#fixy writes about lore

[turnaboutfix]

Here's how Maya addresses Phoenix throughout 1-2 in Japanese!

She calls him "Mr. Lawyer" in the very beginning.

"Atashi, Bengoshi-san wo shinjimasu."

"I trust Mr. Lawyer."

(English Localization: "And I trust you...")

"Dakara, Bengoshi-san mo...."

"So Mr. Lawyer [should trust me,] too."

(EL: "So you trust me, too, okay?")

At this point, the localization just kind of dodges addressing him directly until after the first trial where she calls him "Mr. Wright".

"Bengoshi-san!"

"Mr. Lawyer!"

(EL: "Mr. Wright!")

But once Maya becomes Phoenix's co-counsel, she calls him by just "Phoenix", but it's still "Mr. Lawyer" in Japanese.

"Dou.... Bengoshi-san?"

"What do you think.... Mr. Lawyer?"

(EL: "What do you think Phoenix?")

If she called him by his first name in Japanese (Ryuichi), it would be way too personal. As a matter of fact, there aren't a lot of characters who do call him "Ryuichi". The only ones who do in some form are Dahlia/Iris (Ryu-chan), Desirée (Ryuichi-kun), and Ponco (Ryuichi). That's because first-name basis is pretty much reserved for close family and lovers (admittedly I'm not sure why Ponco calls him Ryuichi, and I think Desirée is supposed to be displaying a flirtatious personality).

"But Fixy, if that's the case, why are most of the female characters addressed by their first names in Japanese?" That's because it's using Anime Rules™ and it's often fine to address women by their first names in anime.

And of course at the end, Maya finally addresses him as Nick/Naruhodo-kun.

"Yoroshiku! Naruhodo-kun!"

"I look forward to working with you! Naruhodo-kun!"

(EL: "Yo, Nick! Maya here, ready to get down to business!")

[specialshinytrinkets]

I have the thing you love,

But the need in me is way too much

If I open wide, one of us may get lost inside

Me or you, one of us is going to

Need

To

Die

[Plain text + lore under the cut]

[Plain text:

I have the thing you love,

But the need in me is way too much

If I open wide

One of us may get lost inside

Me or you, one of us is going to

Need

To

Die

/end Plain text]

Lore segment! (CHECK TAGS FOR TRIGGER WARNINGS)

Oh boy, isn't that a peculiar situation!

Some of you (*cough* @spideyladman *cough cough*) have already seen this drawing and known this woman for a long time, but I have never properly introduced her on this blog. So here I am! Meet Rada, Grandpus' currently deceased wife and Ator's (Papus' Uncle's) older sister!

She is a feisty, freedom-loving woman, who has been delegated into the role of a caretaker ever since she hit double digits. Her first tryout was with Ator, and she has done well enough that both of them reached adulthood with minimal mental scars! Yay! Surely this experience won't get used by a man, who, at first, was genuine in his attempts to help the siblings in, for example, getting some of that freedom for one, and a licensed pomogator for the other! He's so nice! And hot, too (according to Rada), ooh-la-la

As the relationship progressed, so did Grandpus' influence on her. She was completely enamoured with him — and why wouldn't she be? For the first time in her life, she could choose someone herself, and that someone just happened to be one of the Guild members. It's almost like a dream come true: she could finally be herself...

Until she got convinced into marrying him

She was not a particular fan of marriage (or... Any sort of legal status where she would get anchored down to someone or something else). But he sounded convincing, and they loved each other, so it wouldn't hurt to further their relationship like that. Besides, what's the worst thing that can happen? Sure, he's talking about having a family and settling down, but that could never happen! Not in a million years! She's always said that she's against doing anything that serious, so he's bound to listen and forget all of those silly ideas!

...

Is what she thought

After just a few years, she gave birth to a hefty baby boy. For that and the amount of movement, he was named Max. Maybe there was another reason, but, as far as she knew, that was all. And she hated that. She got anchored down again. But this time, for some odd reason, it hurt more. Maybe because her younger brother took care of the baby more efficiently, but she had never felt so useless. By this point, she had already gotten to her conclusion: her husband only needed the child, not her. Whatever he was planning did not account for her well-being or opinions on any of the steps of the way. Perhaps there were women like her before, picked up and abandoned the moment his children became legible workers

Worst of all, she couldn't escape. The idea of a divorce terrified her, as her husband was a famous man, and, while it might have not mattered that much in reality, he still shut down any and all of her worries, years before this went down. As for escaping and leaving the baby behind, — even though she hated him — it made her stomach churn. It made no sense. Was she afraid for the baby? Thought her brother would take her place as the caretaker and stay behind? Did she actually care for it? Or was she just broken enough to think that she could not live with an abandoned child?

