History YMMV / CandyCandy

** Eliza has several moments of [[KickTheDog dog kicking]], but her worst actions are framing Candy '''and''' Terry to get Candy expelled from St. Paul School (though Candy and Terry's gullibility did them no favors there and granted them a spot in the WhatAnIdiot/AnimeAndManga subpage of DarthWiki/WhatAnIdiot), threatening to send a hospital bill she's fined Candy with to Pony's Home (where she knows the people there aren't wealthy enough) should Candy not get enough money to pay the fine in time, and scheming with her mother Ruth to [[SlutShaming get Candy's reputation smeared]] because after she takes the amnesiac Albert into her household. Geez, what a spoiled little ''bitch.''

** Eliza has several moments of [[KickTheDog dog kicking]], but her worst actions are framing Candy '''and''' Terry to get Candy expelled from St. Paul School (though Candy and Terry's gullibility did them no favors there, see WhatAnIdiot below), threatening to send a hospital bill she's fined Candy with to Pony's Home (where she knows the people there aren't wealthy enough) should Candy not get enough money to pay the fine in time, and scheming with her mother Ruth to [[SlutShaming get Candy's reputation smeared]] because after she takes the amnesiac Albert into her household. Geez, what a spoiled little ''bitch.''

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Regan family, mainly Neil and Eliza and their HateSink status. Some viewers find them to be LoveToHate characters and good antagonists for the series while others just flat out ''despise'' them in a way they can't even have fun with, as they feel like their perpetually two-dimensional portrayal and constant [[BreakTheCutie cruel bullying of Candy]] drags the show down. And while no one can deny that they're unlikable characters, a few might find them almost UnintentionallySympathetic due to being the products of a spoiling, enabling upbringing by their mother yet get positioned as being almost UltimateEvil within the story despite being little more than bratty children who, unless pushed to doing worse, usually resort to simple cruel pranks.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: VERY popular in Latin America, and in France where it was the very first shojo ever seen. It's also quite popular (and still well-remembered) in Italy.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Just how much does Eliza actually believe her own spiel about how Candy creates trouble wherever she goes and was responsible for [[spoiler: Anthony's death and Terry leaving for America]]? Has she actually convinced herself that Candy is the true Problem Child and that [[NeverMyFault everything bad that befalls her is her fault rather than Eliza's own?]] Or is she faking her grief over such events while really only fixated on tormenting Candy to make her life miserable ForTheEvulz and is just making a excuse for why she does so to say in front of others? She doesn't end up looking good either way, but it's left ambiguous enough that it's hard to determine if she has a legitimate mental illness/personality disorder or if she's just a JerkAss for no real reason. Episode 45 and Episode 50 in particular gives strong support to the former interpretation, but Eliza's appearances since then make the latter interpretation look more likely.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Regan family, mainly Neil and Eliza and their HateSink status. Some viewers find them to be LoveToHate characters and good antagonists for the series while others just flat out ''despise'' them in a way they can't even have fun with, as they feel like their [[StaticCharacter perpetually two-dimensional portrayal]] and constant [[BreakTheCutie cruel bullying of Candy]] drags the show down. And while no one can deny that they're unlikable characters, a few might find them almost UnintentionallySympathetic due to being the products of a spoiling, enabling upbringing by their mother yet get positioned as being almost UltimateEvil within the story despite being little more than bratty children who, unless pushed to doing worse, usually resort to simple cruel pranks.

* FanPreferredCouple: In Latin-America, the Candy X Terry couple seems to be the most popular one, with lots of fanart and fanfiction (and lot of backlash towards their separation, leading to the creation of several FixFic stories where they became a couple again and get married)

* WhatAnIdiot: Candy is rather naive, yet rarely displays ''active'' stupidity. However, the time when she ''and'' Terry [[spoiler: sneak outside the dorms to meet up with each other ''on the grounds of having supposedly received letters from one another'', without actually checking on any sources AND despite clearly knowing the school's incredibly strict rules]] completely reeks of this trope. [[spoiler: Eliza sure must've been thrilled [[TheBadGuyWins to see her plan to get them expelled succeed]] even better and easier than even she'd expected.]]

