# Candy Boy
**Candy☆Boy** (キャンディ☆ボーイ) is a Japanese original net animation (ONA) series produced by AIC, depicting a romantic love triangle between twin high school sisters, Yukino and Kanade Sakurai, and their underclassman Sakuya Kamiyama. It was the first work of AIC's "Anime 2.0" project, an experiment in distributing anime directly on the web for free rather than through television or home video first.[1](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20080215_candy_boy)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Original net animation; a single pilot episode of about 8 minutes released November 22, 2007, followed by a 7-episode series of roughly 15-minute episodes[1](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20080215_candy_boy) • [2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) |
| Series run | May 2, 2008 to May 8, 2009, distributed on Nico Nico Anime Channel and other web services[3](https://www.animatetimes.com/tag/details.php?id=20) |
| Studio / project | AIC (Anime International Company), as the first project of its "Anime 2.0" initiative[1](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20080215_candy_boy) |
| Director | Takafumi Hoshikawa (ほしかわたかふみ), director and screenwriter; character design by Takashi Habe[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) |
| Main cast | Kanade Sakurai (Hitomi Nabatame), Yukino Sakurai (Ryouka Yuzuki), Sakuya Kamiyama (Emiri Katou), Shizuku Sakurai (Yuu Kobayashi)[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) |
| Genres | Yuri romance and school comedy; tagged incest, twins, school, unrequited love, and love triangle on AniList[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) |
| Manga adaptation | 20 chapters in 2 volumes by Hiro Touge, plus the seven-chapter side story *Candy☆Boy: Young Girls Fall in Love*[4](https://anilist.co/manga/47167/Candy-boy) |
| AniList standing | Mean score 63%; #4 highest rated and #3 most popular among 2008 titles on that database, with 17,122 users marking it[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and characters
The series follows twin sisters Yukino and Kanade Sakurai, who came from the Hokkaido region and room together in the dorms of their Tokyo high school, enjoying school life with each other and their friends. The plot turns when Sakuya Kamiyama, an underclassman, seeks out Yukino, and Kanade learns from a friend that Sakuya has admired Yukino for a very long time. This revelation sets off a chain of events that eventually leads to Yukino expressing her feelings for her sister.[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) • [9](https://ani.me/candy-boy) A supporting character, Shizuku Sakurai, the sisters' younger sister, was added in the series and voiced by Yuu Kobayashi.[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) • [3](https://www.animatetimes.com/tag/details.php?id=20)
The work is classified as a school comedy and yuri (girls' love) story, and its central relationship between the twins places it among yuri works dealing with incest themes.[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/)
## Origin and the Anime 2.0 project
Candy☆Boy began as a single short episode released on November 22, 2007 on the portal Cho! Animelo and on Nico Nico Douga (Nico Nico Video), with distribution on GyaO following in December. AIC uploaded nearly the entire episode, about eight minutes long, to these services itself for free streaming, a release method the company described as distinct from both television series and OVA. The episode was also sold physically, packaged with the music CD "Candy☆Boy/My Sweet Darlin'" by the singer MEILIN, released December 5, 2007 at 1,500 yen including tax. Although the animation was produced around the image of that song, it was not a music video but a work with its own story.[1](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20080215_candy_boy) • [5](https://animeanime.jp/article/2008/02/16/2783.html)
In February 2008 AIC announced a sequel series through its Anime 2.0 website, planned for seven episodes distributed on the web. AIC, the studio behind hits such as *Tenchi Muyo*, *Ah! My Goddess*, and *Seto no Hanayome*, positioned Anime 2.0 as a project to test a new animation business model.[1](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20080215_candy_boy) • [5](https://animeanime.jp/article/2008/02/16/2783.html) The pilot episode is cataloged separately as the prequel *Candy☆Boy: Side Story For Archive*, a one-episode ONA from 2007.[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) • [6](https://theanimelist.net/anime/candy-boy-nonchalant-talk-of-the-certain-twin-sisters-in-daily-life)
The choice of format placed the series in a category AIC had pioneered. An ONA is anime first released online, whether through an official website, a streaming service, or another internet channel, and it can range from a two-minute promotion to a long-form series.[7](https://animenite.com/ova-vs-ona-anime/) According to media scholar V. De Masi, the first ONA created by a professional animation studio was *Maho Yugi*, a 23-episode series launched online in 2002, also produced by AIC, so Candy☆Boy continued a distribution experiment the company had run five years earlier.[8](https://real-j.mtak.hu/9028/1/KOME_1_2.pdf)
## Production and music
Takafumi Hoshikawa, who had worked on the anime direction of the game version of *School Days*, served as director and screenwriter.[5](https://animeanime.jp/article/2008/02/16/2783.html) Character design was by Takashi Habe, with art direction by Miu Miyamoto, color design by Chieko Hibi, and music by Masaaki Sugiyama and TAKA, with sound production by HALF H·P STUDIO.[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) • [3](https://www.animatetimes.com/tag/details.php?id=20)
