Characters / Ace Attorney: Defense Attorneys and Assistants

Ace Attorney | Main Character Sheet
Wright Anything Agency (Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice) | Defense Attorneys & Assistants | Main Prosecutors (Miles Edgeworth, Franziska von Karma) | Prosecutors & Judges | Law Enforcement | The Fey Clan | Troupe Gramarye | Kingdom of Khura'in
Witnesses and Other Characters (Original Game | JFA | T&T [Dahlia Hawthorne] | AJ | DD | SoJ | Manga | Anime | Novels | Theater) | Victims
Investigations (AAI | AAI2) | TGAA (Major | Minor)
PL vs. PWAA

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Defense attorneys and assistants in the Ace Attorney series.

Note: The main ace attorneys of the franchise, as well as their assistants, can be found here. Additionally, one defense attorney introduced in the sixth game is not listed here, as the fact that he is a defense attorney is a Spoiler in and of itself. Instead, you can find him here. BEWARE OF MASSIVE UNMARKED SPOILERS!!!

Calisto Yew, a defense attorney appearing in Investigations, can be found in that game's page. Raymond Shields, a defense attorney from Investigations 2, can be found here.

Ema Skye, Phoenix's assistant in the fifth case of the first game "Rise from the Ashes", is listed on the law enforcement officers page due to her new role in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and beyond. Rayfa Padma Khura'in, Phoenix's assistant in the third case of the sixth game "The Rite of Turnabout", is listed on the Kingdom of Khura'in page.

And if you're nitpicky, Dick Gumshoe, Edgeworth's other assistant in the Ace Attorney Investigations games, is listed on the Detective's page as well. Athena's assistant on the fourth case of the sixth game and Phoenix' assistants on the fifth case of the third and sixth game can be found here (careful, the link might spoil you some good surprises, or keep you guessing, who knows). Kristoph Gavin, Apollo's assistant on the first case of the fourth game can be found below, and Apollo's other assistant (aside from Trucy and Athena) on the fifth case of the sixth game, can be found here.

Notable Defense Attorneys

Gregory Edgeworth (Shin Mitsurugi)

Gregory Edgeworth (Shin Mitsurugi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryunosuke Watanuki (anime)

Voiced by (English): Anthony Bowling (anime), SungWon Cho (AAI2 Fan Translation)

Played by: Takehiro Hira (film)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Miles' old man, and a stunning defense attorney. He was the only one to make a mark on von Karma's performance record (before Nick came bungling along). He was also the victim of the DL-6 case, which would go on to have repercussions on many of the characters. In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, he became an Ascended Extra and is featured in plot-important flashbacks.

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• The Ace: Gregory Edgeworth was easily one of the greatest Defense Attorneys of his time. Until Phoenix came along, he was the only attorney who could go toe-to-toe with Manfred von Karma, so-called "god of prosecution". And unlike Phoenix, who barely held on for three days by bluffing and grasping at straws, Gregory held strong for a whole year and got von Karma penalized for the only time in forty years of prosecuting.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear whether he accused Yanni Yogi of his murder to protect Miles (the only other apparent suspect) or because Yogi, who was acting irrationally, was the most likely to have killed him.
• Ascended Extra: In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, the flashback portion of the third case features him investigating the IS-7 incident.
• Badass Longcoat: Possessed a nice brown trenchcoat reminiscent of a Private Detective, and even gets mistaken for a detective. He wears it while playing as him, and it was later acquired by Raymond Shields along with his fedora.
• Benevolent Boss: To his then-apprentice Raymond Shields, who he takes out for hamburgers after a long day and commends him for pointing out something that he himself didn't figure out.
  Gregory: ...Raymond. You may have a promising future after all.
• Berserk Button: Does NOT take well to people hiding the truth because it's 'inconvenient' to them. As von Karma finds out...
• Beware the Nice Ones: Courteous, by-the-book, and very professional, but if you press his Berserk Button, he will come down on you HARD.
• Character Tics: During cross-examinations, he often either adjusts his tie or holds onto his hat when presenting his arguments.
• Crusading Lawyer: Much like the main characters, he fights for the truth and to get the innocent acquitted, and he won't stand for foul play during investigations and trials. He got Manfred exposed for drawing a forced confession out of Jeff, and would have appealed for a retrial if he hadn't been killed first.
• Death by Origin Story: His death is introduced as part of the backstory to case 1-4. In the same case, it becomes more important after Miles is proven innocent of Robert Hammond's murder, when the case shifts focus to Gregory's murder.
• Death Glare: Where do you think Miles got it from? von Karma even lampshades it.
• Disappeared Dad: Gregory's death would haunt Miles, his only son, for fifteen years.
• Good Parents: To Miles. In the anime, he let him adopt a stray dog.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: The original pointer. Both Miles, his son, and Phoenix, whom he indirectly inspired, would later echo his signature gesture until it became iconic for them.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: Being dead before the series began he doesn't affect the plot directly, but his general attitude to being a defense attorney had a big influence on the young Miles Edgeworth, and by extension, Phoenix. It also indirectly greatly affects the Fey Family. Had it not been for the DL-6 incident, the lives of Misty Fey, Mia Fey, and Maya Fey would all be dramatically different. He's even more this in Investigations 2, where his legacy hangs over Miles greatly due to him reuniting with Ray, in an arc that stretches over the entire game.
• Leitmotif: "A Defense Attorney's Knowledge", a classy and hopeful theme meant to invoke Gregory's precision and determination.
• Meaningful Appearance: Possessed a black fedora, giving him the appearance of a detective, which he gets mistaken for during the investigation of the IS-7 Incident. He wore it while playing as him, and it was later acquired by Raymond Shields along with his trenchcoat.
• Meaningful Name: On both sides of the coin:
  • His English first name name may come from Gregory Peck, who played Atticus Finch and whom Gregory Edgeworth strongly resembles in appearance and in character. It also counts as both a Genius Bonus and a Shout-Out.
  • His Japanese name essentially means The Sword of Truth.
• Nice Guy: Gregory is one of the friendliest characters in the series, treating everyone he encounters with respect and dignity. The only person he shows contempt towards is Manfred Von Karma, who spends most of his screen time being an absolute bastard towards everyone around him.
• Not a Game: He says this verbatim to Ray when the latter is excited about being at a crime scene.
  Gregory: This isn't a game, Raymond. Please be more serious.
• Not So Above It All: Despite being one of the more "normal" attorneys in the Ace Attorney universe, his "shocked" sprite is just as over-the-top as Phoenix, Miles and Mia, something that stands out a lot as it's his only sprite that forgoes his usual professionalism.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Giving von Karma the penalty, which [AAI2] reveals was even more awesome than what we heard of it in the first game. Not only did he prove von Karma forged evidence, he was able to present tapes of his interrogations to show the entire court he bullied the defendant into giving a false confession. He managed to get von Karma's (corrupt) replacement detective fired, and Manfred himself was actually lucky to get off with just a penalty: the only reason he was let off so lightly was that the chief prosecutor at the time was Blaise Debeste, who was just as much an Amoral Attorney as von Karma and also complicit in the forgery. He had to give von Karma some punishment to cover his own tracks. Unfortunately, this is the one part of the case you don't get to play.
• Only Sane Man:
  • Compared to most other lawyers in those games he seems a lot more down-to-earth. He even stayed very reasonable when he was about to die from a lack of oxygen in an elevator... The other guy inside said elevator... not so much.
  • He certainly acts this way when you get to play as him too. Easily the least eccentric of the playable lawyers, and the only one who isn't a First-Person Smartass either (though he is a lot blunter in his thoughts).
• Origins Episode: The flashback case featuring him is actually his last case, the one where Manfred got a penalty in court and thus led to the DL-6 incident.
• Papa Wolf: While it's certainly possible that he genuinely thought that Yanni Yogi had killed him (after all, the gun was Yogi's, Yogi did attack him, and he had no way of knowing von Karma was outside the elevator), it's suggested by Grossberg and implied on other occasions that he came to the same conclusion Miles would later in life: that Miles had accidentally killed him when he threw Yogi's gun, which would mean he deliberately lied when channeled to give testimony and accused a man he knew full well was innocent, all in the name of protecting his son.
  Gregory: ([Jeff Master] thinks of Ms. Hall as his own daughter. And he would want his children to choose their own path in life. And... a parent would do anything to protect their own children. That feeling... I also know it well.)
• Private Detective: Since the Attorneys here have authorization to investigate crime scenes, his appearance◊ certainly invokes this, compared to the rest of the playable lawyers' Amateur Sleuth.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Despite defeating von Karma in one final testimony and proving that he both forged evidence and badgered a witness into a false confession, he still cannot get the prime suspect off the hook. As well, despite von Karma being proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be a corrupt piece of dirt, Blaise Debeste covers for him and only gives him a penalty, when firing followed by imprisonment would have been a light sentence. This brutal mental beatdown also gives von Karma a motive for killing Gregory when he has him cornered and unconscious at a later time.
• Shout-Out: His entire character is this for Atticus Finch as played by Gregory Peck.
• The Stoic: Apparently only (nervously) smiles when he gets a penalty.
• Stoic Spectacles: A nice pair of glasses to emphasize his collectedness.
• Tranquil Fury: He never drops his calm, polite tone, even when accusing von Karma of forging evidence. Though at that point, it's clear he's very, VERY angry.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Due to him not knowing von Karma was close to the elevator by the time Miles threw the pistol, Gregory's wrongful accusation against Yanni Yogi for murdering him is the cause of the Fey clan's downfall and Misty Fey's disappearance from the public, as well as Dahlia Hawthorne and Iris leaving the Fey Manor.
• Whodunnit to Me?: An odd case where even he doesn't know — he was unconscious when he died, and the last thing he probably heard was a gun firing. His spirit accused Yanni Yogi (not unreasonable, since the man had a gun and was in a panic) rather than his son Miles; he had no way of knowing his actual murderer.
• Xanatos Gambit: He set one up against Manfred von Karma, of all people! When Jeff Master is about to be interrogated, Edgeworth encourages him not to give in to von Karma's pressure tactics, but just in case he cracks anyway (which he does), Edgeworth asks Detective Badd to record the interrogation so that they can prove Master's confession was coerced, which helped lead to von Karma's penalty. Hadn't DL-6 happened, his plan afterwards was to prove that this was a mistrial, in order to get more time to investigate and have a retrial.

