Sometimes I’ll decide whether I like a show or not before I’ve seen more than a single episode. The scenes, the characters, and initial dialogue all lend an impression of what sort of story lies ahead. But sometimes I push on, and am surprised. Even after experiencing so many stories, I still can’t always know if I’ll enjoy one based on my initial impression. If you think about it, it’s not so different with people. As ACCA has so far been focusing closely on trust, it’s not surprising that it also brings up the false assumptions we make.
ACCA continues with an airy of great mystery. The government of ACCA believes Jean Otus is plotting to overthrow them—but is he? At first it seemed like he was being set up, but for all we know, he absolutely could be plotting something. From the little we see of his personal opinions, there is no perceivable reason why he would want to seize power, but we don’t know anything about what he really wants or why. Is there any evidence about his intentions, or does the government just feel threatened because he’s smart and secretive? Sure, none of his alleged transfer requests have been filed, but is that really evidence that he’s a rebel?
The government isn’t alone in their suspicions. A member of the police hates him because he thinks he got his position through wealth and connections, when in reality, Jean has neither. Like an anime he had only seen a few minutes of, he was so certain that Jean was worthy of of his contempt, I was actually a little surprised he believed Jean’s explanations so easily. But you don’t have to be particularly terrible to pass judgement on someone. We do it all the time, sometimes even to people we already know and care about.
A person’s actions might reveal a great deal about their personality, but we are still merely watching them from the outside. God has made us all with great complexity, but while we can get very indignant when someone misinterprets our actions, we’re so quick to believe we know exactly what someone means to do. We hope that we’ll earn the trust of others quickly, but fail to offer that same trust in return. We are always rising up against people when we assume their unseen motives are bad. Perhaps this is why the world is filled with false conclusions.
I myself am suspicious of the government of ACCA. Although I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I’m not convinced they aren’t corrupt somehow, and I kind of hope Jean is in fact rebelling against them. However, within the current themes, my guess is that he has his own goals. Maybe the government’s scrutiny of him will become a self fulfilling prophecy, and he’ll end up rebelling because of it. It is hard to know for sure. He is certainly one of the most enigmatic protagonists I’ve encountered, while still having a distinct character. I’m impressed. The plot continues to move slowly, but if it keeps at this steady pace without stalling or rushing, the story will benefit in the long run. The intrigue is piling up in many layers, and I can already see more explorations of the theme of trust beginning, so I’m really excited for how everything is going to turn out.
- The 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 11: Angel Beats! - 12.24.2018
- Lynna’s Journey (Entry #8): Where Would You Like To Be? - 11.28.2018
- Lynna’s Journey (Entry #7) The Old and The New - 11.07.2018
Re: “Apparently being a landlord of a fairly large building doesn’t count as being rich.” – I think they are more like the caretakers than the owners of the building, from context.
That said, janitors and caretakers are often the villains in, e.g. Scooby-Doo and Harry Potter so why not here?
I guess so, I had kind of inferred that they inherited the building from their parents, but yeah, they might just be caretakers.
Ha! I hadn’t really made that connection. Of course, if Jean does turn out to be stirring something up, he’ll probably still be a hero for it, rather than a villain. Perhaps building caretakers are fighting back against their unpopular portrayals.