Review: Gyakuten Saiban: Sono "Shinjitsu", Igi Ari!

When Ace Attorney was announced as an anime I was delighted, I never had the chance to play the games or even read the manga before so now I could see what all the fuss was about, why the series has such a dedicated following. As it turns out this may not have been the best gateway into the series, actually scratch that, this most definitely is not the best gateway into the series.

Ryuuichi Naruhodo has wanted to be a defence attorney since he was a child, to protect people and give them justice. Now an adult and rookie defence attorney for a small company he works with Chihiro a spirit medium who is also a close friend and mentor. When she is murdered and the culprit turns out to be her little sister Mayoi then Naruhodo is thrust into the front lines to save her and find the real culprit. Thus starts Naruhodos career as a defense attorney. With twists and turns a plenty will Naruhodo be able to stay on the right path and follow Chihiros guidance?

I liked the opening to this, it sets out the difficulties Naruhodo will face in this line of work and whether he can let his feelings drift from his professionalism and introduces the key players without overwhelming you. There is no overarching story here; it is episodic with new cases taking up 1-4 episodes each. No case outstays its welcome in that the time they have taken to solve reflects the complexities of the case.

There are two real strong points here that do help to carry the show somewhat. The first of these is the characters. We follow Naruhodo who is the lead defence attorney and Mayoi his co-worker (of sorts) who is also a spirit medium like her sister. Throughout the series we see a number of recurring characters such as Itonokogiri the detective who seems to investigate every case and Mitsurugi a prosecutor who is also Naruhodos childhood friend. Naruhodos battles with the latter in the courtroom are great and the same can be said of other prosecutors he comes across such as Karuma Mei.

There is as you’d expect a large supporting cast. Whilst some of these are recurring like, Naruhodos childhood friend Yahari, Mayoi’s cousin Harumi or Karuma Mei another prosecutor who loves to use a whip to intimidate or put things in order the majority are there purely for their cases. That is fine and it is kind of fun to guess who will rear their head again and be genuinely surprised who does. Some characters such as aforementioned Itonokogiri the detective and Karuma Mei do feel one note though, there with the purpose to fill a whole or move the story along but little else other than a brief comedic burst.

It is Naruhodo and Mayois chemistry that really shines in the series. Mayoi especially, she is the standout character here. She is energetic, incredibly funny and always helping Naruhodo when he feels down or in general giving the series a jolt of energy which it sorely lacks. She also helps Naruhodo out with her spirit channelling which feels like cheating but does help Naruhodo in his attorney infancy. There is also constant teasing that they could be a couple but this never comes to anything.

The second strong point is the cases themselves. There wasn’t one weak case throughout the series. While all focused on murder they all included almost impossible and outlandish scenarios which boggle the mind. From a locked room murder, to shots fired in a misty lake and murder in the snow with no footprints around the victim there is a wide variety to get your head around. Credit has to go to the original scenario writers for these cases as not only do they spark your interest right away but they even get resolved in a way that isn’t bordering on the paranormal or incompressible.

That sadly just about does it for the positives of this show I’m afraid as whilst there aren’t that many points the series does badly the few that it does hit really hard. My biggest complaint by far is that is it simply not enjoyable but that’s it, it should be. It is dull, plodding along at a slow pace that makes it feel akin to a bad lets player run. The cases themselves are interesting to begin with but as Naruhodo and Mayoi start to investigate the cracks begin to show. The slow pacing of proceedings and the cheap look of the series are one thing that I will get onto but the problem here is the way the cases are presented.

During the games this is interactive, you are thinking to yourself how to solve this, what this piece of evidence does, how it relates to the crime. When transitioned to anime it is then presented to you and it does not feel the same because the intended purpose, structure does not fit. You are waiting for Naruhodo to cotton on to the theory you have, the evidence you have already linked. Taking away the interactive experience, for a series like this, is only to its detriment as the parts you enjoy doing yourself are snatched away from you. Even if like me you haven’t played the game it becomes apparent that it was intended to be played through.

Compare this to say Detective Conan and the difference becomes glaring. There Conan finds the clues himself, he solves it himself but it is intended to be presented to you this way, you marvel at the ludicrous crimes and his ability to solve them. There was no interactive element originally so you don’t get the same feelings as you do here. This series could have combated this with anime original scenarios designed specifically to be show to the viewer but it did not appear to take this route. Writing for interactivity and to show are two vastly different fields and this adaptation seems not to have noticed.

Then there is the production values, they are low across the board bar the voice cast which is excellent. The show airs during a prime slot, i.e. this is not a late night show. Because of this there is less of a need to push the boat out and it shows. The animation is bad, it isn’t smooth and it isn’t pretty. There is constant use of still images here, mainly used in the court room but it also pops up elsewhere as characters on occasion, they’re static when talking which leads to long scenes where all you see mouth and minimal movement. I get that with a lot of it being in a court room there isn’t much to animate but it feels like no effort was given, the lack of anything dramatic and care on the guilty or not guilty verdicts sums it up really.

If you’ve read any of my reviews or know any of what I like you’ll know that bad, or even awful animation I can overlook if the content itself pulls through. It happened with a series like JK Meshi and happens with long running shows like Fairy Tail or One Piece. The animation is poor but the outstanding content pulls you through. Ace Attorney does not have this and suffers. I can’t forgive solely on the presumably small budget.

The art is a mixed bag, the character designs remain faithful to the games and that is really the only strong point on the aesthetic side with varied and bizarre designs in some cases and these only vary even more as they begin to crack under pressure on the witness stand. This though is offset by the characters being off model frequently and the bland background art. Be it in the courtroom or out in the field investigating and collecting evidence it never feels alive so to speak, it is all generic locales which is a shame with little to set itself apart.

The music keeps up with the other poor facets. Both OPs for the series are done by the boy group NEWS, I found them forgettable in no time at all and skipped over them each time. The two EDs are slightly better but again nothing stood out. The soundtrack never really gets going; it doesn’t make you feel tense, nervous or in awe like it should. It just repeats the same bland tracks over and over.

This is the not the series I expected, it is far worse than I imagined sadly with so many pieces falling flat. Interesting characters and intriguing cases can only take a series so far but if the rest isn’t up to par it is going to fail. It’s sad as to be honest this has not made me want to go and play the games, it has made me want to avoid them for the time being at least until I can get this out of my head and that says it all.

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Aired: Spring 2016 - Summer 2016

Episodes: 24

Available: Streaming

3.5/10