ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.

ACCA was a nice change of pace from the usual. It was slow, but interesting. You can chill and watch, but if you chill too much, you might miss out on all the little details. 7/10 story: Story isn't complex or anything, but it still keeps you guessing. You at times wonder where the story is going and who to trust and who not to trust. What is this guy planning? What about that guy? As a viewer, I felt like Tony Soprano at the end of The Sopranos. Paranoid as fuck and kept yelling at the screen,"No, don't trust that guy!" and then when itturns out my guess was wrong, I'd turn to the next character and be like,"Oh, hell no! Definitely don't trust that guy!" This anime felt like something that could of happened irl and I enjoyed it. 8/10 art: The animation is pretty consistently well done. I like the character designs and etc. Nothing else to really say, but if you're not convinced, it's animated by Madhouse. 9/10 sound: There were quite a few good openings this season, but this one was just so damn catchy! The osts and everything. Even the ending song. Every sound this anime made got my ears attention. This anime had the best sound out of any anime I've heard this season. I put the volume way higher whenever I came back to this anime weekly. 6/10 character: There's quite a few characters that were interesting. Like Jean, Niino.. Actually, there's quite a lot of characters that had interesting traits. Jean's not give a fuck attitude, Niino had the is he best friend or just a job thing going on, a lot of people were schemers, and a lot of people liked bread lol. But with such a huge cast of characters and the focus always shifting to Jean, I tend to forget some characters. 7/10 enjoyment: It was slow, but the sound, guesses on what's what, relaxing type anime really made me enjoy this anime for what it was. 8/10 overall: This is the type of anime where I probably wouldn't watch again because guessing what would happen is a huge chunk of the fun, but for a first watch it was pretty damn fun.

The concept of a coup de’tat, in which a plot is developed to overthrow a populace’s own government, has been around for centuries. In fact, the history goes back as far as 870 B.C. in which an Israeli commander Zimri killed his own king to commandeer the throne for himself (he later committed suicide due to talks of being overthrown by his own subordinate- karma’s a bitch, eh?). Most recently, our Lord and Savior, Studio Madhouse adapted a little known manga, ACCA, which primarily centers itself around this historical theme. With rather mixed impressions, ACCA attempts to overthrow anime stereotypes with its atypical approach whilealso looking to become a future cult classic. The story follows Jean Otus, an inspector for ACCA, an organization created after an ugly coup de’tat dismantled the previous country Dowa’s authority. He's tasked with performing a short-cycled audit of each of the countries 13 regions, recognized for his supreme skill to uncover even the faintest trace of malpractice. Jean has to deal with the stress of auditing in addition to lofty rumors that he may be involved with some deep rooted plotting of his own. What follows is a slow burning story of politics, royalty, deception and secrecy. ACCA is most certainly an anime to be overlooked by the casual viewer, due to its passive nature. But underneath the political rhetoric and lack of action is a gripping plot to note. It has a marked plot twist, which caught me completely off guard without being unfounded. The characters have deeper agendas not worn on their sleeves, and nobody is who they appear to be. I thoroughly enjoyed dissecting the intricate details of each scene looking for clues to the next story turn. Although I personally enjoyed the approach, many will be quick to disregard the series based on its slow, methodical episodes. Not a lot seems to be purposeful on the first pass through, but the copious amounts of foreshadowing and allusion to other events make it worthwhile in the end. It's an anime best watched in one big chunk like an extended film rather than week to week, one of its greatest downfalls. In addition to the pacing, if you're looking for action for this Winter season past a stern one way conversation… I'd advise you look to Youjo Senki or Kobayashi Dragon Maid to get your fix. ACCA, as previously mentioned, is a slow burning anime putting the cerebral first, while flashy, fast-paced scenes take a firm backseat. The parallels to modern day government and royalty can be easily made, however the setting for ACCA appears to be entirely unique to our world. Some normal commodities in our countries (cigarettes, sweets) are quite rare in Jean’s world, and being deemed as “the cigarette pedeller”, he finds himself the topic of much scrutiny wherever he travels. Having previously served in the military myself, I could sympathize with a lot of the procedural and inspection-based lingo present within the more militant scenes. The writers also did a rather accurate job of emulating the true feel of exhaustion emoted by Jean as he traveled through the many regions to perform his duties. Often