With the Fall 2018 season just kicking off, one show in particular caught my attention immediately. Gyakuten Saiban, the adaptation of the critically acclaimed game by the same name (more commonly known as Ace Attorney/Phoenix Wright), focuses on a rookie attorney, Phoenix Wright, and his sidekick Maya. The first season done by A-1 Pictures, the now airing second season is now currently under Cloverworks. Being an old fan of the first game, I got excited to pick apart the new series, especially under a new studio. While I’ve generally been enjoying the show so far, it’s taking them a bit of time to figure out how to make things work and I have a lot of nitpicks.
(Disclaimer: I’ve only played the first game. Season two starts where the third game does, so I’m going into this basically fresh despite having played one of the games. Very minor spoilers)
Starting the show off immediately about to go into trial, Wright is attacked and loses his memory. First off, being thrown into a trial right away ended up not working out well. One of the best things about the show is being able to figure out the case for ourselves. Going from a game where that’s the entire premise to watching a show where all the thinking has been done for you was a big risk. Sadly, it seems this really wasn’t taken into account for the adaptation. So far, we’ve had two trials take place, neither of which we saw much investigation for (absolutely none in the first). One entire episode was dedicated to looking into a case before the third episode’s trial, but it wasn’t enough. One of the things the game was best at was making you feel excited to figure out the cases for yourself. However, all of the evidence now seems to be thrown in willy-nilly. Instead of stopping mid-trial to think about all of the other evidence we’ve seen so far, we just wait for Maya to show up and present the crucial evidence that proves everything (this has been how both cases were resolved so far). If we want to actually enjoy the trials and have them be as exciting as they should be, the show needs to slow down and take some time to get us invested.
However, I don’t have only nitpicks and complaints when it comes to this show. Even if I don’t let it on, I’ve actually been enjoying the run so far. The characters in this show are its driving force. Maya, Wright, and every single one of the side characters are all a blast. Every single character we’re introduced to is interesting in their own way. With eccentric personalities that make every interaction a blast to watch, the show seems to know what it’s doing. Every character has a great dynamic with seemingly everyone else. Even when two side characters interact in some meaningless way, you can’t help but pay attention. Especially when it comes to Wright and Maya, Gyakuten Saiban sports some of the most fun and intriguing characters I’ve ever seen, all with their own unique dynamics.
But another problem I’ve had is with these characters’ motivations. Sure, Wright had a reason for accepting the first case. However, he accepts the second case on a whim. Taking little time to talk to his client and see whether or not he’s guilty or to at least gather evidence for himself more than just walking around, he accepts a case that could easily leave him defending a genuine thief. Maya’s reaction to this was also a bit bothersome. Sure, she’s meant to be immature. However, seeing the reaction she had to Wright even pursuing an investigation into a case (yknow, his job) was a little bit of a harsh wake-up call to start the season off with. It would’ve been nice to see a little bit of growth in her and have her go along with Wright. However, she just does her own research and jumps into court unannounced and supports Wright just because she stumbled across some (illegally obtained) evidence. But since we’ve yet to see that growth in her, maybe we’ll see it throughout the season.
While episode 1 barely passed when it came to straight up fun, episode 2 was definitely enjoyable and episode 3 had me grinning and laughing just like I was playing the old game again. One of my favorite things about Phoenix Wright has always been its unabashed goofiness. It’s lighthearted and cheesy in just the right way. The crazy reactions of the characters and overly quirky personalities are a great compliment to the enthralling cases. Luckily, this seems to have been carried over well into the new season. While less so in the first, the second season boasts a delightful whimsical comedy that was most apparent with Godot’s appearance in court. Pure joy is what this show does best, and I’m glad to see it emphasizes that with some plain fun scenes.
However, there is a bit of a problem that relates to that comedy. To watch this, you’re going to have to have an iron-strong suspension of disbelief. With evidence being thrown around in court like nothing and the court setting seemingly being commonly forgotten, there’s a lot to take you out of the moment here. While the comedy is one of my favorite aspects here, they do need to be a little more careful with it. Characters yell and talk out of place all the time for no reason and it’s a shame to see what would otherwise be fine comedy made into awkward, meaningless detours.
Overall, I am definitely enjoying Gyakuten Saiban. The characters and their interactions, compelling cases, and comedy are all more than enough to keep me watching for a while. However, it’s painful to see such an incredible title re-executed with so many flaws. As long as the show cleans its writing up a bit, I’ll be more than happy endorsing the show, but we’ve got to see some improvement here. I’d recommend anyone who’s already seen the first season or played the games to watch this, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling anyone to pick up the first season just so they can keep up with this new one if they’re coming in completely fresh just yet.
Wew, that was my first time doing that in a while. Well, I’ve gotta say it was pretty nice. I don’t know for sure if I’m going to take my blog off hiatus, but I’d say that you can probably expect at least one more post on this show down the road unless absolutely nothing changes, especially if it runs for 24 episodes. Thanks for reading, I’ll see you guys on the other side.
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