History Manga / EmmaAVictorianRomance

* CoitusEnsues: One of the manga's side stories includes a chapter featuring Wilhelm and Dorothea Mölders talking in bed before having sex.

* {{Meido}}: Emma and about half the cast are maids, though they're a more grounded take on the trope than in most manga and anime since Mori did [[ShownTheirWork a great deal of research]] on how real Victorian-era maids worked and dressed.

%%* {{Meido}}: Emma and about half the cast.

* ShoutOut: The characters attend operas and plays pretty regularly, with one chapter focusing on William and Eleanor going to a performance of ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville''. A later chapter shows Vivi reading ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'', of which she's become a big fan.

* ShowWithinAShow: The characters attend operas and plays pretty regularly, with one chapter focusing on William and Eleanor going to a performance of ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville''. A later chapter shows Vivi reading ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'', of which she's become a big fan.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Dorothea and Wilhelm are two of the nicest aristocrats you'd ever meet, and they have a very active and loving sex life. This is in contrast to Viscount Campbell, who is decidedly classist and cheats on his wife.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The vast difference between the Japanese and English languages has led to some confusion as to how some of the character's first or last names (or even both) should be spelled.
** Is Kelly's married name "Stowner" or "Stownar"?
** Is Wilhelm's family name "Mölders" or some other spelling?

** Does Emma go to Haworth or Harworth?[[note]]Not only do villages of both names exist in England, they're within sixty miles of each other. Haworth is the more likely candidate: it's in West Yorkshire, has a railway station, and is known for having once been home to the Brontë sisters (thus an Anglophile like Mori is likely to know of it). Harworth is a mining town farther south, on the northern edge of Nottinghamshire.[[/note]]

* AdaptationExpansion: The anime does this with the ending because the original run of the manga wrapped without a wedding or DistantFinale, so Kobayashi and Ikeda added one. The last half of the manga's tenth volume, produced later, cover William and Emma's wedding.
* AnachronismStew: Downplayed; while the story is very historically accurate for the most part thanks to [[ShownTheirWork extensive research]], there are occasional instances of this:
** One in particular occurs in both the manga and anime – early on, William has a functional toy biplane of a type that wouldn't exist in real life until 20 years later, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
** The series finale shows ''another'' [[http://h.mfcdn.net/store/manga/543/10-070.0/compressed/t028.jpg plane]][[labelnote:†]] (a pusher-prop, bi-planed-tail, square high wing monoplane in a car-like carriage — this seems to be a mix between the models built by the Wright Brothers in 1903 – biplane-tail push-proper; and by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pearse Pearse]] in 1904 – monoplane, square high wings, similar carriage)[[/labelnote]] that would be perfectly at ease in the 1900's.
* AnimationAnatomyAging: Compare Dorothea and Aurelia in flashbacks to their older versions. Also Kelly Stowner to some extent.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Argh, ''[[SpoiledBrat Vivi]]''.
* ApronMatron: Mrs. Kelly Stowner.
* AristocratsAreEvil: Mostly averted. About half the characters are aristocrats, titled or not, and many are very nice. However, played ''devastatingly'' straight by Viscount Campbell.
* ArtEvolution: The manga starts off with its characters having soft, round features, making it quite unique compared to other manga. As it goes on, the style evolves into a more sharp, defined style, eventually with a typical "manga" look.
* AtTheOperaTonight: William and Eleanor watch ''The Barber Of Seville'' (presumably Rossini's version) together. Grace and Viscount Campbell are also fans. A later side-story goes behind-the-scenes with the cast.
* AuthorAppeal: Kaoru Mori was ''not'' shy about admitting that half the things that she put in the manga were because she liked them. This includes not only big things like her being a huge Anglophile and loving maids (and blondes), but things that have little to do with the story like Hakim's "quadruplet" entourage.
* BigFancyHouse: This series shows just how much work goes into keeping one of these running. We are shown some of the inner workings of the Jones estate outside London and a ''lot'' of the nuts and bolts of the Mölders' estate near Haworth.
* BigOlEyebrows: Every male member of the Jones family except Colin. In fact, ''most'' men in the series have these.
* BilingualBonus: All non-dialogue writing in the series is, naturally, in English. This despite Mori and the animation staff being Japanese.
** While Mori herself made some spelling flubs – like the "Cristal Palace Gaid" in Volume 2 – the English shown in the anime on signs and in letters is almost flawless. Those letters provide detail beyond the dialogue and give a nice flavour to the writing style of the time.
--->'''Kelly:''' [-(to Emma)-] ''"When I taught you to write, I never expected you to use your skill like this."'' [-(refusing marriage proposals)-]
* BlindWithoutEm: Emma ''needs'' her glasses.
** In fact, she's explicitly stated to need ''stronger'' glasses than what she has, but refuses to allow William to buy her new ones because [[spoiler:Kelly gave her her original pair; it's the first gift anyone ever gave her]].
* CheerfulChild: Erich Mölders
* CoitusEnsues: What happens between Wilhelm and Dorothea Mölders in a side-story.
* CoolOldLady: Mrs. Kelly Stowner, again.
* CrashIntoHello: Dorothea almost ran Wilhelm down with her horse when she first saw him. Emma and William count too.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Tasha. Her coworkers consider her only a little better than useless. She gets teased a lot, but they can't bring themselves to fire her or really lay into her.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Especially for Western readers. Curiously enough, the Victorian sense of romance is similar to Japanese ones.

