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14th out of 67 books
—
64 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Emma, Volume 1 (Emma / エマ #1)
by
Kaoru Mori
An upstairs gentleman and a downstairs servant share a secret love. The saga begins. In Victorian England, a young girl named Emma is rescued from a life of destitution and raised to become a proper British maid. When she meets William, the eldest son of a wealthy family, their love seems destined. But in this world, even matters of the heart are ruled by class distinction...more
Paperback, 183 pages
Published
September 20th 2006
by CMX
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[[This is a review of all seven volumes:]]
I am officially on-board for any of Kaoru Mori's future projects.
The author's zeal for the era of her focus is blindingly evident and her rendering of its particulars exhibit such attention and joy that it's hard not to get swept up by the objects of her affections. Let's be clear. In real life, I have no interest in late-19th-century Britain's class disparity or in maids. Yet due to Mori's work here, I was absolutely engaged for ...more
I am officially on-board for any of Kaoru Mori's future projects.
The author's zeal for the era of her focus is blindingly evident and her rendering of its particulars exhibit such attention and joy that it's hard not to get swept up by the objects of her affections. Let's be clear. In real life, I have no interest in late-19th-century Britain's class disparity or in maids. Yet due to Mori's work here, I was absolutely engaged for ...more
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I can't believe that while I live in one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world that I have not given manga a chance before today. It's a shame really I've spent the last 21 years living under a rock it seems. I mean how can I have lived in a predominantly asian community almost my whole life and not have piced one up before today? Alas, life is filled with such regrets.
Anyway, about the book itself. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. I found it to be a cute little sto...more
Anyway, about the book itself. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. I found it to be a cute little sto...more
Cenoura do Lado
marked it as to-read
[manga:]
In this, volume one, we are basically only introduced to Emma and William and a few other characters, and the scene is set for their growing relationship and we can imagine the trouble they'll have trying to overcome the prejudices of society as the series continues.
Kaoru Mori has a bit of a Victorian England obsession; she has stacks of pictures and information and references on the period, and it shows in her work. Unfortunately, most of it is easily lost...more
In this, volume one, we are basically only introduced to Emma and William and a few other characters, and the scene is set for their growing relationship and we can imagine the trouble they'll have trying to overcome the prejudices of society as the series continues.
Kaoru Mori has a bit of a Victorian England obsession; she has stacks of pictures and information and references on the period, and it shows in her work. Unfortunately, most of it is easily lost...more
I adored this anime and I love the manga just as much. The historical detail is so wonderful, so meticulous, that you really feel transported to Victorian London.
At first glance the romance between Emma, a maid and William, a young gentleman is nothing original--that is until you start reading. The characters are wonderfully engaging and Kaoru Mori advances the plot in an unhurried but gripping fashion. If you love historical manga, a good romance, and wonderful characters, Emma is ...more
At first glance the romance between Emma, a maid and William, a young gentleman is nothing original--that is until you start reading. The characters are wonderfully engaging and Kaoru Mori advances the plot in an unhurried but gripping fashion. If you love historical manga, a good romance, and wonderful characters, Emma is ...more
This month the Pick-a-Shelf group is reading graphic novels. So I picked up the first two in this series from the graphic novel section at the library. I've read a few graphic novels - mostly just so I could see what happened to favorite characters from Buffy or Firefly. I've also read a few of the Babymouse books when deciding whether or not to purchase them for my school library (which I did and my students LOVE, by the way), and I've read a few random graphic novels for challenges here on Goo...more
Apart from the impressive AKIRA, I've not come across many manga that have really appealed to me. But, man - I liked this a lot! While sharing a similar setting to the Jane Austen novel of the same name, it's otherwise an entirely new story, centered around the eponymous Emma, a maid, and a gentleman of the upper class named William. While the social class issues at hand (something devastatingly important to the period in question) give the ongoing romantic subplot added levels of hardship an...more
Lady Knight
rated it
Shelves:
graphic-novel,
historical-fiction,
teen,
victorian-edwardian,
19th-c,
public-library,
england-uk
My first thought upon finishing this book was that the story really wasn't suited to the format. I have nothing against manga, but it tends to suit only fantasy/sci-fi stories. Occaissionally an exceptional author can pull off a mystery, but usually all other genres fail. This was not an exception.