* TheWoobie: Annie, Patty, Anthony, Susanna if you're charitable to her.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: More than one watcher/reader ended up getting tired of all the relentless, neverending, borderline ridiculous melodrama surrounding Candy's life and, as a consequence, dropped the series.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Regan family, mainly Neil and Eliza and their HateSink status. Some viewers find them to be LoveToHate characters and good antagonists for the series while others just flat out ''despise'' them in a way they can't even have fun with, as they feel like their [[StaticCharacter perpetually two-dimensional portrayal]] and constant [[BreakTheCutie cruel bullying of Candy]] drags the show down. And while no one can deny that they're unlikable characters, a few might find them almost UnintentionallySympathetic due to being the products of a spoiling, enabling upbringing by their mother yet get positioned as being almost UltimateEvil within the story despite being little more than bratty children who, unless pushed to doing worse, usually resort to simple cruel pranks.

* AdaptationDisplacement: ... Wait, ''Candy Candy'' was originally a '''novel'''?

* AngstAversion / DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: More than one watcher/reader ended up getting tired of all the relentless, neverending, borderline ridiculous melodrama surrounding Candy's life and, as a consequence, dropped the series.

* EarWorm: That blasted Creator/MitsukoHorie theme song! Even viewers only lightly familiar with the series can merely read the words ''Sobakasu nante, ki ni shinai wa'' and be tormented by the song for the next few hours.
** Whilst often cited as weaker than the original/Japanese theme by fans (largely due to its [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece heavy disco flavoring]] for a show set in the [[SoundtrackDissonance early 20th century]] and association with one of the show's most notoriously awkward dubs), the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3h543iLTxw1980 English dub theme]] is surprisingly catchy.
** On the related note of foreign dub themes than [[AlternativeForeignThemeSong forgo]] the original's melody and lyrics altogether, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyzbYo1oRiI theme]] from the early '80s Italian dub is arguably one of the most memorable of these alternatives, particularly the opening guitar riff and main hook.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Regan family, mainly Neil and Eliza and their HateSink status. Some viewers find them to be LoveToHate characters and good antagonists for the series while others just flat out ''despise'' them in a way they can't even have fun with, as they feel like their [[StaticCharacter perpetually two-dimensional portrayal]] and constant [[BreakTheCutie cruel bullying of Candy]] drags the show down. And while no one can deny that they're unlikable characters, a few might find them almost UnintentionallySympathetic due to being the products of a spoiling, enabling upbringing by their mother who yet get positioned as being almost UltimateEvil within the story despite being little more than bratty children who, unless pushed to doing worse, usually resort to simple cruel pranks.

** On the related note of foreign dub themes than forego the original's melody and lyrics altogether, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyzbYo1oRiI theme]] from the early '80s Italian dub is arguably one of the most memorable of these alternatives, particularly the opening guitar riff and main hook.

* EarWorm: That blasted Creator/MitsukoHorie theme song!

** Whilst often cited as weaker than the original/Japanese theme by fans (largely due to its [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece heavy disco flavoring]] for a show set in the early 20th century and association with one of the show's most notoriously awkward dubs), the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3h543iLTxw1980 English dub theme]] is surprisingly catchy.

** Whilst often cited as weaker than the original/Japanese theme by fans (largely due to its [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece heavy disco flavoring]] for a show set in early 20th-century Americana and association with one of the show's most notoriously awkward dubs), the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3h543iLTxw1980 English dub theme]] is surprisingly catchy.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Charlie Sanders in episodes 81 and 82. We're meant to feel for him and view him as a JerkassWoobie, but the fact that he's hiding from the law and gets Candy to harbor him in his hospital room thanks to having faked being Terry, his constant belligerence, his willingness to want to commit ''murder'' (even if his targets to be would be AssholeVictims), and the reveal that he physically assaulted his own mother before leaving her do a lot to negate any sympathy viewers could feel for him.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Just how much does Eliza actually believe her own spiel about how Candy creates trouble wherever she goes and was responsible for [[spoiler: Anthony's death and Terry leaving for America]]? Has she actually convinced herself that Candy is the true Problem Child and that [[NeverMyFault everything bad that befalls her is her fault rather than Eliza's own?]] Or is she faking her grief over such events while really only fixated on tormenting Candy to make her life miserable ForTheEvulz and is just making a excuse for why she does so to say in front of others? She doesn't end up looking good either way, but it's left ambiguous enough that it's hard to determine if she has a legitimate mental illness/personality disorder or if she's just a JerkAss for no real reason. Episode 45 and Episode 50 in particular gives strong support to the former interpretation.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Just how much does Eliza actually believe her own spiel about how Candy creates trouble wherever she goes and was responsible for [[spoiler: Anthony's death and Terry leaving for America]]? Has she actually convinced herself that Candy is the true Problem Child and that [[NeverMyFault everything bad that befalls her is her fault rather than Eliza's own?]] Or is she faking her grief over such events while really only fixated on tormenting Candy to make her life miserable ForTheEvulz and is just making a excuse for why she does so to say in front of others? She doesn't end up looking good either way, but it's left ambiguous enough that it's hard to determine if she has a legitimate mental illness/personality disorder or if she's just a JerkAss for no real reason.

