Anime: Thermae Romae

Overview
Thermae Romae is a short and intermittently amusing series based around the concept of time travel and bathhouse etiquette. It borrows the style and comedic phrasing of early Adult Swim shows such as Harvey Birdman and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but lacks the surreality and invention of it's American cousins.

Art and Animation
A gloriously low-budget affair, much of the humour is derived from the juxtaposition of the overly dramatic facial expressions and the lack of animation. Characters rarely move, and are often positioned almost as if on flat planes, with little or no regard for perspective or positioning. Combining this with quick fire close-ups and awkward pauses give the whole show a vibe reminiscent of the aforementioned US Adult Swim channel.
The art itself varies wildly, from realistic depections for the main Roman characters to crudely drawn Flash scribbles and some hilariously bizarre charicatures.
It's hard to fault the limited animation, being as so much of my enjoyment stems from it's lackadaisical nature and bodge-job asthetic.

Sound
The series utilises many famous pieces of music such as 'Morning' from Grieg's Peer Gynt suite to good use as the delicate and dramatic compositions serve to widen the gulf between the character's shock and the 'low-brow' art. Various tones are used throughout to signify various states of emotion and the sound design and foley are sparsely used, but add punch and clarification well.

Story and Character
The storyline for each ten minute short is near identical, consisting of the main character having an issue to solve and then travelling through a wormhole to reach modern day Japan and learning a solution to take back. The characters are amusing enough, and there is often humour in seeing someone from the past encounter modern day amenities such as fans or flavoured milk drinks. It does start to wear out it's welcome as the series goes on and the characters are not developed, instead appearing as a constant stream of reactions.

When a show like this has such a limited concept it can do one of two things. It can stay comfortable and repeat itself, or it can push against the tight box it find itself hemmed into. Unfortunately Thermae Romae opts for the former, offering a series of episodes that are an amusing distraction but never rise above or deviate from the initial concept. That said - it was a very short run, and it could be that a bit more time could have allowed the writers to have a little more fun with the idea. It's certainly worth a watch, even if it's just to appreciate a series trying something a little different.