Print Review: Emma volumes 1-4

Review Emma volumes 1-4Written by WarpshadowRating very good

Sometimes in stories that are set in other times forget that people don’t always act the same as people today do. Emma on the other hand is a romance that feels authentic for it’s setting.

Near the end of the 19th century lived a maid named Emma. She worked in London for Kelly Stowner, a retired governess. One day a student of Kelly’s William Jones paid a visit to his old teacher. When William and Emma meet they find that they enjoy each other’s company and begin to have a tentative relationship. However William is a member of the gentry while Emma is simply a commoner and the time and especially William’s parents are extremely class conscious. Will they have what it takes to stand up to the pressure?

Emma is first and foremost a period piece romance and by it’s nature something that is quite different from most romance manga both shonon and shojo. The cast acts in a fairly subdued manner which befit’s the setting giving this story some elements of a slice of life story. This is not to say that nothing ever happens but the whole tone of the manga is laid back. One thing that should be noted is that Emma is by no means your average anime maid, she actually does housework rather than make googly eyes at her master slash paramour. I found this to be a rewarding read many fans of anime and manga will enjoy.