** The 3-chapter finale covering [[spoiler:William and Emma's wedding]] at the end of volume 10 evidently takes place several years after the end of the main part of the series, since the narration notes that Queen Victoria has passed away, which marks the end of the Victorian era and indicates that the finale takes place early in TheEdwardianEra. The younger characters such as Colin and Vivi have also visibly aged.
** The anime's finale is even more distant, with [[spoiler:William and Emma already having several children]].
* TheDoorSlamsYou: Emma and William meet when Emma opens a door just as William raises his hand to knock. Mrs. Stowner is more than a little amused at the mark it leaves.
* TheEdwardianEra: When the manga's DistantFinale takes place, sometime around 1904-1905, as the narration notes that the Victorian Era has ended with Queen Victoria's death.
* EternalSexualFreedom:
** In the manga, Dorothea has a very frank attitude toward sex, though this may be partly to emphasize her "foreignness". In real life, differing attitudes between the British Isles and Continental Europe were openly discussed at the time. ''Standing naked in front of a window'' is probably going over the line, though. Then there's the scene in the manga where Maria bathes with Adele and waxes about how she could never have just one man (Adele is not amused and tells her not to let her love life interfere with her work).
** It's also shown that Dorothea's attitudes have rubbed off on her husband as well.
* FaintInShock: Emma faints at a ball, partly because her [[OfCorsetHurts corset is laced too tightly]] and partly due to seeing William with Eleanor.
* {{Fanservice}}: Kind of an odd contrasting case, there's ''almost'' none, with the exception of Dorothea, who gets several rather gratuitous naked scenes.
* FunnyForeigner: Prince Hakim early in the series. The Mölders (especially Dorothea) later.
* TheGayNineties: When this series takes place. While the exact year is never specified, it cannot start earlier than 1895 due to the Tower Bridge's existence. By the time of [[spoiler:William and Emma's wedding]], it's some time after 1901 because Queen Victoria has died and motorcars are rapidly replacing horse-drawn carriages in the City.
* GenkiGirl: Vivian, to a fault.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Dorothea and Wilhelm are two of the nicest aristocrats you'd ever meet. They have a very active and loving sex life.
* GorgeousPeriodDress: You should expect no less from a Kaoru Mori series. Absurd attention to clothing detail is kind of her thing.
* GossipyHens: Eleanor's interchangeable friends, at least one of whom has a crush on Grace.
** Pretty much EVERY high-Society woman, especially if they don't have a major role (or a name).
* GreatDetective: ''Very'' noteworthy '''{{aversion}}''' (this being a ''Victorian London'' tale, after all) in the manga when [[spoiler:Emma]] gets abducted.
* HappilyMarried: %%stopped here
** Wilhelm and Dorothea Mölders
** Later, [[spoiler:William and Emma]].

