#dowa

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.

Amidst the sea of "Fine” anime, manga and light novels to watch or read. I like to find things that, from the outside. Looks deceiving. Like say, a rather plain trailer or cover but with a bopping song or with a cool art style that peaks my interest and awareness to shoot for the dark.

I like Anime that surprises me both positively and negatively because I believe, it teaches us things about unpopular stories and plots that has potential to be realized which could place it in the Cult Classic Category. By that theory, this is the part where I talk about stumbling across this one song, [Shadow and Truth by ONE Ⅲ NOTES] that caught my attention and, after a very quick search. I discovered that the song is the opening for the Anime;

- <ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka> by Ono Natsume -

Or just, ACCA 13...follows our main character, Jean Otus. From the kingdom of Dowa. The second-in-command of the Inspection Department of ACCA who was tasked to travel around the kingdom to inspect the 13 state branches of the kingdom.

As he makes his rounds, Jean uncovers some frightening rumors that would disturb the peace of the kingdom, with him playing a crucial role to it all. As the episodes progress, we learn more about what makes the kingdom of Dowa tick, what local problems do they have in their respective states and what their state leaders think about the rumors.

We also follow Jean’s younger sister. Lotta Otus who manages the Celebrity Mansion Condominium. We also follow her daily, relatively normal school life while experiencing second-hand sweetness with her eating some of the most popular and delicious looking desserts and breads in the kingdom.

Other than Lotta, the supporting characters are just as beautiful and charming. From the silver foxes of the head leaders in ACCA, to the named officers, and friends of Jean. Such as Jean’s superior and love interest. The Korore Branch Chief, Mauve. 

A tall, intelligent, mature and beautiful woman with long luscious blue hair who allied and kept in contact with Jean on his journeys. Developing reliable intel instead of making hasty action to choose a side surrounding the rumors.

Eye candies aside, the world of ACCA provides a more Noir feel to its peaceful environment with monotone colors and sleek character designs. All respectfully beautiful and portrayed by a cast of extremely talented but niche voice actors within the Seiyuu industry. Atsuko Tanaka, Hiro Shimono, Kenjirou Tsuda, and Aoi Yuuki.

- Stay Cool, Smoke Another Cigarette -

That said, the world and story of ACCA 13 is rather slow and relies heavily on its hook by introducing the wild mystery of the disturbing rumors with Jean listening and gathering information through the characters he meets as well as unveiling the true intentions the characters.

A lot of what happens occurs in meetings at bars, restaurants, back allies and hotel rooms. With Jean listening and comprehending between the lines with the people he meets. It requires close attention to some of the dialogue that is spoken as well as piecing the sequence of events that happened in-between that lead to the finale.

With its overarching plot, ACCA 13 provides a small world tour around the kingdom of Dowa. Experiencing the different vibes and culture of every state while consuming the state’s richest exports in commerce as well as solving the many unique problems and complaints of each state.

From the ghetto parts of Suitsu, the frozen tundra of Birra, the laid back countryside of Fãmasu, the glorious city of Furawau and others. Each state represents a part of Dowa which makes up the shape of a bird. Some parts represent the Head, the Tail, the Chest and so on which is very similar to how the real Japan is in its respective prefectures. 

Attempting not to get into spoilers, let’s just say that Jean has quite a number of allies in high places to help him deliberate his stands which determines the fate of the kingdom. Aside from Mauve, Jean is best friends with Niino Crow, a reporter who lives a double life as a private detective with his loyalties shrouded in shadow. Compared to your typical high action mainstream anime.

ACCA 13 requires patience. Its slow in build up and despite its aesthetic. There really isn’t much to get around to peek a new comer’s interest to watch the show. But perhaps, that’s its intention. A rather basic show that is less about the action, the deeper meanings but more about secrets, vibe checking and of course, the eye candies. Making it a potential Cult Favorite. 

- Use your Eyes to Perceive the Way -

While it is a struggle to form a good case for why one should watch ACCA 13, I should start with its run time. Which is rather harmless with only 12 episodes and an OVA (Original Video Animation) ACCA 13 doesn’t overstay its welcome. It provides progression which lead to its finale but with results that is never as clear as it should be since, to my knowledge. Its a show about politics in a fictional country.

