Apollo Justice (Hosuke Odoroki)

Voiced by (Japanese): Koutarou Ogiwara (AJ), KENN (DD, SoJ)

Voiced by (English): JP Kellams (AJ), Orion Acaba (DD, SoJ)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

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^{Click here to see him bandaged}

"I'm fine! The Chords of Steel are ready for battle!"

Known as The Clarion of Revelations and The Truth Bringer. Apollo is passionate and somewhat headstrong, but relies much less on courtroom antics than Phoenix does.

After the death of his father and the disappearance of his mother, Apollo spent the early years of his life abroad under the care of a foster father who instilled in him an appreciation for law. However, one day Apollo was sent back to America by his foster father with not much explanation as to why, devastating him and causing him to resent the man. He spent his adolescent years in orphanages, eventually finding renewed inspiration to become a lawyer in the form of Phoenix Wright, who became his hero. He eventually passed the bar exam and trained under Kristoph Gavin. Sometime after his first trial, Apollo got an offer to work for Phoenix Wright himself. He was the only attorney available at the Agency (during which when he took on cases along with his partner Trucy) until Phoenix was reinstated as a lawyer and Athena joined the team.

His power is the ability to "Perceive", meaning he can focus and use his eyes to scan a person and determine if they are being subversive through body language. In other words, he will always know if you are lying because your body will give you away. This makes it unlikely for him to take on guilty clients (his ability is genetic; however it's possible to incapacitate him by disabling his bracelet or by lying constantly so his eyes remain alert all the time, enough to not let him function properly).