* ShowWithinAShow: The characters attend operas and plays pretty regularly, with two chapters individually showing one or more characters watching ''Film/ThePrisonerOfZenda'' or ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville''.

* HappilyMarried:
** Wilhelm and Dorothea Mölders

* HighClassGlass: The Viscount Campbell and Wilhelm.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: Behind all their efforts to keep up appearances befitting their rank of Viscount, the Campbell family is in serious financial distress. That is the ''only'' reason Viscount Campbell tolerates [[spoiler:the NobilityMarriesMoney engagement between William Jones and his daughter Eleanor]].
* HistoricalDetectiveFiction: When [[spoiler:Emma]] gets abducted, [[spoiler:William]]'s search gets greatly hampered (notably [[AvertedTrope averting]] the common GreatDetective trope commonly associated in fiction with Victorian London) by what historically were the means at his disposal in 1890's England [[spoiler:and America]].
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:Eleanor and Hans to William and Emma respectively.]]
* IWasQuiteALooker: Two of the older ladies in the series.
** Kelly Stownar, first and foremost. One of the first side stories involves her (aged 18/19) and her husband Doug trying to save enough money to visit the Great Exhibition at Hyde Park in 1851.
** Johanna, the Mölders' head cook, claims to be this, but – aside from a small sketch by Mori in one of her ''omake'' – we only have her word for it, [[spoiler:and that her daughter is drop-dead gorgeous.]]
* IsThatCuteKidYours: Grace gets this now and then about Vivian and Colin. She does not take it well.
* [[KnightTemplarBigBrother Knight Templar Big Sister]]: Monica to Eleanor, though not quite as extreme as most examples.
* LargeHam: Monica.
* LoveAtFirstSight: William towards Emma (and vice versa as we quickly find out).
* {{Meido}}: Emma and about half the cast.

* OldRetainer: Stephens to the Joneses. Martha to Aurelia.
* OnlyOneName: Emma has no family name that she can remember. [[spoiler:This becomes a problem when she must sign her name on the Church registry at her and William's wedding. After a moment of awkward panic, William suggests Emma use "Stownar", Kelly's last name.]]
* ParentalAbandonment: As to be expected in a Victorian period piece.
** Emma is an orphan at least twice over. Her birth-mother died when Emma was very young. Then she was taken (literally) from her cruel relatives. Eventually Kelly all but adopted her, but then ''she'' died.
** The Jones kids have a MissingMom. She's not dead; Richard just shipped her off to the Yorkshire countryside to save face after she unintentionally humiliated him in front of the elite thanks to what appears to be a case of undiagnosed postpartum depression. And she couldn't stand the stress of Society life anyway.
* PlayingPictionary: Most people who see Colin's drawings can't quite tell what they're supposed to be, mistaking a rabbit for a horse, which really upsets him. William is the best at identifying these pictures since every other Jones sibling once drew like that.

* PornStache: Dorothea agrees to marry Wilhelm on the condition that he grows one – his face looks "scary" without. In her defense, it does make him appear more paternal.
* PromotionToParent: Grace has to fill in for her absent mother and busy father with Vivian and Colin. She might be a bit ''too'' good at it. William also catches a little of this.
* SceneryPorn: A little bit in the manga, and a '''''lot''''' in the anime. What do you expect from the guy who directed ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms''?
* {{Seinen}}: You'd think this series would be {{Shojo|Genre}} or {{Josei}} given its focus on romance but, according to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, [[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Emma_%28manga%29 it isn't.]]
* SelfMadeMan: Mr. Richard Jones. Grew up outside the traditional aristocracy and has no title. He made his fortune by building upon the trading business started by his father. Although he rigidly conducts himself by the standards of a proper British Gentleman, the Jones family is still seen as NouveauRiche by some of the titled peerage. It was worse before he married Aurelia (who ''does'' come from a noble family but was considered something of Society's pariah).
* SheCleansUpNicely: Emma. Not that she's unattractive in her everyday maid outfit, but when she gets dolled up to accompany Mrs. Trollope to the party, she's ''stunning''.
* ShownTheirWork: You really shouldn't expect any less with Kaoru Mori (the original manga artist) ''or'' Tsuneo Kobayashi (the director of the anime adaptation). Mori is an admitted Anglophile who did a lot of research on the country and time period where the story is set; at some point after the release of Volume 3, Mori brought on a historical consultant, Rico Murakami, to help her with the smaller details. Murakami would also go on to consult for the anime.
* ShowWithinAShow: The characters attend operas and plays pretty regularly. One manga chapter features ''Film/ThePrisonerOfZenda'' and another, ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville''.
* ShrinkingViolet: %%stopped here
** Emma. Justified on account of her social station. A girl from beginnings as… [[{{Understatement}} humble]] as hers could never have hoped for a respectable position as a Lady's Maid, which was fairly high-class for a poor girl in that day. Emma is keenly aware of social class and recognizes her absurd luck at having been taken in and educated by Kelly Stowner. She is thus reluctant to do anything forward enough to jeopardize her career (or hurt William's standing), even if it means turning down the man she loves.
*** During her time at the Mölders estate, after her return from London [[spoiler:where she encounters William again]], she is much more bright and talkative. All the other staff [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness wonder just what the hell happened]].
** Also little Ilse Mölders, who is quite shy, and the rare occasions she ''does'' speak aren't in English.

