Rocket Bomber - article - Manga Moveable Feast - manga - Emma MMF: Daily Diary - vol. 1

Through the week and into next weekend, I’ll be re-reading a volume every night, and attempting to post my reflections on each book the following morning — but given my odd work schedule (retail, and the store’s open morning noon and night) it may not always work out… exactly daily.

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Emma, vol. 1
Writer & Artist: Kaoru Mori
Published by: CMX

192 (181) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to Left
Vintage: 2002. US edition Sep. 2006.
Translation & Adaptation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Design: Larry Berry
Editor: Jim Chadwick

Publisher’s Rating: Teen Plus, for “Suggestive Situations”
isbn 978-1401211325

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Premise: A comic that reads almost like a BBC/Masterpiece Theater historical drama — a young Victorian gentleman (wealthy, but not aristocratic) falls for an almost-perfect maid, who also falls for him in her own shy, halting way, but since the two are British and this is Victorian England, nothing really juicy happens.

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Review:

To put it into Hollywood movie terms, the two leads “meet cute” in chapter 1: William comes to visit his old governess, Mrs. Stownar, but pauses at the door long enough before knocking (he’s a tad embarassed; it seems he hasn’t bothered to visit for some time) such than Stownar’s maid, Emma, in a rush to run some errand opens the heavy front door full in his face.

Chapter one is a good intro to the relationship that drives the series: we have two good looking leads who obviously like each other (they even manage a date of sorts by pg. 27, sharing a conversation while walking in the park) but this is England in the 1890s (or later? the toy biplane on pg. 31 is an anachronism — after I’m done re-reading the whole series I’ll see if I can’t sleuth out the year) so they can’t just pop off to the local Love Hotel and do what is obvious.

Following chapters slowly introduce the other main characters (and flesh out those already introduced) and include what would seem to be the two main complications to William/Emma: William’s friend, Hakim, a foreign born Prince, and William’s fiancée Eleanor. [oops. Spoiler! …but it comes as just as much of a shock to William, and is the cliff hanger which ends this volume.]

For my money, the most telling chapter is chapter 4, “The Love Letters”. It shows first, that William is obviously smitten with Emma, but also that he is not the only one: she is known even by the local shopgirls as a local beauty, she’s a topic of discussion at the local gentlemen’s club, receives stacks of love letters (incl. one from the mail carrier that delivers them) — on two points there is general agreement, though: she’s quiet & shy, and she always says no.

Perhaps this is necessary, to build up Emma as some sort of paragon to make William’s pursuit (& Hakim’s for that matter) excusable, given the class differences. It also serves as a sort of second introduction, for William has only just met Emma, and sure, they spent a pleasant afternoon together, but his obvious discomfort in how other people talk about Emma as both woman and topic of rumours — not to mention how many other men would court her — makes her seem an unobtainable object even though she is obviously also a person, and one who responds to him in the oddly Victorian manner.

From the outset, one of the two main conflicts is within William, as he must resolve what he feels for Emma, vs what is expected of him. The other conflict is of course external, as our two star-crossed lovers (thought the use of the term ‘lovers’ is a bit strong in this context) will always have to overcome the class divide between them.

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I may make this all seem stern and dark and melodramatic: before I close the book on volume one, let me point out that the series has a light touch and a fair amount of humour. The slower story-telling pace allows us to gradually add details to each character, and in each chapter there are under-breath asides, bits of conversation, and included details (like the Victorian equivalent of porno mags) that add a fair bit of humour to the books, to say nothing of Hakim’s entourage and elephants.

Yes. Elephants.

The book is an invitation to a historical London you might never have seen before, particularly it’s common people, the working class that supports the thin upper crust. It’s the scenes set in the market streets, or at the pub, or in Emma’s small, plain room when she’s by herself and writing rejection letters, or combing her hair, or remembering when she first got her glasses — these are the compelling moments in the book.

[volume 2 posts late tonight]
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