Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Anime/Light Novel/Manga Comparison

    Welcome back to Beyond the Anime! Sugar Apple Fairy Tale was one of my favorites from the Winter 2023 anime season, and I started reading the books as soon as the anime finished its 12-episode run. Much of the written story plays out the same, but there were still plenty of surprises from scenes not shown in the anime, which made the novels a very exciting read. 

Anne & Challe, the lead characters

    The beautiful art style of the anime is reminiscent of a storybook, with soft designs and a pastel color palette that really compliments this fantasy world and remains faithful to the original character designs of the light novel, and the sugar sculptures look like truly impressive and delicate works of art. I've watched both the sub and dub version of this series, and both have great voice acting fitting for Anne and Challe and the rest of the cast.

    The first novel is quite similar to the anime adaptation, with only a few details changed and some additional worldbuilding, as well as the benefit of alternating perspective between Anne and Challe. One notable change is the use of the phrase "companion fairies" in the anime, compared to the original term of "pet fairies" in the novel. "Companion" definitely carries certain implications here, especially in regards to Challe when Anne is teased for bringing a handsome fairy during her travels. The word "pet", on the other hand, does fit some of the new varieties of fairies described in the novel that were never portrayed in the anime adaptation - like fairies as small as a grain of wheat sold as children's toys, or fairies covered in thick fur about the same size as a puppy.

    The segments written from Challe's point of view add a lot of depth to his character by showing his thought process during key scenes and just how he feels about Anne during their first days together. He wonders why such an innocent girl is traveling alone, and where is the mother she cries out for in her sleep. He's very insightful, realizing after he hears Anne's story that she's barely holding together as long as her goal is in reach, and likely to break down if that goal becomes impossible. Challe recalled a time when he felt exactly the same way, which adds to his backstory as well as their growing connection. The exploration of his feelings after Anne returned his wing, when it occurred to him that he already felt like he had his freedom because Anne could never truly give him an order or threaten him, was a touching moment. The novels also confirmed my theory that when Challe protected Anne from the wolves against her orders, he truly was thinking of her safety rather than just his wing. 

Silver Sugar Master Alph Hingley, otherwise known as Kat, insists Anne work for him to pay for a broken candy sculpture after a misunderstanding in his shop

    After the conclusion of the Royal Candy Fair, the next episode of the anime shows Anne's encounter with Kat, a silver sugar master she greatly respects. Originally a short story released separately from the novels, which only make mention of these events in the past tense, the anime adapted their first meeting in episode 5. The story was a great introduction to his character, and also features some adorable moments between Anne and Challe. When Kat appears in volume 3 (or episode 9 of the anime) as a regular member of the cast, it does feel much more natural in the anime given the fact that we get to see his history with Anne, rather than simply reading a brief summary of what occurred during the timeskip before volume 2. 

Hugh, the Silver Sugar Viscount, surprises Anne with a hug when they meet again after the Royal Candy Fair in this novel-only scene, while Challe watches in disapproval

    The second volume, in contrast to the first, begins in a very different way than its anime adaptation. Adding Kat's introduction naturally cut into the episode count for this story, leaving it with only three instead of the usual four. The novel starts by showing Anne's financial struggles in the months following the Royal Candy Fair in greater detail, as well as the harassment she receives from Jonas and other members of the Redcliffe school, and doesn't shy away from hinting at the darker side of their world. Challe offers to help them earn some money by renting himself out for the night, a suggestion which Anne absolutely refuses to consider. 

    When Anne is finally at the end of her rope, being extorted by a greedy innkeeper who raised the price of rent in hopes of forcing her to sell Challe to him, Hugh and his bodyguard Salim arrive looking for her. Thanks to a clever bluff by Hugh, threatening to haul the man into jail for his crime or execute him outright, Anne is allowed to leave with Challe and Mithril. Hugh invites them to stay at his castle, where he tries to convince Anne to join his workshop and study candy making directly from him at the castle. 

