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! All genres besides the costumed hero were instantly banned. The costumed heroes became more kid friendly and we got the "golly gee willikers" bullshit known as The Silver Age. By the time the code was FINALLY lifted in the 1980s, those other genres had been gone for so long that it was decided they weren't worth bringing back. That's why every American comic to this day is basically the same fucking thing with only a couple exceptions.
Japan never had the same problem. Manga and anime can be about absolutely ANYTHING! A medieval merchant and a Wolf goddess team up to teach economics. A bunch of Germans in space hold lengthy political discussions in a boardroom. Girls transform into fucking WW2 battleships and fight each other. This is all fair game in the world of anime! This brings us to today's ABSURD topic.
Story:
Thermae Romae is a story about an ancient Roman architect who designs bath houses. One day, he gets sucked through a drain and winds up in current day Japan. Our Roman hero is amazed by all the technology, but is also comforted by the similarity to Roman bath houses. This is a comedy anime all about comparing Roman bath houses to Japanese bath houses. A continuing theme is that Japan is the only country in the modern world that still really loves bath houses. In a way, this makes Japan the successor to Roman Civilization and makes Tokyo the 3rd Rome. I just felt a huge disturbance in the force! It's as if 147 million people in Eastern Europe cried out in anger and were suddenly triggered.
Characters:
Our main hero is the Roman architect Lucius. He is very serious all the time and dismissive at first towards non-Romans like the Japanese. He is a dutiful citizen of the Roman Empire and extremely dedicated to his craft. His overly serious nature and "fish out of water" status is the basis of virtually all of the series' comedy.
Art:
The art is flash animation and as pointed out by previous reviewers, it looks like Japanese Archer. Seriously.
Music:
The entire soundtrack is lifted classical music. Unfortunately, it doesn't use this music quite as effectively as Galactic Heroes does. The selection often seems completely random. I'll be watching a scene and think "Hey it's Verdi's Requiem! I love that piece...but I don't know why they're playing it at this time."
Overall:
Dmitri: Vladimir Vladimirovich! Urgent news! I have discovered anime that claims Japan is only country that loves bath houses and is the cultural successor to Rome.
Vladimir: Blasphemy! Moscow is 3rd Rome! Those Japanese savages don't know how to bath house! They don't even beat the shit out each other with tree branches! How can you have a bath without branch beatings! This will not stand! Fire the ICBMs at Japan!
Dmitri: How many ICBMs?
Vladimir: ALL of them! (Putin trembles in anger as "The Sacred War" blares in the background)
