Remember what I said during my conclusion last week about ‘revelations [that] will blow up in one fell swoop?’ Well, here we are. One huge revelation finally came and blew up in our faces! And there were even a few more important information revealed too, which made this episode just a heavy one, especially for Jean! ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka is definitely heading upwards in terms of excitement!

Japanese Original Episode Title: 夜霧にうかぶ真実

Plot

I’m glad Jean finally tried putting the pieces together, with everything that’s been going on around him and all. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t figure out why he was being framed as the middleman of the coup sympathizers (and neither could we, right?). That is, until Mauve sprang up some very surprising and highly valuable information to him. Contrary to what we thought – that Mauve was starting to distrust Jean – she was actually still on his side, and still seemed willing to team up with him to get to the bottom of the plot. Jean even got the rare privilege of eating with the King! Things seem to be looking up for Jean now, right? There’s just really that thing that Mauve revealed, and something else unknown to him, something about the second princess of Dōwā who died 33 years ago.

Episode Highlights

Eating with the King: What were the odds of Jean and Nino meeting the King during a random day of leisure, right? And how kind of him to have invited Jean, as one of his subordinates in ACCA, to dine with him, even though it was supposed to be something like his ‘me time.’ He even thanked Nino for being the photographer during Schwan’s party! Just from these things, you can see why Dōwā became so peaceful under the reign of this benevolent ruler, huh? However, Nino was acting terribly odd all throughout that time. I understand being reserved in the presence of a king, but was there a reason for his eyes to be constantly hidden? Could it be because of his knowledge of who Jean really is?

The Second Princess and 33 years ago: As the commander of the knights was recollecting the incident from 33 years ago, I thought the ‘King’s prized possession’ he was talking about was a really expensive object. Turns out it was the King’s second daughter, who has yet to be named. And from her portrait, she really looked like Lotta! No wonder Schwan had her investigated! Magie, and most likely all of us, just thought it was because he liked her, but it was actually to see if Lotta would interfere with his ascension. We have yet to see just what the second princess’ connection is with Lotta and Jean, though. Could she have survived the accident and the two are actually her children? And what of her guard, Abend?

Nino’s Other Superior: It’s official that Nino reports to someone else other than Grossular. From the looks of it, that person seems to answer to the Privy Council President, and knows all about Jean’s true background! But who could it be? And why do they want Nino to follow Jean around? As a bit of a side note, this is the third time we’ve heard ’30 years’ from Nino, and it just somehow makes me curious if there’s a significance to this.

Mauve and Her Intuition: I’m so happy that it looks like Mauve’s still rooting for Jean! I quite like her, not only for her beauty, but for being a strong woman to whom girls like me can relate to! As expected from someone of Kororē! Her resourcefulness and independence became a stepping stone to help Jean know why he was being made intermediary of the coup supporters. Her intuition on Jean being used because of his royal lineage is most likely spot on as well. What a lady!

Royalty? And everything that happened in this episode led up to this revelation. Who knew that our laid-back yet cunning protagonist is actually royalty! And the first in line to succeed the throne too! It just makes me wonder, how come other people knew more of his descent than himself? If Mauve’s subordinates were able to get that info, no matter how easy or hard it was, how come Jean has never heard of it before? Either their parents, as well as the people around them, were deliberately hiding it from him and Lotta, or there really just wasn’t a reason to look into it.

Themes & Trivia

Things Beneath the Surface: I was supposed to use the word ‘secrets’ here, but they’re not actually secrets, just some things that were untapped, so we never knew what they really were. Like Schwan’s interest in Lotta, for example. We thought he was just one of those who fell in love at first sight with her (like Rail), but he was just actually piqued by her resemblance to the lost princess. Another example is of the King’s happy demeanor, but we never knew he experienced something incredibly sad as losing his daughter in the past. This anime is just great at hiding things in plain sight under the guise of typical things.

Loyalty: We’d probably get a lot more of this aspect in the next episode if we’ll hear about Abend and his loyalty to the princess, but just from this week, we’ve already seen traces of it. Even though it was an order, Magie was determined to stay by Schwan’s side no matter what happens, even in danger, like what the princess’ guard did. It’s the same with Nino; he’s been staying by Jean all this time, and even if he’s hiding huge secrets from him, he tries to make sure it doesn’t get in the way of being true to his friend (ironic as it sounds).

Comments

As amazing as this episode was because of the super important discovery, writing-wise it felt really cramped. It’s as if the writers tried so hard for the revelation to make it in the episode. The point of view was quickly jumping from one character to the other as well, so it was a bit hard to keep up and process what was happening. I hope it’s just this time because of the circumstances, although it’s a shame since it’s a very important part of the plot.

Just what happened to the Second Princess?

So what other big reveal does ACCA:13 have for us? Nino’s about to spill all the details to Jean, so just what is awaiting him, and all of us? Where will this lead to? Do share your insights about this in the comments below, as well as your thoughts on the episode!

And while you wait for next week’s chapter, check out our other Winter 2017 anime reviews!

NEXT TIME: The Princess Who Spread Her Wings and the Friend Who Had a Duty

TV Anime ‘ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka’

Official Page:http://acca-anime.com/
Twitter Page: @ACCA_anime

(c)Natsume Ono/SQUARE ENIX, ACCA Committee