Marvin Grossberg (Soranosuke Hoshikage)

Marvin Grossberg (Soranosuke Hoshikage)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryou Sugisaki (anime)

Voiced by (English): Phil Parsons (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

"'Ah... the days of my youth... like the scent of fresh lemon...' you see."

A rotund defense attorney and Mia's teacher. When Misty Fey's involvement in the case came out, Grossberg cleared her of any wrongdoing for identifying a suspect who had been found innocent.

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• Adapted Out: His tendencies to bring up his hemorrhoids at inappropriate times are thankfully not included in the anime adaptation.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Grossberg in the games was shown to be on the spineless side; where he refused to take up Maya's case, couldn't admit his involvement in DL-6 to her, deliberately avoided Phoenix and would only divulge info when interrogated over it. The anime has him more willing to help and admit his own regrets. He gladly takes Maya's case and only refuses once he gets a threatening call from Redd White. He also goes to Phoenix personally in order to give him the lead to White, and once Phoenix and Maya go to him for information on DL-6 in the Turnabout Goodbyes arc he comes clean to Maya over his responsibility in leaking DL-6 and subsequently ruining Misty Fey's name, tearfully asking for her to forgive him.
• Ahem: One of his catchphrases, along with the character quote above.
• Amoral Attorney: Not regularly so, but one has to question his ethics after he accepts a bribe from Redd White for information on Misty Fey. In the present, he appears to regret this greatly. It's also heavily hinted that there wasn't really much choice, given White's affluence.
• The Atoner: Sincerely regrets giving Redd White information on Misty Fey, helping to clear her name some point after. When Maya is on trial for murder during case 1-2, though he couldn't intervene directly himself due to being blackmailed, he points Phoenix's investigation in the right direction to get the crucial evidence he needed to win the case. Even afterwards he's still shown to have something of a soft spot to Phoenix and Maya, likely stemming from their association with Mia, and provides important information several times throughout case 1-4 on DL-6 and Von Karma.
• Blackmail: A victim of this after the police got angry about the leak in DL-6.
• Conspicuous Consumption: His office decor practically screams his wealth if you examine it, even if you ignore the $3 million painting he proudly hung in it.
• Continuity Drift: When Phoenix first meets Grossberg in the first game, they don't appear to know each other, but in the third game, Grossberg was Mia's aide when she defended Phoenix. Even so, Grossberg doesn't appear to have the best memory anyway, since later that same game, he has once again forgotten Phoenix and Maya's relation to Mia.
• The Generic Guy: Word of God says the reason Grossberg was given the infamous "hemorrhoids" personality quirk was because his character was that unremarkable.
• Greed: The reason why he leaked Misty Fey's involvement in DL-6. Redd White promised him riches for the information but in the end, Grossberg had to live with the shame and Blackmail in the present day.
• Eyes Always Shut: They are open in his sadness/discomfort expression, though.
• Informed Ability: He's said to be a very good lawyer, being Mia's mentor and all. However, we never actually see how he does his stuff in the Court Room, and he frequently skips out of his office (to avoid you). It's even more blatant in Trials & Tribulations, where Diego Armando acts more the part of a mentor to Mia than him.
• Leitmotif: "Age, Regret, Retribution", a simple theme that sounds slightly silly and non-specific (given that it's used for another character later on).
• Meaningful Name:
  • His last name is German for "big mountain", and he certainly is a very big man. He can also be quite gross as he won't stop talking about his hemorrhoids in the third game.
  • His Japanese name is both astrology-themed and a reference to two Japanese mystery novels — "Soranosuke" ("star boy") is from The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, and "Hoshikage" ("starlight") is from a Tetsuya Ayukawa novel.
• Mistaken for Gay: One of the options you can for the connection between him and Redd White is that they are lovers, leading to this very awkward exchange:
  Phoenix: It's not something I can claim to understand... But you and Mr. White are lovers, aren't you!
  Grossberg: W-w-what! My boy!
  Phoenix: You sent that painting to him! As a sign! A sign of undying love!
  Grossberg: M-m-my boy, please! You're letting your fancies run away with you! Where do you get these bizarre ideas?
  Phoenix: I... I don't understand how you could...
  Grossberg: That's because I'm not, we're not... Don't be ridiculous! Enough. I'll swallow my pride and tell you all.
  Phoenix: (I knew it! They are lovers!)
  Grossberg: N-no! We are NOT lovers!
• Mr. Exposition: Provides much of the information about DL-6 in the second and fourth cases of the first game. The anime adds to this by having Phoenix call him to the stand in Turnabout Goodbyes to provide said exposition for the court to help establish a crime motive for the boat-shop owner, aka Yanni Yogi.
• Too Much Information: In game 3, he keeps talking about his hemorrhoids... Ew. It was much worse in the Japanese version, though ("I feel a lancing pain between my buttocks!"). invoked
• Verbal Tic: *Ah-HEMM* He has this way of ending sentences, you see.

Robert Hammond (Yukio Namakura)

Robert Hammond (Yukio Namakura)

Voiced by (English): Blake Shepard (anime)

Played by: Eisuke Sasai (film)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

An attorney that once worked at Grossberg Law Offices. An Amoral Attorney that doesn't care whether his clients are guilty or not. He is the victim of 1-4, where he is killed via a gunshot.

