Phoenix Wright

Phoenix Wright (Japanese: Ryūichi Naruhodō) is the main protagonist of the (Gyakuten Saiban/Turnabout Trial in Japan) franchise. 
He is the titular main protagonist of the Phoenix Wright Trilogy, the overarching protagonist of the Apollo Justice Trilogy, and one of the two overarching protagonists of the Investigations Duology (along with Gregory Edgeworth).
He is a defense lawyer dedicated to uncovering the truth behind the murder cases he takes, always ultimately uncovering the identity of the real killer. He is also the adopted father of Trucy Wright, and the mentor of Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes.
He was voiced by Takayuki Kondō, Shu Takumi, Kōsuke Toriumi, Hiroki Narimiya, and Yuki Kaji in the Japanese version, and by Ben Judd, Sam Riegel, Trevor White, Zach LeBlanc and Eric Vale in the English version.
==Biography==
===Childhood===
When Phoenix Wright was a kid, he grew up for the following years of childhood experience. In Turnabout Corner, he first told Apollo Justice that he was born in a barn to explain his untidy hospital bed, but was likely kidding about it. At this point, he broke into a cow ranch and tipped the cows.
During the fourth elementary grade, Phoenix Wright was falsely accused of stealing money from the fellow classmate, Miles Edgeworth, for lunchtime. Everyone assumed he was the culprit due to the lack of an alibi, but both of his friends, Edgeworth and Larry Butz, went to his official defense. Without evidence, Edgeworth is really assertively aware that he could not be proven guilty. The three schoolmates become inseparable friends as a result of that. 15 years after Wright's early life, it is rumored that, even though he had not been in school that day, Butz had been the one who stole the money.
At the moment, Edgeworth took strongly after his famous father and a legendary defense attorney named Gregory Edgeworth. The turnabout judgment in the class would be a powerful influence for Wright during his legal career. Following the first incident, which resulted in his father's death, Edgeworth transferred schools and got out of town.
In later years, Luke Atmey stated that Wright probably had the same message on his report card every year:
"Careless, with a tendency to jump to conclusions."
Luke Atmey was most likely only taunting Wright, even though judging from the reaction of the lawyer, this was not far from the truth. In addition, he has stated that his school instructors always said he was "a good thinker" and has related that it was pouring with rain on the day of his elementary school graduation.
===University Era===
In his college years, Phoenix Wright went to Ivy University with his only intention of studying both art and law as his inspiration of becoming a lawyer himself. While doing this, he saw a topic in a newspaper with the headline titled "Dark Suspicions of a Demon Attorney". The article said that Miles Edgeworth was suspected of being responsible for tampering with witnesses and fabricating evidence. Edgeworth was being a ruthless prosecutor, which was unrecognizable from the Edgeworth that he really experienced from his early life. He attempted to contact Edgeworth but was rudely ignored. Mr. Wright chose that if he wants to be a lawyer, Edgeworth would have to meet him sooner or later in the official courtroom, and so he could save Edgeworth from known problems he solves.
In his third year of college, Phoenix Wright interestingly met Dahlia Hawthorne, the seemingly innocent girl, in the basement library and was enamored with her. She wrote him a nice poem and gave him a necklace made of glass and metal, telling him that this was a symbol of their true love. For six months of their relationship, they subsequently began to date and Hawthorne attempted to convince Mr. Wright to give the necklace back, however, Wright refused to think that she didn't mean it.
On that day, Phoenix Wright lost his cold medicine. Later, Doug Swallow, a former love interest of Dahlia Hawthorne, met Wright and warned him that she was way dangerous after his first meeting with her. According to Doug's important information, she had stolen poisonous chemicals from his lab before and now some chemicals were missing again. Horrified by Swallow's blasphemous statements, Phoenix Wright accidentally pushed him into the ground, and Swallow fell onto his umbrella, which caused it to break. Then Wright left, but a crowd began to later go around to where Swallow fell down to the ground, and with the cold medicine in his hand, Wright went back to the scene to find him dead.
Phoenix Wright was accused of Doug's murder case and put on trial. His lawyer was Mia Fey, a rookie at the time who had not taken the investigation of the case at first. In truth, he didn't cooperate with Fey at first, lying that he hadn't known the victim. The only witness of the prosecution was Dahlia Hawthorne herself, which he believably found hard to believe. 
