When I first saw the title Thermae Romae, I thought the anime fell in the fantasy or sci-fi genre.
I mean, the name sounded cool. It had to be either one.
Every time new anime titles crop up each season, I immediately watch the first episode. I only check out the plot summary after viewing it. Which is why I was bit surprised that this winter anime fare was nowhere near the genres I thought it would fall under.
Thermae Romae is about baths.
Specifically, baths during the height of the Roman empire.
More specifically, baths during the Roman empire that are influenced by modern Japanese baths.
Confused, yet?
Thermae Romae is the story of Lucius, a bath architect who struggles to find innovative ideas during Rome's period of architectural glory under the rule of Emperor Hadrianus. On a trip to a public Roman bathhouse with his friend Marcus, he finds the bathhouse to be too noisy, thus defeating the purpose of relaxation. Lucius finds solace under water where he promptly gets sucked into a strange tunnel. He surfaces in modern day Japan. After seeing the "flat faced people", he thinks them to be slaves. Much to his surprise, the people he considered to be slaves seemed to be in possession of bath innovations beyond his understanding. Every new sight, experience and taste brings him wonder and eupohoria, as well as shame, as he laments how these other people can possess knowledge beyond any Roman's ability to imagine. He soon finds himself back in the Roman bathhouse and, despite wondering if he actually traveled to another world, builds a bath that attempts to recreate the different experiences he encountered there. He gains reknown as a bath architect and with every new commission, finds himself transported to the other world where he gains more new experiences.
Thermae Romae isn't flashy despite it's unusual storyline. In fact, the flash animation style of the series has a low budget feel to it. Yet, despite the less than impressive visual feel of the anime, it more than makes up for it in storytelling and humor. Based on a popular and multi-awarded manga series, the very short six episode run (with two episodes released each week) of the Thermae Romae anime turned out to be very enjoyable.
When I watched the first episode, and Lucius called the Japanese flat faced people and slaves, I thought there would be an ongoing theme of racism. It didn't take long for me to realize that it would have been a normal reaction for somebody with that background. Had Lucius ended up in an earlier time period when the Japanese didn't welcome foreigners, he would have experienced a form of racism and will probably be called something unflattering ("Gaijin" is the most likely term). Not that they would understand each other's words because of the language barrier.
Most of the humor stemmed from Lucius' struggle to understand the new sights and experiences that he encountered. Every contraption made him lament at the ingenuity of the Japanese. Every new taste made him dumbstruck, teary eyed or suddenly besieged by images. It makes you appreciate how lucky we are to live in a time where there are fruit flavored milk juices, soft boiled eggs, sake, beer, ramen and gyoza. He encountered electric fans, outdoor baths, a home bathroom and an onsen (hot spring village). His encounter with the many, many, many features of the Japanese toilet bowl was something I already expected, but still found hilarious.
Thermae Romae is a mixture of time travel comedy, bath education and history lesson. Every episode featured a bath commission, time travel and new discoveries. Even though it followed a formula, the series didn't feel tired or repetitive. While expected, the culture clash of Ancient Rome and modern day Japan still proved to be great material.
The Thermae Romae anime will probably never win any awards, but seemed to have struck a chord with viewers. The series doesn't take itself seriously, which is why I suggest that if you ever get the opportunity to watch it, you should suspend both seriousness and expectations. If you find the flash animation off putting, I can definitely tell you that it's worth it to suspend your prejudice against its seemingly lack of visual appeal. And if you can't stop thinking about how ridiculous the concept might be, I say put a lid on it and just give it a try. There are weirder stuff being shown nowadays that aren't worth a second of your time.
If you still have doubts, then you should know that the powers that be considered it worthy enough to create a live action movie adaptation that will be released in April.
Happy viewing!!
Labels: Adaptation, Anime, Comedy, Must-Watch, Period, Thermae Romae, Time Travel, TV
