Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Emma – episode 11

July 17, 2005 on 4:37 pm | In Emma | Comments Off on Emma – episode 11

“Past”

Man, that maid network sure does work fast!

In this episode William discovers the unglamorous side of poverty, by paying a visit to Al’s house. It was decidedly interesting seeing a shabbier side of Victorian London; the shabby side was pretty damned shabby indeed.

Al also tells William of Emma’s bizarre tragic past, in which just about every Victorian tragedy imaginable befalls her. Al gives no clue as to how Emma came into Kelly’s service, however.

This episode was high on the drama quotient, and was good at providing sympathy for Emma. This ties in with the other theme, which is that maids like to talk. Looking at “the help” working in their places and getting along and gossiping added a liveliness to the series heretofore unseen. I suppose that the maids don’t really care about it because they have enough of their own kind to socialise with; the Jones family, after all, has more than one hundred staff. Emma, on the other hand, is highly reserved.

I don’t believe I’ve ever said this, but Touma Yumi is great as Emma. I don’t associate her with any of her other roles, she’s just Emma right here. The acting really is good in that way, even though they are 19th century Britons speaking Japanese.

Who knows how this will end? The next episode is already out, so … let’s see.