If you've already read the synopsis for this anime, then we can get the obvious out of the way first. There is incest, and there is lesbian romance. Either one of those themes is enough to drive away large numbers of potential viewers on their own; the two of them together form an almost insurmountable barrier to entry. Guilty pleasures can only become pleasures if your suppressed desires aren't defeated by the feeling that there's something deeply wrong with watching something like this, and I don't blame you at all if you think that it's simply too high a hurdle to overcome.

That being said, I'm not afraid to confess that I enjoyed this series thoroughly. Whether that makes me a degenerate in the eyes of society, I leave that for society to judge. But if you have the fortitude and curiosity to look past the unquestionably haram elements of this show, what you find is an intoxicating nepenthe that is, in a twisted and unexpected fashion, only enhanced by the stigma of the offending subject matter in question.

Candy☆Boy is, at its core, an experiment to see whether sensitive topics can have a positive effect on what would otherwise be an idyllic, slow-paced slice-of-life romance. From my point of view, that experiment has worked, and worked very well indeed.

(Ratings for each aspect of the anime are given in brackets.)

Premise (3/5): This is, to put it bluntly, the one facet of Candy☆Boy that gives most people pause. A pair of sisters attend a high school in the sprawling city of Tokyo, far away from their rural hometown, holing up together in the same dorm room in order to save money. Their peaceful, unchanging lifestyle of coexistence and codependence is upturned when an underclassman appears out of nowhere and confesses her love to one of the sisters, beginning a series of events which inevitably lead to that sister attempting to make clear her own love for her counterpart, without knowing that her counterpart also harbors the same feelings towards her. All the while, the fated duo struggle with their career plans, their inconsistent relationship with their younger sister, and their myriad ideas for their future together.

Incest aside (and that's admittedly quite a major thing to brush aside), it really doesn't sound all that bad. And again, if you're willing to accept the unorthodox aspects of the show, what you find is a heartwarming and stirring tale about two people who juggle their problems with love, life, and everything else in between, and end up counting on each other to make up for their respective deficiencies. It's a story about learning to trust one another and not to fear having one's own faults and vulnerabilities come to light. Nobody's perfect, and we all need a helping hand once in a while, a message that Candy☆Boy clearly enunciates.

What could be better than that?

Characters (4/5): Owing to the fact that there are only four characters in this entire series, it's imperative that each and every character serves a designated purpose, and serves it as best as they can. The cast as a whole is admittedly not the most multi-faceted of any anime, although allowances can be made due to the show's more easygoing nature.

Nevertheless, each cast member has their own quirks and interesting personality traits, and each of them undergoes a surprisingly satisfying degree of change and development. Yukino is the ostensibly perfect, long-haired beauty who hides her worries and weaknesses behind her facade of competence, which leads her to seek Kanade's support in times of need; Kanade is the tomboyish and bullish foil to Yukino's delicacy, acting simultaneously as the pillar of the siblings' relationship and as the manifestation of the struggling artist whose hopes and dreams constantly hang in the balance. As for the supporting act, the underclassman Sakuya is the quintessential caricature of the rich girl who's used to getting her way, though she carries a soft-hearted streak of her own; meanwhile, the younger sister Shizuku balances her devotion to her elder sisters with her anger at their supposed neglect of her whilst they are away. The interactions between the characters become intertwining threads, combining expectation with desire, disappointment with reassurance, indecisiveness with determination. All the while, a reluctant yet nonetheless passionate love bubbles out from underneath the platonic veneer of sororal bonds and tight-knit friendships.

Perhaps one criticism that can be levelled at Candy☆Boy's characterization is the lack of any tangible concern regarding the societal issues and pressure that pursuing an incestuous relationship might bring about, particularly in a conservative and deeply judgmental society like Japan's. Kanade and Yukino act as though their love is something commonplace, and never seem to bother worrying about hiding it or preventing others from learning about it - they keep things low-key, but without the sort of urgency or abashedness that occupies the thoughts of incestuous lovers in other anime (such as the infamous Yosuga no Sora). Even so, given that there's no mention of other family members or friends, it could be assumed that they are so ensconced in their own little world that they really do have nothing to worry about. However, whether that is actually the case ultimately remains unclear.

Audiovisuals (3/5): Candy☆Boy is an anime from the late 00's, and while that definitely shows in the somewhat dated style of animation and choice of music, it also serves to enhance the strangely nostalgic feeling one gets from watching the series. The background art is a soothing and meticulously-drawn watercolor blend of shades and tints, depicting a world that melts into the Christmas snow. The characters' designs are among my favorites in any anime and reflect their personalities to a tee, though perhaps that's merely my bias speaking. Kanade in particular is totally my type - everything about her, from the asymmetric tresses of her dark hair and couple of clipped earrings in her upper ear to the confident and boyish manner of her dress and demeanor, just feels so... appealing, in some unspoken way. (Such things are, of course, purely a matter of personal taste.)

The music is also worth a mention - the soundtrack is a warm, welcoming collection of quiet tunes that hum along in the background, and while there is no opening theme, the ending sequence comprises a suitably rustic and evocative pop song with cute picture cards filling the screen as the episode draws to a close. The whole point of the audiovisuals - and of the series overall - is relaxation, and the art and music play their parts more than well enough.

Execution (4/5): This is not a long-drawn and elaborative anime, and it was never meant to be, even with all the extra OVA material. Each episode is around 15 minutes long, and there are only 7 episodes (10 including the extras), which emphasizes the fact that the story is meant to be more of a snapshot, a brief window into the life of a destined pair who eventually commit their futures to each other. Although there are obstacles thrown up in the main characters' faces - as is the case in any good story - there are no great upheavals or malevolent influences introduced to artificially spruce up or hasten the blossoming of the centerpiece relationship. Love is allowed to bloom at its own pace, culminating in a resolution that is both gratifying and uplifting.

Candy☆Boy is a paradox, a shallow anime that delves deeply into the well of romance, a "normal" narrative with altogether unusual motifs, and a tale that evokes sentimentality for a life that has never been mine, and never will be. It's a small-scale and uncomplicated show that will only appeal to a niche segment of the anime community, but for those that are fine with this sort of thing, there is no greater example of a series that briefly tugs at your heart-strings and makes you think, "What if?"

Love may be blind, yes. Yet it also has the uncanny ability to open your eyes to worlds that you may previously never have conceived. Therein lies its attraction, as well as its power.

Overall rating: (4/5)

(Why is this show called "Candy☆Boy" if there are no boys in it? Really makes you think.)