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Manga-Based Live-Action Thermae Romae Teaser Streamed
posted on by Egan Loo
The official website for the live-action film adaptation of Mari Yamazaki's Thermae Romae manga opened on Friday with a streaming teaser trailer.
Thermae Romae is a comedy about Lucius — an architect of public bath houses (thermae) in ancient Rome — who time-travels to various modern-day baths in Japan. Through manga and essay passages, Yamazaki explores the two cultures in the world "that have loved baths the most: the Japanese and the Romans!" Yamazaki launched the manga in 2008, and the third compiled book volume shipped on April 25.
Hiroshi Abe (Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu Hokuto no Ken: Kenshirō-den, Trick, Godzilla 2000 Millenium) plays Lucius, although when the teaser trailer shows him emerging in a modern public bath in Japan, it saw fit to literally point out that he is an "ancient Roman." Aya Ueto also stars in the film. The film will open on April 28, 2012.
The work won the Manga Taisho (Cartoon Grand Prize) award last year, followed by the Short Work Prize in the 14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes. It has since sold over 5 million copies. Although Yamazaki was born in Tokyo, she now lives in Chicago.
[Via 0takomu]
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