#it was a choice. a choice edgeworth made just like all the people whose crimes phoenix unveiled in court with triumph and fanfare

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

We won't ever get it, but I think it would've been cool to see an antagonist/client who hates Edgeworth specifically because of what he did as von Karma's student. Like someone whose loved one -- I want to say 'sister' because AA, but I think it'd be pretty cool if it was their father -- was wrongly convicted and given the death sentence because he silenced witnesses or presented faulty evidence or something similar, and there's no fix to it. The case ends with the truth being revealed and ringing hollow, because they don't want revenge, not really; maybe they just want the verdict overturned, but even that doesn't change anything, because the person is gone, and whatever damage could have been done has been done, and they just have to live with it, all of them. I think it'd be interesting to see how Edgeworth and the people around him handle that confrontation -- the idea that you can change and try to fix your mistakes the best you can, but there are some things you'll never be able to atone for. Not really. And you just have to keep living.

[jotadoul]

copy/pasting thoughts direct from 2015. don't read this

it might be because i've been reading every single Araki interview i can find (and feeling so insulted on his behalf that people still think he's a slapdash idiot) + working on a new story so my brain's going a mile a minute but I JUST THINK it's incheresting that even aside from it being the moment in which The World awakens (possibly hinted in the OVA, intentionally hinted in DPP) and aside from star platinum ROARING after its attack to portray/release jotaro's tension, and aside from it being a crucial enough turning point that 2 lush OVA episodes were dedicated to it, oh and aside from it being jotaro's special fight in jojo's venture/heritage for the future,

it's also that jotaro beat all the prior (and future) enemies to shit til they were dead/retired without any care and then... and then... the very first guy whose life he wants to spare, the first since taking on his homies polnareff and kakyoin... well, he's not allowed, that choice is taken away from him by the guy committing suicide right in front of him. HUH???

i wonder if there was a prompt, like "create an enemy Jotaro would actually respect." there are so many little humanising details, including us hearing n'doul's running commentary/internal thoughts due to him being alone.

why would i waste time thinking about something as nothingburger as jotaro/kakyoin, something for which you have to mash your brain into a donut shape because they have no chemistry (compared to the well-established and very sweet ongoing friendship with polnareff) plus kakyoin being MIA— i don't know why should i bother being distracted by that when the thing i'm being shown, with purpose and intent, is SO compelling that my brain goes tesseract mode. i feel like i'm taking CRAZY PILLS

though that's how i feel about most jjba ships/how they're done. actually, most ships from anything. usually the stuff i like is so good (LMAO?) that i find maximum satisfaction exploring it along the axis of what it's dishing out... i want the narrative to double down, i want to accept that this is what an author has decided is important and if they think that then what does that mean? and forget that i'm delusional for a second OK

another example is phoenix/edgeworth in ace attorney. jesus christ. it feels like someone told a big lie in like 2006 and it spiralled into a game of telephone and everyone was like "oh, ok!" but replaying it since then, i find there are So Many fascinating relationships/dynamics to explore, things that are so much more captivating to me than that ship. both edgeworth and phoenix are rude as fuck, one a highfalutin uncontrollably transparent bitch and the other an intense and abrasive dirtbag leftist, both very petty, and them being friends, and them being friends with larry, is gold to me. because ok, if that's true, and it is, and it's funny and fraught and complex, then THAT'S what i want to daydream about.

i really don't think it's lack of creativity on my part, i think i just get inspired by different elements of a story. i did a big search trying to find "films similar to HEAT (1995)" but every recommendation is just... crime. it's not examined much further than that. i haven't found anything that comes at it from the angle of how emotions/atmosphere are structured, guided, even purposefully distracted in HEAT, the anxiety and guilt and sorrow and relief you're made to feel. if Michael Mann is known for his meticulousness, then meticulousness of emotion, of breathlessness, and how that's crafted, should also be a point of study and comparison! i don't need it to be identical in genre— HEAT could've been a great heist film in terms of cleverness, but it's the tone and connection formed which elevates it.

