Please show them the way, oh Lord; the Vatican Miracle Examiners!

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan Introduction and Story (Spoilers)

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is exactly what the English name suggests; it follows priests as they investigate claims of miracles from God. The main characters are good friends Hiraga Josef Kou, an incredible scientist, and historical and cryptanalysis expert Robert Nicholas. They both work for the Vatican for an organisation called the Assembly of Saints. Together, they travel the world to investigate instances that are claimed to be miracles, trying to first disprove them through science and analysis to see if they truly are acts of God.

Robert and Hiraga investigate three main missions during Vatican Kiseki Chousakan - one in South America involving a virgin conception, one in Africa about a priest whose dead body doesn't rot, and finally one in Italy with a statue of Jesus that is bathed in rainbow light every morning. Through their explorations and investigations in Vatican Kiseki Chousakan, all three miracles and the incidents around them are proven to be not miracles of God but explainable by science. Just because they aren't miracles doesn't mean that nothing deeper is going on though; Hiraga and Robert uncover a massive conspiracy being run by the seemingly holy priest Father Julia!

In Vatican Kiseki Chousakan, nothing is as it seems. From miracles to cults, murder to secret plots, everything will keep you guessing what is happening - and what will happen next.

What We Liked About Vatican Kiseki Chousakan

To put it simply, Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is fun to watch. It's really exciting with intense stories and deep plot holes that can really drag you in, and excitement and adventure to match. It has a fair amount of supernatural elements too, such as demons, satanic rituals, mysterious figures from the beyond - and of course, crazy miracles that need investigating by Robert and Hiraga! Everything about the show is dramatic, from the characters' reactions and attitudes to the solutions to the mysteries. That drama keeps the energy high and keeps you hooked, and feeling like everything happening is intense.

The story itself is a cool one, following two priests on their journey to prove or disprove miracles. They use plenty of science and occult history to do that, which is also interesting to watch and clearly well thought-out by the writers of Vatican Kiseki Chousakan. It has plenty of shocking moments too, so just when you might be settled into the pace, it rocks the boat with a sudden reveal or a new element of the mystery. That shock factor also serves to keep you interested and paying attention and is undeniably exciting. Occasionally Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is even a little bit scary and morbid, depicting martyrs' deaths, demon babies, and Nazi sympathisers. Everything is done to tell a stimulating and action-packed story from an unlikely source. No one expected that two priests could have such insane adventures - and that's what keeps you watching. You just have to know what will happen next!

Discussion Time

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is an anime that left us feeling conflicted; it has so much going for it, and yet so much holding it back at the same time. Initially, we were super excited about such an interesting idea for an anime, exploring religion in a new way and offering up an anime that stood apart from the others airing at the same time. And from the first episode, we were intrigued, waiting with anticipation each week for the next episode and the next part of the story. We wanted to know more about who Hiraga and Robert were, and what was going on at the private boys' school they were investigating in South America. And for the first three episodes, it was great.

And then very suddenly, the entire plotline of that story arc was revealed in one episode, the scenes rushing together one after another with no transitions, and everything was resolved almost as quickly as it had been revealed. This proved to be the pattern with Vatican Kiseki Chousakan; slowly reveal an awesome story, and then rush to wrap it up and explain everything as quickly as possible. Watching the stories unfold was really fun and it was great to try to guess what would happen and see the friendship between Hiraga and Robert, as well as some interesting side characters like Lauren. But on the flip side, the stories were too big for what the anime could accomplish successfully.

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is a small anime with big dreams. It can be really fun to watch, or really frustrating, depending on what you're looking for in an anime. The final decision on which you feel is stronger, the pros or the cons is up to you!

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is a really fun anime to watch. It always keeps you on the edge of your seat, craving the next episode to see the next piece of the puzzle unveiled. The ideas in the anime are all original and very unpredictable, so if you're craving an anime that will keep you guessing and trying to solve the mystery, Vatican Kiseki Chousakan can provide that. It never slows down either; from start to finish, it's a wild ride with only occasional slower scenes to explain something. But they're always followed up by some (often supernatural) excitement!

