Ace Attorney/Characters/Prosecutors and Law Enforcement Officers

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi)

"There is only one thing we seek: The truth. No matter how painful it may be." This is AFTER Character Development hits and he stops being an Amoral Attorney.

Main prosecutor of the first game and voted most popular character of the series. By-the-book and skillful, but less than honest at first; he tampered with witnesses and coached their testimony in some earlier cases, although despite allegations in the first game, the only time he used illicit evidence, he had no idea it was forged (but that didn't stop him from using it). He's Phoenix's childhood friend, and his actions in grade school inspired Phoenix's desire to be an attorney. Got his own Spin-Off series called Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.

  • Amoral Attorney: Not HALF as bad as some of the others, and he gets over it very quickly, but he had his moments. Let's face it, over the course of the second trial in the series, he HAD to recognize Redd White was guilty, but that sure didn't stop him from helping the guy try to pin a murder on Phoenix.
    • Then again, considering the hold that Redd White had on multiple people, it's not unreasonable to think that Edgeworth may have been forced to play along with Redd's game like everyone else.
  • Anti-Hero: Arguably a Type II by the time of his own series.
  • Anti-Villain: A bit of a mixed bag. He's just doing his job in most cases, but that doesn't stop him from playing dirty if it suits him (and he has been trained well in that area). By the end of the first game, he's completely out of the woods though (prosecutors in the Ace Attorney world are presented as ruthless and will always assume the worst about the defendant; Edgeworth chooses to step out of this shadow after seeing the truth in his mentor).
    His commitment to the truth, which serves as the basis for his Heel Face Turn, leads him to a different type of morally gray behavior after said Heel Face Turn. In Justice For All, he threatens to reveal a witness' psychiatric record and condition, even if its revelation leads her to suicide, if she refuses to continue her testimony and tell the court the truth.
  • Badass Normal: Of the three main/playable characters in the Ace Attorney series thus far, Edgeworth is the only one without some kind of supernatural aid. (Phoenix has a lie-detecting artifact, and Apollo has superhuman perception). He did use the Magatama once though, but in his own game, his "power" is simply his own logic.
  • Big No:
    • Once in Case 1-5. When he found out he was using FORGED EVIDENCE.
    • Even funnier one in Case 3-5, when, after spending ages trying to break Larry's three Psycho-locks, five more appear in their place. Not only is it funny, it's also very understandable.
  • Bishonen: Less so than your average bishie, but, to quote a Youtube user: "I am comfortable enough in my homosexuality to admit that Edgeworth is fucking pretty."
  • Bluffing the Murderer: In "Turnabout Gallows" in the manga, he tricks Brock Johnson into confessing to setting fire to the Den of Spiders by claiming that he found his fingerprints on the remains of a timed ignition device, prompting Brock to protest that he was wearing gloves. The device was destroyed in the fire.
  • Broken Pedestal: Edgeworth spent fifteen years believing he killed his own father, unaware that the true killer was his beloved mentor, and adoptive father, Manfred von Karma.
    • To a lesser extent, he had a great deal for respect for Ernest Amano, as he got involved in Case 3 as a personal favor, and is offended by the allegations of smuggling against him in Case 4, which takes place in the past.
  • Butt Monkey: More comedic characters seem to enjoy messing with him. From Oldbag the Abhorrent Admirer, to Larry being a dumbass (admittedly, he's one around other characters too), to Yew laughing at him for being too serious, and so on...
  • Catch Phrase:
    • Eureka! in Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.
    • "I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious-looking nook and cranny."
      • After he's found all the necessary information, "I already checked this place, but it never hurts to take another look."
    • Ace Attorney Investigations 2 gives him "Checkmate".
  • Chaste Hero: Ho Yay aside, his libido is about as strong as the classic Sherlock Holmes.
  • Chick Magnet:
    • Lampshaded by Gumshoe in the third game, to Edgeworth's shock: "D-Do I really inspire this sort of frothing desire from the female masses?"
    • Also poked fun at occasionally in Ace Attorney Investigations, such as when Ernest says that Lance's Urban Legend Love Life reminds him of a "certain someone" or how one of the first things out of Lauren's mouth is about how she's desperately afraid that she's going to fall for him.
  • Closet Geek
  • The Comically Serious: He does his damndest to stay professional and composed no matter what, so it's inevitable that the plot will try to knock him off balance for the sake of comedy. Larry Butz and Wendy Oldbag are his usual tormentors. To wit, one of the funniest moments of Spirit of Justice is him getting attacked by a tiny dog.
  • Dartboard of Hate: He's too sophisticated for a dart board, actually. Instead, he has a chess board of superiority. He usually has it arranged such that a slew of red knights with sharp-edged swords are surrounding a spikey-headed blue pawn.
  • A Day in the Limelight: First half of Case 3-5. Then later on, he even gets his own spinoff game: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Gyakuten Kenji 2 in Japan.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He has a dry wit and deploys it frequently, though sometimes it's just in his inner monologue.
  • Defrosting Ice King: Kind of Tsundere too, though it's not as pronounced as Franziska. His behaviour towards Phoenix is certainly more dere than towards most others.
  • Deuteragonist: To Phoenix in the second and third games.
  • Dodge the Bullet: Ace Attorney Investigations Case 4, with help from Kay.
  • Does Not Know How to Say Thanks: Regarding Maya getting arrested for contempt of court to save him, he can't quite say "Thank You". It takes quite a bit of effort to thank Phoenix for finally getting him off.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: At times when he's playable. In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, he quickly goes from being a hero for his actions in Ace Attorney Investigations to being at risk of losing his badge.
  • Eiji Takemoto
  • Even Amoral Attorneys Have Standards: Even in his 'Demon Prosecutor' days, the one line he never allowed himself to (knowingly) cross was to use forged evidence in court.
  • Fan Boy:
    • In the supplementary material, Edgeworth is a Steel Samurai fan to rival the best of them. He manages to outgeek Maya on the subject.
    • The games also hint at this from time to time. First, there's the fact he keeps a Steel Samurai figurine in plain view in his office (he even shows concern about it breaking). Then there's him clearly indulging in denial in this exchange during the first case of Ace Attorney Investigations.

Detective Gumshoe: You sure knows a lot about this show... Are you sure you're not one of those rabid fanboys?
Miles Edgeworth: ..! O-of course not! Anyone who keeps up with society knows at least this much!

    • And that figurine? It was a gift from Wendy Oldbag. He accepted a gift from Oldbag to support his hobby.
    • He also has a Steel Samurai manga hidden in the law book he was reading on the plane, in the second case.
    • Later in Ace Attorney Investigations, one of Edgeworth's cases leads him to a Steel Samurai stage show hosted by an embassy. He gets an autograph from the Steel Samurai, and then tears it up when he finds out that the man in the costume is Larry Butz.
    • Heck, the last case of Ace Attorney Investigations is chock-full of references to his fanboyism, so much that it's probably canon by now.

Edgeworth: *while looking into a LCD TV and a pile of Steel Samurai videos* Hm, I guess someone has to check the titles of all these... *sighing while smirking* ... Oh, the things one has to do on his work.

    • To finish with this final case, while talking with Larry, he just forget to put on the mask and admits right in the open than the Steel Samurai is cool. Nobody is surprised or even remarks something about it.
    • In the very first Steel Samurai case, Edgeworth introduces himself to Will Powers as "a fan". Phoenix thinks it’s flattery. And probably, you will be led to believe it’s flattery on the first play through. As you get to know Edgeworth better in the latter games though, and discover how he would rarely if ever engage in lies or flattery... you may have missed the easily overlooked hint that he was dead serious about being a fan of the show the first time.
    • In the manga, he's also a fan of the Sparklestar show.
  • Finger Wag: In his earlier days. Stops doing it by the time he's 24 (instead he taps his forehead and wears a "Nice try... but you'll have to do better than that" smile on his face).
  • Freudian Excuse: It can be a bit jarring when you go back through this game, after finishing the others, and notice just how much of a jerk Edgeworth was, with the loss of his father, and replacement of his father with a colossal jerk being revealed as an excuse. Even in his first case against Phoenix, an old friend, Edgeworth is snide, condescending, rude, dishonest and manipulative. In fact, Shu Takumi commented that Miles was supposed to come off as a tragic yet unlikable character in the first game. Fortunately, his Excuse was upgraded into Character Development over the course of the three games.
  • Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Sometimes points and wags his finger. Going by Ace Attorney Investigations 2, it must be genetic.
  • Grammar Nazi: In Justice For All, Edgeworth gives literate Phoenix a lecture on sentence construction. Edgeworth also nitpicks Phoenix's use of the word "confess" to refer to what Edgeworth calls "public disclosure".
  • Hair Color Dissonance: Early sprites = silver hair, official/promotional art = brown hair, and later/current sprites and artwork = a color in between the two. Huh? Gets worse in the Flash Back of Ace Attorney Investigations, where he has jet black hair, but actually it makes sense; as people age, their hair changes color, remember? So black hair makes sense. The gray/brown/gray-brown of now is the only mystery here. He's only twenty something over the course of the games. That he'd have that much gray hair, even brown-grey hair...
  • Heel Face Turn: Quickly goes from a ruthless, bitter rival obsessed with getting a guilty verdict at all costs to an honest prosecutor who truly cares about the truth. He's all about the truth from Justice For All onwards, and the game makes sure we know it.
  • I Owe You My Life: Agrees to help Kay find her father's killer because she saved his life at the end of the fourth case, and helped him overcome a critical obstacle in the third case.
  • Japanese Pronouns: Watashi.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
    • "The act of making an innocent girl cry should warrant the death penalty."
    • Also in Case 3-5, he is seen openly worried about Maya's situation.
    • Same thing Case in 2-4. He assembles a team to rescue her right away, and rests his case when DeKiller threatens to kill her if the trial doesn't end soon.
    • Case 3-5 makes it pretty apparent that he cares a lot more about Phoenix's well-being than he lets on to his face.
    • Even as early as Case 1-4, he pays Maya's bail when she gets held in contempt of court for an outburst at a witness that gets said witness to make lifesaving revisions to her testimony.
  • Kleptomaniac Hero: "I made a decision to keep all pieces of evidence in my personal satchel. It's the safest place I know."
    • Mostly subverted in Ace Attorney Investigations, where he jots down information on pieces of evidence in his Organizer.
  • Kubrick Stare:
    • His usual sprite when being serious, though it's the most obvious when he's addressing someone personally outside the courtroom. His stare gets a bit of notice from other characters- Gumshoe is rather frightened of it, and one girl falls in love with him because of it!
    • He was actually taught this by his mentor, and even wins a staring contest with his own reflection.
    • When he temporary became a defense attorney and when he unlocked a 'Psycholock', there was this gem:

(Was it the evidence or the power of my glare that broke that lock...?)

