Summary: Many attorneys feel their job isn’t glamorous enough for TV or film. But Japanese video game developer Shu Takumi thinks otherwise.
If you’re one of those lawyers who’s lucky enough to speak English and Japanese, you’ve probably already heard of the popular video game series Ace Attorney. But if you’re like the rest of us and your knowledge of Japanese is limited to eating take-out sushi at your desk, you’re missing out. Because Ace Attorney is pretty much the most amazing legal saga, well . . . ever.
Imagine what would happen if Perry Mason and Hayao Miyazaki had a love child. Add a hint of Super Mario Brothers and a dash of John Hamm, and voila: you get Phoenix Wright.
Phoenix Wright, the fictional lawyer at the center of Ace Attorney, attempts to prove his clients are not guilty. He manages to turn even the most hopeless cases around, keeping his clients out of prison and finding the real killers. He almost never loses. In fact, according to Wikia.com, he’s only lost once in his career.
As he’s the type of attorney who will risk anything for his clients, he’s gotten himself into some trouble over the years. He was disbarred after presenting forged evidence to the court; his actions resulted in the postponement of the trial and gave his client the opportunity to run away. Phoenix has even been a defendant three times himself, acting as his own lawyer on one occasion.
The courtroom setting of the game is based on the Japanese legal system. It follows Phoenix and his cohorts through the criminal investigation, evidence presentation, and cross-examination. Gamers can even visit Phoenix’s crime scenes to interview witnesses and search for evidence themselves.
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The story was first developed in 2001, gaining a strong following in Japan. The game became so wildly successful it’s being made into manga, stage plays, musicals, a film adaptation, and even a TV anime series which will premiere in April 2016. The fans have been asking for an anime show for ten years now.
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While the producers, Capcom, have not divulged any information other than the release date, it’s assumed that the TV show will start where the video games began, when the main characters were younger.
An English version of the game is not currently available, but you can check out a subtitled version of one of the game trailers here.
Additional source: Wikia
Photo: videogamefilms.com