* ShownTheirWork: You really shouldn't expect any less with Kaoru Mori ''or'' Tsuneo Kobayashi.
** That's not to say there ''aren't'' mistakes. One in particular occurs in both media – early on, William has a functional toy biplane of a type that wouldn't exist in real life until 20 years later, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
** Another notable mistake is Prince Hakim's bindi (the red dot between the eyes), which is traditionally only worn by Hindu women.
*** ''However'', there is a marking known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilaka tilaka]] often worn by Indian men (of basically every religion except Islam) for special occasions. Certain variants look almost identical to a bindi.
** At some point after the release of Volume 3, Mori brought on a historical consultant, Rico Murakami, to help her with the little details. Murakami would go on to consult for the anime.
*** As an amusing example of how it helped, the series finale shows ''another'' [[http://h.mfcdn.net/store/manga/543/10-070.0/compressed/t028.jpg plane]][[labelnote:†]] (a pusher-prop, bi-planed-tail, square high wing monoplane in a car-like carriage — this seems to be a mix between the models built by the Wright Brothers in 1903 – biplane-tail push-proper; and by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pearse Pearse]] in 1904 – monoplane, square high wings, similar carriage)[[/labelnote]] that would be perfectly at ease in the 1900's.

[[TheGayNineties 19th century]] [[VictorianLondon London]] was a time of technological innovation; photography, trains, automobiles, and many other inventions were being thought up or refined. Societal change, however, hadn't progressed much. What class you were born in still defined a lot about who you were and what you could do. This was as true for the poorer classes as it was for the richer elite, and any relationships across class boundries was met with scorn and disapproval.

Such is the setting that Emma lives in. She works as a maid for retired governess Kelly Stownar, an outwardly stern looking woman who possess a kind heart. Emma herself is proof of this, for she has knowledge that only the higher classes are taught and a pair of glasses that only the rich would've been able to afford. There was something that Kelly couldn't give Emma though: her beauty.

Emma's good looks is part of what catches the eye of William Jones, a former student of Kelly's who stops by for a visit one day after being pestered to. Soon after meeting her, William becomes smitten with Emma and there's something about William's awkward demeanor that she finds charming. With a little help from Kelly, the two star crossed lovers begin a courtship.

Unfortunately, William has obligations to fill. His straitlaced father, Richard Jones, wants him to marry Elanor Campbell, the daughter of a viscount. This marriage would raise the Jones's family's status, something that a marriage to a humble maid would never achieve. As Emma and William's relationship deepens and forces threaten to tear them apart, they will have to come to their own decisions about their futures, both as individuals and as a couple.

