Emma, Vol. 05

Emma #5

by Kaoru Mori, 森 薫

Emma goes back to work at Haworth, where all of the servants notice a change in her behavior. Could it have something to do with the written correspondence she and William have begun? Back in London, William also seems to have become emboldened by his renewed connection to Emma, and no one's happy about it. The forces of society are lining up against them once again and a reckoning may be coming.

Genres: Manga, Historical Fiction, Romance, Graphic Novels, Historical, Comics, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2005

About the author

Kaoru Mori (森 薫) is a Japanese manga author. Her stories tend to be intricately drawn female lead historical dramas set in exotic locations like Britain and along the silk road. Her series include Emma (2002-2008), Shirley (2003-present) and the best known A Bride's Tale (2008-present).

Reviews

[rae ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's hard to stop now lmao VOL 6 LETS GO

[K. F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to like the tertiary characters and storylines the best, along with Kaoru Mori's rich backgrounds and sense of rhythm and pacing with her panels. There are lots of silent beats where characters look, and silently react, which is my jam. Hopefully the library gets in the next one soon.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma and William begin a correspondence.

This was a good volume. The first portion was the story of William's parents, which put their reactions to William wishing to marry a maid into perspective. However, I didn't realize that the story was about them until the end - something I've had happen with these stories before. I wish the author would put in a one sentence identifier at the start.

Emma and William's reunion was a joy to see. It was a true 'running toward my true love' moment. I'm glad I'm reading these after the story has finished so I know I don't have to wait for the next one.

[Lete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my! I sometimes I wish i could read faster than I do. I kept getting too excited to find out what happened next!

[Paula MB · Rating 5 out of 5]

El mejor hasta ahora! Me gusta como han evolucionado aquí la trama y los protagonistas. La historia de los señores Jones me ha resultado muy bonita y también muy triste.
Desde hace un par de tomos se va viendo como, a diferencia del anime únicamente centrado en los protagonistas, hay muchos personajes secundarios que enriquecen la historia y que también tienen sus pequeñas subtramas interesantes.

[Freija · Rating 4 out of 5]

bellissimi i cap iniziali riguardanti i genitori di william

[Klinton Saha · Rating 4 out of 5]

লন্ডন থেকে ফেরার পর ইমার মধ্যে ব্যাপক পরিবর্তন দেখা যায়। উইলিয়াম ও তার সম্পর্ক আবার ঠিকঠাক হয়ে যায়। ইমাকে দেখতে উইলিয়াম ইমার নতুন কাজের জায়গায় আসে‌।অন্যান্য পরিচারিকাদের মধ্যে ইমাকে ঘিরে কৌতুহল ও হাসি ঠাট্টা তৈরি হয়। উইলিয়াম তার বিয়ে ভেঙে দেয়।

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I like that the Emma/William romance is finally moving along. I'm a little nervous about how things will end up. In this volume, I also enjoyed learning more about William's parents' love story.

[Luana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume molto interessante, a partire dai due capitoli iniziali, dedicati al passato dei genitori di William - il padre Richard, un arricchito guardato con disprezzo dell'aristocrazia, e Aurelia, cresciuta in una famiglia particolare, amante di piante e fiori, incapace di adattarsi al mondo dell'alta società. Una difficoltà che la spingerà ad allontanarsi da Londra, accettando così di vivere separata dai figli e dall'amato marito. Consapevoli dei sentimenti che William prova nei confronti di Emma, i due sanno benissimo che la società non farà sconti alla coppia: anche loro sono stati vittime di pregiudizi e commenti poco simpatici. E la differenza di classe tra i due non era nemmeno lontanamente paragonabile a quella che divide i due protagonisti. Ma ormai non si torna più indietro: William e Emma iniziano a scriversi, e il primo si presenterà anche a casa Molders per incontrarla (con somma gioia di Dorothea, che chiaramente li shippa e li sostiene).
Il vero problema rischia di essere il padre di Eleanor, il visconte Campbell, un soggetto che fa dell'appartenenza di classe il suo cavallo di battaglia: già non ha particolare simpatia per una famiglia di arricchiti come i Jones, figurarsi cosa può succedere quando verrà a sapere del rapporto tra Emma e William. Per lui, la gente deve imparare a stare al proprio posto: i poveri non possono pensare di mischiarsi con i nobili. La superiorità degli aristocratici è assoluta (anche gli standard di moralità del visconte non sono propriamente di alto livello) e quindi, si prospettano tempi duri per i nostri protagonisti. Perché, se la posizione di rifiuto del padre di William forse è più legata alla sua consapevolezza riguardo certi atteggiamenti dell'alta velocità (non vuole che il figlio si ritrovi in una situazione difficile, come era stato per lui anni prima), il futuro suocero schifa chiunque non sia al suo livello. E ha zero simpatia per chi cerca di entrare a far parte di un mondo a cui non appartiene. Ergo, il drama è alle porte 🫣

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for complete series

2025 Reread and a buddy read with Frauline_gratzy_

Emma, and truly anything by Kaoru Mori, is a gem of a manga. At the same time, I don't think it's going to be for everything. During my first year nearing 20 years ago, I thought it more reminiscent of works such as Jane Austen, but going over it again now, I think Downton Abbey is a much better comparison.

Kaoru Mori's works are always heavily on the slice of life side and I think Emma is probably the one work with the most driving plot. We have the housemaid Emma as a main character who falls in love with Mr Jones, a gentleman from higher society. Given the setting, naturally drama follows as society does not accept their difference in status. If you are purely looking for a romance read, this is probably not for you - Mori often works with little dialogue and offers quiet scenes often covering entire pages with just a panel or two. For a love story, there is comparatively little interaction between Emma and Mr Jones as the story does wander and drift a bit.