So, she made her decision. In the darkness of the night, she headed to the bathroom sink and looked down the abyss. The faint still water smell hit her nostrils, as her husband watched from the top. She told him everything she had on her mind. How much she hated him. That he ruined her life. And most importantly, if he ever decides he should look for someone else, he must forget this idea before he even gets into bringing it to life. Because his best and worst talent, which can easily destroy everything around him and tear apart all of his relationships, is persuasion. God fucking damn his persuasion

Little did either know that Ator, who had become more nocturnal out of fear of people, heard the conversation

The clock is set in motion

The illusion of peace is now shattered

[queenbee298]

well here's my oc, just asking even if its notpossible, but can you add this goobster into ur stories? I really like em and my hyperfixiations are controlling me, the goobsters name is Flexy Fixy, you can see his lore at my acc if you do :> = Arandomperson

I’ll write up something in this story, but I can’t promise OC’s in the story because I can’t remember all the OC’s, but I can try. Also, I can’t find any info about your OC other than a picture, so I’ll make something up. Request #10

🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

It was Thursday at 2:52pm, You were working on your computer in your office. You couldn’t play with the toys until 4:00pm or on the weekends. As you were working, something covered your eyes.

???: “Guess who~”

No, someone covered your eyes.

Y/n: “Hello Flexy.”

Flexy Fixy was a slim, playful toy. He had sharp claws and his tail was a hand, he had stitched, colorful skin, and a button eye.

Flexy uncovered your eyes and you turned to face him.

Flexy Fixy: “Whatcha doing?”

Y/n: “Working.”

Flexy Fixy: “Ugh! Are you almost done?”

Y/n: “Not until 4:00, you know this, Flexy.”

Flexy Fixy: “But you’re always working! I want to play with you!”

Y/n: “I know, I know… Maybe, I could take some time off.”

Flexy Fixy: “Really?”

Y/n: “Yeah, I’ve been overworking myself, so sometime off wouldn’t hurt.”

Flexy Fixy: “Hooray! Let’s get the others and go play!”

You had to run just to catch up with Flexy. Flexy ran to the living room and called everyone outside.

Flexy: “Okay, so now that Y/n has some time off work, they can play with us!”

Dogday: “Really!?”

Kickin Chicken: “What are we going to do, Mama/Papa!?”

Y/n: “We’re going to have a field day. I’ve been overworking myself, so I’m taking some time off work to spend time with you all. We’re going to play Red Light, Green Light and some other games you guys want.”

Hoppy Hopscotch: “Hooray!”

Catnap: “Let’s play!”

You turn your head to a tree, the toys back away from you. However, you didn’t realized the toys planning something.

Y/n: “Red Light, Green Light! 1,2,3!”

The toys moved closer to you, but Flexy was still at the beginning. You were confused, but continued the game.

Y/n: “Red Light, Green Light! 1,2,3!”

The toys were almost reaching you, but Flexy was still at the beginning. He was just grinning the whole time. You got a little worried. He was something.

Y/n: “Red light…”

And just like that Flexy grabbed and held you on the ground.

Y/n: “What the hell!?”

Flexy smile got bigger. He took his hands to hold your arms down and took his hand-like tail and began tickling your stomach.

Y/n: “AHAHAHAHA! FLEXY! PLEASE! NO! IT TICKLES!”

Flexy: “ Hehe! We’re going to have so much fun!”

Y/n: “Guys! Help!”

Poppy: “Sorry, angel.”

Big Dogday: “You brought this on yourself.”

Unfortunately, the toys just joined tickling you.

Y/n: “OMG! AHAHAHA! NO! PLEASE!”

🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

I hope you all enjoyed this story. Please request something you would like to see me write. See you next time!

[scrunkly-week]

⊗ i love me an ominous ending ♥️ the excitement of everyone present is infectious, and, since i know nothing about the fixies, the smidge of lore about them i'm getting here is prominent and delightful to me.

