Edited in Canva
I just finished this anime earlier this afternoon. Unlike my previous watch, this one took me two days to finish. I have other personal stuff to attend to so it kinda dragged a bit, but anyway I already finished it and now I'm again sharing this another anime review. Since this month's quest is looking for a time travel anime, I looked for underrated ones that could possibly be enjoyable. And luckily, I found this anime that perfectly fit with my preference. I'm really a sucker for historical anime so the moment I saw its theme, I didn't hesitate to give it a try. So be with me as I share with you a portion of our MC's journey as he magically slips inside different Japanese bathhouses and experiences the bathing cultures he never experienced in his era in Thermae Romae Novae
About the Anime
Thermae Romae Novae is an ONA that aired last March 28, 2022. This 11-episode-long ONA was animated by NAZ and was based on a seinen manga, Thermae Romae, that was written by Mari Yamazaki. This one is a comedy anime that features an adult cast, historical and time travel themes. Unlike my previous time travel recommendation, this one is mostly past-to-future time travel. Also, this one focuses more on the MC's experience rather than the historical events that unfolded in his time, but still, you can learn what are the important events that happened in his era through brief and informative historical infos that was narrated and in dialogues.
So much for that, this story starts with a boy named Lucius Modestus. Unlike his friend who already dreams of being a stonemason when he grows up, Lucius has no certain dream yet. However, an unfortunate yet eye-opening encounter in a bathhouse with his bullies made him realize his dream which is to be a thermae or bathhouse architect. Fast-forward to his adult years, he had achieved that dream however he's still jobless because his ideas were rejected. New ideas were on demand however Lucius is still stuck with the outdated ones, thus making him unfit for the job.
Agitated with the outcome of his job venture, his friend invited him to the bathhouse to relax. But instead of relaxing, he became agitated again because of the bustling and noisy environment and with that, he decided to submerge himself in the water. There he noticed something and when he dived deeper he discovered a tunnel. Curious, he goes inside only that this tunnel isn't an ordinary one for as he resurfaces above the waters, he sees that he isn't in Rome anymore because he's now in a modern-Japan bathhouse!
I initially thought that this anime would be boring, but to my surprise, it kinda exceeded my expectations. It's really funny and entertaining and also I like how despite that it has a historical theme, it doesn't bury you with a lot of historical infos. As I've mentioned, it focuses more on the MC's experience rather than the narration of historical events that unfolded at that time. But of 'course you'll still know what are the important events in his era through the narrations and also the dialogues. And the premise! It is definitely promising because a crossover between ancient Rome and mostly modern-day Japan (yeah mostly—because it isn't always that he gets transported to modern Japan, yet nevertheless it's still Japan) is quite an out of the box idea.
However, that premise falls short on its execution. The way he gets transported to the Japanese bathhouse becomes repetitive and quite uneventful because it's either he slips or falls as long as he's going to end up in the water. Eventually, it became predictable to me when he would get transported because every time he got an architect block, the next thing I immediately think is that he will accidentally slip into a Japanese bathhouse again and that somehow lessened the anticipation. Yet still, I'm looking forward to how he will get transported or in what bathhouse or even bathroom will he end up. This whole ONA doesn't have a solid plot or story, but it's a nice way to get to know more about bathhouses—especially the ones with hot springs.
Further, despite that it's a comedy anime it didn't try to make other themes adjust just to make the whole story funnier. It's funny in its own ways and also informative at the same time, and I really learned a lot about thermae and onsen. Moreover, the characters—though not all of them are interesting—played their role well. Lucius isn't exactly the ideal MC because there are times I find him quite disturbing. I mean the way he thought about the Japanese the first time he saw them—the flat-faced people and also he called them slaves—it's just unsettling. Anyway setting that aside, I enjoyed the short bathhouse pilgrimage that its manga author hosted at the end of each episode because it's fascinating to see how many different bathhouses, bathing cultures and even bathhouse cuisines Japan has.
As for its visuals, well I gotta be honest because I'm not fond of it. There are parts where the background sceneries are beautiful, but other than that it's...ok. Like its art style, its animation wasn't that nice either because most of the time the characters move kinda rigid and their movements lack fluidity. It wasn't that horrible but it's definitely far from best. However, its soundtrack was nice because it made me feel the mood of the scene it portrays. From excitement, suspense, and thrill to melancholy, sadness, and ominous feelings, I really heard that its soundtrack really conveyed those through music. The opening song feels so grand and it matches how I envisioned the Roman empire had been before.
Overall, this anime was a cozy watch for me, but I guess this one isn't for all. It's undeniably unusual because this anime is particularly all about bathhouses and other stuff related to it and I knew not all viewers were interested in them. I read some reviews criticizing how simplistic each episode's storyline was, but I guess they just fail to recognize the beauty in simple things like them. Or perhaps that concept isn't just for them, so if you're interested in trying this better brace yourself for some dull parts at the beginning because once you overcome them, you'll eventually enjoy this odd yet entertaining crossover between different cultures and eras in Thermae Romae Novae.
Before I end this review, I'll share with you its trailer, so—
Have you watched this anime before? Or is this your first time seeing it? If you have something to say about it, then feel free to share them in the comments. That's all for now, minna-san! I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.