Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Vol. 1
Author: Miri Mikawa
Illustrator: Yozorano Udon, Aki
Publishers: Yen Press
Age Group: Teen
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Manga
Content Warnings:
Spoilers ahead
Plot
Anne Halford is a sweet, caring fifteen-year-old with one goal: To win the Royal Candy Fair so she can become a Silver Sugar Master. If she does that, her mom’s soul (who’s recently died) will surely move on peacefully. There’s just one problem, in order to make it to the Royal Candy Fair she’ll have to travel the bloody highway filled with bandits, murderous crows, and wolves.
She decides to get a warrior fairy, only he’s too pretty and has a horrible haughty attitude with a trash mouth to boot. Can she keep him in line long enough to make it to the Royal Candy Fair?
Character Development
Ann Halford is a very sweet protagonist. She’s nice and treats everyone equally because she believes fairies and humans can be friends. She’s got talent as a silver sugar confectionist. She’s not very good at being assertive.
Challe Fenn Challe is the beautiful warrior fairy who’s haughty and likes to insult humans. He calls Anne scarecrow. He seems to also be a bit melancholy, reminiscing about a human he knew before as he interacts more with Anne on their journey.
Mithril Lid Pod is a small water fairy Anne saves from being killed by his previous master. He sneaks onto Anne’s wagon to repay her for saving him. He’s kinda loud and obnoxious but willing to prove himself.
Jonas is a silver sugar confectionist related to one of the big workshop owners. He’s cheerful and is always trying to convince Anne that she’d be better off just marrying him.
World-building
The kingdom of Highland used to be the kingdom of the fairies until humans rose up against them. Humans now rule. Fairies are treated as slaves by taking one of their wings you can control a fairy. There’s even fairy marketplaces where they can be sold as warriors (rare typing), pets (also rare and beautiful) or laborers (most of them). Fairies were the first beings to create silver sugar and humans adopted it. It’s said if you make a silver sugar confection right it can bring good luck and fortune to those that eat it.
We find out that fairies are born from magic essence being collected in a single spot. This happens when a living being stares at the spot. They can’t taste food and absorb it. The only thing they can taste is silver sugar.
Themes
Follow your dreams.
This is a pretty easy theme to spot in this manga. No matter what happens throughout it, Anne insists on going to the Royal Candy Fair and becoming a Silver Sugar Master. When Jonas proposes, she refuses. When her confection is said to not have any soul to it. She buckles down on her dream. She won’t let anything stop her.
Observations & Predictions
I think Jonas will do anything to stop Anne from trying to fulfill her goal. If she doesn’t fulfill it she’ll probably give up. If she gives up then she’d choose him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one that made her silver sugar disappear at the end of this volume.
Anne, if she continues to interact with Challe after the Royal Candy Fair, will become more assertive. With her determination, I’m sure she’ll create candy pieces that will awe others. Anne is still grieving her mother so I hope she can put soul into her creations rather than just copying her mother’s style.
I can see Challe developing a relationship with Anne, though what kind remains to be seen. Right now he sees a lot of Liz (former human) in Anne. This makes connecting with her easier and I’m interested to see if this develops into something further. There are hints of this in the first volume when she thinks of Challe when Jonas, yet again, tells her to just marry him.
This is a sweet coming-of-age type story. We root for Anne and hope her dream comes true. I would recommend this for anyone who wants a sweet tasting story.
Recommendations
Sweet Stories:
The World is Still Beautiful
By: Dai Shiina
Spice and Wolf
By: Isuna Hasekura
Snow White with the Red Hair
By: Sorata Akidzuki
Kamisama Kiss
By: Julietta Suzuki
My Happy Marriage
By: Akumi Agitogi
Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague
By: Miyuki Tonogaya
Sweets Focused:
Yumeiro Patissiere
By: Natsumi Matsumoto
Sweet Reincarnation
By: Nozomu Koryu
