Mitsuko Horie & The Chirps -- Candy Candy（キャンディ♡キャンディ）

 

Sorry to say, but there has been another loss in the manga and anime industries following the death of manga author of Fujiko A. Fujio（藤子不二雄Ⓐ）. Voice actress and narrator Minori Matsushima（松島みのり）, who played the main character, Candice White Adley, on the 1976 anime adaptation of the 1975 manga "Candy Candy", passed away on April 8th at the age of 81 from cancer.

When I was growing up here in Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s, we did start getting our dubbed anime. So we were able to catch shows such as "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）and "Gatchaman"（ガッチャマン）on the American channels, but at the same time, there was also anime showing up on CBLFT which was the French-language station under the CBC umbrella. I had to learn French for some years as part of my mandatory education but my abilities were never enough to really pay attention, although I knew that "Candy Candy" and "Captain Harlock" were being shown regularly on the French channel.

I never saw the anime but over the years through life here and in Japan, and via various anison retrospectives, the theme song for "Candy Candy" which was also "Candy Candy" became known to me. Takeo Watanabe（渡辺岳夫）was responsible for the melody which for the most part seems to describe the high upbringing of young Candice while showing off an underlying current of funk just to show that she can probably cause as much ruckus as any curious kid. 

Meanwhile, the lyrics were written by Keiko Nagita（名木田恵子）who happens to be the creator of the original manga under one of her pen names, Kyoko Mizuki（水木杏子）. "Candy Candy" was recorded by frequent anison singer Mitsuko Horie（堀江美都子）with the backing of the chorus group The Chirps（ザ・チャープス）who consist of three sisters, Mariko, Yuriko and Eriko Takeuchi（竹内まりこ・竹内ゆりこ・竹内えりこ）. Singing kayo kyoku, children's show themes, commercial jingles and anison, they had their initial run between 1969 and 1983, but they became active again as of 2007.

My condolences to the family, friends and fans of Ms. Matsushima. Incidentally, the theme song earned the Golden Hit Award from Nippon Columbia in 1977.