Mad House produced ACCA:13-Teritory Inspection Department based on the manga by Natsume Ono of the same name published by Square Enix in their magazine Monthly Big Gangan. ACCA:13- Territory Inspection Department’s a political thriller that centers around Jean Otis the deputy chief of the inspection department visiting all 13 states and auditing their ACCA departments while rumors spread of a coup.
The anime takes place in the Kingdom of Dowa, which is composed of 13 autonomous states ruled by the royal family and the Privy Council. ACCA 13 the civilian organization oversees all the various administrative departments in the Kingdom of Dowa. Jean Otis, the second in command of the Territory-Inspection department at ACCA 13. The inspection department is ACCA 13’s internal affairs department responsible for checking on ACCA personnel and The Five Chief Officers of ACCA tasked Jean Otis with auditing all of ACCA 13’s branch offices with rumors of a coup attempt in the wind.
Every moment from the first episode to the last episode continues the suspense and build-up. Many cartoons and anime simply tell the audience the clues and solve the mystery for the audience. The anime takes the audience on a journey with Jean Otis as he gets drawn into the coup plot and unravels the dark truths of the Kingdom of Dowa. The plot will leave you guessing all the way up to the end of the series. while the plot is good it should be noted that it is not the type of anime plot that you can watch mindlessly. There are a lot of subtle details that if you do pay attention to will cause the audience to be confused.
However, because of the brevity of the series parts of the plot are rushed. An ova episode attempts to wrap up the loose ends by telling the audience how all of the characters are doing. In this episode, it is stated that District 13 breaks away from the Kingdom of Dowa. Throughout the series, it is hinted that if the district broke away from the Crown it would start a war.
However, in the OVA episode, there is no indication that a war happened after the final episode of the series or why District 13’s was allowed to break away. The fact that District 13 is permitted to break away from the Crown without reprisals is a serious plot hole in the series logic. District 13 breaking away should have resulted in an immediate military conflict.
The animation’s absolutely beautiful and makes watching the anime an immersive experience drawing you into the Kingdom of Dowa. The anime’s opening and closing music needs improvement. ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department’s too short for my liking; only contains 12 episodes in the series.
The brevity of the series caused certain characters that are introduced to be left unflushed out. Certain plot developments and character dynamics would benefit from more screen time. For instance, the background of the five chief officers that govern ACCA 13 is not fleshed out in the slightest. Yet, they are a major part of the story involving the coup plot and the potential overthrow of the government. By the end of the series, we know almost nothing about them or their motivations. Character romance develops off-screen or is teased but nothing ever happens with them. It would have been better if the show had fewer side characters but ones that were more flushed out.
If you are a fan of the Anime thriller genre then ACCA 13: Inspection Department is the Anime for you. While I have a few minor grips about the show due to its brevity I believe that you should all consider watching it.
