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Emma, vol. 4
Writer & Artist: Kaoru Mori
Published by: CMX

192 (184) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to Left
Vintage: 2004. US edition June 2007.
Translation & Adaptation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Design: Larry Berry
Editor: Jim Chadwick

Publisher’s Rating: Teen Plus, for “Nudity and Suggestive Situations”
isbn 9781401211356

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Premise: We follow our maid, Emma, and her gentleman into a wider world: It’s still a BBC/Masterpiece Theater-style historical drama, but wanders much further than a one-time London romance story… while newly revealed relationships between old characters and new rachet up the drama

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Review:

In her afterword, Mori calls this the All-Crying volume.

And indeed it is. There is a lot of drama and emotion packed into this one, and while plot-gobstoppers only drop every other chapter or so, they begin to pile up fast. In fact, were getting to the point where it will be hard to continue the review without spoilers. —I’ll try, but if you were intrigued enough by what I’ve written so far to read the books for yourself, consider yourself warned. Then you’ll want to maybe just skim past the words in this one and look at the pretty pictures.

Speaking of the art: man, my copy has like 15 sticky notes sticking out of it right now. So many panels I’d like to share… let’s see if I can pare that down to just 4.

Things between Eleanor and William are proceeding like you might expect when an attractive young lady has a crush on a seemingly available young man — better than you might expect, actually, if you read a lot of shojo manga. Circumstances and the odd bit of meddling from other characters conspire to throw the two together, in fact. One evening, at the opera (of course the Joneses have a private box) a dropped locket or other trinket leads to a search on the floor

You know, I don’t think we ever find out what Eleanor dropped, but William has certainly found something (and we can only guess what she whispered in his ear). I don’t think we know, first hand, exactly what William’s reply to Eleanor was either.

But certainly one version of that conversation gets out…

Do I need to introduce Eleanor’s sister? I think you get that from the scan above. (and please note the Jones Siblings in panels 3, & 6)

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There is a great exchange between Emma and Mrs. Meredith on pages 112 & 113, in which Emma is shown (on top of all her other hidden talents) to have knowledge of a little Shakespeare as well. Just what has her education been like? However, I can’t post a scan as the conversation takes place in Mrs. Meredith’s dressing room, and did you notice the slight addition to the publisher’s rating for this volume? I don’t mind myself — and pg.112 is absolutely gorgeous: the pattern in the carpet, the paisley and fringes of the drapes, the London skyline (featuring Big Ben) in the background seen out the window, oh, and Mrs. Meredith absolutely starkers greeting the morning non-chanlantly. Her pose in that one, full page panel says a lot about her character, which is then reinforced in the next few pages: It’s not that she has no shame, it’s just that in the privacy of her rooms it doesn’t occur to her to be emabarassed.

Of course it’s gratitous nudity, but it does have some purpose. And Mori can really draw — in the book we have a depiction of a woman who is both middle-aged and a little curvy, while also being beautiful. (I take that back: she’s a mom but both her children are young— she’s likely just in her mid- to late twenties.) And I’d scan it, but we’ll keep the blog worksafe this week.

But enough cheesecake.

Emma and her employers are in London, as noted, and while the chances in real life of running into someone in a city of a million plus would seem to be—well, actually is—one in a million, this is fiction so of course you already know William and Emma are going to see one another again.

It’s where they meet, and how, and the events in William’s life that occurred in the interim that make all the difference. The pivotal chapter in this book is the last: Chapter 29 “Emma and William”.

Here’s how Emma looks, when you get her out of uniform. (kinda miss the glasses, though)

Aurelia, dear, would you be so kind as to make the introductions?

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Rob McMonigal was also posting volume-by-volume reviews; read his take on Vol. 4 here

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