<span class='italic'>Romeo and Juliet</span> in the Japanese Anime <span class='italic'>Candy Candy</span>: The Balcony Scene between Tradition and Subversion

doi:10.1017/9781009200905.013

Chapter 12 - Romeo and Juliet in the Japanese Anime Candy Candy: The Balcony Scene between Tradition and Subversion

from Part III - Serial and Queer Romeo and Juliets

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 October 2023

Sarah Hatchuel and

Ronan Ludot-Vlasak

Edited by

Victoria Bladen ,

Sarah Hatchuel and

Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin

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Victoria Bladen: Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Sarah Hatchuel: Affiliation:
University Paul-Valéry Montpellier
Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin: Affiliation:
University Paul-Valéry Montpellier

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Summary

This chapter explores the aesthetic, narrative and ideological stakes of the balcony scene in Candy Candy. Oscillating between an eminently traditional representation and a questioning of social and aesthetic conventions, the scene punctuates the narrative progression and is the object of a double repetition: whilst several episodes show the actors’ auditions and then their preparation before the premiere, the characters of Terry and Candy ceaselessly replay the balcony scene, which constitutes a structuring motif of the anime. It also becomes the locus where gender identities are shaped and troubled, but also where theatre and life unfold in a game of mirrors. Candy and Terry’s love story actually never goes beyond the phase of the balcony scene, a sequence that they keep repeating in endless variations that call for decoding.

Keywords

Romeo and Juliet Japan animation Candy Candy balcony gender

Type: Chapter
Information: Shakespeare on Screen: Romeo and Juliet , pp. 185 - 198

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009200905.013 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2023

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References

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