  • Leitmotif: From the second game onward, he and Franziska both use "Great Revival".
    • In Ace Attorney Investigations, he also gets his own version of "Objection!", which draws from "Great Revival". In fact, much of the music in Ace Attorney Investigations draws from "Great Revival" (which would make sense).
  • Mad Prosecutor's Handsome Adoptive Son
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Edgeworth" and "Mitsurugi" ("honorable blade") are both references to his sharp wit. "Miles" means "soldier", and "Reiji" means "clever samurai".
  • Never Live It Down: In-universe example. In Ace Attorney Investigations, upon learning that Edgeworth is a Steel Samurai Fan Boy, Franziska views him less as a Worthy Opponent and more as a grown man who likes children's shows.
  • Not Distracted by the Sexy: He's managed to resist the charms of every attractive female witness, even Dahlia Hawthorne, to the point of probable Asexuality.
    • Justified, as Word of God states he doesn't like women. The judges are still out on whether or not that makes it Word of Gay.
  • Not Love Interest: To Phoenix. An old childhood friend with a troubled past, his frosty demeanor melted by The Power of Trust...
  • Oblivious to Love: Rhoda Teneiro is implied to develop a crush on him and Lauren Paups falls head over heels for him in Ace Attorney Investigations, Cases 2 and 3 respectively. He is none at all the wiser.
  • Only Sane Man: Most of the attorneys you get to play as have some form of special "ability" they can use to detect lies and bring themselves closer to the truth. Phoenix has the Megatama and Psyche-Locks, and Apollo has the Perception system. In Ace Attorney Investigations, the player finally gets to play as Edgeworth for more than a fraction of a case and his ability is... Logic. And many of the other characters treat it as some kind of mystical superpower that only he can use.
  • Or So I Heard: Edgeworth's reaction whenever Franziska or Gumshoe become suspicious of his knowledge of the Steel Samurai in Ace Attorney Investigations.
  • Pet the Dog: Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations could be seen as one big moment for him, considering it was long before his Heel Face Turn. He shows empathy toward Kay, and helps to defend the innocent Gumshoe.
  • Properly Paranoid: Calisto Yew's client being obviously guilty and she herself being a criminal certainly reinforces his negative views towards defense attorneys.
  • Real Men Sport A Maroon Suit And Cravat Combo: And make it look GOOD.
  • The Rival: To Phoenix from the first game on. Despite the friendship and trust that grows between them, he always meets Phoenix in court as an antagonist and even seems to enjoy luring him into logic traps and embarrassing him.
  • Running Gag: Edgeworth has a lot of trouble getting witnesses to state their name and occupation.
    • His closet fanboyism towards the Steel Samurai series.
  • Shout-Out: In Ace Attorney Investigations, Edgeworth begins to show a lot of similarities to a certain great detective. He even has Gumshoe as The Watson.
  • Smart People Play Chess: He even plays it in his head.
  • Sobriquet: Demon Prosecutor. It's never mentioned after his Heel Face Turn.
  • Stupid Sexy Flanders: Dammit, Edgeworth!
  • Surrounded by Idiots: Well, he's surrounded by Gumshoe in any case.
  • Tall, Dark and Snarky: His hair is lighter than the usual, but boy is he tall and snarky.
  • That Was Objectionable: The Trope Namer.
  • Think Nothing of It: At the end of "Turnabout Gallows", Phoenix thanks Edgeworth for calling the recess and bringing Brock to the stand, saying it enabled him to find the truth, but Edgeworth merely gives a slight smile when asked if he knew that doing so would result in Bobby being acquitted and Brock being exposed.
  • Turn in Your Badge: Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations 2, when forced to decide between defending Kay and keeping it. He gets it back in the ending.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Subverted in Case 1-4. Phoenix mistakes his somewhat awkward attempt to thank Maya for her intervention as being this, until he learns of his posting bail for her.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: A murder trauma would cause any nine-year-old kid's personality to be majorly screwed up.
  • "Wake-Up Call" Boss: His appearance in Case 1-2 means it's time to get serious.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: The reaction to his essentially forcing Adrian to testify, mentioned above, is played as this.
  • Why Did It Have To Be Quakes: Edgeworth, thanks to a traumatic event in his past, is deathly afraid of earthquakes. At best, he collapses into a shivering ball of nerves. At worst, he loses consciousness. According to his own game, this also extends to airplane turbulence. And elevators.
  • World of Cardboard Speech: In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, when Mikagami asks him why he would sacrifice his badge and his freedom to help Kay, he says that he had practiced law for selfish reasons in the past, but now seeks to protect others with it.
  • Worthy Opponent: Through and through. Phoenix puts it best in Case 2-4.

Phoenix: I think we're OK; like we can do this. As long as he's standing there across from me... No matter how strong of a punch I throw, he'll counter it...

    • Don't forget that Damon Gant calls him Worthy (or occasionally "little Worthy")...
    • The trope is subverted in that, while on opposite sides of the profession, both Phoenix and Edgeworth, more than wanting wins on their record, want justice to be served. If Phoenix has a definite lead in court that points to his client being innocent, Edgeworth will pick up on it and do everything in his power to help Phoenix, as long as it is within his ability and duty as a prosecutor. The way they took down Damon Gant, in particular, shows how much criminals should quake in fear if both of them are on the same case.


The Judge

"Mr. Wright. You are truly the most unpredictable defense attorney I've ever known. I can tell you're grasping, yet I cannot deny the possibility of what you say."
"Oh No! I forgot my gavel! Sorry, I've gotta go."

The lovable but gullible judge of the series' Economy Cast. Has a younger brother with a Canadian accent who is also a judge.

  • Assist Character: For Phoenix Wright in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, with his mighty gavel!
  • Berserk Button: While he does fold rather easily, there is only so much manipulation he will stand for. Several villains have discovered his limits the hard way.
  • Big Damn Heroes: "ENOUGH! I permit the use of the metal detector! Mr. von Karma, you WILL submit to testing!"
  • Big No: Played for laughs; right after he does it, he says, "Wait. I'm not the one on trial here!".
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Despite his complete lack of common sense, he seems to do his job well.
  • Canada, Eh?: His brother.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: "From blood to peaches... the judge sure does love going off on wild tangents."
  • Cool Chair: Which has an eagle ornament on it.
  • Covers Always Lie: The cover of the first game makes him look strangely intimidating, even godlike.
  • Deus Ex Machina: There are several moments in the series when the Judge intervenes during a seemingly hopeless situation for the player and rescues them. One of such moments is during "Turnabout Goodbyes", where after allowing himself to be maniulated by von Karma throughout the whole trial, he finally says "ENOUGH!" and demands Von Karma be subject to testing.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Either "the judge" or "Your/His Honor". His real name is never revealed. This is even lampshaded in one game where he gives Wright his business card, but the name is too smudged to read.
  • Flanderization/Took a Level In Dumbass: There's always been the occassional silly moment involving the Judge, but as the series goes on, he becomes almost comedic relief, and gets increasingly dumber the further the series progresses, Homer Simpson style.
  • Hidden Depths: He can speak Spanish.
    • Since the Judge appears in most chapters of the series, you do gradually discover a lot of nuances with him. You'll find that he's definitely more than just a stock character.
  • Modern Major-General
  • Neutral No Longer: Occasionally, he'll take the player's side during a trial, though this can also swing the other way, with the prosecutor influencing the gullible Judge.
  • No Name Given: When referred to by others, is called "The Judge" or "His Honor".
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Though very gullible, the Judge will never ignore an opportunity to discover the truth, no matter how small.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: When a witness in the fourth game gives her occupation as future wife, he expresses support for traditional values.
  • The, um, Judge

Winston Payne (Takefumi Auchi)

"To think I saw you enter this room a fresh attorney... and now I'll see you leave in chains."

Usually serving as the first prosecutor to bar the player's way in the first case... every game that stars a defense attorney. From Phoenix, to Mia, to Apollo, they all will face this... err... rather spineless Prosecutor who has a rather high pitched, downright wimpy "Objection!" yell. Said to be a Rookie Killer, but he loses to all rookies, ingame.

  • Badass Boast: When faced with Phoenix Wright being the defendant in the first case of Apollo Justice, Payne delivers a downright badass threat:

Payne: To think, I saw you enter this room a fresh attorney, and now I'll see you leave in chains.

  • Butt Monkey: Given that his entire purpose in the series is to be creamed by rookie attorneys, yeah. Ace Attorney Investigations makes it even worse by revealing that, despite the fact they've worked in the same office for years, Edgeworth has no idea who he is and in fact seems to believe he's the building's janitor.
    • Even better. During the first case of the second game, Phoenix Wright was given amnesia and had to fight him on a case regardless. When Phoenix got his memory back, he remembered Maya, the Judge, the defendant at the time and everyone else... but had NO CLUE who Winston was and also thought he was the janitor.
  • Demoted to Extra: In Ace Attorney Investigations: a brief cameo appearance and a mention of "custodial work" is all we see (or hear) of him. Somehow, it seems that Payne managed to regain his rank in time to be savaged by the new generation of up-and-comers (Apollo Justice).
    • He has a slightly bigger role in Ace Attorney Investigations 2, and I emphasise slightly. He still doesn't get his own sprite, but at least he's involved in the plot this time.
  • Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: When he lost his case to Mia, he lost his hair.
  • Hurricane of Puns: Payne pulls one of these when faced with Apollo's questioning of the poker chips in the first case of Apollo Justice.

Payne: They're not fish and chips, not a chip off the old block, not a motorcycle cop.

  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Once again, Payne delivers this groan-worthy line in Apollo Justice, when the possibility of cheating in the poker game is raised with a switch of cards.

Payne: Obviously, cheating was afoot! Or perhaps I should say... a hand!

    • "When you're in hot water, you might need a hot dog." They actually went with that?
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He was a Rookie Killer... until he met Mia Fey.
  • Informed Ability: Rookie Killer. But the only chance we ever see him kill a rookie was when he faced Furio Tigre disguised as Phoenix. Who was trying to lose. On the other hand, he put up a pretty good fight against Mia while he still had hair.
    • He also had a 7-year perfect win record before meeting up with Mia. That's longer than Edgeworth or Franziska, disciples of the "Prosecuting God" Manfred von Karma.
  • Mandatory Line: He is the only character to have a speaking role in every single game in the series, regardless of how insignificant that line is.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Winced in pain". "Takefumi" is taken from a staff member's dentist, and "Auchi" comes from "ouch".
  • Oh Crap: Has this reaction in the manga as Phoenix proves that Belle put the knife handle with Larry's fingerprints on it onto the knife she used to kill the victim.
  • Once an Episode: As mentioned in Mandatory Line above, Winston will appear in the first case of every game without fail. And even in games where he doesn't appear, an Expy or relative will appear without fail: he has a British counterpart in the form of Mr. Flynch in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, an ancestor in Dai Gyakuten Saiban, and his brother Gaspen in Dual Destinies and Ace Attorney 6.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: By Ace Attorney standards, he's a laughable prosecutor. However, if his nickname "Rookie Killer" is anything to go by, it's safe to say he actually does his job quite well offscreen; just not with the same magnititude the other characters do it.
  • Red Baron: Sure, he's a complete pushover, but you have to admit that "Rookie Killer" has a nice ring to it.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses: Subversion. He has shiny glasses, but in truth, he is NOT scary.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Downplayed. Payne in Apollo Justice is a bit more formidable as a prosecutor than he was in previous games. Perhaps all these years did teach him a thing or two.
  • Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Mind you, we never see his wife but both he and the judge claim she is quite attractive.
  • Warmup Boss: He's always the prosecutor of the tutorial case, in every game. He even makes a cameo appearance in the tutorial case of Ace Attorney Investigations. Even in the manga, when Phoenix is not a rookie or amnesiac, he appears as the prosecutor in "Turnabout with the Wind" before Edgeworth prosecutes later cases.

Manfred von Karma (Go Karuma)

"I set my ATM card's number to "0001" because I'm number one!"

A legendary prosecutor, Manfred von Karma is obsessed with perfection in all aspects of his life, and went forty years without a single defeat in court prior to the beginning of the series. Manfred appears as prosecutor in only one case in the first game, but his influence is felt long after he is gone. He is the father of Franziska, and was Edgeworth's guardian for most of his life. He is also the murderer of the DL-6 case, killing the (first) man that blemished his perfect record, Gregory Edgeworth.

