Ace Attorney: Main Prosecutors / Characters

The main prosecutors of the Ace Attorney series. Prosecutors are servants of the legal system whose job is to make the case against the defendants and do their utmost to find them guilty. While they are not necessarily villains, they are the antagonists that the main characters must oppose to save the innocent and find the truth of the case.

This page lists the main prosecutors of the series. Other ones can be found here. For Barok van Zieks, primary prosecutor of The Great Ace Attorney duology, see here.

open/close all folders

Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi)

Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Tatsuro Iwamoto (OT, AAI), Eiji Takemoto (PLvAA, DD, SoJ, PXZ2), Masashi Tamaki (anime)

Voiced by (English): Seon King (OT, AAI), Kyle Hebert (DD, SoJ), Mark Healy (PLvAA), Christopher Wehkamp (anime), Apphia Yu (child - anime)

Played by: Takumi Saito (film), Roi Hayashi (child - film)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8562.png

^{Click here to see him in the original trilogy and in the Investigations duology}

^{Click here to see him as a rookie prosecutor}

"There is only one thing we seek: The truth. No matter how painful it may be."

Main prosecutor of the first game, with frequent reappearances in subsequent games. 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.

He then featured as a main character in the Spin-Off series called Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, taking place between the events of Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice. By the time of Dual Destinies, he has become Chief Prosecutor, with duties that generally keep him away from the prosecuting bench.

