Ace Attorney: Witnesses and Other Characters / Characters

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Other characters in the Ace Attorney series.

Because of page length, this page has been split into individual pages based on the character's debut work. The main one is for the recurring characters. For examples from individual games, go to the following pages.

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Debuting in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Larry Butz (Masashi Yahari)

Voiced by (Japanese): Masaya Onosaka (SoJ), Tooru Nara (anime)

Voiced by (English): Josh Martin (anime), Steph Garrett (child - anime)

Played by: Akiyoshi Nakao (film), Riohei Kamamori (child - film)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/butz1.png

^{Click here to see him as Laurice Deauxnim}

"We were Romeo and Juliet! Mark Antony and Cleopatra!"

Phoenix and Edgeworth's "lovable" loser classmate and one of the series' most frequently reoccurring witnesses. A very over-the-top, downright idiotic playboy-wannabe who always tries to get a girlfriend and fails to keep one; either they dumped him or they get killed (the very first case of the series has his girlfriend murdered). He seems to attract trouble wherever he goes, thus earning him the saying, "When something smells, it's usually the Butz".

10-Minute Retirement: In the first Investigations game he declares that he's no longer interested in being an artist, and has decided that his true calling is acting. In the second game, however, he's gone back to being an artist, with Spirit of Justice demonstrating that he stuck with that career choice in the longer run.
Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed. At the end of "Turnabout Goodbyes" in the game, it's revealed that Larry stole Edgeworth's lunch money out of boredom, which led to Phoenix getting blamed. In the anime, he instead finds it picked up by a stray dog on the street and, after getting guilt-tripped by the dog, responsibly turns it over to the police and claims it legally when no one else does. However, he still doesn't chime in about finding the money during the class trial, which could've saved Phoenix a lot of trauma.
Adapted Out: Inverted twice; Larry appears in both the stageplay and anime adaptations of "Farewell, My Turnabout", even though he didn't in the game.
Artsy Beret: He always wears a beret when he is in his painter persona.
Back for the Finale: Larry has the tendency to show up early on in a game, only to return in the final case as well. The only exceptions are the two Investigations games (in the first one, he only appears in the last case; in the second one, he only appears in the middle case), and Spirit of Justice (where he only appears in a DLC case).
Big Damn Heroes: Multiple:
- In 1-4, right as Edgeworth is declared guilty, Larry rushes in, yelling for the Judge to wait, and demands to testify, and sheds new light on the case in the process. This provided a large hole in Von Karma's case, which, in the end, cost him the trial. Due to this, he also saved Edgeworth's life. He pretty much saved the entire case for Phoenix, really.
- And in the final case of Ace Attorney Investigations, he and Oldbag burst in with decisive evidence, helping to bust Alba for good.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: The witnesses this doesn't apply to can be counted on one hand, but things are never made easier for the protagonist in question whenever Larry is involved as a witness (or even nearby). Usually the truth has to be dug out of him due to either his genuine idiocy mistaking what he witnessed for something else entirely, or his deliberate coverup of details that implicate him in something embarrassing but inconsequential to the case at hand. It comes to a head in Investigations, when Edgeworth has to argue Larry's innocence to Shi Long Lang (who's looking to arrest him). Larry then interjects, forcing Edgeworth to prove to him that he couldn't have done it all while trying to refute Edgeworth... right in front of Lang. Edgeworth points out that if he were to win this "battle of wits", Larry's victory prize would be his arrest.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A light example. He generally comes off as an easygoing and friendly guy, but is also a lazy liar who frequently intentionally hides important details about cases to save his own skin, often for petty reasons. Phoenix and Edgeworth, who have known him for most of their lives, are the only characters who are initially aware of this side of him, and react accordingly when around him as a result.
Blatant Lies: In "Turnabout Time Traveler," he claims he has nothing to do with the case, despite having brought Ellen to Phoenix's office and having left his business card wallet behind at the reception hall.
Phoenix: If you have to lie, at least do a better job of it!
Blush Sticker: Pops up whenever he's flustered, which is often, as he has plenty of good reasons to be ashamed...
Broken Pedestal: While Phoenix certainly never looked up to Larry, the reveal that he stole Edgeworth's lunch money as a kid (which in turn, caused the class to think Phoenix had done it) made Phoenix stop viewing him as a close Childhood Friend and instead as a nuisance.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a talented artist, despite his many flaws.
The Bus Came Back: After being absent from the series since Investigations 2, he returns in the DLC case "Turnabout Time Traveler" in Spirit of Justice.
Butt-Monkey: He gets absolutely zero respect. Even Phoenix considers him less of a friend and more of an annoying pest after learning that he was the one who stole Edgeworth's lunch money back in the day. The Judge, despite having both tried him for murder and seen him in court as a witness, doesn't remember him in 3-2. He also refers to him as a 'useless-looking young man' and says that 'just looking at his picture makes the bile start to rise in (his) throat'.
Casanova Wannabe: His bad luck at love is pretty much a running gag. In the manga, his girlfriend Belle turns out to be the murderer; the only reason she ever talked to him was for an alibi — though she wasn't planning on framing him. He also seems to distinguish each of his ex-girlfriends by the way they slapped him. None of this stops him from hitting on every single woman he meets.
Chick Magnet: Say what you will about his ability to keep girlfriends, but he's had at least nine girlfriends over three games, and most of them were models or worked other professions where good looks matter.
Chivalrous Pervert: He is quite the pervert, but he is also a murderer's worst nightmare. When he is in a murder scene or other scene where someone is in danger, Larry will (inadvertingly) collect or make critical evidence, deliver critical testimony after his lies are broken through, save lives, create enough chaos to cause a murderer to make a mistake that allows the murder to be solved or otherwise interferes with a murderer's plans, and/or foil murder plots. He often does many of these things by accident.
Cloudcuckoolander: He has his moments in which he draws the most ridiculous conclusion from what he saw or heard. He often shares very valuable information or evidence in the cases he appears in, but just as often the challenge comes from getting what that evidence really means, or proving that it's even relevant to the Judge. For example, in the final case of Trials and Tribulations, he saw "something amazing": Iris flying over a burning bridge, with Larry being concerned over her health if she kept trying to do such stunts; in reality, Larry was looking upside down, and what he saw was actually Misty Fey's corpse being swung under the burning bridge.
