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17th April 2022 - Thermae Romae Novae ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Written while listening to a confused anonradio trying to play random songs while also playing a repeat of Moonlight Talks from _Braindamage Recently I have been watching something which is an odd choice for me. I tend to watch comedies, mysteries and thriller schlock on TV. However, thanks to Netflix seemingly always recommending the latest thing they have commissioned, I have found a new obsession. It is an anime called Thermae Romae Novae. As you may guess from the latin name, it is set in ancient Rome and for those who have a vague understanding of latin may have also guessed, it is about Roman baths of the novel variety. The series follows the adventures of Lucius Modestus, our erstwhile hero who happens to design baths. This is a strange programme but rather enjoyable. Our hero Lucius basically comes from a line of bath architects and so becomes one. He has a strange habit of falling under water and waking up in modern day Japan. This leads to great confusion and issues. There is a slightly weird way of referring to the Japanese as "flat faces". This is rather disconcerting but the author is Japanese so I guess it is just me being weird about it. Anyhow, Lucius discovers something new each time he appears in modern Japan and then collapses into a bath which then brings him back to Rome. There, he brings a version of this back and gains fame. This repeats each episode with some vague story around it. This is strange but strangely captivating. I am not sure why but the reasonably short episodes at 20 minutes helps. At the end of each episode there is a short where the author of the manga visits an onsen (Japanese spring) and learns something about it. This tends to give a clue what the next episode will focus on too. The author is a lovely woman who seems genuinely interested in onsens. It appears she wrote the manga as a way of exploring onsens through the lense of a foreign culture who also appreciated bathing. If you want a weird but wonderful way of distracting yourself while learning about ancient Rome and Japanese onsens then go and watch it. It may not change your life or perspectives on life but you will learn something.