Fey eventually accused Hawthorne of the case and claimed that the necklace is contaminated with a poison used to incapacitate an individual inside the courthouse in the same room in which Hawthorne and Mr. Wright had first met. He refused to believe that his girlfriend could do such a thing and ran out of the court of law. When he was forced to return inside, he had chewed and swallowed the necklace. Mia told the Judge to suspend the proceedings, as she feared that the necklace might still have had some poison left inside. However, Phoenix appeared to be just fine, thus overturning Mia's case of the necklace having had poison inside.
Mia then told Phoenix that he would have to believe in her if he would like to avoid a formal declaration of the court. He finally cooperated and told his complete account of the events of his and Dahlia's first meeting. Mia showed that Hawthorne had attempted to murder him by poisoning his cold medicine, but instead, she had changed her plan and killed Swallow after his intensive encounter with the latter. Phoenix then got a non-guilty verdict. However, he still couldn't believe that Hawthorne had betrayed him. Fey told him to go on forward.
Mia Fey's defense inspired Phoenix to pursue law, and he came to receive his badge, the most prized possession of being a lawyer. Meanwhile, Hawthorne was convicted and sentenced to death for her murder once the trial of this case was done.
===Later Years===
Phoenix Wright has fallen from a flaming bridge into a quick-flowing river that notoriously washes its victims away until they disappear forever and walked away with nothing but a cold, and has been shown to have the strength to bust down a thick wooden door that was successfully secured by a huge metal rock. After being hit by a speedy vehicle and getting launched at least 30 feet into the air, headfirst, into a phone booth, with enough amount of force to break the bumper off of a car, he merely suffered a sprained ankle. Many events of his life may canonically lead the entire cast of characters in the series to consider him a very lucky guy.
==Appearance==
Throughout the history of Phoenix Wright's life, he has styled black hair and black eyes. His younger self wore the college attire containing the pink sweater made for him by his ex-girlfriend Dahlia Hawthorne, with a red heart symbol with a yellow letter "P" ("RYU" in the Japanese version, referencing his Japanese name Ryuuichi Naruhodou) at the front, red ninja scarf and the surgical mask as used in the first case of the third Ace Attorney game. Starting from 2019, Phoenix Wright appears to be an adult man and wears a white shirt, blue suit, red necktie, and leather shoes to always look like a normal attorney as he mainly appears in most games of the series. Eventually, he wore a cyan cap, gray hoodie jacket with teal outlines, black long pants, and wooden slippers with white cloths as seen in the first episode of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Turnabout Trump.
==Personality==
Phoenix Wright is quite easy-going in his outlook. His calmed attitude usually leads to his hyperactive friends leading him around or taking advantage of his good nature by making him foot the bill of large celebratory foods. He has repeatedly shown himself to be a loyal friend and lawyer who refuses to back down once his mind is made up. He also has somewhat of a sarcastic side that he usually keeps to his own self. This tends to manifest itself when dealing with the eccentric characters he comes across, including his friends.
In Phoenix Wright's university years, he was somewhat of a crybaby and a bit childish, like for example, he burst into tears when Mia Fey got mad at him for lying in his official testimony. His naivety manifested itself mostly in his relationship with his girlfriend Dahlia Hawthorne. His behavior at this is somewhat comparable to that of his childhood friend Larry Butz, though the latter never really grew out of this behavior. Nonetheless, he was often considered the most mature out of all.
As a lawyer, Wright is dedicated to defending and believing in his innocent clients. This loyalty is so great that he often ends up risking his career and even his life for them on several occasions. Even in the trial that got him disbarred, he showed calm concern for the fate of his client even in the midst of allegations of fraud. Drew Misham in particular was very caught by this, claiming that despite Wright being the center of the problem, he was the only one who had not made a commotion. In his earlier years, even after he had built up a respectable reputation for himself, Wright depended on his former boss and mentor, Mia Fey, for advice. At one point, Wright's morals were challenged when he was forced to choose between defending a guilty client to save Maya Fey or letting her die to see justice done.