  • Abusive Parents: His plans for Edgeworth aside, his dialogue towards Franziska in Ace Attorney Investigations suggests he was at least emotionally abusive.
  • Amoral Attorney: The embodiment of this trope.
  • Arrogant Legal Professional: While every prosecutor (with the possible exception of Klavier) leans towards this, Manfred stands above all others with zero tolerance for even the slightest sign of imperfection in himself or his proteges.
  • Big Bad: Arguably of the entire series. Him killing Gregory Edgeworth not only traumatized the young Miles, but it began a chain reaction of events: in the DL-6 case, Misty Fey was called a fraud, which caused the Fey family's reputation to crumble. And therefore, Morgan Fey's husband left her, which led to Dahlia growing up with her father. Manfred indirectly created the monster that is Dahlia. He's got a lot of blood on his hands, albeit much of it inadvertently.
  • But for Me It Was Tuesday: When Phoenix and Maya run into him outside of court, he doesn't recognize them despite spending half of the past two days in the same room as them. At least, he says that; he could simply be lying to demean them.
  • Clock King: Predicts on the third day of Case 1-4 that it will end in three minutes, and checks his watch until he's proven wrong. It's impossible for him to be proven right, as the time is up before Phoenix begins cross-examining the witness.
  • Crazy Prepared: He retrained the parrot. If that's not Crazy Prepared, the term has no meaning.
  • Devil in Plain Sight: When people discuss him, all they ever mention is how great he is. But... have you looked at the guy?! He's terrifying! He even dresses like an evil overlord! The fact that he has the voice of Satan and is even voiced by THE Norio Wakamoto at one point really does not help.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Oh, God... where to start? Once, while competing in court against Gregory Edgeworth, Manfred got a single black mark on his record. Later the same day, a gun accident caused by Gregory's son Miles caused Manfred to be shot in the shoulder, scarring him. Manfred responded to this turn of events by murdering Gregory while he lay unconscious, leaving an innocent man to take the blame for the crime. Then, as an added Take That to Gregory, he adopted Miles and raised him to be everything his father wasn't. Then, fifteen years later, to get back for the gunshot wound, he framed Miles for a new murder (which he arranged) specifically so he could use that frame up to retroactively frame Miles for Gregory's murder, making Miles think he killed his own father by accident! Maybe he gave Kristoph lessons on overreacting?
    • However, his anger is understandable. He may have willingly used forged evidence in the past, but ironically, he was never told that the autopsy record which got him a penalty was fake.
  • Evil Mentor: To Edgeworth and Franziska, who inherit his methods, his gestures and even his fashion sense.
  • Evil Old Folks: 65 years old, and still sharp as a razor.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Has the deepest "Objection" of the series.
  • Finger Wag: His signature gesture, which Edgeworth adopted during his rookie years.
  • Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Often points and wags his finger, a habit Edgeworth picked up on.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Shouting that yelling is not allowed in court while loudly slamming his cane.
  • Jerkass: Speaks to virtually everyone with varying degrees of contempt in his voice, up to and including the Judge.
  • Kick the Dog: As if he wasn't bad enough already, Ace Attorney Investigations 2 manages to do this to him recursively through the flashback part of Case 3: he ruthlessly interrogated Tenkai for AN ENTIRE NIGHT until he completely broke down and falsely confessed. The fact that Japanese prosecutors have been rumoured to do this in Real Life makes it even more terrifying.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: His name, at least in the English translation, is a reference to Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Both of them were brought down by a single bullet. Also, he has bad karma. Meanwhile, his Japanese name Go Karuma means (as far as the pronunciation goes) "the effect of karma". The kanji in his name, meanwhile, means "great demon".
  • Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Averts this, regarding Byrne Faraday, in front of his long time partner Detective Badd. Badd can hardly contain his anger.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Manfred mentions the idea of "cross-examining the parrot" as a joke to bring the defense to its knees. Sure he retrained the parrot, however, the idea actually WORKED (albeit because of two pieces of information he didn't take into consideration) and the case continues.
  • Norio Wakamoto: He was voiced by him in a Gyakuten Kenji 2 promotional trailer.
  • Obviously Evil: Mocked in Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations when a younger Kay tries to get change for a dollar from him. He immediately turns his fierce glare on her and asks "What is it, little girl?". She immediately hides behind Edgeworth and says, "You're terrifying!". Manfred responds by actually feeling hurt.
    • As one Youtube commenter said, "Is it bad that I read all his lines as IKILLEDYOURFATHERIKILLEDYOURFATHERIKILLEDYOURFATHERIKILLEDYOURFATHER...?"
  • The Perfectionist: To the point that threatening his record is his Berserk Button.
  • Pet the Dog: As we can see in Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations, Edgeworth and Franziska's respect for him is pure, and not born out of fear or such. This tells that he may have been a caring father, strict, but caring nonetheless.
    • Then again, von Karma is shown to be fixated on Edgeworth's career advancement (as it factors into his revenge plot), but uninterested in Franziska's, even though she clearly wants him to be more involved. Conversely, von Karma verbally abuses Edgeworth at one point to shut down his request to continue investigating the crime scene, but relents when Franziska asks instead. It seems that Edgeworth's respect is born partially of fear, while Franziska seems fearless but uncared for. This is only a Pet the Dog moment in that it shows von Karma was not a straightforward Complete Monster.
  • Red Baron: "Prosecuting God".
  • Villainous Breakdown: And one hell of a headache to go with it.
  • Wicked Cultured: Look at this man and his nice suit. OF COURSE he's this.


Franziska von Karma (Mei Karuma)

"A fool's fool fools fools who foolishly accept the foolishness of a fool's fool."

Main prosecutor of the second game. Extreme perfectionist who aims to live up to her father's legacy. Is always seen with a whip in hand.

  • Amoral Attorney: Will do anything to get the defendant guilty in the second game, although she isn't as extreme in the third.
  • Bad Boss: To Gumshoe, her subordinate.
  • The Baroness: Whip-wielding ice queen. Interestingly, while plenty of other males find her Baroness nature sexy and enticing, Phoenix (and Gumshoe) mostly just find her scary as hell, with the latter begging for mercy of the financial kind.
  • Beauty Mark: Below her left eye.
  • Big Damn Heroes: A MAJOR one, one of the biggest in the entire series: at the end of Case 2-4, she shows up with the final evidence to get the killer in jail right in the nick of time, as in SECONDS before the wrong verdict.
  • Broken Ace: Despite being a successful, relentless prosecutor, Franziska has very little emotional maturity, besides being competitive to the point of ridiculousness. The second game's epilogue also implies that she never quite felt like she earned her father's love.
  • Cry Cute: At the end of the second game.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Teal hair and teal eyes. She also wears light blue lipstick.
  • Daddy's Little Villain --> Mad Prosecutor's Tsundere Daughter
  • Department of Redundancy Department: See the above quote.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Starts as a female Jerkass, ends up a Type A Tsundere.
  • Dynamic Character: Franziska goes through a lot of changes throughout the series, and yet frequently reverts to past behaviours, shifting back-and-forth between being mean and antagonistic to siding with the protagonist. She ends up being very multi-layered, and you can never be sure what to really expect from her.
  • Everyone Has Standards: She tends to use her whip to intimidate those she doesn't like... and those she does like... And those who annoy her, frustrate her, her own brother, or pretty much anyone who interacts with her at all. But she draws the line on children, elderly, and disabled, three groups who are safe from this treatment.
  • Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy: Commonly does when introducing herself.
  • Full-Name Basis: To the point that everyone else present starts doing the same, whether by accident or to call her out on it.

Edgeworth: Calling everyone by their full name... Can't you do something about that habit of yours?

    • Then there's this bit of hypocrisy at its finest.

von Karma: How naive of you.
Phoenix: But it's a bit strange, don't you think? ...Franziska von Karma.
von Karma: Listen, Phoenix Wright! It's impertinent to call someone by their full name!

Phoenix: I was only copying you.

  • Giant Poofy Sleeves:
  • Hidden Depths: Franziska is a very polarizing character. Being a prosecutor (and a von Karma at that), she strives for the Guilty verdict at all costs, yet some of her moves work against that; it seems that deep down, she does care about finding the truth, and often reaches conclusions before Phoenix does. The reason she withholds it from the court is because she wants to win the trial at all costs, to live up to her reputation as someone who doesn't lose. During Justice For All, she on several occassions appears to be aware that the prosecution's arguments aren't the truth, but she works against the defense regardless because Phoenix is her opponent, not because she genuinely believes Phoenix's arguments are wrong (yet she's upset when Phoenix makes progress because she still wants to win). It's not clear whether Franziska is an intelligent yet competitive jerk or someone who's conflicted between living up to her name as a ruthless prosecutor and a servant of the law who pursues the truth. Edgeworth has experienced a similar inner struggle.
  • Inadequate Inheritor: She's always concerned about living up to the von Karma name.
  • Informed Ability: For a supposed prosecuting ace, Franziska sometimes shows some shoddy handling of witnesses and is prone to breaking down worse than her father or Edgeworth ever do. Edgeworth genuinely seems much more competent when he's on the prosecutor's desk.
    • Justified because she's actually still very young. She attempts to live up to an ideal that's much greater than herself. Despite striving to be perfect, there's only so much an 18 year old can handle.
  • It Runs in The Family: She's basically a female mirror image of her father at first, before more character development establishes the nuances to how and why she became that way... something her father never gets.
  • Licking The Whip: She did this in her original designs in development. She doesn't do this in the actual game.
  • Like Brother and Sister: With Edgeworth, obviously. Oddly enough, she once said he was like her "Littler Brother" despite him being quite a few years older than her.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Mei" means "darkness".
  • Miyuki Sawashiro
  • The Napoleon: She was somewhat on the petite side in her childhood and early teens, and not at all fond of this fact.
    • Even as she gets older, she's still rather short (and also much younger than most characters). She tries to compensate for it through the use of her whip and her attitude.
  • Not So Different: With Yumihiko.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: To Phoenix, though Edgeworth'll do in a pinch since he's the one Franziska wants to be superior to.
  • Parody Sue: Seems to be a Take That at the Jerk Sue and Villain Sue used by many a fangirl.
  • Pet the Dog: She won't whip children or the elderly (except for the Judge and his Canadian brother). Phoenix also remarks that she seems genuinely hurt after Pearl chews her out for being a "mean lady". In Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations, she shows concern for Kay, relating to her on the fact both her fathers were respected prosecutors, and also admits she wouldn't know what to do without her father (although she seems pretty fine now...), and on the game overall, she sometimes shows concern for Edgeworth, even dropping the Full-Name Basis with him when she's not angry or exalted. Also in Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations 2, she was appalled by Bansai's treatment of Yumihiko which can reflect on how her father treated her, and in the ending, seems concerned about Yumihiko, since both of them are trying to live up to their fathers.
  • Rage Quit: Her first loss to Phoenix causes her to angrily whip him into unconsciousness.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: She may a teen prosecuting prodigy, but she seems to be under the impression that her defeating a small time defense attorney is enough to make national... no wait, global news.
  • Teen Genius: She became a prosecutor at age THIRTEEN.
  • Tsundere: Her "tsun" side comes up most of the time, and her "dere" side comes when she cries at the end of Justice For All, showing care to Edgeworth, does her best to aid Adrian, and is struck hard when Pearl called her mean.
  • Verbal Tic: She uses the words "fool", "foolish" or "foolishly" at least once three times every other sentence.

Edgeworth: (We got your point about three "foolishes" back, Franziska...)

    • In the Japanese releases, she sprinkles her more anger-charged statements with "Baka".
  • "Wake-Up Call" Boss: Of the second game. In Ace Attorney Investigations, she's also one of the first Rebuttal opponents whose logical flaws are not readily apparent.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Defied in her first appearance: though she holds the same values towards court as her father, none of her motivation is driven by her father's downfall in the first game. Or at the least, it's not the whole story. Her primary motivation is actually Edgeworth's disappearance, which she blames on Phoenix.
    • Played straight during Ace Attorney Investigations Case 4. It is evident that she actually does seek her father's approval, and he is not reciprocating.
  • Whip It Good: Nobody crosses paths with Franziska without getting whipped at least once. Except for Godot and Pearl.
    • When she started at thirteen, she carried a riding crop instead of the whip everyone's familiar with.
      • In Ace Attorney Investigations, Detective Badd actually manages to dodge it; the look of shock on her face is priceless.
      • Ace Attorney Investigations also sees Agent Lang catch the whip in midair.
  • Wise Beyond Her Years: Gotta give her credit, managing to earn a law degree before turning 18.
  • Worthy Opponent: Mellows out a little between the second and third games, resulting in this. She even helps Phoenix in the last case of the third game.
  • Wouldn't Whip a Girl: Averted in her first appearance, where she has no trouble whipping Lotta Hart and Ini Miney when they get on her nerves. Played straight in the subsequent games, however, where she tends to whip the nearest male character (usually Gumshoe) if one of the female characters is annoying her.
  • You Fool!: Somehow takes this Up to Eleven, with her uttering variations of this at almost every turn.
  • Younger Than She looks: Franziska is the same age as Maya. Somehow, Franziska was already a full-time prosecutor before she even turned 18. This is actually brought up in-game: Maya says during Case 2-2 that while she herself is still basically a child, Franziska is already so mature and successful, so she appears much older than Maya.

