Ace Attorney Episode 1 [ First Impressions ]

The Ace Attorney franchise focuses itself on a set of characters that many have come to know and love with dedication and intrigue. For the longest time I can recall the notion that there should just be an anime- something I completely agreed with. For the sake of this review I will slowly interchange Japanese names with American ones. Keep in mind that as I review this show I am reviewing it as a long term fan of the video game series; and if you are looking for a review of a show as a standalone series then this is not the place for that. I intend to review the Ace Attorney anime under the simple concept of: Can the idea of Ace Attorney exist outside of the games they inhabit, or can they be successfully adapted?

The first episode of Ace Attorney focuses in on the series as the first game does. ‘Phoenix’ is the name the english speaking audience will recognize, and he starts his adventure in the same way as he does in the first game. In Japanese every name is a pun and every concept might as well be one too: Naruhodo Ryuichi is the main characters Japanese name and if you don’t know, Naruhodo means ‘I understand’. It’s a blatant pun. Now Phoenix, or Naruhodo, is a rookie who is just starting out under Ayasato Chihiro in order to defend his clients against charges they claim to have not committed. We get a glimpse into a murder that has been committed and Phoenix must defend someone who is actually his friend.

The show did a great job at adapting the very distinctive GIFs that made up the games, showing the characters emotions much like they were originally displayed. Truthfully, I am actually impressed with how genuinely the show seems to be capturing exactly what it needs to be. I can’t imagine thus far a more accurately executed adaptation: the show literally took every inch of what it is from the game and took every speech, moment of truth, and details about the case almost identically. It wasn’t a complete carbon copy (at least I can’t say it was having not played the first Phoenix Wright in a few years) but it definitely made me go: yup, this is Phoenix Wright.

Here is the trouble: This episode is not a good place to judge whether this is a good thing or not. There were moments of excitement and intrigue but I know what’s coming next. As a person who has played the game it is hard to be impartial and say ‘well, this was dull at times’ like I felt the atmosphere could be, because I’m too busy being interested in what will be displayed next. Sometimes this episode made me go ‘okay, now can we move along for the good stuff’?’ so I had to stop, pace myself, and ask questions. Phoenix captures details in his mind visibly on screen, and we can’t as actively review the evidence as we did in the games. This means that a lot of the mystery plays out in a more solid narrative because we can’t review it all and decide how the case went ourselves immediately.

Simply put, the way this episode displays Phoenix Wright both troubles and excites me. I am worried the translation can be so literal it might stamp out all emotion but I am ecstatic to see that this medium might give us a better mystery when we are sort of forced to learn the details of the case in the same order as Phoenix. In the games, sometimes we would look at several pieces that Phoenix didn’t think about and go ‘well clearly this is the answer’. We might not have the same tedious answer the game wanted, but we figured out the mystery. This might give us a better chance to experience the story.

As a player of the games, I can so far recommend this as a faithful adaptation. As a reviewer of anime? So far Ace Attorney is interesting but not griping enough to scream show of the season. I will be giving this show more time to show me how it will display a story I both know and anticipate getting to know again, as I hope new and old viewers alike will do. Also, fine, I admit it. . Naruhodo is a hilarious name. Furthermore, Chihiro is perfection, and Larry/Yahari is just as I always pictured him to be.

Possibility of Watching: Yaaas

Possibility of Blogging: Guaranteed

Oki