☆ this is such a fun little story! There's a lot going on but it adds to the visuals I'm getting of this group running around an airport excited for their first overseas trip! Your writing is so cute and I love the colour coding and use of symbols for the characters :]

Scrunkly Week: Day 2

"What took you all so long?", Simka asked four of her classmates. "You almost arrived too late!" "We couldn't decide what to bring." "This is our first overseas trip, after all." "Yeah, who knows what's out there!" The 🟡fourth classmate🟡 had nothing to say. "You should have asked us for help." "Yeah, we travel all the time!" At around that time, their human friends, Tom Thomas and Katya, entered the room. ♂️"Hey, you guys made it!"♂️ ♀️"Come on, it's time to go!"♀️ The eight young Fixies and their teacher hopped into the bags that were going to be checked in(they couldn't go into the carry-on bags: they'd be seen by the x-ray machine as screws and gears, which aren't allowed). "This is going to be so much fun! We're going to ride in an airplane, stay in a hotel, and see a Vector concert!" It certainly was lucky that their human friends had won plane tickets in a contest around the same time as the concert was to happen where they were going. Shortly after they got settled in the bag, their teacher gave a quick lecture about how an airplane flies- it just felt right to do so then and there. However, after it, Simka noticed that her friend was still a little nervous. "Hey, what's wrong?" 🟡"Well...what if we run into an elf while we're there?"🟡 Simka laughed a bit at that. "I know you like reading about superstitions and things like that, but even you should know that elves aren't real!"

...it doesn't happen often, but even Simka can be wrong once in a while...

[turnaboutfix]

Let's talk about how Edgeworth addresses Maya, because I think it's super interesting!

"Ms. Maya Fey" when introducing her to the court. He's a professional, after all.

"Maya Fey" on a separate occasion.

Does he ever call her "Ms. Fey"?

No. He does address Mia as "Ms. Fey!"

As a matter of fact, Edgeworth uses "Ms. Fey" to only address Mia. He never addresses Maya as "Ms. Fey".

What about after this trial?

He just calls her Maya!

And to her face? Still "Maya".

And then in 3-5, still "Maya Fey"/"Maya".

Besides reserving "Ms. Fey" for just Mia, I think there's a really interesting reason he calls her "Maya" so informally considering his formal tendencies.

Yes, it involves the Japanese version of the game.

"Mayoi-kun...."

"A. Mitsurugi kenji." / "Oh. Prosecutor Mitsurugi."

In Japanese, Edgeworth calls her "Mayoi-kun" after 1-2, where he addresses her as "Ayasato Mayoi" during her trial. If you have a basic understanding of Japanese honorifics, you might be familiar that "-kun" is usually reserved for men and boys. Maya (and Mia) call Phoenix "Naruhodo-kun", as an example. They both use the honorific to imply that Phoenix is a subordinate (which is a touch scandalous coming from Maya, considering she's both younger than him and not even a practicing attorney, but Phoenix never corrects her.) It can also be used for male classmates in school.

There is a reason, however, that women are sometimes addressed as "-kun", and that's in the workplace! It's common for male coworkers to call their female subordinates "-kun", especially if they are a more familiar coworker.

(Edit, slight correction/addition: addressing a female coworker as "-kun" is more common and even seen as more polite than "-san" for a subordinate in settings like parliament and courts!)

As for Edgeworth, he certainly caught that Phoenix addresses Maya as "Mayoi-chan", but it's probably too familiar for him, so he wants to use a more respectful honorific for her, and something more familiar than "-san", which is similar to "Mr."/"Ms." So, he calls her "Mayoi-kun"! (He also calls Kay Faraday "Mikumo-kun", for similar reasons.)

So I can see why the localizers would scratch their heads as to how they would localize "Mayoi-kun". The nuances of using that honorific can't be translated easily, so between calling Maya "Ms. Fey" (and probably also agreeing that ought to be reserved for Mia) and just "Maya", they ultimately decided to just stick with her first name.

[turnaboutfix]

This is how Maya learning that Max was a "country bumpkin" went down in Japanese.

When the mask slips, he speaks with a more rural dialect, just like in the localization.

"Onegaidaa! Tasukete kere! Ora, koroshi tenee yo?"

"Please help me! I didn't kill anyone, you know?"

(English Localization: "Please! Help me! I didn't kill nobody!")

He also uses the first person pronoun "Ora", which feels rural. Goku from Dragonball uses it!

When this comes out, Maya has to ask about his name.

"Honto no onamae wa ....nante?"

"What... is your real name?"

(EL: "What's your real name?")

"Yamada Kouhei (ya ma da ko u he i) dakendo?"

"It's Yamada Kouhei...?"

(EL: "It's Billy Bob Johns…")

"Yamada Kouhei" is a very average sounding name for a rural Japanese fellow, so "Billy Bob Johns" is a fantastic localized name.