Godot

"Blacker than a moonless night, hotter and more bitter than hell itself... That is coffee."

Main prosecutor of the third game, and a very widely-loved character, especially considering he's only appeared in one game. Godot is known for drinking lots of coffee, up to 17 cups per court session. Holds strong dislike, almost hatred, towards Phoenix until the end of the last case. His real name is Diego Armando, Mia's former boyfriend who was nearly killed by Dahlia Hawthorne. Ultimately, he kills Misty Fey, who at the time was channeling Dahlia, who was dead-set on killing Maya.

  • Ambiguously Brown: Word of God says he's Brazilian.
  • Anti-Villain: To the point where Maya tries to take the heat for him.
  • Badass: Everybody, even the Yakuza loan shark Furio Tigre, is a little intimidated by Godot. He's the lone exception to the 'everybody who meets Franziska gets whipped' rule in the main series[1]... even she doesn't want to mess with him, so she whips Phoenix instead.
  • Blind Without'Em: He needs his visor to see, but even then, he can't see perfectly. Specifically, he can't see red on white (or possibly red in general).
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Not only does he drink several mugs of coffee, he wears a mask all the time.
    • The mask is understandable. He's mostly blind and needs them to see.
  • Catch Phrase: "That's one of my rules." When it appears in Case 4, it alerts anyone who hasn't noticed the caffemania, piercings and suit, to his identity.
  • Cool Mask: He needs it to see.
  • Could Have Avoided This Plot: He himself admits in the end. The final case of Trials and Tribulations could have been avoided if he just asked Phoenix for help and warned Maya about Morgan's plot in the first place. But then, where would be the fun (for the players) in that?
  • Disease Bleach
  • Fallen Hero: He's the result of Diego Armando being utterly and completely broken then filled with a new, hateful resolve for for finding Mia's killer.
  • Food Slap: Throws his coffee at Phoenix three times.
  • Goggles Do Something Unusual: Phoenix was a bit intimidated to confront Godot until he was sure his goggles couldn't fire lasers. Understandably, he has Franziska to thank for his knee-jerk fear of aggressive prosecutors.
    • The manga has four panel, non-canon joke strips, and one of them had Phoenix questioning where all the coffee comes from. Godot then presses a button on his visor which causes it to dispense coffee.
  • He Who Fights Monsters
  • Large Ham: "Blacker than a moonless night... Hotter and more bitter than hell itself... That's coffee."... and that's just one of the few of his melodramatic quotes.
    • Definitely a case of Tropes Are Not Bad. The man is so damn suave and chic with his delivery that you just want him to say more.
  • Leitmotif: "The Fragrance of Dark Coffee", it's even his cell phone ring.
  • Making a Spectacle of Yourself: His slatted red visor.
  • Manly Tears: "The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."
  • Meaningful Name: Besides the literary reference, bear in mind that his name is pronounced "Go-doe", not Go-dot". As in Diego Armando.
  • Metaphorgotten: He really loves his coffee metaphors. Too bad nobody but him ever seems to understand them.

Phoenix: Could you PLEASE knock it off with the cheesy proverbs and illogical metaphors already!?

  • Morality Chain: Maya Fey plays this role for him as his last connection to Mia Fey.
  • Must Have Caffeine: 17 cups per trial day, with a philosophical comment or two to go along with each one.
    • ...and that's just in the courtroom; at one point, he alludes to a 13th cup of morning coffee.
  • My Name Is Not Durwood: He constantly calls Phoenix "Trite". In the Japanese original, he intentionally mispronounces "Naruhodo" as "Maruhodo".
  • Never My Fault: A very important part of his backstory.
  • Revenge: His drive against Phoenix Wright for failing to protect Mia Fey and his motive to killing Misty Fey as Dahlia Hawthorne when she tries to kill Maya Fey.
    • Revenge Before Reason: He all but admits that his reasons for hating Wright are pointless, and that he was ashamed of his own inability to prevent Mia's death.
  • Spit Take: A favorite. Sometimes he'll take a fresh drink just to abide the spit-take.
  • Stay in the Kitchen: Tells Franziska to do this, though telling her to leave may be more about him being older than her than her gender.
  • Tears of Blood: When Phoenix points out that they Could Have Avoided This Plot, the knife wound he received reopens, leading to the following line:

Godot: Have you forgotten already? In my world, the color red doesn't exist. These must be... my tears.


Klavier Gavin (Kyoya Garyu)

"Achtung baby! Today we play it my way!"

Main prosecutor of the fourth game, and a rock star, to boot. He's quite a skilled prosecutor, and could probably best Apollo in court every time, but since he's interested in getting an honest verdict as opposed to a guilty one, he rarely (if ever) plays the same mind tricks that his predecessors do, and when the "real murderer" of each case starts demanding proof, Klavier usually ends up helping.

  • Amoral Attorney: One of the few who AVERTS this trope. Probably THE cleanest prosecutor in the entire series.
    • In fact, he's so clean that he ends up condemning his own brother, for the sake of justice. He's also horrified when he discovers that he used forged evidence during a trial in the past, which his brother gave to him.
  • Bishonen: And how.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: How many prosecutors have enough time to have their own rock band?
    • Strangely, in the courtroom, he acts like a smooth, devil-may-care rock star (hiding some scary competence), but on the stage, he's a touchy perfectionist. It's like he's got the roles switched around.
  • Catch Phrase: The aforementioned "Achtung" among others.
  • The Charmer: Very much so.
  • Crazy Prepared: He stripped Phoenix of his attorney badge by calling Drew Misham because of the "tip" Kristoph gave him.
  • Dark-Skinned Blond
  • Even the Guys Want Him: Can also be associated with Stupid Sexy Flanders.
  • Friendly Enemy: Towards Apollo.
  • Good Versus Good: His rivalry with Apollo. Both are decent people simply doing their job, and furthermore, dedicated to finding the truth.
  • Gratuitous German: Klavier will routinely sprinkle German throughout his dialogue because he went to law school in Germany. 'Gratuitous' because Franziska, who was also raised and educated in Germany, doesn't do the same. Phoenix also calls him out on his "affected Eurorock accent".
  • Hidden Depths: Klavier is actually a huge perfectionist, underneath his cool veneer, and easily gets upset when something isn't spot-on, most notably during his band's stage performances. You won't notice shades of this until Case 3.
    • So after all, it seems like he's got more in common with his brother (character-wise) than it initially appears... Both are perfectionists, and both attempt to hide it by playing it cool.
  • Leitmotif: "Guilty Love", a Gavinners song in-game.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Klavier" is German for "piano". The "kyo" in "Kyoya" means "echo".
  • My God, What Have I Done?: He did not take it well when he learned that Phoenix genuinely didn't know that the diary page he presented was a forgery, and that Kristoph used him to ruin an innocent man's life.
  • Nice Guy: Compared to the other prosecutors. He's a genuinely good guy who is very personable to others and always plays fair in court. Unlike Manfred, Franziska or pre-Heel Face Turn Edgeworth, he isn't a dirty perfectionist nor is he a petty asshole motivated by a grudge like Godot, he just wants to work to find the truth in the courtroom.
    • Well, he isn't a "dirty perfectionist"... not in the courtroom, at least. Klavier often makes things difficult for his fellow band members: whenever anyone misses a beat during an act or anything else goes wrong at a concert, he gets really stressed out.
    • Perhaps he is a perfectionist in the courtroom as well, we just don't see it. Similar to Kristoph, Klavier could be putting up an easygoing facade.
    • Lost a Level in Jerkass: While he still wasn't that callous, Klavier was more crass and defiant as a younger prosecutor. And even then, his bad attitude was a result of him genuinely believing that Phoenix was a crooked lawyer due to Kristoph deceiving him.
  • Not So Different: He's a huge perfectionist, just like his villaineous brother. Luckily, for Klavier, this mainly shows in his music, less so in the courtroom.
  • Punch Clock Villain: He's more than capable of being antagonistic and prickly in the courtroom, but at the end of the day, he's a good guy who's just doing his job.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the red oni to his brother Kristoph's blue oni.
  • The Rock Star: When he isn't in the courtroom, he's the leading man of a rock band formed by members of law enforcement called "The Gainers".
  • Rule of Cool: A prosecutor who's also a rock star. Who'd imagine such a thing in real life?
  • Skewed Priorities: Amusingly enough, Klavier takes his stage performances very seriously, and becomes a bit of a perfectionist twat if anything goes wrong during an act... Yet, as a prosecutor in the courtroom, he's a lot more relaxed and isn't nearly as picky.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Kristoph used him to get Phoenix disbarred.
  • Worthy Opponent: Klavier really has no grudge against Apollo, and as mentioned above, often tries to help Apollo (within reason of being his judicial opponent) to find the true guilty party and the right verdict. Outside of the court, he's actually rather buddy-buddy with Apollo.
    • Which has resulted in a Broken Base. Some fans hate him, not so much for the attitude, but for the lack of conflict he brings to the courtroom.

Dick Gumshoe (Keisuke Itonokogiri)

"I'm just a lowly detective so... I'm not sure what to do with that, other than arrest it!"

Main detective of the first three games. Despite his skill as an investigator, Gumshoe has an unfortunate tendency to make mistakes, and as a result has a small paycheck. He is optimistic and eager to please.

  • Afraid of Blood: In the first case of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, he almost faints when he sees the victim's body.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Gumshoe despite how much of an overly naive doofus he is does get several moments of badassery during the series, where he trounces all other characters.
  • Big Damn Heroes: About one of the few things he does right.
  • The Big Guy: Class 4, including a serious devotion to Edgeworth.
    • Also Class 2 at times, given how he's twice faced down mobsters and once an assassin to save Phoenix and Maya. Important to note that he doesn't carry his gun due to distaste for it either.
  • Butt Monkey: Poor Gumshoe.
  • Can't Spit It Out: Towards Maggey Byrde.
  • Clueless Detective: One of the less competent detectives, which is saying something. How incompetent he is varies based on the game and the situation though; he's not nearly as incompetent early on, and can often be relied on to pull through at critical moments in the climactic cases.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not only the above feats of sheer bravery and physical badassery, but seriously, when your investigation *needs* something, whether it's a bridge built overnight, that one piece of evidence found or a high speed race across town, Gumshoe will deliver.
  • Flanderization/Took a Level In Dumbass: He wasn't always a completely useless, incompetent idiot whose only narrative purpose was to make other characters look good. Unfortunately, his brains seem to drain away a little more with each passing game.
  • Friend on the Force: To Edgeworth and, to a lesser extent, Phoenix.
  • Friend to All Children: Gets along with kids and easily befriends Kay and Pearl.
  • Genius Ditz: He's usually a doofus, but REALLY good with machines. Not only did he build the moving mascot for the police department, he's also actually pretty savvy when it comes to high-tech investigative equipment, and he actually built a bug tracking device when he was still in grade school! And that bug tracking device becomes ESSENTIAL in Case 2-4, probably the case where Gumshoe most proves his worth in the entire series.
  • Gentle Giant: Gumshoe hulks above the other characters, but he's almost like a kid at heart.
  • George Jetson Job Security: Typically fired at some point during the game's final case and rehired by the game's end.
  • Inspector Lestrade
  • Kouji Ishii
  • Large Ham: Almost every other line from Gumshoe is delivered with lots of screen shaking and sound effects.
  • Leitmotif: "Detective Gumshoe, Pal". Additionally, he has "I Can Do It When It Counts, Pal!" in Ace Attorney Investigations.
  • Man Child: Gradually became this as the series went on, more or less. It does explain why he can relate to child characters so well.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name/Shout-Out: "Dick" and "gumshoe" are two different slang terms for "detective"; "Keisuke" is a Shout-Out to Japanese rocker Keisuke Kuwata.
  • Nice Guy: Gumshoe is good at heart, perhaps a little too much, as his trusting nature makes him very gullible, and allows people with less-than-pure intentions to manipulate him.
  • Older Sidekick: To Edgeworth, and occasionally Franziska. He prefers Edgeworth, since Franziska likes to frequently whip him into shape, literally. Unsurprisingly, he's become scared of having Franziska as a superior.
  • Perma-Stubble: Has this, somewhat befitting his slightly unkempt and raggedy appearance.
  • Perpetual Poverty: Somehow continues to exist no matter how many pay cuts he gets. It gets Lampshaded in the first game...