While the concept and the story is good, the comic book format doesn't lend itself well to the historical romance genre. The emotions come across as "cheesy" (not that the genre ...more
While the concept and the story is good, the comic book format doesn't lend itself well to the historical romance genre. The emotions come across as "cheesy" (not that the genre ...more
This graphic novel brings the reader into Victorian London and tells the story of Emma, a young girl who was not born into the upper class and was abandoned at an early age. A kind-hearted woman who was the former governess to an aristocratic family took Emma in and made her a proper English maid. We follow Emma as suitor after suitor tries to woo her, all to no avail. However, when William Jones comes along, the boy who Emma's boss used to governess, Emma seems to be intrigued. It's very cl...more
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Mori has used pictures well to form an old fashioned story of star crossed lovers forming their attachment, but not being able to be together because of their respective roles in society. While the main story is about the love between Emma and William, Mori’s characters are fleshed out, with the shy and gentle nature of Emma, the awkward and unsure nature of William, and even the characters of Mrs. Stownar and the comical form of Hakim; each are given time within Mori’s novel. The pictures are...more
Wow... I've had this series recommended by a few different people, and I'm so glad I picked up the first volume. This is a beautiful manga set in Victorian England... not my favorite setting. However, the mangaka's love of all things English really shows and its hard not to share it! Emma is a "proper British maid" working for a retired governess, Kelly Stownar. When Kelly's former ward, William Jones, stops in to see her, he falls for Emma, but he's certainly not the only person t...more
*3Q*3P*S
Emma
by Kaoru Mori
La Jolla, CA: Wildstorm Productions (2002)
183 pages
Grades 9-12
Manga for Older Teens List
Manga, romance, historical fiction
This Victorian romance manga has a quiet and charm that result in a wonderful pacing for this story of courtship and romance. As the first in a series, this volume introduces all the typical characters of this type of romance: the quiet and shy maid Emma, her prim employer Kelly Stowner, the wealthy love i...more
Emma
by Kaoru Mori
La Jolla, CA: Wildstorm Productions (2002)
183 pages
Grades 9-12
Manga for Older Teens List
Manga, romance, historical fiction
This Victorian romance manga has a quiet and charm that result in a wonderful pacing for this story of courtship and romance. As the first in a series, this volume introduces all the typical characters of this type of romance: the quiet and shy maid Emma, her prim employer Kelly Stowner, the wealthy love i...more
Hum.
I had high hopes about this series. The pros are that the setting is one of my favourites (Victorian London instead of high school) and the art is absolutely gorgeous. The story had the potential to be really cute. And the characters are interesting, but...
The cons are that it's just not realistic enough to do away with my sensibilities. Emma is a maid. A very meek, demure maid, who lives with an elderly and ill ex-governess, with no fortune or prospects or support t...more
I had high hopes about this series. The pros are that the setting is one of my favourites (Victorian London instead of high school) and the art is absolutely gorgeous. The story had the potential to be really cute. And the characters are interesting, but...
The cons are that it's just not realistic enough to do away with my sensibilities. Emma is a maid. A very meek, demure maid, who lives with an elderly and ill ex-governess, with no fortune or prospects or support t...more
This was a great graphic novel. I first heard of it when I watched the Anime film. This is a story about Emma, a young woman with a sad past who ends up as a teenager working for a retired governess, Kelly Stownar. One of the pupils that she has taught, William Jones, whose family is part of the gentry comes to visit and from that moment sparks fly between them. It is a sweet, and rather slow romance, but having seen the film I loved it. The book gives a little more back story about Emma, how Mr...more
I was extremely impressed with the detail in Mori’s drawings of Victorian England; it certainly wasn’t something I was expecting to find in Japanese Manga.
Yet, nothing happens in the first volume of this series and the whole plot is very cliché -- female servant resists the advances of a man higher up in the social rungs than her while he falls further and further in love with her only to be married off to someone of the same class. The relationships between Emma, her employer, and ...more
Yet, nothing happens in the first volume of this series and the whole plot is very cliché -- female servant resists the advances of a man higher up in the social rungs than her while he falls further and further in love with her only to be married off to someone of the same class. The relationships between Emma, her employer, and ...more
Heidi
rated it
I can handle graphic novels like this. So far, it's clean, fun, gentle, and has me wanting to read more. (But with my love for period dramas, I suppose this was to be expected.) It did take me at least a chapter to get used to the order for reading the book. But I'm amazed at how I caught on. Still moments when I read the wrong thing first and have to re-read, but it's all right.
