Shadow and Truth

**Lyrics by** | Konnie Aoki

"**Shadow and Truth**" is the opening theme song to the *ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.* anime by ONE III NOTES (PON from ORESAMA and MC Foggy-D).

## Opening animation

The ACCA 13 titlecard appears over a gray background, alongside the outline of Dōwā Kingdom. The titlecard bears the inscription: "ACCA" and "ACCA Jusan-ku Kansatsu-ka".

An Acca bird swoops down behind the text to pick up the picture of Dōwā, which transforms into a red leaf. The Acca then flies off as the title card "flips" over, now depicting the Acca in flight above Dōwā Castle. It drops its leaf and the scenery changes again, to the cityscape of Bãdon.

The scene then transitions to a red-tinted still of Jean, Lotta, and Nino smiling at each other as they make their way down a sidewalk as various sweets begin to rain down in the background.

Another "flip", and super-deformed versions of Atori, Moz, and Kelly prepare to bite into over-sized treats. Behind them, the sweets from the previous scene rise upwards as they have also been flipped; large cakes wall the three in. Abruptly, the scene shifts as an apparent film defect distorts their faces.

As a plane rises across a cityscape and moves across the screen, the scene is washed in yellow and Jean is revealed to be on the other side of the plane, smoking a cigarette in front of a Bãdon branch car. Cigarettes fall from the upper left corner of the screen, causing the scene to shift.

On a red background, a red-tinted Rail, Knot, Owl, and Pochard stare at the viewer. A sudden bokeh and Lotta appears, eating a piece of cake. Behind her, Rail holds his hand to his chest with an enchanted expression. A heart symbol grows from his chest, eventually taking up and wiping the entire screen.

Now the scene shifts to Nino and his motorcycle; he takes a picture of the viewer and smiles. From the right edge comes Nino's camera, bokehing the rest of the scene. A five-pointed star can be seen in the lens' reflection, possibly representing the Five Chiefs.

Next, a depiction of the Five Chief Officers of ACCA. Lilium and Grossular take the background and the extreme edges of the scene; they face opposite directions. Pine, Spade, and Pastis appear in the center, staring at or near the viewer. Following this is a map of Dōwā with the home districts of each Chief Officer indicated by a coffee cup.

In quick succession, various scenes of the Chief Officers in their home districts flash by. Grossular, in his Rokkusu garb, passes by a stone wall. Lilium stares out at the Furawau coastline with his namesake in the foreground. In front of the marquee of a Yakkara casino, Spade grins and holds a card out to the viewer, face down, while several other cards fly about. Pastis, in noble Suitsu attire, raises a saber to his chest and side-eyes the viewer. Pine drinks coffee amongst Jumõku pine trees, staring off into the distance.

The scene shifts once more to a bustling city street. As the scene moves leftward, the image is revealed to be layered onto Mauve's hair, who stares at the Acca bird. In front of both of them, two wine glasses are toasted (presumably by Jean and Mauve).

A small window looking out upon a bleak, monochrome forest; the scene pans downwards to reveal Princess Schnee as flowers fall down around her.

Another shift, and Maggie, Prince Schwan, and the King appear in front of a blue-tinted Dōwā Castle. The scene shifts to a depiction of the King and his Privy Council during a party at Dōwā. The scene flips vertically, revealing Qualm, who dominates the screen with his bulk. Two small orbs fall from Qualm's overcoat, landing as droplets in front of the castle grounds.

Jean is shown stumbling and running towards the left of the scene; Nino's sunglasses abruptly take the foreground. The scene becomes monochrome and an outline of the Dōwā crown rapidly sinks in an apparent pool of water. A woman with long hair and a man (presumably Mauve and Jean) seem to close their distance to kiss, but the woman instead mouths along to the song's lyrics -- "just move and go find out" -- in the man's ear. Nino's outline is then shown scaling a fence.

Lotta stands in front of a window, her face awash with yellow light. Jean's lighter begins to slowly fall to the lower right corner of the screen, until a pair of interlocking hands appear in the center; they eventual release their grip, revealing Lotta's face once more.

Finally, a slow pan depicts black, near-featureless versions of the show's characters in various, fluidly transitioning scenes. Nino stares at Schnee and a baby Lotta (to his right), the princess cradles Lotta while a disembodied hand reaches to turn a calendar, Lotta looks out a window with her back turned to the viewer, Mauve stands in a street with an umbrella over her shoulder, the Five Chiefs assemble for a meeting, Qualm stares out a window in Dōwā, and a smiling Schwan (with the Dōwā crown atop his head) pops up from the bottom edge.