Adaptational Nice Guy: In the anime adaptation, he does not threaten to publicize Adrian's suicide attempt to force her to testify. He also manages to properly thank Maya after she gets held in contempt of court to save him from being convicted.
Angrish: Edgeworth is prone to making these noises whenever he's backed into a corner or getting whipped by Franziska. Nnnghooooooh!
Ambiguous Situation: While Edgeworth claims "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death" was merely a metaphorical way of declaring his Journey to Find Oneself, he also uses it as a euphemism for actual suicide when revealing Adrian Andrews' mental health records in court, hinting that he may have genuinely been on the Despair Event Horizon instead of merely Mistaken for Suicidal.
Ambiguously Gay: Miles shows no interest in women, but has a very intense relationship with Phoenix Wright which can easily be read as romantic. There are also many moments in the Investigations games which hint at him being attracted to men. He has an on-and-off flirtatious dynamic with Agent Lang, is teased about being jealous of a pair of two men by Kay, and assumes he is being hit on by a male flight attendant, who was actually flirting with the woman next to him. And then, there's the maroon suit jacket and cravat.
Anti-Hero: Post-Heel–Face Turn, he's absolutely relentless in his pursuit of the defendant and will not give the defending attorney an inch of slack — but it's all because he wants the truth and fears that letting the defense get away with unsupported claims or sloppy logic will allow the truth to escape.
Anti-Villain: Pre-Heel–Face Turn, he was only a ruthless prosecutor because Manfred von Karma had raised him that way.
Awesomeness by Analysis: His Logic system doesn't use anything technological or supernatural (unlike the Magatama, Perceive, or Mood Matrix systems), just plain old mental deduction and chess pieces made to look awesome. He was even able to successfully deduct four contradictions with one piece of evidence. In Justice for All, he manages to correctly guess what happened in Case 2-3 by just looking at the case files despite being overseas, and pulls off a Batman Gambit which relied on Phoenix realising where the murder weapon currently is and why the murderer had to bring it into court of all places.
Back for the Finale: He makes no appearance in Justice for All, Dual Destinies, and Spirit of Justice until the final case.
Badass Boast: "No one gets away with murder in my office. No one." Note that this is said while said murderer has a loaded gun to his back, and causes them to leave. The person he says this to isn't the murderer, but still. Plus, the gunman was an associate with Miles' father and was investigating the Big Bad.
Badass Longcoat: Wears one of these in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice.
Badass Normal: Of the four main/playable characters in the Ace Attorney series, Edgeworth is the only one without some kind of truth-finding aid: Phoenix has a lie-detecting artifact, Apollo has superhuman perception focused by his bracelet and Athena has enhanced hearing with an advanced emotion reading computer. He did borrow Phoenix's magatama once, but in his own games, his "power" is simply his power of reasoning, and in Gyakuten Kenji 2 he can "measure" a person's unwillingness to reveal secrets without any special abilities or external help.
Magical Lawyer Superpower #3: Basic Logic
Bash Brothers: With Phoenix. Edgeworth wants the guilty to be convicted; Phoenix wants the innocent to be acquitted. There's no contradiction here. If Phoenix can demonstrate that his client is innocent, Edgeworth will do all he can to help him make his case; and if the evidence points to another person as the guilty party, both of them will join forces and take that person down. Edgeworth is satisfied with this arrangement since he cares more about the truth than a "win," and eventually he starts thinking of Phoenix as his partner.
The Beautiful Elite: Being raised by the perfection-obsessed Manfred von Karma, everything about Edgeworth—his clothes, his job, his car, his office, his courtroom bearing—is tailored to signal he is Better Than You.
Berserk Button:
- He doesn't like being reminded that he was bad at origami as a child:
  Edgeworth: Be quiet already! I'll never forget the shame of that day! You want a crane! I can now make a perfect quarter-inch crane without a single flaw!
- Don't mock or especially rip off his beloved Steel Samurai. After finding out that Larry played the titular protagonist in a stage play, he probably would've beaten the crap out of him if he could've gotten away with it. The mere existence of The Plumed Punisher sends him into a frothing rage.
- Spirit of Justice shows that he gets pissed off when someone criticizes his decision to stay single, or when someone (e.g. Phoenix) talks about The Power of Love.
Big Brother Instinct: As understated as the rest of his emotions, but he definitely has a soft spot for young/teenage girls like Kay, Ema and Maya (in the latter case, except for when he was prosecuting her) and shows them a lot more consideration and patience than he does other characters.
Big Damn Heroes: In "Turnabout Revolution," he steps in with almost no foreshadowing to get Phoenix and co. over to Khura'in to save Maya, via privately-chartered jet (they couldn't have flown by commercial carrier since at least two of their number were wanted by the Khura'inese government).
Big Good: He was behind most of Dual Destinies, working in secret with Blackquill to expose and take down the phantom, and helping Phoenix get his badge back in the process. To a lesser extent, his high position allowed him to be a great help to Phoenix and Apollo in Spirit of Justice.
Big Little Brother: Invoked. As far as Franziska is concerned, Edgeworth is her little brother and junior in all things. The fact that he's got seven years and half a foot on her is entirely irrelevant.
Big "NO!":
- Played for Drama in "Rise from the Ashes," when he realized that the evidence he used to convict Darke had been forged. Preceded by a Little "No".
- Played for Laughs in case 3-5, when, after spending ages trying to break Larry's three Psyche-locks, five more appear in their place. Not only is it funny, it's also very understandable.
- Repeatedly in Investigations. ("Nnghooooooh!")
- Gives no less than three "Big Nnghoooohs" when a dog attacks his cravat in case 6-5.
Blatant Lies: In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, during his murder trial, Edgeworth angrily calls out Yanni Yogi from the defendant's stand for saying that cravat fluttered to "an extreme extent", when his cravat was fluttering at that very moment. Cue the entire courtroom doing a Face Fault.
Boring, but Practical: Unlike other playable characters who have supernatural aids to help them in investigations and trials, Edgeworth's "superpowers" consist simply of Logic, in which he makes deductions based on what he knows about the case, and Logic Chess, in which he probes the witness with questions to get more details out of them.
Break the Haughty: He goes through this over the course of the first game: first his perfect win-record is shattered, then he's framed for 2 murders and then he learns that the case that made his name as a prosecutor was based on forged evidence, making him as much of a cheater as Manfred von Karma was.
British Stuffiness: One can distinguish a British accent in some of his voice clips in the original trilogy ('Take That' being one of the easier ones), the 'stuffiness' being that Edgeworth is The Comically Serious. As of Dual Destinies, the British accent has been fully implemented for the voiced cutscenes.
Broken Bird: The DL-6 incident and von Karma's subsequent Evil Mentorship turned him from a bright-eyed truth-seeker to a ruthless Amoral Attorney who buried his conscience for the sake of a perfect conviction record.
Broken Pedestal:
- He respected his mentor, Manfred von Karma, and thought his tactics were tough but fair. Then he learned that von Karma had murdered his father Gregory Edgeworth.
- He lost his faith in defense attorneys after seeing one of them get an acquittal for the man who (as far as he knew) killed his father.
- Edgeworth himself was this for Phoenix, who admired him when they were both children. When he became the Demon Prosecutor, Phoenix couldn't understand why he would abandon his own ideals.
- In The Movie, his father becomes this, because of the location of the DL-6 incident (instead of taking place in the elevator, Gregory Edgeworth is caught removing evidence from the Evidence Room). Edgeworth believes that his father was trying to secure a win by destroying decisive evidence, and tells Phoenix he vowed to never be that kind of an attorney. At the end of the movie, he finds out that his father was checking to see if the evidence was forged (it was), and the pedestal was restored.
Brutal Honesty: Edgeworth does not believe in little white lies.
Phoenix: We don't have so much free time we can spend it coming down here to laugh at you.
Edgeworth: ... Yes, you do.
Phoenix: (Actually, he's right.)
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...
Celibate Hero: He is the only main character to show no romantic interest in anyone. In "Turnabout Time Traveler," he swears he'll never marry and defensively asks what is wrong with being single.
Character Catchphrase: Eureka! in Investigations (when making a Logical connection) and "Checkmate" in the sequel (after winning a bout of Logic Chess).
Character Development: By leaps and yards the biggest example in the series. To sum it up he goes from being fully willing to convict Phoenix for a crime he knew he didn't commit, to being one of Phoenix's closest and most reliable allies in the series.
Chess Motifs: Invoked as his way of dealing with uncooperative witnesses he wants info from in Gyakuten Kenji 2, with himself representing the chessplayer. He also uses red and blue chess pieces to visualize his relationship with Phoenix.
Chick Magnet: He has no trouble attracting female admirers, even though he's definitely not looking for them. 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?"
Classy Cravat: As von Karma's protege, he wears a fancy cravat to emphasize his tendency to remain formal at all times.
Closet Geek: Zigged-zagged. For the most part he makes little to no effort to hide that he's a fan of the Steel Samurai franchise, it's just that most people assume someone as uptight and serious as him couldn't possibly have an interest in such things, so Edgeworth effectively remains in the closet purely through everyone else's ignorance. Edgeworth implausibly denying his fandom comes up largely whenever it would be funny, such as when Gumshoe asked him if he was a fan in Investigations and in the (non-canon) "Apollo Justice: Asinine Attorney" DLC case after Spirit of Justice.
The Comically Serious: He does his damnedest 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, while his seriousness in Case 4 of Investigations, which takes place early in his career, causes Calisto Yew to burst into laughter multiple times. To wit, one of the funniest moments of Spirit of Justice involves Sha'do and his cravat — the dog growls at him, they have an (offscreen) altercation, and the next we see Edgey he is wearing Sha'do, whose teeth are now locked in his neckwear, with his trademark stony expression.
Compliment Backfire: Edgeworth's cameo appearance in the secret episodes of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney reveals that he hates being called a "Prodigy Prosecutor," because he doesn't like living under those expectations and sees it as cheapening all the hard work he had to put into his career.
Confirmed Bachelor: As stated in the DLC episode "Turnabout Time Traveler," of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, he has no interest in ever getting married. (Although given the nature of the games being originally set in Japan, this could still play into Ambiguously Gay, since gay marriage is not legal there).
Cool Car: Drives a flashy red sports car, an Alfa Romeo GTA to be specific.
Cowboy Cop: A central conflict in Investigations 2 is that the P.I.C perceives Edgeworth as this due to his methods of running off the rails of Jurisdiction Friction in his pursuit of the truth, one of which ended up technically violating Extraterritorial Rights involving boarding the president of Zheng Fa's plane to investigate a murder (under duress) and the next case involving posing as the assistant of the suspect's defense attorney, along with getting deliberately leaked information from Gumshoe. All this results in the P.I.C trying to take his badge.
Crazy-Prepared: When a young Kay uses his Classy Cravat as a tissue, he pulls a clean one out of his pocket and replaces it.
Crusading Lawyer: As a prosecutor, he wants the trials to convict the actual culprits rather than winning for its own sake. After the cases in Ace Attorney Investigations 2, he decides to remain a prosecutor so he can make people trust the legal system again.
Dartboard of Hate: Too sophisticated for darts, he has a chessboard of hate in his office, arranged so that a slew of red knights with sharp-edged swords are surrounding a spiky-headed blue pawn.
A Day in the Limelight: He's playable in the first half of 3-5 and in the Investigations games.
Deadpan Snarker: He has a dry wit and deploys it frequently, though sometimes it's just in his inner monologue.
Decomposite Character: In The Great Ace Attorney duology, both Kazuma Asogi and Barok van Zieks are similar to him. It helps that Kazuma is van Zieks's assistant in Resolve, and undergoes the "Demon Prosecutor" parallel when he prosecutes van Ziek's own trial without mercy.
Defeat Equals Friendship: A lawyerly variation. To befriend him, Phoenix has to force Edgeworth to unlearn Manfred von Karma's training, and the first step to doing that is proving that defendants weren't always guilty by defeating him in court.
Defrosting Ice King: He warms up to other people over the course of the games, especially after learning about the truth behind his father's death, and Phoenix saving him from being wrongly accused of murder.
The Determinator: After Character Development, he wants the truth as ardently as he wanted a perfect record: he'll go to amazing lengths to find it, and he won't back down from someone trying to conceal it, no matter who they are. At the same time, he's got to do it all legally for fear of slipping back into his Amoral Attorney ways or destroying public faith in the courts. (Note, however, that when the truth and the law are in irreconcilable conflict, truth wins).
Deuteragonist: To Phoenix in Rise From the Ashes and the second game. He could also be considered this of the overall series having two spin offs and appearing in 5 out of the 6 mainline games.
Disc-One Final Boss: He's the last prosecutor you face in Justice for All and Dual Destinies. However, both cases involve a hostage situation and he does what he can to help you from within the limits of his role. In Dual Destinies, he steps aside after the situation is resolved, and allows Blackquill to take over as prosecutor for the final confrontation with the Big Bad (who is Blackquill's Arch-Enemy).
Does Not Know How to Say "Thanks": Initially. When Maya takes a contempt of court charge to save him, and Phoenix acquits him of two murders in a single day, he is clearly grateful to both of them but has trouble getting the words out (he did post Maya's bail, though). After Character Development sets in, he gets over it; by Investigations he is able to say "thank you" to Wendy Oldbag with perfect grace and sincerity (albeit only after he realizes she has given him the crucial, game-winning piece of evidence).
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He really doesn't like anyone to see him in his lowest moments. Lampshaded by Phoenix in the third game, who remarks (after Edgeworth has been spooked by an earthquake and made a critical mistake as a result), "I was ready to hug it out with him, but he's just the same, prideful Edgeworth."
Dub Name Change: In the French translation, his name is changed to Benjamin Hunter.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: At times when he's playable. In Investigations 2, he quickly goes from being a hero for his actions in Investigations to being at risk of losing his badge.
Enemy Mine: In nearly every case against Phoenix, he is more ally than enemy (and they're friends outside of court). But he still won't help the defense until he's convinced that Phoenix has the truth on his side.
Entertainment Below Their Age: He's a grown man who's a massive fan of The Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo, a tokusatsu show aimed at a Shōnen Demographic, even displaying a figurine of the show's titular hero on the windowsill of his office, despite not caring at all about the person who gave him said figurine. In Spirit of Justice, he's not pleased to find out that the Kingdom of Khura'in has another tokusatsu show that's a blatant knockoff of The Steel Samurai.
Everyone Knew Already: In the first Investigations game, Edgeworth openly declares himself to be a Steel Samurai fan. Nobody reacts in any way, not even the people performing the Steel Samurai play or the people that know him personally.
Everyone Has Standards: He had several moments before his official Heel–Face Turn that showed he wasn't irredeemable.
- He raised an objection to Dee Vasquez's testimony in 1-3, even though it had put Phoenix's case on the rocks, because at that point it was clear she was probably the real killer.
- In Investigations Case 4 he immediately sympathized with Kay Faraday, since her father had died in the courthouse just as his had, and both he and Franziska tried to comfort her when she broke down and cried.
- He demanded that the trial in 3-4 (his first trial, no less) be stopped immediately when Terry Fawles poisoned himself on the stand.
- And more generally, he refused to cross the line of (knowingly) using falsified evidence. This soured his relationship with his deceased father in the live-action movie, because he mistakenly believed that Gregory was looking for court evidence to destroy it. He is relieved to learn that Gregory was actually checking it to see if it was forged.
Evil Counterpart: Was deliberately and unknowingly on his part raised into this by von Karma, as to his own father as part of the latter's revenge. He decides to completely reverse this as a prosecutor.
Face of a Thug: Many, many characters like to point out to Edgeworth that he has a cold, menacing face, with Gumshoe saying it could even hospitalize someone. Given that he's an honest person, Edgeworth is naturally taken aback by these claims, wondering if his face actually is that scary.
Fainting: Due to his seismophobia, he can panic severely enough to lose consciousness during an earthquake. In "Turnabout Airlines," he begins the case on the floor after passing out in a rough patch of turbulence.
Fan Boy:
- His love of the Steel Samurai franchise is a Running Gag. He even keeps a figurine of the title character in his office, despite having absolutely no love for the person who gave it to him (his Abhorrent Admirer, Wendy Oldbag).
  Kay: Who doesn't love giant monsters?!
  Edgeworth: ...I'm not sure I see the appeal.
  Kay: Well, I'm not sure I see the appeal of the Steel Samurai!
  Edgeworth: !!!
- In the manga, he's a fan of the Sparklestar show.
Fandom Rivalry: In-Universe example. In Spirit of Justice, he expresses a vehement dislike of The Plumed Punisher which is... heavily based on The Steel Samurai.
Fighting Your Friend: Edgeworth and Franziska are the primary antagonists of the first two games, both trained by her father, and prosecutors. It doesn't stop them from having a Boss Battle (in which you control Edgeworth) that is nothing short of epic.
Finger Wag: In his earlier days, which is a tendency he picked up from Von Karma. He 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" smirk on his face).
Flat-Earth Atheist: In 3-5 he claims not to believe in spiritual power, despite using the magatama and acting on what it shows him. Justified, as he seems to be locked into a belief that spirit mediums are frauds due to the trauma of the DL-6 incident, when Misty Fey named the wrong person as the murderer of his father, Gregory Edgeworth.
Foil:
- To his mentor, Manfred von Karma. Von Karma is a Cold Ham with a blue color scheme, who tried to maintain a perfect record at any cost, cared nothing for the truth, and forged evidence to help him win in court. Edgeworth, post-character development, is a stoic prosecutor with a red color scheme who prizes the truth above all else, and actively cooperates with the defense if he believes the defendant is innocent.
- Also to Phoenix. Phoenix is hot-headed, bombastic, conceals a surprisingly-sharp mind behind a hapless exterior, and wears a blue suit. Edgeworth is usually cool and collected, becomes flustered and awkward when he's pressed too hard, and wears a red suit.
Freudian Excuse: Edgeworth became the Demon Prosecutor because von Karma redirected his grief over his father's death into hatred for criminals, defense attorneys, and their clients. His hatred of defense attorneys in particular was expanded on in the live-action movie; he mistakenly believed that his deceased father and former defense attorney, Gregory Edgeworth, had gone to inspect court evidence to destroy it, when he was actually checking if it was forged. Fortunately, the fans loved him, so his Excuse was upgraded into Character Development in the second and third games.
Friendly Enemy: While he and Phoenix are once again friends after Edgeworth's Character Development, he doesn't hold back when they meet in court. Part of it is professionalism and part of it is that his jerk side comes out when he's under stress, but it's also suggested that he gives Phoenix a rough time because he knows he can handle it. However, he is willing to cooperate with Phoenix to find the actual culprit in their cases.
Friend to All Children: A humanising trait of his before his redemption. He's shown to be civil and polite with people like Kay Faraday and Cody Hackins, dropping his cold exterior to be more gentle with them when pressing them for information.
Gentleman and a Scholar: By Dual Destines, he's matured into a man who is very well educated but also socially skilled.
Gentleman Snarker: He's as relentless with his words as he is in his prosecution.
Germanic Depressives: Not German by birth but lived most of his youth in Germany, and always maintains a dead serious attitude.
Germanic Efficiency: Studied law abroad in Germany, and is diligent, organized and thorough when doing his job.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Sometimes points and wags his finger.
The Glasses Come Off: As seen in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, he removes his glasses when prosecuting a case. Dual Destinies even showed him taking them off as part of the pre-trial cutscene where Phoenix and Edgeworth prepare for battle.
Good Is Not Nice: Edgeworth goes into court to reveal the truth, no matter who's hiding it or how sympathetic their motives might be. At times even Phoenix and the Judge have begged him to back off for fear of the pain he'll cause, but he goes forward anyway because running from the truth never helped anyone.
Grammar Nazi: In Justice For All, Edgeworth gives Phoenix a lecture on sentence construction and suggests that what he meant by "confess" is better termed "public disclosure."^note He also spends a lot of time correcting the hapless Sebastian Debeste in Investigations 2 when he mangles a phrase.
Hair Color Dissonance: In game, his hair is a muted slate grey, but in official art it's been black, dark brown, or even silver. Its true color is yet undetermined, though Spirit of Justice seems to confirm that it's not black.
Heel–Face Turn: From a ruthless, bitter rival obsessed with getting a guilty verdict to an honest prosecutor who truly cares about the truth. He's all about the truth from Justice For All onward, and the games make sure we know it.
Hello, Attorney!: He's one of two attorneys with the misfortune of being hit on in the middle of court proceedings, the other being Mia Fey.
Heroism Motive Speech:
- In Investigations 2, when Courtney 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.
- He, Phoenix and the judge share one about the true nature of the relationship between prosecutor, attorney and judge in court in Case 5 of Dual Destinies.
He's Back!: In the first game, he experiences some situations that shake him to his core and make him question what he believed in, so much that he goes on a leave-of-absence not long after. He returns in the second game's final case with newfound resolve, having realized what it truly means to be a prosecutor. The theme song that accompanies his return is actually called "Triumphant Return", and has been his Leitmotif ever since.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: In Investigations and its sequel, he resorts to this to bypass Jurisdiction Friction and continue investigating, becoming a 'subordinate' to Franziska (Interpol) and an 'assistant' to Raymond Shields (defense firm), despite doing all the real work.
Hypocrite: During his younger years, he denies the possibility of Dahlia being the murderer of Valerie Hawthorne because they're stepsisters. Years later, he's willing to accuse Maya of killing Mia.
I Am Not Pretty: Oddly for someone dressed like a total dandy, he's genuinely baffled by the female attention he draws—on the off chance he notices it at all, that is.
Gumshoe: It's amazin' you don't realize yourself what ya got.
Icy Gray Eyes: Fit his cold intelligence and determination beautifully. He got them from his father.
Informed Attractiveness: In-universe, he's considered far more attractive than Phoenix or Apollo, even though there's not much difference in their official art. Presumably he attracts attention more with his wardrobe and general way of carrying himself.
The Insomniac: In the first trilogy he constantly looks tired. It's implied that he doesn't sleep well because of a particular recurring nightmare that is finally banished in the first game.
Internal Reformist: He's Chief Prosecutor by the time of Dual Destinies and working to clean up his department after Blackquill's (his subordinate) arrest and conviction brought on the "Dark Age of the Law". After Blackquill is acquitted, he vows to investigate every prosecutor under his fold for illegal actions behind the scenes and add additional scrutiny to make sure that the accused really are guilty before they are convicted. By Spirit of Justice, he's given so many prosecutors the boot that they're short staffed and have to rely on transfers from other districts.
I Owe You My Life: Agrees to help Kay find her father's killer in Investigations because she saved his life at the end of the fourth case and helped him overcome a critical obstacle in the third case. He also seems to have this attitude toward Phoenix (and Maya) after they helped him in the first game.
Ironic Echo: He throws Justine's "Overruled!" catchphrase back in her face when objecting to her decision that Gustavia is not guilty of Dover's murder by virtue of the statute of limitations.
I Shall Taunt You:
- He can do this during the Logic Chess segments. However, doing so is a bad idea, as it gets the interrogatee worked up and less likely to reveal critical information.
- He and Phoenix engage in this in Dual Destinies in court, making them sound like schoolchildren or Like an Old Married Couple. It's only for laughs and has no bearing on the trial.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a good man under the prickly exterior. After Phoenix gets him acquitted of murder, he becomes genuinely concerned with uncovering the truth over winning, although he is not above mocking the defense attorneys.
Karma Houdini Warranty: As a corrupt prosecutor he was a model citizen; as a man trying to reform, he's a target. After he starts questioning his ways, he ends up being framed for murder and forced to confront the fact that one of his most noticeable victories in court came because of forged evidence. Justified in that the Prosecutor's Office is a crooked institution that rewards Guilty verdicts even when they're not deserved; eventually he realizes he's got to fix it himself.
Kick the Dog:
- His indifference toward Adrian Andrews' suicide attempt in Justice for All is this both in-universe and out.
- His appearance in the DLC case for Spirit of Justice perhaps has his nastiest moment in the series yet, where he mocks Ellen, a bride defendant, right after her groom testifies that she's the killer. Phoenix, Maya and even the Judge make sure to call him out for this one.
Kleptomaniac Hero: Averted in Investigations, where he only takes notes in his Organizer unless the actual piece of evidence is given to him or otherwise clearly his to take.
Kubrick Stare: His 'serious/focused' expression is a death glare with his head slightly lowered. It's been trained into him to the point where he doesn't even realize he's doing it.
Laser-Guided Karma: In the first game, his philosophy is that it's not wrong to go for a conviction, even when the defendant probably didn't do it, because everyone's guilty of something. Then he gets framed for murder and is prosecuted by the very man who taught him that philosophy. Moreover, no defense attorney will take his case after what he did to their clients as the "Demon Prosecutor". Had it not been for Phoenix, his goose would've been cooked.
Late-Arrival Spoiler: Now that he's the protagonist of Investigations, there's no real drama in his character arc in the first trilogy (which suggested he'd end up irredeemably evil or dead if Phoenix failed).
