When I went into Thermae Romae Novae, I was expecting a silly, horny, fanservice anime that spent most of its time showing off naked people for the fun of it. So you can imagine my surprise when it ended up being a surprisingly wholesome show that explores both ancient Roman and Japanese culture. (It primarily focuses on bathing culture, but still explores plenty of other aspects as well). I was blown away by just how culturally educational this show ended up being. I honestly feel like I learned more about both cultures from this show than I ever had sitting in school or researching online. And the little segments where the mangaka walks around exploring real hot springs and other bathing locations in Japan was just so cute and educational that I couldn't help but love it. Of course, this show is far from perfect. In fact in some regards, it's even kind of bad. The animation ranges from passable to horrid. And the characters, while loveable and fun, are anything but deep, dynamic, and three dimensional. As much as I love Lucius, he's more of a device to carry the show rather than an actual character. But in all honesty, even with these flaws in mind, I don't think they detract from the show all that much. It sets out to be an educational series about bathing culture in both Rome and Japan, all while being decently funny and cute along the way. The show absolutely achieves its goals, and it should be commended for that. I was pleasantly surprised by this show, and ended up enjoying it far more than I was expecting to. (Oh and also, while the show definitely isn't an ecchi anime by the usual standards like I was expecting, there is still an intensely large amount of nudity. Almost all of which, are men. And you know what? That's awesome! We need more shows that are happy to just show naked men on screen, I love it.)

A fun little anime about the culture of thermal baths. Implemented by switching between ancient Rome and modern Japan and comparing their peculiarities. It‘s more interesting than it sounds at first. Especially a segment at the end of every episode where the mangaka explores Japans onsens is varied and intriguing. On the other hand stand the story and the art style. Those aren’t disruptive but therefor quite forgettable. For people interested in the topic this show is nice to watch but not a must.

Mooie ding. Ik heb genoten.