Mari Yamazaki’s delightful sequel Zoku Thermae Romae (Thermae Romae Redux) has made its triumphant return! The manga popped back up with a fresh chapter on Monday over on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ platform, ending an eight-month hiatus that left fans wondering when Lucius would next swap his toga for modern Japanese bath culture.
The break began after chapter 13 dropped back in September, but this isn’t the first time the series has taken a breather. It actually came back last July following a shorter pause in spring 2024—proving that even time-traveling architects need occasional downtime.
Yamazaki first launched this sequel in February 2024 on Shonen Jump+, and Shueisha released the second collected volume just this past March. In the current storyline, our hero Lucius is creeping up on 60 years old but still zealously jumps between ancient Rome and contemporary Japan, hunting for the next brilliant bath innovation.
If you’re new to the franchise, the original Thermae Romae manga (which ran from 2008 to 2013 in Kadokawa’s Comic Beam) sparked a Netflix anime adaptation called Thermae Romae Novae that debuted in March 2022. Netflix sums it up perfectly: Lucius, a Roman bath designer, accidentally time-travels to modern Japan and discovers the wonders of Japanese bathing culture—and hijinks ensue.
The original manga also inspired a 2012 anime trilogy and two live-action films starring Hiroshi Abe and Aya Ueto. Over in North America, Yen Press handles the manga publishing while Discotek brought the anime to fans here.
Sources: Shonen Jump+, Comic Natalie
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