Commuting on a Bus: His overall relevancy in the series varies wildly. In the first game he's one of the main secondary characters, appearing in all but one case, but then hes gone completely for Justice for All (not counting the anime, where he replaces Lotta Hart in the "Farewell, My Turnabout" arc). Trials and Tribulations brings him back prominently for 2 cases. The Investigation games give him a couple of appearances, but after that he was gone for years until a DLC case for Spirit of Justice.
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: Throughout the third game, during which he is heavily implied to be going through a crisis over being vastly overshadowed by Phoenix and Edgeworth. By the end of it, he seems to settle on being an artist, a field where he actually possesses talent. This decision paid off in the long run, as he ends up making a name for himself as an illustrator by the events of Spirit of Justice.
The Ditz: Probably why trouble follows him everywhere.
Dumbass Has a Point: Edgeworth has to concede that he both saved Phoenix's life and got Edgeworth back into the country in record time. He just wishes that Larry would apply that kind of motivation to himself once in a while.
Eccentric Artist: Seems to have become one of those by the time of Spirit of Justice, adding to his already traditional quirkiness. For starters, he wears a fake mustache and smokes from a (seemingly also fake) pipe while in his "Laurice Deauxnim" persona, for no real reason.
Embarrassing First Name: Barely averted, given that Larry could have been called Harry.
Flanderization: In the first game, while Larry was a massive screw-up and guilty of stealing Phoenix's lunch money in the backstory, he was still well-meaning and even tried to genuinely help during 1-4 after realizing his testimonial might be valuable. Later games, especially those written by Takeshi Yamazaki, would exaggerate his stupidity and chronic lying streak to where he actively makes cases more difficult due to his selfishness. His relationship with Phoenix and Edgeworth also goes from Vitriolic Best Buds to almost completely one-sided, as the two are left constantly questioning why they ever made friends with him.
The Friend Nobody Likes:
- While Phoenix at first considers him a well-meaning goofball, his repeated screw-ups try the attorney's patience to a point where he groans at the sight of him. Things are even worse between him and Edgeworth, who makes it no secret that he has no idea how they became friends in the first place and never has anything nice to say to or about him.
- Made especially apparent in Spirit of Justice, when Phoenix introduces Larry to Athena reluctantly as "an old friend" but in his thoughts he says Edgeworth is his childhood friend without hesitation.
Genius Ditz: He's actually a good artist, in more ways than one. He made two replica statuettes of "The Thinker" in his first appearance (with functional integrated clocks with voiced lines telling the time, no less), his sketches during "Bridge to the Turnabout" are on par with the rest of the game's art, and his stage performance as the Steel Samurai fooled even Edgeworth (a passionate Steel Samurai fan). He eventually managed to gain some success as a picture book author and a wedding sign maker as a side business... which is how he got involved with the whole mess of "Turnabout Time Traveler" in the first place.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: One of his new animations in Spirit of Justice.
Handsome Lech: He's rather attractive, and an unashamedly desperate womanizer.
Hidden Depths:
- During his appearance in case 3 of Investigations 2, a pair of his sketches become evidence. After his drawing in Trials and Tribulations, you wouldn't expect much, but they're actually pretty good, especially for ones he drew on the spot. He might actually have talent as an artist, which would explain why it's the only profession you see him in multiple times.
- His appearance in the original Investigations reveals that he's apparently also an excellent actor, to the point of putting on a performance as the Steel Samurai in a stage play that was so excellent that even the notoriously critical Steel Samurai fanboy Edgeworth was moved to tears by it.
- In Spirit of Justice, upon Edgeworth mocking him a little too much, he reveals his hand and shows he had gathered a lot more evidence than it initially appeared. He also ends up perfectly replicating the image of a sign chunk whipping by his window in high-pressure winds despite only seeing it for half a second... though he's convinced that he saw a pterodactyl.
Hot-Blooded: He has a tendency of abruptly screaming mid-sentence, and his screams are loud enough to shake the screen.
Idiot Savant: He's rather dim, yet he's an excellent artist and actor.
The Illegible: When he tried to write "Mindy" on a love note, he wrote it so sloppily that it looked like "Wéndy" at first glance. Other characters initially thought that the note was for Wendy Oldbag.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: Hinted at in the third game's end credits. Both of his friends are legendary lawyers and pioneers in their field, while he can't keep a job or a girlfriend. Even his "thumbs up" sprite gives him an expression that makes him look like he'll burst into tears at any minute. Finally finding a profession that he's good at makes him ecstatic.
Informed Flaw: People constantly make fun of his art and call it bad, but all things considered, it actually is pretty good. This is demonstrated most clearly in the end credits of Trials and Tribulations, the end of which shows an excellent drawing of the main cast done by Larry. Later games do have characters acknowledge his art skill, however; In Investigations 2 Edgeworth does end up internally admitting that Larry's art is not bad (not that he'll ever admit it out loud, mind you), and by the time of Spirit of Justice he's become a picture book author of some renown.
Insistent Terminology: When he's working as an artist (and later picture book author) in Trials and Tribulations, Investigations 2 and Spirit of Justice, he insists on being called Laurice Deauxnim (Mashisu Tenryuusai). Few people seem to humor him.
Karma Houdini: He somehow got away with making a bomb threat to the police while under the belief he was "eloping" with Ellen Wyatt.
Leitmotif: "When Something Smells, It's Usually Me", in the third game. It returns in Ace Attorney Investigations 2, and gets remixed for the DLC case in Spirit of Justice. In the first game he has "Blissful People", sharing it with several other characters.
Manchild: He's quite immature, although it only really starts to show after his Flanderization. Edgeworth even quips that talking to him is tantamount to speaking with a child in Ace Attorney Investigations 2. He reaches his nadir in Spirit of Justice, where even after nearly a decade, he's essentially the same person as before and even has his testimony named "Nick Is A Jerkface!".
Mystery Magnet: He stumbles into many different murder scenes without ever intending to be there, and murder attempts happen around where he is. This is a somewhat good thing because his art and his testimony become critical more often than not once you manage to expose all of his lies that he habitually makes in his testimony by cross-examining him, and manages to foil some of the murderers' plans including saving at least one victim's life.
