After a sweet Ace Attorney episode filled with the childhood memories of Phoenix, Larry and Miles, viewers alongside the cast of colorful characters enter a new mystery: Reunion and Turnabout. Last time Phoenix reminisced about his childhood memories. The three friends met under a rather strange circumstance that ends up altering all three of their lives forever. As the Turnabout Goodbyes mystery wrapped up with the separation of Maya and Phoenix, a new beginning is opening up to these friends. The studio chose for this new story arc to begin with a fresh opening. The upbeat song and comical scenes shared between the main cast foreshadows the hope they all share for a brighter future. This next mystery Phoenix falls into surrounds itself around a hospital director named Dr. Grey, a man who seems to be willing to do anything to protect his hospital’s reputation, or perhaps his own.
Dr. Grey asks Phoenix to accompany him to Maya Fey’s residence to witness her channel the nurse responsible for murdering fourteen hospital patients. The nurse had apparently died right before accepting responsibility in a car accident. Maya agreed to help Dr. Grey only if her friend Phoenix accompanied him. Fans can appreciate the returning character Lotta Hart to the stage as she is there with Phoenix to grab the big scoop. Another friend pops up, Detective Gumshoe, who arrives on the scene of a new murder. Maya enters the channeling chamber ceremoniously only to be blamed of another crime.
Previously Lotta’s character was written as annoying and misguiding. She often made mistakes and jumped to conclusions during the Turnabout Goodbyes trials. Much of the problems in the various trials could be blamed on Lotta yet it was her photography skills that ended up helping Phoenix save Miles from a horrible fate. This time Lotta seems to have calmed down… slightly. Although she still jumps to conclusions, her personality is slightly less exaggerated and Lotta tends to understand the weight of crimes. Pouncing upon the crime scene, Lotta starts taking photographs right away that will hopefully help Maya instead of incriminate her.
A-1 Pictures did a decent job animating Maya’s aunt Morgan Fey. Her devilish features and smirks are replicated enough to give the audience chills. Little Pearl, Maya’s cousin, is portrayed as her adorably cute self with Maya’s dreamy tendencies. The diverse range of characters is what truly makes the Ace Attorney stories so enjoyable. The mysteries tend to have a few twists and plenty of drama. It’s the cast that makes this franchise so great and now we are beginning to see more of them than before in this episode.
The very best part of this episode is how embarrassed Phoenix acts when Pearl calls him “Maya’s special someone.” Hunching over and covering his blushing face, Phoenix lets us see a new side to his personality. Pearl is in awe of Phoenix who Maya apparently has been talking about constantly since her arrival home. Although we have comical moments thrown into this sad episode, the weight of Maya’s position as the last of the Kurain School bloodline is a heavy one. Cheerful Maya’s life has been filled with worry and sorrow. Her brief time with Phoenix was most likely the happiest part of her young life. It would be wonderful to see Maya’s character develop and to be given proper attention in the Reunion and Turnabout story. Phoenix, Larry and Miles all had their childhood backstory revealed so it only seems fair for Maya’s turn to be next.
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