Leitmotif:
- From the second game onward, he and Franziska both use "Triumphant Return" (each with their own instrumental mix). In Investigations, he also gets his own version of "Objection!", which draws from "Triumphant Return".
- "Reminiscences - The DL-6 Incident" is the theme of his sadder moments, particularly the death of his father.
Like Brother and Sister: He and Franziska are siblings in all but blood, with the expected rivalries and petty quarrels that come with it that doesn't change how much they care about each other.
Living Legend: A prosecutor with an unbroken record of successful convictions for five years straight from the years of 2012 to 2016, inclusive. Unfortunately this also comes amidst a litany of accusations that he used underhanded and duplicitous tactics to secure those victories, earning him the moniker of a "demon" behind the prosecutor's bench. Later in his career he sheds this impression and leverages his actual prosecutorial skill into becoming the Chief Prosecutor of the district, giving merit and title to his perceived talents.
Mean Boss: At least during his Demon Prosecutor days, if not after his Character Development: using luminol in his office in 1-5 (something you have no real reason to do) reveals blood spots on the carpet in front of his desk. Phoenix speculates that they came from him slapping Gumshoe.
Meaningful Name: "Edgeworth" and "Mitsurugi" ("honorable/Emperor's blade") are both references to his sharp wit and his role as a prosecutor. "Miles" means "soldier" (or "servant," which was his treatment under Von Karma) and "Reiji" means "clever samurai".
Medal of Dishonor: In Case 1-5, he treats the "King of Prosecutors" Award as this, going so far as to call it a "toy" meant to mock his stint as the Demon Prosecutor (which he's since come to resent after his acquittal in the previous case). It's unceremoniously dropped on his office's couch the day he was awarded it, but later puts it on his windowsill.
Mundane Made Awesome: In the Investigation games, his Logic and Logic Chess segments are presented in a manner similar to Phoenix's lie-detecting Magatama, Apollo's visual hyper-sensitivity with the Perceive system, and Athena's emotion-reading Mood Matrix, yet all he's really doing are drawing conclusions with known facts and asking questions to gather more information out of witnesses, respectively — two things that mentally able humans don't need superpowers to do.
Nerves of Steel: In the very first case of Investigations, Edgeworth had entered his office (which, to his surprise, was unlocked) when he was threatened by an unknown gunman. Anyone would be understandably terrified, but what does Edgeworth do? He refuses to cow, and makes it clear to his mysterious would-be assailant that he will not permit any act of murder in a prosecutor's office. It actually makes the gunman back down and flee.
No Social Skills: More pronounced early on. His courtroom etiquette was impeccable, of course, but he had severe trouble with regular interactions with people outside of his job, whether it's a simple thank-you or holding casual conversations.
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. Word of God states he's not really interested in women. The jury (pun intended) is still out on whether that makes it Word of Gay.
Nothing Personal: When facing off against Phoenix in Case 5-5, he makes it clear to him that he doesn't hold anything personal against him for indicting Athena on a murder charge, as he's mostly concerned with uncovering the truth.
Not Love Interest: To Phoenix. An old childhood friend with a troubled past, his frosty demeanor melted by the Power of Trust...
Not So Above It All: Edgeworth treasures his composure and ability to react stoically even to the most ridiculous happenings of the world he inhabits. But sometimes, often Once per Episode, the mask slips, and he proves just as hilariously petty and over-the-top in his own classy way as the rest of the cast, whether it's angrily breaking down into glaring at whichever opponent has managed to get under his skin or comically overreacting to what should be relatively minor problems. And that's before getting into his probable status as a Closet Geek.
Obliviously Evil: He was this before Manfred von Karma prosecuted him because Manfred, as Miles's mentor, taught him that prosecutors must do everything possible to get guilty verdicts, turning him into an Amoral Attorney, and he thought that he was being a good citizen when he was not. When Phoenix's first win against him introduces him to the idea that defendants might actually be innocent, he nearly has a mental breakdown. When he realizes during Rise from the Ashes that at least one of his victories was illegitimate and that the police were willing to deceive him with forged evidence, he actually does have a breakdown and runs away to Europe for a year.
Oblivious to Love: In Investigations, Rhoda Teneiro is implied to develop a crush on him, and Lauren Paups falls head over heels for him. He's none the wiser. He's only too aware of Wendy Oldbag's affections, however.
Oh, Crap!: Impressively, one can pinpoint exactly where in the series Edgeworth begins his Heel–Face Turn - Case 1-3, specifically when he begins to freak out on realizing Dee Vasquez is the actual killer. Immediately after this, he begins to drag out the trial to give Phoenix the chance to prove it.
Older and Wiser: Edgeworth is 34 years old by Dual Destinies and while it has been a while since he stood in court (he was promoted to Chief Prosecutor), Edgeworth returns to face Phoenix for one more trial while showing he's wised up.
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 Magatama and Psyche-Locks, Apollo has the Perceive system, and Athena has the Mood Matrix. In 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. It's like magic!
...Or So I Heard: Edgeworth's reaction whenever Franziska or Gumshoe become suspicious of his knowledge of the Steel Samurai in Investigations.
Outranking Your Job: A chief prosecutor doesn't usually take care of trials, instead having more administrative or investigation focused duties. Despite this, he prosecuted the trials of Turnabout for Tomorrow and Turnabout Time Traveler, which took place after he became chief prosecutor. Both examples are Justified: In the former, Aura started a hostage crisis and directly told Edgeworth to take the case, so he had to comply to ensure the safety of the hostages, while in the latter, the Sprocket family tried to use their clout to put pressure on the Prosecutor's Office, so none of the other prosecutors were willing to get involved.
Parental Substitute: Often acts like this to Kay Faraday, which is taken further in Invetigations 2 where he flips out at Blaise Debeste for planning to frame her for murder, and hands back her Promise Notebook from her deceased father in a similar fashion to when she first recieved it from him, which is enough to bring her memories back.
Patricide: Averted, but for fifteen years he believed that he was the killer in the DL-6 Incident, in which his father was the victim.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Part of why von Karma had such an epic breakdown in court after trying his damn hardest to convict his own apprentice of murder, was that Edgeworth recognized the man's "demonic" screaming and publicly outed him as Gregory Edgeworth's true murderer. The result was von Karma loudly cursing Miles and Edgeworth for ruining him.
The Penance: He became a prosecutor as retaliation against criminals like the one who killed his father. This included himself.
Edgeworth: For the longest time, I thought that I might have killed my own father. I thought I might be a criminal. I became a prosecutor in part to punish myself.
Perpetual Frowner: A frown is his default expression, to the point where Phoenix and a few others start teasing him about how deep the lines on his forehead are becoming. He smirks quite often but very rarely shows a true smile.
Persecuting Prosecutor: As the "Demon Prosecutor," he pulled a lot of underhanded tricks to get a conviction. After Character Development, he seeks to find the truth of the case in any legal way he can, albeit not always nicely.
Pet the Dog:
- In Case 1-4, Maya deliberately performs contempt of court in order to get Lotta Hart to testify about the clarity of her photograph, leading to her arrest for that, but saved Edgeworth from a Guilty verdict. He (according to Gumshoe) was so moved by this that he posted her bail.
- Case 4 of Investigations takes place long before his Heel–Face Turn, and features him showing empathy toward Kay and helping to defend the innocent Gumshoe. It seems as though he Took a Level in Jerkass between that case and his real first case (3-4), and he's gone through a few more levels of Jerkass by case 1-2.
- In 3-4, which takes place several years before his Heel–Face Turn due to its status as both his and Mia's first case, he immediately demands that someone call an ambulance when the defendant poisons himself on the stand.
- In the Investigations series, a Running Gag is that if someone he's working with gets their clothes dirty, he offers to cover their cleaning bill.
- In I2-1, if he inspects the Samurai Dogs stand, he offers to buy Gumshoe a box of them after the case is over.
Politically Incorrect Villain: During his tenure as a rookie prosecutor under von Karma's tutelage, Edgeworth had no qualms with calling Mia a bimbo directly to her face.
Pretty Boy: He's considered very attractive by in-game characters and fans alike. He even benefited from Progressively Prettier once he became a sympathetic character — in the original trilogy he looks permanently tired, but he doesn't have the same shadows under his eyes in later games.
Pride:
- It kills him on the inside to have to get his rival Phoenix to defend him in court, and his pride nearly prevents Phoenix from taking the case at all. (Moreover, he believed Phoenix wouldn't win because Manfred von Karma took the case.) He mostly gets over it, but never entirely. It seems he has that particularly self-effacing form of pride found in those who are "gifted" or told from a young age they possess natural talents, where he places all of his value as a person on his successes and his talents, and so takes failure very, very hard, often treating it as a combination of letting others down and a frightening sign his "gifts" are disappearing. It can cause him to lash out at others about as likely as it can cause him to lapse into self-loathing.
- By Dual Destinies he's more mature about his pride: getting "offended" at something so petty as Phoenix insulting his sense of aesthetics but graciously stepping aside for Blackquill in the final battle because it was Blackquill's fight to win or lose.
Princely Young Man: He's treated and presents himself more like aristocracy than a public prosecutor.
Privileged Rival: Word of God says that Edgeworth didn't really gel as a character until they decided to make him rich. In all of the Phoenix-centered games (especially the first one), Edgeworth holds a significant advantage over him, and losing cases despite apparently holding all the cards is what shakes him into rethinking his strategy. In the Investigations games, where Edgeworth is playable, he loses his privilege early by being put up against someone better connected than him (Interpol in the first, the P.I.C. in the second).
Progressively Prettier: He was actually drawn to have very pointy features and rather smug expressions in the first game, and his Bishōnen looks were more of a matter of Self-Fanservice. By the second game, however, all new artwork of him was cleaned up to make him very good looking.
Promoted to Playable: After appearing in the first two games as an opposing prosecutor, Edgeworth becomes playable during the first part of the final case of Trials and Tribulations, and then becomes the playable character in his own Spin-Off.
Properly Paranoid: His early dislike of defense attorneys wasn't entirely irrational, given that some of them were proven to be just as corrupt as any prosecutor. The games make it clear that the Dark Age of the Law meant both sides of the courtroom would do whatever it took to get their verdict.
Psychological Projection: Part of the reason he's so fervent about believing in defendents' guilt before Phoenix beats sense into him is because he believes that anyone who pleads their innocence is just as innocent is he is... and he thinks that he is a Karma Houdini for the DL-6 incident.
The Purge: Following the events of Dual Destinies into Spirit of Justice, he used his Chief position to clean out the Prosecutor's Office of corrupt prosecutors, including Gaspen Payne. However, this led to an understaffing which caused him to take some cases by himself.
Rank Up: He was promoted to the position of Chief Prosecutor before the events of Dual Destinies.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives Sebastian a brief one late in "The Inherited Turnabout," saying that if he's obsessed with winning and losing, he has no business being a prosecutor.
Reasonable Authority Figure: As the Chief Prosecutor. He allows Blackquill to prosecute because he fully believes he is innocent. Also, once the immediate crisis has been resolved, he reviews everyone in the Prosecutor's Office and fires the corrupt members.
Red Baron: "Demon Prosecutor". It's never mentioned after his Heel–Face Turn.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The calmer, snarkier Blue to Phoenix's more naive, emotional Red, even if their suit colors are switched.
Reformed, but Not Tamed: Absolutely stone-cold ruthless in the courtroom, no matter who's in the defendant's chair or what they're accused of doing... but it's all to find the truth.
Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: After leaving for self-reflection and left behind a suicide note, a majority of the cast believe that he's really dead, until his return.
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:
- His not-so-secret Steel Samurai fandom.
- His difficulty in getting witnesses to give a straight answer to "What is your name and occupation?".
- His tendency to get names or technical terms slightly wrong (e.g. "Psycholocks" for Psyche-Locks) if he hasn't made a special effort to remember them.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Mainly in Investigations, where he has to confront criminals who are either protected from the law or using the law to conceal their crimes.
Seen It All: By the time Dual Destinies rolls around, he barely reacts to Phoenix's weird outbursts and Unconventional Courtroom Tactics.
Serious Business: Finding out that Larry is the one in the Steel Samurai costume in the fifth case of Investigations really sets off the angry fanboy within him.
Edgeworth: (while presenting the Steel Samurai autograph to Larry) Larry. I have one question for you, and depending on how you answer, I may let you live.
Shoot the Dog: In 2-4, faced with an uncooperative Adrian Andrews, Edgeworth threatens to reveal her codependent nature to the public in order to arrive at the same conclusion her cooperation would lead him to. When Adrian makes it clear that this would destroy her life in the same way Celeste's death almost did, Edgeworth doesn't budge, and is about to go through with his threat until she gives in.
Shout-Out: In Investigations, Edgeworth begins to show a lot of similarities to a certain great detective. He even has Gumshoe as The Watson.
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: In the main Ace Attorney series, he doesn't go into court "believing" that anyone is innocent: that's a defense attorney's job. His more cynical outlook seems to work best when balancing out Phoenix's idealism by pushing them both to go above and beyond when presenting their arguments and steering the trial towards the truth. After all, Phoenix was wrong once... He does note this as one of the things he has to take into mind while taking Nick's role as a defense attorney in 3-5. In his internal monologue, Edgeworth states that if he is to take the role of the defense, then he had to be in the proper mindset, and mimicking Phoenix's belief that his clients are truly innocent no matter what was the best way to do so.
Slobs vs. Snobs: While their monetary positions don't factor into the story, Miles is shown to be very well off shown by his office being practically a one-room mansion and drives a sports car, while Phoenix can barely pay his own rent to keep his basic office open.
Smart Jerk and Nice Moron: As an intelligent but cold prosecutor, he's the Smart Jerk to Gumshoe's Nice Moron.
Smart People Play Chess: He has a chessboard in his office and even plays it in his head.
Stock Shōnen Rival: In the first game. Ticks all the boxes (a privileged, gifted prosecutor with an unbeaten streak that is haunted by accusations of manipulation and forgery runs across a fresh-faced and novice defense attorney with nothing but raw determination who thoroughly cleans his clock in court and forces him to rethink his life). Possibly an enforced example as he was once a happy child with aspirations of being a defense attorney until his father was murdered and his father's murderer takes him under his wing as part of a twisted revenge scheme to turn him into everything his father was not. After being humbled by Phoenix Wright on two occasions followed by being wrongfully accused as part of said revenge plot and learning his mentor was really an unscrupulous Jerkass, he gains a lot of Character Development that takes him out of this mold.
Stoic Spectacles: From Dual Destinies onward, for the additional deskwork his promotion to Chief Prosecutor entails.
Straight Man: In 3-5, as the Flat-Earth Atheist in a case heavily revolving around spirit channeling. He's this especially in Investigations, where he plays the serious, strait-laced protagonist for the zany supporting cast to bounce off of.
Straw Vulcan: In the first game, he accuses Phoenix of unearthing long-buried "unnecessary feelings" that only get in the way of his job. Ironically, he actually becomes more logical after Heel–Face Turn, since one of those feelings—uncertainty—helped him break out of the Theory Tunnel Vision that often led him to ignore or dismiss exculpatory evidence.
Stronger Than They Look: Edgeworth in Spirit of Justice is apparently strong enough that he barely registers when a suitcase he's carrying contains 100 more pounds of teenage girl in it than it normally has. Trucy takes advantage of it to smuggle herself onto international flights, much to Phoenix's frustration.
Edgeworth: I'm afraid Trucy employed the old "Let's Stow Away in Mr. Edgeworth's Suitcase" trick again.
Phoenix: Tell me you at least noticed it was heavier than usual...
Strong Family Resemblance: Cut off Edgeworth's fringe and give him a trench coat and fedora, and you got a younger version of his deceased father, Gregory, especially once Miles starts wearing glasses. Manfred certainly noticed, and for that purpose, he molded the young Edgeworth into becoming the Demon Prosecutor so he could spit in the face of everything his rival stood for in revenge for humiliating him once. And when history repeats itself once again, Manfred starts screaming and cursing both Miles and Gregory for bringing about his downfall. Truly spectacular.
Surrounded by Idiots: Well, he's constantly accompanied by Gumshoe in any case.
Tall, Dark, and Snarky: His hair is lighter than the usual, but boy is he tall and snarky.
Take a Third Option: In Investigations 2, he's conflicted over whether he should fight crime as a prosecutor or save people as a defense attorney. In the ending, he decides to save people as a prosecutor by using his position to reform the legal system, which explains why he became the Chief Prosecutor.
That Man Is Dead: He announces his Journey to Find Oneself with little more than a cryptic note reading, "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death." Phoenix did not take this well.
That Was Objectionable: Trope Namer, from "Turnabout Sisters." He also objects just to stall a couple of times in "Turnabout Samurai", at one point actually coming up with a valid objection afterwards.
Edgeworth: Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!
Theory Tunnel Vision: His original approach to cases was to assume that the defendant is guilty—not guilty until proven innocent, but guilty period. Any evidence to the contrary was either coincidental or a deception on the part of the defendant, no matter how much mental gymnastics were required to explain it away. Notably, one can see where this line of thinking collapses - in 1-3, he has a breakdown when he realizes who the real murderer is, followed by him actively helping Phoenix catch the real killer for the first time in the series.
Thinking Tic: Edgeworth crosses his arms and taps his pointer finger on his bicep in his thinking animation.
Think Nothing of It: He has gone out of his way many times to uncover the truth, often at a loss to his personal record, but he generally brushes off attempts to thank him with "I was just doing my job."
This Is Gonna Suck: He has many instances of this, usually in a situation that involves dealing with Oldbag or Larry. Two notable instances of it are in "The Kidnapped Turnabout" where he meets Oldbag after he had already lost investigative authority in the case he was working on up to that point...and in "Turnabout Timetraveler" when Phoenix calls Larry to the witness stand.
To Be Lawful or Good: His Character Development could be summarized as a series of swings between these two poles. He's both lawful and good, but he's trying to find the right balance. Generally speaking, he goes more Good when alone but more Lawful when Phoenix is there to counterbalance him. The last case in AAI specifically focuses on this: when confronted with the need to use illegal evidence to take out the Big Bad, he concludes "The law must serve the truth" and does so.
Too Dumb to Live:
- In "Turnabout Goodbyes," he picks up a murder weapon with an ungloved hand, getting fingerprints on it. If he'd picked it up with the same hand that the shooter used to fire at him, Phoenix couldn't possibly have saved him from being convicted for Hammond's murder.
- In I-3, the kidnappers he's dropping a ransom for ask if he's a police officer. Edgeworth replies that no, he's a prosecutor—someone who is higher on the law enforcement chain. Unsurprisingly, he gets clonked on the head and tied up. (The way he answers, with a long pause in the sentence "I'm a........ prosecutor," may indicate that he realized this as he was saying it but couldn't stop himself anyway.)
Took a Level in Jerkass:
- Between his elementary school days and his first appearance in 1-2 due to growing up under von Karma's tutelage, which serves as a Broken Pedestal for Phoenix.
- In Turnabout Time Traveler, he's meaner and snarkier than most of his recent appearances, mocks Phoenix more than usual and is rather harsh with Ellen. It's implied that it's due to the stress of the prosecutor's office being short on prosecutors, and as a result, none of his remaining subordinates can or will take on the Sprocket case (possibly due to the Sprockets threatening to use their influence to see that the case never reaches court, although Pierce claims they only wanted a "consultation" with the Prosecutors' Office and gave up when Edgeworth refused), meaning he has to do it himself. He may just have been taking it out on Phoenix and Maya, though, and there's clearly still some affection there (for example, he'll want to be invited to a welcome-back party for Maya if it's off-the-clock, and his infamous banter with Phoenix is back in full force).
Tragic Keepsake: Implied Trope. Many games make a point of mentioning the jacket Edgeworth has framed and hanged on the wall of his office as the one he wore on his debut trial, including Edgeworth himself. The tragic part comes into play when one remembers said trial was the very tragic 3-4, although Edgeworth himself doesn't bring it up.
Trauma Button:
- Earthquakes or anything that feels like one (such as airplane turbulence). Justified in the wake of the DL-6 incident.
- In a more comedic example, just hearing Larry or Wendy Oldbag's voice is enough to make him cringe.
Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Between this and oxygen deprivation, he doesn't remember exactly what happened when his father died.
Tsundere:
- Though it's not as pronounced as Franziska, he definitely has a prickly, cold exterior hiding a softer center. His behavior towards Phoenix is certainly more dere than towards most others.
- His interactions with Gumshoe showcase a more obvious example of this. While he's generally cold, indifferent and frustrated with Gumshoe due to his incompetence, Edgeworth does seem to appreciate his work and loyalty despite his hesitance to admit it.
Turn in Your Badge: Case 4 of Investigations 2, when forced to decide between defending Kay and keeping it. He gets it back in the ending.
Unwitting Pawn: A few times.
- During the SL-9 incident, he was brought in to replace Neil Marshall as the main prosecutor following his murder, and unknowingly used false evidence handed to him in order to convict Joe Darke.
- Damon Gant tricks him into helping disguise a crime scene in 1-5 by driving his car back to the Prosecutor's Office to keep some evidence from a closed case in his office as a favor, except that the victim's body was stuffed in his car's trunk.
- Ernest Amano involves him in a false kidnapping scheme in Investigations.
- In Investigations 2, The Mastermind plants Kay Faraday at the scene of Jill Crane's murder, since if she was killed by Blaise Debeste; his true target, Blaise would definitely try to pin the crime on Kay, bringing the fury of Miles Edgeworth into play.
- And more broadly, he doesn't realize until he himself is put on trial that his prosecuting career is Manfred von Karma's revenge against Gregory Edgeworth.
Urban Legend Love Life: Edgeworth has many, many former paramours which exist exclusively in Detective Gumshoe's head.
Gumshoe: Well, everyone knows that you are quite popular with the ladies, sir... Maybe she's an old girlfriend that you sent to Dumpsville when you were younger.
Edgeworth: D-Detective! Where did you hear such nonsense from!?
Gumshoe: I didn't hear it from anyone. It's just sorta how I imagine you to be... sir.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: A murder trauma would cause any nine-year-old kid's personality to be majorly screwed up. To make things worse, he was raised by said murderer Manfred von Karma, who murdered Edgeworth's father for humiliating him in court, just so he would grow up to be somebody his father would hate. Fortunately, he got better.
Verbal Tic: In the Japanese versions, he often starts his lines with "Mu" (close to "Mm" in English).
Vitriolic Best Buds: Most of his interactions with Gumshoe can be summarized as Edgeworth coldly shutting down whatever Gumshoe has to say or harshly criticizing his constant use of fuzzy logic. Despite this, Edgeworth seems to trust Gumshoe almost as much as he does the likes of Phoenix and Franziska, and he genuinely seems to appreciate his company as his most frequent accomplice. He also had shades of this with Larry, whom he really doesn't like and won't associate with by choice.
Wake-Up Call Boss: His appearance in case 1-2 means it's time to get serious.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In his Demon Prosecutor days, he genuinely believed every defendant was guilty. It took a couple of losses to Phoenix, a dose of Laser-Guided Karma, and a "Not So Different" Remark from a man whose tactics he abhorred to shake him out of it.
Wham Line:
- In "Turnabout Samurai", he objects to his own victory when he notices that there's something off about their nearly-dismissed witness. He and Phoenix turn about to be right about them being the (sort-of) culprit.
- In "Turnabout Gallows," Phoenix proposes calling Spitzer in as a character witness for Bobby, but Edgeworth gives Phoenix a nasty surprise when he announces that Spitzer is going to testify for the prosecution.
What the Hell, Hero?: Chews out Adrian Andrews in "Farewell, My Turnabout" for stealing the Calling Card of a very dangerous Professional Killer from the crime scene, putting nearly every party in danger since that was the first they've heard of Shelly de Killer's involvement.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Thanks to a traumatic event in his past, he is terrified of earthquakes. It's not uncommon for him to faint during a strong one. He doesn't like elevators much either, but they don't incapacitate him the way earthquakes do.
Worthy Opponent:
- Phoenix puts it best in 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...
- 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.
Yank the Dog's Chain: His court debuts didn't go well at all. He was hoping to get a Guilty verdict to make Manfred proud on his first day, but the trial got cancelled due to the defendant and prosecutor he was supposed to replace were found murdered and he spends the rest of the day trying to find out why. On his actual debut, he cancels the trial himself when the defendant suddenly commits suicide halfway through it, which mentally wrecked him and Mia. And even if that didn't happen, Mia clearly had him on the ropes and it was almost guaranteed that he would have lost.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: His speech to Franziska at the end of Justice For All amounts to this, as she is about to quit being a prosecutor because she doesn't believe she can change for the better the way that Edgeworth did, which is something that Edgeworth refuses to agree with.

