Rummanah Aasi
  I don't have a great track record in liking short stories. It takes a while for me to care about the characters and by the time I do care about them, the story is already over. At the end, I can't help but say, "That's it?" So when I learned that the last volumes of the Emma manga series are short stories, I was kinda skeptical in how I would like them. Would I feel the same as prose short stories? After finishing the Emma Vol 8, I didn't feel the same way because I knew these characters ahead of time.

Description: Emma Vol 8 does not continue Emma and William's story, which was finished in Volume 7 of the series. Volume 8 focuses on three short stories that revolve around the secondary characters from Emma's world such as Ms. Stowner (Emma's mentor and first boss), Eleanor (a noble woman whose past is connected to William), and Tasha (Emma's roommate and fellow maid in the Meredith household).

Review: While this volume isn't part of the Emma's storyline, it is a self contained volume of short stories focusing on secondary yet well developed recurring characters that will be familiar to readers of the manga series. I think you could read this volume on its own with reading it's previous volumes and still enjoy it, however, I don't think you might get the full impact of the stories.
   I enjoyed all of the short stories, particularly the short story entitled "The Times". One of my few criticisms of the Emma series is that the author doesn't spend much time discussing the common or less wealthy class of the Victorian England. This flaw is made up in this short story. The issues of poverty and the every day lives of all levels of London's society is shown in great detail with a simple story. As always the illustrations are fantastic and the stories are easy to follow and read. If you liked the Emma series, then I would recommend reading this volume. It's a quick and an enjoyable read.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some mild language in this volume.

If you like this book try: Emma Volume 9 by Karou Mori
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