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Nagita's New Revelations
Fan Questions
At Livre Paris, CC fans finally had the chance to ask Nagita questions which tormented them for years since CCFS was first published in 2010. In person, Nagita has now provided answers that shed new lights on the story and all the characters we love, especially Candy and Terry.
On this page, we share with you the questions that fans asked Nagita at Livre Paris events, and also her answers.
Why did you introduce daffodils in CCFS?
Because daffodils are the flowers of England, and they reminded her of Terry. I love the poems of British poet William Wordsworth. (Nagita then asked her daughter to use her phone to search for Wordsworth’s poem The Daffodils on the internet to show the fan who asked this question.
Were you inspired by Hamlet for Terry’s character?
Answer to fan at book signing: Yes. I used many different elements of Shakespeare to write Terry.
Answer at Livre Paris interview conference: It would not have been done consciously.But it is true that Hamlet is a play that I like, so I won’t say it influenced me directly, but as far as the name Terry, Terrius is a name that I actually borrowed from a Shakespeare play.
Is there any Japanese cultural or language influence in CCFS? Is it in fact a Japanese story even though the setting is in the West and the characters are from the West?
No. Candy Candy is a story about Americans and British characters. There is no Japanese elements of any kind in the story. Candy Candy is a Western story. If it was a Japanese story, the story would have to be much more sad, because Japanese audience expect things to be more sad. I wanted to write an uplifting story.
When Candy wrote her letter to Albert, she signed the letter “With love and gratitude”. Is there any significance as to why she signed it that way, because Japanese people do not customarily sign letters that way?
No. Candy Candy is an American character. This is not a Japanese story. She signed the letter this way because that’s how people in the West sign their letters.
I see. What about the word “love”…
And gratitude.
Ok, and gratitude. Gratitude for all the things he had done for her?
Yes.
What about “love”? Does love here mean love as in family? The way someone might sign “love” to their parents or brothers?
No. It doesn’t mean anything. Candy Candy is a Western story. This is just the way people in the West sign their letters.
*Note: In the Preface of the French edition of CCFS Vol. 1, Nagita included a message to her readers, and she signed it, “With love and gratitude”.
Is Terry happy?
Yes. Terry is happy. Everyone is happy.
Did you know about La Porte, Indiana? In the Toei anime, they showed a letter sent to Candy at Pony’s Hill. The address of Pony’s Hill is in La Porte, Indiana.
No. Pony’s Hill is in Michigan. Candy is from Michigan. Toei changed the story and I’m angry.
Was there any meaning to the blank pages between the letters in the Japanese version of Volume 2 of CCFS?
Yes. The pages are blank because I have so much to tell, I could not fit them all in the book. So I left them blank to let the fans fill them with their imaginations
*Note: In the Italian edition of CCFS, the publisher did not include the blank pages. At Livre Paris, Mr. Benrabah, the chief editor of Pika said that they didn’t realize the blank pages had significance, and he thinks the Italian publisher Kappalab didn’t either. Mr. Benrabah said that now they are aware of this fact, they will consider including the blank pages in the French edition of Volume 2 of CCFS when it is released later this summer.
In CCFS, why did you put all of Candy and Albert’s letters to each other in an “Epilogue”?
They are all in the “Epilogue” because it is more effective to group them together.
Why doesn’t the Ardlays own Lakewood anymore in CCFS? Did the Ardlays sell Lakewood for financial or emotional reasons?
Sorry. I have the reasons in my head. I’m not going to reveal it. You can use your imagination.
In CCFS, why did you choose to write Candy in her thirties?
It was important for me to write about Candy after WWI, after she had already lived through the war.
Does Candy have any children?
You’ll have to use your imagination. I can only tell you that Candy is happy.
Why did you choose the name Ardlay?
I chose Ardlay because the Ardlay family’s boys’ names start with “A” (ie.: Anthony, Archie, and Alistair, and Albert). For Terry, I chose Granchester because this name sounds classy and prestigious.
Where is Albert living at the end of CCFS? Chicago? Sao Paolo?
Shhh. It’s a secret. Use your imaginations.
Will you write a spinoff story about Terry in the future?
For me, Candy’s story is finished. I will not write any more about Candy. However, if the Japanese fans ask me to write about another character, I am willing to write it if enough people demand it.
What inspired you to write nowadays?
History, both old and new.
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