A monochrome close-up shot of a cigarette being lit. The scene changes once more to show Jean lighting a cigarette. The screen pans downward to show Jean walking down a street; Nino and Lotta cheerfully wait for him to catch up to them. As the screen pans further downward, the leaf from the initial titlecard sequence can be seen resting in a puddle.

## Lyrics

### TV Size

* Kanji
* Romanji
* English

<poem>
Watch your back, attack is on the way
So feel around with the cards you play
Looking out, suspicion for they keep deceiving info
Every minute what you believe in sway

Silhouette, conspiracies indefinite
Never fooled, gotta stay cool, smoke another cigarette
Whatever you believe in now could flip
Observing every little bit

Trust only what you can see with your eyes
抗えない　奪い合い
漂う真相を　翻す　every noise　-雑音-

Standing inside that smoke
目の前の　全てが　suggestion　-提言-
And in time, you'll find what you should know

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
見つけたいでしょう？
儚い　story　繋ぐ　明日へ

Come on now, come on, on a journey
探してる鍵を
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
ねぇ、知りたいでしょう？
描く場所に　辿り着くまで

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
運命が呼び寄せた
導きの証
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

You gotta use your eyes to perceive the way！

<poem>
Watch your back, attack is on the way
So feel around with the cards you play
Looking out, suspicion for they keep deceiving info
Every minute what you believe in sway

Silhouette, conspiracies indefinite
Never fooled, gotta stay cool, smoke another cigarette
Whatever you believe in now could flip
Observing every little bit

Trust only what you can see with your eyes
aragaenai ubaiai
tadayou shinsou o hirugaesu every noise -zatsuon-

Standing inside that smoke
me no mae no subete ga suggestion -teigen-
And in time, you'll find what you should know

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
mitsuketai deshou?
hakanai story tsunagu ashita e

Come on now, come on, on a journey
sagashiteru kagi o
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
nee, shiritai deshou?
egaku basho ni tadoritsuku made

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
unmei ga yobiyoseta
michibiki no akashi
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

You gotta use your eyes to perceive the way!

<poem>
Watch your back, attack is on the way
So feel around with the cards you play,
Looking out, suspicion for they keep deceiving
info every minute what you believe in sway

Silhouette, Conspiracies indefinite
Never fooled, gotta stay cool
smoke another cigarette
Whatever you believe in now could flip
Observing every little bit

Trust only what you can see with your eye-eyes
An all-out frenzy you can't deny
Every noise turns the unsteady truth on its ear

Standing inside the smo-oke
Everything you see is a suggestion
And in time you'll find what you should know

Let's go, come, come on, on a journey
You want to find it, don't you?
Toward the tomorrow that will keep
this short-lived story going

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
Searching for the key
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come, come on, on a journey
Well, you want to know, don't you?
Until you arrive at the place you've imagined

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
The proof of the guidance
That fate has brought to you
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

You gotta use your eyes to perceive the way

### Full Version

* Kanji
* Romanji
* English

<poem>
Watch your back, attack is on the way
So feel around with the cards you play
Looking out, suspicion for they keep deceiving info
Every minute what you believe in sway

Silhouette, conspiracies indefinite
Never fooled, gotta stay cool, smoke another cigarette
Whatever you believe in now could flip
Observing every little bit

Trust only what you can see with your eyes
抗えない　奪い合い
漂う真相を　翻す　every noise　-　雑音　-

Standing inside that smoke
目の前の　全てが　suggestion　-　提言　-
And in time, you'll find what you should know

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
見つけたいでしょう？
儚い　story　繋ぐ　明日へ

Come on now, come on, on a journey
探してる鍵を
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
ねぇ、知りたいでしょう？
描く場所に　辿り着くまで

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
運命が呼び寄せた
導きの証
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

Bam！　(What！？)　Right up in your face
A truth unimaginable unfold to trigger the change of pace
A trace, look-a look at what you found
It's happening once again in the background now
So get down, get rooted, start movin'
With your feet, step one, then, step two and
(Bounce around)　Stuck in a groove again？
Back to searching for the truth again

Truth is always floating up in the sky
そう探していた未来
あらゆる感情を映し出す　any choice　-　選択　-

Reaching out from the smoke
その内なる声は　intension　-　意志　-
Now that you can grasp your future right

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
見つめる今を
消えないように引き寄せる為

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
見つけ出す鍵を
Stay true, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
そうこの扉を
開く先に　ざわめく答え

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
掴み取る未来は
真実のカタチ

たとえ何もかもが
偽りだったとしても
Realize..　Let it show...

