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Thermae Romae Novae Anime's Latest Video Highlights Lucius' Reactions
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Netflix began streaming a new video on Wednesday for Thermae Romae Novae, the new anime based on Mari Yamazaki's Thermae Romae manga. The video features the protagonist Lucius reacting to different aspects of modern Japanese bath culture.
The series will premiere on Netflix worldwide on March 28.
Tetsuya Tatamitani (Africa Salaryman) is directing the anime, and Yūichirō Momose (Africa Salaryman, So I'm a Spider, So What?) is writing the scripts. NAZ is producing the animation with the original manga as a base, while also featuring new stories written by Yamazaki.
Kenjiro Tsuda will voice protagonist Lucius in the anime. Other cast members include:
- Sanae Kobayashi as Lucius' wife Livia
- Chikahiro Kobayashi as Marcus, who is always with Lucius
- Satoshi Hino as the serious and stubborn Regulus
- Tsutomu Isobe as Emperor Hadrian, who loves the Thermae
- Asami Seto as Mari Yamaguchi
- Shūichi Ikeda as Utagawa Kuniyoshi
- Takahiro Sakurai as Yoshida
- Yoshimasa Hosoya as Ceionius, Rome's #1 ladies' man
- Junya Enoki as Markus Annius Verus
The anime's opening theme song "Tōgyūshi no Uta ~Onsen Manner no Aria~" (Toreador Song ~An Aria for Bath House Manners~) is an adaptation of Georgez Bizet's classic aria "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre" (popularly known as the "Toreador Song") from the opera Carmen. Opera actor and singer Paolo Andrea di Pietro sang the aria, and also wrote the lyrics. Composer Ryo Kawasaki supervised and arranged the aria.
Netflix describes the story of the manga and anime:
Lucius, a bath designer in the Roman Empire, accidentally slips back in time to present day Japan and learns about Japanese bath culture in this comedy.
Netflix announced a partnership with Yamazaki along with five other Japanese creators in February 2020 to develop and produce original Japanese anime projects.
Yamazaki ended her Thermae Romae manga in March 2013. The manga previously inspired a three-episode anime in 2012 and two live-action films starring Hiroshi Abe and Aya Ueto. Yen Press publishes the manga in North America, while Discotek licensed the anime in North America. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime with English subtitles and an English dub.