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A-H

Affectionate Nickname: He gets nicknamed "Polly" by Trucy, although she doesn't use it quite so much as Maya used "Nick" for Phoenix. Likewise, Klavier refers to him as "Herr Forehead", initially as an Embarrassing Nickname, but eventually as a term of endearment by the time of Dual Destinies. In Spirit of Justice, we find out that Datz calls him "AJ".
Amateur Sleuth: Although sometimes he has Ema's assistance.
Amplifier Artifact: His bracelet is essentially this. Without it, he would have a very hard time noticing the effects of his hyper-empathy and not know when to go into perceive mode. Trucy shows that it can be done to an extent, but to use the perceive ability effectively without a bracelet would require ridiculous amounts of self-awareness and concentration. Trucy even notes at one point that Apollo is seeing witness tics that she can't pick up. So it's clear that without the external tool his ability is basically useless but it also makes him much more sensitive in the end so it goes both ways.
Animal Motifs: Minor example, and also brought about due to localization. In both Spanish and Italian, Justice's nickname "Pollo" means "chicken", since his hair could look like a chicken's comb. One of his goofy pouts also makes his mouth look like a beak.
Anime Hair: Though it's not natural and Apollo notes that he uses hair gel. Like Phoenix, it's used for a few gags; Jinxie Tenma believes he's a yokai because his hair looks like horns, Rayfa calls him "Horn Head", and Queen Ga'ran calls him "Horned Devil".
Ascended Fanboy: Who else stays up at night training themselves to bellow Objection!? And then there's his extreme excitement at meeting Phoenix for the first time...as a defendant.
Badass Boast: During "Turnabout Revolution", he says some pretty daring statements towards Sergeant Buff.
Apollo: Sorry, but I'm afraid lawyers are missile-proof.^note
- He then follows up with another one of these not even a minute afterwards!
  Apollo: Courtroom warriors don't use guns or missiles, because evidence is our weapon of choice! And the evidence has exposed your bald-faced lie! My truth bomb, Sarge...has stripped your defenses bare!
- As if that wasn't daring enough, once he reveals that Nayna is secretly Queen Amara, Apollo indicts her!
  Apollo: If you commit the crime, you'd better be ready to do the time. Be you a priest, saint, queen, or god!
Badass Longcoat: Gets one in in Dual Destinies during his Conflicting Loyalty stage. It was his best friend Clay's, and he wears it in honor of him while he tracks down his killer.
Bash Brothers: With Klavier. Unlike any of the other prosecutor-and-defense teams in the series, Apollo and Klavier pull this act straight out of the starting gate, and keep it up for the entire game. It's even more impressive given that before 4-2 they'd never even met and they still pull this off. On the defense lawyer side, he becomes this with Athena and Phoenix in Dual Destinies.
Being Personal Isn't Professional:
- In his introduction, he's extremely tight-lipped about himself, his past, and his emotions with the people he works with, to the point it's actually brought up twice over two different games, and only talks about himself when he's given no choice in the matter (and even then, is vague at best, dodging questions to avoid giving any details except what's absolutely necessary).
- Part of his Character Development in Spirit of Justice is getting over this. He finally does reveal parts of his history to his allies; namely, that he was adopted and grew up in Khura'in. At first, this was only because he had no choice but to visit Khura'in at the time. But in Case 5, where it gets more personal for Apollo, he opens up much more.
Big Brother Instinct: He's quite protective of Trucy. Who, as it turns out, is his half-sister. Neither of them know that, though.
Big "NO!": While these are common occurences, he gets an especially big one in Spirit of Justice when he realizes his adoptive father Dhurke was Dead All Along.
Blindfolded Vision: Partial; Apollo has a bandage over one of his eyes in Dual Destinies, presumably from his injuries following the courtroom blast. It was there long before the incident. It's meant to be a self-imposed Power Limiter on his Perception ability, to stop perceiving Athena who was (unknowingly) lying to him every time they talked about the case.
Broken Pedestal:
- Apollo enters his first case absolutely idolizing Phoenix Wright, claiming that no one in his generation hadn't heard of him and his office, and attempting to defend him in court using such logic as "that is a contradiction because there's no way Phoenix Wright would cheat at cards!" By the end of the case, Phoenix has tricked him into using forged evidence and Apollo is so furious he decks him. Although he doesn't seem to hate Phoenix, it definitely shook him out his case of hero-worship, and he often thinks mildly disparaging things about his former idol.
- This also applies to his former boss Kristoph Gavin, whom he helps get into jail in the course of his first case, which he was originally defending with him as co-counsel. It gets worse when it's revealed that Kristoph has been responsible for many terrible things, including Phoenix's disbarment and multiple murders that form the basis of the game's closing case. It's even sadder for Apollo that he was unable to conventionally prove Kristoph's motive of the crime for both Zak and Vera because his decisive evidence was a replica and not the real deal and would've gotten Vera guilty had Phoenix not intervened with the Jurist System.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While we, as the player, always see the Perceive system in action from Apollo's perspective, staring down the witness, saying "You're hiding something", and having the witness admit it must look pretty odd from the sidelines. When he Perceives, people tend to look at him in shock and say that he was staring so hard his eyes bugged out.