Phoenix: "If Gumshoe's salary gets cut even more he'll have to pay to work!

    • Further lampshaded in Ace Attorney Investigations, where his idea of celebrating a big case is to have extra salt in his instant noodles.
    • A hilarious line from Edgeworth regarding this is heard (read: thought) if Edgeworth presents the Magatama to Gumshoe.

Gumshoe: *after trying to eat said Magatama* "I thought it was some sort of hard candy that would fill you up."
Edgeworth: (Nngh... Perhaps his salary's been cut too much...)

Maya: We're on this case too, pal!
Gumshoe: Huh? Hey! You can't just go saying "pal" like that! That's MY endearing character trait!


Ema Skye (Akane Hozuki)

"Quiet please... It's snack time."

Main detective of Apollo Justice, but started out as Phoenix's assistant in the bonus Case 5 in the first game. Loves science with a child-like passion, and dreams of being a forensic scientist. She failed the test, and was instead made a detective. She's more than a little bitter about it. She's also reaaalllyyy cute.

  • Brainy Brunette: She has a surprising amount of talent in scientific investigation for someone her age.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: In Apollo Justice. She's brainy enough, but really half-hearted in her detective work.
  • Fan Girl: Idolizes Edgeworth. The contrast between Edgeworth and Klavier is probably why Ema can't stand him: "Prosecutors should be cool-of-wit and furrowed-of-brow... less 'glimmerous', more 'simmerous'." Her phone also has the Steel Samurai ringtone, and a Pink Princess strap.
  • Foregone Conclusion: Being that Ace Attorney Investigations is an Interquel, Ema's cheery personality remains intact from "Rise from the Ashes". It's a little sad to know that her good nature will be sucked away in the coming years by her failing the forensics exam, ultimately denying her dream.
  • Genki Girl: Back when she was a Suspiciously Similar Substitute, she was a slightly more serious and driven version of this than Maya. She was deliberately changed into her more mature and moody self for Apollo Justice so as her role would not clash with Trucy.
  • Goggles Do Something Unusual: The pink sunglasses that usually rest on the top of her head apparently allow her to see things that are normally hard to spot, such as footprints.
  • Hollywood Nerd: She's very beautiful and is a Fangirl of Steel Samurai and Pink Princess.
  • Inspector Lestrade: Her role in Apollo Justice.
  • The Lab Rat: She would prefer to be this, but she flunked the exam for it. She eventually succeeded in Spirit of Justice, and is much happier for it.
  • Leitmotif: "Scientific Detective" in Apollo Justice, "Turnabout Sisters 2005" in the soundtrack of the DS version of the first game as well as Ace Attorney Investigations.
  • Punny Name: "Skye" comes from, well, "sky", tying in with her Japanese name. "Akane" comes "akane-sasu sora" ("glowing sky"), and "Hozuki" means "jewel moon".
  • Nice Hat: Gets one in Ace Attorney Investigations.
  • She's All Grown Up: Compare her appearance in the first and fourth games.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: How she started out. Her Leitmotif is even called "Turnabout Sisters Theme 2005" in the first game!
  • Sweet Tooth: To the point she won't let go of her bag of Snackoos even while witnessing in court.

Apollo: (She Snackoo'd me.)

  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Pretty far in the Apollo Justice games. She ignores people who ask for her help, puts little effort in her work as stated above, and throws her snacks at anyone who annoys her.
    • It's justified though. Her dream job of becoming a forensic scientist fell in the water, and now she's stuck as a homocide detective; a job she hates. No wonder she's cranky.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: "Snackoos" in the English, fried dough cakes called Karintou in Japanese.
  • Tsundere: Towards Klavier. At least, it's heavily implied.
    • Strongly hinted to have romantic feelings for Klavier in the Odoroki Gyakuten Manga. Although they both do not realise it.

Ema: What are you doing here?!
Klavier: Huh, what about you? Aren't you cold?
Ema: Well, you... I... I am not cold!

  • You Keep Using That Word: "Scientifically speaking" is practically her Catch Phrase, but at least in "Rise from the Ashes" she often uses it in inappropriate contexts, like when she has just stated her opinion rather than any objective fact.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: Sports a Grade A in Ace Attorney Investigations.

Lana Skye (Tomoe Hozuki)

"It's been a while, Your Honor."

Ema's older sister, and Chief Prosecutor (as of the first game, but she hasn't been mentioned since). Went to the same law school as Mia.

  • Curtains Match the Window
  • Defrosting Ice Queen
  • Emotionless Girl: Subverted: she does have emotions, but she has something to hide, so she stopped showing them so that she doesn't slip up. Ema even tells Phoenix that she knows her sister too well: she's outwardly cold, but she's screaming on the inside as she's being pressed.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Says this regarding her fabricating evidence, claiming that it's to get Darke and criminals like him convicted, but it's actually to protect Ema.
  • Not So Stoic: She becomes quite outraged when Phoenix appears to shift the focus of suspicion to Ema, but he manages to find a way to incriminate Gant in the end.
  • Punny Name: "Skye" comes from, well, "sky", tying in with her Japanese name. "Hozuki" means "jewel moon".
  • Promotion to Parent: Her parents died when she and Ema were very young.
  • Put on a Bus: Ema was brought back for Apollo Justice, but Lana hasn't been seen since. She was last seen waiting to be tried for forging evidence, hence she had to spend some time behind bars. On the other hand, considering that Adrian Andrews was out in less than a year for pretty much the same crime, and that Lana had connections and such in the law business, it's uncertain whether she's still in prison. But she probably is in another profession (likely by her choice, she seems like the type that would just move on without a second thought).
    • She's probably got a significantly longer sentence than Adrian Andrews, since the latter was a civilian who framed a guilty man for the crime he committed and had an extremely sympathetic psychological profile which included a suicide attempt due to something the guy did earlier. Lana Skye was a high ranking detective and eventually Chief Prosecutor who framed a man for a crime he didn't commit, getting him executed. Certainly, he was guilty of other equally heinous crimes, but they could only pin the one she falsified evidence and testimony on, so in that instance, she essentially committed murder from a legal standpoint. Especially egregious since she did it to protect her sister's feelings from knowing that she committed something that was flat out said to not actually be a crime in the first place, and that she ended up letting the real killer get away for two years by closing the case early. Not to mention that she allowed two good cops to have their careers ruined and put all the cases tried under her term as Chief Prosecutor into question since she was being blackmailed to make things smoother for a corrupt chief of police. Oh, and in the furtherance of that crime, she aided in the murder of a detective after the fact, as well as actively helping to frame a prosecutor for the crime and allowing another cop to be framed for the murder as well, by one of the police officers whose careers she ruined. So yeah, while Edgeworth would have been inclined towards giving her leniency, there would probably be a lot of political pressure and public outcry against it due to the sheer amount of corruption revealed in that case, and she seemed very guilt-ridden about the entire thing, so she might not even try to take advantage of any connections she might have left.
  • The Stoic: Shows no emotions outwardly.
  • Sugar and Ice Personality
  • Taking the Heat: ...for Gant.
  • When She Smiles: She's been stone-faced for so long that even her sister says she forgot how beautiful she is when she smiles.
  • You Monster!: Uses this phrase on Phoenix when he presents evidence that seemingly implicates Ema in killing Neil Marshall.


Damon Gant (Kaiji Ganto)

"You know, we should all go swimming together sometime! Jolly!"

Highly eccentric Police Chief. Although he does some pretty odd things (for a guy that intentionally looks like Zeus), he's highly intelligent, clever and cunning. He used to be Lana's partner when both were detectives. He killed Neil Marshall and re-arranged the scene and forged evidence to convict Joe Darke, a serial murderer. Two years later, in a fit of panic, he kills Bruce Goodman, who attempted to re-open SL-9.

  • Affably Evil: Need fifty bucks? He's your guy!
  • Beard of Evil
  • Big No: Plus special effects.
  • Blackmail: He has Lana do his bidding as chief prosecutor under threat of her sister being framed as Neil Marshall's killer.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Uses some variation of "Been swimming lately?" as a greeting, eerily stares in silence for moments at a time, and calls the Judge, Phoenix and Edgeworth "Udgey", "Wrighto" and "Worthy", respectively.
  • Cool Shades: You never see him without those sunglasses.
  • Corrupt Police Chief
  • Da Chief: The Chief of Police of whatever city the game takes place in. He's far cheerier and less by-the-book than most examples though.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: He knew Phoenix would break into his office right after telling him to get out. He also interrupts a cross-examination at one point... during the actual playable part.
  • Dark-Skinned Blond: At least used to be one in his younger days.
  • Death Glare: They're so long, you'll think the game crashed. If not for his regular blinking.
  • Dirty Cop: It's implied that he had forged evidence even before SL-9.
  • Eccentric Mentor: Sort of.
  • Graceful Loser: After his initial Villainous Breakdown and ranting about how he should have dealt with Jake, he calms down, suggests that he won't make it to his lunch date with the Judge and says the legal system is now in Phoenix, Edgeworth and the Judge's hands.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Twice. First, the pieces of evidence he took as "insurance" were later used against him, and when it seemed he would succeed in putting the blame on Ema, his own arrogance was what did him in.
  • Knight Templar: What he eventually became; interestingly, he also described Manfred von Karma in a similar manner.
  • Large Ham: Mentioned to use Bold Inflation in everyday conversation and otherwise make things sound overly-grandiose.
  • Laughing Mad: With escalation!
  • Leitmotif: "Swimming, Anyone?"
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name/Bilingual Bonus: Damon is probably a pun on demon. The first kanji of "Kaiji" is "sea" (he brings up swimming a lot), and his name as a whole might allude to a Chinese proverb: "You can pick on the mountains, but don't pick on the sea [because the sea is merciless]." "Gant" (and "Ganto") come from the French word for glove, which he is always seen wearing. Marshall states during his testimony that the murderer wore gloves.
    • Also, change the "a"s in his name to "e"s, and you get Demon Gent.
  • The Nicknamer: Calls the Judge "Udgey", for one.
  • Not So Different: He pulls this on Edgeworth. It really got under his skin.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity
  • Ominous Pipe Organ: Quite explicitly seen and heard in his office and leitmotif, respectively.
  • Sarcastic Clapping: One of his favored animations is to do this while laughing at you.
  • Stepford Smiler
  • Thunder Shock: In his "Damage" animation.
  • Villainous Breakdown: His hair goes on fire. He goes Super Saiyan!


Jake Marshall (Kyosuke Zaimon)

"When there's gunshots, there's bound to be bullets."

A Cowboy Cop and ex-detective that was demoted to a patrolman after SL-9. Because of the suspiciousness of the decisive evidence, the abruptness and hastiness of his demotion, and the fact that he wanted to know the truth behind his kid brother's death, Officer Marshall refused to let the case go.

