Anime Hajime Review: Ace Attorney

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Ace Attorney. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

-Note: I'm aware of the Japanese title, Gyakuten Saiban: Sono “Shinjitusu”, Igiari. But that's too long and I will forever know this series as Ace Attorney. Any and all names from this point will be from the English localization.-

In court, evidence is the only truth. For some, justice is harder to obtain when the evidence gets stacked against them. When the innocent are viewed as guilty, it is the job of lawyers to defend their clients to the bitter end. Such is the goal of rookie attorney, Phoenix Wright (voiced by Yuki Kaji).

Having at last earned his lawyer badge, Phoenix finds himself in the courtroom. With great conviction, he realizes that believing in his clients is not enough. There are those who hope to conceal the truth from the world. Yet there are still those who share his ideals.

Phoenix becomes acquainted with the spirit medium, Maya Fey (voiced by Aoi Yuki). Meeting under sad circumstances, the two develop a strong partnership. Together they'll defend anyone with no place left to turn.

Phoenix and Maya must go up against the toughest of opponents. This often means facing the brilliant prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth (voiced by Masashi Tamaki). Their styles may be different, but Phoenix and Miles seek to discover the truth in all cases.

With odds forever stacked against him, Phoenix pushes forward. Come hell or high water, he will see to it that his clients are cleared from their charges. How he'll manage to do so is a different problem all together.

Series Positives

Phoenix Wright

Of all the anime reviewed on this site, there is one thing connecting them. Never before have I gone into a show a fan. Sure there are examples of preconceptions and second hand knowledge. There are also a few cases of me knowing the source material. But never has there been a series that I’ve had a connection with.

This one was the first.

Maya Fey

I adore the Ace Attorney games and have played every, English, release of the franchise. With that, it would be fantastic if Capcom brought Naruhodo Ryunosuke no Boken to the West. Not sure what that is? It’s a prequel to the series. Phoenix Wright’s ancestor meets a certain famous English detective. His name, by the way, is one Sherlock F@#$ing Holmes. WHY IS THIS NOT A GAME I AM PLAYING!

Miles Edgeworth

Odyssey, don’t you have a Japanese 3DS?

Yes, but my Japanese is nowhere near good enough to tackle an Ace Attorney game. Plus, Investigations 2 would be a nice bonus as well Capcom.

Franziska von Karma

To get back on track, what makes a good Ace Attorney game? It's a series known for brilliant writing, logical deductions, and colorful characters. These are not action titles, but they remain tense and nail biting. You, the player, have to not only find the evidence, but interpret what it means. You are responsible for questioning witnesses and uncovering the contradictions in their testimonies. Trials are exciting, but they can get difficult; and at times bull s@#$ly unfair. Yet when you figure it all out and being proving your case, the adrenaline rush is addicting.

Pearl Fey

I've had interest to see an Ace Attorney anime since the game Duel Destinies. It was the first in franchise to introduce animated cut scenes. Upon hearing the show’s announcement, I was curious what direction it would go. There inlaid a problem.

Me not being familiar with a series is never by accident. It is a deliberate choice on my part. Doing this lets me go into a show with as little bias as possible. I find that it allows me to judge an anime based on its own merits and flaws. That was impossible this time.

Going forward with this review, I promise to keep my fandom at bay. But it would be good of you to remember something. This show got watched through the eyes of someone who has played the games, knows the games, and loves the games.

So with all that said, what do I think of Ace Attorney the anime…meh?

I don’t hate it because it did manage to do a lot of good things. But, I don’t like it either because it also did a lot of stupid things. At times I enjoyed it and other times I wanted to bash my head against the wall. This wasn’t a bad attempt; it's just not great.

A Faithful Adaption

I have to hand it to this anime, it was faithful to its source. The show comprised of the first two games of the franchise and it didn't deviate; for better or for worse. There were no major changes. In fact there were few changes. Everything that played out, played out like they did in the games.

The cases were the same. The criminals where the same. The motives for committing the crimes were the same. Each major piece of evidence that turned a case around, did so here. So if you've played the games, you already know what's going to happen. This didn’t bother me because I suspected this would happen.

I found it fascinating. For those who haven't touched any of the games, you’re going to see the struggles of a rookie defense attorney. To those who have and continue to play each new installment, it's nice to see the series’ origins. This show was a humbling reminder of where it all started.

