It is close to impossible for me to separate my love of the Phoenix Wright games and my feelings towards this anime, which I believe is all part of Capcom ’s master plan. If you loved the games, it’s impossible for you to feel anything but nostalgia and satisfaction as you watch the Ace Attorney anime. Watching Episode 1 of Ace Attorney is literally like seeing the first game somehow lifted from the screen of your DS and placed neatly into aCrunchyroll tab.
This similarity is both Ace Attorney’s weakness and its strength. It’s a strength, because who’s watching the Ace Attorney anime with the greatest expectations? Big fans of thePhoenix Wright game series. But it’s a weakness because Episode 1 of the Ace Attorneyanime provides nothing new at all - not so much as a new camera shot, a new character design or a new plot element.
If you played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney , then you know every single detail of what’s going to happen, how the characters will look when it happens, everything. Judging by the Episode 2 preview, Ace Attorney will be as straightforward a paint-by-numbers adaptation of its source material as the most stickler of megafans might wish.
The voice work is great, with Eren’s voice actor from Attack on Titan , Yuuki Kaji, playing the role of our man Phoenix Wright, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica ’s Madoka, Aoi Yuki, as Maya Fey. The character designs could not possibly be more true to the source material (and Edgeworth seems even more broad and imposing somehow).
The anime takes pains to call back to its game roots near-constantly, with little “Scene: Time” descriptions in green text on a black background same as in the games. There’s even “Witness Testimony” and “Cross-Examination” text slapped dramatically on screen at the appropriate time, same as in the game, and to highlight the witness contradictions, the anime literally uses different-colored text of the witness’s lie and the prosecution’s truth. Even the camera angles of Phoenix and the opposing lawyer at their stands are the same. And of course, there’s Gratuitous Use Of CGI, so cross that one off your Spring Anime Season 2016 bingo card if you haven’t already.
The Ace Attorney anime is definitely aimed at kids, with brassy music and witness hilarity ensuring a goofy playful mood just like the games and a breakdown of the crime after the court case is over just in case you didn’t follow along with its twists and turns. The insane drama of the Phoenix Wright games is there too - the moment where Wright shouts “Objection” gets like seventeen different dramatically angled shots, to any fan’s abiding satisfaction.
So should you watch ‘Ace Attorney’?
I love the Ace Attorney games. If you love the Ace Attorney games, it will be hard not to like the Ace Attorney anime. But if you haven’t played those games, and are judging this anime solely on its own merits, it may be too childish or flat for you. Capcom hasn’t done anything to draw greater depth from its premise or even explore its characters at all beyond the strict limits of its source material. Every two seconds the Ace Attorney anime reminds you that it’s based on a game. The reminders are fun if you’re a fan of the games, but may be tiresome and affected if you aren’t.
Still, I think the quality of this faithful adaptation is great - it doesn’t feel like Capcom has skimped on this beloved series - and I do think it’s worth a watch even for those who’ve never played a Phoenix Wright game. It’s literally so close to the games, you won’t be missing a thing. But in this case, the book’s definitely better than the movie. It remains to be seen whether Capcom will dare to deviate even slightly from its source material to offer us anything new in this anime adaptation at all.
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