous love as well as profound morality from the hidden hero.

The meaning of the scenario is deep and chasmic and I'm pretty sure is never forgettable.

A superb combination of the soundtrack.

I hope it continues (one day again) AND the manga too and a new book as well.