Thermae Romae (テルマエ・ロマエ) is one of the few manga that I am following at the moment; I read it as soon as new volumes are released. The good thing is that volumes are released months apart from each other, so it’s easy to follow. It started being only a single manga but lately anime adaptations and even a live-action movie have been released.
The main character is Lucius Modestus, a Roman architect that one day finds a thermae in which he can travel through time and appear in an ofuro in present day Japan. The plot plays with the different possibilities that Lucius has by bringing ideas and technologies back to ancient Rome. I love the kind of imagination that the mangaka Mari Yamazaki has and the funny situation that happen in the most appropriate times.
These are some photos of the invasion of merchandising based on the manga and the movie:
Take a picture of yourself with Lucius body. Using the QR code you can get the first volume for free.
Bath salts
The movie
T-shirts
Manga volumes and books about the manga.
Compilation of the 100 best ofuros in Japan according to Lucius.
The main characters in the movie are played by Aya Ueto and Hiroshi Abe. The movie is not bad but I was hoping more from Aya Ueto 🙂