Information
Type: Manga
Volumes: 7
Chapters: 52
Status: Finished
Published: Aug 30, 2002 to Apr 12, 2006
StatisticsScore: 8.211 (scored by 528 users)
Ranked: #1902
Popularity: #255
Members: 883 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
drama historical romance |
SynopsisSet in Victorian London at the end of the 19th century, the story is about a maid who falls in love with a member of the gentry. However, the latter's family disapproves of him associating with people of the lower classes. |
Related MangaAlternative version: Emma
Adaptation: Victorian Romance Emma, Victorian Romance Emma: Molders Hen, Victorian Romance Emma - Intermission
Sequel: Emma Bangaihen
|
|
Created by the same author both titles are about young women who are Victorian maids. Shirley has the same look and feel as Emma, but with less romance.
|
| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Art |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
|
Jun 27, 200852 of ? chapters read 7 of 8 people found this review helpful Emma is something you don't see every day. It's a shoujo manga, but it's based in early 19th century England, where social standing is considered irrefutable. So it’s a little problematic when maid Emma falls in love with gentry William, and vice versa. You can probably see the arising conflicts in this story already. What is so beautiful about this story is the way Kaoru Mori displays Victorian England so accurately. You can certainly tell she did her research, just by the way the charact...ers act, especially towards William and Emma’s relationship. At any rate, the main plot of the story is the divergences towards a maid and a gentry together, which in that time, was absolutely not acceptable.
At times the romantic emotions are portrayed across to the reader as so strong and violent, and passionate. And yet other times it’s really just a sweet beating love between the protagonists, without becoming saccharine. Their struggle to be together makes their love all the more stronger as the series progresses, even though doubt and sorrows is felt.
The art is gorgeous. Just breathtaking. It is done with a crosshatch pen and ink style. The detail put into the large European buildings and landscapes are wonderful. I really love the expressions she put on the characters, and the flow of the panel placements, which is often quite slow as the characters’ countenance would vary. It really brings more to the story.
Character development is splendid. Emma, as the protagonist of the story most of the time, was a good female lead, she was very likeable. She comes off as shy and introverted, and obedient as well, but as the story progresses she becomes a bit more strong-willed, and wants to face her conflicts instead of running away in fear as to hurting the one she loves. William is pretty likeable too, and he’s obviously very spirited in his love towards Emma in the beginning, and later does he realize the sacrifices he must make to make the love survive. However, I also liked Eleanor’s unrequited love to William, despite her being his fiancée for a part of the story. She was always giving more and more love to him, and got none in return, for he was only ever for Emma. The other, smaller characters had their quirks as well, such as Eleanor’s sister, Monica, who obviously adored her little sister to an extent where it could be considered a sister complex, and hated anyone who made her unhappy (namely William, but mostly for taking her away from him). There was also Hakim, William’s womanizing friend from India, who acts as a foil for William. In other words, he contrasts towards William’s character, causing the reader to plainly see William’s certain faces of his personality. Hakim was an interesting character, and added some sort of odd comedy to the story, with his elephants and harem of young Indian woman following him everywhere (who, if I recall don’t say anything at all throughout the entire story). Hakim also had feelings for Emma, but proceeded to encourage Emma and William when he found out their feelings for one another.
Of course, I enjoyed this series to a very high extent (though I suppose I wouldn’t buy them specifically, as I read them from the library and that’s enough for me). This is certainly recommended for the people who want a more realistic drama and romance, with believable characters and their prejudices. Emma, really, is one of the best romance manga I’ve ever come across, and I hope you’ll try reading it.
read more
|
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Art |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
|
May 6, 20081 of ? chapters read 12 of 15 people found this review helpful Emma is one of the best romance/drama manga series available. Its a great title that is full of history and excellent drama/romance.
Emma's story is very well-handled. This being because the author, Kaoru Mori, took a lot of extensive time to ensure that the story reflected Victorian England accurately. The romance in the story is very well done, and the drama the same. Its the historical aspect to Emma being a maid and William a higher class citizen that makes the romance and dr...ama all the better. Its their struggle to become more involved together in love that makes this series shine. The art in Emma also reflects the times of Victorian England accurately and the art in itself is very pleasing and detailed. The characters are the most simply drawn but they still look good as their emotions are drawn very realistically. The buildings and landscapes are fantastic being full of fine detail with there crosshatched pen and ink style (a detailed style where pen ink is applied to paper). One thing I personally liked about the art is the way the panels are done. Each panel spends a little more time on expressions than most manga and it really makes the drama/romance better in that it gives really good character/reader involvement. The cast is well-done with each character having their own distinct personalities and lives which in turn impact their involvement with other characters in the series and that aspect is handled very well leading to good drama. Emma is a great female lead too. Many fans will enjoy this series. It is a bit slow at times as far as the story is concerned, but if you really like history, drama, or romance then you should give this one a try soon.
Emma is a very solid romance/drama title that I recommended to most older fans and those who enjoy history. The level of hard work that the author put into this title is highly evident when reading it and it leads to one good read. Recommended. read more
|
Recent Forum DiscussionNo discussion topics have been made yet, how about starting one?
Related Clubsseinen & josei, Underrated Anime and Manga, Victorian Romance Emma Fan Club
|
4 hours ago |
11 hours ago |
14 hours ago |
19 hours ago |
Yesterday, 7:57 AM | |
11-20-08, 4:54 PM |
11-20-08, 3:12 PM |
11-20-08, 4:20 AM |
11-20-08, 2:38 AM |
11-19-08, 8:18 AM |
|
External LinksOfficial Site, Wikipedia
|
|
