×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Vatican Miracle Examiner (TV).


Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:53 am Reply with quote
The only way they'll top the outlandishness of this first arc is if the next one involves Cthulhu and aliens. For me, the main attraction of continuing to watch this show is to see just how batpoop crazy it will get.

eta: Oh Lord, if you haven't already done so, do yourself a favour and read:

What the Hell Just Happened in Vatican Miracle Examiner?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:46 am Reply with quote
#5

Now that the 4th episode has done such a good job turning away most if not all casual viewers (and inspiring comments on United-States anime websites on the series and its shortcomings), this thread should be much quieter.

As for the episode itself, it looks like a one-off introducing viewers to the background of Hiiraga's incredibly talented back-office associate Lauren. While they're doing it, a genuine mystery which appears to be inspired by Edgar Allen Poe is thrown in for good measure (I think it's the Monkey's Paw which is the main inspiration, with a bit of religious faith thrown in as per the theme of the series).

Unlike the previous story arc with its outlandish plot and relentless pace, this episode is genuinely about one man's faith and how it is tested through an unusual challenge from the devil(s). Hiiraga's conclusion after hearing Brickett's story might be somewhat blase and cliched, but it was enough to give the long-suffering man some peace of mind. Faith or not, it certainly helps sooth years of doubt compared to Lauren's fact-based chemical reactions stance.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:34 am Reply with quote
The fourth episode turned away casual viewers? Hardly. In fact, for a casual viewer like myself it ensured that I'd be in for the long haul in the hopes of seeing more trainwreckness.

Episode 5 was the first episode I actually liked, unironically. And it seems like we might have a homoerotic love triangle going on.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 10:46 am Reply with quote
#6

Another story arc, complete with change of scenery and a new set of personnel.

Like the arc which preceded this, there's a lot of information thrown at viewers in the first episode with little time to digest each tidbit before the next potential clue comes rushing in. It looks like this arc sees Roberto get his turn in the spotlight since it's hinted the intact corpse is probably his estranged father (or at least closely resembles him).

Maybe it's just me, but the sky above the church in this arc looks like it came straight out of an Edward Munch painting.

If this arc is like the one which preceded it, the denouement could be something really outlandish or it could be completely different with an outcome more prosaic but much more believable and easier to relate to. The priests haven't really got going with their investigation, so next week should see some answers and more developments.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 11:03 pm Reply with quote
So we are going to make guesses of what outlandish things await? The guy who died I think is at least being hinted at as Roberto's father, painter and all that. We have a lot of information that it is hard to figure what might be relevant. I am putting my outlandish theory of a plot twist to be that maybe he is not even dead but been paralysed by some obscure poison for the purpose to.... maybe sell paintings or books or whatever it is. That they could get more money from him being made a saint, the reporter knew something and was taken out. And or the bit with the oil company is relevant, like they are trying to trick the natives off of their land for the oil company. The question will be if there could be anything to match Nazis this time.

Will admit though that there are some pretty freaky parts in the episode, that scream taking my by surprise.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:12 pm Reply with quote
#7

This is probably the slowest paced of all the episodes focusing on a story arc to date. It's also the most religious in presentation as Roberto's delusions/visions are a mixture of his unquiet childhood past and the paintings of the reputed Saint.

Viewers don't get much more on the angle regarding the preserved Saint and Roberto, instead we are being led to believe that the murders are being committed by pagan black-magic practitioners (probably with the instigation of Jordan's collaborator whose intention of holding a public hearing on the prophetic works sounds too good to be true).

I don't know whether the legend Roberto talks about is grounded in fact or fiction, but what I do know about grimoires from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is reflected with a reasonable degree of accuracy when Roberto recites the procedures for raising and putting down corpses. The works he borrowed from the library are almost certainly Renaissance texts, possibly copies of the original medieval works but with amendments and flourishes from later writers. I'm not sure what Roberto learnt from the grimoires which will help him solve the mystery the pair were assigned to investigate in the first place, but it's hinted that the corpse isn't decaying because someone has done work on it to prevent decomposition.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:29 am Reply with quote
I don't feel my theory is really off yet, and goes over what I think is happening: Zombies. That is right, I am guessing zombies, does it really sound that crazy after Nazis? My memory may be a little off when I researched it, but the original ideas of zombies is an interesting one. I remember some old books that talked of cases where a poison could be used to induce a death like state, and later the person could be "risen". But others talked about I think it was some sort of similar concoctions could induce a zombie like state(not dead), where pretty much drugged and brainwashed into slave labour, and I think that this might represent why so many locals look so glazed over as they do labour tasks for the church and such. And to totally jump the gun, reading those books may have had subliminal messages that have brainwashed Roberto to some extent.

And, just an addition, the Black Mamba is the 5th most venomous snake, and I think that 3 of the 4 higher ones come from my home country. And a note to all who are interested in first aid: never ever try to suck the venom out of a snake bight because it is incredibly foolish in that you are only likely to also poison yourself. It being on the leg is almost lucky, because what you should do next is try and bandage above the bite to slow down the circulation to the limb to buy some time, something not possible when you have a neurotoxin enter your system through your mouth. Interesting additions, don't even wash the bite, preserve it so that if identification of the snake is troublesome a sample can be taken. Just a little PSA from someone who was a scout in the country with some of the world's most dangerous snakes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 11:37 am Reply with quote
#8

To be honest I thought this arc would need two episodes to conclude, but this week's episode proved me wrong and instead we have a recurring antagonist for the rest of the adaptation. The promotional poster of the blond man in the centrepiece is Father Julia, rather than the blond youth from the first story arc.

