Although it doesn't end up being the sweep-you-off-your-feet cliche romantic ending, somehow William does manage to grow a spine and throw his family's scorn aside to have a happy ending with Emma (I can't possibly consider that to be a spoiler).

Anyone who knows me will have heard about my antipathy for outmoded literary vehicles (unless they serve to accomplish something cute) and Emma, Vol. 7 (un)fortunately? fits into both categories. In the strangest hand wave I've ever encountered, Mori-sensei manages to paint herself into a corner in which Emma is magically whisked away to... Delware! Hello. Yes, as in, the United States. But loath to let such asinine adversity like the Atlantic Ocean get in the way of true love, William and Hakim manage to catch up with her after supposedly visiting every coastal town on the Eastern Seaboard. Oh, and by-the-by, there is realistically zero chance that William could possibly have uncovered the plot to send her overseas or even to which nation from the panels the reader is offered. So... yeah that's probably the worst example of Deus ex Machina I've seen in a really long time. But check it out! Emma cracks her glasses and William scuffs up his face, so doesn't that feel more realistic?

The cute lesbian/babydyke housemaid pair have more development! The end. (if only) ( )

After Emma goes missing in volume six, William searches high and low to find her. The section where he is searching for Emma is incredibly short, and I thought it seemed far too easy for him to locate where she was at.

In this volume Emma is faced with choices about what she really wants to do with her life, and about what challenges she is willing to face. At the same time she finds ecouragement and support from some of women that she and William know.

This volume was originally billed as the final installment in the series, and it is about one hundred pages longer than the previous issues. As it stands right now there are nine volumes and a tenth is set to release in the U.S. in December 2009. ( )

今までのペースに比べたらあまりにも急展開過ぎる第7巻。「え、こんなに早く見つけちゃうの！？」と思っていたら、最終章の文字が。「最終章って何？残り3巻はどうなっちゃうの！？え！？？」状態。物語の締め方としてはいいのかもしれないけれど、何か消化不良感が。あとがき見ると残り3巻は番外編になるようで。いろんな方向に話が広がるといいけどなあ。

とりあえず二人の道が決まったのはよかった。おそらく階級の壁、社交界の壁などいろいろと大変だと思うけど、素質と頭の良さで上手く乗り越えられるはず。奥方様二人の強力なバックアップも得られたわけだし、奥方様だちもそれを楽しんでいるようだし。

ここまでで一番成長したのはウィリアムズなのかな。最初はなんとなくなよなよした感じだったけど、エマと再開したころから顔つきが変わってきたような気がする。威厳と言えるのか分からないけれど、そいうったモノが感じられるようになった。頼もしい旦那さんになって欲しい。そしてクラスの壁を乗り越えて欲しい。そして何よりも二人に幸せになって欲しい。 ( )

This was an amazing series. I think it's a manga that could appeal to people who may not care for manga. The artwork is beautiful and the storytelling is excellent. As far as this volume is concerned, I agree with several people that it was a somewhat abrupt ending. And finding someone that's been kidnapped and stranded in America should be more difficult than what William does. There's just so much that's left unresolved at the end, particularly with Williams' family, that I was a little disappointed. I did appreciate Emma taking steps forward, particularly with asking Dorothea to help her. I'll be sure to pick up the spin-offs, but I really do wish there was more about Emma and William! ( )