1. Original Idea

A lot of anime these days seems to feel all too familiar like it's a story or a plot point that you have already seen countless times. Also, most anime is based on a media form that already exists, such as a manga, light novel, or game. And while that is not a bad thing at all, when something original comes along, of course, it's special! And Vatican Kiseki Chousakan was definitely an original idea and story. That means that viewers are left guessing the whole time as well as they had no other way to know what would happen next other than to wait with anticipation for the next episode to air.

While there are a fair number of anime that make use of Christian theology in some way (including famous titles like Evangelion or Hellsing, which both use it in very unique and different ways), Vatican Kiseki Chousakan uses it as it's base. The two main characters are priests after all, and Vatican is right in the title. You definitely know what you're signing up for! Vatican Kiseki Chousakan uses Christian ideology, famous figures, morals and codes to create its original story without ever pushing the religion itself on the viewer. As for Christian viewers, don't worry; it also never puts the religion down, either! It's a fine line to walk and a risk for sure, but Vatican Kiseki Chousakan does it tastefully.

2. Fast-Paced Action

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is not lacking in action. While there are sometimes extended scenes of talking or explaining the context, they're always counterbalanced by intense action sequences. Some can be quite violent, such as the Motley Clown's decapitations in a penultimate story arc, or the horrific sacrifices the priests were made into in the African church. There are life-and-death sequences as Robert and Hiraga race against the clock to survive, and these will keep you on the edge of your seat! With guns, murder, snake attacks, drugs, and satanic rituals, Vatican Kiseki Chousakan brings nothing short of intense supernatural action in every episode.

In fact, the slowest episode of the anime is actually the last one, which just explores Ryota's story. It still has some intense moments but is more of a narrative than the rest of the anime. The other 11 episodes are jam-packed with violence, chases, puzzles, fights, and surprises. By the time the final episode comes along, especially if you're bingeing the show and watching a lot of it, the slower pace might be a nice relief!

3. Unpredictable

One thing Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is incredibly good at is completely blindsiding the viewer with plot reveals. Most of the stories behind each arc in the show seem to come out of nowhere before they are explained, and each clue along the line is shown. But until that moment, it's hard to ever expect what is coming. Sometimes even Robert or Hiraga has figured out the mystery behind the miracle, but they don't reveal their knowledge to the viewer until they have to.

Trust us when we say that information is delivered in a very blunt and straight-forward way. While it can be argued as negative to have all the answers dumped on you at once and then the steps retraced to explain it, it definitely keeps the show unpredictable! Even the eventual reveal that Father Julia, who has seemed like such a good person, was behind everything was surprising - and it was even more shocking at the end when he helped Hiraga's brother rather than kill him. You can try to solve the mysteries of the characters and miracles faster than Hiraga and Robert, but good luck being successful!

Some of the same reasons that make Vatican Kiseki Chousakan worth watching can actually make it not appealing to people as well. While it does have fast-paced action sequences and the plot moves along very quickly, it does it at the expense of rushing through the story and throwing character development and explanations to the side. Vatican Kiseki Chousakan has a hard time finding a balance between staying interesting and shocking and keeping viewers satisfied and feeling like they understand.

1. Rushed Storylines

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is a 12 episode anime with massive aspirations. The story arcs are attempts to tell are huge stories with a lot of characters, conspiracies, plot points, and reveals. And it wants to do three of them! However, due to time, it simply ends up rushing each in the end. For example, the first three episodes slowly begin to explain that something is afoot at a private school in South America where priests are being murdered and a woman is pregnant despite never having sex. It sets up a really intriguing mystery that keeps you guessing the whole way. And then in less than 20 minutes, drops the massive bombshell that the woman is being artificially inseminated with the cryogenically frozen sperm of Hitler and the child might be a demon due to rituals around his birth.