Rather than just focus on Emma, Mori shows snippets of various characters' lives and not always within chronological order. Personally, I love the way Mori works and, while I do on occasion wish there were more interactions between characters across the board, I appreciate the nostalgic and atmospheric setting she creates. Being able to have characters express themselves with little words or simply not letting the reader be privy to words spoken is also an art of its own.

I think my view on this series has changed which I suppose is natural given the large gap between my original and my reread. But what hasn't changed is that I thoroughly enjoyed it and while it may have a few flaws and certainly won't be the right series for everyone, it is nonetheless one I value very highly.

[Peyton · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Emma” is a manga about a maid and an upper class gentleman who fall in love and have to fight the Victorian class system to be together. It is a traditional romance narrative, with warm characters and a rollercoaster plot line.
I decided to read this series because I wanted to take a break from hard reading, with some light graphic novels. I was drawn to this series because it is set in the Victorian era, which is one of my favourite historical settings.
“Emma” is a sweet story. The writing, however, I found was a little quirky. It seemed that the writing would suddenly stop, without revealing everything. For example, a character would be telling a joke, I’d flip the page, and the scene would be completely changed. This also happened when a character was retelling something, when a character was revealing something, and at random times throughout the dialogue and narrative. I found it disruptive and frustrating.
The other irksome part I found about “Emma” is in the number of books included in the series. The main narrative runs from book one to, and including, book seven. Books eight, nine, and ten are not part of the main narrative, but are instead made up of short stories about the other characters in the series. This is a sweet idea, but I do not like this to be included in the main series. It should have been added as additional material, or as a separate, sub-series.
The overall story was alright. I have too much to read that I probably will not read the short stories that are included in the series. “Emma” fulfilled its purpose of giving me a break from hard reading.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the drama of the last volume, this was a little more muted. We get William's parents' story in the beginning, which kinda explains why she is now "Mrs Trollope". There was a nice moment for the main couple, but overall it's looking pretty bleak! I'm surprised the whole budding potential romance with Hans was nipped in the bud so quickly - unless it hasn't been?

Also, what is up with the fiancée's father?! (I suspect he may be a reason William manages to withdraw from the betrothal without too much egg on his face, but perhaps not...)

There were a couple of scenes in this volume where I had no idea who was who, at least at first. Could have been made a bit less confusing by including names...I'm no good at recognising actual humans, let alone ones on a two-dimensional black-and-white page who roughly conform to a historical society's standards.

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this volume shows Emma and William back in contact, through the form of letters, as well as the backstory to William’s parents’ romance.
I’m a bit curious on whether Hans is just very suspicious of Emma or if there were underlying feelings involved in his rather tense conversation with her. I’m also a bit confused on who those people were in the last chapter; I think the male was Eleanor’s father, but I’m not confident in my guess.
Also, this volume just makes me feel very sympathetic to Eleanor because while she wishes for William to send her letters and be her husband, his affections are elsewhere and have been for some time.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Downton Abbey meets manga.... This volume gives the back story of William's mother, who goes by Mrs. Trollope (not her real name). Also, William and Emma start a correspondence. Eleanor feels neglected, and we learn that Eleanor's father is not the moral man an aristocrat should be.

(Sadly, this library copy also had pages torn out, just like vol. 4! Frustrating! Also, my library doesn't have the subsequent volumes, so I'm waiting to see if I can find them at a different library. This has been a fun diversion! Victorian/Edwardian manga... Who would have thought?!?)

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed some parts of this one - like the letters between William and Emma. I was hoping his mom would be on their side (which she is to a degree) but it just makes for some nice tension for upcoming volumes.

I am not sure I understand what’s going on with Eleanor’s dad (the Viscount), the woman flirting with him and the guy she seems to be hooking up with? But that’s just further intrigue.

Looking forward to more ahead!

[Freya Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

this volume felt unsatisfying for some reason but maybe it's like that on purpose because William is a coward, and I am getting frustrated as a reader lol. I really liked volume 4 though, which is why I continued on to volume 5. I do want to finish the series to see what happens. Also I hope Hakim makes a reappearance soon!

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The emotional highs and lows continue with this series. Emma returns to her job only to find
william wont leave her thoughts and as the two begin to communicate through letters their love grows. i love the art on this book and the various quirks of the characters.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really just don't like the idea that William has a fiancee, yet he is also pursuing Emma.

Do I understand it? Yes. But it doesn't mean I have to like it.

This isn't the way to go about it and it is going to only add more fuel to the fire.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma has changed so much but in many ways a great way. I am worried for the future though and the changes that could come in due to it. It was full of social drama with at least one entitled snob. Emma is growing into herself. The drama is building, it is just waiting to go wrong.

[✧Hessa✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay that was a little unnecessary plot twist ..I can't

[Cecelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume felt like it was just filler. Still eager to continue but nothing too dramatic happened.

[Jessica F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that chapter was a waste of suspended animation. On with the story!

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so not ok with Hans sassing Emma.

[Kurtis Burkhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great manga, Really great art and good adorable story! Really loved this manga 😁😻❤️

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce tome est passé à toute allure, et la pression monte ! Tellement bien de pouvoir lire un manga à la Jane Austen *.*

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gha to bad library's are not open on nights or sundays 😭 need to know what's gonna happen next!

[Oscar Manga · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Soobie is expired · Rating 4 out of 5]

E qui finisce la storia dei genitori di William, che sembravano parecchio avanti per i loro tempi.

Ma che carini quando si scambiano le lettere...

[frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟

[nana ୨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