https://myanimelist.net/anime/34368I watched Vatican Kiseki Chousakan (including OVA), also known as Vatican Miracle Examiner. Here are my thoughts:
This anime is about two religious scholars who travel around investigating the validity of various miracles on behalf of the Vatican. This show has an intense Roman Catholic theme that is quite unique – I really appreciated this aspect of it. However, aside from its strong unwavering commitment to this rich Catholic theme, this show isn't well directed. The actual screenplay and script are kinda dull. Furthermore, as much as I love the premise, the writing is undeniably super amateurish and feels like a novel you'd find in the bargain bin of somebody's neighbourhood yard sale. The plot is so absurd it feels like a kid wrote it. The explanations used to justify the various mysteries in the story are completely ridiculous. As a whole this show is incredibly campy, but that's what makes it fun to watch.
Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is a very unique show. It's so over the top it's comical, yet plays it dead serious at all times. Like, I honestly can't tell whether or not this is all just pokerface satire. This anime has a unique satirical charm that I really enjoyed and think others would as well. On a related note, I definitely got a shounen-ai vibe from the two main characters, which is somewhat ironic to say the least, and also enhanced the parody feeling even more. Plus, they were super cute together.
The two MCs are actually great characters: unique, likeable, memorable, and they complement each other well. Additionally, I liked both of their VAs and thought they suited the roles. Another thing that adds to the show's campy charm is how the many English words in the script are mispronounced by the seiyuus (to the point that referring to the subtitles is often still necessary).
Visually, the show is adequate at best. Some of the character designs are decent, but other than that it is super basic and feels low budget. I think much of the poor visual budget was compensated for by using poor lighting in many scenes. Thankfully, not much character animation is needed to tell this dialogue-heavy story. I do like the seemingly authentic church-like OST. There is a lot of choral music, organs and that sort of thing, which suits the themes and mood of the anime. I'm glad they committed to the t
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