Lucius Is Back in the Bath
Thermae Romae Redux — the sequel to Mari Yamazaki's beloved comedy about a Roman bath architect who keeps time-slipping into modern Japan — is back in action. Comic Natalie reports that Chapter 14 went live on Shonen Jump+ today after roughly eight months of silence.
The sequel picks up 20 years after the original series ended. Lucius, the Roman bath engineer who once marveled at Japanese bathhouse culture, has grown old. His wife Satsuki has mysteriously vanished, and his relationship with their son Marius is strained. Naturally, the solution involves another trip through time to Japan.
What Happens in Chapter 14
The new chapter brings back Satsuki alongside her grandfather Tetsuzō. The story is set in Itō, a hot-spring town in Shizuoka Prefecture — fitting real estate for a manga built entirely around bathing culture. Beyond that, the source doesn't reveal much about the chapter's plot, so we'll leave it for readers to discover.
Free Original Chapters Rolling Out Now
To celebrate the comeback, Shueisha is releasing all chapters of the original Thermae Romae for free on Shonen Jump+. The rollout starts today and chapters will go live sequentially — a solid excuse to revisit (or binge for the first time) the manga that turned ancient Roman plumbing into one of the most charming comedy premises in the medium.
For those unfamiliar, the original Thermae Romae ran from 2008 to 2013 and spawned a Netflix anime series (Thermae Romae Novae, 2022) and two live-action films starring Hiroshi Abe. It's one of those rare manga concepts that sounds absurd on paper — a Roman bathhouse designer discovers Japanese bathing innovation via time travel — and works precisely because Yamazaki plays it straight.
Looking Ahead
Thermae Romae Redux is available in English on Manga Plus, Shueisha's free global manga platform, so international readers can follow along with new chapters as they drop. The original manga is also published in English by Yen Press, including a complete omnibus edition for anyone looking to start from the beginning.
No set schedule has been announced for how frequently new chapters will arrive now that the series is back from hiatus. Given the manga's history of irregular publication — it launched on Shonen Jump+ in February 2024 and has taken multiple breaks since — readers may want to enjoy Chapter 14 without assuming a weekly cadence.