On top of that, the children at the school are being trained for the next Hitler youth by old ex-Nazis posing as priests. And then it's all completely resolved and Robert and Hiraga return to the Vatican – in about one episode.

To say that Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is ambitious with its plot lines is an understatement. The ideas that it has are great, but we would love to see them fleshed out over an appropriate number of episodes. While the pace guarantees you won't ever be bored or grow tired of a story, it does it at the expense of leaving you feeling confused and overwhelmed instead. Nothing is explored as deeply as it should be, and could have been if each arc had about twice as many episodes. Vatican Kiseki Chousakan has the plots for at least a 24 episode anime crammed into one half as long, which can leave the viewer feeling disappointed and stressed.

2. Inconclusive Ending

Be warned that Vatican Kiseki Chousakan does not have a conclusive ending. While all of the smaller story arcs explored in the show are closed and completed, the overarching one surrounding Father Julia and his entire conspiracy is left open. The last time that Robert and Hiraga speak to Father Julia in person, they turn down his offer to join them. Father Julia threatens to kill Ryota, and sentences Robert and Hiraga to death immediately. But in the end, Father Julia actually saves Ryota without any explanation.

Why he does this, and what will happen with his massive conspiracy, are never explored further. The viewer is left with another scene confirming Robert and Hiraga's friendship as well as their commitment to God but nothing else. It doesn't even hint at if they will pursue Father Julia's cause any further. If you're looking for a lot of closure, Vatican Kiseki Chousakan can't provide it and will just leave you with even more questions. But at least it ties up the short stories, right?

3. Not Enough Character Development

Again, Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is only 12 episodes long, so it doesn't have much time to pack in all the things it wanted to. That means that character background information and development is left most of the time to the side in favour of action and expansive conspiracies. From the beginning, you're given very little information about Hiraga other than he has a younger brother who is very sick and nothing about Robert. Through the story, eventually bits of Robert's backstory are revealed such as his murderous father and childhood abuse, but next to nothing is ever explained about Hiraga. His brother Ryota at least as the entire last episode to explain his own story a bit, but Hiraga is left with almost nothing.

Hiraga and Robert do not grow much as characters in the series, either, other than becoming possibly better friends (though following the theme little is known of their early time together). As for the main villain, little is explained about Father Julia and his origins. How a man that seems so devout and moral can be so corrupt is intriguing, but Vatican Kiseki Chousakan only scrapes the surface of exploring it. The smaller villains that are only around for the purpose of one story arc are given almost no information either other than what is directly and immediately important. Vatican Kiseki Chousakan has a lot of characters, but sadly, none of them get the stories they deserve.

Final Thoughts

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is an anime that had a lot of potentials that wasn't fulfilled in a satisfying way. The story was really original and interesting, and the mysteries were involved and deep with so many cool elements. Even just the idea of priests investigating miracles through science and reasoning was a really novel and unique idea. However, with only 12 episodes, Vatican Kiseki Chousakan turned out to be too ambitious, trying to fit too many stories and too much information into a short time period. It left the anime feeling rushed and unfinished, and with more questions than answers. But if you're just looking for something that is undeniably fun and entertaining to watch, guaranteed to keep you hooked and greedy for the next episode to find out what will happen, then Vatican Kiseki Chousakan is a good fit.

Did you get a chance to watch Vatican Kiseki Chousakan? What did you think about it? If you haven't watched it yet, do you think you will give it a try? Let us know in the comments!

Writer

Author: Jet Nebula

Living the dream in Tokyo, where you can find me working at a theme café catered towards women. When I’m not writing for Honey’s, I’m working on original dystopian science fiction or blogging about Tokyo’s trendy coffee scene. I spend my free time in Harajuku and Shibuya wearing alternative Japanese street fashion. I love video games, J-rock, tattoos, and Star Wars.

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