  • Big No: See the quotes for the page.
  • Biting the Handkerchief: Or rather, the jerky.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Let's face it, it's par for the course at this point.
  • Cowboy Cop: Played straight and literally. Word of God holds it that he was made a cowboy so that he wouldn't be a complete Expy of Godot, as Jake is the Godot in the Fey-Skye parallel.
  • Dead Little Brother: Neil.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: He's bitter about being demoted, but is willing to risk what's left of his career to find the truth behind SL-9.
  • Leitmotif: "The Vagabond Detective".
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Marshall", like a wild west sheriff.
  • Quick Nip: Often seen drinking from a hip flask. At one point, he is shown opening the flask with his teeth and spitting out the stopper, suggesting the flask is normally just for show.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Gets one regarding impersonating Goodman, trying to steal the evidence and assaulting Meekins when he came in after him.
  • Youngest Child Wins: According to Jake, Neil, the prosecutor, is significantly smarter.


Mike Meekins (Susumu Harabai)

"Sir I... I wish I didn't have to tell you this... but last year, tragedy struck a rising star at the precinct! I lost my case files four times... in three days! They fired me!"

An over-enthusiastic cop that is unnecessarily respectful in speech (he broke the dialogue boxes in the Japanese version). He's not the brightest bulb, doesn't have much luck, and is rather clumsy. He looks up to Gumshoe and aspires to be like him.

  • Alliterative Name: In English.
  • Butt Monkey: He idolizes Gumshoe, so that's enough to make him a Butt Monkey by default.
  • Catch Phrase: Has a tendency to begin his answers to questions by saying "If I had to say I was (X) or (Y)...".
  • Gonk: His head is the shape of a traffic sign, and his eyes are wide open, making him the sort that looks distorted rather than ugly.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: He's certainly meek, and the "Mike" might refer to that megaphone. "Susumu" means "press forward".
  • No Indoor Voice: Doesn't help any that he always has a speakerphone in his hand.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: Looks nothing like any other character in the series.
  • Up to Eleven: The volume knob on his speakerphone. Whenever he shouts into it, it causes loud feedback.
  • Verbal Tic: Speaks extremely politely and addresses everyone as "sir".
  • Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: From a cop in the first game, to the Blue Badger in Ace Attorney Investigations to a court bailiff in Apollo Justice.
    • He is shown to still be in the police force in Ace Attorney Investigations, just placed undercover as the Blue Badger. In the end credits, he states he was fired afterwards for losing his gun (although the page quote suggests it was for losing case files).


The Blue Badger (Taiho)

"What the hell is that wriggling piece of plywood?" - Miles Edgeworth

The mascot of the police force. Plays a significant role in Case 1-5. It becomes the mascot of Gatewater Land in Ace Attorney Investigations and gains a family of badgers which includes the Pink Badger, the Proto Badger and the Bad Badger.

  • Beard of Evil: The Bad Badger's goatee.
  • Companion Cube: He has quite a few character tropes for someone that started out as a piece of plywood.
  • Cool Shades: The Bad Badger.
  • Evil Counterpart: The Bad Badger.
  • Gotta Catch Em All: Visitors to Gatewater Land are awarded a prize if they can take a photo of all four Badgers. Since the Bad Badger only comes out for a certain event and the costume is worn by the victim before being disposed of, Kay never gets the Bad Badger.
  • Leitmotif/Ear Worm: "I Want to Protect You".
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: He's blue, and carries a police badge. "Taiho" means "arrest". Lampshaded when Kay says that his name sounds threatening to a "Great Thief" like her.
  • Nightmare Fuel: In-universe, at least Phoenix and Apollo seemed to think so.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: In a certain sense; the character is based on Pipo-kun, the mascot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
  • Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: The Pink Badger has a bow. Lampshaded if Edgeworth examines the Pink Badger costume box.


Missile

"...The dog Detective Gumshoe takes care of just up and ate a Samurai Dog earlier as well. Poor little dog, slowly coming to resemble his handler." - Miles Edgeworth

A police dog cared for by Gumshoe. One of the optional tools offered by Gumshoe in Case 1-4, he later appears in Ace Attorney Investigations to help find evidence in Case 5.

  • Assist Character: To Phoenix Wright in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
  • Beast of Battle: Gets summoned to inflict damage.
  • Big Eater: Once devoured an entire cart of Steel Samurai hot dogs.
  • Evil-Detecting Dog: Gumshoe likes to see him as one, but... he mostly ends up finding food instead. Played with in the second case of Ace Attorney Investigations 2, where he DOES help point out the true killer. There's a perfectly logical explanation for it though.
  • Heroes Love Dogs: Both Maya Fey and Shi-long Lang have expressed fondness for Missile.
  • Team Pet: The police investigation team's, anyway...


Luke Atmey (Aiga Hoshiidake)

'Zvarri! The truth has once again been elegantly revealed to me!"

Self-proclaimed "Ace Detective" (which ends up prompting Phoenix to refer to himself as an Ace Attorney), and the detective on all the Mask*DeMasque cases. Full of himself and wants to be the center of attention (but you probably knew that already) and fails miserably. He is the one that stole the Sacred Urn of Kurain as an alibi for his murder of Kane Bullard.

Daryan Crescend (Daian Mayuzuki)

An International Affairs detective who also plays guitar in Klavier's band (see above). Appears in the third case of Apollo Justice. With Machi Tobaye's help, he smuggles a Borginian Cocoon out of Borginia. However, Interpol agent LeTouse was on his trail, and so Crescend killed him as a result.

  • Animal Motifs: His design is based on a shark, including his torpedo-shaped hair and jacket decorated with shark teeth.
  • Anime Hair: An oversized, phallic pompadour with a patch of white on the tip. It goes beyond even the most extreme standards of impossibility when he has his breakdown, by developing some split hairs... that split in the wrong direction, towards his head, as if they originated from the tip.
  • Big Bad Friend: He's this to Klavier, who he secretly used as a way to smuggle cocoons out of Borginia.
  • Everything's Even Worse with Sharks: His design is evocative of sharks, most obviously with his shark mouth-collared jacket and its shark fang zipper. During his breakdown, he swings his head around so fast that his pompadour is evocative of a shark's fin zooming around in open waters.
  • Jerkass: The guy is a dickhead in both the figurative and literal senses: he's prone to talking down to Apollo, is antagonistic towards Klavier, openly voices his displeasure for Borginians, and goes as far as to laugh at Mr. LeTouse for getting killed. His attempted murder of Lamiroir as well as his plan to frame his child accomplice for his murder of LeTouse don't win him any likability points either. Plus, there's his infamous penis-shaped pompadour.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Crescend" might come from "crescendo" and could also be a reference to his Japanese name, which contains the kanji for "moon". "Mayuzuki" may come from "mayu suki" ("I like cocoons").
  • The Nicknamer: He throws a few monikers Apollo's way: Sleeves, Kid and Punk.
  • Obviously Evil: His threatening facial expressions, sharklike design, and all around unpleasant demeanor make it clear that he's pretty much the key suspect in the murder of Mr. LeTouse. He's even fingered as the murderer during the end of the first trial, but there's no evidence pointing towards him being the murderer without there being much room for debate.
  • Politically Incorrect Asshole: He openly states in court that he can't stand Borginians.
  • Smug Snake: He never hesitates to belittle, laugh at and put down Apollo while dismissing all of his convincing arguments as to why Daryan killed LeTouse as him not having true decisive evidence. And in true Smug Snake fashion, he's still easily flustered and falls hard when he realizes that he can't talk his way out of trouble anymore.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Perhaps the only case apart from Redd White in which, rather than present decisive evidence and see him break down as a result, Apollo has to force him into breaking down to make him confess, by suggesting that Machi can avoid the death penalty in Borginia by confessing here. His breakdown has him plead for Machi not to rat him out by screaming and shaking his head so fast, his hair turns into a blur that rockets around the witness stand before calming down, with his hair drooping down and him shirking back meekly.

Shi-Long Lang

"Lang Zi says: The reason people judge people is because people are people."

Edgeworth's rival in Ace Attorney Investigations, an international detective who is brash and dismissive of those he dislikes (especially prosecutors, since a corrupt one ruined his family's reputation), but cares deeply for his men. He practices a philosophy of "detention" which often leads him to suspect the wrong people, forcing Edgeworth to prove that they didn't do it before he can arrest them.

  • Animal Stereotypes: His manner, name and design are meant to invoke the Big Badass Wolf trope.
  • Badass: Everything about his personality and design is meant to evoke badassery.
    • Remember how Franziska wouldn't whip Godot because of his massive aura of badassery? Well, she tries to whip Lang, but he catches it in mid-lash! And that's only one of his feats.
    • Later on, she tries again while he's still laughing and succeeds.
  • Batman Gambit: In order to begin to attack Ambassador Alba, he directly accused Franziska von Karma of murder to continue the investigation.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Diplomatic Immunity? Agent Lang won't have any of that, Ex-Ambassador Alba.
    • Mind you, earlier that same night, he was shot in the thigh. Most men would be cooped up in a hospital bed, but not Lang.
  • Catch Phrase: Not so fast!
  • Cool Shades: Way too cool for words. Just how do they even stay on his face?
  • Deadpan Snarker: In the Japanese version, he refers to Franziska as anesan - older sister. Normally, one would use oneesan. Anesan is typically used by Yakuza henchmen to refer to their boss's mistress.
  • A Father to His Men: His men are utterly loyal to him, and for good reason.
    • One of the most hilarious scenes in Ace Attorney Investigations even plays around with the trope: Lang calls out one of his men and gives him a birthday present, causing the others to compliment him for being such an awesome boss... Then the first one says it was not his birthday. The silence lasts a single second before Lang retorts with: "Hmph... The present's not for you. It's for your younger brother's wife's younger brother! Give this and tell him I said "Hi"!", at which his men cry Manly Tears.
    • A far less humourous (but certainly more awesome) example is where he takes Detective Badd's bullet for Shih-na even after knowing full well that she was The Mole, his reasoning being that she was still his subordinate, and he was still beholden to protect her from harm. And then he arrests her and leads her off.
    • In one of his first scenes, one of the other officers is having his men count off in number order but he stops the guy. All of his men are number one in his book. Turns into a Brick Joke later on.
  • Good Versus Good: The rivalry between him and Edgeworth is moreso a matter of misunderstandings, distrust and having a different approach to things. Ultimately, they're both looking to do the right thing, and they end up working together near the end.
  • Hero Antagonist: Though he butts heads with Edgeworth (controlled by the player), he doesn't have ill intent and is only striving for justice.
    • Furthermore, Lang appears to be way more tied to the game's plot than Edgeworth, whom often just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lang works for Interpol, and the plot is centered around exposing a smuggling ring. Lang's backstory and family history has tirelessly fought against the smugglers, thus he's also fueled by personal motivation. Furthermore, the victim of the second case was actually a friend of his, the killer working with the smugglers, as a result making the whole thing even more personal for him. All in all, Lang has more motivation to defeat the villains than Edgeworth does.
  • Honor Before Reason: He takes a bullet for Shih-na despite already having learned that she's one of the smugglers he's fighting against. Why? Because even though she worked against him behind his back, she's still a subordinate of his, so he still deems it necessary to protect her from physical harm.
  • Hot-Blooded: Is rather territorial about his jurisdiction and doesn't hesitate to butt heads with people over it or show aggression, which isn't very surprising for a man with a wolf motif.
  • Ice Cream Koan: Several of Lang-Zi's sayings may sound wise, but they don't really mean anything.
  • Inspector Lestrade/Inspector Javert: Depending on the situation.
  • Interpol Special Agent: He has much greater investigative power (and manpower...) than a real-life Interpol agent.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He only hates prosecutors due to how Bansai Ichiyanagi destroyed his family's rep of being top officers of the law. He treats his men well though, and even develops some respect for Edgeworth late in Case 5. At the end of the day, he is a good guy; his role as antagonist is mainly due to his distrust towards Edgeworth (the player character during Ace Attorney Investigations), which is somewhat justified due to Edgeworth's dubious past as Manfred von Karma's disciple.
    • He also takes a bullet for Shih-Na even after she's proven to be The Mole. Lang says that despite everything, she's still his subordinate, so he doesn't want her to be physically harmed, even after her true nature is revealed. It's incredible how protective he is of a person who really isn't worth it.
  • Kenta Miyake
  • Leitmotif: "Speak up, pup!"
    • In Gyakuten Kenji 2, he also gets "The Fall of the House of Lang".
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Lang" is Chinese for "wolf".
  • Metaphorgotten: He makes countless wolf metaphors. By the end of the game, Edgeworth has started to wonder what the hell he's talking about.

