“ACCA: 13 Territory Inspection Department’s” second volume dropped this week and it continues the adventures of Jean Otus and the political intrigue that has surrounded him. With the bombshell reveal last volume of the person hired to spy on him, it seems only natural that the stakes would continue to rise throughout volume two. How much do they rise and do we get more great foods? Read on to find out.
Written, Illustrated and Colored by Natsume OnoCover by Natsume Ono
Translated by Jocelyne Allen
Lettered by Lys BlakesleeACCA vice-chairman Jean Otus handles his duties with such aplomb that it might make his job seem easy. But it is by no means a piece of cake…certainly not when his superiors suspect him of treason and put a tail on him, one who happens to be very close to home…
“ACCA” is a series that while technically being a political thriller never seems to get very intense. As in, no large-scale chase scenes or overly dramatic backroom conversations. Sure, Ono places Jean into positions where he has difficult conversations but these conversations are always easy going and casual. There is a slow, low-key nature to everything yet there is never a moment of boredom. The tension in the narrative is always palpable, turning what should be an unengaging read into one that keeps your attention with every turn of the page.
Throughout this volume, we get hints that there is a coup d’état being planned and that Jean, our protagonist, is somehow at the center of it. This is what drives the central conflict of the volume and what Ono uses to build that tension. However, it’s not flashy or fast; it’s not even until three quarters of the way through the volume that Otus even knows that there are rumors of the coup. Couple that with the mysterious five chief officers, Prince Schwan and his hatred of ACCA, and the aforementioned spy, and you can see how much the reader is following and worrying about.
Yet all this wouldn’t be worth a grain of sand without endearing characters and a world worth investing in. Ono does this magnificently through her use of paneling and character interactions. Every time the characters talk it’s always in small chunks, allowing her art to supply the rest of the dialogue. She also infuses the comic with tons of comfort food, oftentimes revolving whole scenes, locations, and motivations around the acquisition, distribution and consumption of sweets and breads. By doing this, it creates a homey atmosphere for us as readers and gives us a quick and easy glimpse into the personalities of the people and the regions we go to.
When Otus visits Jumoku, we see him change his usual order of 2cm toast to a 1/2 cm slice, which seems odd until a few pages later we see him eating a piece of toast twice the length and width of his head. We instantly know what kind of a location this place is and also that Jean is intimately familiar with it and, as such, we can be too. Compared to Dowa, where the sweets are highly refined and fancy, Jumoku specializes in large foods, with fruit being the focus. They’re small details, true, but without them, the series as a whole would be less interesting and with a story this measured, that could damage it.
That measured but engaging tone is entirely due to Ono’s artwork. What she lacks in detailed linework, she makes up for in her command of character expressions and, as mentioned before, paneling decisions. She allows the story to breathe, to have panels that are just establishing the environment or showing a shot of food, which serves to slow it down but also draw us in. These panels often tell us more about the world or a character’s thoughts then any of the conversations they have.
Take this one sequence from page 35. Nino is sitting atop a building after having taken out his tail. He is slouching as he boots up his camera and we see him from a distance, framed against the dark, night sky, with the unconscious tail in the foreground. The next panel is just a shot of him looking down, holding his camera while the next is a distance shot from his POV looking down at Jean and a couple others in the street.
Continued belowThe final panel of the page is a close up of Jean with Nino talking at him before, on the page turn, revealing a bit of information that seems important, even though we don’t have an answer quite yet. That information is revealed through a large panel, which puts a heavy emphasis on Nino’s words and his caring smile. Jean notices none of this. It’s a fantastic bit of storytelling that not only clues us into bits of Nino’s personality and his relationship with Jean but also hints at a backstory we haven’t yet seen.
Yet, for some, Ono’s artwork might be a turnoff. As I said earlier, her backgrounds can be fairly sparse even though it never impedes flow of a scene, like in some other comics, and her characters, especially at a distance, lose details in their faces and bodies. Those readers who are used to a denser, sharper, more detailed manga style might be turned off by this. For me, however, this simplicity adds to the charm and allows Ono to focus on what matters most, telling a compelling and engrossing story.
Final Verdict: 8.0. A damn good second volume that increases the stakes while retaining the charm and slow burn storytelling of the first volume.
