Influences on the Candy Series

The ***Candy Series*** is conceptually **influenced by many real-world cultures.** Here is a list of the various influences and inspirations the series has.

## John Dewey

**John Dewey** (October 20, 1859 - June 1, 1952) *was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer. Dewey has a great impact and influence on both the story and characters of the series. The authors and illustrators of the series had taken the following quote by Dewey is mentioned in every volume's Foreword page:*

*"Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself."*

Agreeing to this sentiment, the staffs of *Candy Series* aimed to have the comic to educate the young readers who follow this series through entertaining stories about tackling life events that are familiar to them. With the main characters of the series to encounter and learn from important lessons that would be useful during their adolescence.

## Artistic and Story influences

### **Anime and Manga**

The artistic and animation styles used in *Candy Series* are clearly influenced by various forms of Japanese anime. During a 2016 interview with Kaoru, the author and illustrator of the series, she confirmed how she took inspiration from Japanese Anime, noticeably *Shōjo* anime:

   *"The audience for Shojo manga is mostly girls and young women from 14 to 25./Every time I do love stories, I think about them. I think back to when I was 18 and what I cared about them, what I loved to do." source for dialogue in section "External Links"*

#### *Shōjo* Anime/Manga

Shojo anime, defined as manga aimed at a teenage female readership. The name romanizes the Japanese **少女** (shōjo), literally "young woman". The design of the characters (noticeably the females) and the type of story are shown to inspired from most *shōjo* anime and manga. From the big eyes to clothing the characters wear for design of characters, to the romances and school setting for type of story.

#### Chibi

On of the most noticeable form of manga the illustrators had been inspired from is *Chibi* art. *Chibi*  is a Japanese slang word describing something short (a thing, an animal or a person). It comes from the verb 禿びる (chibiru), which means "to wear out and become shorter" (for the tip of something). There had been arts and illustrations throughout the volumes which are drawn as *chibi*-style, the most obvious one being the characters drawn as *chibis* in the back covers of every currently published volumes.

#### References

To top it all off, there had been several well known anime and/or manga that had been referenced throughout the series.

* In Little Ladies: Courtesy, a scene where Richard was walking in the streets, *Hatsune Miku*, a Japanese humanoid persona (otherwise known as *Vocaloid*) could be seen in the background.
* In Keeping You Waiting: Time Management, a scene where Joni was playing a video game, the screen depicted her possibly playing a game of *Naruto (Shippuden),* a well known Shonen anime targeted at males.

* In Tiny Terror: Manners, when Joni and Emilia stripped from their maid costumes and confronted Sera, they posed as Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter, a reference to the famous poses of the characters from the anime Sailor Moon.

### **Disney**

Although it has not been proven whether or not the authors and illustrators of *Candy Series* took inspiration from Disney, there has been references and jokes throughout the series that are directly and obviously referencing popular Disney movies and characters.

#### Snow White

There were shown to be a lot of moments where the character Snow White as well as other characters in the popular 1932 movie were shown and referenced in the series at some point.

* In Style with Substance: Savvy, in the narration of the volume's introduction, Mia was described as a similar person (from looks to personality) to Snow White. An illustration of Snow White mending clothes as she was surrounded by forest animals was later diverted to Mia doing the same action as she was surrounded by her male classmates.
* In Yes, You Can!: Optimism, when Mia was petting some animals in the forest as her friends all stared in awe, it is a possible reference to Snow White as in the movie when Snow White was playing with animals in the forest, Prince Charming was staring in awe from afar.

* For the cover of the volume Little Ladies: Courtesy, the illustration is a direct reference to the various characters in Snow White. With Mia dressed as Snow White, Sofia dressed as the Evil Queen, Richard dressed as Prince Florian/Ferdinand and Emilia and Joni dressed as the dwarfs.
	+ From the same book, Sofia had been depicted as the Evil Queen throughout by characters like Joni and Richard.

#### Sleeping Beauty

* In Little Ladies: Courtesy, when Sofia flaunted in front of Candy JEM, Joni thought of her as Maleficent, the main antagonist in the 1959 Disney film *Sleeping Beauty* and the main protagonist of the 2014 live-action film *Maleficent*.

#### Cinderella

* In Tiny Terror: Manners, the start of the book showed Candy JEM's class performing a Cinderella play. As Mia portraying Cinderella, Alexandra and Joni portraying the mice, Emilia as the Fairy Godmother, Sofia as Lady Tremaine, Zara and Qistina as Drizella and Anastasia and Corey as Prince Charming/Henry. With almost every scene of the play to be poking fun of the 1950 Cinderella film.
* Also in the same volume, when Candy JEM were on their way home, Charles slipped by and attempted to have Mia to wear a glass slipper. An obvious reference to Prince Charming/Henry helping Cinderella to try out her glass slippers.

## Cultural Influences

### **Pop Culture**

Throughout the series, several well known pop cultures that are popular with teenagers and children were shown.

#### Characters

It has been noted and referenced thoroughly that several characters in Candy Series are adapted, parodied and/or related to popular icons and figures.

* **Mia and C-Daigon-** Some of the character's interests are a direct relation to modern day teenagers and young children's ones. With Mia idolizing C-Daigon, a reference to how girls around the same age idolizing G-Dragon, a Korean rapper and singer that has both his looks and name parodied by C-Daigon.
* Monster Ranger**-** Joni's idol, Monster Ranger is a parody of the American action superhero Power Rangers.

#### Others

Several other well known figures and products were parodied and shown in the series.

* **Angelina Jolie-** The popular A-List actress was shown when Mia explained to her classmates how female celebrities avoid wearing makeup off screen in Little Ladies: Courtesy.
* **Brands-** Famous brands of food, fashion, and stores were parodied in the series.
	+ In Little Ladies: Courtesy, the clothes that Sofia bought are direct references to famous luxury brands. With "LB", "Koach" and "Kunchi" are parodied names of *LV (Louis Vuitton)*, *Coach* and *Gucci* respectively.
	+ In The Hero's Quest: Self-Improvement, Seven Twelve, the convenience store that Julian worked in, is a parody of 7-Eleven.
	+ In Brotherly Bother: Responsibility, several sweets below the counter of Seven Twelve are branded *Bueno*, *Kid Cat* and *Wilo*, which are parodies of *Kinder Bueno*, *Kit Kat* and *Milo* respectively.
	+ In Little Ladies: Courtesy, when Richard retrieved his *Adadis* brand jacket from Sofia, the jacket's brand name is a parody of Adidas, a well-known German sportswear brand.
	+ In Pressure Planet: Relationships, the *AKEA* furniture store that Candy JEM went to shop for Mia's father's birthday present is a parody of IKEA, a Swedish furniture retailer which sells furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories.

## Genres

### School Life

The most obvious genre that made *Candy Series.* The story's setting for the characters takes place in a school hence circles around the life and education the characters been through.

## References

1. ↑ Little Ladies: Courtesy, page 73
2. ↑ Little Ladies: Courtesy, page 58

## External Links

1. July 29, 2016 Interview with Kaoru: https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-star-malaysia-star2/20160729/281479275781975
2. S*hōjo manga:* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Djo\_manga
3. *Chibi manga:* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibi\_(term)