Butt-Monkey: Although all three main lawyers become this when they're playable, he gets the least respect overall. Even Athena's employment in the Agency lessened his Butt-Monkey status a little. Exemplified in "Turnabout Reclaimed" (the DLC case for Dual Destinies), Phoenix and Athena rush off to the Shipshape Aquarium to get justice for Sasha's friend... and Apollo has to stay behind and watch the office like some secretary. Throughout the case he's even pleading with Phoenix to give him some case-related work to do.
Character Catchphrase:
- "Here comes Justice!" He also adds Gotcha! to the set of catch phrases to shout in big red letters.
- In Dual Destines, another one of his catchphrases ("I'm fine!"), receives a new meaning: it was a phrase he and his old middle school friend used for confidence boosting.
Chromatic Superiority: Seems to believe that red is the best color from a few of his thoughts. He may be joking, though.
Closet Geek: He keeps manga on his desk. It's totally useful for research purposes.
Clueless Chick-Magnet: He has Ship Tease with Vera, Athena, Juniper, and Aura Blackquill. On top of that, a female watching the first trial of the second case calls his forehead attractive during one of the times he has the advantage (though the way she phrases it suggests it turned her off until he started being an impressive lawyer). In spite of all of this, Apollo hasn't seemed to notice a single one of these girls' attraction to him.
Coat Cape: Sports one in Dual Destinies. It actually belongs to his best friend, who is the victim of case 4.
Color Motif: Red, contrasting/ complimenting Phoenix's blue and Athena's yellow in Dual Destinies. He's often described as being eager and dedicated, with a "passionate heart burning red".
The Comically Serious: Apollo tries so very hard to maintain professionalism when dealing with other people, but when you work daily with ridiculous witnesses, an assistant with magic panties, eccentric prosecutors, and trickster mentors, you can't help but become this trope.
Apollo: Believe me, any comic relief I may provide is entirely unintentional.
Conflicting Loyalty:
- In "Turnabout Trump", Apollo's loyalties start to conflict with one another. Does he stay loyal to his mentor Kristoph, or seek out the truth? Does he listen to Kristoph's warnings, or follow his client's advice? He eventually decides to pursue the truth instead of being loyal to anyone.
  Apollo: This isn't about loyalty... This is about the truth!
- In "Turnabout for Tomorrow", he faces a similar problem when Athena looks like she could be his best friend's murderer. He once again puts the truth over everything and goes off to figure things out by himself.
- The first part of "Turnabout Revolution" has him clashing with Phoenix in civil court, which causes some strife among himself and the other Wright Anything Agency staff members. Though this turns out to be covering for something that none of them knew about.
Contrived Coincidence: His family history. How coincidental is it that he ends up being mentored by the man who adopted his half-sister, and together with said sister, he cross-examines their long-lost mother in court?
Consummate Professional: Apollo is actively the most professional person to work for the Agency, and one of the most professional characters in the series (making him The Comically Serious). One interpretation of his dislike of Klavier is not jealousy, but outright disdain for how Klavier is far from professional in court, considering Apollo is annoyed that Klavier acts serious in "Turnabout Serenade" backstage but not in court.
Daddy Didn't Show: When Dhurke left him in America as a child, he promised Apollo he would come back for him. However he never showed up until years later, after Apollo had become a lawyer himself, and after Dhurke had died.
Darkest Hour: Apollo's moment that he is right in finding out that Dhurke is murdered.
A Day in the Limelight: Becomes the main character in Spirit of Justice, especially in "Turnabout Revolution".
Deadpan Snarker: Taking up his mentor's mantle as the game's First-Person Smartass. Although unlike his mentor, Apollo is a lot less internal about his snark, and is far more likely to point out how ridiculous or stupid a situation is rather bluntly. It goes with his Only Sane Man status.
Defeating the Undefeatable: He manages to beat the legendary Phoenix Wright in a civil case, though granted he had been blackmailed into defending a guilty party and even Apollo is dubious of his chances of beating Phoenix in a fair trial, it's still an impressive feat considering that Phoenix assured Apollo that he wouldn't be holding back. In the same case, and even more to his credit, he defeated Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in, a queen who changed the law on the spot to suit her needs and threatened to have him and Phoenix gunned down where they stand. Moreover, he did it all on his own, without resorting to asking Phoenix for help, even though he was at his side. He's come a long way since his debut game.
Detective Patsy: In "Turnabout Corner", he was hired by the real killer in order to represent the defendant, firmly convinced that he would lose.
Deuteragonist: He shares this role with Athena in Dual Destinies. He appears to be this to Phoenix in Spirit of Justice, until Apollo takes center stage for almost the entirety of "Turnabout Revolution".
The Empath: Part of how he is aware that a person is lying is his own innate ability to tense up with them whenever they're not entirely confident about their statement, expressed through a feeling of tightness in his bracelet. However he wrongfully attributes it as a mystical power from the bracelet itself rather than himself.
Establishing Character Moment: From his first case, Apollo makes it clear he seeks the truth at whatever cost by convicting his boss of murder. He would go on to make a habit of opposing his colleagues in court.
Evil Costume Switch: Is prominently shown in several promotional art for Dual Destinies and its first case with an Eyepatch of Power, Coat Cape, and his hands wrapped in bandages. Soon after being introduced, he takes a leave of absence from the Agency, with Phoenix and Athena. We find out in "Turnabout for Tomorrow" that the bandages are from him being caught in a bomb blast, the coat is his dead best friend Clay's, and the eyepatch is actually a self-imposed Restraining Bolt to stop his perception abilities from triggering around Athena (and thus believing she could be responsible for Clay's murder). He wears them all during his brief bout of Conflicting Loyalty, and removes all of them as soon as his doubts are put to rest.
