ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. – 04 [Smoldering Embers in an Isolated Nation]

We are no stranger with this kind of world in anime: an isolated, conservative world that cut-off from outside communication and ultimately stay behind its times, slowing back 10, 20 even hundred years. Everything there is monitored and controlled by the rules and authority. As ACCA keeps suggesting the chaos within this peaceful façade, the most appropriate way to question this very world is to put its ideas to an extreme spectrum, as a result we have this isolated district of Suitsu. The Dowa kingdom promotes autonomy in its 13 districts, with each of the district bring their own uniqueness to better suit the place; but what happen when the authority started to abuse their power in a negative way? Citizens in Suitsu are prohibited to use phone, even to communicate with outsider in the pretense of “preserving tradition”; they in turns are displeased with how things going and form an angry mob. What sadden me the most is we’re living in this exact same world, where North Korea still cut-off from the rest of the world just like this. Suitsu district, when you look at it, is more like one of those weird countries straight out of Kino’s Journey, but it still manages to add ambiguity to the flaws of the Dowa Kingdom’s systems so in that regards, this episode still has its merits.

But when it comes to the actual plot of this episode, then this week ACCA made one mistake that they managed to avoid so brilliantly before: its delicate pacing. ACCA is slow-burn, at the same time there are many plots and themes going on both underneath and beneath the surface but as far as I concerned they hold everything together extremely well. This week though, we follow Jean as he auditing the district, witness him being kidnapped, then learn about the coup d’état, follow the angry mob, the uprising and their ultimate downfall, both in a runtime of merely 20 minutes. The pacing therefore is much quicker this time, as a result those big events don’t have time to settle down or give much impact. We just know Wabler or Biscuit at the beginning of this week so it’s hard to relate to them or the events around them. I get the message: frustration out of unfairness and strictness is relatable, but I hardly feel any of this. It comes quick and goes quick and leave not much impact.

When you judge this episode through its stance in the big picture, then this show offers too little to the main narrative as well. At the end, those uprising will be hidden and forgotten, only Jean gets away with the knowledge of the actual coup d’état and that’s freaking little development for a complex show like ACCA. Although we do learn that Nino apparently is working as a triple agent and we have a glimpse on another member of the ACCA’s five Pastis and the Suitsu representative Beurre, this still leave a lot to be desired. No, this episode, while certainly is a competent episode in its own ways, serves as my least favorite episode so far of ACCA (the curse of episode 4) both because it runs too quick for its own good, and it adds too little to the main narrative. And where is the glorious cake and tasty bread this time? All we have was a loaf of bread when Jean was all tied up so… um, no, thank you.