TV Season Review - Thermae Romae Novae (Season 1)

 

There are two things that I like. One is anime and the other is history. Now although I am a big anime fan and have watched a lot of it, history on the other hand is something I rarely touch upon because much of what has happened in history can be quite negative. From world wars to diseases and lots of other things, the only reason why I get into history is thanks to the Assassin's Creed games which always follow the motto "history is our playground". Of course, I also like other history stuff, especially time travelling things such as Doctor Who and Back to the Future among others. Today we look at one of Netflix's anime series that is not quite what I would expect with an anime given how I'm used to either the calm and beautiful visuals of Studio Ghibli or the action packed and funny elements of other anime shows out there. But regardless, let's take a look at this one:

The series follows an ancient Roman architect called Lucius (voiced by David Wald) who is one of those architect that is struggling to come up with ideas. That is until he discovers a drain in a bathhouse that sends him to a more modern day bathhouse in Japan. Understandably confused, he soon starts to admire what is around him and finally gets the inspiration he needs to make stuff in his time. Going to other places such as a hot spring, family festivals and other places with each part being an adventure into modern Japan to get ideas to bring back to his own time.

Although it may only end up being one of those one shot anime shows that doesn't continue beyond season 1, it's OK for what it is. It's not the typical sort of anime that I usually watch, but it's funny with a bit of black humour, and it may give you some inspiration for things to build (though time travel has yet to be invented) yourself. Good animation too, and classical pieces of music are well-placed in each episode to add a bit of flare to it. 8/10