池田理代子
is considered to be the first manga of the (female-female romance) genre, portraying a lesbian relationship. Manga scholar Yukari Fujimoto believes it influenced works by Machiko Satonaka, Riyoko Ikeda, and Yukari Ichijo, becoming "prototypical" of a common story in the 1970s and 1980s which Fujimoto dubs "Crimson Rose and Candy". Here, "Candy" is a femme character who admires "Rose", a more butch character. The attachment between Candy and Rose becomes the subject of rumors or even blackmail, even while Candy and Rose grow to acknowledge their relationship as being romantic. Rose dies "almost without fail" in order to protect Candy from scandal. James Welker regards these stories to contain elements of "lesbian panic". Welker presents Frederik Schodt's view that melodramatic endings were "common" in "early manga", but also presents Fujimoto's suggestion that "patriarchal forces" were responsible for the tragic ending of the "Crimson Rose and Candy" stories.