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• Adaptational Jerkass: In the anime, his selfishness is taken further when after Yanni Yogi's insanity plea did earn a Not Guilty verdict at the cost of his social standing and his loving wife, Hammond mocks him for thinking this would work without consequence during the aftermath.
  Hammond: I didn't say it would be easy.
• Amoral Attorney: Even though Yanni Yogi was actually innocent, he refused to do proper investigation into the incident and instead had Yogi plead insanity to get him off. This in turn caused him to become a social outcast and haunted him for years.
• Asshole Victim: He was killed by the man whose life he ruined, something that's hard to feel sorry for him over.
• Karmic Death: He got killed by Yanni Yogi, the person whose life was completely ruined by his refusal to find actual evidence. Ironically Yogi had gone partially insane when he killed Hammond, 15 years after being forced to fake insanity to get a not guilty verdict.
• Kick the Dog: In the anime, he brushes off Yogi's complaints about how his idea to go for an insanity plea ruined his life.
• Odd Name Out: He's one of the very few in the series who doesn't get a Meaningful Name or Punny Name.
• Posthumous Character: Like every victim in the Ace Attorney series, he's mentioned every time in the trial, and the job of the player is to find the truth behind his death.

Diego Armando (Soryu Kaminogi) - All spoilers unmarked

Diego Armando (Soryu Kaminogi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Hiroaki Hirata (anime)

Voiced by (English): Brandon Potter (anime)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations

"The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."

A senior member of Grossberg Law Offices, and at the time the best lawyer under his employ. The night before Mia's first trial, Grossberg had drunken himself unconscious and wasn't awake in time to be at the trial, so Diego comes to help the new "kitten" instead. He was soon poisoned afterwards by Dahlia, resulting in his "death".

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• Affectionate Nickname: He refers to Mia as a "kitten". Though apparently it's because when he's introduced Mia is a rookie attorney with zero experience (like a newborn kitten), it's vague whether there's subtext of him being flirtatious, sexist, or a bit of both.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: "Armando" isn't actually a surname.
• Cynicism Catalyst: He's already fairly cynical when he's introduced, having seen his fair share of hardship in the courtroom. This gets worsened after the Miscarriage of Justice that's Case 3-4 though what pushes him over the edge is his poisoning and loss of Mia in his coma.
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: His leitmotif is also his ringtone.
• Figure It Out Yourself: Comes off as being less helpful to Mia than Grossberg is, even though he co-counselled her first case as a defense attorney. Justified, since Mia's first case is the fourth case of the game and her second case is the games's first case, so the player already knows how things works and doesn't need another explanation.
• The Ghost: In Case 1, as Dahlia having poisoned him is a plot point. He only appears in Case 4, marking the reveal that he was in the present-day cases all along as Godot.
• A Glass in the Hand: After Terry Fawles commits suicide, he does this with his coffee mug.
• He Knows Too Much: Poisoned by Dahlia because he started asking too many questions about the Valerie Hawthorne case and seemed to suspect foul play.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Armando may come off as cynical, smug, and condescending towards Mia in her first case but he genuinely wants to help the defendant, has a strong ability to remain calm even when faced with a difficult situation and warms up to Mia romantically when he tells her that it's acceptable to cry when everything is over. Sadly, he gets worse after he was poisoned by Dahlia, putting him in the coma, then waking up five years later to learn Mia's dead. He became bitter towards Phoenix and blames him for her death, even when Phoenix was not responsible for it.
• Large Ham: While not through voice tone or volume, he loves using metaphors or giving unnecessarily complex descriptions of objects (such as coffee) or people.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Might be a reference to the soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, who fell victim to drugs. Also, Diego Armando? It spells Godo, which is how you pronounce Godot.
  • The name 'Diego' stems from the Greek word for "teaching." Fits his status as Mia's mentor.
  • Additionally, Armando means "plotting" or "setting up" in Portuguese. As you'll find out in case 3-5, he has been doing it for quite a while.
  • His Japanese given name, Sōryū, may refer to the eponymous Blue-Green Dragon of Chinese and Japanese lore. The dragon provides fierce protection, wards off evil spirits, and symbolizes strength, wisdom, the energy of transformation, and spring, the season of rebirth. When in pain, he causes red rain, colored by his blood. Compare this to how Kaminogi Sōryū "transformed" into Godot, wears primarily blue-green, and is hellbent on providing protection for Maya against a literal evil spirit. Not to mention his final scene in which he cries tears of blood.
• Mysterious Past: The only two things known about his past is that he's Brazilian (according to Word of God) and that he formed a relationship with Mia. The story focuses more on his future after Dahlia ruined his life.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: He's the only male character to not be instantly charmed by Dahlia Hawthorne.
• Palette Swap: The only difference between him and Godot is the lack of a visor and the differently-colored hair and undershirt, hence him being a Walking Spoiler.
• Perpetual Smiler: Never seen without a smug look on his face even when he's crushing a coffee mug with his bare hands after Terry Fawles kills himself and Dahlia Hawthorne gets off scot free. Intentional on his part, as he advises Mia that a lawyer needs to keep smiling.
  Diego: "A lawyer is someone who smiles no matter how bad it gets. That's one of my rules."
• Posthumous Character: Played Straight, with his poisoning being a plot point in the first case. He appears in the fourth case, which takes some time before the poisoning happened. Said case also reveals this trope is actually subverted, as Godot and Diego Armando are the same person.
• Remember the New Guy?: Never mentioned by Grossberg or Mia prior to Trials and Tribulations, at least not to Phoenix. The explanation was that the first game was written without considering the possibility of a sequel, let alone a third game. There's also the fact that he was considered as good as dead, judging by Grossberg and Mia discussing the poisoning incident in Case 3-1.
• Sexy Mentor: Not only that, he and his "student" Mia did get together.
• Something Only They Would Say: More for the audience's benefit than any character.
  • "That's one of my rules. Remember it."
  • "As dark and bitter as Hell itself."
• Stay in the Kitchen: There are subtle hints here and there that he has sexist attitudes, though he might just be contemptuous of rookies regardless of gender.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Diego is a tanned, dark-haired man who stands six feet tall. The anime plays up Mia getting flustered by his attention.
• Theme Song Reveal: "The Fragrance of Dark Coffee", which is Godot's leitmotif, plays at the end of Turnabout Beginnings after he smashes his mug.
• Tranquil Fury: He is the one who taught Mia that defense lawyers don't get to cry, no matter how bad things get. At the end of "Turnabout Beginnings", he still has a calm smile on his face after Terry Fawles poisons himself and Dahlia gets away. The only thing that betrays his anger is his coffee mug shattering in his grip.
• Walking Spoiler: You cannot look at the guy without learning at least something about the plot of Trials & Tribulations (namely that Godot used to have a different identity in the past).

Kristoph Gavin (Kirihito Garyu) - All spoilers unmarked

Kristoph Gavin (Kirihito Garyu)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryouji Yamamoto (AJ), Kenjiro Tsuda (trailers)

Voiced by (English): Andrew Alfonso (AJ)

Debut: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

"The only thing that matters is the truth. There's a good reason for everything. You'll see."

Apollo's mentor and Phoenix's friend since the end of Trials and Tribulations. He's the "coolest defense in the West", and is a key character in Apollo Justice.