    This was actually mentioned during the anime during a short conversation between Hugh and the Earl of Downing, who appears later in the novel. Of course, Anne turned him down, preferring to travel from town to town selling sugar confections the way her mother did, but the scene at the castle offered some interesting insight into Hugh's motivations, as he has clearly taken a stronger interest in Anne than the anime implies. The scene where Anne tries to eavesdrop on Challe by listening through the bedroom wall when they were given separate rooms, only to be caught (quite literally) in the act by Challe himself, was a real highlight for me and definitely worth the read for any fan of this cute couple. 

    The anime also begins this new plotline with a scene involving Hugh, but in a totally different context. Where the novel relayed the information about the three branches of the royal bloodline and past rebellion through narrative, the anime uses a conversation between Hugh and the Earl of Downing to bring viewers up to speed. The Earl of Downing was previously introduced at the Royal Candy Fair, and even requested to buy the sugar confection Anne entered into the contest for his grandaughter's wedding in the first novel, which she declined because she already promised it to Challe. In this anime only scene at the beginning of episode 6, Hugh crafted an impressive sugar sculpture for the occasion illustrating this history of the royal family. 

Anne's sugar candy sculpture of Lady Christina

    The storyline about the Duke of Philax and his beloved Christina, a fairy born from the ocean who disappeared when her life span ran out, was just as beautiful and heartbreaking in the novel as it was in the anime. The changes in the adaptation were minor, such as Anne creating a full-height standing sculpture of Christina in the novel and one in a seated pose for the anime. One difference that I don't quite understand was the decision to make Anne overlook the fact that Christina's portrait clearly shows her with both wings, symbolizing her status as a fairy who had never been enslaved. Anne realizes this early on in the novel but doesn't think too much about the implications until later, which is fitting for her innocent attitude. However, her first sculptures in the anime were made with only one wing - a huge oversight for a candy crafter who would pride themselves on the detail of their work, so the novel's explanation makes more sense.  

    While Anne's story of creating a beautiful sugar confection for the Duke that resembles his lost love mostly plays out the same, there was a surprising amount of extra content surrounding Challe. The novel reveals something anime fans could only speculate about, the nature of his relationship with Liz - she fell in love with him when she grew up, and he loved her too, but she knew it wasn't in the same way, implying that he always saw her as his family rather than a romantic partner. Challe couldn't understand why this saddened her, much like his confusion when Anne started crying. 

    Another shocking twist occurred after Anne was forced to tell Challe to leave. Instead of simply meeting up with Hugh as the anime portrayed, the Silver Sugar Viscount stole Challe's wing when he refused to accompany him back to Philax castle. Although helping Anne to escape seemed to be Hugh's main intention, and he did return the wing to Challe when Anne was rescued and the Duke was being arrested, his actions in the novel paint a much darker picture. The opening scene in volume 3 even has him admitting that he considered destroying the wing to wipe Challe from existence and force Anne to rely on him, but he didn't do this because he was afraid it would break her emotionally. Hugh is definitely a less benevolent and more mysterious figure than the anime shows. 

Anne, Challe and Mithril

    Much like volume 1, the third entry of Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is very similar to the anime adaptation, but with extra details about the world, the characters and their thought process. The novel places an emphasis on Anne's desire to create a candy sculpture of Challe in the beginning, and how the deal they made with Keith to allow him to use Challe as his model is what left her feeling directionless. Her final creation is also slightly different in the novel than it was in the anime, likely for the sake of making it easier to portray - the description of the flower petals and vines of the climbing roses having the texture and design of fairy wings sounds beautiful, but would be difficult to show in the artwork. The anime version keeps the same theme while changing the design to have the fairy wings encircle the climbing roses instead. 

    During Anne's visit to the church in the hopes of gaining inspiration for her candy sculpture, the story offers some additional worldbuilding about the tale of the ancestor king and the fairy king. Apparently, the official policy is not to speak the fairy king's name or the history surrounding that fateful battle, as the priest was forbidden from answering her questions, but he did direct her toward the true story depicted on the ceiling in the ancient script unreadable by the common people - but known by Challe, and it's implied that the priest realized this when he remarked about Challe's knowledge of the past, giving him a more active role in assisting Anne than shown in the anime. The novel also provided a little more depth to Bridget's character by revealing that she had previously wished to be a sugar artisan as well, but was always told it was impossible because she's a woman. 