"My only mission is to bring the truth to light. If it's the prosecutor's path is to turn a blind eye from the truth... then that title is worth nothing to me!"

Franziska von Karma (Mei Karuma)

Franziska von Karma (Mei Karuma)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yukari Suwabe (OT), Miyuki Sawashiro (trailers, drama CDs), Saori Yumiba (anime)

Voiced by (English): Janet Hsu (OT), Jessica Peterson (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8565.png

^{Click here to see her at age 13}

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

Main prosecutor of the second game, she is the daughter of Manfred von Karma and fellow prosecutorial student to him alongside Miles Edgeworth (whom she refers to as her "little brother" despite being seven years his junior). Franziska is regarded as a prosecuting genius — she became a prosecutor at the age of 13 and her win record in her homeland of Germany is spotless. She intends to bring her brand of prosecution to meet Phoenix Wright in court. Franziska is an extreme perfectionist and rarely seen without her trademark whip, which she uses to intimidate and punish those around her.

Abusive Dad: Manfred was not a very good dad. This is first alluded to at the end of 2-4, when she confesses that she's felt like she had to compete with Miles Edgeworth for her father's love and attention. In Investigations, we see both Manfred von Karma's verbal abuse of Miles Edgeworth (right in front of Franziska, too, which she is visibly uncomfortable with) and his disregard for Franziska herself. To earn his attention, Franziska offers to compete with Miles in investigating a crime scene at thirteen. And he allows this, and bullies the detective in charge into allowing it too. Needless to say, this doesn't go well. Franziska later recognizes this same situation for Sebastian and proceeds to do her best to help and support him despite her normally abrasive nature.
Adaptational Nice Guy: In the anime, she strikes her whip near rather than at witnesses. Some of her Amoral Attorney moments are removed, such as her concealing Lotta's photo.
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Some of the Adaptation Expansion in the anime includes scenes implying that Edgeworth was legally adopted by Manfred von Karma after the DL-6 Incident, making him and Franziska actual adopted siblings, whereas the games only ever have him address them his mentor and mentor’s daughter and Franziska only calls him "little brother" (in the English localization) as an expression of seniority under Manfred’s tutelage.
Added Alliterative Appeal: A lot of her strings of insults have this, like "Foolish fools with foolishly foolish ambitions.", or "whimpering whining wuss of a witness".
Animal Motifs: Horses, which are used to point out her proud, haughty, reckless, and wild nature. Godot particularly is fond of calling her a "wild mare" (something Miles also called her), a filly, his "equestrian angel", etc. As a young teenager, she carries a riding crop and her outfit resembles riding gear (particularly her breeches and boots).
Annoying Younger Sibling: To Edgeworth at times. Mainly in Turnabout Reminiscence
Armor-Piercing Question: Receives one from Phoenix in Farewell.
Phoenix: Victory is yours? Is that all this means to you..?
Avenging the Villain: When she first appears, Franziska states that her motivation for wanting to defeat Phoenix is for "revenge", which Phoenix assumes means she wants to avenge the defeat of her father. This is not the case: her actual goal is to get revenge on Edgeworth by surpassing him, which she thinks she can do by defeating Phoenix.
The Baby of the Bunch: Defied. She is the youngest of the Von Karmas and is the youngest prosecutor in the original trilogy, but she refuses to act like it — instead, she's got an abrasive, cold personality. She even refers to Edgeworth as her younger brother despite being seven years his junior.
Back for the Finale: She returns as prosecutor for part of the final case in Trials and Tribulations.
Badass Adorable: In spite of her tough and stern behaviour, she is actually a pretty cute young lady. Especially the few times she cries.
Bad Boss: Poor Gumshoe is treated by Franziska far worse than every other person that mistreated him combined, especially in Justice for All.
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.
The Beautiful Elite: The von Karma family obsession with perfection extends to appearances and lifestyle, and Franziska is no exception.
Beneath the Mask: A good amount of her attitude is just posturing and mimicking of her father. The real Franziska is a highly intelligent, hardworking young woman desperate to prove herself and save her pride, not a confident, cold-hearted Jerkass like her father.
Berserk Button: Can't stand lying witnesses. Lotta Hart particularly triggers this big time just by appearing in front of Franziska; likely prompted by her lying in court during Miles Edgeworth's trial. She did actually ask a witness to withhold information from the court a couple of times, but every time it's not at her prompting, the witness quickly learns the taste of her whip, even if their lies were in her favor.
Big Bad: She is effectively the closest to an overarching antagonist that Justice for All has, and her motive is revenge that would be achieved by defeating Phoenix Wright because she blamed Phoenix for causing Miles Edgeworth to disappear even though the real culprit for that was Damon Gant, and she planned to achieve her vengeance by defeating the lawyer that Miles Edgeworth was unable to defeat. She is ultimately unable to prosecute during the final case as a result of having the Make Way for the New Villains trope invoked. Her motive was crushed at the end of that case because Edgeworth finally defeated Phoenix in that case with some help from Phoenix himself after Phoenix managed to find a way to break the Blackmail that the guilty defendant and main villain in that case had over him.
Big Damn Heroes:
- She is one of the heroes of "Farewell, My Turnabout," going out of her way to find and retrieve evidence just in time to prevent a miscarriage of justice. If not for her, Maya would be dead or an innocent woman would be sentenced to death while one of the murderers who was on trial would have gone free.
- Played straight AND played with in Investigations 2: She arrives in the fourth case to provide Edgeworth with an updated autopsy report, only for Edgeworth to inform her that they had already figured out as much. It is however her position as an Interpol Agent that lets her investigate as a prosecutor beyond Blaise's influence. In the final case Gumshoe informs Edgeworth that it was only due to Franziska's position and insistence that they were able to recover the SS-5 incident files that quickly, earning him a good whipping from her, and her a silent "Thank you" from Edgeworth.
Big Sister Instinct: Very prominently towards Miles Edgeworth, whom she calls her 'little brother', despite their 7 years of age difference in the other direction. Although she does tend to deny it to his face. Also noticeable towards Pearl, Kay Faraday, Sebastian Debeste... even Phoenix Wright in 3-5. Once you see past her Jerkass facade, her protectiveness is actually one of her more prominent character traits.
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.
Broken Pedestal: It's very clear by Investigations 2 that the pedestal Franziska held her father and his ideals on has crumbled, since she actively avoids directly referring to him, except where Sebastian is concerned, and even then, she doesn't often say "my Papa" like she used to. The one time she does, it's because she's in shock from learning exactly what caused the black mark on his record all those years ago. On the rare occasions where she does refer to her father, it is without the pride she used to always use when talking about him, usually indirectly comparing him to Sebastian's father.
Kay: That person... he really loves his father, doesn't he...?
Franziska: However... one must be able to accept the mistakes of their father... However much they may look up to them...
Cassandra Truth: Aggressively Defied in her first appearance: spirit channeling is real in this series' universe, and Franziska von Karma bases her case on this fact, even if she has to present illegal evidence to prove it.
Character Development: Not nearly to the extent of Edgeworth, though she does evolve from a seemingly one-note female Jerkass to a more complex Type A Tsundere, with the "dere" side more prominent than before by the time of the second Investigations game.
Character Tic: Shares her father's habit of folding her arms and grasping at her sleeve. Considering she gets shot in the shoulder, just like her father, it's ironic in a fashion.
Chekhov's Gag: She plants a tracking device on Gumshoe for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on him and to get the opportunity to whip him as soon as possible. This is initially shown as something on the long list of things that cements Gumshoe's Butt-Monkey status as well as Franziska's hostility. It comes into play when Gumshoe steals evidence from Shelley's second hideout in order to get it to Phoenix as soon as possible in an attempt to save Maya, but he crashes his car and breaks his phone in the process. Franziska manages to find him and deliver the evidence just in time.
Child Prodigy: Became a prosecutor at the age of 13.
Cloudcuckoolander: Develops a mild case of this when she's assisting Phoenix during case 3-5, making the sort of bizarre comments expected from an assistant character in the franchise. Especially jarring considering her usual behavior. It's possibly justifiable in that she's in a very traditionally Japanese locale for that case and was unfamiliar with the culture and customs of such a setting.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Compared to Edgeworth, who's calm and calculated, she's younger, female, and more outwardly emotional.
Curtains Match the Window: Teal hair and teal eyes. She also wears light blue lipstick.
Daddy's Little Villain: At first, she is as much an Amoral Attorney as her father. Then, after Character Development kicks in, she becomes a valuable ally to Phoenix.
Deadpan Snarker: If she's not stinging people with her whip, odds are that she will with her words.
Defeat Means Friendship: While she never becomes Phoenix's friend, when she appears in the last case of Trials and Tribulations, she does lend a hand to Phoenix, and is a bit less hostile towards him.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Starts as a female Jerkass, ends up a Type A Tsundere.
Demoted to Extra: Her role in the sequel of Investigations has largely been toned down and she takes a much more passive role. She does however support Edgeworth using her position as both a prosecutor and Interpol Agent, by taking over and stalling Patricia Roland's trial, bringing down Blaise Debeste with Judge Courtney and Edgeworth and providing Edgeworth and Lang with the SS-5 case files.
Department of Redundancy Department: Her constant repetition of the word 'fool' often falls into this.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Neither the Judge nor his brother are protected from Franziska's whips. Though neither penalizes her for whipping them.
The Dog Bites Back: One of her whipping frenzies struck Matt Engarde. Matt had her shot through Shelly de Killer, so he deserved it.
Double Standard:
- Despite being willing to whip women in her first appearance, in subsequent installments she usually goes for the nearest male (Played for Laughs, of course) whenever a female is irritating her. Taken to its logical conclusion in the second case in Investigations, who Edgeworth wonders why Cammy Meele, who's asleep literally half of her first Testimony, isn't being bombarded by her whip (it's possible Franziska realized that Cammy being "asleep" was an act). You can press these two statements, but Franziska will whip Gumshoe instead.
- In Investigations 2 there is one woman that triggers enough rage within Franziska that she breaks her double standard and immediately starts whipping her on sight: Lotta.
Endearingly Dorky: She isn't immune to moments of awkwardness, once she starts to defrost. Though, her moments are much subtler than the others. At one point in Case 3-5, she asks Phoenix (in a completely sincere tone, based on his inner commentary when he answers her) if there used to be a lively port town along a river... which is at the bottom of a deep canyon in the mountains. Phoenix notes in the same case that "she's so openly hostile, it's almost cute", which implies that at this point, she's actively trying to be as tsun tsun as possible. She's strongly implied to have a severe Inferiority Superiority Complex thanks to her father and "little brother", and once you see Beneath the Mask to that insecure side, she's a slightly awkward young girl with a poor understanding of emotions, something even The Stoic Miles understands.
Everyone Has Standards:
- Refuses to whip children or old people (the Judge and his brother excepted).
- In Investigations 2, she has no patience for Sebastian's foolishness, but even she's appalled when Sebastian's father Blaise not only insults him but reveals that Sebastian never earned the honors he's so proud of in order to break him.
Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy: Commonly does when introducing herself. She also does it when she makes a point in court, the same way Edgeworth bows under those circumstances.
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.
Germanic Depressives: She shows anger (a lot) and fear, though she almost never shows genuine sadness or happiness (not "Ha-ha, I crushed you" happy, normal happy).
Germanic Efficiency: Like Edgeworth, she can get a lot done when she puts her mind to it. This has led to Interpol hiring her as an investigative consultant, where she seems more at home than in court.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Not even the judge is immune from her whip.
Hanging Judge: Her role in Investigations, removed from the courts, has her play this role more than an Amoral Attorney.
Heel Realization: Part of why she almost quits being a prosecutor at the end of Justice For All is because she realizes how wrong her attitude and methods have been, but doesn't believe that she can change her ways while still serving as a prosecutor. Edgeworth talks her out of this decision.
High-Class Gloves: Her fancy outfit includes black gloves.
Honor Before Reason: On two separate occasions in Reunion, and Turnabout, Franziska has the trial continue when a guilty verdict is about to be given, believing that the case can't truly be "perfect" unless she crushes every argument Phoenix comes up with.
Hot-Blooded: The trait Acro claims she has in common with Phoenix. He doesn't appear to be wrong, considering how Franziska can't stand lying witnesses and tends to do her best to find the truth in the moment only to regret it later.
Humanizing Tears: She spends the entirety of Justice For All acting abrasive and proud, but cries in front of Edgeworth at the very end of the game.
Hypocrite: A very, very prominent trait, up to the point of defying her own Berserk Button sometimes: it's clear she genuinely hates lying witnesses with a passion, but that doesn't stop her from fixing testimonies when she's sure it doesn't make her case wrong. She also asks Phoenix "when did I ever bring up my Papa's name" despite mentioning being a von Karma and therefore always perfect about every other sentence; this can be interpreted, though, as her already refusing to acknowledge her father sharing her same name by the time of Justice For All. Most hilariously, she chides Phoenix for using her full name as it is 'impertinent' despite it being her own Verbal Tic. Phoenix even Lampshades this. Even has a rare positive example, where in the first game what she practices is actually much better than what she preaches.
Iconic Item: Her whip, which she uses to punish "fools". It gains a symbolic function at the end of Justice for All and as a teenager she carried a short riding crop instead (since she was kind of short for a whip).
Improbable Age: While most legal experts in the series fall under this trope to some degree, Franziska is the most egregious example as she started her prosecuting career at the tender age of thirteen.
Inadequate Inheritor: She's always concerned about living up to the von Karma name.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: Deep down she has a crippling sense of dread that she's unworthy of the von Karma name, despite the massively egotistical personality she exhibits.
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. At the very least, once her control of the trial starts wavering, she's more quick to go into a Villainous Breakdown than her father or her "little brother". Justified, as even though she's had to work hard to get her position, she's still the daughter of a legendary prosecutor who, as Investigations demonstrates, was definitely behind her career's early start, and people likely cut her a lot of slack for her father's sake. Beside that, she really does work hard; she even claims the crown of the only prosecutor in the series to ever arrest a guilty suspect in a case that Phoenix takes.
Innocently Insensitive: With Edgeworth. Constantly throwing around the name of the man that killed his father then framed him for two murders, including said father with praise of all things, in his face is pretty much a dick move in itself. Talking as though she expects him to continue following the family creed is just cruel. Luckily for her, Edgeworth isn't one to show emotions. But it is clear, especially in Investigations, that her words do strike a nerve.
Insistent Terminology:
- In Investigations she lets Edgeworth have access to the crime scene (which is under her jurisdiction) as her subordinate. Despite him doing all of the actual work with only minor input from her, she still insists that she's running the investigation. Because he's her subordinate.
- More generally, she insists that Edgeworth is her little brother, even though he's both taller and older^note.
Insult of Endearment: The way she calls Gumshoe "Scruffy" can come off as rather affectionate in the later games she appears in.
Interpol Special Agent: In Investigations, where she's operating as a consultant of sorts to help follow the trail of the Zheng Fa smuggling operation. She becomes involved in the plot of the game when her agency contact is murdered on his flight from Borginia.
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.
Jerkass Ball: She gets an even bigger one than usual in case 3-5 when she whips Phoenix while he's still suffering from a cold.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Initially tries her best to not show it, but if you know what you're looking for, her facade is seen crumbling as early as the beginning of Farewell:
  Phoenix: Victory is yours? Is that all this means to you..?
  von Karma: Wh-What..!?
  von Karma: ... H-Hmph!
  von Karma: Come, Scruff-face! The investigation briefing is about to begin.
  von Karma: This isn't over yet... I swear on my family's honor!
  von Karma: [throws a wad of paper at Phoenix, which turns out to be a signed autograph he needs to get information out of Wendy Oldbag]
- Very evident in case 3-5, where she glares at Phoenix to be nice to Sister Bikini and yells at him for making Pearls cry, despite both of these having caused her quite a bit of grief. Combine this with Investigations and her taking care of Adrian Andrews, and it looks like Franziska has a soft spot for women in general, with several very harsh exceptions like Lotta Hart (and it's quite entertaining to consider why Franziska might have so much of a grudge against personally Lotta...)
Karma Houdini: (No pun intended.)
- She regularly commits assault with her whip, but is never punished for it, due to Rule of Funny.
- On a more serious note, she actually got away with many dirty (or at least ethically questionable) actions, such as presenting an illegally obtained piece of evidence and manipulating witnesses. She might or might not have gotten penalties for that, though.
- However, she does eventually get shot in the shoulder — just like her father — by Shelly de Killer, though she manages to recover fairly quickly.
Leitmotif: A variation of "Triumphant Return". She shares the variation with her father in Investigations.
Licking the Blade: She did lick a whip in her original designs in development. She doesn't do this in the actual game.
Like Brother and Sister: With Edgeworth; justified as they were raised together. She calls him her "little brother" even though it's not true in any sense of the word.
Made of Iron: She gets shot in the shoulder by Shelly DeKiller and is back on her feet in a day or two.
Meaningful Name: "Mei" means "darkness". Franziska von Karma literally means "Free of Bad Karma", fitting as she eventually starts to grow past her father's toxic influence.
Minion with an F in Evil: Even from the beginning, her attempts at living up to her father's legacy made her a Well-Intentioned Extremist at worst; as much as she tries to adopt her father's coldhearted demeanor, she really does care too much about doing the right thing to be a full-on Amoral Attorney. Even though she's already functionally disowned her father by the time of her first appearance, she's still obviously recovering from the Broken Pedestal she had him on and the pressure of his name value, and her defrosting has to do with her adjusting to the realization that his way of life just isn't for her.
The Napoleon: She's about 5'3" as an adult (and much shorter at age 13), but it's really not good for your health if you call attention to that.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Towards the end of case 2-3, she launches a surprise search on the murderer's living spaces and takes the murderer (not exposed yet) into custody, stating that a von Karma leaves nothing to chance. She does this to prove that the murder weapon isn't hiding there, and to deny Phoenix the chance to search for it. This forces the wheelchair-bound murderer to hide the murder weapon (a bust) under his wheelchair and carry it with him to the police station, only to be exposed carrying the murder weapon in the middle of court by Phoenix Wright. After the reveal, the murderer actually commends Franziska for trapping them like this. It's implied that Edgeworth gave her a tip (likely through Gumshoe) to launch that surprise search.
No Social Skills: The cold, steely mask Franziska wears hides how awkward she really is after a life of being ignored by her only parental figure. She's utterly out of her element when put outside of the courtroom, and her Hair-Trigger Temper and tendency to jump straight to her whip when angry both indicate some serious trouble regulating her emotions.
No Sympathy: Doesn't refrain from whipping Mimi Miney even after she crosses the Despair Event Horizon over her sister's death by Cynicism Catalyst. Also continues to whip Phoenix even when he is suffering from a bad cold.
Noodle Incident: In the manga it isn't entirely known just what kind of favor she owed her friend in order to fill in at Thong Fortunetelling and be given the moniker of Madame Lovetap (and, had the murder not occurred when it did, Phoenix would have been her customer!).
Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Having been raised in Germany all her life, Franziska's German accent is conspicuous only by its distinct absence. Notable for the fact that of all people, Edgeworth can be noted for having an English one, heard best when he says "Take that!"
Not So Above It All: Despite her efforts of putting on a no-nonsense face, Franziska is sometimes just as prone to silliness and immaturity as the rest of the cast. For example, there's her sincere belief in Trials & Tribulations that Hazakura Temple once held a port...in the mountains.
"Not So Different" Remark:
- With Sebastian Debeste with Investigations 2, something that she herself seems to recognize and even mellow out to the boy afterwards. Both have a Broken Pedestal towards their fathers and have to look for their own paths now, while accepting that their fathers, no matter how much they look up to them, are actually very bad people. When he shows up in court during "The Grand Turnabout" she gladly hands over the case to him and states she'll be watching his performance from the gallery.
- In Case 2-3, Acro states that Phoenix and Franziska are actually very much alike. Phoenix dismisses this suggestion outright, although they take Edgeworth's disappearance pretty much the same way.
Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Not a very big leap, but she's a teenager going up against a 25-year old.
Only a Flesh Wound: She gets shot in the shoulder by de Killer and only gets slowed down by one day. She looks 100% fine (no bandages or signs of weakness/shock) when she barges in for her Big Damn Heroes moment and when asked about her injury her answer is basically "Oh, that. Recovery in hospitals is for losers." This is another parallel with her father, who was also shot and refused treatment, though Manfred von Karma's reasons were much less altruistic than hers. In the Ace Attorney anime, she shows up wearing bandages on her arm where she was shot, but still gives the same "recovery is for losers" answer.
Out of Focus: She and Gumshoe are the only two main characters from the original trilogy not to appear in the present day events of the post-timeskip games.
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.
The Perfectionist: She claims that until Phoenix Wright gives up, she will happily let him continue fighting and she will fight back, to win the perfect battle. Her current witness, Ini Miney, reacts like you would expect.
Persecuting Prosecutor: Claims to be this in the first game she appears in, apparently to continue her father's legacy. She doesn't quite live up to her own hype, though, with one of the Establishing Character Moments being her whipping the judge to allow Phoenix to continue his cross-examination (and while in-game Phoenix attributes it to her overconfidence, that's immediately before he discovers she'd been concealing evidence and gives her a well-deserved penalty, which she couldn't have seen coming). Phoenix doesn't ever appear to notice this, but he wouldn't have gotten away with either claiming Pearl didn't see Ini without any proof or even calling Pearl to the stand, or cross-examining Ini about the model of her sister's sports car from half a year ago on Edgeworth's watch without getting him onboard beforehand. In every case, Franziska does everything she can and some things she technically can't to nail the real guilty party, even if she's not happy when it leads to her losing the case. Completely gone by the time of Investigations 2; she even explains that she's not taking sides, and the only side she's on is the truth.
Franziska: I'm on nobody's side, Scruffy. When searching for the truth, it's best not to take sides.
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 and possibly remorseful after Pearl chews her out for being a "mean lady".
- In case 5 of Trials and Tribulations, Franziska spends the majority of her time outside the courtroom working inside the Training Hall to rescue Maya, who was presumed to have been trapped inside for days in the freezing cold with no food and water. This is a notable moment, considering that she is volunteering to rescue someone who she would look down upon, and especially on a day where she could have easily chosen to instead confront her nemesis Phoenix Wright in court again.
- She also seems genuinely worried when Edgeworth mentions that Phoenix fell off the Dusky Bridge.
- In case 4 of 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, 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 Investigations 2 she was appalled by Blaise's treatment of Sebastian, and in the ending, seems concerned about Sebastian, since both of them are trying to live up to their fathers.
- It's implied she let Larry base at least part of "Franzy's Whippity-Whip Trip" on her, and this book has brought him some modicum of success by Spirit of Justice.
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: In Episode 15, the Judge objects to her using a whip in court, prompting her to whip and respond with, "It. Will be. No problem. At all."
Punctuated Pounding:
Franziska: ...Miles Edgeworth... The courthouse is to be kept pristine at all times!
Edgeworth: *gets whipped* Nnghooooh! I-It wasn't me that dropped food on the ground!
Franziska: The courthouse! *whip* Must be! *whip* Kept clean! *whip*
Edgeworth: Nnnghooooooh!
Put on a Bus: She hasn't had a presence in the series since Investigations 2, and no one in the main cast with a connection to her namedrops her or explains what she's been up to since then.
Rage Quit:
- Her first loss to Phoenix causes her to angrily whip him into unconsciousness.
- Happens again in 3-5, where she whips the witness, Larry, into unconsciousness instead.
Self-Serving Memory: In Trials and Tribulations, she boasts to Phoenix that she has never lost a case, nor will Phoenix ever be able to beat her in court. Phoenix notes to himself that both of these are untrue, and that he's unsure whether she has a self-serving memory or she genuinely forgot.
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 (albeit one who ended the winning streaks of two undefeated prosecutors) is enough to make national...no wait, global news. On top of that, she seems under the impression that she's already world-famous thanks to having gone five years undefeated — an achievement to be sure, but not quite as awesome as she makes it sound considering that Winston Payne actually went two years longer before experiencing his first defeat.
- She acts like this even at the age of 13, proudly proclaiming her family name and her soon-to-be status as world's youngest prosecutor. Callisto Yew snarks that until she actually is a prosecutor, she's just some brat with a whip.
The Smurfette Principle: She's not the series' only female prosecutor, but she is (so far) the only woman among the primary prosecutors of the main series games.
Sophisticated as Hell: On one hand, Franziska tends to be overly formal, such as calling people by their full names - even her own "little brother" Miles. However, she also often lapses into incoherent insults when agitated, periodically switches registers in the courtroom to sound like the teenager she is ('But is the bust really all that shiny?' is one such quote) and constantly invents new nicknames for Gumshoe (Scruffy, Trenchcoat McScruffFace, etc).
Sore Loser: See Rage Quit above. She takes winning and losing so seriously that she'll physically assault those who bring her defeat.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She was created to replace Edgeworth once it was clear he was a popular character and deserved more of a role than "the prosecutor that Phoenix always beats." Every game since then has had a different main prosecutor, although Franziska resembles her predecessor the most — like Edgeworth, she's a haughty, cold prodigy. Justified, as they were raised and trained by the same man.
Teen Genius: Not only is she eighteen in her debut game, but she became a prosecutor at age THIRTEEN.
Thinking Tic: Franziska crosses her arms and squeezes her upper arm in her thinking animation.
Took a Level in Kindness: In the Investigations games. While not losing her hardened edge, she shows her soft side with much more frequency than she did before.
Trademark Favorite Food: In the anime, it's heavily implied to be pancakes; given that she badgered her father all the way to Lordly Tailor just to eat some.
Triumphant Reprise: In Investigations, she shares the "Triumphant Return" theme with Edgeworth. The way it plays as she arrives mirrors quite closely to the way it did for Edgeworth in Justice For All, as both arrive as allies rather than enemies (albeit still antagonists). (She has her own remix compared to him, sharing the same melody with different instrumentation)
Tsundere: Her "tsun" side comes up most of the time, and her "dere" side comes when she feels vulnerable or takes pity on someone helpless. To quote Phoenix:
Phoenix: She's so openly hostile, it's almost kinda cute.
Verbal Tic:
- She uses the words "fool", "foolish", or "foolishly" at least three times every sentence.
Edgeworth: (We got your point about three "foolishes" back, Franziska...)
- In the Japanese releases, she sprinkles her more anger-charged statements with "Baka."
- Calls everyone by either full name or made-up nickname, no in-between. Doesn't like it when others turn it right back on her.
Wake-Up Call Boss: Of the second game. In Investigations, she's also one of the first Rebuttal opponents whose logical flaws are not readily apparent.
Weapon Jr.: Her riding crop from case 4 in Investigations. It's painful, but also adorable in a way.
Weirdness Censor: Notably Averted, or even Defied in her first appearance, as she is one of the only two people in the series who notices and actively acknowledges Mia Fey's presence in court.
"Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: 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 to salvage the von Karma name and gain the respect of her father (rather she is intrigued by facing someone in court who could best Miles Edgeworth, whose reputation rivaled her own in their homeland). However, in the flashback case in Investigations, it is evident that she actually does seek her father's approval.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the first case she appears in, she conceals some evidence, which Phoenix takes to be her Establishing Character Moment. The main problem the concealed evidence brought up, though, was the existence of supernatural in the series, which Franziska did not have any legal evidence to prove in court, despite it being well known to both Phoenix and the player to be real. She did have some illegal evidence, though, which she proceeded to show the court despite it being likely to get her into even deeper trouble. The evidence turned out to also contain yet another contradiction, but it really does look like Franziska hadn't noticed that one until Phoenix pointed it out.
What Were You Thinking?: In "Turnabout Big Top", should Phoenix accuse the Judge of hiding the bust that was murder weapon, this is her reaction:
Franziska: ...You had to think about whether it was a good idea to say that!?
Whip of Dominance: Franziska is an Amoral Attorney who constantly carries a whip with her, which she uses on anyone who provokes her wrath and matches her tough, abrasive, and icy personality. She uses her whip even inside the courtroom and, when the judge protests, she even whips him into compliance and she gets away with it only due to Rule of Funny. The absurdity of this behavior becomes a Running Gag, to the point that when she's seen as a teenager it reveals she wielded a riding crop in the same manner. Her favorite victims are Phoenix and Gumshoe — she seems to consider it almost affectionate, by the end, never mind that that thing hurts — only eight-year-old Pearl Fey (which probably would have killed any possible sympathy for her), paralyzed-from-the-waist-down Acro, middle-aged (and not the picture of health) Sister Bikini, Godot (who simply shamed her into compliance), and Detective Badd (who swayed out of the way) manage to escape unscathed. Shi-Long Lang caught the whip when Frannie first tried to use it on him, but fell victim to it later in the case.
The Worf Effect: For most of Justice For All, Franziska is an aggressive, overbearing, abusive presence; she routinely whips the tar out of everybody in the courtroom, even the Judge, and gets away with it. When the tension is beginning to ramp up in 2-4, however, she's ambushed and shot by DeKiller. The only reason she lives is because he had no reason to outright kill her - he just wanted her out of Phoenix's way. This is right around the point where DeKiller's true identity as an infamous, widely-feared assassin is properly revealed, and what he did to Franziska serves to cement his credentials.
Worf Had the Flu: Her two subsequent losses to Phoenix in the second game make her status as a legendary Teen Genius look like something of an Informed Attribute; however, if you look closer, those two cases are a lot more complex and convoluted than most other cases Phoenix ever takes. The only reason he found the truth in 2-2 where Franziska couldn't was his personal connection to the family, and in 2-3 his investigation was ahead of hers thanks to literally supernatural means. The only moment in which he actually overtakes her is figuring out where the murder weapon is, which she takes hard as she's clearly not used to not being the smartest person in the room.
Worthy Opponent: Appears to view Phoenix as this from the very beginning, even taking him on his word for some things in the first case they work together.
Would Hurt a Child: In the anime, Franziska almost whips Pearl when she intimidates Pearl and Phoenix in her introduction by cracking her whip on the wall mere inches between them◊. Averted every other occasion, though.
You Fool!: She utters variations of this at almost every turn.
Franziska: (from Turnabout Prophecy, with a smug grin on her face) I already knew you were a fool, but now that I see your foolish foolishness again, I remember just how much of a foolish fool you really are. In fact, I think you may have foolishly upgraded your foolishness!
Phoenix: Erk...
Younger than She Looks: She's 18 in her debut game. Maya even lampshades how even though they're the same age, Fransizka's attitude makes her look older than she is, especially when compared to Maya's more childish behavior.

*WHIP!!*

Godot

Godot

Voiced by (Japanese): Hideki Kamiya (OT), Hiroaki Hirata (anime)

Voiced by (English): James T. Wilson (OT), Brandon Potter (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/godottrilogy.png

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

Main prosecutor of the third game. Godot is known for drinking lots of coffee, up to 17 cups per court session. Although a prosecuting rookie, he possesses legal experience that makes him a formidable foe. A suave man with a Mysterious Past, he holds strong dislike, almost hatred, towards Phoenix until the end of the last case.