** Eliza has several moments of [[KickTheDog dog kicking]], but her worst actions are framing Candy '''and''' Terry to get Candy expelled from St. Paul School (though Candy and Terry's gullibility did them no favors there, see WhatAnIdiot below), getting the hospital Candy works at to fire her or she'll have their funding cut and threatening to send the bill to Pony's Home (where she knows the people there aren't wealthy enough) should Candy not get enough money to pay the fine in time, and scheming with her mother Ruth to [[SlutShaming get Candy's reputation smeared]] because after she takes the amnesiac Albert into her household. Geez, what a spoiled little ''bitch.''

** Eliza has several moments of [[KickTheDog dog kicking]], but her worst actions are framing Candy '''and''' Terry to get Candy expelled from St. Paul School (though Candy and Terry's gullibility did them no favors there, see WhatAnIdiot below), getting the hospital Candy works at to fire her or she'll have their funding cut, and scheming with her mother Ruth to [[SlutShaming get Candy's reputation smeared]] because after she takes the amnesiac Albert into her household. Geez, what a spoiled little ''bitch.''

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Just how much does Eliza actually believe her own spiel about how Candy creates trouble wherever she goes and was responsible for [[spoiler: Anthony's death and Terry leaving for America]]? Has she actually convinced herself that Candy is the true Problem Child and that [[NeverMyFault everything bad that befalls her is her fault rather than Eliza's own?]]? Or is she faking her grief over such events while really only fixated on tormenting Candy to make her life miserable ForTheEvulz and is just making a excuse for why she does so to say in front of others? She doesn't end up looking good either way, but it's left ambiguous enough that it's hard to determine if she has a legitimate mental illness/personality disorder or if she's just a JerkAss for no real reason.

*** Eliza and Neil had their moments of this early on, being the products of a toxic, spoiling, and enabling upbringing by [[RichBitch their mother]] that turned them into [[SpoiledBrat bratty children]] with [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense no understanding of how to socialize with anyone outside their class]] (for Eliza it's most evident during the Boarding School arc), but this ultimately fizzled out in favor of keeping them straight-up Jerkasses instead. Neil [[BaitTheDog seemed to be becoming one again]] when he discovered he had feelings for Candy, [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk but NOPE]], he's still a raging asshole.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Just how much does Eliza actually believe her own spiel about how Candy creates trouble wherever she goes and was responsible for [[spoiler: Anthony's death and Terry leaving for America]]? Has she actually convinced herself that Candy is the true Problem Child and that [[NeverMyFault everything bad that befalls her is her fault rather than Eliza's own?]]? Or is she faking her grief over such events while really only fixated on tormenting Candy to make her life miserable ForTheEvulz and is just making a excuse for why she does so to say in front of others?

*** Eliza and Neil had their moments of this early on, being the products of a toxic, spoiling, and enabling upbringing by [[RichBitch their mother]] that turned them into [[SpoiledBrat bratty children]] with [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense no understanding of how to socialize with anyone outside their class]], but this ultimately fizzled out in favor of keeping them straight-up Jerkasses instead. Neil [[BaitTheDog seemed to be becoming one again]] when he discovered he had feelings for Candy, [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk but NOPE]], he's still a raging asshole.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The Regan family, mainly Neil and Eliza and their HateSink status. Some viewers find them to be LoveToHate characters and good antagonists for the series while others just flat out ''despise'' them in a way they can't even have fun with, as they feel like their [[StaticCharacter perpetually two-dimensional portrayal]] and constant [[BreakTheCutie cruel bullying of Candy]] drags the show down. And while no one can deny that they're unlikable characters, a few might find them almost UnintentionallySympathetic due to being the products of a spoiling, enabling upbringing by their mother who yet get positioned as being almost UltimateEvil within the story despite being little more than bratty children.