Expressive Hair: It flops forward when he's surprised or disheartened. During his Heroic BSoD in case 6-5, it goes completely limp.
Eyepatch of Power: Gets a temporary one during "The Cosmic Turnabout" and "Turnabout for Tomorrow" due to the explosion incident. Then it turns out it was for a different reason.
First-Person Peripheral Narrator: In his own game he's the POV character and does a lot of the investigating but ultimately the story is about Phoenix's fall from grace and eventual rise back up.
Fanservice: Some have taken his Sengoku Basara-inspired Downloadable Content cosplay of Sanada Yukimura from Spirit of Justice to be this as Yukimura doesn't wear anything under his red jacket, so neither does Apollo, giving us a nice look at his pecs.
First-Person Smartass: Unlike Phoenix, he's somewhat less polite up front and lets more of his snark leave his brain.
Fist Pump: Apollo does a version of this with both his hands in Dual Destinies, the animation showing up when he resolves to get something done. It becomes even funnier with an added "slap" sound effect and screen shake, meaning he was extra resolute about what he was saying.
A Fool for a Client: A justified trope where he started representing himself and Phoenix as additional accused persons when Ga'ran usurped the judge's job and handed down a false guilty verdict to Dhurke Sahdmadhi, Apollo's client, because the Defense Culpability Act automatically convicts lawyers of clients who are declared guilty and sentences the lawyers of such clients to the same sentence as that of which was handed to the convicted client. Fortunately, Apollo manages to get that false verdict overturned, and was able to have the Defense Culpability Act declared null and void.
Forehead of Doom: Klavier even begins calling him "Herr Forehead" partway through the second case, though this may be partly due to him insisting which part of the forehead the victim was shot was very important at the moment. Ironically, when looking at artwork of him in game and in official art, his forehead... really isn't that big. His hairstyle does draw attention to it though.
The Ghost: He is completely absent in "Turnabout Time Traveler" and only gets a single mention as Trucy's former magic assistant, unless examining his stuff at the office. Justified, as he is at Khura'in working hard to reestablish law order, and the extra case takes place after the finale of the main story of Spirit of Justice.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Just like his mentor and his mentor before him. In his case, though, this is a sign of him being a fanboy of his mentor rather than an unconsciously mimicked habit. During the final case of Spirit of Justice, the might of Apollo's righteous anger, channeled through his demand that Ga'ran end her insane & illegal rein as monarch as he points at her, is able to send out a force that's strong enough to cause the Royal Guard to be blown away and for Ga'ran to recoil as if she was physically struck.
Giver of Lame Names: His name for a runaway calico cat he finds in an audio drama? Callie. Athena and Trucy are quick to make fun of his extremely lame naming sense.
Green-Eyed Monster: One interpretation of his dislike of Klavier is really just jealousy that Klavier is a talented prosecutor AND rock star.
Hairstyle Inertia: If photographs seen in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice are any indication, Apollo's had his dual-antenna hairstyle since he was a very young boy. And according to his father's Divination Seance, those antennae have been there since he was a baby.
Has a Type: Seems to have a thing for meek, soft-spoken girls with artsy streaks, going by his interactions with Vera Misham and Junioer Woods. Klavier even tells him that someone like Athena Cykes doesn’t seem like Apollo’s type.
Hates Small Talk: He'll do anything to avoid talking about his past until it's eventually dragged out into the open.
Head Desk: Upon The Reveal that Dhurke has been dead all this time and was being channeled by Maya and (later) Amara, he lifts his head up and slams it onto the desk in despair. This is absolutely not Played for Laughs.
Hereditary Hairstyle: It comes from his Dad's side, except Apollo's horns are pointed up instead of down like his father, Jove.
- Although they have different fathers, his half-sister Trucy also has small hair spikes on the top of her head which resemble Apollo's.
Heroic BSoD: Briefly in Case 6-5, when he finds out Dhurke has been Dead All Along. Similar to Phoenix in Case 2-4, he gets a unique "utter despair" animation for the first time ever.
He's Back!: In Dual Destinies, the game seems to be bent on break him in cases 4 and 5, but when he manages to shake off his funk and trust both Athena and Phoenix completely, he drops his bandages, Eyepatch of Power and Coat Cape and stands in court with Phoenix for the first time since Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.
Hollywood Healing: In case 1 of Dual Destinies, Apollo is so battered that his attempt to defend Juniper Woods has to be passed to Athena because he is physically unable to do so (and then after the case he gets conked on the head). After case 4, he takes his "leave of absence" and does some investigation but he's still wearing all his bandages. Come the climax of case 5 he unwraps his bandages and is right as rain, able enough to help Phoenix with his defense of Athena. All of this happens...maybe over the span of two or three days at most, at a time when the other characters seemed to think he would be in bed recuperating for a while.
Hot-Blooded: A phrase used over and over to describe Apollo is his "passionate heart burning red". This is even more obvious in "Turnabout Serenade", when Apollo and Daryan Crescend would almost duke it out if it weren't for Klavier's intervention.
Hyper-Awareness: An explicit ability of his due to his Gramarye ancestry, and heightened by his Bracelet. Percieving involves noticing even the most minor of nervous tics and using them to have witnesses reveal information they are trying to hide.