''Emma'' (エマ, ''Ema'') is a [[HistoricalFiction historical]] [[RomanceNovel romance]] {{seinen}} {{manga}} by Creator/KaoruMori. The manga was originally serialized in ''Comic Beam'' from January 2002 to May 2006, ending with 52 chapters compiled into seven volumes. Side story chapters as well as an epilogue were serialized under the name ''Emma: Further Tales'' from September 2006 to March 2008, collected into three volumes. All ten volumes were originally released in English by CMX. When CMX was dissolved, the series remained in limbo for several years until Creator/YenPress rescued the series in 2015. They would rerelease the series as five volume hardcover omnibuses.

An anime adaptation under the name ''Emma: A Victorian Romance'' was made between two studios. Pierrot handled the first season which aired in 2005, and [[Creator/AjiaDo Ajia-do Animation Works]] produced the second- adding the subtitle of "Second Act"- which aired in 2007. The home release was handled by Creator/NozomiEntertainment in 2008. In 2018, Nozomi launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to fund an English dub for season one, with a dub for season two being a stretch goal. The Kickstarter was a success, earning enough money to fund a dub for both seasons.

!!This series provides examples of:

*** As an amusing example of how it helped, the series finale shows ''another'' [[http://h.mfcdn.net/store/manga/543/10-070.0/compressed/t028.jpg plane]][[labelnote:†]] (a pusher-prop, bi-planed-tail, square high wing monoplane in a car-like carriage — this seems to be a mix between the models built by the Wright Brothers in 1903 – biplane-tail push-proper; and by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pearse Pearse]] in 1904 – monoplane, square high wings, similar carriage)[[/note]] that would be perfectly at ease in the 1900's.

* ShrinkingViolet:

* SleepingSingle: Most of the aristocratic couples have separate bedrooms. This was very common in that era, partly because many upper-class marriages were {{arranged|Marriage}}, but even for HappilyMarried couples it was considered "proper behavior" not to sleep together all the time. Also, a husband wasn't supposed to witness his wife putting on makeup or other WomensMysteries.
** Wilhelm and Dorothea are, of course, the major exception.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The CMX manga translation and Nozomi's later translation don't agree on much.
** Is Kelly's married name "Stown'''e'''r" or "Stown'''a'''r"?
** What ''is'' Wilhelm's family name?
** Is Hakim's Princely House "Atawari" or "Atawaly"… or [[TakeAThirdOption some combination]]?
** Does Emma go to Haworth or Harworth?[[note]] Not only do villages of both names exist in England, they're ''within sixty miles of each other''. Haworth is the more likely candidate – it's in West Yorkshire, has a railway station, and is known for having once been home to the Brontë sisters (thus an Anglophile like Mori is likely to know of it). Harworth is a mining town farther south, on the northern edge of Nottinghamshire.[[/note]]
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Invoked and obliquely discussed with Emma. She does ''not'' like it when anyone says she's attractive (except William). This is because her above-average looks led directly to [[spoiler:her being kidnapped from her native village as a child and brought to London where she barely escaped being sold into prostitution… but had to spend years living on the street begging for work and food instead]].
* SpoiledBrat: Vivian.
* StreetUrchin: Emma was one of these for many years before Kelly took her in and gave her an education. She considers it one of her darkest secrets and is ill at ease even telling sympathetic people like Dorothea about it, to say nothing of William.
* TrainStationGoodbye: Happens in both media, albeit in slightly different ways.
** In the anime, [[spoiler:William gets to the train just as it's pulling out of the station and Emma consciously ignores him]].
** In the manga, [[spoiler:by the time William reaches the station, the train's long gone and he's alone on the platform aside from the little girl selling flowers]].
* TsurimeEyes: Eleanor and the other Campbell women.
** Also Vivian, which prompted manga readers of the time to ask if she and Eleanor were related (they're not).
* UptownGirl: Inverted, the girl is the poor maid and the guy is the wealthy gentleman from the Ritz. This is the plot's biggest conflict, as Victorian society considers the idea of a nobleman falling in love with a maid completely unacceptable.
* VictorianLondon: The series largely takes place in Victorian-era London, complete with a classic Creator/JaneAusten-style romance between the main character and her betrothed spouse.
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The story of how William's parents met.
* TheVoiceless: Colin, until the DistantFinale.