Roberto's little excursion into the old books wasn't a permanent departure of his senses, it seems the visions he had last week really did give him all the information he needed to crack the case. As for the explanations, I have no idea if microbes can do such a thing to human bodies but it's not beyond the limits of science fiction to dream up novel ways of killing psychopathic murderers. Unlike the Nazi angle from the last major story arc, the prophecy angle is more prosaic as the publicist simply uses the delusions of a murderer for his own ends. The "final prophecy" seems to tie in with this angle too as villagers fleeing the site of a potential volcanic eruption effectively leave their homes vulnerable to a sudden takeover if the state involved isn't averse to turning a blind eye to corporate greed.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:48 am Reply with quote
Damn it, I wanted zombies. How was I supposed to know about some microbe that turns blood into rubber? That it was mostly just a case of using fake prophesies to buy land, and something about experiments I did not get. Just saying I could have written it as crazy as the first arc.

We did get a lot of BL moments. "Be careful of snakes", don't know if it was on purpose, but it helped with how chummy our two main characters acted.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 2:26 am Reply with quote
#9

New arc, new miracle for the duo to investigate. I was wondering what the clown puzzle at the start was about, but it seems to be related to the statue investigation since the executioner clown appears to be the primary motif of this arc.

Somehow I'm reminded of the first three episodes after viewing this week's episode, but I think the resemblance is a fleeting one. From what I can tell, there are three to four mysteries to resolve before the examiners can conclude their work. As always for a first episode, lots of questions and virtually no answers to infer due to the lack of material evidence to work with beyond a pair of books, children's fairy tales, a statue light show which can't be recorded onto video and different interpretations of said light show.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 2:46 am Reply with quote
I am currently theorising that the frequency of the sound causes visual hallucinations, most of the similar cases being influenced by the layout of the building and being told what should happen.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 2:50 am Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
I am currently theorising that the frequency of the sound causes visual hallucinations, most of the similar cases being influenced by the layout of the building and being told what should happen.


Not a bad theory, but how would you explain the reaction of the head of the parish? If he's not lying, why is he unaffected and unable to view the light show?

The other thing is, the police inspector's reaction seems to disprove your theory. He is not told about the phenomenon beforehand yet is clearly affected. He hears the explanation of what he sees on site but isn't given a preconceived notion to affect his judgement.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 3:09 am Reply with quote
Harleyquin wrote:
Not a bad theory, but how would you explain the reaction of the head of the parish? If he's not lying, why is he unaffected and unable to view the light show?

The other thing is, the police inspector's reaction seems to disprove your theory. He is not told about the phenomenon beforehand yet is clearly affected. He hears the explanation of what he sees on site but isn't given a preconceived notion to affect his judgement.


The Head of the parish I am thinking may have partial deafness, or maybe he has brain damage in a certain part of his brain, like something with imagination or connects sound with visual input.

The thing with the police inspector is that his case is different from all the other cases, he sees a golden light, it could being the case of not hearing that it is supposed to be a rainbow, so his brain put in something different without the suggestion. And yet the fact there was a similarity of with it being the Jesus is that it takes centre place in the room, that reacting to the phenomenon brings his attention to it, and or those who were aware already looked to the Jesus.

The case of certain frequencies are often a real world attribution to ghost sightings, where things like pipes can happen to cause a reaction of fear in people and make them feel or see things.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 4:15 am Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:

The Head of the parish I am thinking may have partial deafness, or maybe he has brain damage in a certain part of his brain, like something with imagination or connects sound with visual input.

The thing with the police inspector is that his case is different from all the other cases, he sees a golden light, it could being the case of not hearing that it is supposed to be a rainbow, so his brain put in something different without the suggestion. And yet the fact there was a similarity of with it being the Jesus is that it takes centre place in the room, that reacting to the phenomenon brings his attention to it, and or those who were aware already looked to the Jesus.

The case of certain frequencies are often a real world attribution to ghost sightings, where things like pipes can happen to cause a reaction of fear in people and make them feel or see things.


The following weeks will see whether your theory holds water. Personally I think the parish head has a perfectly functioning brain and that the reason he doesn't see the phenomenon is for an entirely different reason.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2814
PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 11:25 pm Reply with quote
#10

The mystery of the statue has been solved (and no it certainly isn't an issue of brain damage to a certain someone). They've forced it too much but the connection between counterfeit notes in the United States and events taking place in a remote Italian parish is now made clear.

As far as I can tell, events which happened 32 years prior to this story arc might not be entirely related to the clown of modern times. It's possible Julia's organisation is making use of the legend as a cover for their activities.

The new mystery is how a missing priest could be found in a farm stable frozen to death. Roberto obviously treated the FBI agent's theory as a joke, but cryogenically freezing someone to death is a novel way of murder. There is probably some kind of pathway leading from the top of the mountain or some kind of secret underground facility that has the tools required to commit such a crime.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Page 2 of 3

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group