I-Z

I Choose to Stay: Decides to stay and open his own law office in the now liberated Khura'in at the end of "Turnabout Revolution".
Idiot Hair: His two..."horns", which helps endear him during his formative years and go on to become a defining physical characteristic in his later appearances. The fact Trucy also has a set of these, albeit smaller, under her top hat connects the pair before their true relationship is actually confirmed.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He refuses to compromise his morals in any way, shape, or form in his pursuit of justice.
Insult of Endearment: He is given the insulting nickname "Horn Head" by Rayfa. She later warms up to Apollo, but still calls him "Horn Head".
Ironic Echo: At one point during his Conflicting Loyalty in "Turnabout for Tomorrow", Apollo becomes something of a shadow of his old mentor, Kristoph, mimicking some of his animations and lines. The following quote was even highlighted in-game, drawing further attention to its significance.
Apollo: Evidence is everything in court.
Irony: At the beginning of Apollo Justice, where Trucy is revealed to be Phoenix's "daughter", Apollo is somewhat shocked upon realizing that would mean Phoenix would've had a kid at just 18 or so. Doing the math reveals that Apollo's mother would also have been 18 when he was born.
It's Personal: Becomes so dead-set on indicting the person who killed his best friend Clay that he decides to leave the Wright Anything Agency to act on his own. Turns out the main reason for his actions was due to his perceiving ability and evidence piling up against Athena.
Keet: He's eccentric and loud, while managing to smile a goofy smile quite often in Dual Destinies. When he's not being broken that is.
Kleptomaniac Hero: He is Phoenix's student, after all.
Kubrick Stare: Apparently this is how he looks like when he's using Perceive.
Last-Name Basis: In the Japanese version he always refers to people by their last name (with "-san" added to the end), except for Trucy (which makes sense since he reserves "Naruhodou" to Phoenix) and Clay. In the English version, he tends to call people "Mr./Ms. [Name]" in court, even if he's quite familiar with them.
Leitmotif: "A New Chapter of Trials!", his Objection theme, which gets remixes in the following games. Dual Destinies also gives him a calmer variation, "I'm Fine!", used as his proper character theme.
Living Lie Detector: He can use either evidence or his perception ability to expose lies.
Made of Iron: While he hasn't been through quite as much crap as Phoenix has, he still manages to body-block a large piece of debris with relatively minor injuries and he quickly recovers from a Tap on the Head shortly afterwards without any lasting trauma.
Meaningful Name:
- "Apollo" because he exposes the truth; "Justice" because... well... "Hosuke" means "law boy" and "Odoroki" means surprise; it would roughly mean 'A surprising man of law'. Also, the god "Apollo" was not only the god of truth, but also of the sun and is sometimes attributed with reviving the sun every morning, giving Apollo yet another connection to Phoenix. The god Apollo was also attributed with establishing the legal system of 12 jury members to decide guilt, according to Aeschylus's play "The Eumenides", which describes the god essentially being the first attorney who defends a client accused of matricide, of all things. This one gets lampshaded by Phoenix when Juniper compares Apollo to the sun:
  Phoenix: (The way she makes him sound... you'd think Apollo was some ancient god...)
  Phoenix: (Oh, wait...)
- Apollo was also the Greek god of music, foreshadowing the fact that, albeit at different times, both of Apollo's parents have been musicians.
My God, What Have I Done?: Near the end of case 5 in Dual Destinies, he realizes how the phantom tricked him into thinking Athena was Clay Terran's killer. This causes Apollo to feel incredibly foolish for turning against them.
Apollo: The scumbag even made me turn on Athena! Damn it! How the hell did I fall for that?!
Mysterious Past: Other than the fact that he was abandoned when he was a year old, nothing was known about Apollo's past or motivations for becoming a lawyer until Dual Destinies and especially Spirit of Justice revealed his backstory. This is lampshaded, with other characters calling him out for not telling them until they become relevant to the story.
The Napoleon: A more downplayed one compared Franziska (whom he is three centimetres taller than). He's loud, brash, Hot-Blooded, and possesses the "big personality" trait of the Napoleon. The one time his lack of stature has attention drawn to it, he immediately points out that the person calling him short is shorter than he is.
Neat Freak: According to Spirit of Justice, Apollo instinctively cleans when he sees a mess because he's the only one who ever cleans up at the agency.
Nerves of Steel:
- It takes some nerve to be willing to not move an inch when the building you're in is about to blow up only to see to it that justice gets carried out. And then taking things a step farther after the place actually blows up with him in it, selflessly using his own body to shield another person from dangerous, falling rubble.
- Pulls it off again in Spirit of Justice, where he manages to puzzle out a way to overthrow Queen Gar'an while her royal guards are pointing assault rifles at him.
Nice Guy: He's definitely a little overexuberant, but his heart is absolutely in the right place.
No Indoor Voice: Chords of Steel! He's called out several times for being loud by other characters.