i'm so much more interested in the symbolic turning point of the n'doul fight because of exactly what it is, it's a literal sudden gut punch causing a jarring reflection and sense of humanity that was easy to bypass before. that's amazing to me. if someone had only watched the garish DPP version and hadn't read the manga or seen the OVA then i could maybe understand since there isn't much in terms of colour or set dressing to carry what's going on, but, like i said, that Is the one with The World, it Is the one where we get a glimpse of N'doul with DIO... idk. i'm an insane person and i've been thinking about it off and on for almost 10 years and that's probably medically abnormal but unfortunately i can convince myself of anything and i never disappoint myself

[mageknight404]

Hey, Ray! It's thanks to your videos on the 3DS release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney that I got into the series. After the first trial of Turnabout Goodbyes, I decided to buy the trilogy for myself, and I had a great time with all three games! It was the characters' personalities and developments that kept me engaged with the stories they had to tell, so I'm curious. Who are your favourite characters in the series and why?

Hey, glad to hear it! The Ace Attorney games are a lot of fun and remain the only visual novel series I can easily get into, so I’m glad others can find it just as accessible.

There are a lot of characters in this series that I like, both major and minor, throughout the entirety of the series, so I’m rather spoilt for choice. So I think it’d be best to list my Top 3 under three categories - Legacy(main characters across the whole main series), Pre-Apollo Justice(characters from the original trilogy and the Investigations games), and Apollo Justice onward. Likely spoilers on this list, but I’ll try to keep them light.

LEGACY

1. Maya Fey - I think it’s pretty safe to say Maya’s my favorite character in the whole series. She’s cute, her antics are hilarious, she has great banter with much of the main cast, and she goes through so much turmoil in only 3 years(ranging from losing loved ones, being tried for murder multiple times, and being kidnapped), and even more when she returns for Spirit of Justice, yet sticks it out with a smile and a grin no matter how bleak it gets.

She always tries to be helpful and shoulders a lot of burden when she feels she’s let people down(mostly Phoenix). She acts playful and junk when it comes to her becoming the next Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, but she certainly understands the gravity of it as the games go on and we learn more about her and her family, ultimately embracing her title as Master come Spirit of Justice; at this point she’s 28 years old now, yet is still the same cheerful happy-go-lucky spirit medium we’ve all come to be familiar with. She even manages to utilize her powers in clever applications several times to either help herself or others get out of a jam. She’s a well-written, fun, and engaging character and I’m looking forward to what Capcom does with her next.

(also she looks so freaking cool in Spirit of Justice, look at her!)

2. Miles Edgeworth - Edgeworth is another dude who benefits from having so much character development in the main series and his spinoff games, going from an antagonistic jerkface with a smug streak, to a morally conflicted lawyer seeking his true purpose in the law world at large, to being a genuine rival and friend to Phoenix in their search of finding the truth in cases, which makes it all the more incredible when he was intended to be a one-off unlikable boss character in his initial appearance in the first game. He’s smooth, he has great wit and top dialogue, and it’s all the more hilarious when he makes simple blunders and loses his composure. You really do get to appreciate the nuances in his character as it gradually changes with each game in the series, and the payoff being fantastic post-AJ.

Investigations 2 gets special mention as it goes to great strides to show Edgeworth’s legal conflict when his badge and methods get called into question, suggesting he is more like a defense attorney than a prosecutor. Despite all odds he is unfettered and continues to pursue the truth by carving his own path instead of embracing the teachings of his father Gregory, or mentor Manfred von Karma, to the hilt.