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
見つけたいでしょう？
儚い　story　繋ぐ　明日へ

Come on now, come on, on a journey
探してる鍵を
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
ねぇ、知りたいでしょう？
描く場所に　辿り着くまで

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
運命が呼び寄せた
導きの証
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

You gotta use your eyes to perceive the way！

<poem>
Watch your back, attack is on the way
So feel around with the cards you play
Looking out, suspicion for they keep deceiving info
Every minute what you believe in sway

Silhouette, conspiracies indefinite
Never fooled, gotta stay cool, smoke another cigarette
Whatever you believe in now could flip
Observing every little bit

Trust only what you can see with your eyes
aragaenai ubaiai
tadayou shinsou o hirugaesu every noise 　-zatsuon-

Standing inside that smoke
me no mae no subete ga suggestion -teigen-
And in time, you'll find what you should know

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
mitsuketai deshou?
hakanai story tsunagu ashita e

Come on now, come on, on a journey
sagashiteru kagi o
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
nee, shiritai deshou?
egaku basho ni tadoritsuku made

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
unmei ga yobiyoseta
michibiki no akashi
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

Bam!　(What!?)　Right up in your face
A truth unimaginable unfold to trigger the change of pace
A trace, look-a look at what you found
It's happening once again in the background now
So get down, get rooted, start movin'
With your feet, step one, then, step two and
(Bounce around)　Stuck in a groove again?
Back to searching for the truth again

Truth is always floating up in the sky
sou sagashiteita mirai
arayuru kanjou o utsushidasu any choice 　-sentaku-

Reaching out from the smoke
sono uchi naru koe wa intension　-ishi-
Now that you can grasp your future right

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
mitsumeru ima o
kienai you ni hikiyoseru tame

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
mitsukedasu kagi o
Stay true, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
sou kono tobira o
hiraku saki ni zawameku kotae

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
tsukamitoru mirai wa
shinjitsu no katachi

tatoe nanimokamo ga
itsuwari datta to shitemo
Realize.. Let it show...

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
mitsuketai deshou?
hakanai story tsunagu ashita e

Come on now, come on, on a journey
sagashiteru kagi o
Just move, and go find out

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey
nee, shiritai deshou?
egaku basho ni tadoritsuku made

Come on, now, come on, on a journey
unmei ga yobiyoseta
michibiki no akashi
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems

You gotta use your eyes to perceive the way!

<poem>
Watch your back, attack is on the way!
So feel around with the cards you play.
Looking out, suspicion for they keep deceiving info!
Every minute what you believe in sway.

Silhouette, conspiracies indefinite...
Never fooled, gotta stay cool, smoke another cigarette!
Whatever you believe in now could flip,
Observing every little bit.

Trust only what you can see with your eyes.
An unavoidable scramble.
Every noise flips this drifting truth on its head.

Standing inside that smoke,
Everything before your eyes is a suggestion.
And in time, you'll find what you should know.

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey!
You wanna find it, don't you?
A tomorrow that connects this fleeting story!

Come on, now, come on, on a journey!
Find the key you're searching for...
Just move, and go find out!

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey!
Hey, you wanna know, don't you?
So until you reach the place you've imagined...

Come on, now, come on, on a journey!
...the guidance provided by fate
is your sign!
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems!

Bam!　(What!?)　Right up in your face!
A truth unimaginable unfold to trigger the change of pace.
A trace, look-a look at what you found;
It's happening once again in the background now.
So get down, get rooted, start movin',
With your feet, step one, then, step two and
(Bounce around)　Stuck in a groove again?
Back to searching for the truth again!

Truth is always floating up in the sky.
Yes, the future you've been searching for!
Any choice you make will depict a myriad of emotions!

Reaching out from the smoke,
That voice inside is your intention!
Now that you can grasp your future right...

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey!
We have to reel in this moment we've locked onto,
Before it fades away!

Come on, now, come on, on a journey!
Locate the key...
Stay true, and go find out!

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey!
Yeah, once we open the door,
The answer will be astir.

Come on, now, come on, on a journey!
The future we grasp
Will take the form of truth!

Even if everything turns out
To be nothing more than lies...
Realize..　Let it show...

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey!
You wanna find it, don't you:
A tomorrow that connects this fleeting story!

Come on, now, come on, on a journey!
Find the key you're searching for...
Just move, and go find out!

Let's go, come on, come on, on a journey!
Hey, you wanna know, don't you?
So until you reach the place you've imagined...

Come on, now, come on, on a journey!
...the guidance provided by fate
is your sign!
Stay cool, it's never really what it seems!

You gotta use your eyes to perceive the way!

## References

1. ↑  TV Size Romanji by Lyrical Nonsense
2. ↑ TV Size English translation by FUNimation Entertainment
3. ↑ Full Version Romanji and English translation by Lyrical Nonsense