"............tsu!"

This is supposed to represent a glottal stop.

(EL: "...Ugh…")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"D, doushitano? Mayoi-chan."

"W-what's wrong, Mayoi-chan?"

(EL: "What's the matter, Maya?")

"Nippon jin datta nda."

"He's Japanese."

(EL: "He's really just a country bumpkin!)

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"............"

And in the Japanese canon, Maya (and Phoenix for that matter), are Japanese themselves, so Maya thought Max was a foreigner (he uses a ton of English words like "Gorgeous!" and calls Maya and Phoenix, "Honey") until he pulled out the rural dialect and shattered her dreams.

[turnaboutfix]

So for today's Maya May I will talk about Phoenix's introduction to the title "Mystic Maya" in Japanese. Yes, it involves honorifics!

"Aa. ....Aata* ga, ano."

"Aaah. ...You must be... that person."

(English Localization: "Oh… You must be that good sir…")

"("Aata*" tte... boku no koto ka?)"

"("You"... does she mean me?)"

(EL: "("Good sir"…? Is she talking about me?)")

*Real quick, "ああた"/"Aata" is interesting. It's a way of saying "あなた"/"Anata" which means "you". However, it sounds like "あーた"/"Aata", which is a way wives address their husbands and is a more common word out of the two (I had to find a pretty advanced dictionary to even find the "ああた" spelling). It's quite possible that's why Phoenix was confused here.

"Aata, bengoshi de go zaamasho?"

"You're a lawyer, right?"

(EL: "You are a lawyer, are you not, good sir?")

"Mayoi-sama kara ukagatte orimasu wa yo."

"I have heard about you from Mayoi-sama."

(EL: "I have heard much about you from Mystic Maya.")

Naruhodo/Phoenix:

"Sore wa doumo. (Mayoi "sama"....?)"

"Is that so? (Mayoi "sama"...?)" ("Sama" here is written in katakana, which gives the vibe that Phoenix is saying it funny, like he's not sure about it. It's sort of like how we use italics: "Mayoi-sama....?")

(EL: "Is that so? ("Mystic" Maya…?)")

So, Phoenix has spent an entire game calling her Mayoi-chan, with "-chan" being a casual honorific which, in this case, he's using to describe his close friendship with her (it can also be used toward young children, pets, and lovers).

Now, he's suddenly hit with someone calling her "Mayoi-sama", "-sama" being the most respectful honorific and reserved for people in positions of power and even gods (it's also used for customers and guests in a business setting).

Naruhodo/Phoenix:

"Mayoi-chan, "-sama" dzuke de yoba reru hodo erai ndesu ka?"

"Is Mayoi-chan so important that she's to be called "-sama"?"

(EL: "So why do you add "Mystic" to Maya's name. Isn't that a little… strange?")

"Aata!!"

"You!"

(EL: "Good sir!")

"Mayoi-sama ni mukatte, nante narenareshii!"

"How over-familiar you are toward Mayoi-sama!"

(EL: "How dare you be so rude and disrespectful towards Mystic Maya!)

""Mayoi-sama" to o yobi nasaimashi!"

"You are to address her as "Mayoi-sama"!"

(EL: "She must be addressed by her proper title, good sir. You must call her "Mystic Maya"!")

Naruhodo/Phoenix:

"A, ano. ...Sono, Mayoi-sama‥‥ no kotodesukedo?"

"Ah, um. ...So, Mayoi-sama... what is it about her?"

(EL: "Um, uh… So, about Mystic Maya… Uh…")

And like struggling to call Maya "Mystic Maya" in the localization, Phoenix has to be constantly corrected into calling her "Mayoi-sama".

And Pearl, like in the localization, has something to say about it:

"Futsuunara, Mayoi-sama wo "-chan" dzuke de yoba reru no wo kiku dake de, watakushi, hippataite shimau tokoro desu."

"Normally, if I hear someone address Mayoi-sama as "-chan", I slap them."

(EL: "Usually when people don't use Mystic Maya's title, I get mad.")

"Demo, Naruhodo-kun wa iino desu."

"But it's okay if Naruhodo-kun does."

(EL: "But if it's you, Mr. Nick, then it's OK.")

"Datte.... Mayoi-sama no.... omoware bito desu mono ne."

"After all... you're Mayoi-sama's... beloved, aren't you?"

(EL: Because… Because… you're "special" to her.")

Naruhodo/Phoenix:

"(Dakara, nande sou naru ndaa‥‥)"

"(Why would that be the case...)"