Is this a perfect adaptation? No…no, no, no. If anything, Ace Attorney shows how difficult it is to make an adaptation good.

The Characters

This aspect of the games was something the show nailed. These are the characters of the series. They weren't toned back and they weren't altered. If you’re going from anime to game or game to anime, these are the people you’re going to be with.

Our two leads, Phoenix and Maya, made the show. You had Phoenix's inexperienced, but also his idealism. He became an attorney to help those abounded. He was the person who would listen when no one else would. Maya was childish. She was quick to trust people and saw the good in them. Yet she wasn’t naïve. She had been through a lot and learned some harsh lessons early on in her life.

These two made a formidable partnership. Phoenix was the sword and Maya the energy. When things got difficult or he found himself against a wall, Phoenix could get lost. Maya was there to bring him back. Maya often found herself alone more than a few times. The person who would charge to the rescue, no questions asked, was Phoenix.

Then there was Edgeworth; by far the best prosecutor of the entire series. Until Phoenix came, he was at the top. This caused his motivations to become shadowed. He wasn’t a villain, he wasn’t a bad guy, he never was. He never became corrupt, but he did lose sight of what it meant to be a prosecutor. Together with Phoenix, Edgeworth was able to bring justice back to the courtroom.

Speaking of justice, when this series reached the events of Justice for All I became nervous. This is my favorite Ace Attorney game and this part of the show did do things which infuriated me. Yet there were two points it couldn’t screw up and, to my relief, didn’t screw up.

The first was Franziska von Karma (voiced by Saori Yumiba). She was a challenge for Phoenix. Built on a reputation of perfection, Franziska was hands on in every aspect of a case. With the evidence given to her, almost no detail went unnoticed. She was intimidating and persuasive. This had to do with her dominating persona, but the threat of her whip was a good incentive to listen.

Franziska, second only to Edgeworth, is the only prosecutor of the series to be a true rival to Phoenix. She would do many things to win, but her main goal was always to uncover the truth. This made her a proud character. When challenged, that pride also made her an interesting character.

The second thing the show couldn’t screw up was the thing the show couldn’t screw. I am referring to Pearl Fey (voiced by Misaki Kuno). She is my absolute favorite character of the entire series. Had anything demeaned her, no amount of restraint would keep me from despising this show. That didn’t happen so let’s talk about her.

Pearly (that’s how I refer to her, get used to it) is sweet, adorable, and a little angle. The anime did a great job of showing that. She was tough and was the first to help the people she cared about. Yet, she was also a kid who saw many harsh realities. This made her all the more enduring since she kept going and wouldn’t stop. Even against people like Edgeworth and von Karma, she would not run away.

Along with the main cast, the numerous amount of side characters retained what made them a lot of fun. Their vocal quirks, their odd behavior, whatever gimmick they had carried over from the games. There wasn’t anyone who was dull or uninteresting.

Series Negatives

This is where I need to be the most careful. I’ll admit the Positive Section did contain a lot of comparisons to the games. There wasn’t much in terms of an anime review. Ace Attorney has interesting characters that were a lot of fun and it was a faithful adaptation of the source.

But I also said it wasn’t perfect. At times it was faithful in the right areas, like the characters. Other times it was faithful, but for the wrong reasons. If this were an original show, it is forgettable.

Pacing

It got better by the end, but so help me it always felt off. This show was too fast. This show was way too fast. In both the anime and the games, the story broke into two parts. One involved investigation and the other were the trials.

The show worked during the investigation segments. There were many details to learns. There were a lot of witness to question. Enough time was spent gathering all the evidence and learning all the information. It represented the games well. There’s only one problem.

The investigation segments of the games are good. But they are not what make Ace Attorney exciting. They are necessary lulls that act as bridges from trial to trial. In the show these moments were important and they were fun. Why that same level of care wasn’t carried over to the trials is beyond me.

Court was over and done with way too quickly. This is something the games have a clear advantage in. The player has to piece the puzzle together. There’s a lot of thinking that goes on. How do you translate that into an anime?

I don’t know the answer, but what Ace Attorney did wasn't it.

