Right Stuf and Nozumi Entertainment have announced the June 24th release of Emma: A Victorian Romance Season One (see 'Right Stuf's Nozomi Entertainment'). The 12-episode Emma Season One anime (MSRP $49.99), which will be available only in a subtitled version, was directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi and aired on Japanese television in 2005. Right Stuf and Nozumi also plan to release the 12-episode Emma: A Victorian Romance Second Act anime series, which was broadcast in
The Emma anime is based on the nine-volume Emma manga series created by the anglophile manga-ka Kaoru Mori and published here by CMX (Volume 7 is due out in March). With its meticulously researched recreation of England in 1895 and its steadfast refusal to introduce any fantasy or steampunk elements into its central romantic saga about a maid who fall in love with a member of the upper class, the Emma manga has developed a cult following in Japan where there is a maid cafe in Shinjuku in which all the waitresses dress like Emma, and Emma cosplay Websites where fans can purchase expensive copies of her uniform.
The Emma manga has also inspired a devoted following here in the U.S., but Right Stuf's strategy of releasing the anime in subtitled-only 12-episode sets makes perfect sense both in light of current market conditions and the size of the following for this unique series that embraces a Victorian reserve and eschews all things frenetic and sensational in favor of telling a simple, powerful love story.