Since the trial of Iris, Wright has become more self-confident and resistant to intimidation by his opponents, such as Gaspen Payne and Simon Blackquill. In particular, Wright ended up underestimating Klavier Gavin due to the gap inexperience, and he paid for this by falling right into Gavin's trap and being exposed for presenting forged evidence, albeit unknowingly. Wright has also become more eccentric and even more laid-back than before, and has developed a habit of telling (mostly bad) jokes and occasionally giving cryptic advice, which at times irritates Apollo Justice, another lawyer-in-training. He also laughs more, though not as nervously as he did before. Often, when he is not in the heat of a trial, his actions and speech give off the vibe of the "omniscient old man" archetype in literature. Despite this, in the midst of a pressure-filled trial, his more excitable side from his earlier years as a lawyer rises back to the surface. His internal monologue also reveals that he has retained his private sardonic nature.
The disbarment was a very dark period of Wright's life: He felt that his life was ruined, and he started to act even more sardonically when mentioning the loss of his badge. This happened for the first two weeks after he was disbarred, and it continued up until he met and adopted Trucy. He noted that she was his light. In the seven years that followed, it seemed he did not hold any kind of grudge against the loss of his badge, although he diligently continued the investigation of the case that had gotten him disbarred.
During this disbarment period, Wright's morals seemed to be far more flexible, almost to the point of him adopting an "end justifies the means" mentality at times, as was demonstrated by his use of forged evidence in the Shadi Smith murder trial. His rationale for this behavior was that he no longer had the responsibilities of a lawyer; moreover, people at the time thought he was a sham anyway, and so he had perhaps given up on caring what they thought of him. However, he still deeply cared about those close to him, and he maintained contact with old friends such as Ema Skye, Maya Fey, and Miles Edgeworth.
Wright has endured a large amount of physical trauma. He has chewed and swallowed a necklace made of glass and metal that potentially contained a fatal poison. He has been physically assaulted by a murderer, almost taken out by mobsters, shocked by a 600,000-volt stun gun, hit over the head with a fire extinguisher (with temporary amnesia as the only consequence), and had a tiger (playfully) jump on him. He also once fell from a 40-foot cliff into a fast-flowing river - one notorious for washing its victims away, never to be seen again - in the middle of winter, only to escape with a fever that left him bedridden for two nights. In court, Wright has had a toupee thrown at his face, been frequently whipped, pecked by birds, had seeds thrown at him, had numerous cups of boiling hot coffee thrown at his face, and had tiny pieces of his hair sliced off. Even after being disbarred, he was hit by a speeding vehicle and thrown headfirst into a telephone pole but walked away with just a sprained ankle. Considering what has happened to him, he is often considered lucky for surviving some of his experiences, and hardy for taking the physical abuse he experiences in court so well.
Wright seems not to have a very close relationship with technology. He does not have a car or, in fact, even a driver's license. Taxis seem to be his main mode of transport, as he traveled between the prosecutor's office and the police department by taxi. He has a blue "dumb" phone that he has apparently kept throughout his law career. He claims to be no good at math, and when he encounters any form of advanced technology, he can only really regurgitate the information fed to him by others.
Not much is known about what Wright likes to watch, but he has claimed that he watches Kids' Masterpiece Theater every Sunday. Although he has repeatedly professed indifference towards the Steel Samurai series, his ringtone is the Steel Samurai theme song and he also seems to be somewhat knowledgeable of the franchise in general. As far as entertaining others goes, he is awful on the piano and refused to take requests at the Borscht Bowl Club.
Wright is not as burger-crazy as his assistant Maya Fey, claiming to be described as "a grilled chicken sandwich man". But then he seems to be an unabashed meat eater, meaning that the only sea creatures that he wants are the meaty ones he can munch. Besides that, he has developed a liking for grape-flavored juice and constantly drinks it.
Wright has a fear of heights. He supposedly took Trucy to the theme park and rode a roller-coaster. In the end, he started to object to the ride.
Following the examination of a gold lighter on the table in Marvin Grossberg's office, he stated that he is "not really into smoking".
