THERMAE ROMAE HC (2025)

"When Roman architect Lucius is criticized for his 'outdated' thermae designs, he retreats to the local bath to collect his thoughts. Slipping deeper into the warm water, Lucius is suddenly caught in the suction and dragged through the drainage at the bottom of the bath! He emerges coughing and sputtering amid a group of strange-looking foreigners with the most peculiar bathhouse customs - over 1,500 years in the future in modern-day Japan! His contemporaries wanted him to modernize, and so, borrowing the customs of these mysterious bath-loving people, Lucius opens what quickly becomes the most popular new bathhouse in Rome - Thermae Romae!"

"This surprise bestseller in the Japanese market has been an incredible success story and has spawned a major motion picture! A historical comedy highlighting history's most passionate bath-lovers: the ancient Romans and the modern Japanese! When Roman architect Lucius is criticized for his 'outdated' thermae designs, he retreats to the local bath to collect his thoughts. Slipping into the warm water, Lucius is suddenly caught in the suction and dragged through the drainage at the bottom of the bath! He emerges coughing and sputtering amid a group of strange-looking foreigners with the most peculiar bathhouse customs - over 1,500 years in the future in modern-day Japan!"

"This surprise bestseller in the Japanese market has been an incredible success story and has spawned a major motion picture! Though he has been trapped in the 21st-century for several weeks, Lucius is still amazed at the wondrous innovations of the flat-faces people, and meeting Satsuki has given him an even greater understanding of the things he has seen, not to mention an undeniable flutter in his heart. But despite his curiosity for this land, Lucius worries at the amount of time that has passed since he left Rome. The political atmosphere was already tense after the death of the emperor's heir, and Lucius fears what may befall Rome and the ailing Hadrian in his absence!"