Anne has always worked at her mother’s side in making confections from silver sugar. But now that her mom has died, Anne decides to set out to enter the Royal Candy Fair. By winning, she can earn the title of Silver Sugar Master just like her mom.
With little time left, Anne decides to take a shortcut through a dangerous path. But being a 15-year-old girl who is built like a scarecrow, she knows she can’t make the journey alone. Although Anne is loathe to do so, she buys a warrior fairy to escort her to the capital. By having possession of his wing, Anne can order the beautiful, smart-mouthed Challe Fenn Challe (aka Challe) to do anything, but Anne would rather be friends and not resort to such cruelty. But Challe doesn’t trust Anne, and between an annoying little fairy, an eligible young bachelor following her to the capital, and problems on the highway, can Anne even make it the Fair, let alone claim first prize?
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: The Silver Sugar Master and the Obsidian Fairy is the first volume of seventeen in this completed series. While the title may be older than most newly licensed light novels, the upcoming anime adaptation is going to attract many interested readers with it centering around sweets and fairies.
I don’t know how much the anime will adapt, but volume 1 feels less like a series of ready-to-be-made episodes and more like a complete film. The Silver Sugar Master and the Obsidian Fairy is a self-contained story about the journey to and the events at the Fair, and I sped through it quickly. The author mentions that she trimmed her novel to submit for a contest and then expanded it again for publication, but this is one title that puts the “light” in “light novel”. Between the adventure and the writing, the book reminded me of those youth novel adaptations of movies — or sometimes, the script for it. Quite often, dialogue tends to be long with descriptors to break up the sentences. As such, lines often read like they’re spoken by long-winded blowhards or unemotional robots. True, at times, the main characters are supposed to be in one of these categories, but I would have liked to have seen the speech read a little more naturally.
Especially since there is a lot of squabbling and all the characters have less-than-stellar moments. Anne, for instance, tastelessly asks to touch Challe’s wing despite knowing how important they are to a fairy; after all, she’s holding onto one that can be used to cause Challe pain. Little fairy Mithril insists on repaying Anne, but he also demands it be some sort of grand gesture and won’t shut up about it. They’re young, and I’m sure everyone will grow over the course of the series, but I wasn’t as endeared to the characters as much as I wanted to be here in this opening.
Still, I’m really excited to explore more of this world. Magical fairies are bought and sold to be either pets, servants, or fighters to humans. Anne does not agree people are superior, so even though she’s Challe’s master, she tries to make requests of him rather than crushing his wing to command him. It’s clear Challe senses an opportunity when Anne comes to the market, and while he isn’t interested in Anne’s offer of being friends, he decides to wait for an opportune moment to gain his freedom — and maybe suss out Anne’s situation as to why she’s traveling alone. Well, at least she was until Jonas, a young man and fellow aspiring Silver Sugar Master from the village she last visited, follows her to declare his feelings.
I’m sure most of you are sensing love triangle vibes, and romance fans will love the the chemistry between Anne and Challe. But fans who enjoy any type of fantasy cooking stories should keep an eye on this one. So far, it may not be the most technically impressive piece, but if you don’t mind simpler fare (and one with illustrations that beautifully capture the ephemeral aura of Challe and other fairies), Sugar Apple Fairy Tale may end up as sweet as its title suggests.