Turnabout Goodbyes 3rd Trial is the tenth episode of the Ace Attorney anime adaption series and sadly there is not much improvement from the first nine. Last episode left us with Phoenix and Maya trying to gain insight into the truth behind the murder of Robert Hammond. Miles Edgeworth was accused of murdering Hammond by being found with a gun and in a boat on the lake of the crime scene. Hammond was the attorney responsible for helping Miles’ father’s suspected murder go free. Although Phoenix, with the support of Maya, proved in court that Miles is innocent, Miles is still not released. It appears that the mystery of the DL-6 Incident which involves Mr. Edgeworth’s death, that occurred several years before the story’s time frame, will be solved soon.
Now that the series is well under way the line style has improved slightly, mostly because of the few scenes taking place outside. The dark images of the Gourdy Lake scene are ominous and bears the heavy weight of the crime committed there. And the outside shots of the courthouse are detailed and more coherent than before. Unfortunately, the character’s design still seem too simple and lack the line details found in the original DS games.
Ace Attorney’s humor is very much intact and continues to translate well into the animation. The boat rental shop owner constantly falls asleep and refers to Phoenix and Maya by his own children’s names. To comply with his wishes they refer to him as their father in a nervous way. Polly, the parrot belonging the boat rental’s owner, has more personalty than the old man and acts as if everything being discussed is perfectly natural. Although there is no confirmation given that Polly’s mind is capable of deduction she does repeat herself at a heightened moment not to forget the DL-6 Incident. Everything within this story arc is pointing towards the past and instead of the mystery becoming clearer, everything is becoming more muddled. As frustrating as it is for our hero Phoenix, it makes experiencing this anime adaptation all the more exciting.
Sadly, despite the mystery developing into a more complex puzzle, the silence from Miles is almost unbearable. It is also an irksome downfall of this entire Turnabout Goodbyes story arc. He is merely accepting whatever outcome the court decides and has nothing to say in his own defense. When looking at this episode as a stand-alone piece, it gives the impression that Miles would rather accept a guilty verdict that is false than fight for the truth and be declared innocent. Finally at the end of Turnabout Goodbyes 3rd Trial, Miles begins to put the pieces together as his defense attorney and schoolmate proclaims them during the trial. At least the audience has a peek into Edgeworth’s mind. Yet his feelings and emotions are completely barren from this ordeal. As each episode passes I keep hoping that the character’s own thoughts will be revealed but it seems that the anime writers decided to keep things simple by only following the game’s exact story. The game franchise is making a decent anime adaptation but it seems to be relying upon the game series too much. It’s a missed opportunity for the Ace Attorney story to have the characters and story explored much deeper.
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