New Job as the Plot Demands: He has a new job (and girlfriend) every time he appears. He's a hot-dog vendor, a security guard, and an artist over the course of the original trilogy, which results in him being a frequent witness. After realizing his talent as an artist at the end of the third game, he's stuck to the profession in each of his most recent chronological appearances (aside from a 10-Minute Retirement in order to pursue an acting career in the first Investigations game), to the point of becoming an acclaimed illustrator by Spirit of Justice.
The Nicknamer: "Nick", "Edgey", and "Franzy" for Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Franziska respectively.
Ocular Gushers: He tends to show his emotions in a very over-the-top way, including streams of tears flowing from puppy-dog eyes.
Older Than He Looks: In Spirit of Justice, even nine years after the events of the Investigations games, he's barely shown any signs of ageing, unlike his friends. He certainly has not matured either.
One-Hit Wonder: In-Universe example. While he has found professional success with "Franzy's Whippity-Whip Trip" by the time of Spirit of Justice, he's now struggling to make another big seller. He's not too pleased when Phoenix calls him as such and his efforts to avoid going down as one gets pretty desperate, like mailing the Wright Anything Agency ten copies of his new book, and the bill. He did seem to get a temporary break when he was commissioned by the hyper-rich Sprocket family to paint a wedding sign though.
Paper-Thin Disguise: In the anime, the defense tries to delay Edgeworth's trial so he and Maya can retrieve some of the DL-6 evidence from Manfred's office, but because the recess was short due to Edgeworth faking an injury, Larry tries to disguise himself as the former using his jacket and cravat. He doesn't last ten seconds.
Judge: Who are you?!
Larry: Uh... I'm Edgey! I-I mean, I'm Miles Edgeworth; an innocent man.
Von Karma: Remove this cheeky impostor from the courtroom NOW!
Pen Name: Does art under the pseudonym of "Laurice Deauxnim," which he appears to have picked up apprenticing under Elise Deauxnim in 3-5.
Phrase Catcher: "When something smells, it's usually the Butz."
Renaissance Man: Shockingly enough, Larry is naturally gifted in pretty much all artistic fields, including sculpting, painting and acting.
Serial Romeo: Larry seems to always date models, but he's not above constant flattery of any other woman in range, including Maya, who is supposedly kind of plain. If you show him a picture of Pearl in T&T, he'll call her a "cutie" and only back off when he realizes she has the same name as a girl he once dated, not because she's nine. (In this case, it's a sign that he's a Cloudcuckoolander, not a Comedic Lolicon pervert.)
Spanner in the Works: Pretty much every case he was present in and his mishaps were the main reasons why Phoenix and Edgeworth were able to win their cases.
- "Turnabout Goodbyes" (Case 1-4): Edgeworth states that Larry was the first witness Von Karma was unable to manipulate in advance, and thus the first unplanned element in his 40 years of prosecution. Basically, what was a screwup with his latest business venture featuring a dumb idea to re-inflate his Steel Samurai mascot balloon with a gas canister which sent the whole lot into Lake Gourd, inadvertently creating a fake monster hoax which introduced another Spanner; Lotta Hart into providing photographic evidence. Larry was stuck trying to find his balloon for several days until he found it floating in the lake late into Christmas Eve, going back ashore right when Hammond was shot at the Boat Rental Shop and hearing the first bullet being fired.
- "The Stolen Turnabout" (Case 3-2): The culprit of the case hit an alarm buzzer so that a guard would come rushing to the crime scene, and see the victim and a different suspect. However, the only guard at that time was Larry, who didn't go to the crime scene because he was confronting one of his exes' boyfriend.
- "Bridge to the Turnabout" (Case 3-5): Larry ends up being a witness to the cover-up of the murder thanks to being the only "idiot" to wander around a snowstorm, let alone one staying in a broken-down hut instead of the main lodge nearby. He even makes a drawing of what he saw, though he didn't realize what it was.
- "Turnabout Ablaze" (Case 5 of Investigations): His accident in rehearsal leads to an in-universe case of Real Life Writes the Plot that catches the Big Bad in a lie.
- "The Inherited Turnabout" (Case 3 of Investigations 2): His drawing of Katherine Hall pulling a trolley showed a contradiction that allowed Edgeworth to discover who was hiding Isaac Dover's body, thus allowing him to find the culprit behind the IS-7 incident.
- In the manga, by getting arrested as the suspect in "Turnabout With the Wind" by various things he does to make himself seem suspicious (calling Bright Bonds to demand that he back out of Belle's life, and running from the cops), Belle ends up having to prove his alibi, and ends up incriminating herself with her own testimony.
- "Turnabout Time Traveler": His return in Spirit of Justice proves this to be as much a part of his being as hopelessly falling in love and driving his old friends up the wall. To wit, his act of sneaking into a wedding reception derails the whole time travel cover up and forces the villain to kill his accomplice earlier than intended, making it possible to catch him.
Surprise Witness: He realizes that he is a witness in a murder and busts into the courtroom just in time to stop a Miscarriage of Justice with his testimony. Even then, Phoenix had to correct several errors in Larry's testimony to make it useful.
Taking Advantage of Generosity: Phoenix never agreed to defend Larry for free; he just assumed. It's also sometimes hard to draw the line on where he's mooching off his girlfriends or being an extreme doormat to them (e.g. Kiyance's gifts & suggestions on how to run his hot dog stand).
Terrible Artist: Subverted. Both Phoenix and Edgeworth constantly insult his artistic abilities, but this is suggested to be a result of them being unable to get past the fact that Larry made them, as all other characters praise his work. This is supported in Investigations, where Edgeworth is nearly brought to tears by Larry's performance in a play when he didn't know that it was him, but then immediately scoffs at it after learning that fact. In Spirit of Justice, he's gained enough prestige as an artist for the influential Sprocket household to hire him as a wedding reception sign designer, something that Phoenix chalks up as the result of a fluke. He's also infamously known for his ability to create high-quality statue clocks, which are noted to be so well-made that a witness thinks it was sold in a shop.
Unfortunate Names: His last name is Butz, a misspelling of "butts". If his first name is corrupted by changing the "L" to an "H" like how Dick Gumshoe and Mia Fey did, you get a Punny Name that refers to hairy butts.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Played with; his gifting Mia the Thinker clock winds up giving Redd White the ideal murder weapon. However, White would otherwise have probably just killed Mia with whatever he had to hand, and his and April May's knowing details they shouldn't have known about the clock ends up exposing their guilt.
Vitriolic Best Buds: His relationships with both Phoenix and Edgeworth can be summarized as this. In Edgeworth's case there's barely any friendship at all. Notably, Phoenix's opinion of him seems to gradually drop throughout the series, initially seeing him as a well-meaning goofball in the first game before acknowledging him as an obnoxious liar that he can barely tolerate in the third.
With Friends Like These...: Generally, more of a liability and mooch than an ally. He does genuinely care about both Phoenix and Edgeworth, just less than he does about himself.

