The Ace Attorney series of games, known as Gyakuten Saiban in Japan, has already been declared guilty of having a live action movie adaptation. And starting next month on April 2, everyone’s favorite defense attorney will make his case in a brand new animated television series. As evidence, please direct your attention to the trailer below.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wINxs769CE[/embedyt]
The Ace Attorney anime seems to follow the plot of the main series of games, and uses the same character visuals and animations, particularly the epic finger pointing. Unfortunately, one major difference in the anime happens to be the voice actors. In the Japanese games, Phoenix Wright was voiced by four different actors, none of which are playing the attorney’s part in the television show. Additional details, such as the episode count and streaming options, have yet to be announced, but keep an eye on sites like Crunchyroll, which is usually able to procure streaming privileges on or close to initial release dates.
Objection! My hair is black and spiky, therefore I am a saiyan! Also, Saiban is just one letter away.
Mr. Wright and his entourage, after five games plus a crossover with Professor Layton, are also suiting up for a sixth Ace Attorney game coming to 3DS. Having further expanded into movies and television, Gyakuten Saiban’s universe may well expand into the realm of physical merchandise and other pop culture. Being an anime based on, and largely copying from, the games, success will depend primarily on the skill of the animators themselves in bringing the characters to life. Reusing animations from the game for fan appeal is fine, but it also risks the anime becoming campy and half-hearted. The studio behind the show will need to practice good timing of references while allowing themselves a certain degree of freedom with the content to produce new and interesting experiences for the audience.
The defense rests. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you may proceed to the comments section to deliberate on this matter.
Matt Eschbach is a PC, Mac and Android indie game developer and fiction writer. His works have won multiple monetary awards from various contests. Graduating college in 2012 with a major in Game Design, Matt spends his time making stuff up and then building it. His favorite hobby… is sleeping.