Adaptational Jerkass: The English localization infamously exaggerates his comments to Franziska in 3-5, turning what in Japanese was a demonstration of him not being intimidated by her into a full-blown Stay in the Kitchen rant.
Affably Evil: Ruthlessly tries to push Phoenix to the limit... and enjoys cups of rich coffee and always pays genuine compliments (whether anyone understands them or not) whenever they're warranted. He's also a Graceful Loser who ends up befriending Phoenix before ultimately going away for murder.
Ambiguously Brown: He's darker than most of the cast, though his nationality- other than him not being Japanese (in the original)- is as much of a mystery as his name. Becomes less ambiguous when he's revealed to be Diego Armando, a Spanish name.
Anti-Villain: His antagonism with Phoenix notwithstanding, Godot is actually a fairly clean prosecutor for original trilogy standards. Also, his desire to make up for his perceived failure at saving Mia puts him into this trope to the point where Maya tries to take the heat for him.
Arc Words: "The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over" are very important words to Godot and his past.
Back from the Dead: He claims he's this to Phoenix, though the truth is more akin to "back from a deep coma". He actually means a different type of death altogether.
Badass Boast: He means every word.
I've returned from the depths of Hell to do battle with you.
Berserk Button:
- At one point in Case 3, Godot furiously chugs his coffee, then says that every time he is lied to, he downs a cup of coffee and then beats down the liar with the empty mug.
- Do not screw with his coffee, especially adding something like sugar that'll corrupt its purity (to him). He's not going to take it well. This one actually makes quite a bit of sense, seeing as how his life was ruined by a certain someone slipping poison into his coffee, which put him in a coma.
Big Bad: He is a member of the Big Bad Ensemble in Trials and Tribulations. He is a Big Bad since he intentionally prosecutes cases that Phoenix is defending in order to get misplaced revenge on Phoenix even if they are unrelated to the Fey family, and refuses to prosecute cases that do not involve Phoenix. He fights the team of Dahlia Hawthorne, the main Big Bad who is also the Greater-Scope Villain who caused the events that turned Godot evil; and Morgan Fey, another Greater-Scope Villain.
Blind Without 'Em: He needs his visor to see, but even then, he can't see perfectly. Specifically, he can't see red against a white background, presumably because the visor's red lenses make everything look red to him.
Break Them by Talking: In the anime, he does this to Luke Atmey when he is exposed, bluntly saying that all his fame-seeking crimes have earned him is a prison sentence.
Godot: You rode up on a high-octane rocket, and flamed out in a blaze of glory. What's left is dark and empty. Thirst can make a man guzzle down everything there is. At this point, brother, it's all over but the crying.
Broken Ace: He lost it after Mia died, resulting in him hating Wright for most of the game along with his limited vision.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Initially appears as a prosecutor version of this. Not only does he drink gallons of coffee in and out of the court (he limits himself to 17 mugs of coffee during investigation or a trial), he wears a mask all the time. This goes away once it becomes clear that he's doing both since coffee is why he woke up from his coma in the first place, and that he's mostly blind and needs the mask to see.
By the Lights of Their Eyes: Unusually realistic variant. The three red lights on Godot's mask are distinctly visible in pitch blackness (as opposed to anyone's eyes), which comes up when Furio Tigre causes a power outage during his Villainous Breakdown, and later when Maya testifies that when she was attacked, she was saved by a man with a light that only illuminated his face.
Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Mild example, but the judge is perfectly willing to call out Godot for his bad attitude and his excessive coffee-drinking. This is strange when one considers that 'bad attitude' is practically a job requirement for prosecutors in this franchise, and he had nothing to say about Franziska bringing an honest-to-god whip into the courtroom and using it on anything (including him) in sight.
Character Catchphrase: "That's one of my rules." When it appears in case 4, it alerts anyone who hasn't noticed the caffemania, piercings, suit, haircut, skin colour and beard to his identity. He also tends to say "Ha...!" when he's amused or gloating.
Cerebus Callback: His vehement hatred of "poisoning" coffee with cream or sugar becomes less funny when it's revealed that Dahlia poisoning his coffee (disguised as sugar) is how he ended up in a coma.
Chekhov M.I.A.: Godot is inexplicably MIA for the start of Bridge to the Turnabout and Franziska has to prosecute in his stead. He returns later on (equally without explanation) and it isn't until Phoenix pieces it together that we find out just where he was.
Code of Honour: He has his own personal code of conduct that seems a bit odd from everyone else's point of view. Several times he offhandedly mentions one of his personal guidelines then follow it up with "That's one of my rules." Phoenix even wonders at one point if he actually has a list of these somewhere or if he's just making them up as he goes along. The most important one to him is "The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."
Color Blind Confusion: He is unable to see red on a white background at all, so he cannot see blood or red food stains on white objects like white aprons or snow. When this situation comes up, Godot attempts to gloss over it or deny that the color is there at all.
Cool Mask: His visor is actually for medical purposes; the poison that almost killed him also blinded him, and he needs the visor to see. It isn't perfect, though- he can't see the color red presented against a white background.
Complexity Addiction: Prosecutes Phoenix's cases in order to punish him for failing to protect Mia, and test his worthiness — when Redd White is the one who actually killed her (and despite him already being in prison, Godot could've presumably just used his prosecutorial connections to make White's prison life miserable). Additionally, in "Bridge to the Turnabout," he arranges a complicated plan to directly protect Maya — when he could've just sent Morgan's letter to Phoenix and preemptively saved the day right then. In the end, he himself admits this.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: He's a suave rookie prosecutor in his thirties, while Franziska was an emotional teenager. Also, while both are motivated by their desire to defeat Phoenix, Franziska eventually moves past it, while Godot doesn't until it's too late.
"Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: He himself admits in the end. The final case of Trials & Tribulations could have been avoided if he had just asked Phoenix for help and warned Maya about Morgan's plot in the first place. Additionally, since he managed to find Morgan's note before Pearl did, it would have been simple for him to just avert the whole thing by destroying or hiding the note. It's implied he wanted the plan to go through so that Maya would be in danger so he could save her to make up for failing to save Mia (at least in his own mind). But then, where would be the fun (for the players) in that?
Deadpan Snarker: One of the most sharp-witted characters in the series, and unlike Phoenix or Edgeworth, he's very vocal with his quips.
Death Seeker: Quite possible. Godot objects before Case 3-5 can be wrapped up by stating that they still don't know who the real killer is, something he has no logical reason to do since he IS the killer and the Judge seemed ready to forget the question as he was about to pass the verdict.
Disease Bleach: Or more appropriately, poison bleach. His hair was black before his coma.
The Dulcinea Effect: Deconstructed. His desire to physically protect Maya from someone who wants her dead leads him to let a terrible chain of events lead up to such a situation rather than rationally handle it.
Easily Forgiven: After everything is explained and he takes responsibility for his misdeeds and selfish motives, no one in the courtroom expresses any rancor towards him for deliberately endangering Maya and killing her mother.
Epic Fail: A tragic example. His desire to atone for not being able to save his former girlfriend's life leads to him killing her mother and traumatizing her sister and cousin. If anything, he hurt the Fey clan even more by trying to protect them.
Exact Words: He is built up as yet another fearsome prosecutor that's never lost a case. When Phoenix first faces him in court, however...
Judge: Yes, your reputation precedes you. What kind of cases have you dealt with so far?
Godot: Ha...! None.
Judge: What did you say...?
Godot: I've never prosecuted a case before.
Judge: N-Never? But you said you've never lost before.
Godot: ...Exactly. I've never lost. I've never won before either.
- Of course, this is really two examples in one: He said he's never prosecuted a case before, but as Diego Armando, he's defended in plenty of them.
Eye Scream: The poison Dahlia used to spike Godot's coffee did some major damage on his central nervous system and Godot even lost his sight in the process. Also, during the final case he is stabbed in the eye by Dahlia which is subsequently hidden underneath his mask.
Failure-to-Save Murder: The entire reason for his hatred and quest for vengeance against Phoenix is that Phoenix "failed" to protect Mia from getting murdered. He later realizes he was instead blaming himself and was projecting on Phoenix.
Fallen Hero: He's the result of Diego Armando being utterly and completely broken then filled with a new, hateful resolve for finding Mia's killer... who he decides is Phoenix. This occurs by Godot rationalizing Phoenix as an Accomplice by Inaction who was complicit in her death, in spite of Redd White being the one who killed her.
Fatal Flaw: Pride and an inability to let go of the past. Godot is so desperate to atone for a situation that was beyond his control that he ends up complicating it due to his hero complex. Because he's unwilling to swallow his ego and confide in people like Phoenix that could have prevented Morgan and Dahlia's plan, he rushes into a dangerous situation, irresponsibly placing himself as the hero, in which he is forced to kill Misty Fey who was being channeled by Dahlia. If he'd just gone to Phoenix for help or told the police about Morgan's note, Misty may still have been alive.
Final Boss: He's the final prosecutor of the original trilogy. And the final killer as well.
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.
Griefer: The legal equivalent. His motive for becoming a prosecutor was to make Phoenix, who he blamed for Mia's murder, lose cases.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: His strategy during the trial over the theft of the Sacred Urn. Either Godot manages to give Ron a Guilty verdict for stealing the Sacred Urn, or (what ends up happening) Phoenix gets Ron a Not Guilty verdict... which causes Phoenix to unintentionally invalidate Ron's alibi for the murder of Kane Bullard.
Hiding the Handicap: His mask isn't just for show, seeing as it helps him see; but his vision is still impaired even when wearing it, specifically: he can't see the color red when displayed on a white background. He's too proud to own up to it, though.
He Who Fights Monsters: His bitterness is thanks to being poisoned by Dahlia Hawthorne and being unable to stop Redd White from killing Mia. In the end, he becomes a murderer himself.
Hypocrite: Though his goals from the onset are to protect Maya from Dahlia, and he takes some efforts to avoid her being implicated of Misty Fey's murder, once the final trial comes down to two suspects, himself and Maya, he still refuses to come clean as being the killer despite knowing she's about to take the fall for his actions. For all that he claims to do what he does for Mia, had Phoenix not unveiled the truth by force, Maya would have gone to jail for murder, Iris would still be jailed for admitted accomplice, Pearls would be left alone in the world with no relatives to turn to, and Misty was already dead by his hand. In short, he would have in one fell swoop destroyed all of Mia's only surviving family and walked away scott-free, were it not for the very man he chose to blame for Mia's death.
Ice-Cream Koan: Has an incomprehensible coffee-related koan for every situation.
Phoenix: Um... the rest of the court doesn't speak Coffeenese. Can you elaborate a bit more?
I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Played with. He took a loved one's death extremely personally despite not having anything to do with it and not being able to do anything to prevent it, and sets out to take revenge on the people he deems responsible for it, namely Phoenix (as by then the real people at fault had been dealt with). He had been outwardly blaming Phoenix for Mia's death, but later on admits that he was blaming himself. He's eventually proven mistaken in this way of thinking.
Inadequate Inheritor: He mocks Phoenix that he's one of these to Mia Fey's legacy, claiming that he could never dream to be the attorney that she was. When he sees Mia's ghost alongside Phoenix, both accusingly pointing at him, he breaks down.
Informed Ability:
- Parodied. He introduces himself as the legendary prosecutor that had never lost a case, and Luke Atmey says, in the English version, that Edgeworth praised him as the best prosecutor before going to study abroad. In actuality, Godot had never prosecuted a case (he's never lost nor won) and Edgeworth has no idea who Godot is.
- It is also Played Straight in that, despite the constant praises he gets through the game, he's the only prosecutor in the series known to have lost every single case they've taken on.
I Need a Freaking Drink: Naturally it's coffee and not alcohol, but one of his "distressed" animations has him simply chugging down his current cup.
Inner Monologue: A rare antagonist example. When Phoenix proves Godot is the one that killed Misty, he laughs it off until he sees an image of Mia's spirit. Godot then starts to freak out a little in his mind and wonders if Mia is living on through Phoenix.
Insane Troll Logic: On his first encounter with Phoenix, Godot claims that he has never lost a single case despite never having prosecuted any cases in the first place, arguing that prosecutors always start out undefeated.
Irony:
- He can't see red on white... as in Redd White, Mia's killer.^*
- Godot hates Phoenix because he believes that he could have saved Mia if he hadn't been late the night of her murder. His reasoning is that Phoenix is an Accomplice by Inaction thanks to this. Godot ultimately chooses to allow Pearl, Maya and Misty Fey to get into a dangerous situation he could have completely averted in order to rescue Maya and make up for his own failure to save Mia. After his Villainous Breakdown, he outright admits to it.
Irrational Hatred: Really holds a high grudge towards Phoenix for Mia's death, despite all the circumstances surrounding the event wasn't his responsibility. Godot admits at the end he was just redirecting all that hatred from himself.
It's All My Fault: He won't admit it until the end, but he blames himself thoroughly for Mia's death even though he was in a coma of no fault of his own and couldn't have done anything.
It's Personal: He holds a vendetta against Phoenix because he failed to prevent Mia's death, and intends to make him pay for it.
Jerkass to One: Godot is a Cruel to One example as he treats everyone with cold but polite professionalism except for Phoenix; he relentlessly behaves rudely towards him until the very end of Trials and Tribulations for both good and bad reasons.
Knight in Sour Armor: For most of the game he thinks he's this, sticking it to Phoenix to get the justice that Mia deserved for her death due to Phoenix's inaction despite his failing health, but in reality it's just his own selfish desire to make up for his inability to do the job himself, which he comes to terms with at the end.
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, though. The man is so damn suave and chic with his delivery that you just want him to say more.
Leitmotif: "Godot - The Fragrance of Darkness; That is Coffee", one of the most iconic themes in the franchise for how smooth and suave it is, perfectly matching Godot's own cool, collected demeanor. It's even his cell phone ringtone.
The Lost Lenore: He convinces himself Mia is this, enough to the point of taking it out on Phoenix as his way of coping, blaming him for letting her die. By the end he realizes this is just misplaced anger and moves on.
Lying by Omission: In Godot's introduction, he claims to have never lost a case, making him appear legendary until he reveals he hasn't won any case either: It's his first time acting as a prosecutor.
Making a Spectacle of Yourself: His slitted red visor.
Malicious Misnaming: He constantly calls Phoenix "Trite", or in the Japanese version, he intentionally mispronounces "Naruhodo" as "Maruhodo". Note that while the misnaming seems at worst an immature insult in the English version^note, deliberately mispronouncing someone's last name is perceived as ruder in Japan. At the very end of the game, as he and Phoenix share One Last Cup of Coffee before he is hauled off to jail for murder, he finally calls Phoenix by the correct name, showing that he's finally gotten over his misplaced grudge.
Manly Tears: Defied by him, as he states that "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.
- Additionally, in the Japanese version, he gets his name from Godou River (Eagle River in English), the river that played such a prominent role in Mia's first case.
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!?
Misplaced Retribution: Phoenix had nothing to do with Mia's death aside from walking into her office too late to catch Redd White. Godot still decides that he's responsible and tries to make his courtroom life hell. At the end of 3-5, he admits that he really blamed himself, which still falls under this trope as he was in a coma when Mia was murdered.
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. At least a few of them end up on Phoenix's head in trials. Furthermore, when explaining his being "back from the dead", he describes how the smell of a doctor's cup of coffee woke him up from a seven-year coma.
Mysterious Past: No one has heard of him or knows anything about him from before he became a prosecutor. Some more about his story is discovered by the end of the game, though.
Nerves of Steel: So much so that he doesn't even flinch when Furio Tigre's roar has everyone else cowering behind a table or when he himself is accused of Misty Fey's murder. He does, however, start to lose his cool as Bridge to the Turnabout progresses towards the end, starting with him realizing that he missed "Maya" written in blood on the lantern when he tried to cover up the murder. He's also the only character in the original trilogy to make it clear he won't put up with Franziska's crap.
Never My Fault: A very important part of his backstory. In reality, he knew better.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: In Case 3-5, it turns out that Godot learned a year before the story started that the Big Bad would target Maya Fey. Rather than report this to the police or tell Phoenix, he concocted a plan of recruiting two co-conspirators, letting Maya go to the mountain where she would be found, try to stop the Big Bad himself, letting one of the co-conspirators take the blame when things go sour. When caught, he finally admits that he just wanted to atone for not saving Maya's sister Mia and that helping Maya was an excuse. Though his actions for killing Misty was to get revenge by killing Dahlia as he later admits.
Oh, Crap!: Every prosecutor makes these faces but a particularly significant one occurs in 3-5 when he learns of the bloody writing on the stone lantern... which reads "Maya". Given that he had made significant efforts to make sure Maya couldn't be incriminated, it's pretty bad news to him.
Phoenix: [Godot's] suddenly shaking... and I don't think it's all the caffeine...
One-Way Visor: He's nearly blind without it and it lets him see more-or-less normally. To everyone else it just looks like three glowing red lines.
Only a Flesh Wound: He takes a knife wound to the face from Dahlia-in-Misty's-body and it never gets treated (which is why it opens up later). He still walks it off and can ignore the pain enough to keep it hidden from everyone.
Only One Name: When he's introduced, no one even knows if he has a last name or given name, just that he answers to the alias "Godot". He does have both a first and a last name, but nobody connects him to the name 'Diego Armando' until 3-5.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He normally has Nerves of Steel and barely ever shows weakness when the defense gets the upper hand on him, so it's quite telling when he does start showing nervousness in his last trial.
Persecuting Prosecutor: Played With. He's the only prosecutor from the original trilogy who never engages in witness coaching or evidence tampering of any sort; he even submits the piece of evidence that ultimately gets him convicted and requests that 3-5 be continued right as the Judge is about to call a verdict, ensuring the true killer is found. He does assault Phoenix, but unlike Franziska before him, he never goes so far as attacking witnesses or the Judge. Ironically, despite being the only rival who outright kills someone, legally he's one of the cleanest prosecutors in the original trilogy.
Pride: Like most major prosecutors, only of a distinctly different kind. He's smug about his abilities, true, though his downfall is his inability to admit when things are his fault.
Psychological Projection: The real reason he blames Phoenix for not being there to save Maya is that he blames himself for the same, as he only woke up from his coma after Mia had died, much like how Phoenix walked into Mia's office after Redd White had killed her. He eventually admits this when he's pinned as Misty's murderer.
Put on a Bus: Ends T&T being arrested for Misty Fey's murder, technically-speaking. Unlike Franziska and Edgeworth, he's never reappeared, or even been mentioned, in subsequent games.
Real Men Take It Black: He insists that coffee must be black as a moonless night. Justified when you learn he ended up in a coma when someone slipped poison into his coffee, and he's understandably jumpy about anyone tampering with it these days.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He starts giving Phoenix one at the climax of Bridge to the Turnabout, saying that he'll never be the defense attorney that Mia was. He gets interrupted when he sees Mia's spirit standing beside Wright, both dramatically Giving Him The Pointer Finger, causing him to break down.
Red Filter of Doom: The anime describes his eyesight this way, with the mask applying a red filter to all the colors he sees.
Remember the New Guy?: As a result of the first game not having planned for sequels, he was never mentioned by Mia or Grossberg prior to the third game despite being significant to both.
Revealing Injury: Case 3-5. The entire time he's prosecuting, he's sustained a knife wound that is not being treated properly. This wound is also what brought him down as well.
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. He also admits that he knew that Dahlia-channeled-by-Misty Fey wasn't really Dahlia but part of the reason he attacked her (with an intent to kill instead of subdue) was his overwhelming hatred of her.
Rule of Cool: Several times he'll be seen catching a cup of coffee that slides to him from off-screen (stage right) that apparently comes from nowhere. Why? Because it's awesome. One explanation may be that the bailiff actually gets them for him but this isn't ever confirmed (and the Anime doesn't clarify this either.)
Sad Clown: Outwardly, he's a wise-cracking Bunny-Ears Prosecutor who has coffee mugs slid onto his desk with a metaphor or joke to go with each one, and has the Nerves of Steel to stare a mafia/yakuza thug in the eye and question him. But he's also suffering tremendously, both physically (was in a coma for five years, has grayed hair, has to use a visor to be able to see even just partially) and mentally (Mia died while he was in a coma and he believes it's all his fault).
Secretly Selfish: While he risked his life to save Maya from Dahlia and Morgan, he states in retrospect that, while not consciously aware of such, he was most likely primarily motivated by his desire to atone for his guilt surrounding Mia's death, hence him not trying to get Phoenix's help in protecting her.
Shout-Out: His name is a reference to Waiting for Godot. There are some references to the story across Trials and Tribulations, including one by Godot himself (stating that, when he woke up, there was no one waiting for him).
Smug Smiler: One of his sprites sports him with a huge grin on his face, and the boxart of Trials and Tribulations shows him smiling with an air of confidence about him.
Smug Snake: He's highly condescending and arrogant for a rookie prosecutor. The Judge of all people calls him out on it. Justified, he used to be a seasoned defense attorney, so he knows his stuff. That and he's a bit smug to begin with.
Something Only They Would Say: For the audience's benefit more than any character. When Diego Armando mentions "That's one of my rules.", it becomes obvious that it could only be Godot.
Spit Take: A favored reaction of his when surprised or caught off guard by Phoenix. Sometimes he'll take a fresh drink just to abide with the spit-take.
Stepford Smiler: That smug grin isn't all sunshine and rainbows, he even admits in the end that he keeps smiling no matter how angry or grief-struck he becomes.
Sympathetic Murderer: Alright, he did kill Misty Fey but the circumstances behind it and his own explanation of it make it difficult to fully fault him. So much so that Maya even tries to cover for him.
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.
That Man Is Dead: Attempted to take this way out when he began his quest for vengeance against Phoenix, but it ends up subverted by the end because he simply denied his identity to himself in order to ease his suffering and shift the blame.
Thinking Tic: Godot lays his left arm across his waist, rests his right arm on his left hand, and touches his visor in his thinking animation.
Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Though he throws his cups right-side-up, they always turn in midair and land perfectly shut on Phoenix's head, emptying their contents all over his hair and face. Played for Laughs.
Trademark Favorite Food: He's overly fond of coffee, to the point of drinking up to 17 cups a day, and using various coffee-related metaphors to get points across in court.
Tragic Villain: He's ultimately driven by a desire to make up for his own failure, and in the process, ends up committing a murder that could have been avoided.
Uncertain Doom: He ends the last trial with a serious knife-wound to his face that he left untreated and which reopens during the trial, and his physical condition was already frail due to Dahlia having almost killed him with poison. On top of all this, he's just been convicted of murder and could well be facing execution. The "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue doesn't detail what he's been up to and he exclusively shares the final sketch with two dead people. However, it's never explicitly stated whether he lived or died; he's simply never been mentioned again in any subsequent game.
Verbal Tic: He tends to utter "Ha...!" before making dismissive comments.
Villainous Breakdown: Very tame in comparison to previous ones, after he is exposed as Misty Fey's killer his visor which was smoking blows up (yet it didn't get destroyed). After Phoenix points out that they "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot, his knife wound reopens invoking Tears of Blood.
Voice Changeling: Apparently he's quite good at doing impersonations, mimicking both Victor Kudo and Desirée DeLite's voices in court, complete with his theme music changing to their and lighter female text blips for the latter despite speaking in a low baritone.
Waistcoat of Style: You can't be a main prosecutor in this series and just wear a normal suit, it seems.
Would Hurt a Child: Emphasis on "would". He stabbed Dahlia without caring who channeled her. It turned out to be Misty, but it might have been Pearl, something he acknowledges.
Wound That Will Not Heal: His poisoning has, (at least according to the anime), left him with a regular need to return to the hospital for maintenance, and of course, it struck him blind without his visor.

Klavier Gavin (Kyoya Garyu)

Klavier Gavin (Kyoya Garyu)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryouji Yamamoto (AJ), Toshiyuki Kusuda (DD)

Voiced by (English): Andrew Alfonso (AJ), Yuri Lowenthal (DD)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/klavieraa5.png

^{Click here to see him as a rookie prosecutor.}

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

Main prosecutor of the fourth game. A German rock star teen prodigy, he became a prosecutor at seventeen, has an impressive win record, and all the hallmarks of being a Wake-Up Call Boss — except that he's interested in finding the truth more than racking up wins. He and Apollo become Bash Brothers in their first trial together and keep at it throughout the game. He can be considered one of the series' best prosecutors, as he's the only one who makes it through his cases without failing a spot check on the evidence. He's also the first of the prosecutors not to try to kill you, maim you, conceal evidence, whip you, withhold evidence, "prepare" witnesses to lie, or otherwise cheat.

He returns in Dual Destinies, now focusing on his law career rather than his band, and he helps an investigation by recreating a mock trial with Apollo at the Themis Legal Academy. It is revealed that he is an alumnus of the school and he performs at the school concert.

