Ace Attorney Episode 15 [ Karma Time ]

Before referencing the contents of this episode allow me to go on a short tangent: In the beginning of the Ace
Attorney anime I cited hope this would be different than other anime adaptations of games. 15 episodes in I can tell you if you’re looking for that anime you should probably check out Tales of Zestiria the X because I’ve heard good things about it. This anime is not ever going to be more than what it is: an average show that never hurt anyone but never did much else. I was hoping this anime would make me feel what the games did, every week an exciting return to cases that kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted the anime to make me gasp and cry as much as the games did: but it never will. That being said this review has to basically end that concept. As an adaptation of a superior game it is a failure, but as an anime?

Well, it’s okay. The best way to talk about Ace Attorney after this week is to just go ‘that’s okay’. Because we’ve got an endearing cast that cares about each other and the Ace Attorney fans get to see some really cool new things. That being said, is this anime really worth watching for someone who isn’t a fan of the series? Well, I actively introduced a friend of mine to it who has never played it. He seems generally excited about some of it and finds some characters endearing, so I can’t actively say ‘no one can ever like this ever’. If you go into Ace Attorney expecting a whacky courtroom drama with some decent mysteries, the skeleton of Phoenix Wright is there so there is no way I can actively say NO ONE SHOULD EVER WATCH THIS!!!111!!! Because it’s just not true. As much as I feel as a fan that I am let down, there are far worse anime out there and many game animes do the exact level of justice to their original content without much offense or upset. Afterall, Gunslinger Stratos exists and I watched all of that so it’s got to be fine that this exists.

Which brings us to this episode: the Trial of Maya / Mayoi mark 2 version 1 this isn’t the last time subtitle B. The thing about this show is is that its point is to cover content efficiently in a time frame. It does that! This episode is an example of a less than stellar performance, showing a much less engaging episode than the last few. This is after I deeply did not enjoy the last few because I felt they didn’t give the levity of the real cases, so that’s not saying much from me. However they introduce someone hilarious in such an efficient manner that I can’t help but enjoy this episode a little. Karma’s daughter Mei / Franziska appears and her entire shtick is to violently assault everyone with a whip. This is not a one time thing, this is the real life. Franziska frequently outright assaults people with her whip and it’s amazing. Who knew that crime doesn’t even matter if it happens in court?!

The actual performance of the characters are debatable because they have to do a lot of debating, reveal a lot of information, and cover way too much ground to be impactful in the emotional sense. But jeez, how can you not admire Franziska for whipping things the way she does? That being said the series is starting to wear on me. While I love the franchise itself Ace Attorney is painfully average and reminds me that I have better things to do with my time than watch anime. No anime reviewer should ever sit through an anime and feel like ‘well that’s nice, when’s the next episode of this other anime again?’ because eventually it clouds your ability to do justice to ‘decent’ shows because you can compare them to outright great shows. That being said, I’m not giving up just yet! Let’s stick it out a few more episodes and figure this business out.. . hopefully.

But it will still be average. Unlike Mia’s chest.

Oki