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• Amoral Attorney: Plans to use forged evidence to get his client a not guilty verdict. Oh, and he murders some people, which while not technically having anything to do with his duties as an attorney is still a fairly amoral thing to do.
• Anime Hair: Like his brother Klavier, his hair is draped over his shoulder in the shape of a drill. It comes completely undone during his second Villainous Breakdown, a symbolic representation of his facade breaking to reveal his true character.
• Attention Whore: Ironically, he shares this trait with his younger brother. Kristoph cares only about the fame and respect he'll get for being a defense attorney, being more interested in basking in the glory that winning cases brings than actually fighting for justice.
• Beauty Is Bad: He's as pretty as his younger rocker brother Klavier but is really rotten to the core on the inside.
• Believing Their Own Lies: In Dual Destinies it's revealed that black Psyche-Locks result from someone who keeps a secret subconsciously, which means he was paranoid enough to keep the truth about his motives for killing Zak from himself. This could explain why his breakdown is so... intense.
• Big Bad: Of the fourth game. He used forged evidence to get Phoenix disbarred when he takes Zak's case instead, murders two people, tries to kill a child... all happening in a pretty severe case of Disproportionate Retribution, which most of the fourth game revolves around.
• Big Bad Friend: To Phoenix. Befriending Phoenix in the first place seems to have been part of his plan, a fact that Phoenix is keenly aware of.
• Big Brother Bully: In the official Gyakuten Saiban 4 Anthology manga, he was this to Klavier (his younger brother). Oh boy.◊
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He was a polite and supportive mentor to Apollo and he publically he presents himself as being committed to justice. In reality, he's a crooked attorney and murderer who only cares about his own image, and is willing to game the system to get his way.
• Bright Is Not Good: Another hint to his true, insidious character. Compared to Klavier, whose clothes are darker-colored and continues to dress like a rocker in court yet is heroic and good-natured, Kristoph wears a light purple suit which combined with his blond hair and good looks makes him look trustworthy... which makes the discovery that he's really a rotten character all the more shocking.
• Card-Carrying Villain: "I killed a man named Smith with a bottle because I am an evil human being... isn't that enough?". However, he says this to conceal his true motives for the murder, thus avoiding being implicated in a different crime.
• Cain and Abel: The Cain to Klavier's Abel. Klavier even helped Apollo expose his brother's crimes and seal his fate.
• Character Tic: He adjusts his glasses by the bridge. It turns out to be his tell and a sign of his true nature.
• Chunky Updraft: Using the lobster and dinner plates left over from the previous witness during his Villainous Breakdown in the first case...
• Composite Character: Kristoph turns out to be a rough composite of all three of Phoenix’s enemies in the original trilogy. He is a perfectionist attorney that is willing to kill for the sake of his reputation, like Manfred von Karma, and a Faux Affably Evil poisoner like Dahlia Hawthorne. Like Matt Engarde, he’s a celebrity all but immune to conventional tricks and has to be taken down with methods outside the typical courtroom.
• Crazy-Prepared: In order to silence Vera, he poisoned both the stamp she was to use to send the letter that confirmed that she'd received her payment and also her nail polish, which she would wear if she decided to go out since he convinced her it would keep her safe outside. If Vera stayed a recluse, she's out of the way and not going to reveal what he did. If she did go out and didn't return quickly, her own nervous tic would see her get poisoned by the nail polish. That she didn't die soon after the forgery was finished was largely due to her keeping the stamp, but it largely ensured her silence anyway. Kristoph was so prepared with his planning, that he is the only culprit who wasn't caught due to a decisive evidence or decisive witness, but because the entire justice system had to be changed against him.
• Cute and Psycho: Outwardly? Seemingly nice and friendly guy who rarely drops his smile. Inwardly? *BANG* *clankclankclankclankclank* *insert five black Psyche Locks here*
• Dark Is Evil: Those black Psyche Locks. With the 5th game finally explaining the meaning of the Black Psyche Locks, it adds a bit more meaning to Kristoph's actions. His motive for killing Zak, revenge against him and to "punish" the lesser attorney Phoenix Wright who got the job, was so deeply ingrained in his mind, his desires to do so and to keep it hidden became completely subconscious and utterly consumed him, explaining the severity of his actions in AJ:AA.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments. In "Turnabout Trump", Phoenix' surprise at the fact that a piece of evidence he'd expected to find has gone missing prompts the following response from Kristoph:
  Kristoph: Perhaps a fifth person came and took it out? Oh, and a sixth person could've helped!
• Deal with the Devil: With Kristoph acting as the Devil. In the buildup to Zak Gramarye's trial, he requested 12-year old Vera Misham's services in forging Magnifi Gramarye's missing diary page, and in exchange, gave her a bottle of nail polish that he called a "good" luck charm as incentive for her to go outside. Vera saw him as her Guardian Angel, but also noticed the sign of the Devil in the hand that gave her the nail polish, as unbeknownst to her, Kristoph had laced the nail polish with the deadly poison atroquinine, which Vera ingested upon nervously biting her nails. As she falls unconscious from poisoning, she outright calls Kristoph "the Devil".
• Disproportionate Retribution: His reason for all of his actions in AJ:AA is that Zak Gramarye ended up not hiring Kristoph as his lawyer. Kristoph spent years thinking that it was because he lost a card game, which would be Disproportionate Retribution on its own, but Zak was actually watching the way that Kristoph was playing more than the cards themselves. Kristoph's attitude during the game convinced Zak that Kristoph was not to be trusted. He also ruins Phoenix's career because he won a subsequent game against Zak and became his attorney instead, where it's heavily implied that Zak would've trusted him regardless of his victory.
• Dumb Blonde: He inverts this by having blonde hair and being a good schemer and Manipulative Bastard.
• Evil Counterpart: To Mia Fey. Both of them are skilled defense attorneys who play a significant role in mentoring the protagonist (Mia to Phoenix, Kristoph to Apollo), but while Mia Fey is a paragon of justice who is murdered shortly into the game, Kristoph Gavin turns out to be an Evil All Along sociopath who is himself a murderer. Mia Fey believes in her client's innocence while Gavin wants them to be dependent on him.
• Evil Is Petty: Not many people would have a lawyer he was jealous of disbarred, stalk several people, and murder someone with his own hands over just not being hired as lawyer in a case.
• Evil Mentor: An interesting case in that while he himself is evil, his evil is entirely unrelated to his mentorship of Apollo; unlike Manfred von Karma, he is genuinely trying to help Apollo and does not teach him to be an Amoral Attorney. Which backfires on him when Apollo refuses to go along with Kristoph's shady tactics and ultimately indicts him for murder, but oh well.
• Evil Reactionary: Just one more sign that Kristoph can't let go of the past. At the end of the game, he goes on a rant about how wrong it would be to let a "mindless mob of irrational mouth-breathers" participate in and "soil" the courts. The man loathes the very idea of a Jurist System.
• Evil Wears Black: Just barely visible underneath his pastel blue jacket is a black waistcoat.
• Facepalm: A downplayed variant in his head-shaking animation; he seems to be doing it in amusement, not frustration.
• False Friend: He hated Phoenix Wright even before tricking him into presenting forged evidence. Kristoph's friendship with the latter was a fake all along.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • His tendency to act poetic bites him twice, where his flowery comment on the now-deceased Shadi Smith's bald head causes Phoenix to become suspicious of him and set up the crime scene so that only someone at the exact time of the murder would know that day that the victim was bald, and during Phoenix's trial, he makes a passing comment about the blue color of the cards, completely unaware that they were actually supposed to be red during the murder due to a anti-cheating failsafe where a blue deck would be used in the first game, while a red deck would then be used for the second.
  • Another big flaw of his is his inability to let go of the past. He holds grudges and will go to shocking lengths to get revenge at those who slight him, even if it costs him everything in the end. This naturally leads to him becoming irredeemably evil by the time of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.
