English Dub Review: Ace Attorney “Recipe for Turnabout – 1st Trial”

Maggey’s back and in more trouble than ever!

Overview (Spoilers Below)

A bizarre set of circumstances has befallen Phoenix Wright, as we dive headlong into the next case for the cunning attorney. Someone has impersonated Phoenix and lost the trial of Maggey Byrde, who had been accused of poisoning an innocent man. Hapless detective, Dick Gumshoe, who’s sweet on Maggey, isn’t happy with Wright, and pushes him to speak to Maggey and get this all sorted out.

Maggey is furious at Wright when he arrived and explains her side of the case. She witnessed the victim being poisoned by a mysterious man, but for some reason, no one else would testify to there being another man. What’s worse, the poison was found in Maggey’s apron.

After taking the case, Phoenix and Maia head to Maggey’s former place of work, Tres Bien, a French restaurant with an eccentric and flamboyant chef, Jean Armstrong. Jean recounts his testimony of events to Phoenix, explaining how he came out to find the victim poisoned, but no one else was at the table. Jean goes on to explain that the man had just shouted out that he’d won the lottery while checking a lottery ticket, which gives Maggey her motive. Apparently, he also had a mysterious bag of medicine by his side, which is the clue Phoenix and Maia need to chase next. Before they leave, however, Jean Armstrong

Later, at the trial, Phoenix begins Maggey’s defense by presenting Maggey’s testimony that there was another man at the table, but Godot immediately starts dominating the proceedings. He presents the lottery ticket that was found on Maggey’s person and the apron with the poison in it that belonged to Maggey. Phoenix tries to present the medicine bag that he heard about at the restaurant, but Godot is one step ahead of him. He counters by explaining that the medicine was a topical ear cream for the victim, Glen Elg. The judge is about to hand down the verdict, but Gumshoe insists that there’s a witness the defense needs to cross-examine. The witness is Victor Kudo, an old man who saw the poisoning and claims Maggey did it. But Phoenix catches Kudo in a mistake and is able to throw doubt on his testimony, by pointing out that he never saw the ketchup-covered apron that Maggey was wearing that day. It’s not much, but its enough to buy Phoenix another day of trial.

Our Take:

It’s hard to be certain of Ace Attorney’s level of quality, its the kind of story that doesn’t really jump out at you immediately since the mystery is told in pieces. You can’t really know how good the mystery was and how well it was unraveled until you’ve seen the whole thing. Now, I know how it ends since I’ve played the games, (More than once) but the presentation of the case is just as important as knowing how it ends since it can dramatically change the emotional impact of the story. All that being said, though, I enjoyed this start to the trial much more than I did with the first episode of the Mask de Masque case. It’s pretty funny, it goes quick, but not too quick to hit the major plot points, and captures the feel of the game decently well.

It’s quite possible for a viewer to be really annoyed by some of this episode’s content, since it relies heavily on the kitchy, “Ace Attorney” brand of screwball humor that doesn’t always land well. In particular, Jean Armstrong and his faux French demeanor aren’t too appealing to watch, and its the kind of one-note joke that can really wear on you. Yet, I think Phoenix and Maia worked as the comedic heart of the episode, especially since the concept of someone impersonating Phoenix is so ludicrous. Not to mention, this bizarre set of circumstances is what puts Phoenix in the underdog position, which is where he shines the most.

The “turnabout” of this episode, where Phoenix corners Kudo’s flawed testimony, was the first time since starting this season that I felt immersed into the excitement of the case. This doesn’t happen often because of how condensed the story is in this anime, but enough was done to build up the stakes of the case so that this turnabout had some impact. That’s not to say that there aren’t pacing problems; there certainly are, the same ones that have plagued this show since the beginning. Victor Kudo gets crammed into the last five minutes of the episode, so his testimony has to be gotten through at breakneck speed. Yet, at this point, this is something I can live with.

Overall, this is a charming episode that establishes a decent foundation for the rest of the case to build off of. I hope the rest of the trial will be able to slow down a bit, so we can enjoy the mystery to come.