The Ace: Maintains both a chart-topping career as a musician and an exceptional aptitude for prosecution (Apollo realizes Klavier probably caught onto Alita Tiala being the real killer before he ever did), despite both careers being very demanding. Klavier doesn't even boast about or relish in it, at best innocently soaking himself in the perks they bring and otherwise living life to its fullest. The only reason Apollo feels any sense of antagonism from Klavier is because he's just that damn good at everything, while Apollo is still mastering the attorney thing. Subverted in one aspect, however, as early on in the game it's implied that he so comprehensively destroyed Phoenix in his debut court case that the latter was forced to give up being an attorney, when in actual fact Klavier was just an Unwitting Pawn in his brother's revenge plot.
Adventure Duo: Is this with Ema Skye. They seem to serve as an inversion of Edgeworth and Gumshoe, who were the previous prosecutor/detective duo, with Ema being the serious, bitter, analytical detective and Klavier being an easy-going, devil-may-care tease.
Air Guitar: It's one of his courtroom animations, complete with a short riff from "Guilty Love" playing.
All for Nothing: The flashback segment of 4-4 shows that Klavier requested the courtroom be emptied out before calling in a special witness and formally accusing Phoenix Wright of forging evidence, knowing that such an accusation could have serious repercussions for the legal system. Unfortunately, Dual Destinies reveals that Phoenix' disbarrment was one of two events that started the Dark Age of the Law and caused people to lose faith in the legal system.
Ambiguously Bi: While he may show an interest in women, his interest does not seem exclusive. When talking to Trucy in "Turnabout Serenade," she mentions a list of the Gavinners' hit singles. Among them is "My Boyfriend is the Prosecution's Witness."◊ Keep in mind that Klavier is the lead singer and is stated to have written all of their songs.
- His theme 'Guilty Love' has lyrics in Japanese. The song sings of a prosecutor who would rather be preoccupied with court matters than to spend time with his girlfriend and it culminates in him accepting that a breakup is on the way. The song may or may not be implying Klavier is singing as 'Prosecutor Gavin' until we get the line Where's this love headed? Either go ask the wind or better yet go ask Herr Forehead!
Anime Hair: His hair always drapes over his shoulder in the shape of a drill, no matter what he's doing. Averted in his younger days, when his hair was short and messy.
Attention Whore: Both Ema Skye and the Judge accuse Klavier of using the trial in Turnabout Serenade to promote his music, which he finds ridiculous. Of course, he does the exact thing in the next case while speaking to Spark Brushel.
Bash Brothers: With Apollo. From their first trial. Apollo hangs a lampshade on this when he says the "win" wasn't entirely his, since Klavier pressed him to bring in evidence that revealed the real killer.
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 with a touch of Obfuscating Stupidity, but on the stage, he's a touchy perfectionist. It's like he's got the roles switched around.
Cain and Abel: The Abel to Kristoph's Cain.
Character Catchphrase: The aforementioned Achtung! among others. "Achtung" is a German phrase to warn or caution someone of danger. This is especially significant when you face Kristoph; considering who he is, Apollo may have needed all the warnings and help he can get.
Character Development:
- In regards to Kristoph. When his older brother ends up on the witness stand in "Turnabout Succession", Klavier starts acting unnaturally awkward and submissive. As the trial continues and Kristoph's deeds become exposed, Klavier finally stands up to Kristoph and delivers the ultimate slap to the face by telling him, "You're not needed anymore."
- In his younger days, while he was still a kind person, he was more abrasive and sharp-tongued. He's much tamer now.
The Charmer: Very much so. Fitting in with the charismatic rock star image, his dialogue and body language can come off as flirtatious. This is one reason Ema hates him.
Clear My Name: An interesting inversion of the trope. It seems he has his own doubts about Kristoph and his role in Phoenix's career-ending trial — while Klavier's never considered the "guilty" party, he is remembered as "the one who stripped Phoenix Wright's badge" (although even Phoenix notes that was the Bar Association) but he doesn't seem to consider it an accomplishment. He refers to the "blackness of seven years ago" and says it's time to end it. As it turns out, he actually didn't do anything wrong, but knowing that Phoenix didn't either is what seems to set him on the path to clearing Phoenix's name as well.
Consummate Professional: He's a tetchy perfectionist and does not tolerate excuses or imperfection in his or his co-workers' performance. In his prosecuting career? Nope, it's his music career that's technically his side interest. In court, while not nearly as rigid as Edgeworth and the Von Karmas, he is serious about being a prosecutor first and a rock star second, even if his attitudes about the two are inverted. Even though it pains him to have to do it, he still prosecutes one of his good friends and fellow band members because, well, he did commit murder. He's also by far the most skilled of the prosecutors in the series at keeping quirky witnesses under control, as first demonstrated with Wesley Stickler.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To the original trilogy prosecutors, all of whom were tetchy, condescending, and obstructive before their Heel Face Turns, with Miles being taught to achieve the guilty verdict at all costs, Franziska and Godot having personal grudges against Phoenix that negatively influenced their treatment of him. Klavier, on the other hand, is a decent guy with weird tendencies who plays nice from the get-go, and does not mind getting a not guilty verdict as long as the truth is out. More tellingly, he's also the only prosecutor who has to testify against an evil defense attorney - namely, his brother.
Crazy-Prepared: He was responsible for Phoenix's disbarment because he had a "tip" (care of Kristoph) about the evidence. Becomes this trope because he actually follows the law in having Drew Misham testify without an audience due to the repercussions for the justice system. He also has the sense to issue a gag order once a murder victim is discovered in order to preserve the crime scene and keep key witnesses from exiting. This is unprecedented competence in the series.
Dark Is Not Evil: He's a tan-skinned prosecutor who wears dark red clothing in the style of a rock star even in court, and his blazer could be interpreted as a leather jacket, but despite this, he isn't a dick. This is what sets him apart from his older brother, Kristoph, who is lighter-skinned and wears a sharp, light purple suit, and presents himself as trustworthy, when he's an arrogant and selfish prick who just wants to bask in the fame and attention being a defense attorney gives him.
Demoted to Extra: In Dual Destinies, where Klavier only appears in Case 3 and one of the DLC quizzes. Even worse in Spirit of Justice where he only appears in pre-order DLC and in a flashback in Case 5 — though at least that confirms that he wasn't one of the prosecutors deemed corrupt by Edgeworth.
Dub Name Change: Since his name is literally just the German word for piano, the German localization obviously changed it. There he is called Kantilen Gavin, which is derived from the word Kantilene, meaning a vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth, lyrical style.
Egocentric Team Naming: His band is named the Gavinners, after, well, him.
Et Tu, Brute?: Wasn't expecting to learn that one of his fellow bandmates turned out to be a crooked detective who committed murder, smuggled cocoons that would get him executed in one country, used Klavier's prized guitar as a "mule" for said cocoons, and obstructed evidence to frame another bandmate. Once Daryan Crescend is exposed and convicted, Klavier tells him in a good-natured yet solemn tone that the trial is "[my] last session with you. We rocked."
Even the Guys Want Him: There are a few times in which Apollo is caught admitting he's attractive. Can also be associated with Stupid Sexy Flanders.
Expy: Of Dante from Devil May Cry, another Capcom game. They even have the same face, which is very noticeable whenever he looks angry. They both also have a brother with whom they make a Red Oni, Blue Oni pairing. And his brother's evil as well, just like Vergil.
Fatal Flaw: His trusting nature. While it does make him one of the most effective prosecutors in the series because he doesn't get tunnel vision about the defendant being guilty, it also means that he's sometimes willing to trust people who aren't really trustworthy, which results in Phoenix being disbarred and LeTouse killed, not because of Klavier's own actions, but because people he allowed close to him abused his trust for criminal purposes.
Fauxreigner: He's not actually German, something that was implied in the games^note and confirmed by the creators. He spent a couple of years studying there, but his accent and Gratuitous German are completely on purpose. Lampshaded by Phoenix:
Phoenix Wright: I like your affected Euro-rock accent, by the way.
Friendly Enemy: He and Apollo are working toward different outcomes in court, but outside, he's on good terms with him. In his point of view, why hate someone that's just trying to do his job and doesn't bear you any ill-will? Even in court, Klavier helps Apollo out more than Edgeworth helped Wright while still standing opposed to him. The fact that a prosecutor is downright chummy with people from the get-go also serves as Foreshadowing - one of the bosses is Klavier's own brother, Kristoph, who is a sociopathic, narcissistic defense attorney.
The Gadfly:
- Seems to get a rise out of teasing Apollo and Ema, who inevitably get incredibly flustered whenever he does.
- In court, he also pulls this trope from time to time, often falling on You Didn't Ask. He lets the defense and judge go through lines of reasoning he knows are incorrect, but will only say that after the defenses's case seems solid (for example, he does this in Case 4-3, when Ema's testimony and Apollo's case were based on Machi Tobaye being blind). Given Klavier's personality, it's possible he only does that to make the case look more dramatic, given he sometimes finds trials boring.
Gone Horribly Right: According to him, the Gavineers started out as something he started in his spare time, but didn't expect it to become extremely popular. While he enjoys the role, he makes it apparent he prefers prosecuting.
Graceful Loser: The first prosecutor in the series who genuinely doesn't mind losing in court and never has; he prosecutes people because he is honestly convinced that they're guilty. If new evidence comes up that proves his initial conclusions wrong, he'll happily accept it, and in some cases he'll even poke holes in witnesses' lies himself without Apollo's prompting. Case in point, after Case 4-2 is over, he sends Apollo and Trucy VIP tickets for the following The Gavinners concert.
Gratuitous German: Klavier will routinely sprinkle German throughout his dialogue to add to the European rockstar image. He is implied (and confirmed by the creators) to not actually be from Germany, although he spent a couple of years studying there. Given his name he may be of German descent.
Greed: Played for Laughs at the start of Case 4-3. While he's still enough of a Graceful Loser to give Apollo and Trucy VIP Tickets for a Gavineers concert as a gift, Apollo is annoyed at the fact that it's them, and not Klavier, who have to pay for them (albeit at 20% off).
Hero Antagonist: He's the only prosecutor in the series who is never presented in a villainous light. Right from the start, he does his job properly and will never resort to shady tactics, even questioning his own witnesses if he thinks they're lying. He also isn't smug about his position and doesn't look down on defense attorneys in general and Apollo in particular; the worst he gives is some friendly teasing.
Heroic BSoD: In case 4-4, when his brother Kristoph is on the stand and he realizes that his brother manipulated him to get Phoenix disbarred. At this point the normally-confident Klavier can barely say anything to oppose him. He snaps out of it by the end to tell him that "you're not needed anymore."
Horrible Judge of Character: Played with; while his best friend turned out to be a murderer, and he objects to Apollo's accusations regarding Kristoph and Daryan, he also agrees that they should testify in court and ultimately comes to recognize their guilt. It's less that he genuinely believes that they're clean and more that he really doesn't want his brother and his best friend to be murderers.
Hypocritical Humor: He vehemently denies any usage of pre-recorded audio or footage in his live performances, stating that the Gavineers "aren't some air-guitar band", even though he constantly uses air guitar during trials.
Improbable Age: He was a legitimately talented prosecutor at 17, unlike fellow 17-year-old "prodigy" Sebastian from Gyakuten Kenji 2, although his age also probably played a part in not realizing that Kristoph's "tip" was a set-up.
It's Personal: Both Played for Laughs and played straight in "Turnabout Academy." Since the murder victim was a teacher he admired at school, he's more than willing to help Athena and Apollo with their investigation however he can. He also swears to hunt down whoever burnt the Gavinners' banner, which was supposed to hang from the stage during the school festival. The two incidents turned out to be connected, but none of them knew it at the time.
Leitmotif: "Guilty Love", a Gavinners song in-game.
Left the Background Music On: According to Apollo's gripe in Case 4-2, his song Guilty Love is literally being played in the courtroom.
Meaningful Name: "Klavier" is German for "keyboard". The "kyo" in "Kyoya" means "echo".
Mr. Fanservice: Both in and out of universe. Practically every female that isn't Ema (who dislikes him) or Vera (a young, shy girl who had a bad history with his lookalike) swoons over him, and even Apollo finds himself distracted.
Mundane Utility: He called up a very special service meant to carry evidence between countries without any damage whatsoever to bring a very special and sentimental guitar from Borgnia to Japanifornia since simply carrying it on a plane conventionally would ruin the wood quality from the air pressure, so they vacuum-wrapped it. Machi and Daryan used said guitar to smuggle a highly-illegal cocoon out of Borgnia expecting Klavier to use said service to ship the guitar out as no authorities would inspect it due to his orders. However, this bites them later when upon opening the guitar case in Japanifornia, Daryan found out that Klavier didn't unwrap it yet, meaning that he couldn't get the cocoon out, leading to burning the guitar.
My God, What Have I Done?: Most prosecutors have their breakdowns when Phoenix humiliates them by winning or exposing their wrongdoing. Klavier has his when Vera confirms that Phoenix didn't commission the forged diary page; he ruined an innocent man's career over nothing. And to make matters worse, his own brother used his desire for justice to turn him into a pawn for a petty revenge scheme.
Nerves of Steel: Doesn't even bat an eye when someone takes Trucy as a hostage at knife-point. Subverted, he saw straight through the Mr. Hat trick and wasn't amused.
Nice Guy:
- Of all the prosecutors you face, absolutely, and he's a good deal more helpful than some members of the police force or the witnesses who try to kill you. For the record: he never hides witnesses, coaches testimony, presents fake forensic evidence, whips you, threatens you, withholds evidence, obstructs your investigation, tasers you, trains pets to be unhelpful, messes with your head, trains pets to attack you, treats you with outright contempt^note, burns you with coffee, kidnaps your assistant, tracks a detective, threatens to behead you, use beads to painfully squeeze parts of your body, or otherwise does anything but demand you put up a coherent, logical argument with evidence to substantiate. And he's no bigot either. And if you're on to something? He actually helps!
- He's still this in Dual Destinies. The victim of 5-3 inspired him when he was still a student, and he's more than willing to help out Athena and Apollo with their investigations if it'll bring her killer to justice. While he's not directly involved with prosecuting the case, he does pull rank a bit to get some key evidence examined for them.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: 7 years ago, all Klavier wanted was to expose a forger and make his brother proud, which ultimately led to said brother abusing his trust to frame a genuinely ethical lawyer, and the start of the Dark Age of the Law as people felt that if even Phoenix Wright couldn't be trusted, then no one could.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Klavier is usually carefree in the court, not minding too much when Apollo gains momentum in finding the real killer and absolving his clients, whereas other prosecutors end up tensing up and attempt to do everything they can to turn the tide. So when it's Klavier sweating with an anguished look on his face, it's because he's been an Unwitting Pawn in somebody else's scheme, usually being manipulated by someone he trusted.
- This is especially apparent in Case 4-4. He gets loud and aggressive with a witness, something Apollo, Trucy and The Judge point out. This is because he put two and two together and realized the reason behind the fact his brother had tipped him off that Drew Misham knew about the forged evidence in the case that got Phoenix disbarred.
The Perfectionist: Not in court, surprisingly enough, but when it comes to his music the slightest slip-up in a performance is enough to put him in a terribly foul mood.
Persecuting Prosecutor: One of the few rival prosecutors in the series who completely averts this trope. He's the cleanest prosecutor in the entire series; while previous prosecutors would obstruct trials, verbally demean, and physically assault the defense side, Klavier is warm, friendly, and entirely devoted to the truth. In three cases, he takes down a detective, a nurse, and a lawyer, the latter of which is his own brother. He'll prosecute one of his own band members if necessary. While he did get a lawyer disbarred with forged evidence, it was only because Kristoph used him as an Unwitting Pawn in the name of petty revenge against Phoenix Wright.
Record Needle Scratch: Whenever he's about to say something important during a trial, he plays air guitar to his signature lick. He also does it to conclude Daryan's trial after the latter is exposed and convicted.
The Rock Star: He carries the glamorous style from his rock career into the courtroom too. His band disbands at the end of the game, though he says he's still focusing on his music career in Dual Destinies.
Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: He's nice from the get-go when other prosecutors start off as jerks, and several people around him are revealed to be criminals... but not Klavier himself; he's a genuine Nice Guy who just so happens to have bad luck with friends. And family.
Ship Tease: He is often pictured with Ema in the official art and merchandise. This ship tease becomes especially apparent in Odoroki Gyakuten where Klavier lends Ema his coat and she is left flustered by the event.
Shout-Out: "Achtung Baby! Today we play it my way!"
Sibling Yin-Yang: Being less of a consummate professional than his older brother, Klavier dresses like a rockstar in court and acts casual and mischievous, while Kristoph is dressed more smartly and acts more polite and charming. The difference becomes starker when Kristoph is revealed to be the murderous, narcissistic bastard he is.
Sitcom Archnemesis: Outside of court, he's very kind and likable. Doesn't stop him from rubbing Apollo the wrong way or Ema hating his guts. He and Apollo seem to warm to each other as the game goes on, although he's still calling you "Herr Forehead" in court.
Skewed Priorities: When The Gavinners is involved, his priorities tend to be somewhat off. In Case 4-3, he's more annoyed at his motorcycle not working, his keys being stolen, his guitar being burned and the musical performance being subpar than about the murder that happened during the concert, and in Case 5-3, he treats the burning of the Gavinners flag at practically the same level as the murder.
Skilled, but Naive: As a rookie. He really was good enough to pass the bar age 17, but he didn't have the experience to recognize a sketchy tip when he saw one, albeit that the tipster being his older brother probably clouded his judgement somewhat.
Strong Family Resemblance: He really does look a lot like his older brother Kristoph. It actually causes Apollo to stare at him when they meet each other for the first time in the first day of investigation in "Turnabout Corner". It's also the most likely reason Vera was staring at him during Case 4-4 — because she met Kristoph when she was younger.
Took a Level in Kindness: While he still wasn't that bad, Klavier was crasser and more defiant in his early career, as shown by him being more antagonistic to Phoenix. This may be because Kristoph told him in advance that Phoenix had forged evidence and was unworthy of Klavier's respect, likely souring Klavier's opinion of Phoenix.
Token Good Teammate: He's one of the few prosecutors whose intentions are good and honest from the start, as well as being the only prosecutor who isn't an asshole when you first meet them (at least, before their Character Development). He did use forged evidence to get Phoenix disbarred, but that's because his own brother, Kristoph, used him as a pawn for petty revenge.
Trauma Conga Line: Fans have noticed that the events of Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice have served as one for Klavier, due to Japan's judicial system and the country's societal emphasis on family. He was used as an Unwitting Pawn by Kristoph in his plan to get Phoenix Wright disbarred out of spite, and had an emotional breakdown when he learned of what he had done through Vera. Then he helped Apollo expose Kristoph's crimes, and condemned his own guitarist, Daryan Crescend, of murder and drug smuggling, despite how close he was to his bandmates and he was very reluctant to turn on them even for the law. This even extends to the next game where his favorite instructor from Themis Law Academy and the one who instilled much of his personal commitment to being an upstanding prosecutor, Constance Courte, is slain simply because she was so honest and unwilling to look past duplicity in the name of results. That all said it's a little hard to notice when his suave and upbeat personality basically never wavers.
Trolling Translator: When interpreting for Lamiroir during "Turnabout Serenade", he decides to throw in a completely pointless jab about Apollo's forehead before getting to the crux of her statement. His forehead being something she definitely couldn’t have known about, considering she’s blind.
Uniformity Exception: In addition to being far more polite than the other mainstay prosecutors, he's the only one who ends up being the prosecutor for the final case of his game from start to finish, as certain conditions from absences, being the defendant, getting shot, or being a surprise witness force other prosecutors to relay the job to someone else for a time.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Giving Kristoph access to his evidence as well as Magnifi's belongings, with the intention of having a fair trial between brothers, ended up giving Kristoph the means to forge the missing diary page, which he was initially going to use to beat Klavier, and later to get Phoenix disbarred when Zak fired him.
Unwitting Pawn:
- Kristoph used him to get Phoenix disbarred. When Klavier realizes the truth through another Unwitting Pawn, he doesn't take it well.
- Daryan also used Klavier as a "mule" for cocoon-smuggling by secretly putting said cocoons inside his prized Borginian-made guitar, only to set it on fire when the smuggling operation went belly-up. When Klavier finds out, he good-naturedly yet solemnly disowns Daryan as his friend and bandmate.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He enjoys teasing Apollo and Apollo is generally annoyed with him due to how effortlessly Klavier succeeds in being cool where he constantly fails. Despite this, the two have an excellent working relationship and a clear trust in the other's abilities. He also seems to have a bit of this with Daryan, with the two getting along decently, despite the two taking some shots at each other. Sadly, that friendship doesn't last after Daryan gets arrested.
Wake-Up Call Boss: Double-subversion. He is the first boss you face alone, he's the reason your mentor has been disbarred, he calls you "Herr Forehead," and he claims that you and critical reasoning are no longer on speaking terms, but start to figure out the case and he's the first to help. It's not until the very last trial segment that it all makes sense: he never set out to take Phoenix down for petty reasons or through illegal means. The dissonance is part of The Reveal: the more you trust him, the less sense "seven years ago" makes. And then you find out why.
We Used to Be Friends: With his bandmate and fellow law enforcement, Daryan Crescend. After Klavier learns that he was unwittingly complicit in Daryan's cocoon-smuggling scheme, he good-naturedly yet solemnly cuts ties with him forever.
Wham Line: The moment he outright objects to a witness leaving even though letting them go would pretty much guarantee a win for him reveals that he's majorly on your side to find out the truth.
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: "Klavier" is German for "piano". However, it is rather appropriate for someone who is a musician, even if their instrument of choice is different.
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.

Simon Blackquill (Jin Yugami)

Simon Blackquill (Jin Yugami)

Voiced by (Japanese): Shunsuke Sakuya (DD, SoJ)

Voiced by (English): Unknown

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blackquillaa6.png

"............Hmph. Enough jabbering. Get on with it, already."

Main prosecutor of the fifth game. A gothic individual who carries a hawk named Taka on his shoulder. Trained by a master of psychology, Simon is a serious prosecutor who utilizes effective psychological techniques in his prosecution to break witnesses, defendants, and even judges. Although he was successful early in his career, he was accused of murder and eventually put on death row. Before his time ran out, however, Edgeworth (now Chief Prosecutor) appointed him to prosecute a long and difficult case, leading to Blackquill earning his freedom. He now stands behind the prosecutor's bench as a free man once more, ready to show everyone that psychological warfare is no joke.

Oh, and he might or might not be British.

