Thermae Romae Returns as Omnibus
Yen Press plans to make the out-of-print manga Thermae Romae available again. Mari Yamazaki’s Thermae Romae: The Complete Omnibus is due out October 18.
The original books were published at $35 each ($40 for the third and final), so $75 for the complete hardcover is a comparative deal.
The manga is the story of a Roman architect who falls through time via a bathhouse. He’s been told his ideas aren’t modern enough. When he emerges in present-day Japan, he learns how to improve his constructions, bringing concepts he sees back with him. It’s rather silly fun, although reading too many chapters at once will really pound home the message “and that’s why Japan’s ideas are the best!”
The third book becomes a bit of a soap opera, as Lucius encounters a Japanese woman who speaks Latin, and they become involved. Still, the whole series is very readable and an entertaining comparison of two cultures foreign to the English-speaking.
Thermae Romae: The Complete Omnibus can be ordered now from your local comic shop with Diamond code AUG22 2078.