(EL: "(Where in the world did she get an idea like that??)")

Well buddy, your familiar language toward Maya isn't helping this sheltered child's impressions. Lmao.

[turnaboutfix]

So here's something I think is interesting about the Japanese version of AA.

The word Pearl uses for "Special Someone" is "大切なヒト", "tai setsu na hito".

"Ano. Mayoi-sama no.... taisetsu na hito." / "Um. Mayoi-sama's... "special someone".

(In the English localization, the line is "You're… You're Mystic Maya's… "special someone"…")

So let's look at that word!

It's a cute word, it's pretty much exactly the same in English. (Quick note, 人 is written as ヒト for flavor in Pearl's dialogue.)

Now! Do you remember the moment in 3-5 when you cross examine "Iris", and she says this?

Here's the line in Japanese.

"Mayoi-sama wa.... anata no tai setsu na kata, nano desu yo ne?" / "As for Mayoi-sama.... she's your "special someone", isn't she?"

Granted, she's using "方", "kata", a more honorific word for "someone" or "person" than "人", "hito", but the rest of the word is all the same. It's not a common word for girlfriend, that would be "彼女", "kano jyo".

Where did Dahlia hear "tai setsu na hito/kata" from? She wasn't around Pearl to hear her say it, so she only could have gotten it from one person: Morgan, while they were conspiring together in prison.

And Phoenix--or rather, Naruhodo--must've caught onto that.

[turnaboutfix]

I'm going to a quick one today!

Here's how Maya addresses Pearl in Japanese:

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"Sou ieba, sakki no onnanoko‥‥ shiriai?"

"Come to think of it, that girl from earlier... are you acquainted with her?"

(English Localizaiton: "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you about that girl I saw earlier. Do you know her?")

"Aa. Hami-chan."

"Ah! Hami-chan."

(EL: "Oh, you mean Pearly?")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"Hami-chan?"

(EL: "Pearly?")

"Ayasato Harumi (A Ya Sa To Ha Ru Mi). Atashi no itoko na nda yo."

"Ayasato Harumi (in the parenthesis is the furigana, characters from the hiragana alphabet showing how "綾里(Ayasato)春美(Harumi)" is pronounced) My cousin."

(EL: "Pearl Fey. She's my cousin.")

So Maya shortened "Harumi" to "Hami" and honestly that is just too cute, and very her.

Also, Phoenix calls "Pearl" just "Harumi-chan".

This addition to the localization is so very funny in an endearing kind of way.

"Ano.... Naruhodo-kun."

"Um... Naruhodo-kun."

(EL: "Um, Mr. Nick?")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"?"

Here's the English Localization for the "?"

It's tricky to translate honorifics ("-chan" in this case being used to address a little girl) in a way that feels natural to an English-speaking audience! Localizing truly is more of an art than a science!

[turnaboutfix]

So we all know that Maya calls Phoenix "Nick" because Mia told her that's what Larry called him, right?

Let me share what happens in the Japanese version, because it's a bit different--besides that she calls him "Naruhodo-kun!"

"《Naruhodo houritsu jimusho》. Atashi, otetsudai shimasukara!"

"《Naruhodo Law Office》. I'm here to help!"

(English Localization: "Someone has to help with the new Wright & Co. Law Offices, right?")

"Yoroshiku* onegai shimasu!"

"I look forward to working with you!" (Said in polite speech)

(EL: "And who better but me! Maya Fey, reporting for duty!")

"....A, kata kurushii no wa nashi ni shimashou ne!"

"....Ah, let's not speak so formally!"

(EL: Wait, no, on second thought, let's make this casual!)

"Yoroshiku!* Naruhodo-kun!"

"I look forward to working with you! Naruhodo-kun!" (Said in casual speech)

(EL: "Yo, Nick! Maya here, ready to get down to business!")

"....A, onamae wa Oneechan kara kiita nda yo."

"....Ah, I heard this name from Older Sister."

(EL: "You… don't mind me calling you "Nick," do you?")

"Ii namae da neー , "Naruhodo-kun" nante."

"It's a good name, "Naruhodo-kun.""

(EL: "It's a great name! Mia said that's what your friend Larry calls you.")

"(Na, "Naruhodo-kun" tte....)"

"(Na-"Naruhodo-kun"....)"

(EL: "("Nick"…?)")

"Ne. Hora, a kushyu, a kushiyu."

"So! Here! Let's shake on it!"

(EL: "You know what this means? We're partners!")