turning to drink despite his inability to hold his liquor, Jean’s languid nature is catalyzed when alcohol is involved. His best friend Niino, whose association is a mystery, often keeps Jean company amidst his various endeavors. Jean Otus as a main protagonist is rather uninteresting. He doesn't get excited about much, his appearance is rather plain and he doesn't have many friends. He's your typical introvert, who would rather spend a weekend at home in tranquility than trek around bars with his coworkers (I can totally relate to this). His parents died in a tragic train accident several years ago, and was obligated to be the primary caretaker for his younger sister Lotto, due mostly to her much younger age and maturity level. Much like you would expect from a hermit like Jean, his feelings are shown rather than told to the viewers, resulting in a higher difficulty to relate on an emotional level to him throughout the anime. Although I won't give too much away, there may be a deeper reason the writers chose Lotto is flighty and carefree, often subdued by the appearance of a doughy pastry or cake, but she stands by Jean’s side despite their stark differences. The side characters, though not fully explored due to a lack of air time, have their fair share of mysteries as well. Whether it's the secret meetings Jean undergoes with the Director-General or the convenient “business trips” Niino travels to, each episode unveils another small piece of the pie. I do wish some more time would've been spent on the side characters in order to fully understand the story, but I'm often overexpectant in 12 episode anime. Nothing new here. I will say that I like the art style Madhouse had the freedom to use in ACCA. Though not “great” by modern anime standards, the animation is consistent, which is more than I can say for some other action oriented shows out there. And even though I normally despise this comment, “it stayed true to the manga”. The character designs, including the incorporation of the military uniforms were reminiscent of my younger years. Unique, but familiar enough to invoke some slight nostalgia. The OP might be my favorite of the season. It incorporates a jazzy beat with a powerful and catchy chorus. The added collage of vivid images almost tells us a story of how the anime unfolds. I would imagine that Mother’s Basement guy from YouTube would get his jollies from interpreting this opening. The ED is pretty standard and delicate, and I often found found myself skipping it altogether. The background music had some serious Speed Grapher/Bebop vibes, and were certainly better placed than the first of those anime. Seiyus did a decent job providing some convincing in their portrayals, but really no breakout performances here. I feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to my enjoyment of ACCA. Modern anime is laden with goofy, bombastic characters, glitzy action and panty shots galore. The best part? ACCA has none of these. So, if you're looking for a show that breaks the mold in almost every possible way, or are growing tired of the gimmicky cash grabs pilfered at anime fans, I'd recommend checking it out. It is a great candidate for a “hidden gem” if given the proper care while watching it, and a series I'm glad I picked up this season. As always, thanks for reading and be sure to check out my other Winter ‘17 reviews! Story-7 Art-6 Sound-8 Character-6 Enjoyment-8 Overall-7.2

You never heard of a dark horse? The term comes from the dark horses in horse racing. They aren't the popular ones that most people will bet on, but they automatically catch at least a few eyes willing to give them a chance, and low and behold, they do surprisingly well in the race, sometimes even winning. Given how bleak this season has been for most people, this seemed like one of those surprising shows that could've been one of the best of the season, but, as the saying goes, "close but no cigar". Fitting, really. *Paragraph 4 contains mild spoilers for ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka. Proceedwith caution* ACCA is an interesting show. Produced by Studio Madhouse, this is an adaptation from a manga. Ultimately, this show intrigued a lot of people, myself included. Some people will definitely see his as the dark horse of the season, but I don't entirely agree. There are strong cases to be made why this show was interesting and why it was boring, but we'll get to that. But why the polarization? Isn't this series slick as hell? Well... To a decent extent, the story is meticulously written in terms of creating a mystery full of twists and turns. It all surrounds Jean Otus, a man working for ACCA that is currently doing audits while the prince of the nation is not only coming of age but is ready to succeed the throne. Problem number 1 is that the story really dead its feet with nothing to truly hook us for more aside from hoping that it will all explode into a chaotic and flavorful conclusion towards the final act; it doesn't. It's understandable why this turns people off, as the show feels uneventful. Two, some of these twists were both obvious and poor. The final antagonist was one of the royals whom we