Emma (エマ) is a Japanese historical romance manga by Kaoru Mori. It was published by Enterbrain in the magazine Comic Beam and collected in ten volumes. The series has been adapted as an anime television series, entitled Emma – A Victorian Romance (英國戀物語エマ). The manga is licensed in English in North America by Yen Press and the anime is licensed in English by Nozomi Entertainment. Set in Victorian London at the end of the 19th century, Emma is the story of a housemaid who falls in love with a member of the gentry. However, the young man's family disapproves of him associating with people of the lower classes.

Overview

Both the manga and anime versions of Emma are unique for being set in a setting seldom visited by either medium without some fantasy or speculative element. The author and illustrator of the manga, Kaoru Mori, is a self-professed Anglophile, and attempted to recreate 1895 London with meticulous detail. The manga has a cult following in Japan, even going as far as opening an Emma-inspired and themed maid café in Shinjuku. Its popularity has sparked an interest in English maid cosplay, even going as far as having the official Emma anime website selling Emma's "costume" for ¥45,000.

Characters

Mölders family

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kaoru Mori, Emma was serialized in Enterbrain's manga magazine Comic Beam from the January 2002 to the May 2006 issues. Enterbrain collected its 52 chapters in seven volumes, released from August 30, 2002, to May 25, 2006. From the third volume onward, Rico Murakami served as historical consultant to ensure the historical accuracy of the manga. Additional stories, known as Emma: Extra Stories (エマ 番外編), were published in Comic Beam from the September 2006 to the March 2008 issues. These chapters were collected in volumes 8–10, released from March 26, 2007, to April 25, 2008. In North America, the manga was first licensed by CMX Comics, which released ten volumes from September 20, 2006, to December 8, 2009. In October 2014, Yen Press announced that they had licensed the manga, and released in five omnibus edition volumes from May 19, 2015, to August 23, 2016. In September 2018, Yen Press announced the digital release of the manga.

Volumes

Other books

Novelizations

The novelisations are written by Saori Kumi, and based upon the original manga.

Victorian Guide

Animation guides

Anime

The manga was adapted into a TV anime series, entitled Emma – A Victorian Romance (英國戀物語エマ), directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi, scripted by Mamiko Ikeda, and produced by Studio Pierrot and TBS. The first season of the anime series premiered between April 2 and June 18, 2005, across Japan on several UHF TV stations, BS-i and the CS TV network Animax, who have also later aired the series across its respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, also translating and dubbing the series into English for its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and other regions. The Japanese title of the anime is written using a couple of kanji from before the adoption of simplified characters after the end of World War II, which reflects the usage of kanji in the time period the story is set in. In modern Japanese 英國戀物語 (Eikoku Koi Monogatari, lit. English Lovestory or Lovestory in England) would be written as 英国恋物語, the characters for country and love being replaced by their modern variants. The series' official English title is Emma - A Victorian Romance. The series' depiction of Victorian England was accurate, with locations such as London's King's Cross station, The Crystal Palace, Covent Garden, Mudie's Lending Library and such vehicles and applications of the era, such as Henson's Aerial Steam Carriage, recreated in meticulous detail. The anime series was continued in a second season, Emma – A Victorian Romance: Second Act (英國戀物語エマ 第二幕), which premiered in Japan on numerous television stations from April 16, 2007. Animated by Ajia-do Animation Works and directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi and written by Mamiko Ikeda, the second season was first announced by the anime's official website in August 2006 and the September 2006 issue of manga publisher Enterbrain's Comic Beam magazine, in which the original manga has been serialized. Both seasons have been licensed in English by Nozomi Entertainment, with a box set of the first season released on June 24, 2008, in English subtitles. On September 18, 2018, Nozomi Entertainment launched a Kickstarter campaign in an attempt to gather funds to produce an English dub for season 1 for $110,000, along with a $180,000 stretch goal for season 2, following their successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017 for Aria; the campaign ended on October 18 of that same year, as a success, with a total of $253,834 raised; 130% over the original goal.

Original soundtracks

Two pieces of theme music are used for both seasons; one opening theme and one ending theme each. The first season's opening theme is "Silhouette of a Breeze" composed and arranged by Kunihiko Ryo, and the ending theme is "Menuet for EMMA" composed by Kunihiko Ryo, arranged by Kenji Kaneko, and performed by the Tokyo Recorder Orchestra. The second season's opening theme is a "Celtic Version" of "Silhouette of a Breeze" and the ending theme is "Rondo of Lilybell". Both "Menuet for EMMA" and "Rondo of Lilybell," are done mostly with a recorder. A "String Quartet Version" of "Silhouette of a Breeze" was the BGM used when introducing the show's sponsors at the beginning and end of each episode. Album: Victorian romance Emma original soundtrack album – Silhouette of a Breeze Release date: June 15, 2005 Track list: Album: Victorian romance Emma second act original soundtrack album – Memories Release date: June 20, 2007 Track list:

Reception

The manga of Emma was awarded an Excellence Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival. The English translation was listed by Library Journal as one of the best graphic novels of 2007 and was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as among the 10 best graphic novels for teens for 2008.