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ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.
Episode 7

by Anne Lauenroth,

How would you rate episode 7 of
ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. ?
Community score: 4.5

The cat is out of the bag. Even though the big reveal itself wasn't much of a shocker, all the little interactions leading up to it provided excellent buildup for the episode's climax, carefully adding bits and pieces from the perspectives of different players, creating tension and urgency despite Jean's own non-reaction.

Princess Schnee (who might be the one dancing in the ED) escaped her royal bird cage by faking her death, so that she could run away with a guard called neither Karl nor Otus. Maybe the legendary guard Abend changed his name and they lived happily ever after, at least for a while. The train accident really could have been an accident, and only when it came to identifying the victims and notifying the next of kin did Grossular realize its potential threat to peace, so he covered it up, protecting both the siblings and the kingdom.

However, if it wasn't for Magie's comment about how Abend's white hair caught the eye of the princess, I would have been much more inclined to think Abend was just a selfless guard who put the happiness and freedom of the one he swore to protect above his own safety and peaceful life in Dōwā. Kind of like another guy we know, which the camera is happy to point out by looking into the snowy night at the line "He should be remembered for his loyalty," before cutting to Nino standing in the rain. I could stop with the guesswork at this point and simply look up Nino and Abend's possible connection in the manga, but where's the fun in that? I'll just keep speculating at the danger of future embarrassment and assume there is indeed a family relation of some sort. This brings us back to the question of who Nino is reporting to. He has known this person for a very long time, but while there's a certain familiarity in his voice, he still addresses the man formally – arguably too formal for, say, a father-son relationship. On the other hand, he also mentions his superior getting angry at him for enjoying his work/spending time with Jean and Lotta – he's supposed to watch, not actually fall for the people he guards, as that could get in the way of doing his job. If that person turns out to be his dad, Nino's whole existence would basically be defined by his family's obligation to Schnee, taking "loyalty" to somewhat depressing levels of self-abandonment. He's also getting too old for this stuff, so it's time for Jean to relieve his best friend of his non-stop guard duty so their friendship can become fully mutual.

No matter who Nino is reporting to, Privy Council President Qualm is likely holding more threads of this mystery than most of the other players. Between (at least) Nino, Grossular, Qualm, Mauve and Schwan (who has more brains than I gave him credit for), it's getting crowded in the conspiracy pot, so something or someone was bound to spill. To top things off, there's the king, who seems as far from a senile gramps as Nino is from being a bad guy. King Falke knows the truth, and not just since he met Lotta at the reception. His lack of shock and surprise at seeing the face of his favorite princess back among the living in the palace is proof that he must have known for a while, adding a whole new dimension to the question of where the coup rumors actually originated. What if the king always knew but respected Schnee's decision to raise her children as commoners, content with keeping them safe and providing for them from afar? Nino's photographer job might be a convenient excuse for travelling around, but I think we can also be fairly sure where most pictures of Lotta and Jean end up. Lotta attending the coming-of-age ceremony under the pretense of Nino's flimsy excuse, and Jean and the king coincidentally ending up at the same cafe (with Nino once again ready to snap some cherished family pictures) add more fuel to this theory. If Schwan had been less absolutist-inclined, Jean's life might have stayed a lot less exciting, but to prevent his legacy from being destroyed, the king had no choice but to activate his real heir. This is looking less like a coup d'état from the bottom, but from the very top, instigated by an old man who never seemed to do much besides eat cake.

While this would be exciting, it also poses the question of where the real conflict lies. With the king, Qualm, and all of ACCA presumably on Jean's side, what is it that Schwan can really do? The episode's once again excellent soundtrack sounds most dangerous when Magie is told to stay at the prince's side should he ever want to leave Dōwā, but a classic war of succession seems unlikely under the circumstances. With all the conspiracies and coup talk, however, more than one district might be itching for something more than a continued monarchy by now. Not that Jean would care much either way, as long as the transition moves forward peacefully.

At least one district is unwilling to play the game of flattery for information. Kororē seems to be home to a particular brand of incorruptible executives who also happen to be predominantly female. I've always liked the concept of ACCA's districts as their own little universes with different foods and customs, but the more districts we see, the more they start to feel like RPG sub-worlds. Our visits are much too brief to attribute more than one characteristic to each of them – the one where everything's XXL, the one stuck in the past, the one where women are in charge. For a one-cour show, this is pretty much inevitable, and the show's ability to make its world feel lived-in prevents this from turning into a problem.

Just when Jean is finally thinking about why and how he ended up in his intermediary position, Mauve breaks the news to him point-blank. Brutal and immediate, this well-staged scene fits the show's tone much better than any theatrical revelation. Jean has no reason to doubt someone so sincere, but his first thought, as always, is to ask Nino. Nino will know about this royal heir business just as he's expected to know what chocolate to buy. He's always been there, even before they officially became friends, and Jean pretty much trusts Nino on instinct at this point.

There were some questionable long shots with missing faces, but when the daughter of princess Schnee dreams of giant edible snowballs and wakes up to cheer at the falling snow, I find it really hard to focus on her weird-looking hands or refuse to be enamored overall.

Rating: B+

ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Anne is a translator and fiction addict who writes about anime at Floating Words.


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