In Ace Attorney’s anime Episode 9 – Turnabout Goodbyes: 2nd Trial, Miles Edgeworth, a promising prosecutor, has been arrested for murdering Robert Hammond who was involved in Miles’s father’s murder trial, also known as the DL-6 Incident. Hammond helped the accused suspect in the Edgeworth murder be cleared which leaves plenty of room for the court to believe Miles is guilty in this current trial. Along the Gourd Lake, the scene of the Hammond murder, a lively women named Lotta Hart, who is hoping to capture evidence of the Gourdy lake monster, ends up becoming the witness to the murder. Unknowingly, her pictures serve not as evidence to prove Gourdy exists but as photographic evidence in the courtroom. Ironically, the man who is prosecuting against Miles is his old mentor and guardian, Manfred Von Karma.
The God of Prosecutors, as Von Karma is known within the courtroom, is all too happy to charge full force against his former charge. Miles is acting completely defeated and barely seems to recognize his own innocence. His defeatist attitude is bothersome. Although the stylish Miles Edgeworth is hardly the type to cry or scream in order to proclaim his innocence, this quiet and accepting attitude during this episode is frankly appalling. It’s as if his whole character is being brushed aside and he has no opinion about his own fate.
Another thing that is annoying is Von Karma’s design. In the games, he looks as terrifying as his personality. With darkish shading on his face and the intensity of his eyes, players of the games can feel Von Karma’s anger come through the game screen. The anime animators made his face too plain and nixed the intensity of his original game form. It’s disappointing since the original version of Von Karma had such an intense and dark aura around him and it could have been replicated in the anime.
On the other hand, Maya’s emotional outburst in court to buy Phoenix extra time to craft the one question that will keep the trial from closing comes through. The small tears that grow around Maya’s eyes are enough to make even a hardened anime watcher feel empathy towards her. As explained in the previous episode, Maya is unable to channel her sister’s spirit to help Phoenix. This carries through as she feels responsible for the spectacle Von Karma is making of Phoenix.
Although the animating team glossed over Manfred Von Karma’s dangerous look, they did manage to capture Maya’s guilt-ridden feeling at this intense court scene. Miles is moved by Maya’s and Phoenix’s willingness to do anything to clear his name posted the entire bail for Maya. This sweet gesture is given a very short scene and then the audience is brushed off to the next part of the story. Overall, Ace Attorney’s anime Episode 9 – Turnabout Goodbyes: 2nd Trial is disappointing. Still, it’s not as bad as it could have been. This episode did manage to capture Maya’s frustration for failing to fulfill her role as a real spirit medium. Hopefully, Episode 10 will be an improvement.
You can follow along with this review series by watching Ace Attorney through Crunchyroll.