==Abilities==
Although Phoenix Wright doesn't have any powers to manipulate, he possesses many attorney/turnabout skills, which are likely used for every trial he defends in as a lawyer. Aside from these, he has incredible luck, remarkable observation and investigation techniques (which are mostly used for solving the criminal cases), and looking and breaking Psyche-Locks.
Outside of his skills as an attorney, Phoenix is also a skilled poker player, having never lost once during the 7 years he worked at a club.
===Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3===
Phoenix Wright performs a wide arsenal of his move set with a variety of effects and possessive skills like what he did in the Ace Attorney games. His normal attacks consist of mundane actions like ducking to look for something suspicious, seeing the attorney documents, and of course sneezing as his Launcher Attack. His special attacks can also work that way.
During the match, he contains three modes: Investigation, Courtroom, and Turnabout. Each fighting stance has its respective set special attacks and normal executions. At first, this makes him somewhat limited but he exponentially grows. With this, his fighting style is a defensive-oriented mix of a keep-away character with much higher combo abilities, a decent amount of health, and a very effective and powerful Hyper Combo that requires both Level 3 and Turnabout Mode.
However, Phoenix Wright's disadvantage is his normal moves that look unorthodox in the battle to have a lack of decently-ranged attacks for pokes. The only fact is that his fighting style depends on growth while the fight is going on is also a drawback, implying he cannot fight with his full potential right at the beginning.
==Meeting Professor Layton==
He also appears in the Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover game titled "Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney". He met Professor Hershel Layton when he traveled to London with his assistant Maya and defended a client who was from another dimension/timeline, which was actually just an experiment, and after picking up her book, is transported there himself. He and Layton, along with their assistants Maya Fey and Luke Triton, respectively, help each other out, until Layton prosecutes the client from London again.
== In Other Media ==
=== Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds ===
He also appears as a playable hero in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, an updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
=== Project X Zone 2 ===
Phoenix Wright makes an appearance in the Epic Crossover, Project X Zone 2, along with Maya Fey, who he is paired with.
==Gallery==
Phoenix.png|Phoenix Wright in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Baby Nick.png
Feenie and Dollie.png
PhoenixWright-AA5.png
Phoenix_Wright_Portrait_AA6.png
==Trivia==
*In the Henry Stickmin game Escaping The Prison, Phoenix Wright appears in the Lame route. However, in the collection, his name was changed to Felix White due to copyright reasons.
*He does have a live-action movie, which was received quite well done for a video game adaptation. However, being in Japanese, this movie didn't become as successful and well-known as the creators wished. There is also an anime series based on the first three games in the series, which did receive an English dub, unlike the live-action movie.
*Phoenix Wright’s is a play on “Think it’s right”, which references his goal to prove his victim’s innocence.
==External Links==
*
*
*
==Navigation==
Category:Male
Category:Honorable
Category:Criminals
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Officials
Category:Crossover Heroes
Category:Live Action Heroes
Category:Ace Attorney Heroes
Category:Determinators
Category:Martyr
Category:Mentors
Category:Wise
Category:Leaders
Category:Selfless
Category:In Love
Category:Legendary
Category:Genius
Category:Successful
Category:Defectors
Category:Tricksters
Category:The Messiah
Category:Fighters
Category:Big Good
Category:Famous
Category:Falsely Accused
Category:Betrayed
Category:The Hero
Category:Comic Relief
Category:Parents
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Dreaded
Category:Protectors
Category:Scapegoat
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Manga Heroes
Category:Anime Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Truth-Seekers
Category:Liars
Category:Loyal
Category:Virtually Resourceful
Category:Merciful
Category:Control Freaks
Category:Thieves
Category:Jerks
Category:Honest
Category:Villain's Lover
Category:Role Models
Category:Passionate Learners
Category:Neutral Good
Category:Hope Bringers
Category:Tragic
Category:Friend of a Villain
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Charismatic
Category:Egalitarian
Category:Good Vs. Good
Category:Optimists
Category:Rescuers
Category:Sophisticated
Category:Titular
Category:Voice of Reason
Category:Vengeful
Category:Pragmatists
Category:Paranoid
Category:Status Dependent upon Player Choice
Category:Extravagant
Category:Pawn of the Villain
Category:Obsessed
Category:Master Orator
Category:Anti-Nihilists
Category:False Antagonist