So what gets me is how Maya had to feel her way if she was going to be polite or casual to Phoenix (speaking casually suggests familiarity between the speaker and the listener). Then, she decides to address him using the honorific "-kun", meant for subordinates because that's what Mia called him. Phoenix doesn't protest, he doesn't correct her, "Hey, call me Naruhodo-san because I'm the boss." He just responds with mild surprise and a handshake, thus forming the new Naruhodo Law Office and their unique bond.

"Yoroshiku* tanomu yo, Mayoi-chan."

"I'm counting on you, Mayoi-chan."

(EL: "Thanks, Maya!")

*So! "Yoroshiku" is kind of tricky to translate, and the meanings can range from "nice to meet you", to "best regards", and the translations I have above. This article about the phrase is really good if you want to learn more. As an additional bonus, Mia's letter to Maya says, "なるほどくんのこと、よろしくたのむわ." / "Naruhodo-kun no koto, yoroshiku tanomu wa." / "Please take care of Naruhodo-kun."

[turnaboutfix]

From @klapollfranmayinator,

Ooh I have not done it! Thanks!

"Nande Yuusaku-san, koko made kaijin ni narita garu no ka naa."

"Why does Yuusaku-san want to be Kaijin so badly anyway?"

(English Localization: "Why does Mr. DeLite want to be Mask☆DeMasque so badly anyway? It's kinda disturbing.")

Real quick, Kaijin is short for "怪人☆仮面マスク", "Kaijin☆Kamen Masuku", or "Mystery Person☆Mask Mask". Yes, Mask is said twice, once in Japanese and once in English, and it's not the only thing like this in this case. KB Security is called "KB警備", "KB Keibi", so it sounds like "Security Security" in Japanese.

Anyway, onto the famous line:

"Medachitagariya, tte wake demo nasasou nanoni."

"He doesn't seem like the type to be an attention seeker."

(EL: "He doesn't seem like your typical attention whore to me.")

This is the word Maya uses, "Medachitagariya".

Alas, it doesn't have the same crudeness or slangy-ness as "attention whore". From my own sleuthing, the word that would be closest to "attention whore" in Japanese would be "構ってちゃん" or "Kamatte-chan". "Kamatte" from "Kamau", meaning "to mind" or "to matter", and "-chan" being the cutesy (and in this case, maybe condescending) honorific. Even so, it's still not as crude, I think.

"....Naruhodo-kun to chigatte."

"....Unlike you, Naruhodo-kun."

(EL: "Unlike, say... you, Nick.")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"Boku wa medachitagariya janai zo. (Towaie‥‥)"

"I am not an attention seeker! (Although...)"

(EL: "I am nothing of the sort, thank you very much.")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"(Tashikani, doumo fushizen dayo na, Yuusaku-kun no taido wa....)"

"(Yuusaku-kun's demeanor is quite unnatural, isn't it?)"

(EL: "(But I gotta admit it is kinda scary the way Ron acts…)")

[turnaboutfix]

SO ABOUT THE BORGOR

Maya doesn't eat borgor in the Japanese version of Ace Attorney, but I think most of you knew that already.

Let's talk about it more in-depth!

Maya/Mayoi:

"Jya! Naruhodo-kun. Ikkou!"

"Well, then! Naruhodo-kun. Let's go!"

(English Localization: "Right! Okay, Nick, let's do it!")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"E, e....? Doko ni?"

"H-huh? To where?"

(EL: "Huh? Do… what?")

Maya/Mayoi:

"Kimatteru desho. Miso raamen."

"Isn't it obvious? [To get] miso ramen."

(EL: "Burgers, dummy! Burgers!")

And yes, every time she mentioned burgers in English, she talks about ramen in Japanese.

I'll first point out that ramen here is written in Katakana (ラーメン), the Japanese alphabet reserved for either emphasis or transcribing foreign words. In this case, it's used for transcribing.

The word Ramen is from "Lamian", a Northern Chinese wheat noodle. Japanese ramen, however, was more based on Southern Chinese noodle soups. That's why it's written in Katakana and why ramen bowls often have Chinese patterns and designs. (photo from Google)

Ramen became especially popular in Japan after World War II, when the US supplied Japan with grain when Japan was struggling to produce rice. They had an abundance of wheat, so they made things like bread and noodles, including the Chinese-inspired ramen noodles. So, ramen is a relatively recent thing in Japanese culinary history.

The kind of ramen Maya likes is Miso Ramen (Japanese source), which was conceived in Sapporo, Japan in the 50s and 60s. The broth is made from miso paste, animal stock and other seasoning. There is an authentic recipe here if you'd like to make it! I have! (my photo)

It's quite good!