Absurdly Sharp Blade: His "blade" can cleanly cut feathers in half from across the room. He'll hit the defense with it too, but not to the same effect.
Achievements in Ignorance: He says in Spirit of Justice that he doesn't know how the Mood Matrix works, months after making a very good attempt at foiling it.
Anti-Villain: He's a grim and ruthless prosecutor that's also a convict but he's basically doing it because he has to. Being bound by the state's will plus having shock-able cuffs means he literally doesn't have a choice. As for the murder charge, not only is he innocent but he willingly took the rap for Athena when he realized that she would be the one to be accused due to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Badass Back: Often shows his back turned.
Badass in a Nice Suit: While perhaps not immediately noticeable, he does wear a proper suit under his coat.
Badass Longcoat: Best shown by his initial "facing-away-from-audience" pose.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: He's a nightmare to cross-examine and does his best to make Phoenix's life harder in the final trial, despite his sister Aura threatening to kill her hostages if he isn't exonerated. Of course, he does have his reasons- he thinks that if it isn't him, it would be Athena.
Berserk Button:
- Don't try to cheat the court rules or lie to it when Blackquill is the prosecutor. Taka will end you.
- Also never insult birds in front of him.
- Speaking ill of his mentor, Metis Cykes, is guaranteed to set him off.
Big Brother Instinct: To Athena, to the point of taking the heat for her murder charge and very nearly being executed for it all because she was his teacher's child.
Big Brother Mentor: What he seems to have become by Spirit of Justice. He'll put himself between Athena and anyone who tries to bully her, but that doesn't mean he won't grab her by the shoulders and shake her himself if he needs to get her attention.
Big Damn Heroes: When Prosecutor Sahdmadhi manipulates Athena, Blackquill saves the day as he makes his entrance shouting "SILENCE!"
Big Word Shout: He uses "OBJECTION!" like everyone else until he snaps his cuffs, then he starts using a unique interjection: "SILENCE!".
Born in the Wrong Century: Way too samurai.
Breaking the Bonds: When he gets serious.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He dresses unusually, keeps a hawk with him to attack people, and most significantly is a convict... but he's still allowed to prosecute for the state because he's that good at it. In other words, just another prosecutor in the Ace Attorney series. However, the reason he's given the green light despite being a convict is because Edgeworth believes him to be fully innocent of the crime he allegedly did. In Spirit of Justice, he actually joins Athena at the defense's bench, ostensibly to protect his favourite soba shop.
Character Catchphrase: Silence! which may come from the time he silenced the room when little Athena was too stressed.
Chained by Fashion: Worn because he is a convicted murderer but a talented enough prosecutor to be worth pulling out of jail to score convictions for the state.
Chuunibyou: Downplayed. Despite being a grown man, Simon acts more like a old Samurai than a Prosecutor, using Dono to refer to others, using an old-fashioned tone of speaking, dressing a manner resembling a Samurai, and treating all of his court cases as if they were dramatic duels to the death.
Combat Pragmatist: He'll sometimes send his hawk to assault the defense. In Apollo's case, this prevents him from focusing enough to perceive someone.
The Comically Serious: The sixth game (set after he defrosts a bit) mines some humor from how such an uptight stick-in-the-mud like Blackquill takes things like noodles and rakugo very seriously.
Compelling Voice: His power of suggestion, a vocal trap that invokes this very well.
Consummate Liar:
- Have an inconsistent emotion? He makes compelling lies to try to make up for it. In fact, if his noise level hadn't increased, you couldn't even tell he's lying.
- He's pretty good at improvising. When Edgeworth comes up with a compelling (though ultimately incorrect) motive for Athena to have killed her mother, Blackquill not only denies it, but works Edgeworth's theory into his made-up motive for doing the same.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Klavier. While Klavier's a friendly if pretentious Nice Guy, Simon is a grim, ruthless convict who mocks the defense relentlessly. Design-wise, Klavier has a warmer color palette (dark blond hair, tanned skin, magenta jacket) while Simon's black-and-white appearance makes him look even harsher.
Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: According to the official visual book, they are there because he cried a lot in prison and never bothered to wipe his tear streaks. They give the appearance of a hawk's facial markings.
Dark Is Not Evil: His design is predominantly black and white and he certainly has a dark past, but he turns out to be both one of the more honest prosecutors in the series and innocent of the murder he was convicted for. Doesn't mean he's any politer or less intimidating, but Edgeworth deems him worthy of keeping his job when he purges the Prosecutor's Office of corrupt prosecutors between Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice.
Death Seeker: Not so much someone who was looking for the excuse to die, but rather someone who was not bothered by his encroaching death and did nothing to obstruct it. His execution was his way of preventing suspicion from ever falling on Athena and to that end he believed it was a just cause to die for and refused to fight it.
Demoted to Extra:
- In Spirit of Justice he appears in Case 4 as a witness and Athena's co-counsel and in a flashback in Case 5.
- Taka gets it even worse in Spirit of Justice as he only appears to deliver manju.
The Dreaded: As a prosecuting inmate who can break his chains with ease, nearly everyone is scared shitless of Blackquill, including the judge. His questionings are just as feared. Tellingly, when the Final Boss of Dual Destinies realizes they've been backed into a corner, the only one they feel they will need to kill in order to escape is Blackquill.
Due to the Dead: Has respect for the deceased Constance Courte in "Turnabout Academy", and after Juniper Woods is declared Not Guilty of her murder, he advises her to not let Courte's memory be in vain.
Everyone Has Standards: One of his strategies as a prosecutor is leading the defense into conclusions using psychology. But when Nahyuta leads the gallery into doubting Athena's qualifications as a lawyer and overwhelming her hyper-sensitive hearing to psychologically torment her, he gets so aggravated he joins Athena as the defense's co-counsel.
- In general, despite his abrasive attitude, he also plays arguably the most neutrally out of any prosecutor. He doesn't go out of his way to help like Klavier, but when its clear a witness has lied, even when said lie hurts Blackquill's case, he will be just as determined to make them spill the truth as the defense is. He even turns down a false confession from the defendant in the third case of Dual Destinies, essentially giving up an easy win, because he knew it wasn't truthfully earned.
Everything's Better with Samurai: Note the jinbaori◊-esque Badass Longcoat and its heraldry-esque lapel emblems, his pet hawk, his Samurai Ponytail, constant references to swords and swordplay, and his leitmotif, which could've been pulled straight from an old samurai film. In the international releases he refers to the protagonists as "Justice-dono" or "Cykes-dono;" in the Japanese versions he uses nicknames derived from their actual names that also invoke this feel.
Evil Overlooker: In this◊ promotional poster.
Exhausted Eye Bags: About twenty of them.
Expository Hairstyle Change: At the time of his incarceration, his hair was much shorter and wholly black.
Expy: While he has a much different personality, his part in the story of Dual Destinies is basically a copy of Detective Jowd from Ghost Trick. He framed himself for the murder of a woman when said woman's daughter appeared to be the culprit, the one actually responsible was a phantom that didn't feel (metaphorically in his case) who was part of a case he was involved with, and he was only freed right before his scheduled execution thanks to the efforts of a young redhead who started their career to save him.
Face of a Thug: He is serving time for murder after all.
First-Name Basis:
- He refers to his sister by her first name, as well as Athena, once their past history is revealed. Notable because he refers to everyone else with either nicknames or overly-formal honorifics.
- He's on a first-name basis with most of the witnesses in "Turnabout Storyteller," most of whom are acquaintances of his, and Bucky even calls Simon "Simey."
Foil: To Phoenix. Phoenix keeps his Deadpan Snarker comments to himself while Blackquill is very aggressive and direct to people who annoy him, but both are lawyers who go to hell and back for their Platonic Life-Partners and have their reputations ruined after being falsely accused of crimes.
Foreign Culture Fetish: In the English localization, he's a huge fan of Japanese culture generally despite not explicitly being Japanese. During his debut title, he's a samurai-esque prosecutor, complete with ponytail, suit fashioned to look like a jinbaori, a penchant for using various honorifics like -dono, and a talent for swordsmanship. In Spirit of Justice, he's a passionate fan of soba noodles and enjoys the very-Japanese theater form of rakugo.
The Gadfly:
- He'll occasionally play along with the Judge's sillier theories for lulz.
- His interactions with Athena in Spirit of Justice evoke the notion of a brother teasing his little sister to get a rise out of her.
Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: In Spirit of Justice, when Athena starts to doubt her client, Simon grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her, reminding her that the job of a lawyer is to always believe in her client, no matter how bad it gets. That, and because he'd hate to lose his favorite place to shop for soba noodles if Athena did just give up right there.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Double Subverted. He tries, but the chain on his cuffs is too short. Once he breaks his chain, he uses his pointer finger to cut things.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes sometimes flash white when he's on the hunt.
Gratuitous Japanese: Normally, his use of honorifics in the international releases wouldn't count as this considering who he is. However, he only does this in the international versions: he just uses nicknames for the defense attorneys in the original version (albeit polite ones).
Guest-Star Party Member: He's Athena's co-counsel in Turnabout Storyteller.
Harmless Electrocution: Fulbright “controls" Simon by pressing a switch that activates an electrical current in his handcuffs. Though when the whole truth is out, it might not have been so harmless...
Hidden Heart of Gold: There's nothing nice about him early on. It's hard to see why Athena would become a lawyer to save him. Then you find out that he's spent seven years in prison for her sake and said nothing of it to anyone for fear that suspicion would fall on her.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: He's this for Athena in Turnabout Storyteller. He figures things out far faster than she does, and has no problem demolishing Prosecutor Sad Monk's logic when Athena's in a pinch.
Hypocritical Heartwarming: In "Turnabout Storyteller," he often mocks or berates Athena for her missteps, but nevertheless defends her from Nahyuta. The distinction is that the former is Blackquill trying to get her to do a better job defending the heir to his favorite soba shop, while the latter is Nahyuta trying to break Athena's spirit so she'll lose.
Iaijutsu Practitioner: His side-turned stance with hand poised on his "sheathed sword", plus the quick slice effect when he "draws", evokes this style of swordplay. It's enough to make Damian Tenma want to challenge him to a duel of honor!
If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Part of the reason Athena sits out the Khura'in trials of "Turnabout Revolution" is because Simon threatened to use Phoenix as sword practice if she got hurt.
The Insomniac: Jinxie seems to think so, and he doesn't deny it.
Intergenerational Friendship: Although Simon is about ten years older than Athena, they "got on well" even when she was a child.
I Shall Taunt You:
- How this often manifests. One of his best taunts is against Phantom, "Just TRY to retrieve your identity, you bloody butcher!"
- Does this again in Turnabout Storyteller, to manipulate a witness into giving testimony.
It's Personal:
- Anything related to the Phantom and the UR-1 Incident is this to him to the point that he goes all-out offensive at the start of the fourth case, because the crime scene is the very place where the UR-1 Incident happened, and he suspects the defendant to have ties with the Phantom.
- Played for Laughs in Turnabout Storyteller, where he's again willing to team up with Athena, because he doesn't want his favourite soba shop to close down.
I Was Just Passing Through: In Turnabout Storyteller, he claims he is only acting as Athena's co-counsel because he would be rather cross if the heir to his favorite soba shop went to jail.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's one of the most sour prosecutors in the entire series, but his backstory involves an unbelievable act of self-sacrifice to protect Athena, and there are many times when he shows a softer side.
Jumped at the Call: He cannot pass up opportunities to be someone's hero, even if the last time he did it almost killed him. Aura indirectly describes him as a "white knight".
Katanas Are Just Better: His concept art has him equipped with one, tying in the samurai theme. As a convict they don't let him keep it on him when he serves in court. He's also thought to have killed Metis with one, but it turns out that he didn't actually do it.
Let's Get Dangerous!: Has a tendency to shatter his shackles when he goes on the direct offensive instead of toying with the defense.
Leitmotif: "Distorted Swordsmanship", which, just to drive the Samurai theme home, has a distinct, oriental feel.
Locked into Strangeness: His hair was wholly black before being sent to jail.
Looks Like Cesare: Implied to be caused by lack of sleep during his time in prison.
Malicious Misnaming: Refers to his detective as "Fool Bright". Because he is a cheap imitation.
Manipulative Bastard: By reputation. One of his favorite tricks is to play the defense attorneys, Judge, and witnesses into making his case for him.
Meaningful Name:
- His first name "Simon". His manipulation of the court through persuasion is quickly dubbed "Simon Says" by the defense team, after the game of the same name.
- His first name may also be a reference to George K. Simon, a psychologist famous for codifying psychological manipulation techniques.
- His Japanese name means 'Swift' and 'Dark God'.
More Hero than Thou: Dual Destinies is more or less a huge fight between him and Athena to save the other from imprisonment. Happily, Phoenix is able to prove that neither of them were responsible for the UR-1 incident.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Taking the heat for Athena is nice and all, but if he is executed, it utterly breaks Athena as she knows he's innocent, Apollo because he never gets closure for Clay's murder, and Phoenix because Trucy dies along with Aura's other hostages. Failing his testimony leads to the worst ending in the entire series.
The Nicknamer: Besides the defense attorneys, Simon almost never refers to people by their proper name or title. Among others, he refers to the Judge as "Your Baldness", Bobby Fulbright as "Fool Bright" and Nahyuta as "Prosecutor Sad Monk".
No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction:
- Minor example in case 5-3. As the prosecutor, he's trying to prove Juniper Woods, the defendant, guilty. Eventually he gets the chance to do this easily, since Juniper actually confesses to the murder. But he figures out that she's only confessing to protect Robin and Hugh, dismisses them as meek little mice, and turns down the confession, preferring to try to simply "prove Juniper guilty". Possibly also because he doesn't want to easily condemn anyone who repeated his own noblest act.
- Averted in "The Monstrous Turnabout". He hops onto one of the crazier theories simply because it suits his purposes and will get him the result he wants, no matter what the actual implications of the method are. Apollo and Athena both give him the stink eye for even going that route but they know full well that he's only doing it because it's the path of least resistance.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: As his folder quote shows, he's not one for small talk or irrelevant prattle during court cases. He even shuts down Nahyuta a couple times for doing this.
Not So Stoic:
- Outside of standard courtroom antics and reactions, he usually keeps a calm façade even when using his dark and snarky sense of humor. However, on at least three occasions his joke leaves him laughing hysterically and slapping the bench.
- On a more serious note: when he takes the stand in the final case, his façade steadily breaks down as Phoenix keeps countering his testimony, causing all of his Mood Matrix monitors to spike out of control in what could be interpreted as outright trauma over what he really witnessed.
- In a significantly more amusing example, when Robin Newman turns out to be a girl, he freaks out as much as the rest of the cast.
- As shown in Turnabout Time Traveller even he is unwilling to prosecute a member of the Sprocket family, with Edgeworth calling all his subordinates cowards for being unwilling to do so.
Occidental Otaku: He shows shades of this in the English version, being an American (or possibly British, given his use of phrases like "sod off") with very Japanese motifs and a fondness for anything Japanese.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In the first two cases he appears in he goads the Judge into presenting the opening statement, possibly for his own amusement. Come "The Cosmic Turnabout", and he suddenly insists on giving the opening statement himself. And then it turns out he had very personal ties with the case...
Oral Fixation: Keeps one of his hawk's feathers in his mouth. Probably not sanitary.
Oxymoronic Being: A prosecutor who is also a criminal. He was planned to be a contradictory character from early development.
Parrot Pet Position: He keeps a hawk on his right shoulder.
Persecuting Prosecutor:
- Downplayed. He doesn't resort to dirtier tactics than Edgeworth, and he never takes things personally, only really growing angry when he suspects anyone, defense or witness, of trying to lie to him or cheat. He does, however, instruct Fulbright to get in your way a lot, and he doesn't hesitate to threaten his witnesses into playing along.
- He also displays animosity towards Apollo's Perception, using Taka to attack him and disrupt his focus. His argument — that an unverifiable secret ability shouldn't be used in court — is... fairly reasonable. Of course, he allows Apollo to use it against the phantom, and he's fine with letting Athena use the Mood Matrix in the meantime.
- Notable that when a worse attorney cheats in front of him, even if the cheating is in his favor, he stops it physically. Just ask Means.
- Averted in Spirit of Justice where, irony of ironies, the former convict prosecutor is one of the few left after Edgeworth's purge of corrupt prosecutors. Granted, he was innocent of the crime he had been convicted for, and Edgeworth was aware of this all along.
Pet the Dog: Well, more like Pet The Bird, but he can often be seen affectionately scratching Taka under the neck.
- When she's first on the stand in "Monstrous Turnabout," Jinxie notices Blackquill's Exhausted Eye Bags and notes he probably has trouble sleeping at night, so she offers him a charm to ward off Azukiarai, the youkai who washes azuki beans. Blackquill's initially skeptical of what help that would do him and threatens Jinxie and her father, but when she explains that the charm will block out the noise of Azukiarai washing beans at night, he's taken aback by the kind offer and thanks her politely.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Athena.
Pungeon Master: In Spirit of Justice he shows a knack of saying phrases that contain one pun to another. They are actually hints of what Athena has to present.
Razor-Sharp Hand: While he doesn't physically cut things with it, he can create Razor Wind a la Yasha from Asura's Wrath. It is sharp enough to cut feathers, Phoenix Wright's hair, and the Phantom's mask and glasses.
Rebel Relaxation: Occasionally puts his back to the prosecution bench.
Red Baron: "Twisted Samurai."
Right-Hand Attack Dog: Taka. More like Right-Hand Attack Hawk, but similar principle.
Rōnin: It's been stated in an interview that this was his original motif, but the localization simply calls him a samurai because the concept of ronin isn't as prominent in the West.
Running Gag: He likes to tell little anecdotes of his fellow inmates and the things they told him.
Samurai Ponytail: To complete the image.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: He's grim and pragmatic, Athena is hyper and clumsy. Do the math.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: His reaction to Athena deciding to Mood Matrix O'Conner's ridiculous "confession" is to leave a note basically saying, "Screw this! I'm going for a walk with Fulbright."
Sore Loser: Averted, for the most part. He's a little bit put out when he loses to Apollo in "The Monstrous Turnabout," but quickly snaps out of this after getting to interrogate Florent L'Belle to uncover the truth behind his schemes.
Taking the Heat: For Athena, who otherwise would've been accused/tried/likely executed of killing her own mother. She became a lawyer to clear his name, and manages to do it a day away from his execution.
Thinking Tic: Taps his forehead in his thinking animation.
Took a Level in Kindness: Soon after he is proven innocent and his cuffs are completely gone, he works along with the defense attorneys to take down Phantom, even allowing Apollo to use his Perception in court, and also smiles after the trial ends with Athena being pronounced not guilty. By the time of Spirit of Justice, he's outright helpful to Athena.
Too Much Alike: He and his sister really love each other, but this rarely shows in their interactions because they're both aloof, cryptic people.
Tritagonist: Of Dual Destinies; in addition to being the main prosecutor, his (false) arrest changed the lives of several characters, and the goal of the game is to see him exonerated.
Troll: Part of his strategy is goading other people into doing his job, and he has a pretty mischievous sense of humor (the first time he shatters his shackles he acts very menacing and homicidal... before he reveals to the terrified Apollo and Judge he doesn't kill cowards).
Tsundere: Has shades of this with Athena in Spirit of Justice, repeatedly insisting he's only helping her to save his favorite noodle shop every time she offers her gratitude. However, it's subtly hinted several times his assistance is mainly due to his Big Brother Instinct as well as being a Stealth Mentor.
Undying Loyalty: To Metis Cykes. His stated reason for taking the fall for Metis's death instead of Athena is that while he does not wish to die, some things are more important than life; such as protecting his late master's most valuable treasure, i.e. her daughter Athena. Phoenix thinks to himself that he really is a samurai through and through.
Unwitting Pawn: Geiru Toneido takes advantage of his presence near the crime scene of "Turnabout Storyteller" to create a false alibi. Simon is clearly angry when he finds that out.
Waistcoat of Style: Wears one under his robe.
Western Samurai: In the localization, he's a British/American man decked in samurai-like garb who acts like one too, despite there being no indication that he is Japanese.
Worthy Opponent: He at least gives enough respect toward the defense attorneys to refer to them as (for example) Wright -dono as opposed to his disrespectful made-up names for everyone else, and it's the Wright Agency that he calls to defend his favorite restauranteur.
Would Hit a Girl: He has no qualms about sending his hawk to attack Athena, or demonstrating his swordsmanship dangerously close to her face even though he was trying to protect her. He also grabs her by the shoulders to shake some sense into her in Spirit of Justice.

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi

Voiced by (Japanese): Daisuke Namikawa (SoJ)

Voiced by (English): Matthew Mercer (SoJ)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nahyutaaa6.png

"O Holy Mother. As your humble servant, you would have me act to save this wretch's soul. I suppose this too is part my fate."

Main prosecutor of the sixth game. A native of the Kingdom of Khura'in in Asia, he puts his faith in the judicial system of his nation, believing that the Divination Séances as performed by the Royal High Priestess are inarguable. A sharp-tongued but soft-spoken monk, he cannot tolerate defense attorneys and their defiance of the Princess and will gladly send any rogue attorneys to their final judgment in the name of the "Holy Mother".

In Spirit of Justice, he's introduced as a foreign prosecutor visiting Japanifornia to study its legal system and forensic science and see how he could apply them to his own prosecution back in Khura'in. For this reason, he prosecutes cases both in Khura'in as well as in Japanifornia as he shuttles between the two countries.

