After watching and reviewing the first season of Emma, I knew that I had to see more. Thanks to a DVD sale at Deep Discount I was able to pick up the show relatively cheap and let me tell you, this is a show that is worth just about any price.

Picking up where the first season lets off we see Emma in a new house working for the Molders, a wealthy German family. She has a new life and even makes new friends and tries desperately to leave William behind and to, in her eyes, set him free.

William, on the other hand falls into a state of depression and drowns his sorrow in work and longs for Emma. When his attempts to find her fail his eyes turn to the ever available Eleanor Campbell as a means to ease his lonliness. He even goes so far as to propose to her. While we the viewers look on in shock, it's all that's needed to get the gears of fate moving as he is reunited by chance with his beloved Emma at his own engagement party.

Season 2 is quite different from its quaint romantic predecessor. Instead of the subtleties we learn from the quiet pace of the courtship of William and Emma, we instead are treated to something a bit more conventional in the way of romance. The story has its twists and turns yet you always hope and know that we will eventually get a happy ending.

Emma is a rare breed in the world of anime. In most anime containing maids they are there simply for fanservice or to add moments of slapstick. Emma instead moves us beyond that stereotype of the teenage boy's fantasy and instead shows us what life was like for an entire profession and class of women in the 19th century.

My only disappointment is that since Emma is a rather niche title a dub was impossible as it would be too cost prohibitive. This is a show that really deserves a full dub of British actors using various accents to flesh the characters out a little. I can almost imagine what extra dimension this could add to an already fine show.

While Emma isn't a masterpiece in the true since of the word, it's flaws of a somewhat predictable story can be easily overlooked in its masterful storytelling. For the same reason people flock to see the newest romantic comedy or why they want to see Lassie get Timmy from the mineshaft for the umteenth time people love a good romance. You can certainly do a lot worse than Emma.

Highly Recommended!

Labels: Anime, Classics