Ranked #353

Victorian Romance Emma

Story: VRE's story is very simple and easy to follow, two people from vastly different social classes fall in love with one another and throughout the series we get to see their trials and tribulations while dealing with it. Forbidden love is nothing new, but that doesn't mean this series is bland in any respect, there are plenty of dealings to keep the story lively. The nice thing, too, is that there is a lot of historical accuracy in the details, it keeps true to the time and doesn't pull any weirdo stuff for gimmick appeal. The story neither drags nor goes by too fast, it's paced perfectly.

Art: The character designs are cute and some of the scenery is nice, but this is definitely one of the drawbacks. The animation wasn't done that great, it's kind of grainy and basic. It's not something I would expect for when it was made, but we can't always get what we want. Honestly, you won't pay too much attention to the art anyways, you'll be engrossed in the story and characters.

Sound: The music is just quaint. It goes really well with the story and pretty much always fits the scenes. The opening and ending themes are especially cheerful and fun. It would have gotten a 10 from me, but it wasn't amazing music, it just fit really well.

Characters: The characters are one of the strongest points of the series. They've all got their different motivations and cover a wide variety of types so it's always fun. The two main characters, Emma and William, are very laid back characters, they're not hyper or weird at all... which is very nice. They are extremely interesting people with a multitude of layers behind them. There are a few characters that feel a little out of place for their time, but they are smaller roles so it won't affect much or be that noticeable/detracting for the story.

Enjoyment: Simply put, it's a really fun series. It's great watching the characters change throughout the story while dealing with their feelings and society. Everything is just done right, it's not over the top or lacking at all. I'm not one for romances usually, but this one could hook anybody I believe.


... first review, be gentle. When I write more I'll try to write better. read more

Emma - A Victorian Romance is a series about a member of the gentry, William Jones, who who falls in love with a maid, and the hardships they endure due to the differences between the classes. As William's family stops at nothing to dissuade him from the romance, it comes off a little bit like Romeo & Juliet with all the external tribulations preventing the couple from realizing their love. Of course both William and Emma both have a central character that provides them with encouragement when the going gets tough.

It's a classic romance that seems to stray from the cliches that abound in typical anime, mostly because of the style and the setting. The series takes place in 19th century Victorian London and seems to be quite accurate in it's portrayal. You also won't find any green or blue hair here, many of the colors of the people and the setting are subdued with shades of tan and brown.

Emma took a couple of episodes to draw me in, but I was hooked after that. I found the historical context of the setting to be pretty intriguing, and mostly I just wanted to find out what happens between William and Emma and if they can overcome their obstacles.

I did have a little bit of difficulty finding something to like about Emma, she was a little too reserved and bland to warrant the attention that William gave her. The most interesting character imho, Hakim, could probably stand to have a little more scene time to liven up the series a bit. Animation is good, but nothing to write home about. As there really isn't any action going on here, there isn't much need for dynamic pans and ultra-fluid movement. DVDs are in subs only, which is perfectly fine with me as I always watch subs anyway, but it could pose a problem for dub fans. Finally, as this affects my review score, [SPOILER ALERT] the ending leaves a bit to be desired, I suppose they were paving way for the second series, but I didn't find it too satisfying after investing the time to watch the series. [END SPOILER] read more

Title: Victorian Romance Emma

Manga/Novels: Victorian Romance Emma began as a manga by self-professed Anglophile Kaori Mori, and ran in Monthly Comic Beam from August 30th, 2002 to April 12th, 2006. The manga won an Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2005. CMX has licensed the manga Stateside, and the fourth of eight volumes was released June 20th of this year. The manga has ended its run in Japan, but Kaoru Mori continues to publish side stories (known as Emma Bangaihen), and is set at eleven side stories, the ninth of which was released recently. The manga is known to have something of a cult following and apparently has an Emma-inspired/themed café in Shibuya to it's name.

Saori Kumi has also done novel adaptations of the manga, and two volumes were released in 2005.

The anime was done by Studio Perrot (famous for Bleach, Midori no Hibi and Blood+) and directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi (who also directed The Twelve Kingdoms), and ran on TV from April 2nd, 2005 to June 18th, 2005. The Right Stuf International announced its Stateside licensing of Emma and it's second season (Victorian Romance Emma: The Second Act, which is not covered in this review) on June 30th, and plans to release it solely with subs and in a box set; a release date has not been announced at this time.

Story: The story kicks off with William Jones, a member of the gentry, visiting his old governess unexpectedly. Because he stands almost right in front of the door, he gets knocked off his feet (literally and figuratively) by the governess' maid, Emma, when she opens the door. And I'm betting that you can probably guess what happens based on the series' title, albeit with some added angles.

But one of the many things that makes this series stand out is the slow pacing of the romance. For some, it's going to be agonizingly slow (it takes William half the series to offer to take her out somewhere, and just over that for him to actually do so and kiss her while he's at it, which, at that point, is considered leaps and bounds), but for me, it's just right, especially with the sweetness and fluffiness of it all. I guarantee that you will be grinning like an idiot as you watch it develop.

With regards to faithfulness to its manga source: I've only got the first volume of the series to my name at this point in time, but from what I saw, the series was extremely faithful to the source, down to the angles of certain scenes.