  • Envy is one so deeply seated in him he doesn't even consciously acknowledge it; he just lashes out at the mere notion that anyone might be better than him. It's implied he initially had evidence forged to get a win over his brother Klavier, and his motive for ruining Phoenix life is just as much about Zak believing Phoenix to be the superior lawyer as it is about Phoenix getting the glory of being the Gramaryes' lawyer.
• Faux Affably Evil: When his true colors are revealed, he maintains a polite manner of speech even when belittling others. He only starts to insult when he realizes Phoenix can get the final, decisive victory over him.
• Foil: To Phoenix Wright. Phoenix Wright fights for truth and justice while Gavin cares only for gratification. Kristoph puts up a polite front to hide his more odious personality while Phoenix puts up a rougher facade to hide his caring personality. Kristoph cares for nobody but himself while Phoenix gladly will put others before him. Basically, Kristoph is every negative personality trait that Phoenix lacks.
• For the Evulz: This is the reason he gives for killing Shadi Smith/Zak Gramarye. And given that black psyche-locks come up when Phoenix presses him further, it might just be the reason he believes he killed Zak. In any case, it's actually Kristoph dodging the question using Exact Words; he killed Zak because Zak knew too much and could've exposed Kristoph's involvement with the forged diary page to Phoenix.
  Kristoph: I killed a man named "Smith" with a bottle because I am an evil human being. Isn't that enough?
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: In fact, his tell is a demonic face on his hand shown when pushing up said glasses, complete with Scary Shiny Glasses.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: The scar on his hand doesn't seem like much alone, but when he clenches his hand, the skin contracts to reveal something along the lines of a demon looking at you.
• Greater-Scope Villain: While not mentioned by name to avoid spoilers, he's this in Dual Destinies, as getting Phoenix disbarred started the Dark Age of the Law.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Everything he did happened just because he wouldn't accept that Phoenix could be a better defense attorney than him. It is implied his black psyche-locks are due to this, as the answer to Phoenix's question (why he killed Shadi Smith) ultimately stems from Kristoph's envy towards Phoenix.
• Griefer: He has absolutely nothing to gain by being so obstructive in the final trial, being in prison for life on one murder already, but does so simply to make Phoenix and Apollo lose. Though it's also likely that being convicted again would cost him his Luxury Prison Suite, his remaining respect among his judicial peers, and his safety from death row.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A subverted variant. He's blonde, young-looking, and initially seems like a Nice Guy... but he's actually pure evil.
• Hate Sink: Despite coming off as a charming and affable friend and mentor, at his core Gavin is a spiteful, petty, and manipulative man who used people for his own means and attempted to murder a child to cover his tracks. The sheer contrast this has to his persona before the facade drops makes him one of the most dramatic cases of a Broken Pedestal in the entire series. His utter humiliation at the hands at those whose lives he tried to ruin comes as an extremely satisfying and deserved moment.
• Hidden Depths:
  • There's a reason his entry was so spoilertastic that it would have made a good substitute for Swiss cheese.
  • It also applies to him even after the reveal of what kind of person he truly is, as it seems his mentorship of Apollo didn't have any ill will behind it, and genuinely wanted to turn him into a proper defense attorney.
• Hidden Disdain Reveal: In the final trial, he finally admits that while he did befriend Phoenix and did try to get him off a false murder charge, he always saw him as a second-rate lawyer compared to himself and never forgave the fact that he replaced him as Zak’s lawyer.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Twice—first via Ironic Echo of Phoenix's disbarment, then via self-implicating "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Humiliation Conga: In the final trial, he goes through so much misfortune it almost seems like a Fate Worse than Death. Not only is he imprisoned for murder, he's revealed to have been a psychopath who attempted to kill a child as well as the mastermind behind Phoenix's disbarrment. He's disowned by Klavier and given "The Reason You Suck" Speech by both Phoenix and Apollo to boot. If realising he's been defeated by the man he hates the most isn't bad enough for him, all his luxuries are taken away from him, meaning he could be sentenced to death at any time, stewing out his fate in a jail cell with none of the comforts he's grown accustomed to. Since his black psyche locks were broken (and the fact it's revealed serious damage can be done if this happens,) it's quite possible that Kristoph's mental breakdown will be permanent. It could not have happened to a nicer guy.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: Kristoph really needs to get a handle on his tendency to wax poetic, because he does this no less than three times in the opening case of Apollo Justice.
  • When Phoenix calls him about the victim being murdered, Kristoph offhandedly references Shadi being bald; Shadi had his hat on until he died (and Phoenix had put the hat back on when he came to the crime scene) and was a vagabond who no one knew personally, so the only people who would've known that he was bald were Phoenix and the murderer. This tips Phoenix off that Kristoph was involved and prompts him to insist that Apollo be his lawyer instead.
  • Early into the trial, he dramatically describes the poker game between Phoenix and Shadi and notes the cards as having blue backs, when the deck was actually red-backed. This is the slip-up that puts him under suspicion in court, as the murderer had made a similar mistake (replacing the incriminating ace with a blue-backed card), the only photographs of the crime scene were black-and-white (so he couldn't have made any color judgement from what he was supposed to know), and the people known to be at the scene (Phoenix, Olga Orly, Shadi, any police officers) knew the cards were red (so he couldn't claim he'd been told about the cards by someone else, because the hypothetical gossip wouldn't have given him the wrong color), so Kristoph would have no reason to think the cards were blue unless he was the only person involved in the case to mistake the cards... the killer.
  • The final nail in his coffin is when Apollo presents the bloody ace, and Kristoph immediately and angrily points the fact that bloody ace is forged, instead of merely pointing out that it seemed too good to be true. The only way he could've known that there was a bloody ace and that it couldn't have been in the courtroom is if he'd seen the real deal and disposed of it himself.
• Informed Ability: He's supposedly an excellent defense attorney, but we only ever see him defend in one case, and only as co-counsel at that. Granted, he drives much of the early defense while Apollo's still getting his feet wet, and actually teaches you how to play the game. Also granted, he's a noticeable Climax Boss when finally accused during "Turnabout Trump," especially since you'd naturally expect just a Warm-Up Boss for the tutorial case. He also reached the conclusion that it was Vera Misham who was the forger (and not Drew), which only Phoenix and Apollo had also realized, and, considering the forged diary's page, he may have also correctly concluded that Magnifi Gramarye's death was a suicide, and not a murder.
• I Resemble That Remark!: He took great offense to Zak choosing Phoenix over him, seeing it as an insult to his skills as an attorney. Except at that point, he had already forged evidence to help his case, something a first-rate lawyer would never do. It's also heavily implied that Zak fired him for being untrustworthy... something he promptly proved by backstabbing Phoenix and later killing Zak himself.
• Irony: Kristoph's entire reason for becoming an attorney is to be "needed" and become the center of fame and attention. Alas, when his crimes come to light and he flies off the rails upon learning the judicial system is changing, he is bluntly told by even his own brother that he isn't "needed" anymore, because he is so unwilling to accept change.
• It's All About Me: It really says something when he lists two things that should be only allowed in the courtroom: "Me, and the law!". And the reason why he murdered Zak Gramarye? It's because the man had the gall to choose Phoenix Wright over him, which was interpreted as a sign that he wasn't "good" enough of an attorney.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: He did everything in his power to get Phoenix disbarred as a lawyer because he couldn't stand how he was passed over in favor of the latter, including using his own brother as a pawn to do it. His downfall later comes at the hands of Phoenix himself, with the final nail coming from the brother he manipulated telling him outright, "You're not needed anymore."
