Ace Attorney

***Ace Attorney*** is an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures, based on Capcom's hit video game series of the same name. The games that are based of are the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and the first part of Justice for All, which are part of the first season, while Trials and Tribulations and the second part of Justice for All focused on the second season. The first season aired in Japan from April to September of 2016 and the second season aired on October 2018 to March 2019 which the studio would be handled by CloverWorks.

## Summary

Taking places from the trilogy of the three original games, Ace Attorney takes place in a world where the court system allows trials to reach a verdict for at least three days. Rookie defense attorney, Phoenix Wright works along with his assistant and close friend, Maya Fey who is a spirit-medium-in-training, to stand up to defend and prove his clients that they're innocent while facing challenges with many prosecutors including his childhood and closest friend, Miles Edgeworth.

## Why It Wins The Case

1. The show remains **extremely** faithful to the source material; sticking to the cases, characters, and accurate dialogue scripts that were in the original games with a bit of minor changes.
2. The anime's concept was executed very well because it was able to transform into viewing media, which was very difficult considering that it's based on interactive media, which originally required choices to make rather than automatically basing on what the character decisions are.
3. Awesome voice acting in the English dub from Eric Vale who is Phoenix Wright, Christopher Wehkamp as Miles Edgeworth, and Lindsay Seidel as Maya Fey matching the character personalities and tones respectfully while the sub also has great voice acting too.
4. Amazing animation from A1 Pictures and CloverWorks that captures the charm of the original artwork.
5. Incredibly composed, orchestrated soundtrack which some of the songs are remixes from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and while the rest are original to the anime.
6. As for the soundtrack, there are four fantastic intros and outros by various artists and they are:
	* Intro: "Gyakuten Winner" (aka Turnabout Winner) by Johnny's West (Episodes 1-13; Season 1)
	* Outro: "Message" by Rei Yasuda (Episodes 1-13; Season 1)
	* Intro: "Jinsei wa Subarashii" (aka Life is Wonderful) by Johnny's West (Episodes 14-24; Season 1)
	* Outro: "Jun'ai Chaos" (aka Pure Love Chaos) by Tokyo Performance Doll (Episodes 14-24; Season 1)
	* Intro: "Never Lose" by Tomohisa Yamashita (Episodes 1-12; Season 2)
	* Outro: "Starting Blue" by Halca (Episodes 1-12; Season 2)
	* Intro: "Reason" by Tomohisa Yamashita (Episodes 13-23; Season 2)
	* Outro: "Beautiful Days" by Coalamode (Episodes 13-23; Season 2)
7. Some of the cases in certain episodes give out more effects, visual interpretations, and side plots that weren't in the original game, which gives it more of a suspense to each scene.
8. Season 2 gave more improvements to the animation and episode plots that were based on Trials and Tribulations and the rest of Justice for All.
9. New characters were added along with new elements in Season 2 that added more interesting concepts that were exclusive to the anime.
10. The show has funny moments, running gags, and hilarious lines which are all quite amusing.
11. The dialogue gives effect on the felling of what the character's emotions are truly expressed rather than just simple reactions and text based on the visual novels.
12. More areas and backgrounds are explored in this adaptation.
13. The show ended properly and astonishingly with the final episode being titled "Bridge to the Turnabout: Last Trial".
14. As for characters, new episodes were added with original stories despite being filler that actually helps with the character development and enhances the show's plot that didn't occur in the games mainly include the character backstories with the example of:
	* "Northward, Turnabout Express"
	* "Turnabout Promise"
	* "Sound the Turnabout Melody"
	* And "Hear the Waves of Turnabout" as they are new episodes with extra content to the show's plot.

## Bad Qualities

1. While the show sticks to the elements that are part of the original games, some of these changes can cause confusion due to certain logic modifications and side plot events in the shows that are presented before the main events compared to the games.
2. Half of the characters are sometimes butt-monkeys (Detective Gumshoe and Maggey Bryde being the worst victims of all).
3. Unlikeable characters such as Redd White (who is considered to be the weakest villain in the entire franchise), Mimi Miney, Sal Mannela, Richard Wellington, Cody Hackins, Wendy Oldbag, and Jean Armstrong.
4. While the animation is amazing, from a certain point of view, it can look bland at times especially with the characters' anatomy looks which can look off.
5. Maya can be quite annoying at times.
6. "Case 5: Rise from the Ashes" which was an extra case from the Nintendo DS version of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, was not shown in this adaptation.
7. As well as the case itself, certain characters were also cut from the anime that was originally in the games too.
8. Also some episodes of the cases aren’t exactly all in order either, leading to a bit more confusion to the storyline.
9. Psyche Locks (one of the elements from the second and third games) were also cut out in the anime series, having no mention of it.

## Reception

***Ace Attorney*** was met with positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, praising it for its acting and staying close to it's original source material.