3. Ema Skye - Here’s a character that isn’t as utilized as the other two and was retconned into existence post-original trilogy, yet still managed to be much more than a Maya expy. She’s introduced as a replacement for her in the added Case 5 for the DS port of the first game - plucky, bright, and really into science and forensics, and is looking to learn more about these to help solve crimes, starting with clearing her sister’s name of murder. She eventually gets to study abroad and is ready to apply her earned knowledge into action come Investigations(which was supposed to be her game but eh, it worked out for Edgy in the end)…

…And then we see her again in AJ and she’s just a detective, bitter that she failed her exam to become a forensic investigator and her personality change becomes all the more sad and real. Even so, her eyes still light up whenever she gets a chance to practice her skills, and when she returns in Spirit of Justice, now a full-fledged forensic investigator, her cheerfulness, inquisitive nature, and plucky attitude return in full force, and I get so giddy seeing Ema be so happy after her sour streak two games prior. Like Maya, Ema always tries to be the bright spot if she can lend a hand to a friend, and she’s such a fangirl of Edgeworth, even in SoJ.

Me personally, I’m waiting for some genuine chill interaction between Ema and Maya in a future title. (aside from the very end of the DLC case in Spirit of Justice, we never get to see the two interact much on amicable terms, which made me sad.)

PRE-APOLLO JUSTICE

1. Adrian Andrews(Justice For All/Trials and Tribulations) - JFA was a game full of problems, but Case 4 was not one of them. Headlining a great deal of that case was Adrian, manager to the accused, Matt Engarde and stellar Samus Aran cosplayer. She starts off cold, confrontational, and analytical but is a classic and rather tragic defrosting ice queen. She was left devastated after her close friend and mentor(sister in the anime) Celeste Inpax commits suicide after a skeezy and petty love triangle with her, Engarde, and his rival Juan Corrida goes horribly awry, which almost drove Adrian to commit suicide herself after losing her pillar of strength(Adrian has a dependency issue). This is brutally dragged out in court in order to get her to talk about her role in tampering with the crime scene of the main case, and it just about leaves her as a broken mess.

Fortunately for her, the truth about the crime comes out and exonerates her as being a potential murderer, but still has to do jail time for her role mentioned above. She doesn’t mind though and we see her with a smile on her face to show that she is now free of grief and ready to move on. Her debt is paid seven months later, as we see her again in Case 2 of T&T having done her time, which a much sunnier disposition and outwardly friendly towards Phoenix(who she was at odds with for most of Case 4 in JFA). We even getting to see more of her real self - still meticulous, but now helpful yet very clumsy and prone to making slip-ups as a result. I know a few people who have suicidal thoughts, and it’s very disparaging to see a woman like her so broken in JFA, but so refreshing to see her be so better off in T&T, as seeing Adrian smile is a wonderful feeling. As far as incidentals are concerned, she’s my favorite of the original trilogy. (and it made me feel all the more sorry for her seeing her squirm in despair animated in the anime)

- 1b. Lana Skye(Ace Attorney - Rise from The Ashes) - Ema’s older sister and the accused of Case 5 of the first game. I’m putting this here because Lana shares many traits with Adrian - mannerisms, troubled past, and desperation to hide said past from others(in Lana’s case it’s to hide it from her sister instead of herself). They even look similar to one another, haha. She goes from being a skilled attorney to Chief Prosecutor, but is actually more of a puppet being stringed along by the mastermind of the crime and has done some very morally grey things in regards to her troubled past, all to make sure to protect Ema’s innocence even if it damns her own image. It wouldn’t be fair if I mentioned one and not the other because of how similar both Lana and Adrian are as characters, so why not.

Also I really like Lana’s prosecutor design and wished she showed up or got referenced to in future games along with Ema.

2. Dick Gumshoe - He doesn’t appear in AJ onward except in a flashback, otherwise I’d consider him a Legacy character. Gumshoe is the Maya to Edgeworth’s Phoenix before Kay Faraday; a bumbling, scatterbrained detective, and the posterboy for pistolwhipped butt monkey who’s always in danger of having his salary slashed, but he’s a helpful dude and always pulls through at the last second when it counts, pal. There really isn’t much I can say about him, as he’s very much a self-demonstrating example, but he’s so much fun that I don’t think it matters.