• Knight of Cerebus: Apollo Justice is far darker than most Ace Attorney games and Kristoph Gavin is the main reason. He's far more realistic and ruthless than previous villains, being a chilling example of how corrupt attorneys can really be. He's driven by vindictiveness and hatred like Dahlia Hawthorne, and lacks some of the more Laughably Evil traits previous Big Bads had. He’s even willing to sink to even lower depths than Dahlia, trying to murder a child to cover his tracks. And the worst part is that he is a defense attorney, just like the good guys... yet he is an irredeemable criminal.
• Kubrick Stare: It generally cannot be seen, but he does one when adjusting his Scary Shiny Glasses. It can be noticed in Case 4-4, when Perceiving one of his statements. When he starts being on the verge of a Villainous Breakdown, he starts getting a more sinister one, looking dangerously (at the viewer) while crossing his arms, his mouth a mix between a smirk and a snarl.
• Large and in Charge: While he's incredibly elegant, he's also very tall and broad-shouldered, making all of his sprites look down at the player, creating a perfect indication of his power and prestige from the moment he appears.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: Interestingly averted, with his role as the Big Bad in Apollo Justice not being mentioned officially outside of the game itself. Even after Apollo Justice, Kristoph still appeared in promotional artwork, alongside the actual protagonists and heroes of the series, with Kristoph himself being the only antagonist to do so.^note Although Bobby Fulbright has appeared in some artwork as well, albeit his actual role as the game's antagonist being a genuine mystery and not a pivotal piece of the game's overarching plot like Kristoph.
  • The cover art◊ for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy seems to be the first time they have portrayed Kristoph with any clear allusion to his actual role in the game in a piece of artwork - and even then, it only shows him very obscured in the background of the entire image. It contrasts Ga'ran who is much more openly visible in the same art.
• Laughing Mad: After Vera was announced innocent, Kristoph flew off the handle.
  "The record will show that when the verdict was announced, special witness Kristoph Gavin... laughed. A laugh louder than any ever heard before... or since. A laugh that echoed in the halls of justice, lingering for what seemed like hours."
• Leitmotif: "Solitary Confinement ~ Darkness Theme", while used as the theme for his cell in prison, fits Kristoph perfectly as an appropriately somber, mellow theme that exudes calm and patience, while hinting at something dark looming in the background. It also serves as Kristoph's theme in court after his arrest.
• Light Is Not Good: Has bright hair, and wears light blue suits, but the black waistcoat he wears under it shows his initially-hidden dark nature.
• Luxury Prison Suite: Gets sent into one after getting arrested. Phoenix comments it looks (and feels, when talking about the chair in there) better than his own office.
• Mask of Sanity: He spends most of his time pretending to be calm and in-control, but is in reality unstable enough to murder someone who slighted him 7 years after the fact (and would probably have done so sooner if Zak hadn't disappeared off the face of the earth) and try to ruin Phoenix for being tangentially involved, paranoid enough to stalk everyone involved in the incident and try to kill anyone who might possibly connect him to the crime, and obsessed with having people need him. The black psyche-locks in the final case show that his mask goes so deep that he's lying to himself about being sane.
• Manipulative Bastard: Forges evidence to win cases and eliminate a rival, and attempts to murder his forgers (one of them a young girl who was an artistic prodigy) by giving them a postage stamp and nail polish laced with poison.
• Meaningful Name: Kristoph is a variation of Christoph, which means "Christ-bearer" a complete contrast to his demonic personality, but meaningful if his delusions are taken at face value. "Kirihito" comes from "hitokiri", "murder".
• Messy Hair: After his Villainous Breakdown, his hair becomes messy and dishevelled, showing just how much he's lost his former composure.
• Narcissist: Gavin is superficially charming, but under his facade, he is a calculating and manipulative man who ruins the lives of anyone who slights him. He is also quite the elitist, as he thinks juries are made up of "a mindless mob of irrational mouth-breathers" and "ignorant swine". It's also implied that the only reason he became a lawyer was to make people dependent on him.
• Nightmare Face: After discovering the one who ultimately Out-Gambitted him was none other than Phoenix Wright, the lawyer he got disbarred, Kristoph lets loose an epic Skyward Scream with his mouth wide open and his hair billowing upwards, indicating that he was screaming Phoenix's name in absolute fury. Then the scene cuts to Kristoph looking completely unhinged and animalistic, glaring at the screen with twitchy eyes while his neatly-groomed "drill" hair came undone.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Between his utter sociopathy that hides behind a smile, smooth representation of himself in court, appearances in not just one but two high-profile criminal trials, and complete Villainous Breakdown in the second trial in which he had nothing to lose except pride because he'd already been sentenced to life anyway, a lot of Gavin's character seems to have been inspired by the infamous 20th century Serial Killer Ted Bundy.
• Not So Stoic: His claim to fame as a defense attorney was his ability to keep himself together under pressure, unlike the hams who make up the rest of his profession. He manages to keep himself to Suppressed Rage during his first conviction, but when his entire scheme is unraveled during 4-4, he completely loses it and has a Damon Gant-level breakdown.
• Once Killed a Man with a Noodle Implement: Two times, with one attempted.
  • His first (though last planned) murder was committed by hitting a man over the head with a bottle of grape juice.
  • His murder of Drew Misham involved giving him a postage stamp that had atroquinine on the back and instructing him to use the stamp to send Kristoph a letter confirming payment for the forged diary page, so that when Drew licked the stamp to put it on the envelope he'd ingest the poison.
  • The weapon in his attempted murder of Vera was a poisoned bottle of nail polish; he took advantage of her trust in him to give the bottle to her as a "good luck charm" that she was to wear if she ever left the house, knowing that Vera had a nervous habit of biting her nails and if she were to be put in a stressful situation (say, being a witness in court, especially as she's agoraphobic) while wearing the polish, she'd bite her nails and ingest the poison.
• Out-Gambitted:
  • Kristoph used a secret passage to approach Zak Gramarye and kill him without anyone noticing (Phoenix was upstairs and Olga Orly was unconscious), and took whatever evidence that could implicate him in the murder. While he did make a series of mistakes as he replaced the bloody ace with a king from the wrong deck, he was only caught because Phoenix had another bloody ace forged.
  • No evidence, no testimony could get him declared guilty of the murder of Drew Misham and the forged evidence of the death of Magnifi Gramarye as he had taken care of everything and everyone that could compromise him. Everything, except for a Jurist System introduced by Phoenix that could have him convicted even without evidence or testimony.
• The Perfectionist: To a similar degree to Manfred Von Karma but of a different sort. He's fine with losing cases so long as he continues to appear perfect afterwards. It reaches a point where he uses clear nail polish to make sure his nails are always in pristine condition. Not getting chosen as Zak's attorney implying that Zak didn't consider him good enough, did a major blow to his ego, and caused him to snap. Like Manfred, he will resort to cheating and murder for perfection.
• Pet the Dog: He keeps a picture of his retriever (it's not specified whether it's a Golden or a Labrador) with him in his prison cell and describes her as his best friend.
• Pragmatic Villainy: His mentoring of Apollo can be considered this, since he does do a good job of showing you the ropes early in the first case, and is implied to have been a sincere mentor figure to him for the most part, as he correctly surmised that Apollo had great potential and could be a worthy successor to him. Additionally, despite being the one responsible for Phoenix's disbarment, he went to great lengths to avoid openly antagonizing him, including making a show of support during his disbarment hearing, and originally being sincere about defending Phoenix in the first case. He sees the value in maintaining good relationships even with people he looks down on, and only ends up openly turning on Phoenix after it becomes clear that Phoenix knows he's the killer of the first case, as well as about his many other crimes, and is angling to expose him and ruin his career.