I do miss the potential of depth for this story. Plenty to interpret from the pictures, but still not enoug...more
I do miss the potential of depth for this story. Plenty to interpret from the pictures, but still not enoug...more
Set in Victorian England this books traces the life of a young kind-hearted ,intelligent maid Emma . William, a young aristocratic lad falls in love with the beautiful Emma and she too starts developing feelings towards him. But they are on either ends of the social ladder which makes it a twisty situation.
This is book was my first attempt at graphic novels thanks to Alyce from At Home With Books for the recommendation. I must say that not only are the illustrations beautiful but als...more
This is book was my first attempt at graphic novels thanks to Alyce from At Home With Books for the recommendation. I must say that not only are the illustrations beautiful but als...more
I really wanted to like this. I read a review of it and it seemed so terrific. The art was almost as good as I anticipated, especially the elephants and the dancing girls.
But I just couldn't cope with the characters, and how ridiculously unrealistic they were. I guess I've read too much 'real' Victorian fiction. Emma's relationship with her employer was so implausible. Sometimes I can accept that I'm in a fictional world, where everybody wears period costume and talks in today's voice ...more
But I just couldn't cope with the characters, and how ridiculously unrealistic they were. I guess I've read too much 'real' Victorian fiction. Emma's relationship with her employer was so implausible. Sometimes I can accept that I'm in a fictional world, where everybody wears period costume and talks in today's voice ...more
First of all, if you haven't read a manga before, it takes some getting used to. I'll admit that it took me a little time to figure out that I had to read from the back of the book, and from right to left. It was a fun twist though, and I was quickly sucked into the story.
Since this is my first manga, I have little to compare it to other than graphic novels. This might not be a good comparison, so I took it on face value and found it to be a lot of fun to read. As a fan of Victor...more
Since this is my first manga, I have little to compare it to other than graphic novels. This might not be a good comparison, so I took it on face value and found it to be a lot of fun to read. As a fan of Victor...more
I enjoyed the adorable drawings, the teasing plot-line and the engaging characters. I believe I will read the rest in the series. This being my first real "manga", it was difficult to read right to left and to know which frame to look at first, also to figure out when a character is thinking something vs. saying something, but I was pleasantly surprised that I actually liked reading this! It's Remains of the Day crossed with Avatar, the Last Airbender. British maid in Victorian Eng...more
The story line is based on love at first sight for William and Emma. The love life between a maid and an noble is viewed as unacceptable in the 19th century, but William and Emma are in love and are not worried about the consquences of their relationship currently. But Emma who is a maid understands that due to her status she and william can never be togther which is why she doesnt try to confess her developing feelings for William and William has no idea that Emma likes him. Emma try to keep d...more
A manga series about a maid in Victorian England? Sign me up!
Emma is a maid for an old woman who was once governess to a wealthy family. When the young man for this family pays her a visit and meets Emma, he finds himself falling in love with her.
This was my first experience with reading a manga printed in the traditional Japanese way (backwards, for Americans). I knew I would have to find a story I was really interested in as my first time trying to read a book like this...more
Emma is a maid for an old woman who was once governess to a wealthy family. When the young man for this family pays her a visit and meets Emma, he finds himself falling in love with her.
This was my first experience with reading a manga printed in the traditional Japanese way (backwards, for Americans). I knew I would have to find a story I was really interested in as my first time trying to read a book like this...more
http://betsyda.com/randomdewey/2011/10/31/emma-vol-1/.
Emma is a young woman who works as a maid for a retired governess. William is the oldest son of a well-to-do merchant and was once the governess’ charge. This all takes place in 19th century London, so Emma and William’s love has class obstacles to overcome.
I don’t usually go for love stories, but this one worked for me. It’s slow paced, in a good way, and the characters are interesting. The drawings are full of historical d...more
Emma is a young woman who works as a maid for a retired governess. William is the oldest son of a well-to-do merchant and was once the governess’ charge. This all takes place in 19th century London, so Emma and William’s love has class obstacles to overcome.
