Candy Candy

is a Japanese anime created by Japanese writer Keiko Nagita under the pen name Kyoko Mizuki. It was published as a manga in April 1975 written by Mizuki and illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi, a collaboration which was put together by the Japanese magazine ''Nakayoshi'' that was interested in recreating a "masterpiece" manga in the same vein as ''Heidi'', ''Anne of Green Gables'', among others. The manga series ran for four years, and won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo in 1977. The story was adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation. There are also three animated short films. Provided by Wikipedia