• Present Absence: He's never heard from again after Apollo Justice. However, the after-effects of his actions of getting Phoenix Wright disbarred with forged evidence can be seen in Dual Destinies where it ushered in the "Dark Age of the Law."
• Properly Paranoid: As called out by Klavier and Apollo, he spent years keeping tabs on those who would could expose the truth about his connection to Phoenix's disbarment.
• Psychological Projection: When he's questioned in prison, he tells Phoenix Wright that Phoenix's friendship with him was never pure. That's rich, coming from the man who got him disbarred.
• Purple Is Powerful: He's an experienced and well-respected defense attorney, and the Dark Age of the Law was brought about thanks to his petty revenge gambit against Phoenix over a small offense. Fittingly, he's the Big Bad of Apollo Justice, and the last criminal Apollo (and the player) needs to take down to clear Phoenix's name.
• Real Men Wear Pink: He wears nail polish, even while in prison.
• Red Herring: At the beginning of the game, he's introduced as Apollo's mentor, similar to Mia in the first game...but then he turns out be the murderer for the first case.
• Red Right Hand: A skull-shaped scar in his - yup - right hand.
• Reverse Arm-Fold: He adopts this pose when standing on the defense's bench.
• Satanic Archetype: Has a penchant for manipulation and trickery, including fradulent deals that will only end badly for you, even if it works in the moment. His name means "Christ-bearer" yet Vera Misha compares him to the devil. His general beauty being a mask for his behavior plays into this.
• Saying Too Much: He has a habit of overexplaining things, making metaphors and observations that he would have no way of knowing if he wasn't involved somehow. This is what does him in for Zak's murder, as he repeatedly makes quips that implicate and ultimately convict him.
• Say My Name: In a call-back to Dahlia Hawthorne's Villainous Breakdown over being Out-Gambitted by Mia Fey from Trials and Tribulations, Kristoph struggles to say Phoenix's full name correctly as he is overcome with rage in being outwitted by the latter, stuttering it out before shouting Phoenix's last name in an epic Skyward Scream.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: When he adjusts them. They hide a Kubrick Stare.
• Serial Killer: Officially becomes one in the Bad Ending, where Vera's death gives him three victims- her, Drew, and Shadi.
• Sexy Mentor: He's a very good-looking guy and he served as Apollo's mentor in the beginning of the game, a callback to Mia and Phoenix's relationship in the original Ace Attorney trilogy. Unfortunately, he's also evil as hell.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: On the surface, he and his brother Klavier seem to be pleasant folk. It soon becomes apparent that Klavier's niceness is sincere, Kristoph's... is not.
• Skyward Scream: He pulls a scream that is possibly the most spectacular one in the entire series during his second Villainous Breakdown.
  Kristoph: WRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!
• Smug Snake: Knows that the ridiculous burden of proof in the Ace Attorney universe means he can say damn near anything and not get convicted, and that he planned his crimes well enough to leave no decisive evidence, which he takes as the go-ahead to pretty much gloat about it in court. This is why the jury system works so well- the jurors can decide for themselves that repeatedly admitting to things only the murderer should know means he's the murderer.
• The Sociopath: His only desires seem to be Hedonism (i.e., enjoying fame and fortune, even behind bars) and Pride (i.e., just about everything he does in response to the Gramarye trial not going his way, and in a positive example, his mentoring of Apollo to leave behind a legacy), and his only emotions seem to be Bitch in Sheep's Clothing coolness and Villainous Breakdown anger. Also, he's a complete, Lack of Empathy-invoking paranoiac and unfettered (symbolized by his Black Psyche-Locks, no less) — to the point where he was even willing to cheat against Klavier, his own brother, just to win the Gramarye trial and indulge said hedonism and pride even further.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He almost never raises his voice, being eerily calm even in the most tense situations. Despite this, he takes great pleasure in the suffering of those who slight him, while never using anything other than an eerily serene tone.
• Stepford Smiler: He keeps smiling wherever he is (even in prison), and whatever he goes through. Until he's ultimately defeated in court, and you can see how crazy he's inside (what with that whole eye twitch, evil scowl, and...well, looking pretty disheveled), and that he was trying to conceal it all behind a smile.
• Stoic Spectacles: Cool as a cucumber... until you break him epically.
• Take a Third Option: What he tries to do in the first case, wherein he's co-defending Phoenix for a crime that he himself committed. Instead of screwing over his own client or, you know, turning himself in, he tries to frame a dishonest witness for the murder. Though said witness was trying to frame Phoenix for the murder, it was not because she had committed it.
• Treacherous Quest Giver: Hires Apollo to defend his client Phoenix for a murder that he himself committed. It's Zig-Zagged, because Apollo was asked to be the lead counsel at Phoenix's insistence, and initially Kristoph had no intention of screwing Phoenix over; he wanted to pin the blame on Olga Orly.
• Twitchy Eye: After he goes apeshit in the final case, his eyes start twitching madly, and his hair becomes a dishevelled mess.
• Uncertain Doom: Is never heard from again after Apollo Justice. Turnabout Succession ends with the implication that when Vera recovers, her testimony (since she was the only one who knew he was her client) will be enough to convict him for first-degree murder (Drew) and attempted murder (Vera herself), which carries the potential that he'll get the death penalty.
• Villainous Breakdown: Twice; his first one is pretty downplayed, but his second one is rather spectacular even by the standards of the series.
  • When he's first exposed as the killer of Shadi Smith/Zack Gramarye, he starts acting significantly angry, slowly raising his fist (which makes the dishes Olga Orly dropped levitate into the air) before slamming it into the witness stand. He manages to calm down fairly soon afterwards, though.
  • When he learns that the court will be using a Jurist System for his second murder trial for the fatal poisoning of Vera's father, Drew, and that Phoenix Wright came up with the idea, he flies off the rails, pounding the witness stand again, and lets loose a Nightmare Face as he screams Phoenix's name. By the time he's done, he's a completely different person, with a more unhinged, disheveled appearance, a mad look in his eyes and a mouth that's a mix of a smirk and a snarl. Also, when Vera gets declared innocent, he goes full-on Laughing Mad. Given that Duel Destinies reveals that Black Psyche-Locks can cause damage to a person's heart/soul if improperly broken, because of how intensely the secret they protect is ingrained in the person's psyche, it's implied that his utterly deranged breakdown was from Apollo and Klavier unknowingly breaking the locks by exposing his secret in court, in such a manner that he cannot hide or dismiss it, leading to Kristoph suffering an immense mental shock.
• Villain with Good Publicity: One of the most respected defense attorneys after Phoenix is disbarred, with no one knowing he was responsible. This is also how Kristoph operates the entire game. He's very confident and professional in his job and puts his own reputation above everything else. Even after he's found guilty of a murder, he is shown to be enjoying the good publicity he has received because of it.
• Walking Spoiler: Him being the first chapter's culprit comes as a surprise. Him being the main antagonist of the game comes as a bigger one.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Along with Dahlia Hawthorne, he's one of the most challenging first trial bosses in the series, being able to put up one hell of a fight before being taken down. Ironically, his testimony is more complex in the first trial than it is in the fourth, where the majority of the showdown is exposition. Unlike Dahlia, all the challenge comes from Gavin himself, Mia had to also deal with a half-competent Payne.
• Wicked Cultured: His jail cell has a nice chair, roses, and a HUGE shelf of books.
• Would Hurt a Child: He tried to exploit Vera's fingernail-biting habit by lacing a nail polish bottle he gave her with a deadly poison, so her act of forgery wouldn't be traced to him. He eventually succeeds in poisoning the girl, but fortunately for Vera, she survives.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Didn't plan on being caught for Shadi/Zak's murder. Nevertheless, he adjusts quite well, being able to acquire a Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All lifestyle and come Back for the Finale as a serious Griefer. However, he again runs into an unforeseen complication — Phoenix being Crazy-Prepared with his new Jurist System — and this time, there's no bouncing back.