I don’t usually go for love stories, but this one worked for me. It’s slow paced, in a good way, and the characters are interesting. The drawings are full of historical d...more
I went into this book blindly. I didn't know a thing about the author or the series and instead mistakingly thought it had something to do with Jane Austin's Emma (yes, even though it has a maid on the cover). Overall, the plot is pretty cliche-"Can love conquer Victorian England's classist society?"--but you can tell Kaoru Mori is really into the period dress and setting and there's some beautiful illustrations throughout. Even so, the story was "okay." The highlight for me ...more
The manga version of Upstairs, Downstairs. This manga tells the story of a young maid, Emma, living with a widow in Victorian England. A young aristocrat becomes enamored with her, and tries to figure out how they can be together.
This is my first venture into manga (beyond Pokemon). The creator (a mangaka) is Kaoru Mori, who loves all things about England. She carefully researched London in the 19th century, and her drawings reflect a high-level to detail, as does the story. Mori sta...more
This is my first venture into manga (beyond Pokemon). The creator (a mangaka) is Kaoru Mori, who loves all things about England. She carefully researched London in the 19th century, and her drawings reflect a high-level to detail, as does the story. Mori sta...more
I love love love this manga. Ironically the Victorian period isn't one of my favorite periods of British history. But this really conveys the lifestyle with all details. I'm not terribly fond of Hakim and his traveling entourage truthfully. Very recommended if you like upstairs/downstairs romances, if you like Victorian England or if you just like good stories with interesting range of characters.
Rereading the earlier volumes in this manga is helping me appreciate the side stories in...more
Rereading the earlier volumes in this manga is helping me appreciate the side stories in...more
It took a little bit to get into Emma - in a nutshell a story about class status in Victorian England - but once I did, I came to really like its simple and calm story-telling approach. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research well enough on this story (can't ever be too careful), and found out a few volumes in that there is objectionable content. Too bad, really, as I would have liked to have seen Emma get her happy ending (if she does get one) instead of having to drop the story. Oh well. Ke...more
Kaoru Mori, Emma, vol. 1 (CMX, 2002)
Mori's first manga series, set in England circa 1885, is your typical upstairs/downstairs romance, with all the manga trappings thrown in—visitors from afar, outrageous and complex plot twists (this first volume is pretty straightforward, actually, but Mori's afterword promises a full complement of “where the hell did THAT come from??” in volume 2), general silliness, etc. Where she seems to rise above the masses of England-central manga is in her re...more
Mori's first manga series, set in England circa 1885, is your typical upstairs/downstairs romance, with all the manga trappings thrown in—visitors from afar, outrageous and complex plot twists (this first volume is pretty straightforward, actually, but Mori's afterword promises a full complement of “where the hell did THAT come from??” in volume 2), general silliness, etc. Where she seems to rise above the masses of England-central manga is in her re...more
3Q, 3P, J, S, G
Dev’ Assets: 3, 14, 16, 39
Manga novel. This is a manga novel, giving it a niche audience, and its setting in 19th century London holds its own appeal. This makes Emma a book that can appeal to teens who devour manga, but it also can find an audience with teens who enjoy historical fiction or are looking for a female point of view. Because it is manga, I had a hard time understanding it (hence the 3’s in the rating--middle of the road); perhaps partaking in the subseque...more
Dev’ Assets: 3, 14, 16, 39
Manga novel. This is a manga novel, giving it a niche audience, and its setting in 19th century London holds its own appeal. This makes Emma a book that can appeal to teens who devour manga, but it also can find an audience with teens who enjoy historical fiction or are looking for a female point of view. Because it is manga, I had a hard time understanding it (hence the 3’s in the rating--middle of the road); perhaps partaking in the subseque...more
Susan
rated it
Recommends it for:
Jane Austen fans, Luxe fans
Shelves:
young-adult,
manga-graphic-novels
This series has style and substance. The period setting and understated tone may not be for everyone's tastes, but Mori really brings a lot of quality to the table with this Victorian love story. A star-crossed romance forms between a restless and somewhat bumbling young aristocrat and a shy maid. Though the two realize their feelings almost immediately suspense and drama ensues as class issues, personal tragedy and family interference create numerous obstacles. Mori crafts character readers ca...more
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Kaoru Mori (森 薫) is a mangaka best known for her series "Emma". Many of her stories are set in Britain and center on characters who are maids.
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