As a bonus, in the Ace Attorney anime (which you can take or leave with regard to how "canon" it is, but Shu Takumi was the script supervisor and I feel like the extra stuff is fun either way), we got to see how Maya first enjoyed Miso Ramen.

Mia introduces Maya to Miso ramen when and takes her to see the ocean for the first time in the Season 2 episode "Hear the Waves of Turnabout".

I can't help but think that, given Kurain Village's relative seclusion both culturally and geographically, and keeping in mind that ramen is a dish with Chinese origins, if Miso Ramen was something novel for Maya--something that represented the broader world outside Kurain Village.

But with this addition from the anime, Miso Ramen also represents Maya's connection to her late sister.

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Hi i dont know if you take requests or anything like that so sorry if this seems pushy or anything ive just always been super curious about what the original japanese for this one optional line of dialogue in 3-5.

When you show Maya the profile for Sister Bikini in front of Larry, Larry says that she is his mother and then refuses to elaborate on it. Ive always wondered if it was played off more as a joke in japanese because they play it pretty straight in the english game, so much so i truly cant tell if its a joke or not.

Oh I love solving a good mystery.

"Nanka, 'Okka-san' tte kanji desu yo neー"

"She seems to have the feeling of a 'mother,' right?"

(English Localization: "She seems really motherly, doesn't she?")

"'Kanji' tteiuka, sono manma ore no kaa-chan dayo, are."

"You say, 'Seems to'? She's just like my mom."

(EL: What do you mean "seems" motherly? She IS my mother.)

Larry/Yahari uses this word, "sono manma," a form of "sono mama".

"....e."

"....huh?"

(EL: "...She's your WHAT!?")

"Kouiu no wa, pasu na, ore."

"I'm going to pass on this sort of thing." (He says "pass" in English.)

(EL: "I'm gonna have to take a pass on answering that one.")

Phoenix/Naruhodo:

"(Douiu imi da? 'Pasu' tte....)"

"(What do you mean by that? 'Pass'...)"

(EL: "(Wait a second. Why is he getting off so easy this time…!?)")

It seems to me that Larry is dodging talking about how Bikini is "just like" his mom.

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"Even you look like a nice, juicy burger on a bun"

As usual, here is that bit in Japanese! ...and Phoenix's reaction is a bit different!

"Atashi mou, Naruhodo-kun ga Furaido Chikin ni mieru nda kara!" "Naruhodo-kun looks like fried chicken to me!" (English Localization: "I'm so hungry even you look like a nice, juicy burger on a bun to me, Nick!)

Phoenix/Naruhodo: "Furaido Chikin...." "Fried Chicken..." (EL: "Y-You think I look like a burger...? I'm a Prime Rib at least!")

I think it's interesting that Naruhodo/Phoenix's reaction changed in this way! It's also interesting that they opted to localize "Fried Chicken" as Maya's usual burger! If you remember, "burgers" is usually a localization for Miso Ramen!

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Another quick one for today! Here's how Lotta (Natsumi in Japanese) addresses Maya!

"...Ano ko... Mayoi-han ya nakatta yo naa...?"

"That kid... It wasn't Mayoi-han, was it?"

(English Localization: "That gal… Maya. She wasn't the one that pulled the trigger, was she…?"

She uses the honorific "-han" which is the "-san" (Mr./Ms.) for the Kansai accent! The Kansai accent is often localized as Southern accents or Brooklyn accents to try to capture a similar spirit for English speakers. This article is good if you want to learn more about the accent's use in anime.

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Oh yes of course!!!

I meant specifically like her very early concept art (blue haired) and like, one of the first ones where she has short hair (but still with those 2 loose locks at the front)? I hope you know which one I'm talking about lolol

BUT if you wanna speak your thoughts on like. All of them. I want to hear 👂❓️

( @ellivcca asked what I thought about Maya's concept art and I replied in priv if they could be more specific)

Let's talk about Maya's designs! ✨

I will skip the blue-haired art for now, since I have more to say about her other early designs. They're in a few Japanese AA Guidebooks, but "逆転裁判2 真相解明マニュアル", or "Gyakuten Saiban 2: Fact-Finding Manual" has the most in one place. There are blurbs that discuss the designs, and I'll do my best to summarize them. My Japanese isn't amazing and I had to mostly rely on machine translation + cross referencing dictionaries, so it's possible I may be inaccurate. Also, I'm a novice at Japanese culture, so if I'm misrepresenting anything please bring this to my attention and I'll correct things accordingly!