Affably Evil:
- For a Knight Templar prosecutor, he’s shown to be mostly soft-spoken and polite and is generally fairly pleasant company to be around, however beware of disagreeing with him during trials since he has absolutely no mercy for “sinners” and those who would aid them (Defense Attorneys fall into this category by default). Subverted; as shown under the actual entry for Knight Templar, his hatred of defense attorneys and belief that defendants are always guilty is an act. He's actually a genuine Nice Guy trying to protect his family.
  Athena: I guess he’s a pretty nice person like they say – as long as you’re not up against him.
- Subverted with Ema Skye who, he's quite aware, will go out of her way to help the defense. She's never punished or held to harsh words by Nahyuta^note, moreover he'll push to keep her at his side on further investigations. The one time he did "punish" her was because she missed an important piece of evidence rather than because she sided with the defense the whole case.
Antagonistic Offspring: As a loyal servant of the Ga'ran regime, he ends up coming into conflict with his rebel father, and is even willing to prosecute Dhurke for killing Inga and Amara, which would guarantee Dhurke's execution if he's convicted. Subverted when it turns out that he's still loyal to the Defiant Dragons, and is only obeying Ga'ran due to being blackmailed.
Big Brother Instinct: Served Ga'ran and almost let himself be executed to protect Rayfa, even when Rayfa didn't know he's her brother.
Big Eater: Implied. The Judge takes note of Nahyuta’s “unexpected enthusiasm for food” after he mentions visiting a burger joint in “The Magical Turnabout”. He also declares a love of peaches in “The Rite of Turnabout” and happily partakes in both manju buns and chilled soba in “Turnabout Storyteller”, comparing the latter to a Khura’inese dish he’s familiar with.
Break the Haughty:
- Starts losing his cool in The Magical Turnabout when Apollo begins unearthing information that he overlooked but it really hits the high point when Apollo manages to conclusively prove that Roger Retinz/The Great Mr. Reus was the one who arranged the murder, such that all he can do is pull on his beads and claim that Trucy and Apollo are due for hell. Then Apollo counters by stating if anything, he'd be the one going to hell for trying to convict an innocent person. It’s so effective that his beads shatter in his face and knock him over.
- This continues throughout the game, such as when Phoenix proves that Tahrust Inmee did, in fact, commit suicide, and when Athena proves that Geiru Toneido committed murder with the udon dough, all accompanied with him knocking himself over with his beads.
- Come late in Case 5, it's soon revealed to be a massive subversion; he was never that haughty or convinced of his own holiness to begin with, he just does the Khura'in prejudice song and dance because Ga'ran was threatening his mother and sister.
Bullet Seed: When you've dealt a particularly severe blow to his case, he snaps his prayer beads in shock/anger and they end up pelting him in the face, knocking him over.
Calling Parents by Their Name: He refers to his father Dhurke by name for much of Case 5, due to intentionally distancing himself from him, but called him "Father" when he was young.
Character Catchphrase:
- Satorha! It's the start of a Khura'inese mantra meant to rouse those lost in daydreams, and frequently appears alongside a more standard "Objection!" in court. Basically, he's telling the defense to get their head out of the clouds.
- After he uses his unique "Satorha!" objection, he may offer the full prayer "Satorha imaoman domosamashi detashinuke taregasayo sonoka!", complete with overly-dramatic hand motions. When turned upside down, the kanji can be rearranged to mean "Oh unenlightened, tainted soul. Even the Holy Mother's patience has its limits."
- "Let it go, and move on", which he's especially fond of saying to defense attorneys.
Closet Geek: If the photo of him as a child with Apollo is of any indication, he's a fan of the "Plumed Punisher" show or at least of Lady Kee'ra.
Cold Ham: He remains calm and polite while making dramatic speeches, often telling the defense the punishment they'll face when they got to Hell for opposing him..
The Comically Serious: He has his moments, such as when he mentions memorizing appropriate replies to receiving a business card (e.g. What’s crack-a-lacking, homie) and also reminiscences on how, after watching a television show on the subject, he waited in line at The Burger Barn for an hour to sample the “local cuisine” before recommending the Southwestern burger with Jalapeno Jack cheese.
Athena: I'm having a really hard time picturing him in line for burgers.
Conspicuous Gloves: He wears a fingerless black glove on his right hand that contrasts somewhat with the light colors of the rest of his outfit. It's a symbol of Ga'ran's hold over him, as her spider emblem is sewn on the palm; once he decides to stop following her orders he throws it off to reveal a Defiant Dragon tattoo just like his father's.
Consummate Liar: Thought there was going to be "he forged evidence" here? Haha, nope. All of his holier-than-thou attitude, his hatred of lawyers, and even his breakdowns are all faked so his mother and sister won't be harmed. Everyone is caught off guard by this.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Simon. Simon has a black and white wardrobe and presents himself as an irredeemable convict prone to death threats while Nahyuta is dressed in all white and pastels and presents himself as a pious man ready to send you to hell in the name of the Holy Mother.
Crazy-Prepared:
- Given the fact he's an international prosecutor, he considers studying everything he can about the context behind each case he takes on. While by itself that makes sense, it's mostly Played for Laughs.
- For Case 2 of Spirit of Justice he somehow managed to study up on numerous forms of media (including the hidden camera prank), watch all of Roger Retinz's shows, and stand in line for an hour at the Burger Barn. All in a single afternoon.
- In Case 4 he learned an enormous amount of information about rakugo in a single night to the point of being able to talk about it for hours and even give a full rakugo performance (though he's thankfully stopped from doing that halfway-through). It's even more ridiculous considering that the day before the case he was prosecuting another case in Khura'in.
Deadpan Snarker: He can get pretty acrid when annoyed, which is often.
Defeating the Undefeatable: While it did end up getting overturned the next day, Nahyuta is the only prosecutor to have obtained a Guilty verdict against Phoenix Wright in a fair and square manner, with nothing forcing the latter to underperform.
Deliberate Values Dissonance: The culture he is from thinks that defense attorneys are nothing but evil, and he personifies this by constantly insulting defense attorneys whenever he can. Subverted in Nahyuta's case. He is being Blackmailed into acting this way. He knows that they are necessary and the belief that they are nothing but evil is a big lie that Ga'ran has imposed on her country.
Despair Event Horizon: Loses all remaining hope as an undercover Defiant Dragon after his father Dhurke's death. At least until Apollo finally snaps him out of it.
Didn't See That Coming: Downplayed example in Case 3. He pretty much had his case sewn up against Phoenix, to the point of the judge actually declaring a Guilty verdict, and even having said verdict put off for a day didn’t set him back that much. But he had no way of foreseeing Maya channeling the spirit of Tahrust Inmee to testify, which ultimately sinks his case.
The Dragon: He acts as Queen Ga'ran's top prosecutor, and is the one the heroes constantly face in almost all Khura'in court cases.
Everyone Has Standards: Despite his stoic, jerkass demeanor and utter contempt for defense attorneys (except it's all faked due to Ga'ran forcing him into this role), he'll always concede if they argue a sound case and gracefully takes his losses when the truth is clearly laid out in front of him.
Final Boss: Aside from the Big Bad, he's the last witness in the game to testify.
Foil:
- Nahyuta was designed as the "holy prosecutor" to play off of Simon's "evil prosecutor" design; it's no accident Simon joins you at the bench in the fourth case. Despite contrasting designs and attitudes, however, their motivations and histories do have some similarities.
- His saintly image also contrasts him with Apollo, who has been likened to a demon before on account of his hairstyle and red attire. They both built their livelihoods up from nothing and had families who were torn apart in the same incident, complete with a long-lost little sister born in the aftermath.
Forced into Evil: It's not like he wants to be a merciless Knight Templar, and he's more than aware of his country's problems, but he can't speak out because Ga'ran is holding his family hostage.
The Fundamentalist: He's an extremely devout monk. And subverted, in that he isn't blinded by his faith-he knows there's problems with Khura'in and that just because it's couched in religion doesn't make it okay.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Instead of just pointing his index finger at his opponents like other Ace Attorney characters, he points two fingers! He grasps his prayer beads while doing this, and occasionally, he'll also throw his beads at the defense a la Godot and his coffee.
Good All Along: When it looks like he's going to pull a Heel–Face Turn at some point in the game, it turns out he was just pretending to be evil.
The Good Chancellor: Becomes regent to Queen Rayfa at the end of the game and vows to be this, with Apollo's help.
Gratuitous Foreign Language: He is prone to saying Khura'inese phrases like Satorha! or the chant he recites. The full chant is often used after he throws his beads at whichever defense attorney is going up against him, and results in the beads constricting.
The Heavy: He is the villainous prosecutor that you face in most of the cases of Spirit of Justice that drives this story. He is being blackmailed into doing this and does not want to be a villain.
Heel Realization: Subverted. While you'd expect he'd eventually see the error of his ways, you probably wouldn't expect that he already knows he's in the wrong but needs to keep up the act as long as Queen Ga'ran is in power.
Heroic Sacrifice: Ga'ran claims that if Apollo convicts her as Inga and Jove's murderer, then the DC Act will result in Nahyuta being executed for giving a false confession to the former murder, but Nahyuta tells Apollo he'd gladly sacrifice his life if it means taking Ga'ran down. Apollo finds another option, however.
Holier Than Thou: He's a devout monk who'll calmly declare you bound for hell in order to atone for your sins. It's a facade he needs to keep up because Ga'ran is threatening his mother and sister.
Improbable Weapon User: His beads, of all things. He throws them at the defense — wrapping them around Apollo's head, Phoenix's pointing arm, or Athena's body — then quickly chants something in Khura'inese which causes the beads to tighten and constrict their victim. A later case shows that this chant will also tighten Apollo's bracelet, preventing Apollo from using his trademark Perceive ability. His beads also have a tendency to break in his face when he loses a case, knocking him over in the world's least dignified fashion.
Insult of Endearment: During his scene in the credits, it's revealed that he's joined Phoenix and Apollo on the list of people given nicknames by Rayfa (in his case, "Braid Head"), much to his chagrin.
It's Personal with the Dragon: Nahyuta is a tall, imposing figure who serves as The Dragon to an evil ruler, and was once a champion of a heroic cause. It also turns out he has a personal connection to the hero, and they were like family to one another. All that changed when this his loved ones were threatened, he hit the Despair Event Horizon, and service to the Big Bad as her enforcer was all he had left going for him. Nahyuta discards any association with his past life, even telling Apollo that the brother he knew is long gone. By the end, the hero (Apollo) ends up bringing him back to the light when he's seen in danger, to the point that Nahyuta reveals his Defiant Dragon tattoo and risks his own life to save him.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- Throughout “Turnabout Storyteller”, he goes after Athena for being ill-prepared for the trial and her general lack of experience as a lawyer. As rude as he is about it, Athena and Simon both admit that some of his criticisms are valid.
- In “Turnabout Revolution”, when Apollo and Athena ask how he could possibly prosecute his own father, he argues that the law is the law and he has to uphold it, regardless of any prior relationship to the defendant. Even Apollo can't find a contradiction to that argument. Though it's made clear later that Nahyuta doesn't really want to do it.
Jerkass to One: Nahyuta is polite and soft-spoken, but he also frequently tells defense attorneys either that they'll burn in hell or that they deserve some other otherworldly torment, and he's fond of saying "Let it go, and move on" as a shut-down to his opponents' arguments. But as detailed in other spoilered entries in Nahyuta's section, later in the game you learn this is actually just an act.
Just a Kid: He writes off Athena as one, given that she's only a teenager.
Just Following Orders: Nahyuta stands behind this as the reason why he would not participate in the Defiant Dragons' revolution. Given how merciless Khura'in is with their rules, fear might be another reason he pulls this excuse. And as later revealed, it's indeed that fear is the only reason-though not for himself. If he did not comply with the aforementioned orders, those close to him would suffer and he would likely be put to death.
King Incognito: Well, "Prince Incognito". He's the eldest son and child of the true queen of Khura'in, but he was kept in line by his treacherous, usurping aunt and forced to work for her so his mother and younger sister wouldn't be killed. The truth wasn't revealed until later.
Knight Templar: Demonstrates this to a degree, as he is uncompromising about his stance on defense attorneys and what they mean for the judicial system of Khura'in. If a rogue attorney is brought before him, he will pronounce them a sinner and claim they can find forgiveness in "the founder", which really means he's sending them to the gallows. Subverted — it turns out he left Khura'in precisely because he realized just how unjust its executions of defense attorneys are. He's actually an ally of the Defiant Dragons.
Large Ham: Take a look at his quote. He talks like that all the time.
Leitmotif: His theme, "The Last Rites Prosecutor", is meant to emphasize his saintly image by sounding serene and traditional.
Light Is Not Good: A devout Bishōnen with long, pastel hair and an immaculate all-white suit? He agrees with the general Khura'inese belief that all lawyers are scum, and he'll calmly deem you fit for hell with a serene smile on his face. Subverted; he knows full well how insane he sounds but needs to pretend to be in league with Ga'ran for his family's sake. Once she's exposed, it becomes Light Is Good.
Long-Lost Relative: He's Apollo's foster older brother, and Rayfa's biological older brother.
Luke, I Am Your Father: The fact that Dhurke and Amara are his parents is common knowledge in-universe, but Rayfa is unaware that he's her biological older brother and only finds out when he's on the verge of being handed the death penalty.
Magical Floating Shawl: Nahyuta has a white stole levitating around him. Besides being an international prosecutor, he is also a respected monk in Khura'in, with a devout belief in the country's religious tenets.
Making the Choice for You: Apollo was agonizing on whether to accuse Ga'ran for murder because doing so would indict Nahyuta who is Apollo's adoptive brother for supporting her under the DC act because she Blackmailed him into making false testimony to help her, making him guilty of supporting a criminal. He told Apollo that he would gladly fall under the DC Act if it meant bringing Ga'ran to justice.
Meaningful Appearance: Nahyuta wears one fingerless glove on his right hand, it being black and having a spider symbol on. As it covers the Defiant Dragons tattoo he has on said hand, it signifies Ga'ran's control over him.
Meaningful Name:
- "Nahyuta" comes from the term "nayuta", which originates from Sanskrit and denotes a large number.
- "Sahdmadhi" comes from the Japanese proverb "hotoke no kao mo sando made" (仏の顔も三度まで), which means "Even the Buddha becomes angry if you brush his face thrice" (basically, even the calmest, most serene person can become aggressive if you push them hard enough). It also comes from "samadhi" (समाधि), a word used to refer to a state of meditative consciousness.
Mind over Matter: Downplayed. His chants can telekinetically constrict his beads around whomever he throws them at. Said chants can also affect Apollo's bracelet, thus doubling as something of a Power Nullifier.
The Mole: He knows full well how nuts he comes off as. He has to do that because his mother was being held hostage and his sister's reputation was threatened.
Mystical White Hair: His hair certainly gives him an aura of mystery... It's something that he inherited from his mother, Amara.
Nice Guy: As long as you're not a defense attorney, he's a nice and polite man. If you are a defense attorney, however... He actually is a truly Nice Guy deep down, but the hate of defense attorneys is fake and he knows very well that his homeland's justice system is corrupt, but he had to pretend to hate them because of his aunt's influence on him.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In "Turnabout Storyteller," he manages to push all of Simon's buttons and then some, which leads to Simon joining Athena at the defense bench as her hypercompetent co-counsel.
Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: If you take all his roles into account, he’s a monk, an international prosecutor, an insurgent, and a prince, who also becomes a regent at the end of the game.
Parental Abandonment: Subverted with regards to his mother, the former queen, as the assassination attempt on her did not claim her life, but she has been forced into hiding for decades and Nahyuta knows it, having to keep up appearances as he knows the consequences for her if he falls out of line. He was raised by his father, who is alive for most of the game but then winds up truly dead in the final case, having only made appearances throughout thanks to spirit channeling.
Pet the Dog: He's quite nice to Ema Skye, and declares that Athena has earned his respect after she wins a trial against him.
Practically Different Generations: He has a younger sibling who's 11 years younger than him- Princess Rayfa of the kingdom of Khura'in.
Psychic Powers: He can use telekinetic abilities via religious chanting. It's apparently something that runs in the family, as his mother and younger sister are spirit mediums.
Punch-Clock Villain: He hates having to be Ga'ran's pet toady, but he doesn't have a choice-if he tries being less holier-than-thou, she'll all but sign Rayfa's and Amara's death warrants.
Really Royalty Reveal: Being the son of Amara, the true queen of Khura'in, makes him a prince by default. The reason why his royal status was revoked was because Ga'ran wanted to remove all threats to her power. It gets restored after Ga'ran is exposed.
Red Baron: Known as the "Last Rites Prosecutor"; or "Funeral Prosecutor".
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Because Ga'ran is exposed as The Usurper, her expulsion of Nahyuta from the Khura'inese royal family was rendered null and void. His princely status is therefore restored. He became the regent until Rayfa is fit to become queen because Amara, the rightful queen, refused to take her throne back after Ga'ran was dethroned. He's still prosecuting and helping reform Khura'in's legal system despite this.
Shockwave Clap: When he claps his hands together, it's even louder than his Big Word Shouts, and causes enough force to blow his braid back behind his head.
Shown Their Work: An in-universe example in Turnabout Storyteller: when Prosecutor Blackquill accused him of having insufficient knowledge of rakugo to properly prosecute the case, Nahyuta responds by giving an explanation of rakugo so lengthy and detailed that the game Time Skips over most of it. He has even memorized several well-known rakugo stories and is about to launch into a full performance of one before Blackquill cuts him off and reluctantly acknowledges that he has, in fact, done his research. He was able to memorize all this in just one night of studying, too.
Sins of Our Fathers: Since his father Dhurke was believed to be a criminal, Nahyuta had a really hard time trying to become a lawyer. Sparing his sister Rayfa from the same treatment is part of why he's so grudgingly loyal to Ga'ran.
Strong Family Resemblance: He resembles Amara, his mother, in that they have the same light purple hair, the slender and delicate looks, the red diamond mark on their foreheads.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He's pretty cold with everyone he knows, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care for them. Then there's the fact that much of his personality and actions were all part of a façade he put up to protect his family...
Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- To Miles Edgeworth, in terms of background and role. His father was a well-regarded defense attorney. He grew up knowing the protagonist, with the bonus of being Apollo's foster brother. And in the last main case, he gets accused of murder, like Edgeworth, and Apollo has to bail him out by exposing the current Prosecutor, who's the real Big Bad, echoing Phoenix's actions in saving Edgeworth in the first game. The story ends with Nahyuta looking to reform Khura'in's justice system with Apollo's help.
- Also to Lana Skye. Both end up being blackmailed with threats against their little sisters and are forced to work with the main antagonists, resulting in them being alienated from those close to them and adopting a colder persona in order to survive. Both also end up being forced to falsely confess to murder.
Taking the Heat: Toward the end of "Turnabout Revolution," Ga'ran forces Nahyuta to falsely confess to Inga's murder in order to protect her, lest she reveal the truth about Rayfa.
Verbal Tic: Downplayed example, but he's fond of accusing defense attorneys of being "putrid".
Would Hit a Girl: During each of his initial confrontations with the playable attorneys, he'd get frustrated to the point that he throws his spirit beads at them and "activates" them akin to a shock collar, causing them noticeable pain. Not even Athena is spared of this "purification". In fact, he tries to do it twice in a row to Athena, in response to her defiance after the first time. (Thankfully, Simon foils the second attempt.)
You Fool!: He calls Phoenix a fool Franziska-style in the second trial of The Rite of Turnabout:
Nahyuta: Even a fool must temper his foolishness at times.

Characters / Ace Attorney: Main Prosecutors
aka: Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth

Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Tatsuro Iwamoto (OT, AAI), Eiji Takemoto (PLvAA, DD, SoJ, PXZ2), Masashi Tamaki (anime)

Voiced by (English): Seon King (OT, AAI), Kyle Hebert (DD, SoJ), Mark Healy (PLvAA), Christopher Wehkamp (anime), Apphia Yu (child - anime)

Played by: Takumi Saito (film), Roi Hayashi (child - film)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Franziska von Karma (Mei Karuma)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yukari Suwabe (OT), Miyuki Sawashiro (trailers, drama CDs), Saori Yumiba (anime)

Voiced by (English): Janet Hsu (OT), Jessica Peterson (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

Godot

Voiced by (Japanese): Hideki Kamiya (OT), Hiroaki Hirata (anime)

Voiced by (English): James T. Wilson (OT), Brandon Potter (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations

Klavier Gavin (Kyoya Garyu)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryouji Yamamoto (AJ), Toshiyuki Kusuda (DD)

Voiced by (English): Andrew Alfonso (AJ), Yuri Lowenthal (DD)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Simon Blackquill (Jin Yugami)

Voiced by (Japanese): Shunsuke Sakuya (DD, SoJ)

Voiced by (English): Unknown

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi

Voiced by (Japanese): Daisuke Namikawa (SoJ)

Voiced by (English): Matthew Mercer (SoJ)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice

Alternative Title(s): Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth, Ace Attorney Franziska Von Karma

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / Ace Attorney: Main Prosecutors aka: Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth

Edit Locked

Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Tatsuro Iwamoto (OT, AAI), Eiji Takemoto (PLvAA, DD, SoJ, PXZ2), Masashi Tamaki (anime)

Voiced by (English): Seon King (OT, AAI), Kyle Hebert (DD, SoJ), Mark Healy (PLvAA), Christopher Wehkamp (anime), Apphia Yu (child - anime)

Played by: Takumi Saito (film), Roi Hayashi (child - film)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Franziska von Karma (Mei Karuma)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yukari Suwabe (OT), Miyuki Sawashiro (trailers, drama CDs), Saori Yumiba (anime)

Voiced by (English): Janet Hsu (OT), Jessica Peterson (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

Godot

Voiced by (Japanese): Hideki Kamiya (OT), Hiroaki Hirata (anime)

Voiced by (English): James T. Wilson (OT), Brandon Potter (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations

Klavier Gavin (Kyoya Garyu)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryouji Yamamoto (AJ), Toshiyuki Kusuda (DD)

Voiced by (English): Andrew Alfonso (AJ), Yuri Lowenthal (DD)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Simon Blackquill (Jin Yugami)

Voiced by (Japanese): Shunsuke Sakuya (DD, SoJ)

Voiced by (English): Unknown

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi

Voiced by (Japanese): Daisuke Namikawa (SoJ)

Voiced by (English): Matthew Mercer (SoJ)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice

Alternative Title(s): Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth, Ace Attorney Franziska Von Karma

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / Ace Attorney: Main Prosecutors
aka: Ace Attorney Miles Edgeworth