What really makes Gumshoe so much fun for me is how much of a foil he is to Edgeworth and his interactions with him in general, as well as the lengths he’s willing to go to help him out. Investigations made it clear that he has no less than infinite respect for him from the moment they met, seen in Case 4, and more or less weighs on him hand and foot from then on. Edgeworth may find some of his antics irritating, but nonetheless considers him a reliable asset and welcome ally to help solve cases, likely due to how dependable he is in critical moments. Even when he’s in danger of losing his job or is kicked off the case, he still finds ways to help the cause, either by himself or by enlisting Phoenix’s help(to the point that part of me wonders what’d happen if Nick actually hired him to work at the office). He’s a good man, loyal to his job and his supervisor, and I can’t help but admire the man.

3. Shi-Long Lang(Investigations 1 and 2) - Hugh Jackman and his Wolf Fang Fist! Lang’s more or less Edgeworth’s rival in these games(moreso the first) and is very much an “act now, debate later” fellow, whose ideology comes to blows with Edgeworth’s more than a few times, and in his haste often makes a few leaps in judgement that punches holes in his logic. At the same time, he’s a badass Interpol agent with a boa collar coat, a smooth theme, and is a father to his very loyal police force. Despite conflicting ideologies, he’s still able to help Edgeworth out from time to time, even if it’s not for his sake but for Lang’s own or the case at large. And when things get serious, oh boy is he ready to throw down(see both Case 5s). He’s a pretty simple dude, but I just really like him.

(also it takes some balls to be able to block Franziska’s whip midlash)

APOLLO JUSTICE ONWARD

1. Apollo Justice - Wow, surprise! I like the main character of this arc! To be perfectly honest, I liked Apollo in his home game, but didn’t think much of him at the time as he was more or less in the back seat for 40% of his own game, while Phoenix did the rest of the work for him and usurped glory that should’ve gone to him alone.

That all changed starting with Dual Destinies and especially with Spirit of Justice.

Apollo was intended to be Phoenix’s replacement as he starts his own thing, but Capcom exec mandates forced Nick to be included in AJ and he was shafted some prime opportunities for establishing character development and backstory, only really getting some hints about his heritage to another character. Dual Destinies gives him a best friend who instilled a backstory for his rather quirky catchphrase “I’m fine!”, turning it into something heartwarming when he reveals they used to shout it to one another to lift their moods, and then made Apollo go on the warpath when he learns of his pal’s death and who might be responsible for it. Expanded even further in the next game where we finally find out about Apollo’s upbringing, his biological and foster fathers, and his relation to the local prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmahdi. These events put my boy in the spotlight, who proves by the end of the game that he’s more than capable to walk tall with the big boys. He goes from being a loud and hot-blooded youth to being a worthy member of the Wright Anything Agency Triuumverate, to eventually standing on his own as a bonafide lawyer.

SoJ was the best thing to happen to this kid, and I’m so glad he was able to rise to the challenge.

2. Simon Blackquill(Dual Destinies/Spirit of Justice) - Simon is the local prosecutor for DD and makes a welcome extended cameo in SoJ. He’s a prison inmate, but gets to do the lawyering thing from the slammer because he’s just that good. His main deal is that he serves as an antagonistic force to Athena as Edgeworth was to Nick and Klavier to Apollo, and he was a bit of an edgy dude himself being a swordsman and styled like a samurai, always quick with his razor-sharp wit AND razor-sharp wind, commanding his pet hawk to handle evidence, SILENCE-ing the crowd, and using his psychological knowledge to play the situation to his advantage. He was also a jerk for most of DD.

Point at hand here is that while I thought the game was playing up his psyche knowledge a little too much(he came off more as a more intense version of AA!Edgeworth instead), he was still a wonder to witness. He’s a delightful smartass with a really cool theme and I dug the swordsman motif. Dude even breaks free of his shackles multiple times whenever he’s ready to make a serious statement. Eventually we find out that he was framed for the death of Athena’s mother(of course) and is acquitted by DD’s end. Though it was a little hokey, I did get a great feels moment between and Athena and thought nothing else of it.