Emma's good looks is part of what catches the eye of William Jones, a former student of Kelly's who stops by for a visit one day after being pestered to by his straitlaced father. Soon after meeting her, William becomes smitten with Emma and there's something about William's awkward demeanor that she finds charming. With a little help from Kelly, the two star crossed lovers begin a courtship.

Unfortunately, William has obligations to fill. His father, Richard, wants him to marry Elanor Campbell, the daughter of a viscount. This marriage would raise the Jones' family's status, something that a marriage to a humble maid would never achieve. As Emma and William's relationship deepens and forces threaten to tear them apart, they will have to come to their own decisions about their futures, both as individuals and as a couple.

''Emma'' (エマ, ''Ema'') is a [[HistoricalFiction historical]] [[RomanceNovel romance]] {{seinen}} {{manga}} by Creator/KaoruMori. The manga was originally serialized in ''Comic Beam'' from January 2002 to May 2006, ending with 52 chapters compiled into seven volumes. Side story chapters as well as an epilogue were serialized under the name ''Emma: Further Tales'' from September 2006 to March 2008, collected into three volumes. All ten volumes were originally released in English by CMX. When CMX was dissolved, the series remained in limbo for several years until Creator/YenPress rescued the series in 2015. They would rerelease the series as five volume omnibuses in hardcovers.

An anime adaptation under the name ''Emma: A Victorian Romance'' was made between two studios. Pierrot handled the first season which aired in 2005, and [[Creator/AjiaDo Ajia-do Animation Works]] produced the second--adding the subtitle of "Second Act"--which aired in 2007. The home release was handled by Creator/NozomiEntertainment in 2008. In 2018, Nozomi launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to fund an English dub for season one, with a dub for season two being a stretch goal. The Kickstarter was a success, earning enough money to fund a dub for both seasons.

[[TheGayNineties 19th century]] [[VictorianLondon London]] was a time of technological innovation; photography, trains, automobiles, and many other inventions were being invented or refined. Societal change, however, hadn't progressed much. What class you were born in still defined a lot about who you were and what you could do. This was as true for the poorer classes as it was for the richer elite, and any relationships across class boundries was met with scorn and disapproval.

* {{Meganekko}}: Emma

* UptownGirl: Inverted, the girl is the poor maid and the guy is the wealthy gentleman from the Ritz.

''Emma'' (エマ, ''Ema''), also known as "Victorian Romance Emma", is a [[HistoricalFiction historical]] [[RomanceNovel romance]] {{seinen}} {{manga}} by Creator/KaoruMori. The initial run was from January 2002 to May 2006, ending with 52 chapters compiled into seven volumes. Side story chapters as well as an epilogue was serialized under the name ''Emma: Further Tales'' from September 2006 to March 2008, collected into three volumes. All ten volumes were originally released in English by CMX. When CMX was dissolved, the series remained in limbo for several years until Creator/YenPress rescued the series in 2015. They would rerelease the series as five volume omnibuses in hardcovers.

An anime adaptation under the name ''Emma: A Victorian Romance'' was made between two studios. Pierrot handled the first season which aired in 2005, and [[Creator/AjiaDo Ajia-do Animation Works]] produced the second- adding the subtitle of "Second Act"- which aired in 2007. The home release was handled by Creator/NozomiEntertainment in 2008. In 2018, Nozomi launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to fund an English dub for season one, with a dub for season two being a stretch goal. The Kickstarter was a success, earning enough money to fund a dub for both seasons.

19th century London was a time of technological innovation; photography, trains, automobiles, and many other inventions were being invented or refined. Societal change, however, hadn't progressed much. What class you were born in still defined a lot about who you were and what you could do. This was as true for the poorer classes as it was for the richer elite, and any relationships across class boundries was met with scorn and disapproval.

Unfortunately, William has obligations to fill. His father, Richard, wants him to marry Elanor Campbell, the daughter of a viscount. This marriage would raise the Jones' family's status, something that a marriage to a humble maid would never achieve. As Emma and William's relationship deepens and forces threaten to tear them apart, they will have to come to their own descions about their futures, both as individuals and as a couple.