Another thing that makes me absolutely adore this series is the way that the series invests you in every single one of the characters. It's a rare series that actually makes you feel - really, honestly care -- for characters that are clearly supposed to be "in the way". One of the best examples of this is Elanor, a girl of the gentry who is clearly meant to be "the other woman", and one of the the odd ones out in the triangle... square... thingy. But you honestly feel sorry for her, because she's just as much in love with William as he and Emma are with each other, and it's her first love, and it just absolutely sucks that it's unrequited on her end, and that she's clearly wasting her time with William. And the way that it does Emma's past would have seemed Sue-ish and annoying in any other show, but doesn't here.

But the thing that makes this series absolutely shine is the historical accuracy. Apparently, Kaoru Mori hired a historical consultant (Rico Murakami) from the third volume of the manga on to ensure accuracy; Murakami was also hired for the anime, and it shows. The subs I watched also included little historical notes at the end of each episode to explain unfamiliar/obscure things to the average viewer. Murakami and Mori released a companion guide (Emma Victorian Guide) that does the same thing.

And this historical accuracy holds, even in the resolution of the show. Shoujo diehards are probably going to absolutely hate the ending (don't worry; there's the second season if you dislike the ending that much), because it doesn't hold to shoujo standards. But you know what? After how historically accurate the series was, it wouldn't have seemed right for things to turn out any other way.

Art: This is one of the places where faithfulness to the manga holds. Pierrot's animation, which is beautiful in and of itself, is barely different at all from the art style that Kaoru Mori used in the manga. As such, it's just like watching the manga come to life in front of your eyes. Even details down to the angle of certain scenes from the manga hold, which makes seeing your favorite scenes from the manga that much more awesome.

Music: Emma has a unique OP and ED, in that none of them have any vocals to them; it's all just instrumentals. But the thing is that they're still very memorable, even without lyrics. I prefer the OP (which is so calming that I've been using to get to sleep lately) over the ED (which sounds fairly circus-y).

The music for the series itself consists of a lot of variations on the OP and ED, but has its share of original music, too. And every bit of it is beautiful, especially in the way that it uses strings and piano. And I'd be willing to bet that every bit of it could easily fit in the Victorian Period.

Seiyuu: There aren't any particular standout roles in this series, but on the other hand, there aren't any that suck terribly. Just a fairly standard set of voices. No problems on my end.

Dub: N/A

Length: Twelve episodes seems like a perfect length for this series. There's not any push to rush the series along, and it doesn't plod along, even though the story goes at a slower pace than most series. It's at just the right pace.

For those who didn't like the ending, or want more Emma, there is the second season that I've mentioned throughout this review (Victorian Romance Emma: The Second Act). However, know going into it that subs only go up to the ninth episode, because of its licensing.

Overall: This is far from your standard shoujo series. The historical accuracy, which adds in a defiance of typical shoujo standards, and the way it invests you in every one of its characters make it shine. The slower pacing of the episodes and the romance feels just right, and the faithfulness to the manga source in story and art style are a real treat. The music and seiyuu add the icing on the cake.

This is one of my top five recommended series. See it. NOW.

Story: 10/10
Art: 10/10
Music: 9/10
Seiyuu: 8/10
Length: 10/10

Overall: 47/50; 94% (A)


(l to r) Hakim, Emma, William, Elanor read more

I don't watch romance animes too much. Usually only when I get tired of animes with too much testosterone (shounen animes). But I can safely say of the few romance animes I've watched so far, Victorian Romance Emma is my favorite of them all.

Story: 9
The story is really simple it reminded me of Cinderella with just some alterations. Rich young man meets beautiful maid, falls in love with her and goes after her. Due to the difference in their statuses, various problems arise. One thing I liked about the story is that it didn't feel like your typical japanese anime. I felt that it had a more western feel to it which was refreshing. The situations in the story are not far-fetched and are believable that it can happen.

Art: 9
Since I'm fascinated with culture, this anime impressed me because its depictions of London during its time were accurate. For its kind of anime, the creator did a good job of depicting Victorian London.

Sound: 9
The music suits the anime well. Nothing too fancy about it. Just like the laid back atmosphere of the anime, the music is also laid back and supports the scenes well.

Character: 9
The characters are the foundation of a great story. The 2 main characters are what made this story great because its a romance story. The reason that I said earlier in my review that this had a western feel to it is that in this anime, the man courts and asks the woman out. So far, in most of the romance animes I've watched, the girl confesses to the guy she likes (which I think is very wrong). In my opinion, a guy should be the first to make the move to a girl he's interested in. The male main character did this and this is why I admire him.

Enjoyment: 10
I really enjoyed this anime. It's unlike any other animes I've seen so far. Even with its simple premise, it was still interesting for me. Another factor that made me enjoy this anime was the accurate and detailed depiction of Victorian London. It gave me an idea of what life was like during the Victorian era. One of my favorite scenes in the anime was when they went to the beach (I forgot if it happened in this season or in the sequel). It was a learning experience to see what nobles usually do during their era when they went to the beach.

Overall: 10
I gave it a 10 because this anime was worth watching and was memorable. I highly recommend it for a change of pace of what you normally watch.

I'm too lazy to write another review for its sequel so here's a short review. The sequel was also very good and a little better than its predecessor because new characters were introduced. Since its a sequel, you must watch it to conclude the story. I felt very satisfied after watching this anime.
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