Anne and her climbing rose sugar sculpture at the Royal Candy Fair, novel version 

    The scenes written from Challe's perspective offer plenty of insight into his complicated feelings during the third arc, just as they did during previous entries. There's a strong focus on his desire to stay with Anne, and multiple comparisons to how this emotion differs from what he felt with Liz in the past. Challe recalls that he had truly hoped to one day entrust Liz to another human who would care for her and make her happy, but he feels irritated at the thought of leaving Anne to anyone else - implying that he does have romantic feelings for Anne which he didn't have with Liz, though he's not yet able to understand them. He also showed his affection more in the novel, kissing her hands or face in three separate scenes including the one at the end where they were forced to part ways. 

    There were also a few differences in one of the story's most dramatic turns, when Anne was attacked by jealous candy crafter Sammy Jones and his cohorts. The novel adds some historical significance behind the vicious attack as well, explaining that burning the hands of a candy crafter used to be an old punishment for being expelled from a workshop, but the practice was abolished. After Challe drove away the attackers, Keith and Mithril arrived soon after, as did the leader of the Radcliffe workshop. Instead of discussing the terrible situation the following morning as the anime showed, this scene happened directly after the attack in the novel, increasing Anne's distress. She also briefly caught up with Jonas to offer her thanks for the role he played in saving her, though he was in no mood to accept it after being thrown out of the workshop for his good deed. The resolution of the conflict at the Royal Candy Fair plays out just as it did in the anime, with the novel ending on the same heartbreaking scene. 

Anne & Challe, manga designs

    The art of the manga is beautiful, but the style is slightly different from the light novel and the anime. Challe's design has a more pointed look, with longer ears and broader shoulders, and his outfit is also more intricate, whereas his features in the novel artwork and the anime are softer. One of the little details I loved is the way each fairy's wings are unique, rather than most having a similar design. The curves of Mithril's wing almost look bubbly, which suits a water fairy perfectly, and Cathy's had a pattern resembling a butterfly's wings. 

    It was interesting to see some of the other types of fairies described only in the novel shown here in the artwork, like the puppy-sized fairies covered in fur, but there were a few cases where it seemed like too many liberties were taken with designs that were never mentioned in the book. Warrior fairies were not depicted simply as strong men, but actual golems - something which has never been brought up in the story, even though Challe himself is a warrior fairy. The fairies with horns or goat-like qualities were never mentioned in the novel either, and it feels like this interpretation strays a bit too far from the source material.

The fairy marketplace, depicting some of the manga-only designs 

    The manga format works really well for this story, with so many pretty character designs and sugar candy sculptures. It's also great for the comedic scenes, like one adorable panel which shows Anne wondering why thoughts of Challe keep popping into her head by drawing chibi pop-ups of Challe all around her - the last one smirking as if amused that he's on her mind. Little character details like this add to the adaptation's charm.

    As of now, there's only one volume of the manga currently released in English, so the story covers the events from episode 1 up to the midway point in episode 3, roughly half of the first arc. A few scenes were cut or rearranged, but it's a faithful adaptation with some of the added focus on characters' thoughts from the novels. 

Anne wondering why thoughts of Challe keep "popping" into her head

    I really enjoyed reading both the light novel series and the manga, and I definitely recommend them to fans of the anime! The completely different opening to the second arc alone plus the additional scenes throughout makes it worth a read. Unfortunately, the English translation of the fourth novel, which takes place beyond the anime won't be released until September after season 2 finishes airing, so there's no option to read ahead. The third novel ends exactly where the anime left off. 

    Stay tuned for more anime to light novel comparisons, including more of my Winter 2023 favorites - Saving 80,000 Gold In Another World For My Retirement, and Endo & Kobayashi Live: The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte!