“If you look for me, you can find me…” Not really. Did you know that no new material such as a cartoon, toys or merchandising from the series candy Candy since the 90s? All because of a long battle over copyright.
No one can deny that the anime candy Candy it was absurdly popular in Japan, Europe and Latin America. There is no millennial woman who has not cried for Anthony’s death, sighed by Terry or laughed at Albert’s follies and the protagonist. The series produced by Toei Animation premiered in 1976, but even today the few materials related to the animated story of Candice “Candy” White Andrew that exist, are sold at exorbitant prices on online marketplaces.
The reason? It is illegal for any material in the series to be produced because of a dispute over the intellectual property of the work.
The infamous copyright fight candy Candy
This popular manga was first published in 1975 in Japan. The story follows the life of an orphan named Candy White.who faces a series of challenges and experiences while growing up in an orphanage and meeting various characters along the way.
The script and the original novel were written by the author Kyouko Mizuki (one of the pseudonyms of Keiko Nagita), while Yumiko Igarashi was the illustrator in charge of giving life to the characters through their drawings. Together, they created a story that captured the hearts of many readers and viewers around the world.
Nagita has said that he wrote the manga adaptation candy Candy as a consequence of the profound effect that the death of her parents, especially her mother, had on her: “I lost my mother when I was 21, so I was alone in the world. Writing the story healed my pain. When creating Candy, one thing I decided from the beginning was that knowing who her mother was would not be important to the plot.
The manga series (Japanese comics) was worth 45 million dollarsbut as the series gained popularity, disagreements and disputes arose between Nagita and Igarashi regarding copyright and ownership of the work.
A happy ending or a sad ending for Freckled Tarzan
One of the main points of conflict between Nagita and Igarashi was the ending of the story of candy Candy. The writer, as the author of the original script, had a tragic vision and wanted a denouement in which Candy did not end up with either of the two main male characters, Terry or Albert. On the other hand, Igarashi preferred a more upbeat and hopeful ending, in which Candy could find romantic happiness.
Differences in the vision of the ending became irreconcilable, and as a result, no agreement was reached on how to properly close the story. This led to a stalemate situation, where no more episodes could be produced. candy Candy due to the lack of consensus between the two authors.
In other words, the end of the cartoon it’s not The end of the story. The series just didn’t go on.
In 1988 Keiko Nagita discovered that Yumiko Igarashi had illegally benefited from the merchandising of candy Candy. It was then that the writer sued the manga illustrator to have the same legal rights to the work. Nagita pointed out that while it was true that the character designs made them recognizable throughout the world, they would be nothing without the story she wrote.
Igarashi continued to produce and sell material from the series, so in 1998 Nagita brought his case before a Tokyo district court. Subsequently, the illustrator sued Toei who responded to the complaint by cutting off the broadcast of the series.
Keiko Nagita was compensated
On March 31, 2000, Nagita finally received 29,500,000 yen (3.5 million Mexican pesos) as compensation for the emotional stress she endured. The court case continued and on October 25, 2001, the Supreme Court of Japan reaffirmed that Igarashi, the manga illustrator, could not sell any more products based on the animated series. candy Candy without the consent of the author.
In the end, the Japanese courts determined that Keiko Nagita can sell anything of candy Candy as long as it does not bring illustrations from the manga or anime. For her part, cartoonist Yumiko Igarashi cannot commercialize any drawing based on the story. That did not stop her because in 2007 Igarashi tried to launch products of a “new character” called ladylady in Taiwan. Interestingly, the characters bear a suspicious resemblance to Candy, Anthony, and Terry.
And that is why the series has not been relaunched
The battle has been so long that Nagita has come to hate the series that catapulted her to stardom. In 2006, she apparently said in an interview that she even thought about candy Candy “it makes her feel sick” and “it gives her a headache”. As a result, any possible reboot of the animated series with new character designs is in limbo and no new episodes, movies, or other works based on the original anime will continue to be produced.
Sadly, thanks to the lawsuits the only way to watch the cartoon is with hacks or snippets on YouTube and TikTok. This has led to a thriving smuggling market in the territories where it was once popular.
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And who does Candy stay with?
Fans of the series have debated for decades who was Candy’s true love: Terry or Albert. But due to the complaints between the co-authors, we will not see the resolution on the screens. However, Keiko Nagita wrote the book Candy Candy: The Story final where he closes the adventures of the Freckled Tarzan. This text narrates that Candy is married to her soul mate and what her life was like after the First World War.
If you want to know if Candy stays with him grandchester heir or the prince of the hillYou can buy the book on Amazon. It’s the only thing we’ll have until the co-authors resolve their conflict.
March Violante Martha Elena Violante (March Violante) is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emprendedor.com and has a 10+ year career in digital journalism. She has interviewed figures such as Randi Zuckerberg, Daniele Lamarre, Zoe Saldana, among others. She has worked in media such as Entrepreneur in Spanish and English, Alto Nivel, Cine PREMIERE, México Desconocido, among others. “We are entrepreneur.com”