Nothing is what it seems in ACCA 13. Individuals could be deceiving by their looks, their actions and their reasons. Its up to our hero, Jean to figure things out and play his cards right to solve the potential time bomb that threatens the future of the kingdom. 

As the inspector, Jean has to stay unbiased and unfazed from what he was told in order to deduce the true intentions of the other state leaders and determine them from a political perspective and as an inspector that is vowed to the highest laws of the country. 

Anime is a media that caters more towards fiction or metaphorical iconography but some of its authors love to translate reality or mature themes into fiction which, was what ACCA 13 tried to do. In a time where things need to happen quickly to keep the audience hooked. ACCA 13′s shallow show of politics, truth, lies and secrets under the backdrop of a beautiful and diverse country gets shun to the corner by its consumers which, I won’t fault anyone for.

Politics is a tough subject and it’s not as black and white as we assume it to be and ACCA 13, just like the subject itself is complicated. It is unfortunate that viewers would look past it because it doesn’t fit in with the typical conventions of popular Anime compared with its other competitors. This post is not meant to say “Go watch ACCA 13! You’ll love it!”  because, that’s not my intention. I'm aware that its not for everyone.

What I want to show is that, Anime is more than just insane action, illustrative romance and questionable concepts. Rather, Anime can take a boring subject and make it as interesting with its aesthetics and lack of supernatural elements. As bland as it was, I got hooked to click to the next episode to see how it ends. Because what you see and hear, 

It's never really what it seems.

Thanks for reading

MAJOR ACCA 13 SPOILERS AHEAD

It is established in the story that Lilium is extremely powerful. Although there are 5 Chief Officers at ACCA, it was revealed that the decision is always made by either Lilium or Grossular (both of which always have opposing opinions). As the story revealed, Grossular is easily controlled (manipulated) by Lilium.

What happened is that the Dowa district, Mauve and Jean figured out Lilium’s plot and stopped it. Nonetheless, they did not have enough evidence to arrest him. Even though the representative of Furawau’s ACCA branch admitted that Furawau is seeking to replace Dowa, Lilium has enough power and authority to abolish and bury this evidence. The entire plot of ACCA is mirroring political strategy and how the field of politics is ruled by wits and treachery. It is true that Lilium did not achieve his motive (because he was cornered by Dowa) but he still has enough power and intellect to protect himself and Furawau from the consequences of his actions. What Dowa/Mauve/Jean did is simply to reveal his plot and confront him about it. They achieved their motive of stopping him. Dragging him to prison is beyond their current capability. “Furawau leaving the game” is an excellent power move Lilium pulled as a last resort to save his district and himself from losing the game completely. Although the fandom may perceive the ending as a huge loss for Furawau and Lilium, Lilium still managed to pull himself through all of this. Furawau leaving ACCA and becoming an independent nation is not actually a bad decision for Furawau… especially when the nation is greatly self-sufficient with the amount of oil they produce.

As for why Grossular was so weak against Lilium and still hopes for Furawau to come back to ACCA…there are many reasons. Grossular is a stoic man from Rokkusu (Rock District). Symbolically, he represents stability and stoicism. What Grossular loves and cares about the most is the peace of his nation. Harmony is what he seeks and is willing to make great compromises to preserve it. This is why, throughout the series, Grossular is seen painfully accepting Lilium’s plans and - although he knew he was being manipulated by him - carries out the Coup plan because he believed this is the only way ACCA and the Kingdom will be preserved. He is so invested in his nation and patriotism that he is willing to suffer himself and take it out on himself than to disturb the harmony he fought long to preserve. This greatly parallels how Rokkusu took all the blame for the train accident. Back then, it was Grossular who decided that his district would take the blame so that quarrels with the nearby Peshi district would not arise. It was again a sacrifice that Grossular was willing to endure for the sake of preserving the harmony between the nations. 

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.

I couldn’t find much except for the raws of the first 3 volumes on here [x] you can also read the first 19 chapters in English on here [x].

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT WATCH THE SERIES.