Review of Emma: A Victorian Romance

I thought, like many other anime, that the first few episodes were the only bland ones and it would pick up around episode 3 or 4. That was not the case. The entire anime was over all bland. A lot of that comes down to how quiet the show is. There really isn't a lot of background music to emphasize scenes so you have to use your best judgment on certain parts of the show. It also doesn't help that there is little to no inside thoughts happening from any of the characters, so as a watcher I felt very disconnected from the progression ofthis story as well as the characters. Furthermore, the development between Mr. Jones and Emma was really lacking. So much so that it left me confused as to how they got from acquaintances to in love. That could be in part to not getting the insight of their internal monologues.

As for the historical aspect of the show, it took place at the end of the 19th century, otherwise known as the late victorian age. Casual watchers might not care but due to the lack of plot going on the historical aspect shows quite immensely and needs to be analyzed I personally believe it would have been a better choice to make it during the early to middle 19th century as that is where most recognizable parts of the victorian era, to even a non history nerd, are held . The fashion as well as the decor of Mrs. Kelly Stowner's home felt a little out of touch for the times. For example, it's references many times that Mrs. Stowner's home is out of date and rather old yet there is no effort made towards the iconic arsenic filled green wall paper and decor that was extremely popular in the early to mid victorian era: when she would have bought the house. There is even a scene were Al comes over and helps them fix the wall paper and it would have been a great place to emphasize that iconic green. As for the fashion choices, there were a couple references to what would have been popular at the time but it just wasn't presented well enough on screen. There were some fashion myths that have already been debunked that were referenced throughout the show. The most iconic part of the victorian era is the fashion of the time. The frills, the extremely small waists, the ideal long neck and the animation just did not give it justice. One of the myths I mentioned comes down to the corsets. It might not be well known, but the corsets of the olden days were actually quite comfortable and did not cause discomfort. So when the scene where Ms. Campbell is telling her maid to tighten the corset more and she shows obvious discomfort would not have been a likely situation. Especially because corsets, at the time, weren’t used the same way they are in modern times. Their intended purpose was to be a bra and support the breasts and back. They were not used to enhance figures, even though they had that effect as well. The famous victorian tiny waist that we know of today has been shown to be altered. Photo editing is not a new thing.

Another thing I think is important to note is the way they show different cultures. One of the characters happens to be a prince from India. I think a lot of woke watchers will take offense to how they depict him as well as his harem of women. The thing I kept in mind for the harem, is that this is an older anime so the usage of the copy paste person was quite common and they are background characters. Regardless, Prince Hakim is my favorite character. I thought he had a lot more personality than Mr. Jones and the way he holds himself was really appealing, especially in regard to his culture. Even more so ,the anime did a great job of presenting him on equal footing to the english gentry even though there is curiosity to his culture and ways of life.

As far as Emma is concerned, I feel as though she fits the wattpad stereotype of "I'm just a normal girl with subpar looks" archetype. There really isn't anything about her that sets her apart from others. As the leading lady she just wasn't interesting at all.

If you got this far, my overall opinion is that this show had sooooo much potential. It had a really good plot idea, especially considering it came out in 2005! This means that the maid getting with aristocrat genre hadn't been overdone yet. Unfortunately, the ball was just dropped on this one. But it does have a season two and considering the show does end on a cliffhanger I will be watching it as I am hoping that season 2 shows more progression of the love interests. If you're interested in that review and you like what I have to say, feel free to go check out my page. Anyway all the best in your viewing journey <3