Thermae Romae

Thermae Romae (Japanese: テルマエ・ロマエ), starring Hiroshi Abe, is a classic time-travel comedy film adapted from the best-selling manga of the same name by Japanese manga artist Mari Yamazaki. Basic Movie Information •Main Cast: Hiroshi Abe (as 'Lucius', an ancient Roman bath designer), Aya Ueto (as 'Mayumi Yamakoshi', a modern Japanese manga artist), Kazuki Kitamura, Masachika Ichimura. •Film Series: "Thermae Romae I" (Released in 2012): Achieved extremely high box office revenue of over 5 billion yen in Japan. "Thermae Romae II" (Released in 2014): The original cast returns, filming on location in Italy and various hot spring resorts in Japan. Core Plot Summary Lucius, an ancient Roman bath architect played by Hiroshi Abe, loses his job due to his overly conservative design philosophy. One day, while bathing, he is accidentally sucked into the bathtub drain and travels through time to a modern Japanese public bathhouse! He calls the Japanese, who look vastly different from ancient Romans, the 'flat-faced tribe' and is extremely shocked by inventions such as Japanese hot spring culture, washlet toilets, vending machine fruit milk, and jacuzzi bathtubs. Each time Lucius returns to ancient Rome, he incorporates these 'astonishing inspirations' into the renovation of Roman baths, leading to a series of absurd, hilarious, and accidentally crisis-saving stories for the Roman Empire.