Frank Sahwit (Hoshio Yamano)

Voiced by (Japanese): Shinya Takahashi (anime)

Voiced by (English): Ben Phillips (anime)

Played by: Ayumu Saito (live-action film)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frank_samwit.png

^{Click here to see him in Investigations 2}

A door-to-door salesman and the alleged sole witness of Cindy Stone's murder. This guy got the raw end of the deal when it comes to murderers in the series, for the same reason that a statement like that isn't a spoiler: he's blatantly shown to be the murderer of Cindy Stone before Phoenix even gets his name shown for the first time (bar the title screen on non-Japanese versions), and you can get him guilty without even having to press anything. He reappears in jail in the second case of Investigations 2, training as an animal groomer.

Bad Liar: Unlike most other murderers, whose lies only become obvious when presented with evidence they would otherwise be unaware of or forced to elaborate on their stories when being pressed, his contradictions are completely obvious. Much less so when he appears again in Investigations 2, where he still isn't an especially adept liar, but compared to the likes of Larry and Sebastian Debeste he's practically a master of deception.
Bald of Evil: Downplayed variant. Sahwitt is partially bald (though it's usually hidden with a toupee), but the evil part still stands.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
- In the original game, his remarkable politeness hides the fact that he's a petty criminal who's willing to get an innocent man convicted for murder to save himself.
- In Investigations 2, Sahwitt portrays himself as a genuinely changed man who is now a model prisoner and running a legitimate business doing pet grooming for the prison's animals. In reality, he's still an unrepentant thief and murderer, and is just behaving so to get a reduced sentence.
The Bus Came Back: Reappears in Investigations 2, a whole ten years after his sole appearance in the very first Ace Attorney game!
Chekhov's Gunman: A minor example in Investigations 2. He seems to be just another witness in "The Imprisoned Turnabout", only he turns out to have been an essential part in Dogen's prison goods operations.
Dodgy Toupee: His toupee makes him look younger by hiding his baldness. It'd likely be a lot more convincing if it didn't jump off his head whenever he gets surprised, though.
Eyes Always Shut: In the first phase of the trial with him, before he throws his toupee and sheds his facade.
Fake Ultimate Mook: Sahwit's first testimony is one of the longest in the entire series, having 10 different statements. It also contains one of the most obvious contradictions in the entire series.
Faux Affably Evil: Polite, friendly, and utterly amoral, Sahwit is not to be trusted at any time.
Flat Character: In "The First Turnabout", he doesn't get much time to get a unique personality due to how short the case is. His return substantially fleshes him out, while surprisingly changing very little about him.
Hand Rubbing: Does it all the time, which in Japan is a sign of someone trying to suck up to his superiors.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Frank reveals that "The Thinker" is a clock, something he would not have known if he had not entered Cindy's room (which he claimed not to have done).
Improvised Weapon: He clubbed Cindy Stone with the “Thinker” clock.
Ironic Name: He's anything but frank, and he didn't just see the murder, he committed it.
Non-Standard Character Design: Heavily averts the Mukokuseki art style typical of the series, which is probably why he was given a Southeast Asian-sounding surname in the English version as opposed to the European-style names most characters get.
Not Me This Time: Played With in Investigations 2. Despite being the killer in the first case, he's not the killer when he reappears. However, he's their accomplice.
Punny Name: "Frank saw it" and his name is Frank Sahwitt. Phoenix even lampshades this.
Phoenix: Proof enough for you, Mr. Sahwit? Or should I say... Mr. Did It!
Retcon: He's 36 in the first game, but in Investigations 2, which takes place 3 years later, he's 47. Recent re-releases of the original trilogy change his age to 44 accordingly.
Robbing the Dead: Planned to rob Horace Knightley's corpse in Investigations 2, particularly his ring with a snowflake design.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: His attempt at running a legitimate pet-grooming business when he's served his prison sentence goes out of the window when his sentence is extended for being an accomplice to prison goods smuggling. He outright gives up after that.
Starter Villain: The very first culprit of the series, and the one with very obvious contradictions in his testimonies.
Stepford Smiler: When wearing the wig he smiles perpetually, but he does so to conceal his crimes.
Stupid Evil: Up there with Furio Tigre and Terry Fawles. Frank is as abysmal at killing someone as he is at lying. Phoenix only has to sit back and watch as Frank digs himself into a corner.
Suspiciously Specific Denial: Practically the master of this in AAI2. The whole Logic Chess battle against him pretty much consists of waiting for him to make one and catching him out on it.
Sahwit: I-If you're looking for the person who discovered the body... You should try someone else...
Took a Level in Badass: His time in jail has made him a slightly better liar, and he's able to put up a much tougher fight than his first appearance. Though this could be due to Patricia Roland feeding him lies and information.
Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: In Investigations 2, he's one of the more lighthearted villains, being rather ineffective and docile when compared to the ruthless sociopaths that Edgeworth encounters throughout the game. This also proves to be a direct constrast to Patricia Roland, who is possibly one of the darkest villains in the series.
Villainous Breakdown: After enough holes get poked through his testimony, Frank angrily throws his toupee at a displeased Wright (and Edgeworth in AAI2) and then froths at the mouth like he has rabies, before collapsing. He doesn't do the latter in AAI2.
Wake-Up Call Boss: In Investigations 2, his Logic Chess forces Edgeworth to shift tactics as he doesn't change his facial expressions and body language at all unless he's caught in a lie unlike the previous Logic Chess opponents. The strategy is to pay attention to what he says.
Warm-Up Boss: As he is the first culprit in the entire series, his case is the only one in which you never need to press a statement to find contradictions (pressing is instead explained in the next case). He's also probably the easiest culprit to defeat in the entire series.

