Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Ace Attorney – Season Two, Part Two (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Anime on Blu-ray Disc Review)

The second season’s second half is not going to surprise anyone who played the “Trials and Tribulations” video game but with that being said, even for me, as a fan of the video game series, it was fun to watch the anime adaptation of this popular video game series. I definitely recommend giving “Ace Attorney” a chance!

TITLE: Ace Attorney Season Two, Part Two

DURATION: Episode 13-23 (300 Minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9), Japanese and English Dolby TrueHD 2.0, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Funimation

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: November 5, 2019

Directed by Watanabe Ayumu

Series Composition: Tomioka Atsuhiro

Music by Wada Kaoru

Character Design: Ota Keiko

Anime Production: CloverWorks

Featuring the following voice talent:

Tamaki Masashi/Christopher Wehkamp as Miles Edgeworth (Reiji Mitsurugi)

Kaji Yuuki/Eric Vale as Phoenix Wright (Ryuichi Naruhodo)

Kuno Misaki/Alexis Tipton as Pearl Fey (Ayasato Harumi)

Hirata Hiroaki/Brandon Potter as Godot

Iwasaki Masami/Bryan Massey as Dick Gumshoe (Itonokogiri Keisuke)

Nakamura Chie/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Mia Fey (Ayasato Chihiro)

Hiura Ben/Kent Williams as Judge (Saibancho)

Dani Chambers as Dahlia Hawthorne/Sister Iris

Yuki Aoi/Lindsay Seidel as Maya Fey (Mayoi Ayasato)

Yumiba Saori/Jessica Peterson as Franzisa von Karma (Karuma Mei)

Nara Tooru/Josh Martin as Larry Butz (Yahari Masashi)

Hold it! The Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright, is back. And his newest case is giving him a serious headache-with a case of amnesia! Once Phoenix gets his bearings, he’s back to finding the truth and helping his clients. But, a case involving a phantom thief brings in the smooth blend of justice and lawyer from hell, Godot! This coffee-obsessed prosecutor will prove not only to be a challenge, but will also be a reminder of a terrible trial from Phoenix’s past.

In 2001, “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney”, a visual novel adventure video game developed by CAPCOM was released for the Game Boy Advance.

But the video game wouldn’t become super popular until 2005, when the game was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan and North America (note: The title of the game in Japan was “Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten” and the characters names were different in the US (protagonist’s name is Phoenix Wright) and Japan (protagonist’s name is Ryuichi Naruhodo).

Since then, there are a total of eleven games with only a few that were released in the west.

But with the popularity of the “Ace Attorney” video game series, a new second series from CloverWorks has been released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Funimation.

The series is directed by Ayumu Watanabe (known for his work on “Doraemon”) and series composition by Atsuhiro Tomioka (“Danboru Senki” series, Inazuma Eleven” series). Music by Kaoru Wada, character design by Keiko Ota.

For the second season, the storyline is adapted from the second “Ace Attorney” game “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All” (originally released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan in 2002 and the Nintendo DS in the U.S. back in 2007) and the third Ace Attorney video game “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations” (originally released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan in 2004 and the Nintendo DS in the U.S. back in 2008).

The second season will also feature a new trial and characters created in cooperation with “Ace Attorney” creator Takumi Shu.

This time around, Phoenix Wright must take on a legendary prosecutor named Godot.

For part two, the series kicks off with a case when Phoenix was younger and was accused of murdering Doug Swallow, and Mia defending Phoenix in court. Mia hasn’t defended anyone, since being traumatized by her first trial.

We also get a new story featuring the return of Pearl who asks Phoenix to help her search for an identical seashell to replace a precious seashell she received from Maya but broke accidentally.

The next case “Turnabout Beginnings” features Mia and how she was traumatized from her first case, representing a death row convict named Terry Fawles, who is accused of murdering policewoman Valerie Hawthorne. Note that episodes 16-17 is tied to episode 13.

The next case is “Bridge to the Turnabout” which features Phoenix, Maya and Pearl going to the Hazakura Temple for Maya’s training. But while the three are there, a fellow guest named Elise Dauxnim is murdered. And this case is about six episodes and also is connected with episodes 13, 16-17 as a non-major character plays a major role in these episodes.

VIDEO:

“Ace Attorney” is presented in 1080p High Definition (16:9). The series may not be very detailed but it has a type of animation that should suit most fans of the video game series. Background art is well-detailed but for an A-1 Pictures anime series, it has animation feel to like a children’s anime series, not heavily detailed in terms of character design or shading but for the most part, it works for the overall anime adaptation.

AUDIO:

“Ace Attorney” is presented in Japanese and English Dolby TrueHD 2.0. Crystal clear dialogue and music through the front channels.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Ace Attorney: Season Two, Part Two” comes with the following special feature:

Episode 15 Commentary – Featuring audio commentary with ADR Director Kyle Phillips and Christopher Wehkamp (voice of Miles Edgeworth), Colleen Clinkenbeard (voice of Mia Fey) and Brandon Potter (voice of Godot) and Dani Chambers (voice of Dahlia Hawthorne).

EXTRAS:

“Ace Attorney” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD of the series. Plus a Funimation Digital Code.

As a big fan of the “Ace Attorney” video games, one of the things that I often look forward to is the thrill of taking on a case and at times, feeling the onset pressure that you only had so much time to ask the right questions and win the case.

The games were thrilling and suffice to say, I was looking forward to the anime series adaptation.

And finally watching it, the series is good but for those who played the video games. I mentioned for the first season that “Ace Attorney” doesn’t really add anything new to the storyline. If anything, the anime series will captivate audiences who never played the game or never played it completely.

Fortunately, for season two, new episodes created for the series, working with “Ace Attorney” Takumi Shu were created. But primarily, the episodes are adapted from the third “Ace Attorney” video game “Trials and Tribulations”.

This time around, we have story arcs that are connected with each other.

From “Turnabout Memories” featuring Mia taking on the case to prove her client, a young Phoenix Wright being innocent of a crime he didn’t commit. Then we learn how Mia’s first case, she was traumatized by it and we get backstory in the short two-episode arc “Turnabout Beginnings” and then how these episodes set things up for seven episode arc “Bridge to the Turnabout”.

As for the anime series, the animation was good but not great. Character designs of course are different from the original CAPCOM video game, which can be expected. But I wish there was a bit more detail, as more of the design was focused on the computerized designs (backgrounds and Phoenix’s pin). The lossless audio is both in stereo and both soundtracks are well-acted.

If anything, this is an interesting second half as we get hilarious and fun episodes, but we also have a case that is much deeper but also an introduction to one of the most heinous villains that you will ever see in Phoenix Wright (video game or anime series).

Overall, the second season’s second half is not going to surprise anyone who played the “Trials and Tribulations” video game but with that being said, even for me, as a fan of the video game series, it was fun to watch the anime adaptation of this popular video game series. I definitely recommend giving “Ace Attorney” a chance!

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