Ranked #1964

Thermae Romae

It’s not every day you run into shows that are just plain eccentric, especially one that's centered on baths. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me, thanks to a little TV special I stumbled upon called Thermae Romae, based on Mari Yamazaki’s award-winning manga of the same name. It may seem like just another low-quality show with no point whatsoever, but Thermae Romae is a fairly humorous show that has a surprising amount of depth to it. Set in ancient Rome, it follows the bizarre, time-trotting adventures of public bath architect Lucius Modestus to modern-day Japan.

Despite the seemingly dumb premise, Thermae Romae’s story is entertaining in its own right. Using time travel as a plot device is a pretty unique and comical way to teach people some casual, though intriguing facts about both Japanese and ancient Roman cultures. What’s great about Thermae Romae is that it doesn’t beat around the bush and gets straight to the point in exploring the similarities and differences between Roman and Japanese baths.

What’s the most enjoyable about Thermae Romae are Lucius’ reactions whenever he periodically has glimpses of a different and significantly more advanced society than his own. You could say the show indirectly addresses the issue of how a foreigner would react in a relatively unknown land, due to the extreme culture shock they’re experiencing, and vice versa. From generating your voice through an electric fan to having an exaggerated reaction to eating not-so-instant ramen for the first time; somebody’s bound to do one of these things or something similar when they’re put in the same situation as Lucius. Hell, I haven’t been to Japan yet, but I bet my first time will resemble the latter. Like something trivial as being astonished with voice-operated toilets or bidets…and the Japanese natives would just look at me like I’m crazy. It’s moments like this that make watching Thermae Romae amusing.

From a distance, it’s easy to dismiss Thermae Romae’s animation as terrible, but the show is more concerned with the method it presents itself. The flash animation style could be compared to other similar shows like it; FX’s Archer comes to mind or basically anything from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, such as Sealab 2021 or Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Also, the variations between the character designs is as deliberate as they get, serving to denote the physical, cultural disconnect between Japan and Rome. And probably, on a smaller note, poke some fun at the different drawing styles used by various animation publications.

Thermae Romae’s notable style fits the light-hearted, intentional tone it’s going for, I think. The classical themes help with that as well, and the appropriate one plays at just the right time. Some noteworthy ones include Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" and Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker." Chatmonchy’s ED song, “Thermae Roman” sounds excellent as well. Sure, the animation looks stilted. Environment’s not detailed enough. It looks unappealing. But, the animation does succeed in producing its intended comedic effect, which I think a show like this can definitely get away with.

Thermae Romae is one weird anime; probably the weirdest I’ve seen in a long while. It’s one of those shows that, at first, is difficult to pinpoint whether it’s amazing, awful or even both. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was, and what it lacks in animation, it certainly makes up for in substance. I can’t exactly recommend this type of show to everyone, though if you want to take a break from the more self-serious, dramatic type of shows, Thermae Romae is a good though surreal change of pace. I’m willing to go so far as to say that Thermae Romae has got heart, and you’re more than welcome to try it out to see if you have the same reactions as mine. Besides, 3 episodes (or 6-part, 10-minute chunks if you prefer it that way) couldn’t hurt, right?

On a slightly related note, I simply can’t wait for that live-action movie adaptation they’ve been talking about. read more

Thermae Romae is basically about Lucius a celebrated architect who could time travel back and forth from his hometown the ancient Rome to the modern day Japan. Because this is comedy and not sci-fi, his ability to time travel was neither explained nor have been given any importance as to how he does but that doesn’t matter anyway. As an anime with a very minimal episode count, Thermae Romae doesn’t dawdle messing around with insignificant chatter, instead it gets directly to the focal point and what the anime’s dedicated to illustrate, the Japanese baths and their culture.

What separates Thermae Romae from the norms is the way it is presented which is a huge attributing factor to each individual’s enjoyment and also determines its watch value. Coming from a studio that makes flash animations, Thermae Romae’s presentation would be that sort of thing too, somewhat like an advanced powerpoint reminiscent of shows in Cartoon Network’s infamous block Adult Swim. As a flash animation, it is expected that character movements are stiff and the backgrounds lack quality designs. While this is true, what makes up for these are the wacky character designs and their hilarious facial expressions, main or side.

Adding up to the stylistic way of presentation would be various familiar pieces like the famous Ode to Joy. Thermae Romae has every scene filled with an appropriate BGM making the mood more soothing, which then contains mostly of classics. Another noteworthy aspect of this anime is the ending song sequence. While Chatmonchy could possibly make any song lyric catchy how weird it may be (as evidenced by their Hataraki Man ED and Kuragehime OP), the flash animation synchronizes very well with the music it then becomes so nice.

Historical facts and whatnot, Thermae Romae might be able to teach you a lesson about Japanese culture and some random facts about ancient Romans. Though I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this comedy is intellectual, I’d rather put it as a comedy with substance.

As for a very unique anime, the enjoyment of different people would greatly vary. If you’re into cool characters with flashy animation and over the top humor, chances are you wouldn’t like this. But if you’re into comedies with a spoonful of subtlety and a pinch of surrealism, then Thermae Romae might just be right up your alley.

Honestly, one could enjoy Thermae Romae even by turning their brain off. This was meant to ease your mind and remove unnecessary thoughts while giving off free chuckles here and there. Now what's left for you to do is sit back, relax and enjoy Thermae Romae like a hot steamy bath in a moment of pure bliss.
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