The Bellboy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bellboy_1.png

"From hence forth I will be known as the 'bellboy who swore the affidavit'!"

The head bellboy of the Gatewater hotel. While never given a name, he is nevertheless an important witness in the second case of the first game.

Ascended Fanboy: The Bellboy is overjoyed both times a murder occurs in or near the Gatewater Hotel.
Continuity Cameo: As well as his main appearance in 1-2, he appears briefly in 1-5, is referenced occasionally by Phoenix, Shelly de Killer wears his outfit in the second game, and in Investigations, he appears as the real Proto Badger.
Demoted to Extra: In the anime, he never gets to testify and only appears to tell Phoenix that Redd White was with April May at the hotel in the day Mia's murder happened.
Distracted by the Sexy: Done on purpose by April May.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": We never hear his true name.
Flat Character: He exists mainly to be a witness who isn't evil and give the player an introduction to cross examinations against characters who aren't killers.
Jumpscare: In his cameo in Investigations, he nonchalantly pops out of a trapdoor floor backstage at Whitewater Park to prepare for an event. Not helping is that he was dressed as the real Proto Badger.
Nice Guy: He's friendly, polite, and helpful, a rarity for witnesses.
Nightmare Fetishist: He gets really into the idea that a murderer might have stayed at the Gatewater, though he claims it's because there's No Such Thing as Bad Publicity.
No Name Given: His is a particular case in the series as he does not even have a fake name or is called by his alias — he is just the bellboy.
Put on a Bus: Despite Case 2-4 starting in a Gatewater Hotel, he doesn't make an appearance. You'd think he would be all over it, given his unbridled enthusiasm for anything related to both hotels and murder. (Somewhat justified, since he doesn't work at the Gatewater Imperial Hotel where 2-4 takes place)
Saying Too Much: While he was merely being used to make an alibi, he screws it up anyway after rattling off the price of the room service order he brought to April May's room, Phoenix freaks out at the price of seemingly one hot chocolate, only for The Bellboy to instinctively reaffirm that the total bill was that high because it called for two of them.
Spanner in the Works: He accidentally states in court that April May was not alone in Gatewater Hotel when Edgeworth told him to not say that. This allows Phoenix to track down Mia's murderer.
Wrong Genre Savvy: When he's not being a Nightmare Fetishist, he seems to think he's in a straightforward murder mystery instead of the Animesque Ace Attorney.

Will Powers (Saburo Niboshi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Shota Yamamoto (anime)

Voiced by (English): Chris Rager (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/willpowers.png

"The Steel Samurai is the lead character in a popular kid's show. He walks the streets of Neo Olde Tokyo... Fighting battle after battle against the Evil Magistrate and his minions. Of course, he never really defeats the Evil Magistrate. Although... I guess he did defeat him this time..."

A TV star, and the first client Maya assisted Phoenix defending. Most well-known for his role as the Steel Samurai. He's also a total sweetheart. Appears again in 2-4 and in an Investigations 2 case, both of which have something to do with show business.

All of the Other Reindeer: No one seems to ever let him forget his brutish appearance. Oldbag in particular.
Animal Motifs: Phoenix compared him to a lion in 2-4. His hairdo and buff physique probably helps in that comparison.
Apologises a Lot: Taken to hilarious levels when you present Pearl's picture to him in case 2-4, since both of them have this trope, when he tries (and fails) to guess her relationship to Phoenix and Maya.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Subverted, and hard. Befitting his kindhearted nature, Powers is one of the few witnesses in the series to be entirely honest and informative in his testimony. Which makes it all the more awful that Phoenix is forced to desperately find faint contradictions in an attempt to buy time for Maya's rescue.
Big Brother Mentor: Describes himself as one to Matt Engarde.
Broken Pedestal: Jack Hammer was his role model. Hammer accidentally killed someone and, while trying to kill Dee Vasquez, tried to frame Will Powers for it out of jealousy.
The Bus Came Back: Twice. After appearing as the defendant in Case 1-3, he disappears for the rest of the game, as most defendants do. However, he reappears in Case 2-4, and even later on, in Investigations 2.
Butt-Monkey: At one point Dee Vasquez notes that he's so ordinary looking, he's sometimes left behind by mistake when the rest of the company comes back from a trip.
Carpet of Virility: To match his large, mane-like hair, he's got a hairy, masculine chest.
Cross-Cast Role: In-Universe; he plays the titular Pink Princess in a new show, although it helps that the costume is also a full bodysuit like the Steel Samurai.
Demoted to Extra:
- He's the defendant of "Turnabout Samurai" and plays a major role in "Farewell, My Turnabout" as a key witness, but his third appearance in "The Grand Turnabout" sees him as a mostly superfluous character there to give a bit of exposition. Penny ends up with more lines than him.
- He does show up in the anime for "Farewell, My Turnabout", but only in the beginning. He disappears completely for the rest of the arc.
Face of a Thug: A Running Gag for him. Poor guy. He almost breaks into tears when Pearl says that she thinks his face makes him look kind. A rather foolish cop made this mistake and arrested him in case 2-4 as someone who must have done something. Upon interrogation, he is cleared and promoted from suspect to that case's star witness. Earlier, in case 1-3, Maya sees him and immediately says:
Maya: Um, maybe I shouldn't be saying this… But he definitely did it. Murder. At least once. Maybe twice.
Fall Guy: Hammer intended to make him this; let's just say it didn't quite work out as planned, especially once Phoenix takes his case.
Friend to All Children: He doesn't just play the role of the Steel Samurai for the money, he also does it because he loves being someone for kids to look up to. In fact, the reason he never publicly revealed himself as the Steel Samurai is because he didn't want to scare the children with his intimidating appearance.
Genre Savvy: When pressed in a part of his testimony in "Farewell, My Turnabout", he expresses concern how Phoenix managed to get a witness a Guilty verdict during every previous trial, and if that means he's going to get falsely blamed himself.
Gentle Giant: He's a big guy with the Face of a Thug, but he's probably the sweetest guy you'll ever meet.
Gossipy Hens: Rare male example. Despite being a celebrity himself, Powers loves celebrity gossip, seeing the world of celebrities as glamorous. Of course, that's partially because the poor guy perpetually has an outsider's perspective due to his appearance and meek personality.
Hero Antagonist: As a result of becoming the prosecution's star witness in case 2-4, he becomes this because Phoenix is Forced into Evil by Shelly de Killer's Blackmail. He testifies truthfully unlike most witnesses you encounter in the Ace Attorney series from the get-go, and the only things that Phoenix can contradict are rather minor errors.
Heroic Build: Extremely tall and buff. This is used as evidence against him in "Turnabout Samurai", since he's seemingly the only one who could've worn the very large and bulky Steel Samurai suit and kill the victim. That is, until it turned out the victim himself, who is of a very similar build, was the one who wore the suit.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: He doesn’t think very highly of himself, as evident by some of his lines in 2-4.
Horrible Judge of Character: Most of the time, Will simply can't believe who the real culprit is in a case because it's someone he trusts as a coworker. He just doesn't see the worst in people.
Informed Deformity: His face, while rough, doesn't seem frightening to the viewer at all. Although this might simply be a case of him thinking he's genuinely ugly, and the only one who really rags on him for it is Wendy Oldbag.
I Owe You My Life: He is eternally grateful for being saved in case 1-3, which is why he invites the heroes along to the awards ceremony in case 2-4.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: While his most famous role was the heroic Steel Samurai, he also played The Mighty Moozilla.
Nice Guy: Truly one of the most gentle and kind-hearted characters in the series. He is so nice that he is one of the few witnesses in the Ace Attorney series that testifies truthfully on the stand from the start, leaving only minor errors for Phoenix to contradict. Upon learning that the victim of 1-3 was jealous of him being the main hero of the Steel Samurai, Powers admits that if Hammer told him about this, he would've been glad to swap places with him.
People in Rubber Suits: Reappears in Ace Attorney Investigations 2 to play the title role in the new Moozilla movie. The suit was also used for less pleasant reasons, but not by him.
Punny Name: He's got willpower. "Niboshi" is dried sardines (yes, it's ironic). "Saburo" means "third son" or "three lights" depending on the kanji and could also be a pun with "niboshi" which could also be read with other kanji as "two stars."
Wholesome Crossdresser: After the events of case 1-3, he stars as the title character of The Pink Princess: Warrior of Little Olde Tokyo.
Younger Than He Looks: He's 23 in his first appearance, making him younger than Phoenix, not that he looks the part.