Edgeworth: (These quotes are definitely becoming increasingly difficult to decipher...)

Shih-na

Lang's assistant, a demure seemingly albino woman with a penchant for sunglasses. Actually Calisto Yew, acting now as a The Mole within Interpol.


Jacques Portsman (Makoto Yuuki)

A sports-loving prosecutor who appears in case one of Ace Attorney Investigations, taking over Payne's role as the tutorial prosecutor. A member of the smuggling ring, his job was to facilitate trials so that they'd end in the ring's favor.

  • Amoral Attorney: He's working with the smuggling ring, he's suspected of forging evidence, and he sometimes refuses to prosecute certain trials.
  • Anime Hair: It almost seems like his headband is the only thing preventing his hair from spiking straight up!
  • Coat Over the Shoulder: Rotates from this to actually wearing it.
  • Jerk Jock Jacques
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Jock Sportsman. As an added bonus, he nicknames his partners "Jim" (As in "Gym") regardless of how it fits with their name. The Japanese version goes for complete irony: "Makoto Yuuki" means "truth, courage".
    • His first name also sounds like "j'accuse" which he does a lot of in the first case.
  • The Nicknamer: Gives nicknames to people, such as "Jim" to Buddy Faith.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: And proud of it too.
  • Returning to the Scene: Although he also is able to invoke authority over the scene in the hopes of manipulating the investigation and framing Gumshoe or Maggey.
  • Smug Snake: He's quite patronizing and insulting of others, with little to back it up.
  • Ultimate Job Security: He doesn't seem all that competent at first, seeming to spend more time training than studying or working on cases, and it's revealed that there were many unsavory rumors going around about him, and he kept his job despite them.
  • Warmup Boss: The first major investigative rival Edgeworth faces as well as the first murderer.


Byrne Faraday (Kurou Ichijou)

Kay's father. A prosecutor who works with Tyrell Badd in catching the Yatagarasu, as well as bringing down the mysterious smuggling ring. One of the core three of the Yatagarasu, working on security disabling and infiltration. Also made the Little Thief.

  • Amoral Attorney: Subverted. Though he breaks the law as a Yagaratsu member, he is nonetheless a good person and one of the few prosecutors who never was bad.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: It's stated that he rarely loses his temper, but he gives Gumshoe an earful when he reports to his old post by mistake after becoming a Detective.
  • Disappeared Dad: To Kay, after being murdered by Yew.
  • Gadgeteer Genius
  • Gentleman Thief: The Yatagarasu is literally referred to as a "gentleman thief" in the Japanese version.
  • Meaningful Name: Let's hope we don't have any scholars playing the game. Byrne is Gaelic for raven. "Kuro" is a pun on "crow".
  • Phantom Thief: As part of the Yatagarasu, he investigated the target corporations.


Tyrell Badd (Ittetsu Badou)

A hardened detective (we're not kidding, he looks like he'd be more at home in Sin City) who's worked many cases with Calisto Yew and Byrne Faraday investigating the Yatagarasu. Is a member of the Yatagarasu, working in evidence disposal. In Gyakuten Kenji 2, it is revealed he worked on the IS-7 incident, helping Gregory Edgeworth discover Manfred von Karma's manipulations of the crime scene.

  • Badass: The bullet holes in his coat already say a lot.
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Badass Longcoat: Filled with bullet holes!
    • "I wear this coat to remind me of My Greatest Failure." "You got all of them in one case?" "Only about half."
  • Bruiser with a Soft Center: Shown in his interactions with Kay and when he talks about Byrne Faraday.
  • But Now I Must Go: Turns himself in after Shih-na is unmasked as Calisto, and hands Edgeworth the remaining crucial pieces of evidence.
  • Coat Cape: He always wears his trenchcoat like this. It's part of his "hardboiled detective" look.
  • Cool Old Guy: He's 60 by the final case of the original game.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: His overall design seems to be based around the Darker and Edgier trope. Also because his surname is Badd, it may have led people to beleive that he was the true villain of Case 4, but it turned out that he was actually a decent person. Also Kay seems to adore him.
  • Dead Partner: Byrne Faraday.
  • Detective Mole: Hero Antagonist version.
  • Dirty Cop: Subverted. He's working for/as a criminal, but he has good intentions.
  • Film Noir: What inspired his design.
  • The Gadfly: A low-key example, but by the end of Ace Attorney Investigations, even Edgeworth has noted that he's teasing Franziska for no reason other than to watch her freak out.
  • Guttural Growler: His speech is chock full of ellipses, probably as a way to allude to this trope without resorting to actual voices. Whenever Badd takes his lollipop out of his mouth, he speaks normally.
    • Which implies that the pauses are just him sucking on the lollipop.
  • Hardboiled Detective: Tough guy who looks like he goes for a drink after work.
  • Hey, You: Typically calls Edgeworth and Franziska "kids" or some other variant, but after Edgeworth exposes Calisto Yew, he starts calling them "Mr. Edgeworth" and "Ms. von Karma".
  • Honorary Uncle: Kay calls him "Uncle Badd".
  • Leitmotif: "The Truth Ain't Sweet".
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Badd" and "Bado" are for "bad(ass)", and "Ittetsu" means "stubborn".
    • Actually, "Bad?" is a reference to "b?do," the Japanese transliteration of "bird". The first character of "Bad?" is also very similar to the kanji for "crow".
    • Reverse the name, and you get 'Bad Trial', a potential referenge to KG-8.
  • My Greatest Failure: He couldn't convict the murderer of Calisto's sister, which is why he's so determined to take down the smuggling ring. He eventually finds out that Calisto actually works for the smuggling ring and that she only posed as the victim's sister in order spy on him and Byrne Faraday.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: You wouldn't want to mess with a detective with a last name of "Badd".
  • Non-Standard Character Design: In contrast to the bright colors and simple faces of everyone else, Detective Badd has drawn facial definition and much darker colors.
  • Obviously Evil: Badd? Really? Totally subverted. He lives in a world full of punny names, but he really is not so bad. Though he may be a Baddass.
  • Oral Fixation Fixation: When Badd first appears, there's a little white cylinder sticking out of his mouth, seemingly evoking the image of the smoking noir detective. When he takes it out, it's revealed that it's a lollipop.
  • Papa Wolf: To Kay.
  • Real Men Eat Candy: Taken to even further extremes in Ace Attorney Investigations 2 Case 3, which implies he may be a Closet Geek with regards to candy in general.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Subverted; see above.
  • The Stoic: He does not smile. Ever. Also, his "hurt/shock" animation shows the least amount of emotion when compared to everyone in the series (his eyes simply widen).
    • Not So Stoic: After Yew is exposed. In the resulting chase, after almost getting shot, Edgeworth notices that he's more shaken than he lets on.
  • Verbal Tic: He likes to... pause dramatically... in the middle of sentences...


Hakari Mikagami

Ah, 'Lady Justice'... blessings be upon her.

Edgeworth's rival in Ace Attorney Investigations 2, a fierce-looking (female) judge. She has a washboard of hair over half her face and seems to wear more traditional clothing.

  • Beware the Nice Ones: She's said to always have a kind smile on her face, but is merciless towards anyone who breaks the law.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Has her moment in Case 4.
  • Catch Phrase: Overruled!
  • Curtains Match the Window: Has black hair and eyes.
  • I Have Your Son: She was forced to work against Edgeworth when they kidnapped her adoptive son.
  • Japanese Honorifics: Addresses almost everyone as -sama.
  • Japanese Pronouns: Like Pearl Fey, she uses the ultra-polite Watakushi.
  • The Judge: Obviously.
  • Large Ham
  • Leitmotif: "Goddess of Law".
    • Her ringtone is a version of "The Great Monster Borumosu".
  • Mama Bear: Normally, she acts like a soft-spoken, deceptively gentle, but extremely stern and merciless enforcer of "the Goddess of Law's will." However, anything that concerns her adoptive son (whether he's in danger or he's just being rude to those around him), she flips the switch and becomes a concerned mother. It's almost cute in a way to see her go from being Miss Rulebook to mommy.
  • Meaningful Name: "Hakari" means "Scale" (as in "Lady Justice's scale"), and Mikagami means "Water Mirror", possibly referring to the Yata-Mirror, the japanese imperial insignia of wisdom.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: An interesting case, as she does it through another character rather than herself. Basically, whenever she lets Yumihiko testify, you know she's pulling a MASSIVE Xanatos Gambit on Edgeworth.
  • Ominous Pipe Organ: Her Leitmotif.
  • Peek-a-Bangs: Over her right eye.
  • Principles Zealot: Strongly believes in upholding the law, and feels Edgeworth is unworthy to be a prosecutor if he breaks it.
  • Promotion to Parent: She adopted Shimon when her cousin died.
  • The Rival: To Edgeworth, in her stricter adherence to the law.
  • She's Back: After being under Bansai's thumb because of her kidnapped son, she gets a call telling her he's been found, allowing her to properly conduct the trial.
  • Wham! Line:

Mikagami: The defendant... Bansai Ichiyanagi! I accuse you!


Yumihiko Ichiyanagi

A rookie prosecutor who fancies himself an 'ace' at his work. He first appears in the second case of Ace Attorney Investigations 2.

