Emma: A Victorian Romance (英國戀物語エマ, Eikoku Koi Monogatari Emma) is a 2005 television anime series based on Kaoru Mori’s manga Emma. The adaptation is directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi and produced by studio Pierrot. Staff credits also include writer Mamiko Ikeda, and music composed by Kunihiko Ryo. The series first aired in Japan on April 2005.
Background:
“In 19th-century London, class lines are sharply drawn, and the social standing to which people are born dictates the path their lives will follow. Emma, an honest and hardworking young maid, never felt her place in life to be a burden. But then she met William, a member of the gentry and the eldest son of a wealthy family. His warm smile and earnest affection threaten to capture her heart… but can love truly conquer all?”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, August 2022.
With a lot of anime set mostly in a fantasy world or its native country, it’s quite uncommon to have shows or films set in other countries. That said, we have seen some representation like France & Italy for Lupin the Third, South America for Michiko & Hatchin, and America for Baccano! though the US tends to be the most featured of the bunch. That said, England did see some attention through JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and K-On!, but not many tend to change it up and have the show set in the past like Emma: A Victorian Romance has done with the 1800s Victorian era.
On top of that, the series has had a dedicated fanbase to which Nozomi Entertainment decided to produce a crowdfunding campaign so that it could get dubbed into English. Now by English I should make it clear – this is American voice actors pretending to be British, which is common in anime dubs and in most (probably all to be honest) cases they do not sound very good (Princess Principal was the most notable one, which was mocked by a lot of UK fans). That said, Nozomi have tried to make it as accurate as possible, so we shall see on that.
It is also interesting that it took this long for a series like Emma: A Victorian Romance to be released in the UK, and Anime Limited managed to acquire the rights to both seasons to do just that.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Like a couple of other titles Nozomi released in North America that Anime Limited brought over, Emma: A Victorian Romance also received the collector’s edition treatment. In fact, both seasons will so for now we’re focusing on the first.
The package is presented as a rigid box (using a really nice texture) with an Amaray Blu-ray case to house the discs and alongside the case is a 96-page booklet. The booklet features tons of content from going over the characters, setting, locations and more including a glossary.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray set is limited to 1000 units for SRP £59.99.
The series was made available for pre-order during Anime Limited’s May Early Bird pre-order line-up for £34.99, but with the Anime (Un)Limited discount lowered the price to £31.50.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 96-page booklet
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 1st August 2022
The collector’s edition release for Emma: A Victorian Romance Season 1 contains all 12 episodes across two Blu-ray discs. The encode & authoring were produced by Nozomi Entertainment & Rightstuf. The audio options available include Japanese with English subtitles and the Headline Studios English dub commissioned by Nozomi from their kickstarter campaign.
The yellow subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to Blu-ray players set to B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Linear PCM 2.0 English Linear PCM 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Upscale format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 2:
- Clean Opening “Silhouette of a Breeze”
- Clean Closing “Menuet for EMMA”
- Japanese Promo Commercial
- Japanese DVD Commercials
- Japanese Promo TV Spots
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Emma: A Victorian Romance Season 1 is available to order across multiple retailers in the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition Blu-ray can be acquired through Amazon UK, Anime Limited’s store, MVM’s Anime-on-Line, and United Publications.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
Leave a comment