Wendy Oldbag (Kaoru Ohba)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yuu Sugimoto (anime)

Voiced by (English): Anastasia Muñoz (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wendyoldbag.png

"Shush! I'm talking to my dear Edgey-Wedgey right now! Don't interrupt us, gramps!"

A hard-ass old woman who for some reason is a security guard, and another one of the series' frequent witnesses. Goes on long-winded rants at a moment's notice, and has a thing for soon-to-be dead actors and Edgeworth, the latter of whom (un)affectionately dubs her the "wicked witch of the witness stand".

Abhorrent Admirer: To Miles "Edgey-Poo" Edgeworth, who is usually the sole target of her affection. She also start swooning for Lang at some point but she insists to herself she's Edgeworth's girl.
Affectionate Nickname: "Edgey-Poo", for Edgeworth.^note"Michan" in Japanese for Mitsurugi. It's as cringe-worthy as Edgeworth thinks it is.
Berserk Button: Inverted. She usually calms down when Edgeworth shows up. For Edgeworth, though, she serves as his Trauma Button.
Big Damn Heroes: A very unexpected one alongside Larry in "Turnabout Ablaze". The two manage to show up just in time to prevent Alba from making good on one of his many attempts to get out of the embassy. Oldbag then proceeds to deliver a piece of evidence that is so crucial to proving he murdered Coachen that, for once, Edgeworth feels nothing but genuine gratitude towards her.
Blush Sticker: Pops up at the thought of her latest celebrity obsession. Best not thought about at any length.
Continuity Cameo:
- Only appears in the third game in the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue. She still wears the astronaut costume for some reason.^note
- She appears in a trailer for Apollo Justice, despite her not showing up in the game. An old woman that appears in Case 2 resembles Oldbag in both looks and attitude, but it's never confirmed to be her. It was supposed to be her, but this ended up an Orphaned Reference.
- She appears in the Japanese trailer advertising the DLC case for Spirit of Justice despite not showing up in that either.
Dirty Old Woman:
- She make several lecherous comments towards Edgeworth, much to his embarrassment and disgust.
- She also mistakes Shi-Long Lang's polite request for questioning as if it also were a pick-up line. She insists she's loyal to Edgeworth, however, even if she does say the thought was somewhat tempting.
- Her fangirlism towards Juan Corrida has shades of this.
Donut Mess with a Cop: A security guard, but she's quite fond of donuts.
Fan Disservice:
- Investigations puts her in an extremely busty Pink Princess outfit.
- You get to collect her undershirt as evidence. Edgeworth is rightfully shaken by the very thought.
Flanderization: In the first game Oldbag, while unpleasable and prone to insulting people, did have a reasonable side, and even helped Phoenix once it's proven that Hammer was trying to frame Will Powers. Later appearances would make her more and more abrasive and obnoxious, and especially her adoration of Edgeworth.
Grumpy Old Man: She has a horribly bad temper.
Hoist by Her Own Petard: In "Turnabout Samurai", the reasons she gives for suspecting Will Powers when she's on the witness stand are eventually used by Phoenix to cast suspicion on her.
Horrible Judge of Character: Her choice in celebrity crushes aren't exactly the best people to put faith in. Jack Hammer was a man who committed manslaughter and planned to pin the blame on his co-star after his attempted murder of Dee Vasquez after all. Not learning her lesson, she falls for Juan Corrida in the second game, a man so vain that he broke up with his fiance to avoid Matt Engarde scoring a point on him and used her suicide to boost his own career instead of bring Engarde to justice. Her Undying Loyalty to these two Asshole Victims naturally makes the case much more difficult.
Hypocritical Humor:
- She will occasionally make comments about the judge being old. For obvious reasons, she has absolutely no room to talk.
- In Investigations, she complains about a stalker letter she received (which was actually intended for someone else)... while she's been sending Edgeworth flowers for years.
I Was Quite a Looker: Or so she says. In the manga, her grandmother Wendolyn is channeled and everyone mistakes her for Wendy because they look just like each other. There is an image of her as a younger girl, and if this can be used as an example, then it's actually true.
Jerkass: Very reluctant to give help, especially if she thinks you're trying to smear the name of someone she adores. Usually you have to pay her off with something to get her to talk and even then she won't say it nicely.
Jerkass to One: While she’s not very nice to anyone outside of Edgeworth, she seems to be rather harsh toward Powers in general.
Leitmotif: She doesn't technically have a specific leitmotif, but "Noisy People" from Investigations tends to play specifically in scenes involving her.
Motor Mouth: To the point of Edgeworth raising an objection to stop one of her near-infinite rambles in the first game. It gets pretty silly in JFA when she goes into one of her sprees while in an airtight helmet. This doesn't change in the anime, where she speaks at an annoyingly fast pace.
Mystery Magnet: People keep getting murdered in or near areas that she has been in except for the courtroom. She is not culpable in any of them, but that doesn't stop Phoenix from suggesting she should stop being a security guard in "Farewell, My Turnabout", for other people's sake.
New Job as the Plot Demands: She's a security guard in all of her appearances save Investigations, but she has a new employer each time, including two over the course of 2 days in Investigations.
Old Windbag: To everyone's dismay, especially Phoenix's in the first case she appears in and Edgeworth's afterwards. Even her name is a pun on that, and the lampshades fly thick and fast.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- In Case 1-3, she goes silent and very calm the moment you irrevocably prove the victim (who she idolized) drugged the defendant shortly before he was murdered. She then proceeds to tell you VERY important information without ever raising her voice or spilling into a ramble. It is the only time in the entire series she acts this way.