And then he shows up in SoJ to assist Athena in Case 4. Here, all limiters are off - he’s a full snarkmaster with excellent comebacks, such as calling Nahyuta “Sad Monk” constantly, SILENCEs him, and even tells Athena to get her act in gear in a great moment when she breaks down in the middle of the case. This case made me appreciate Simon a hell of a lot more, and it showed that he was a great foil and aloof big brother figure to Athena when they’re on the same side for once. He’d better come back for more!

3. Dhurke Sahdmahdi(Spirit of Justice) - THIS FUCKING GUY. Introduced as the possible culprit of Queen Amara’s assassination of the Kingdom of Khura'in and insinuator of starting the rebellion against its corrupt legal system, we eventually find out that he’s actually Apollo’s foster father and is the most real, coolest guy ever. Seriously, I adore this dude. He’s such a nice, chill guy and a respectable father figure, constantly lamenting that he wasn’t able to be in Apollo’s life more often due to him being a wanted man. Case 5 is a roller coaster of intensity, and Dhurke helps bring out a lot of fun in that case. I can’t say anymore without going into heavy spoilers, but by playing the game all the way through, you’ll understand why I love this man so much.

It should be noted that SoJ’s Khura'in segments being so unrelentingly bleak for the first half of the game was actually turning me off from playing it, as I became gradually more and more apathetic to the kingdom’s plight and was in fact dangerously close to dropping the game for a while as I was getting impatient and disinterested… until the backstory bomb dropped about Dhurke and Apollo halfway through Case 3. This instantly revitalized my curiosity about the two and their relationship and helped push me to complete the game. Long story short, the payoff was damn well worth it, and Dhurke footed that bill personally.

Also he’s voiced by freaking Jamieson Price. Bless this dragon who never yields.

HONORABLE MENTION - Athena Cykes - I mentioned a few years back that Athena was a character who when she was first introduced, I had apprehension toward, as I was forebodingly expecting her to be a super annoying sidekick or supporting character. Her design, which I thought was silly at first but has now grown on me immensely, did not help at the time. Then Dual Destinies came out and I was immensely surprised at how much I enjoyed her character.

Let’s be honest, DD was Athena’s game. Even though she, Nick, and Apollo were tritagonists, its story centered around her and she was featured prominently in every case, DLC included. As a whole, this was Athena’s story. People may have differing opinions whether or not this was warranted or justified, especially when it meant pushing AJ alumni to the side, but Athena kept proving her salt in each case regardless - whether it’s by serving as the heart for Phoenix or Apollo, or getting dirty herself to save her close friend Juniper, twice, she was ready to help out.

I have a very delicate tolerance when it comes to Genki Girl characters - if done properly, I pretty much love them on the spot; if done poorly, I want to wring their necks out of existence. It all depends on how well the girl in question exerts her energy. And to my surprise, Athena passed with flying colors. She’s excitable, competitive, and eccentric, with just a pinch of sass. She’s also really impetuous, but remains focused enough to deliver a good argument, especially when it comes to using her heightened hearing to dispel one’s discord in their heart. When the pressure is too much, she breaks down and regresses back to her sheltered childhood state where she becomes emotionally repressed and almost catatonic, yet even in her darkest hour she fights against the pain.

I found myself enjoying Athena’s character arc a lot in DD and really grew to like her more and more. Her willingness to help stems from her relationship with Simon and wanting to set him free by proving he didn’t murder her mother, as they were close friends prior to that event, and I genuinely wanted to see her succeed. Outside of her heavy plot, she’s a fun character and, I’ll be honest, I’m thankful her role was toned down to a more supportive one in SoJ to let the AJ alumni shine(and boy howdy do they ever).

Oof, that was a lot to get off my chest, but I hope this was satisfactory for you, anon!