''Emma'' (エマ, ''Ema''), also known as "Victorian Romance Emma", is a historical romance manga by Creator/KaoruMori. The initial run was from January 2002 to May 2006, ending with 52 chapters compiled into seven volumes. Side story chapters as well as an epilogue was serialized under the name ''Emma: Further Tales'' from September 2006 to March 2008, collected into three volumes. All ten volumes were originally released in English by CMX. When CMX was dissolved, the series remained in limbo for several years until Creator/YenPress rescued the series in 2015. They would rerelease the series as five volume omnibuses in hardcovers.

An anime adaptation under the name ''Emma: A Victorian Romance'' was made between two studios. Pierrot handled the first season which aired in 2005, and Ajia-do Animation Works produced the second- adding the subtitle of "Second Act"- which aired in 2007. The home release was handled by Nozomi Entertainment in 2008. In 2018, Nozomi launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to fund an English dub for season one, with a dub for season two being a stretch goal. The Kickstarter was a success, earning enough money to fund a dub for both seasons.

It's London, in the mid-to-late [[TheGayNineties 1890s]]. Young Emma is a "maid of all works" who lives and works for a former governess, noteworthy and outstanding because of her unusually high level of instruction – her mistress taught her all sorts of subjects – and her glasses, which women of her class and station hardly ever wear. When a former pupil of her mistress, William Jones, drops by for a visit, both maid and man fall in love with each other. However, there are numerous obstacles to their relationship: their different social statuses, the pressure on William to marry another woman, amongst other things.

Sure, you may have heard this story before; the basic premise is a bit cliché, but it works thanks in large part to the likeable and strong personalities of most characters, especially the two leads.

This manga, running in ''Monthly Comic Beam'' from 2002 to 2008, was the first long-form story by Creator/KaoruMori, who quickly demonstrated many of her trademarks that would carry over to future series – strong female characters, historical settings, and obsessive attention to detail particularly with clothing. The main story ran for seven volumes, and was immediately followed up by three more volumes made up mostly of SliceOfLife side stories covering the pasts or continuing adventures of secondary or minor characters.

A TwelveEpisodeAnime scripted by Mamiko Ikeda and directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi at Studio Pierrot aired in 2005. It covers the first three books. A second series (also twelve episodes, not counting a recap episode at the beginning) aired in 2007 to complete the story, although its details diverge from the manga significantly toward the climax for dramatic effect and ease of narrative.

In North America, the manga was originally licensed and translated by CMX, the now-defunct manga label of DC Comics, and quickly became one of their most popular series, though its good sales were not enough to keep Time Warner from pulling the plug on the subsidiary. Nearly a decade after CMX shuttered, Yen Press – which was already publishing Mori's subsequent series ''Manga/ABridesStory'' – picked up ''Emma'', retranslated it, and released it in five oversized hardcover volumes (basically the same format in which they print ''Bride's Story'' but thicker).

The anime was licensed by Creator/NozomiEntertainment in 2008 and released on DVD in two boxsets, one for each season. There was a dub made for Anglophone Asia by Animax, but (as with most Animax dubs) fans of the series don't like to talk about it. In September 2018, Nozomi announced their intention to use Kickstarter to attempt to fund an HD upscale for the series and a new English dub. The campaign ended 30 days later having grossed over $250,000 – more than enough to dub both seasons. Both seasons are now available from Right Stuf Anime.

As fans (and Mori herself) like to explain, ''Emma'' is "a show about a maid, but not [[{{Meido}} a maid show]]."

* UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain: The setting of the series complete with a classic Creator/JaneAusten-style romance between the main character and her betrothed spouse.

* TheEdwardianEra: When the finale takes place, sometime around 1904/5.

* DistantFinale: While it's not ''that'' distant, the 3-chapter finale covering [[spoiler:William and Emma's wedding]] at the end of volume 10 evidently takes place several years after the end of the main part of the series, judging from how the children have aged.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Victorian_Romance_Emma1_3992.jpg]]

* VictorianBritain: The setting of the series complete with a classic Creator/JaneAusten-style romance between the main character and her betrothed spouse.

* VictorianEngland: The setting of the series complete with a classic Creator/JaneAusten-style romance between the main character and her betrothed spouse.