- In the manga, she pleads with Phoenix to defend Julie, insisting that she couldn’t have murdered Flip. Maya notes that she's "never seen Ms. Oldbag like this".
- In the anime adaptation of Case 1-3, the moment she gives the information to Phoenix and Maya is after hearing Cody Hackins' heartfelt speech in court about how heroes are supposed to fight for justice. Notice that before this she had a huge spike on her shoulder against him for constantly sneaking into the studio.
Punny Name: Last name refers to the term "old bag" for an ugly old woman, and combined with her first name, also applies to her long-windedness ("windy old bag"). Her Japanese name is a combination of "old lady" ("obachan") and "idiot" (Oh Bakaoru).
Red Herring: She is this in her first appearance in "Turnabout Samurai". In the previous two cases, the first witness to accuse the defendant turned out to be the real murderer and conspirator helping the real murderer, respectively. Additionally, she is immediately hostile to Phoenix and Maya. Those two facts in combination make her the most obvious suspect to anyone expecting the case to follow the same formula as the first two, but in the end it turns out her testimony is mostly accurate (Save for a lie of omission only indirectly related to the case.) and she has nothing to do with the murder.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: She accuses Matt Engarde in Case 2-4 of being Juan Corrida's murderer because he's an evil person that wanted to get close to Juan and his manager to cause an scandal. Only the "wanting to cause a scandal" part is wrong, in fact Matt's motive was to avoid a scandal (although Matt had someone else commit the murder for him).
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: She rambles on and on about insignificant points, and gets pissed when anyone asks her to keep on track, and often calls poor Nick a "whippersnapper".
Scrolling Text: At very fast speeds.
Spanner in the Works:
- She provides critical information in "Turnabout Samurai", first by revealing to the courtroom that Hammer, Powers and herself weren't the only ones present in the studios at the time of the murder, and then by telling Phoenix how Vasquez ended up being so controlling over Hammer, that allow Phoenix to find the true killer in the case.
- Manages to be such a major one in "Turnabout Ablaze" that it actually manages to get Edgeworth to thank her. Had she not held onto the specific box of Samurai Dogs that Alba bled on, there would be no way to dispute his claims of merely being lost on the way to the bathroom, which would keep Edgeworth from being able to decisively link him to Coachen's murder in the dressing room.
Third-Person Person: In the Japanese version she always calls herself the very cutesy "Oba-chan".
Unfortunate Names: Merely calling her by her last name ends up sounding like an insult to her age. Interestingly, she is identified in the text box by her last name, rather than "???" like everyone else, even before you learn her name. Maybe because it's a Meaningful Name.
Unreadably Fast Text: Once she gets going, it's nearly impossible to keep up.
Vague Age: Always written as "???". An easy to miss line in 2-4 reveals she stopped counting.
Zero-Effort Boss: Of a sort in Justice for All. Four psyche-locks appear when she is asked about what she witnessed on the night of the murder and she refuses to speak about it unless you get her a present. Because she adores Juan greatly, all it takes is showing her his autograph to her to break all four locks at once.

Penny Nichols (Yumiko Mamiya)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pennynichols.png

"I don't care what kind of girl you might think I am; I need that card!"

An assistant for Global Studios who was present the day of Hammer's murder. Despite this, she doesn't play much of a role.

Ascended Fangirl: A big Steel Samurai fan, who gets to work at the studio where it is recorded.
Bespectacled Cutie: She wears big round glasses, contributing to her cute, dorky nature.
The Bus Came Back: Like Sahwit, Penny finally returns in the final case of Investigations 2 after a 10-year hiatus from the series. Unlike Sahwit, her role is only marginally more important there than in the original Ace Attorney. Even Edgeworth barely remembers who she is.
Contrived Coincidence: Like Cody Hackins, she collects Steel Samurai trading cards. She was looking for an Ultra Rare card that Cody happened to have a double of and was willing to give it away, and she herself was willing to trade an Ultra Rare Premium that Cody was looking for.
Demoted to Extra: The anime severely reduces her already small role by not giving her any spoken lines, and she only gets occasional shots.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her name is only directly mentioned once in "Turnabout Samurai". Every other time she's mentioned, she's just "the assistant". Even her profile is "Assistant", and only mentions her real name in the details.
Fangirl: She flips out when she discovers that Phoenix has the last Steel Samurai trading card she needs.
Flat Character: Word has it the reason why she was even included in Investigations 2 was because of a popular in-joke among the staff as to who even remembered her, due to her incredibly insignificant role.
The Generic Guy: She's possibly the most 'normal' and well-adjusted person in the entirety of Ace Attorney. The fact that having a grounded look and personality makes her stand out in this wacky Cast of Snowflakes is likely the main reason she is remembered in the fandom at all, and her small appearance in Investigations 2 plays up her basicness.
The Klutz: Implies that she's this during a conversation with Phoenix and Maya, stating that when she handles the props, they tend to be in worse condition than they were before.
Only Sane Woman: of the employees we meet at Global Studios, she's the only one who seems completely well-adjusted, in comparison to Will's weepiness and self-esteem issues, Sal's horrific man-child tendencies, Wendy's anger issues, and Dee's dominating treatment of her staff.
Otaku: At least she is a much more adorable fan than the ugly Manella.
Punny Name: Pennies and nickels. "Mamiya" might be a pun on "mania".
Youthful Freckles: Understandably, as she's only 18.

