Thermae Romae Novae Review: A Hilarious Netflix Anime About A Bizarre Cross-Dimensional Bathhouse

Cast: Kenjiro Tsuda, Sanae Kobayashi, Chikahiro Kobayashi

Director: Tetsuya Tatamitani

Streaming Platform: Netflix (click to watch)

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Thermae Romae Novae a Japanese Netflix anime, gag comedy, complete in episodes. It tells the story of Japanese bathhouse culture in a way that is hilarious from outsiders’ eyes. By this story, let’s pretend the Romans crossed over time to meet a modern Japanese bathhouse with ideas that are more chic than the past.

Thermae Romae Novae Review: The Story

The anime tells the story of Lucius, a Roman bathhouse designer who lost his job because he had no idea how to create a new bathhouse to satisfy his employers. But then he broke through the dimensions into a Japanese bathhouse through a well in the Roman era. Seeing bathhouses and various cultures was shocking in his mind. and when he returned to the normal world every time will bring those ideas to build in the Romans until they become famous Which the plot of this story will loop like this, every episode is a gag cartoon style. Each episode is 20 minutes (excluding credits). There are 11 episodes in this season. Which the hero will warp to Japan according to different eras, not unique, and then come back confused every time before ending with a build, applying what he saw to the Roman people to use it until it exploded.

The highlight of this story, of course, is the humorous depiction of Japanese bathhouse culture but gain knowledge. It’s just embarrassing to have to take a bath all naked like that. In addition, some places do not separate men and women differently. Called anyone who had anything to see. But the Japanese will not bring this matter to stare at anything. And then he took a bath for a long time until getting used to numbness is normal. But the laughter that comes from the character Lucius will be extremely overacting. with everything seen in Japan like a shampoo cap to prevent shampoo from getting into the eyes Wooden basket for clothes, shampoo, rags, or just outside the room. Monkeys bathing in open-air baths, Onsen eggs, milk and fruit juices popularly sold in bathhouses. Which Lucius’ overacting is based on being a Roman in the past, having never seen things today, so it’s all strange.

Thermae Romae Novae Review And Analysis

In addition, Lucius’s point of view was so grotesque that it made him laugh. He called the Japanese “Braveless tribes” or those with a flat face or something like that. which is like a funny bully from a foreigner’s perspective Which makes me laugh every time Lucius uses these words in his mind that this tribe again. In addition, the bathing culture was more advanced than the Romans, who were often considered to be the greatest of any nation at the time. which after Lucius did not understand that he had crossed over time He became nervous that this tribe was very frightening and dangerous to the Romans. because they thought they were in the same era by which he teleported back and forth in Japan from Edo to the present.

The story will set that before Lucius has to create something that is a problem. and then accidentally came across the bathhouse in a way that satisfies my heart every time Lucius himself knew full well that he hadn’t thought of it himself, copied him, but in order to advance the Romans in order to keep up with the defenseless clan, he had to do it. Which the idea of ​​nationalism that swallows and resists copying him here is something that is very funny to the audience. Because Lucius himself didn’t copy it as he understood. But it’s just an idea and then comes to apply it by himself as he understands which each one is very funny but it really works too.

In addition to stories from the bathhouse There are still some episodes that are separated from something that is similar like a bathtub in the house. bathroom in the house the sanitary wares in Japanese bathrooms are a bit high-tech. such as a toilet with a built-in sprayer Sometimes it’s a Japanese water park. Lucius pushes to understand that this is a bathhouse for all ages. Seeing the water slides and toys in the water park, I thought it was made for the bathhouse like this for kids to have fun with. Or go see hotels along the way in the Edo period with good service. Brought it back to Rome but there will be only a few moments like this. It’s like just taking a break from the various bathhouse stories that the writers want to present in a unique way.

But even if it’s a cartoon gag at the end of the episode but it has some story lines. connected with Like the story that the hero is so busy doing a job that makes his wife angry until she runs away. Which the hero will try to find a way to reconcile with his wife through the story in a bit latent with another story line, his career climb to become the emperor’s personal architect. which will have a story about how to design a bath in different ways Along with the history of Roman power expansion is faint. which makes this matter secretly intervene Came in with, in addition to the various pearl bathhouses that doesn’t seem that much.

In addition, every episode will have a short documentary of about 5 minutes that tells the story behind the work of Master Mari Yamazaki, where the idea for the bathhouse in each episode came from. Why are there so many? She travels around Japan to learn about the local bathhouses that are unique in all their different styles and details. It was considered as an open-world period that the bathhouse she wrote in this story actually existed, and it was a new knowledge that Japanese people like Master Yu had never even known about before.

Thermae Romae Novae Review: The Last Words

A gag cartoon anime with a very unconventional storyline. About Japanese and Roman bath culture by being caught and smashed together like a funny anime Laughter guaranteed Even though the story may repeat the same story as the bathhouse in the whole story.