The book acknowledges that Maya was intended to be of high-school age, hence the the sailor suit artwork. They seem to suggest that the loose socks was a hint at Maya's spunky personality.

When they began to explore her as a spirit medium (1), they wanted her to come from a wealthy, noble family. It looks like a lot of these explorations made it to Franziska's design, with some of the shapes of the shoulders and the jabot-looking neck wear, which is interesting!

As they kept exploring in the second round of sketches (2), they stressed traditional/folk dress as being an important part of her design. They noted they had her carrying something on her back at the time, which I think hints more to her "folksy" feel.

The beaded necklace she's wearing in (2) are drawn from Mala bead necklaces, which are prayer beads rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism and are said to help focus the mind during meditation. They seem present in a lot of spiritual figures in Japan.

Later (3), they explicitly comment drawing inspiration from the Matagi, a group of hunting clans in the northern Japanese mountains (be careful looking them up, they do bear hunting and there's a lot of explicit imagery, even on the wikipedia).

They comment on that this version of her early character might be very athletic. She also seems to be more stoic in these explorations.

Then, for (4) and (5), they evolved the design to make it look appear more feminine, giving her long hair, but making a note that her look isn't typical of modern people. The large orbs in (3), (4) and (5) I think are supposed be drawn from "Yuigesa"(結袈裟), or harnesses decorated with pom-poms worn by Shugendō practitioners, hermits who live in the mountains and practice asceticism.

Then in (6), they added the magatama and committed to her having black hair. They note shortening the hem of her costume from design (5).

The magatama addition is pretty significant! Magatama necklaces are used by noro priestesses of the Ryukyu Kingdom from the islands in the very south of Japan.

Their religion broadly speaking, involves ancestor worship and the relationships between the living and dead, gods and spirits. It seems to me like the culture in Kurain Village draws a lot from the Ryukyuan people--and you can even see this with the beads along with the magatamas.

But there seems to be a lot of generic imagery of Spirit Mediums that I've been able to find in Japanese media which have shared elements of design in Maya's final design. The most interesting of these to me is "ほんとにあった!霊媒先生", or "It Really Happened! Spirit Medium Teacher". The design similarities are striking (and make me wonder if Maya was an inspiration?)

So, to summarize it all up, it seems like the early designers (and there were only two! Kumiko Suekane and Tatsuro Iwamoto) wanted a character who was different, folksy, feminine and spunky that displayed unique spiritual power to aid in the narrative/game mechanics of the games, and they explored the different facets of their own culture--from the northern Matagi clans to the southern Ryukyuan people--Japanese iconography, and tastes into Maya's final design.

And I think that's Real Neat. :)

Thoughts about other designs (Blue-Haired/SoJ Maya) under the cut cuz oh my gosh this post is already huge.

Blue haired Maya!

What's interesting to me is that a lot of the design language on this early Maya art seems to have been carried over to Ema's design (glasses, boots, coat/skirt). She also has similar vibes to Lynne from Ghost Trick.

I definitely enjoy Maya's final design a lot better, but I like the triadic color harmony and spunk here!

And then her design update in Spirit of Justice! These concepts are from "逆転裁判6 公式ビジュアルブック", or "Gyakuten Saiban 6: Official Visual Book". :)

Takuro Fuse (the character designer) comments that he never drew Maya before when he took a stab at updating her, so he wanted to get that down first before tackling the designs. He wondered how she would change over the course of 11 years, and first experimented with a design, thinking about how Mia would look like as a spirit medium. He thought it would be interesting if Phoenix wouldn't be able to tell if Maya channeled Mia. (Me too tbh.)

I feel like this design has a bit too much going on, but I do like the longer cream colored sleeves!

Takuro talks more about how he was exploring all sorts of designs before landing on something more simple. He wanted her to have what he called a "traveling costume" and was very fond of the hat. These designs seem to pull from similar places I've discussed with Maya's early designs, as well as Japanese pilgrims.

As fun as the additions and changes to her design are, I think it was very smart to just add subtle changes: the longer robes, jacket, and the additional beads to her necklace. The shawl is a nice touch, too. This reflects how post-7yg Phoenix and Edgeworth also have subtle changes to their designs as well, which I love and I think were very smart moves from a design-perspective as well as personal taste. Their designs are very iconic and I think it was a service to maintain that iconography.

This was a very fun thing to explore! Thank you kindly @ellivcca for the ask!