  • Adorably Precocious Child
  • Baka: Considered an idiot by everyone who meets him, including Larry. Bansai calls him by the term "baka musuko" (idiot son) so frequently, he almost seems to deem it interchangeable with Yumihiko's actual name.
  • Bound and Gagged: By the subordinates of his own father, although they were actually aiming for another boy.
  • Break the Haughty: Given that he was not taken seriously in the first place, it's a bit surprising how thoroughly the final two cases kick him in the teeth. First, he learns his much-admired prosecutor father is in fact a criminal and a murderer. Said father proceeds to disclose, to Yumihiko and the entire assembled court, that all of the good grades and awards he was so proud of were only obtained through Bansai's own personal connections and influence. That is followed up with a remark that being too stupid to figure this out made him undeserving of being Bansai's son. Overwhelmed, Yumihiko flees the coutroom... and is immediately kidnapped. By the time Edgeworth and Kay are able to free him, he's far overshot "humbled" to crash land somewhere around "shell-shocked", able to do little but cry and feel worthless. Only after the longest Logic Chess segment in the game is he able to start pulling himself back together, although when he does come back, his apparent level of competency has gone way up.
  • Buffy-Speak: Whenever Yumihiko is the one talking, expect to see nothing but vague terms -"that thing"- and pauses which Mikagami fills with the word he was looking for. If he attempts to make use of a slightly more complex term or idiom, he will misuse it without fail. Sure enough, his rather small vocabulary often results in him getting lost during someone else’s explanations.
  • Bumbling Sidekick: To Mikagami to the point that she often uses him to testify only to pull a Xanatos Gambit on Edgeworth. His attempts to support his dad only cause Bansai to feel embarrassed as well. To be fair, by the final case, that's no longer the case.
  • Butt Monkey: He's often told to shut up by the other prosecutors when he's trying to make a statement. Smarter characters like Mikagami and Edgeworth will now and then employ some fake throat clearing to resume the conversation ignoring whatever stupid thing he's just said. Franziska even whips him once when he's not making any sense. It gets really depressing later.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Subverted. Despite the shit Bansai puts him through, he still expresses gratitude towards him as his father.
  • Coat Cape: He wears his coat over his shirt without putting his arms into his sleeves.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and brown eyes.
  • The Dog Bites Back: While he doesn't call his father out for the crap he puts him through, he manages to humiliate his father in court which is just as satisfying.
  • Dumb Is Good: Likely the reason he managed to remain as pure-minded despite being brought up by a guy who nonchalantly takes pride in his wickedness. Also leads him to obliviously aid Edgeworth here and there against Mikagami or Bansai's wishes.
  • Expressive Hair: The question mark on his head turns into an exclamation when he's startled.
  • Follow in My Footsteps: To his father, as a prosecutor.
  • Heroic BSOD: Has a MAJOR one in Case 5. (And who can blame him!) It takes an entire Logic Chess bout with Edgeworth to snap him out of it.
  • Idiot Hair: Word of God states that the question-mark curl on Yumihiko's head is not natural; he actually styles it that way carefully everyday.
  • Inelegant Blubbering: When he breaks.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: Will keep proclaiming himself the best, then instantly get teary-eyed when others don't take him seriously (which translates to all the time). There's also all that self-deprecation during his Logic Chess segment...
  • Japanese Pronouns: He uses anta, a usually condescending pronoun, when referring to almost anyone (saving Mikagami, who he always addresses by name), thus furthering his Small Name, Big Ego-ness.
  • Joke Level: His first testimony is easily one of the most ridiculous in the entire series, yet it takes so long to crack simply because it's so damn vague! (Seriously, since when was "finding 'traces', 'there' " a valid reason for arresting someone who's indirectly responsible of Miwa killing Naitō yet still innocent?!) His second testimony is a little better, but has a contradiction so obvious Edgeworth points it out without you having to do anything. And most of the contradictions you do point out are with his own testimony!
  • Leitmotif: "Ichiryuu's Reasoning" and "Ichiryuu's Farewell".
  • Little Mister Snarker: Well... he tries to be, but it generally backfires when he can't seem to find the right words.
  • Meaningful Name: "Ichi" means one in Japanese. His goal in life is to be number one at everything.
    • "Yumi" in his Japanese name means bow, the weapon. This is parallel to Mitsurugi, which is a pun on sword.
    • Also, with his surname it creates the pun "ichiya naki yumi hiku" - "pulling a bow without an arrow", which is a reference to his baseless deductions.
  • Missing Mom: According to his dad, her whereabouts are unknown. And since it turns out that whenever Bansai describes someone as "having disappeared", it means that he killed them, one can only guess what happened to his wife...
  • Noriaki Sugiyama
  • Pungeon Master: He's all too aware of his Punny Name and WILL make jokes off it at every possible opportunity. He'll even twist other characters' Punny Names to do this, like when he asserts that he's better than Edgeworth because the first syllables of their (Japanese) names can mean 'one' and 'three', respectively. Leads to Got Me Doing It on several occasions.
  • Single Tear: He graduates from Inelegant Blubbering to this.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: He thinks himself a fantastic prosecutor, but really isn't anything special. If you present the wrong evidence to him, he doesn't even realize until Mikagami points it out for him. Thanks to the trauma he experiences in the game, this is actually quite depressing. By the time the credits roll, he's already asked everyone to stop calling him "Ichiryuu".
  • Spanner in the Works: To Souta Sarushiro, temporarily.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In the final case of Ace Attorney Investigations 2, after he stops crying, and Edgeworth snaps him out of his Heroic BSOD, he finally has enough courage to stand up to his father and humiliate him in court but not before getting broken further.
  • Tsundere: Tsuntsun by default to everyone but Mikagami, but eventually lets his dere side shine through as the game progresses.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Having been told that that's the safest choice, he lets his father hold onto the evidence concerning Miwa's trial, which Bansai then proceeds to get rid of. At one point, Bansai literally refers to his son as a "pawn that isn't user-friendly."
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: In Yumihiko's own words, he became a prosecutor merely because he wanted his dad to acknowledge him.
  • You Keep Using That Word: Often uses sophisticated-sounding words or phrases while clearly having no idea what they actually mean.


Marie Miwa

The director of the prison and the detention center. She is an animal lover who believed in animal therapy. She used to work as the director of the "Happy Family" orphanage, where she got involved with the conspiracy to kill the president of Zheng Fa. She was the only suspect in SS-5, but she got away thanks to the prosecutor, Bansai Ichiyanagi, one of her co-conspirators. She then became the head warden of the prison, which she called her "home". However, when the assassin whom they hired to kill the president was imprisoned, she became paranoid because he threatened her that one of his many "dogs" (subordinate) would come and kill her. She killed Manosuke Naitō because she got a false positive that he was one of them.

  • Alliterative Name: Mari Miwa. The fan translation forgoes this for a Punny Name instead.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Other than being an accomplice to the murder of the Zheng Fa president and murdering a prisoner out of fear, she's a pretty nice person.
  • Crazy Cat Lady: More like "Crazy Fox Lady", but similar principle. Though she tries to come off as a Kindhearted Animal Lover.
  • Expressive Accessory: The silver fox on her neck is alive and usually copies her facial expressions. One of her animations shows her speaking through her fox. Probably a result of her being paranoid.
  • Fox Mascot: See above.
  • Friend to All Living Things: Except for a few exceptions.
  • The Glomp: With Tateyuki Shigaraki. When it comes to hugging, they're soulmates.
    • She makes a habit of greeting everyone like that. And kissing them, which often leads to accidental Squick on the receiver's end.
  • He Knows Too Much: Subverted. She's actually the one who's threatened with death. Although one must wonder if she deserves it since her family was threatened too.
    • Later, inverted when it's revealed she tried to pull this on someone herself once.
  • I Have Your Family: Ryoken constantly threatens that his 'dogs' will go after her family. It's the main reason she eventually snaps.
  • Japanese Honourifics: Makes a habit of calling nearly everyone -chan.
  • Leitmotif: "Hug and Kiss".
    • She does that. A lot.
  • Mama Bear: At least she wants to be.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Her name comes from mimawari, which means patrol.
  • Murder by Mistake: Kills Knightley, fearing he is one of Dogen's henchmen.
  • Orphanage of Love: "Happy Family". Subverted.
  • Pretty in Mink
  • Properly Paranoid: Though she takes it a little too far. If her suspicions had stopped at Ryōken, she would have been completely right.
  • Tsundere: Clearly deredere by default, she goes tsun on the guards big time once she realizes Orinaka has escaped. Even Edgeworth notes the abrupt change. Although it may be a hint to her serious side, it could just be dedication to her job.
  • Turns Red: She doesn't make much of an attempt to argue back during her testimony... until you REALLY push her, and she completley overturns Edgeworth's logic with just one sentence (see Wham! Line below)!
  • Wham! Line: It even uses a sprite animation you've never seen from her before.

Marie: There is a huge contradiction in your logic, Mr Edgeworth!


Bansai Ichiyanagi

Yumihiko's prosecutor father, and head of the Prosecution Investigation Committee. He used to be the Chief Prosecutor, and he was the one who delivered Manfred von Karma his only penalty, partly in order to disassociate himself from falsifying the autopsy record, even though he was actually the one who had Otome Itami create it. He also got involved with the group of conspirators who hired an assassin to kill the president of Zheng Fa and replaced him with an imposter. He is the one who killed the reporter in SS-5 and later, his girlfriend who confronted him about his illegal activities. His manner of dress resembles that of a WWI-era German airman. He has a tendency to play with his lighter.

  • Abusive Parent: Comes off as an emotionally abusive parent that constantly berates Yumihiko for his incompetence. Yumihiko isn't affected at first because he seems to be used to these types of comments, but eventually, it gets to the point where he deliberately breaks his son and everyone (even Franziska) is offended by his attitude toward him.
  • Amoral Attorney: Even more so than Manfred von Karma.
  • Badass Beard/Beard of Evil: If you remember from the first Ace Attorney Investigations game, Quercus Alba tugs on his beard when he sweats. Guess what Bansai does when he is sweating. Subverted in that it's actually a wig.
  • Bald of Evil: Revealed after he burns his wig away in his breakdown.
  • Bling of War: In addition to probably being the only prosecutor to actually wear his badge on his clothing (apart from his son), he has many other such pins on his jacket worn in the manner of military medals.
  • Did You Actually Believe?: Besides the notable scene where he reveals to his son that he manipulated all of his grades, he seems to enjoy tricking people in general, mainly to watch their reactions:

Bansai: This reminds me of the defendants who offered to make a deal with me. "Oh, you can trust me. Tell me everything, okay?" Then, on the day of the trial, when I requested a life sentence for them... Th-they were... so dumbfounded. All of them! ... Ha, ha ha ha...! Oh, I wanted everybody else to see... Their stupid looks!

  • Dirty Prosecutor: He holds secret auctions of evidence from past cases, and murdered a journalist and a defense attorney (who was the girlfriend of said journalist), when they were investigating him. He doesn't even deny it. The reason he holds Manfred von Karma in disdain? Not because he used forged evidence, but because he allowed himself to get caught using forged evidence!
  • The Dragon Although who he's Dragon to may not be immidately obvious. It's to the Bigger Bad rather than the Big Bad. In fact, Bansai himself would probably have been the Big Bad of Case 5 were it not for a certain someone.
  • Dramatic Unmask: He burns away his wig during his breakdown.
  • Goggles Do Nothing: He wears aviator's goggles which he occasionally has to empty of collected fluid.
  • I Have No Son: Even though his son followed in his footsteps.

YMMV. The closest he comes to rejecting Yumihiko is when he insults him out of the room with "you don't deserve to be my son, don't you agree?" and yet even after this line he keeps referring to Yumihiko as his son (and calling himself "father", too). Except where Bansai needs to have Yumihiko feel threatened so he will stop revealing the information that could lead to a guilty verdict for him, the two seem to get along really well—which makes it hard to believe that Bansai would ever have mistreated him before, as other tropes claim. Taking into account the constant notice Bansai takes of his son throughout as well as his last lines, where he blurts out that Yumihiko "should just remain an idiot-son" followed by a refusal to admit that he has grown independent of him, many interpret that he would actually be unwilling to give his son up, even if he certainly disregards the responsibilities of being a parent.

  • It's All About Me
  • Japanese Honourifics: Franziska calls him 'ojisama', though he notes she called him Oji-chama when she was a kid. He also asks people to call him Ban-chan occasionally, which is quite disturbing for a man of his age.
  • Japanese Pronouns: Despite his age, he refers to himself as "boku", which is usually used by young men. Combined with his playful manner of speech, it makes him sound disturbingly childish and cute.
  • Jerkass: He makes Miwa look tame and since he is the one behind the beginning of DL-6 (although someone else caused him to start the incident) and SS-5 (which most of it was because of him, especially the murder), you can't help but feel happy when you finally take him down.
  • The Man Behind the Man: To Manfred von Karma, albiet indirectly.
  • Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Bansai is an expression of celebration or cheering. Along with his surname, which can be read as Ichiryuu (meaning "first class"), it could translate as "forever number one" - a reference to his self-loving attitude.
  • Might Makes Right: He makes fun of Edgeworth's righteous ideals while nonchalantly informing him that, once you get to his position, "the truth" is something that can easily be created.
  • Older Than They Look: He's neither balding nor graying and has some impressive abs. He's sixty eight. His hair is actually fake though.
  • Parental Betrayal: He's only too quick to discard Sebastian once he becomes a liability.
  • Playing with Fire: Quite literally. And he has the burn scars to show for it, which REALLY comes back to bite him in the ass later.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He doesn't miss a chance to pour salt on others' wounds. A good example can be found in Case 5, when he believes Yumihiko's efforts were useless and proceeds to rub in how incompetent he's always been:

Bansai: You were calling yourself a genius, weren’t you? I told you the reason you were able to be a genius thus far this morning, didn’t I? Yes. It’s because I was there. Because you had my power.


Dai-Long Lang

The late father of Shi-Long Lang. He was the main investigator of the SS-5 incident. He realized that the president of Zheng Fa had been replaced and therefore he knew about the conspiracy. However, the evidence was manipulated by a corrupt prosecutor Bansai Ichiyanagi, who then blamed him and his investigators. The scandal tarnished the reputation of the House of Lang and caused Shi-Long Lang's grudge against prosecutors.

  1. ↑ Apart from Pearl.
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