had never even heard of until 2/3 into the series, with two of the ACCA 5 Chief Officers being antagonists with their own separate plot. If you're anything like me, you suspected the two that turned out to be antagonists, and there was only 1 other person to remotely suspect, who isn't involved, but there could've been more flavor to the mystery by giving reason to suspect more people. So, because Jean was suspected of being involved in an upcoming coup, his friend, Nino, is sent to spy on him, but then it's revealed that he is next in like to be king, which is why the rumor was created, in order to get the 13 districts on his side during his audits. Sounds fine and dandy, and for most part, it is, including the somewhat rushed backstory of Nino, Jean, and his sister, Lotta. It's thanks to that that the aunt of the family wants them dead, as well as the dickheaded prince himself. As for the finale, it was ok. It was interesting to see the whole coup resolve peacefully but with more twists, but there was no reason for the aunt to suddenly abandon her plan. Tell me, who do you remember besides Jean and Nino? Probably nobody because these characters are mostly dull and one-note. Jean is pretty listless, by it is nice seeing him get flustered over his crush/superior Mauve, though that fades quickly. He also smokes...a lot. Just like on older times, in this anime, smoking is a sign of wealth and he gets misconstrued because of it, particularly when confronted by Rail, who acts like an ass around him and likes his sister. Nino is a slick guy, even in spy mode, but he's merely ok. Mauve, Lotta, and Gossular are merely ok, and most of the characters are boring, like prince Schwan, the aunt, the spoiler manipulator in the 5 Chief Officers, and each of Jean's subordinates and audit companions. We could've easily spent a bit more time about the characters but instead, we chose to do more audits and see the main 3 eat apple pie and drink alcohol. Like the plot, the interesting potential really fizzes out, which is a shame. To this day, I'm not sure how to feel about the art-style. However, what is something I'm sure of is that the series is clearly not in 24FPS. The animation is rather choppy, making it feel like the series runs at only 16 frames per second instead of the minimum required 24 for everything to feel like they're in constant motion. I'm not sure if this is an artistic choice, but I don't think it works. I at least like the hair and food detail, as well as the detail in the casino lights in episode 8. The OP has amazing artistic flair to the way it looks, and the ED has another type of interesting art that is actually more fluid than the entirety of the actual series, which is kinda sad the more you think about it. After all, you'd probably expect better from Studio Madhouse since Studio DEEN did more fluid and striking animation with their also more methodical and realistic series, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. Thankfully the mediocre CGI is insanely minimal to the point where most people would find it nonexistent, even if some of the character faces are actually incomplete in the final episodes and the background characters often fit move in scenes. The OST is pretty nice and fitting, especially the jingle at the beginning and middle of episode 1. It fits the calmer, more lax and methodical nature of the series perfectly, preventing me from really getting bored, but that didn't stop some people from boredom. The OP, "Shadow and Truth" by ONE III NOTES is pretty cool, with surprisingly good J-rap and a great female singer (even during autotune sections). There's a reason people say this is one of the best OPs of the season, it's pretty freakin' slick. As for the ED, "Pale Moon ga Yureteru (ペールムーンがゆれてる)" by Aira Yuuki, is a pretty alright theme meant for some bit of emotion after each episode. Not great but not bad. As for the dub, it's rather good. J Michael Tatum was in charge of ADR direction and we get some rather fitting boxes for many of the characters, especially Jean and Nino. It's weird to hear someone sound like Steve Blum without being Steve Blum, but that's been an issue in the dubbing industry for a good year now (where new actors sound like old ones, and this was exposed to be a major problem in the acting industry in Japan). It feels like the character art-style lends itself to both the dub and the sub rather well, and the dub worked just as well as the sub, at least for me. For the most part, I was pretty intrigued by the narrative, even if it did get a bit dull towards the end. The atmosphere was pretty enjoyable, and the OP was so damn good that I just wanna bob my head and snap to the beat every time. It was surprisingly enjoyable if a bit lacking in the satisfaction department. T'was a nice enough time, but there wasn't enough pizzazz to give real flavor to the experience, making it somewhat underwhelming. It's by no means a bad show, but there's no way in hell this'll be smoking the competition for any "best of winter 2017" lists, I'm sure. It didn't rise up high, but it was decent and slick while it lasted, so that's alright, I guess. With that said, I bid you adieu.