Oblivious to Love: Towards Juniper Woods in Dual Destinies: she literally starts knitting heart-patterned scarfs when the conversation so much as refers to him, and he doesn’t seem to notice. Subverted once you get inside his head in case 4, where it’s revealed he worries about putting her off if he doesn’t play it cool and act natural.
Older Than They Look: Kid still gets mistaken for a high-schooler.
Only Sane Man: Apollo is usually the one hanging a giant lampshade over how ridiculous some of the stuff he and the others at the agency get put through is. Although he's certainly Not So Above It All.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After the death of his best friend Clay, Apollo becomes much more serious and quiet as he deals with his doubt and tries to find the truth of what happened.
Trucy: I'm really worried about him. He's not himself at all. He's usually not so cool and dark and mysterious like that!
Orphan's Plot Trinket: Apollo's bracelet, one of a pair that belonged to his mother and left with him before he was abandoned. It ended up being very important to his Living Lie Detector powers.
Out of Focus: Underwent this during the 6-year gap between the releases of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies. While Edgeworth got two spin-offs and Phoenix got two crossover appearances, and both got additional media like films and musicals, Apollo was nowhere to be seen, even eventually being dropped off the 10th anniversary site. Dual Destinies brings him back as a Deuteragonist, however. And in Spirit of Justice, he becomes the main character, which is especially obvious in the last case.
Parental Abandonment: He spent all his life without his parents because his father died while trying to save him from a fire, and his mother returned to her troupe because she thought Apollo also died in the fire.
The Perry Mason Method: Like Phoenix, he operates in court following this trope.
Power Incontinence: Since his first case, Apollo's Perceive ability was shown to not be in his control, but his inability to stop perceiving others when they're tense or lying to him becomes a plot point in Dual Destinies.
Power Limiter: His Eyepatch of Power is actually this, as it disables one of his eyes used to perceive people's thoughts.
Primal Fear: Is scared of heights. Trucy and Athena make fun of this every chance they get.
Rebuilt Pedestal: Though it's never really returned to the level it was when Apollo first met Phoenix, by Dual Destinies, it's become clear that Apollo has more or less returned to respecting Phoenix as a mentor and Defense Attorney. He trusts him enough that when his private investigation all seems to point to Athena being the murderer of Clay, he confronts Phoenix in court due to believing that he was the one person who could prove his conclusion wrong. In the first Bad Ending of Turnabout Revolution, this unfortunately stays collapsed.
Red Hot Masculinity: Apollo is passionate and headstrong, with a "passionate heart burning red". Red is also his favorite color and is featured prominently in his outfits.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Phoenix's Blue, being more excitable, hot-blooded, and prone to anger than Phoenix is. Jinxie Tenma even mistakes him for a literal Red Oni. A shining example comes in their responses to Athena asking if she can assault someone annoying her, Gaspen Payne for Phoenix, and Florent L'Belle for Apollo. Phoenix vehemently tells her not to, while Apollo simply tells her to get in line because he wants to do it first. Compared to Athena he's slightly less excitable, however.
Refusal of the Call: At the end of 4-1, Phoenix asks Apollo to join his firm. But being that he just let Apollo unknowingly use forged evidence to win a case, Apollo adamantly refuses even though it had been his dream to work at Wright & Co. Law Offices. After two months of unemployment and a (false) emergency call from Wright, he finally ends up joining the agency.
The Reliable One: Out of all the employees of Wright Anything Agency, Apollo is the most likely to be doing the extra work no one else wants to do, such as cleaning the toilet, dealing with paperwork or running errands.
Restraining Bolt: What his Eyepatch of Power actually is; he uses it to stop his bracelet from triggering his perception abilities every time Athena lies about what she was doing during Clay's murder. He uses it partially so he can function without his abilities from going off, but mostly because he doesn't want to believe Athena is actually guilty for killing his best friend.
Revenge Before Reason: In a trial, a bomb is about to go off in the courtroom, yet Apollo still wants to continue with the trial. This is a direct side-effect of the below trope.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Kickstarted by Clay Terran's death. He gets into a conflict of interest with himself when the prime suspect for the murder turns out to be Athena Cykes.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl:
- Has this dynamic with Trucy in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, being the dry, snarky, and down-to-earth Straight Man to her more cheery and vividly imaginative nature.
- Also shares this dynamic heavily with Athena in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, as she presents herself as having a more tomboyish, openly active, and energetic nature to contrast his more calm and rational approach.
She Is Not My Girlfriend: This is Apollo's reaction when Klavier assumes he's dating Athena.
Ship Tease:
- Between him and Athena. Klavier even thinks Athena is Apollo's girlfriend, and Bonny mistakenly assumes that Apollo and Athena are a comedy duo performing their old married couple routine when they're really just behaving like they usually do around each other.
- Juniper has a huge crush on Apollo, knitting scarves with hearts in them when anyone so much as mentions Apollo. Somehow, he hasn't noticed.
- With Aura Blackquill, who seems to have a soft spot for Apollo. Be it because she sympathized with his loss, hoped his investigation would lead to Athena's conviction, or both.
- Seems to get a lot with Trucy, although if that ever looked like it was going to happen, Phoenix would put a stop to it by revealing that they're half-siblings.
- He seems to get some with Vera Misham in "Turnabout Succession". His awkward attempts to get her to open up, not to mention him actually crying when he learns she'll be okay after both her trial and her poisoning, practically ooze this.
Shut Up, Hannibal!:
- Blackquill constantly interrupts Apollo as he makes various explanations of his defense in 5-2. Eventually, Apollo has enough and proceeds to tell Blackquill to put a sock in it and listen to his case for once.
- In 6-2, Nahyuta claims that Apollo and Trucy, the defense and the defendant, are going to hell near the end of the trial, just before Apollo proves the true culprit's guilt. Apollo then says Nahyuta is going to hell for trying to get an innocent girl convicted of murder.
Sincerest Form of Flattery: Why his mannerisms are so similar to Phoenix's, his idol.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: This is likely why he attracts the attention of so many women, he's straight forward, honest, and an extremely affable guy.
Straight Man: Taking over this role from Phoenix in the original trilogy, but cranked up a few notches due to his tendency to try to be as professional as possible no matter how ridiculous the situations or people around him get.
Strong Family Resemblance: As revealed in Spirit of Justice, he's the spitting image of his biological father, Jove Justice. Subverted with Dhurke, though, who also kind of looks like him but is simply his foster father.
Super Drowning Skills: Spirit of Justice reveals that he doesn't know how to swim. Gets Played for Drama when Apollo is trapped in an underground lake near Kurain Village that is rapidly filling up with water and nearly drowns.
Super-Senses: Has a highly attuned sense of visual perception even without his bracelet.
Super Wrist-Gadget: His bracelet lets him know when a person is nervous.
- This bears some explanation, pieced together from his debut game. His bracelet is made of a heat-reactive alloy, unique from his birthplace country, which is used to make jewelry that expands together with its wearer as they age and grow up. It just so happens to help Apollo pick up on his own subconscious reactions to Perceive, those hinted to be very small muscular contractions, because the expansion process of the bracelet is as slow as you'd expect from a metal to do that. In short, his self-adjusting bracelet doesn't adjust as quick as the spasms that happens when his vision subconsciously picks up a tell on someone else, so he feels this piece of jewelry tightening weakly around his wrist at those moments.
Supporting Protagonist: Phoenix is still the one driving the larger metaplot, even in his game. However, this is inverted in Spirit of Justice as the game has Phoenix in the name while the story is actually about Apollo.
Survival Mantra: His "I'm fine!" yelling is always meant to encourage himself. He also gives this encouragement to others with an equally loud "You'll be fine!"
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Looked like he was one for Phoenix before he diverged into his own character (though he still retains a lot of Phoenix's traits).
Tears of Fear: In case 4-2, Apollo starts crying when he finds Trucy after he thought she was abducted in the court room. Turns out it was her stalling for time.
Tears of Joy: In the aftermath of case 4-4, Apollo cries when it turns out that Vera was going to be alright.
Taking the Bullet: Taking the gigantic chunk of debris, actually, for Juniper. This is how he got his injuries.
Tap on the Head: At one point, Apollo is attacked and knocked out with a pointed piece of rubble. Even though it was apparently bad enough to cause bleeding, he was just fine after a night in the hospital.
10-Minute Retirement: In Dual Destinies, Apollo leaves The Wright Anything Agency to search for the true murderer of his friend Clay saying that the truth Phoenix searches for is probably different from his own. It only lasts less than a day.
Theme Naming: Has a mythology-based given name like his fellow Wright Anything Agency attorneys: see Meaningful Name entry.
Thinking Tic: Apollo pushes his left index finger in the center of his forehead while resting his right arm in the crook of his left arm during his thinking animation.
This Loser Is You: Wanted to be exactly like Phoenix... and gets called out for being needlessly loud and showy in court.
Took a Level in Badass:
- Between the fourth and fifth game. He comes across as a lot more composed and in control of both his attitude in court, and also his perceiving abilities. Although he's still perfectly capable of bluffing his way to the truth if he has to...
- He takes several levels in badass in the sixth game. By the end, he has defeated Phoenix in court, overthrown a queen by convicting her of murder, and opened his own law firm in Khura'in.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Temporarily in Dual Destinies when he begins to suspect Athena might be responsible for Clay's murder.
Tragic Keepsake:
- The jacket he wears in Dual Destinies was owned by his deceased friend Clay Terran.
- His bracelet could be seen as this, as it was the only thing he had left from his biological parents after he was abandoned.
- The former Sahdmadhi law firm becomes this in "Turnabout Revolution" as he inherits it following Khura'in's liberation.
Trauma Conga Line:
- Experiences one in Dual Destinies. It begins when Clay, his best friend since middle school, gets murdered right before finally accomplishing his life's dream. Clay's mentor and Apollo's acquaintance gets accused for the murder. When going to investigate the crime with his partner Athena, she lies about having seen the murder weapon and sends Apollo into an existential dilemma when she keeps causing his bracelet to react whenever she talks about the case. Because of this, he handicaps himself with an eyepatch so he can't perceive Athena's tells. During the trial, a bomb goes off, which he is caught in and then gets injured further while saving Junie from falling rubble. Junie is accused of the bombing and murder of a third party, and Apollo volunteers to defend her, only to succumb to his injuries right before the trial and has to pass it on to Athena. Not long after, while doing a bit of investigation on the side, he's assaulted in the ruins of Courtroom #4 and sent back to the hospital. After coming to, he takes a leave of absence from the Wright Anything Agency so that he could sort out his suspicions on Athena. But when he resumes his investigation of Clay's murder, he comes to the only logical conclusion, based on the decisive evidence found by both him and Detective Fulbright, that Athena may be the killer. He interrupts the final verdict in case 5-5 in hopes that Wright can find a hole in his reasoning and clear up his doubt.
- Spirit of Justice isn't really kind to him either. First, his friend and assistant Trucy is arrested for murder. Then the office he works in nearly gets repossessed because of somebody copying Trucy's signature on a shady contract. He meets his foster brother again after 10 years in the middle of defending her, who has not only changed dramatically, but tells Apollo that he's going to hell for defending criminals. He meets his foster father again after 10+ years, where later on the two of them are thrown deep into a cave where he nearly drowns. When the two of them end up in Khura'in, he defends him in court against suspicions of murder, only to find out that he's been Dead All Along. This revelation is so devastating that Apollo suffers a Heroic BSoD as he questions his own motivations for becoming a lawyer. And after he recovers from that shock, he eventually has to call for a seance to see the final moments of his biological father, Jove Justice, who he never got to know since Jove was killed when Apollo was a baby. Note that this happens roughly four to five months after the events of "The Cosmic Turnabout"/"Turnabout for Tomorrow".
Unwitting Pawn:
- Ends up as one of these for Chessmaster Phoenix. Later on when he helps the aforementioned out, at least he's doing it willingly.
- He was also one for the phantom in Dual Destinies. The lighter presented as evidence is used to cast suspicion on Athena, not knowing that the person who gave the evidence was the one responsible for Clay Terran's death.
Waistcoat of Style: His signature outfit, in bright red. Dual Destinies establishes that he has a red jacket to match, which can be seen draped over one of the couches at the agency.
The Watson: Like Phoenix to the Kurain Channeling Technique, he's the one asking all the relevant questions about all the magic acts he sees. In Dual Destinies, he has this role again for all the Japanese folklore he encounters.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Has this dynamic with Ema with them throwing snarky banters to each other, though it depends on her mood. It's more consistent with Athena once she is introduced.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?:
- Apollo is adverse to heights. In "The Magical Turnabout", he and Athena have to climb up to a stage catwalk. Athena notes that Apollo's white as a sheet and mentally he keeps reminding himself not to look down.
- One witness in another case wears a giant cardboard box and shuffles around in it to spy on people, sometimes making a hissing sound. When Apollo first meets them he says "Don't let it be a SNAAAAAKKKEE!!"
You Can Always Tell a Liar: He is able to read and expose even the subtlest tell to expose lies by someone he is interrogating or cross-examining with his perception ability unless the prosecutor does something to interfere with this ability.

"I'll never forget everything you've done for me, Mr. Wright! I don't know how I'll ever repay you! Here's to seeing you back in the U.S. again someday! Until then... you know where to find me!"

Characters / Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice

Apollo Justice (Hosuke Odoroki)

Voiced by (Japanese): Koutarou Ogiwara (AJ), KENN (DD, SoJ)

Voiced by (English): JP Kellams (AJ), Orion Acaba (DD, SoJ)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

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Characters / Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice

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Apollo Justice (Hosuke Odoroki)

Voiced by (Japanese): Koutarou Ogiwara (AJ), KENN (DD, SoJ)

Voiced by (English): JP Kellams (AJ), Orion Acaba (DD, SoJ)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

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Index

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