Warning: My manga "reviews" often contain spoilers. I find it hard to adequately discuss a volume of manga without talking about it in more detail than some might like.
This volume shows the consequences of William's decision to pursue a relationship with Emma instead of Eleanor. It affects all of them in ways they could not imagine. The volume essentially begins with William breaking his engagement with Eleanor. I feel bad for Eleanor - she's a sweet girl, although thoughtless and vapid - she honestly cares for William and doesn't deserve to be strung about while he pines over Emma. Unfortunately for all of them, Eleanor's father, the Viscount, is evil. He is determined to see Eleanor married to William and will not accept the end of their engagement.
The Viscount is a cunning man. He's done enough investigation into William's life to understand why the engagement is being broken. He goes straight to Emma to exact his revenge. He arranges for a man to kidnap Emma. She is summoned out of the mansion where she works at 11 PM supposedly to meet with William. A man snatches her away and forces her to write William and end their relationship. I love the drawing of her at the start of Chapter 41. She is trapped at the back of a wagon and looks scared, but also fiercely determined to survive.
William, meanwhile knowing nothing about Emma's plight, is determined to stay away from Eleanor, even braving the disapproval of his father. They have a knock-down, drag-out fight at the end of the volume. In one picture, they are staring at each other like two dogs about to attack. Richard Jones is a hardened man, unwilling to accept his son's love for a lower class woman, in large part because he saw the consequences of what society did to his own wife. It's interesting to see the contrast of his screaming fights with William and his resigned, quiet manner with his wife a few pages later.
Mori does a great job of portraying anger graphically. The movement of the drawing and the large text really conveyed emotions well. I also love how she draw the kidnapping scene - lots of darkness and quick lines to emphasize the action. Overall, I think the kidnapping plot was pretty silly - like a bad soap opera - but it's interesting nonetheless. There is more nudity in this volume. We see Emma's mistress bathing. I don't know why she throws this in there. It's completely pointless. It's tastefully done, but I just don't see the need.
Hey Alison,
ReplyDeleteAs a person who reads a fair share of manga, I can answer your question of the tasteful lack of clothing.
Emma, believe it or not, is written for an adult audience. Not only that, it's written for an adult MALE audience. The magazine it originally appeared it was written for guys.
Make a bit more sense now?
PS: I am a big fan of this series, and am trying to track down the rest to read. Hope you get to finish it, too!
PPS: Found you in the hop!