Ah ACCA, a title that took me by surprise as we witness this anime adaptation by Natsume Ono. I have to admit, the show is hard to accept at first. The premise sounds like something from 1984 and mixes in police drama with political affairs. First impressions of the show can really be a make or break for viewers to continue watching. As such, I suggest watching ACCA with an open mind because by doing that, you can enjoy the storytelling much easier. I’ll be honest, the storytelling moves at a pretty slow pace. It takes patience to accept the story because the first few episodesdecides to focus a lot more on building the world setting. In the Kingdom of Doma, there are 13 districts. ACCA is an organization that provides services to each of these distinct services. The show focuses on a man named Jean Otus, the second command of ACCA as he gets himself involved in a complex affair of events that may even include a coup d'état. As you can imagine, this builds up the story as each episode bring in together pieces and pieces like a puzzle. In the meantime, we can get to see the inner workings and affairs going on in Doma. To say the least, the world building of this show has a lot of interesting qualities. Each district has their own unique society that differs from each other. While the show doesn’t fully explore every district, it gets its point across that there are conflicting struggle between some sides. For most parts, the characters in the show are fleshed out by their positions (often ranks) and their personality. Jean is the main guy we’ll get familiar with the most. He is enigmatic and difficult to read on the surface. He also loves to smoke and is often seen with a cigarette in his mouth. With such a mysterious character, you’ll definitely find him difficult to understand although his approach at dealing with certain situations is insightful. His sister, Lotta is just the opposite as she is often cheerful and has a big appetite for sweets. At times, it will feel like they are living in different worlds apart. As the show progresses, we also learn more about the other ACCA members. Characters such as Grossular will be a challenge for Jean to overcome as he suspects the latter of being involved in a coup to overthrow the king. Some of his character also suggests Grossular may be the one involved in the coup himself. Either way, the show does a decent job at making the audience anticipate what will happen next with these characters. On the opposite spectrum, there are guys like Lilium who dismisses Jean as being possibly involved in the coup. At the center of it, we also meet Mauve, the director general of ACCA. She is the one that actually believes a coup may end up happening and gets Jean involved in the investigation. A mysterious character like herself is quite admiring as she demonstrates leadership characteristics. Her role in the show can be determined easily although the audience will have to judge on whether her approach to certain situations as right or wrong. Finally, I have to admit that the Prince of Doma Kingdom is really hard for me to accept. We even learn a bit of background story about certain royalty and as interesting as it seems, it isn’t what I find too accepting. Now I have to admit, ACCA’s storytelling is rather predictable. Certain revelations can be easily drawn from hints and speculations, some that can be easily recognized. While that’s not really impressive to go by, it does like to also take risks to flesh out certain characters’ motives. One of the more dynamic character relationships is between Jean and Nino. Now, Nino is a close friend of Jean’s and throughout the show, we find out that he appears to be a lot more than just being his friend. Certain episodes will reveal his true role as we see how his relationship with Jean develop from certain revelations. The key success though is the background story. Even as predictable as the show can be at times, we learn why characters’ roles are played out like the way they do. ACCA succeeds at pulling the trigger to executing characters’ roles while all the time getting viewers invested about their motivations. Whether you’ll enjoy this show with that aspect though is up to you. Adapted by Madhouse studio, the show has a very distinctive feel at adapting the art style. The unique approach that director Seiko Yoshioka really is dynamic when you look at it carefully. Every district has their own style while the royal palace stands as the most noticeable structure. The character designs have a good degree of freedom. Characters such as Jean are given simple appearances to make them not stand out while others such as characters from royalty are given more flameboyant-like appearances. The designs aren’t entirely faithful to the manga though as it does look different. Also, I can’t say I’m impressed the momentum of the artwork. While character expressions are well delivered, the show feels very static at times that almost feels like a picture drama. When it comes to music, ACCA excels at this field thanks to Ryo Takahashi’s talent. The directing of the soundtrack and music really brings this show to life. The piano-like rhythms and melody of each episode is dynamic while the theme songs are choreographed with a unique approach. Character voice mannerism isn’t to be underestimated either especially for characters like Mauve, Nino, and even Jean himself. ACCA 13-ku Kansatsu-ka (ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.) is a difficult show to recommend to anyone. Any fan of police drama who is interested in world building may get a better experience than others. If you’re looking for action, then this is definitely the wrong show to invest time in. ACCA is much more about what is on the surface but rather the internal affairs that goes on behind the scenes. The complex characters offers a mature approach style of storytelling without going overboard. In the meantime, ACCA’s pacing will hinder some viewers into spending more time to watch the show. However, I would definitely put time into this series as it offers so much more than what it just looks like.