Phoenix is a good lawyer. Yet one of his most enduring traits is short sightedness. In the show, Phoenix had a game plan going into a trial. That was strange because that’s not what he does. He always has the odds stacked against. It’s during proceeding where he puts everything together.

By having Phoenix see through lies with little to know effort took a lot of the excitement out of these trials. There were no twists or turns, everything was straightforward. There were no surprises. I’m not only saying that because I knew what was going to happen. These trials lacked a significant punch. They got better as the show went on, but nothing was all that memorable.

There’s a clear reason why this was the case. The show should have only focused on a single game.

I’m serious. One Ace Attorney title has enough material to fill a twenty-four-episode anime. In the first game alone, there are four case. All four were present in the show, but so much more time could have been spent on them. And that’s only from the Gameboy Advance release. The DS release got a fifth case. Not only was this fifth case long, it plays a pivotal role in the later games. Ema Skye should have been in this show.

Still not sure what I’m saying, you only need to look at the series’ midpoint. This was a huge case, an important case. It brought about a real villain. It put everything the characters had been through to the ultimate test. The later trials took a clear step back. There’s a reason for this.

The trial at the midway point should not be there. Why you ask? This was the final case of the original game. In essence, this was a final boss. Of course the trials afterwards wouldn’t match up in intensity. They were cases from the second game which led to their own finale.

The emotional moments of the latter half of the series lacked power because there wasn't a rest. Two seasons with twenty-four episodes would allow characters to disappear and reappear; producing a stronger impact.

That and it would allow for the events of the third game to keep their meaning if they ever got made.

A Series with the Fans in Mind

This show assumed fans of the games would be watching. Plenty of references are sprinkled throughout. I won’t lie, it was fun seeing all the tiny nods to the series. Too bad the show relied on this.

There was little to no explanation. If you played the games you knew everything that was going on. If you’ve never touched the games, there’s plenty of confusion to be had.

Following the midpoint trial, the show did an original episode. I liked it a lot and thought it was well made. Why it was part of the series and not an OVA made no sense to me though. I was astonished by what I was watching. That feeling passed and I began to enjoy the episode. That was until a character, who hadn't been around at that point, appeared. This made me mad because it ruined the chance for the epic introduction this character deserved.

There were two issues with this. For those who have never played the games, this character was random with no bearing on the story. For those who have played the games, why this character was there made sense, but it was not the time for them to show up. AND IT SURE AS HELL WASN’T RIGHT THAT THEY GOT GLOSSED OVER.

This character isn’t an Easter Egg. They are pivotal to plot and awesome, so don’t treat them as anything else.

Another instance of this was quicker, but it stood out. During one of the trials, Phoenix was grilling a suspect. He busted through every single lie this person was telling. It was a pretty good scene. Then there was shot of a bunch of chains and locks shattering. To someone just watching the anime, it made no sense. A shot like this never appeared anywhere in the show before. It was out of place.

I can’t speak for all Ace Attorney fans, but when I saw this…I FLIPPED MY S@#$! This was the one and only appearance of the Psyche Locks. I thought this was a detail that was cut. I wasn't bothered because I understand somethings might not make into an adaptation. Yet for them to show up like this pissed me off because they got treated like a simple tidbit. Instead of, you know, the major mechanic that they are.

The show added something which would make no sense to the average anime watcher. And it added in a way only to placate to the fans. Except, and I willing to bet, the fans would have preferred it if it was part of the main story to begin with.

Final Thoughts

I want Apollo to appear. I want to see Athena. I want to see Trucy. It would be great to see Phoenix go up against Prosecutor Godot or Prosecutor Blackwell. I want to see more from this series’ anime adaptation, even though I didn’t quite like this one.

That’s the fan in me coming out. This series wasn’t awful. This series wasn’t that good. It was average. The title Ace Attorney is the only thing keeping it from obscurity. It’s also the only thing which might get people to watch.

If you've never played Ace Attorney I highly recommend the games. Not so much the show. There is a strange charm and the characters are fun. Yet the pacing is garbage and there are many references that could go over your head.

If you've played the games, then I would suggest checking this out. It does remain faithful and there plenty of well-done nods to the series. Warning, some things may piss you off, but those moments are not that common.

In the end, Ace Attorney is a bit of a wasted opportunity. That’s a shame, but we still have the games to make up for it.

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