The series used three theme songs, all written, composed, and arranged by Toshirou Yabuki: "Koi no Katachi" performed by K∧N∧ for episodes 1 to 3, "Bring up...LOVE" performed by nayuta for episodes 4 to 6, and "romance" performed by the Sakurai sisters' voice actresses, Hitomi Nabatame and Ryouka Yuzuki, for the final episode.[10](https://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/1405/time) In addition to the broadcast run, two extra episodes were released in the DVD edition, set at different points during the series.[9](https://ani.me/candy-boy)
## Reception
On AniList the series holds a mean score of 63 percent, ranking #4 highest rated and #3 most popular among 2008 titles on that database, with 17,122 users marking it.[2](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/) Aggregator scores vary by site: Filmarks gives 3.9, Plex lists an audience rating of 5.7 out of 10, and the Japanese review site Reviewne shows a 5.0 composite from two user reviews.[11](https://filmarks.com/animes/2139/2767) • [12](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/show/candy-boy) • [13](https://reviewne.jp/contents/11799/ratings) An episode-by-episode analysis of overseas ratings found no episode rated a standout "masterpiece" tier entry, with episode 4, "Yukiwarisou Kana...", the highest rated at 87.0 on a 100-point scale, and a total viewing time of about 1 hour 45 minutes for all seven episodes.[14](https://kamikai.fourgetkun.com/anime/4535)
Review reactions were divided. A guest reviewer on the yuri blog Okazu praised it in 2009 as short, pretty, and adorable, noting that the promotional piece was animated surprisingly well, with shaded expressive characters and close-ups of held hands and small details used to convey mood economically.[15](https://okazu.yuricon.com/2009/05/page/4/) The same site's main reviewer, Erica Friedman, founder of Yuricon, had earlier given it an overall rating of 3 out of 10, calling it stultifyingly dull and objecting to the incest premise.[16](https://okazu.yuricon.com/2008/01/11/yuri-anime-candy-boy/) A THEM Anime review describes it as a light, calm yuri work without fanservice, in which the sisters are affectionate in public but do not kiss except when alone.[17](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1285) A fan review at TheOtaku likewise emphasizes the relaxing atmosphere and animation quality above the plot.[18](https://www.theotaku.com/worlds/fanreviews/view/253353/candy_boy_review/)
## Manga adaptation
A manga adaptation illustrated by Hiro Touge, with the original work credited to Dreamusic, was published by Media Factory in November 2009.[9](https://ani.me/candy-boy) • [21](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/201216028976/) It runs 20 chapters in 2 volumes and continues the sisters' schooling, with Kanade taking a late-night art class and questioning whether her feelings for Yukino are sisterly or romantic. It also includes the seven-chapter side story *Candy☆Boy: Young Girls Fall in Love* and two bonus chapters.[4](https://anilist.co/manga/47167/Candy-boy)
## Availability
The series is not currently available to stream, rent, or buy in the United States according to Moviefone, which also states it is not on Netflix.[19](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/candy-boy/XVBmYym0CynXskuqYV5ca1/where-to-watch/) A different, unrelated 13-minute French animated short film titled *Candy Boy*, directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent about an orphanage, also circulates on streaming platforms under the same English title, which can cause confusion in searches.[20](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/candy-boy)
## References
1. ["Candy ☆ Boy" being delivered in Nico Nico Douga etc. Delivery is decided for all 7 sequential series, GIGAZINE (February 15, 2008)](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20080215_candy_boy)
2. [Candy☆Boy, AniList](https://anilist.co/anime/4535/CandyBoy/)
3. [Candy Boy｜アニメ声優・2008春アニメ最新情報一覧, Animate Times](https://www.animatetimes.com/tag/details.php?id=20)
4. [Candy boy (manga), AniList](https://anilist.co/manga/47167/Candy-boy)
5. [AIC アニメ2.0 『Candy☆Boy』続編の製作決定, アニメ！アニメ！(February 16, 2008)](https://animeanime.jp/article/2008/02/16/2783.html)
6. [Candy Boy: Nonchalant Talk of the Certain Twin Sisters in Daily Life, TheAnimeList](https://theanimelist.net/anime/candy-boy-nonchalant-talk-of-the-certain-twin-sisters-in-daily-life)
7. [OVA vs ONA: Anime Formats Explained, Anime Nite](https://animenite.com/ova-vs-ona-anime/)
8. [V. De Masi, KOME journal article on ONA](https://real-j.mtak.hu/9028/1/KOME_1_2.pdf)
9. [Candy Boy, Ani.me](https://ani.me/candy-boy)
10. [Candy boy 放送時間, しょぼいカレンダー](https://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/1405/time)
11. [Candy boy, Filmarksアニメ](https://filmarks.com/animes/2139/2767)
12. [Candy Boy (2008), Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/show/candy-boy)
13. [Candy boy キャンディボーイの評価/評判, レビューンアニメ](https://reviewne.jp/contents/11799/ratings)
14. [Candy boy 全話の評価, あのアニメの神回は何話？](https://kamikai.fourgetkun.com/anime/4535)
15. [Yuri Anime: Candy Boy, End of Season Review, Guest Review by Mara, Okazu (May 12, 2009)](https://okazu.yuricon.com/2009/05/page/4/)
16. [Yuri Anime: Candy Boy, Okazu (January 11, 2008)](https://okazu.yuricon.com/2008/01/11/yuri-anime-candy-boy/)
17. [Candy Boy: Nonchalant Talk of the Certain Twin Sisters in Daily Life, THEM Anime Reviews](https://themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1285)
18. [Candy Boy review, TheOtaku](https://www.theotaku.com/worlds/fanreviews/view/253353/candy_boy_review/)
19. [Candy Boy - Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/candy-boy/XVBmYym0CynXskuqYV5ca1/where-to-watch/)
20. [Candy Boy (2007) streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/candy-boy)
21. [Ｃａｎｄｙ ｂｏｙ １](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/201216028976/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › OVAs, ONAs, and streaming-original anime*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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