Thermae Romae

Lucius Modestus, an ancient Roman architect, finds himself job-hunting due to having trouble coming up with new ideas. As his demeanor and personality become dismal, his friends try taking him to a bathhouse for him to relax. Unable to unwind in the bustling and crowded bath, Lucius dips his head in the water. Down there, he finds a secret tunnel that transports him to a modern-day Japanese bathhouse, providing him the inspiration he needed to make a new creation.

Loaded with what seems to be knowledge way ahead of his time, Lucius does his best to try and recreate his findings, usually inferior in quality due to his circumstances. However, the sheer ingenuity may be just enough to gain the attention of the citizens and regain his reputation as an architect.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Note: MAL considers this show to be three episodes and not five. See More Info for additional details.

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Adaptation:	Thermae Romae
Side story:	Thermae Romae Specials, Thermae Romae: Kodai Romajin ga Uchuu e
Other:	Thermae Romae x LOFT Collaboration, Thermae Romae x Asahi Shimbun Digital Collaboration, Thermae Romae x Yoyogi Animation Gakuin Collaboration, Thermae Romae x TOTO Collaboration, REACH x Thermae Romae: Pietrada no Kekkon, Thermae Romae Novae, Thermae Romae x Rêveur Collaboration

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Modestus, Lucius

Main

FROGMAN
Japanese

Hadrianus

Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio
Japanese

Regulus

Supporting

Miyashita, Eiji
Japanese

Pietoras, Marcus

Supporting

Touchi, Hiroki
Japanese

Ojii-chan

Supporting

Gotou, Hiroki
Japanese

Yamaguchi, Mami

Supporting

Ueda, Kana
Japanese

Narrator

Supporting

Ueno, Asa
Japanese

Tsukai

Supporting

Uchida, Naoya
Japanese

Sentou no Oyaji

Supporting

Uchida, Naoya
Japanese

Lepidus

Supporting

Shirokuma, Hiroshi
Japanese

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Staff

Tani, Azuma

Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard

Chatmonchy

Theme Song Performance

van Beethoven, Ludwig

Music

Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich

Music

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Ending Theme

"Thermae Roman (テルマエ・ロマン)" by Chatmonchy

Reviews

Feb 1, 2012

dietmango

Recommended

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.

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May 11, 2013

gwern

Recommended

_Thermae Romae_ is very much a one-note gimmick anime, from its basic plot style to its animation-style and Lucius's hilarious reactions to everything (I'd call the series a bit like _Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei_ or _Yakitate! Japan_), but it suits me at the moment, and the historical accuracy is sufficient to not bother me. Really, where else are you going to get any thing like this sort of historical fantasy but anime? The diversity and weird gems like TR is one of the reasons I love anime.

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Sep 16, 2018

literaturenerd

Mixed Feelings

Overview:

I love to watch weird, ridiculous shit. There is no hiding that fact at this point. This is one of the reasons I'm so drawn to anime and always will side with anime over American comics. Believe it or not, American comics used to have detective stories, horror, romance, and categories besides spandex wearing super heroes back in the 1920s-1940s. The diversity of American comics was murdered forever in 1954 with the passing of "The Comic Code". It was decided by the Eisenhower Administration that comics should only be for little kids and comics aimed at older audiences would make Americans gay! Thanks Ike! ...

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3 eps for TV and 2 eps for Special? zetsu_shoren - Apr 8, 2014	1 replies	by OtterBoy1 »» Jul 6, 2022 8:49 AM
Poll: Thermae Romae Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) tsubasalover - Jan 12, 2012	98 replies	by Oznerol7 »» May 13, 2022 4:49 AM
Poll: Thermae Romae Episode 3 Discussion tsubasalover - Jan 26, 2012	46 replies	by eski514 »» Jan 18, 2022 1:35 PM
Poll: Thermae Romae Episode 2 Discussion tsubasalover - Jan 19, 2012	30 replies	by eski514 »» Jan 16, 2022 3:54 PM

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Modestus, Lucius

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