Aristotle Means (Shinji Ichiro)

Aristotle Means (Shinji Ichiro)

Debut: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies

"I, professor Means always say what I mean and I mean what I say by all means!"

A defense attorney who also works as a teacher for defense attorney students in Themis Legal Academy. His philosophy of teaching is based around Machiavelli's "the ends justify the means", a philosophy he considers a necessity to survive as an attorney in the "Dark Age of the Law".

---

• Absence of Evidence: When he first appears he isn't holding his globe staff, despite his hand still being positioned as if he's holding it. Because at that point, the staff was still stuck in Constance Courte's body. ^note The 3DS version has a glitch in its English localization where he does have his staff.
• Affably Evil: On the outside, he seems pleasant enough, even if his smile is kind of creepy. And he expresses genuine rage when one of his own students is accused of murder. Actually, it's all an act; he's the real killer, and was planning on being his student's defense attorney to get someone convicted for it in his place. On the inside, besides that, his philosophy of "the ends justify the means" is Anti Heroic, at best.
• Amoral Attorney: His "ends-justify-the-means" philosophy in the court, meaning that stooping to unethical means to win a court case in the dark age of law is sometimes the best option according to him. He also accepts bribery from his students, and doesn't have a problem with killing to keep people quiet.
• Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His overall gray, stony look makes him resemble an ancient sculpture, while his Greek-style toga and his globe staff lends a godlike appearance. Naturally, when his beliefs are exposed and destroyed, he starts breaking down - even gritting his teeth to the point of cracking them - like a statue crumbling because the foundations holding it up were smashed to smithereens.
• Berserk Button: Ordinarily very calm and collected, but criticizing his "ends justify the means" philosophy can bring out the Sadist Teacher in him.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The initial impression is that Means is a mild-mannered teacher who is a Knight in Sour Armor, clearly having been beaten down by the Dark Age of Law but also values seeking the truth in court. His true face is anything but that.
• The Bore: The court listened to one of his recorded speeches, and everyone in the courtroom fell asleep. Not only that, he knows his speeches are sleep-inducing, to the point his pre-recorded speech takes that into account and it does not make anyone question its legitimacy.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Means wears his philosophy of doing whatever you can to win trials on his sleeve. This is in stark contrast to other similarly-minded lawyers in the series, who normally wouldn't openly admit that they used dirty tricks in court. Worse still, he's teaching this mindset to students.
• Combat Pragmatist: He chucks pieces of chalk at the defense to break their concentration, and he demands a recess with the intent to destroy the murder weapon when cornered.
• The Cynic: Believes that law is in dark times, and that the only way to deal with the rampant corruption is to fight fire with fire. This is in contrast to Courte's idealistic idea of still pursuing the truth even against odds. In court, he becomes even more cynical; at one point, he writes on the chalkboard that the "dark age" of the law is a beautiful thing, not something to be fought, because in the dark age, the ends justify the means!
• Dirty Coward: Right when Athena manages to get Means in a corner after breaking her out of spite, Means attempt to beg the court to give him a different punishment for his murder sentence. He only attempts to start writing "Guilty" slowly after realizing there is nothing he can do.
• Evil All Along: At first, he may appear to be a gentle, noble and altruistic man (albeit a Knight in Sour Armor), he even offered to defend Juniper Woods, but then he is revealed to be a psychotic and abusive opportunist who will do anything to fulfil his ideology. When he starts losing, he attempts to incriminate Juniper Woods for the murder he committed and then decides to cause Athena to have an emotional breakdown out of spite.
• Evil Costume Switch: After pointing out his first contradiction, he reveals a scar, styles his hair as a mohawk, and loses his fatherly smile for a scowl.
• Evil Is Bigger: At 6'5", he towers over everyone else in the series.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: From friendly and curly, to an intimidating mohawk resembling a Corinthian helmet. This, combined with his gray hair, pale skin, spear, and odd crack-like mark above his right eye, make him resemble a statue of a warrior from ancient Greece.
• Faux Affably Evil: He's fairly pleasant at first, but when pushed too much, he turns fairly condescending toward people, especially Athena. He even nearly breaks her.
• First-Name Basis: After Athena identifies him as the killer and pushes him far enough, he starts acting like a teacher and referring to the named characters in the trial by their first names, since he's treating them as though they were his students. Compare how Athena calls her best friend Juniper "Ms. Woods" in court.
• Hammerspace: At one point, a chalkboard rolls up behind him from out of nowhere, just so he can make his point by writing on it.
• Hate Sink: He's a psychotic, abusive opportunist who will do anything to fulfil his ideology. When he starts losing, he attempts to incriminate Juniper Woods for the murder he committed and then decides to cause Athena to have an emotional breakdown out of spite.
• He Knows Too Much: His reason for murdering Courte. She discovered that he was accepting bribes from O'Conner's parents, and made the unfortunate mistake of confronting him about it. Fearing that he'd be ruined if she exposed him, he killed her.
• Hypocrite: He chides Blackquill when he begins to talk about swords, saying that weapons will not be allowed in his "class." This coming from someone who carries a concealed and functional spear at almost all times, including when he was trying to chew out the prosecutor.
• Idiot Ball: He demands a recess to destroy the murder weapon. He says every last bit of that to the whole courtroom, basically saying "Can we have a recess so I can destroy this and maybe then I can go free?" "Mean what I say by all means" indeed.
• Ironic Name: His Japanese name come from the word "shinjiru" which means "to believe" or "trust". Considering his true nature, he's anything but trustworthy. His English name is borrowed from a wise philosopher, whereas Means and his philosophy are constantly scrutinized and ultimately proven wrong.
• It's All About Me: Despite constantly claiming he follows the ends-means philosophy, he uses it as an excuse to do whatever helps him. Either he just uses it as a smokescreen or he runs on Protagonist-Centered Morality with him as the protagonist.
• Laughably Evil: Once credibly accused of murdering Professor Courte and turning Juniper into his scapegoat, he turns the court into an impromptu class, pulls a blackboard out of nowhere, and takes attendance alongside other teacherly duties.
• Leitmotif: "Private School Themis Legal Academy ~ Our Precious School" to reflect his prim-and-proper academic persona. It changes to "The Dark Age of the Law" when he gets serious, which, while a theme used to represent said "Dark Age" in a more generalized way, fits more with Means given that he's a perfect image of what it represents.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: When Athena criticizes his philosophy in court, he transforms into a nastier version of himself. He's also even more ruthless, and in fact he even manages to temporarily drive Athena into a Heroic BSoD by pointing out that Athena brought false charges against Hugh.
• Living Statue: His design clearly invokes this, looking as much like a living Greek sculpture as possible. His face actually cracks when he gets angry.
• Lost in Translation: A bit of an odd example. In the original Japanese version of the game, the first time you meet him, he is not carrying his staff, thus already giving you a slight hint that there's something fishy going on when he has it the next time you meet. In the western release, due to a bug, he appears with his staff right away, which creates a plot hole. Further releases correct this oversight and he has no staff in both the Japanese and English versions.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Aristotle suits his old philosopher ways and Ancient Greece sculpture-like design. It also references the fact that Aristotle believed that everything people did was means to an end - although "The ends justify the means" does not come from him, but rather from Niccolò Machiavelli.
  • Means refers to him expecting meaningful results from his academy, as if he ran the academy himself. He also tends to say things like "We must use any means necessary." a lot. He's also not very nice and encourages his students to use any methods just so they can win.
• Nails on a Chalkboard: His own writing on the chalkboard starts to sound like this at one point while in court.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He believes that the dark age of the law is a "beautiful" boon to the legal system since it meant that his philosophy "The end justifies the means" had become a matter of routine.
• Nap-Inducing Speak: A tape recording of one of his lectures puts everyone in the courtroom to sleep when it was played.
• Obviously Evil: In a series where it's constantly stated that the pursuit of truth and the trust between a lawyer and a client being the most important things for a defense attorney, seeing someone such as Means adamantly defending the idea of winning by any means possible will quickly make players think he's a villain. And he is.
• Psycho Supporter: He really admires the Dark Age of the Law.
• Punny Name: Aristotle Means = "Arrest at all means." Which fairly well sums up with his philosophy.
• Sadist Teacher: Once he gets angry, he acts like this, complete with a chalkboard appearing out of nowhere for him to write on, alongside throwing chalk at the defense and Judge.
• Sword Cane: While his staff does have a globe-like object attached to it, it's actually a spear.
• The Unfettered: He subscribes to the "end justifies the means" philosophy, and thus will use any means possible to ensure that things play out his way.
• The Un-Smile:
  • His regular smile is perfectly normal but when he smiles with his gums shown, Athena comments that it's rather scary. If you think his smile is scary, just wait until he scowls instead.
  • He grins so hard during his Villainous Breakdown that he shatters his own teeth.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Starts to write a bunch of sentences on his board suggesting lesser "alternate punishments" for murdering Professor Courte, such as a pay cut, with the audience booing at each suggestion. Eventually he half gives in and begins to write "guilty", but tries to prevent himself from finishing with such grit that his teeth break and he collapses along with the chalk board.
  • Beforehand, he fires multiple pieces of chalk at Athena. Simon stops him.
• Villains Want Mercy: Once he's exposed as the murderer of Professor Courte, he attempts to plead for alternate (and much lighter) punishments in place of his murder sentence. His pleas are answered with boos and things thrown at him.
• Walking Spoiler: There's more to him than there seems.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He believes that since we live in the "dark age of the law", the only way to fight the corruption is to use corrupt means yourself. This is why he believes, as he says repeatedly, that "the ends justify the means." Later in court, however, he drops the "well-intentioned" part, and says that instead of merely fighting the dark age of the law with corrupt means, the dark age of the law is actually beautiful, not something to be fought at all, because the dark age of the law makes his philosophy of "the ends justify the means" stronger.
• Would Hurt a Child: While the “child” part is a bit of a stretch as Juniper is 18 years old, Aristotle had the gall to not only frame one of his own students for murder but almost ruined her future and dreams of being a court judge in the process.
• Younger Than They Look: His grey beard and overall demeanor make him look like an old man, but he's actually only 45. Particularly notable comparing him to Courte, who was two years older than him but looked considerably younger than he does.

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