Sal Manella (Takuya Uzai)

Voiced by (Japanese): Masato Nishino (anime)

Voiced by (English): Tyler Walker (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/salmanela.png

"I try not to pay much attention to things that don't interest me. LOL."

Director of the Steel Samurai. He embodies the typical image of an obsessive teenage (despite being 32) geeky fanboy, in both appearance, personality, and mannerisms.

Abhorrent Admirer: To poor Maya.
Adaptational Heroism: In the anime, Vasquez moves the victim's body by herself, leaving him out of the loop.
Big Eater: Eats quite a lot.
Compressed Adaptation: The anime removes Vasquez's Fetch Quest for a missing script, which is instead changed to him finding it when first introduced.
Crush Filter: In the anime, his first look at Maya has him see her with a more adult body, then reimagines that as a busty kimono-clad Magical Girl, prompting him to think up plans for a new show called "The Pink Princess".
Does This Remind You of Anything?: The anime shows how he's basically abused by Dee Vasquez, such as making him into a human footstool… while he still is overjoyed writing a script on the floor.
Extreme Doormat: Powers and Oldbag describe him as a masochistic suckup to Vasquez willing to do literally everything she says, explaining why he helped move Hammer's body.
Fat Idiot: Evidently he has some talent given his work as director, but the majority of his screentime shows that when outside of his work he's not exactly bright.
Gonk: Is a fat slob with obviously poor hygiene and odious habits.
Leet Lingo: His speech is littered with emoticons, LOLs, and 1337s. He even manages to speak a ":(" at the thought of having not been able to eat a T-bone steak. When he's speaking seriously, though, this gets downplayed to just occasional usage, rather than every other word — thankfully, since trying to decipher actually important information from this kind of speech would just be frustrating.
Karma Houdini: If the success of his new show Pink Princess and his cameo in Investigations are of any indication, he somehow gets away with aiding and abetting Dee Vasquez in her coverup of the manslaughter of Jack Hammer and related attempt to frame Will Powers for Hammer's death. While carrying out these acts, he unambigously committed the crimes of conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to incriminate someone on false charges, tampering with a crime scene, and perjury. In any remotely realistic scenario, he would by all means have been charged as Vasquez's accomplice, but for some reason this is never acknowledged.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: It took being silently intimidated by Edgeworth to get him to speak normally. Well, most of the time, but it made his Witness Testimony a lot easier.
Nerds Are Pervs: Sal Manella, the director of The Steel Samurai, is a sweaty otaku who speaks in Leet Lingo and meme references. He's also disgustingly lustful, literally drooling over the teenage Maya and having a Power Dynamics Kink for his abusive producer, Dee Vasquez. This apparently works its way into his shows at time, as the studio turned down some of his scripts as "not appropriate for children."
Precision F-Strike: He says "WTF" when you first meet him. Later, he says "My ass is p0wned if I don't find [the script]". Especially noticeable as the games generally keep their dialogue swear free.
Punny Name: He's as sickening as salmonella. "Takuya" comes from "otaku", and "Uzai" is slang for "annoying", so all together his name is a pun on "annoying otaku."
What Happened to the Mouse?: His fate is never revealed after it's revealed that he helped Dee Vasquez move Jack Hammer's body. Despite that, he was able to get Pink Princess into production and it became a success. He is seen again in Investigations eating lunch, but it's a cameo appearance that has no relevance to the plot.

Lotta Hart (Natsumi Ohsawagi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Reiko Takagi (anime)

Voiced by (English): Whitney Rodgers (anime)

Played by: Mitsuki Tanimura (film)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lottahart.png

"Hey! You! Hold on, now! This gal's got a few questions to ask!"

Freelance photographer with a southern accent and a lotta hair. She occasionally appears as a witness when trying to capture some paranormal event or other hot gossip.

Adapted Out: Lotta does not appear in the anime version of "Farewell, My Turnabout". Larry takes her role.
Ascended Extra: She goes from a spriteless cameo and a single line in the final case of Investigations to having a significantly larger role in the last two cases of the sequel.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Played with. Lotta is actually quite truthful in her testimonies and rarely lies. The problem is she's also prone to make some very absurd assumptions, and her incredibly misleading photos do not help.
Berserk Button: Lotta loves her camera. She always has it, and does NOT like seeing any abuse come to it, she will go nuts if it does. The first time you run into her she screams at you because you wasted all of her film by setting off the camera she was using. Maya forces Phoenix to pay for the expenses.
Bootstrapped Leitmotif: Her theme, "Simple Folk", was also used as Larry Butz, and April May's theme in the first game, before becoming attached to Lotta ion the second.
Camera Fiend: As noted above, she's never without her trusty camera.
Convenient Photograph: In every single case she's ended up in, because she has her camera on hand or somewhere in the vacinity, there's always a photo that shows exactly what happened or has a vital clue. Even though her photos aren't always clear, they're clear enough and have the relevant details necessary to help solve the case.
Dumbass Has a Point: Manages to correctly identify the murderer in Case 2-2; Ini Miney, by pointing out that if Maya is innocent, she's the only one who doesn't have an alibi. In the same case, she's the only one who calls Franziska out on whipping people, and tries to get the judge to do something about it.
Failed a Spot Check:
- Much of the first day of the trial in 1-4 involves establishing that she could not have seen the murder in question, due in part to not looking at the boat.
- "There ain't no way anyone was hangin' out behind that foldin' screen!" This is a subversion because there's good reason she couldn't see anyone. Maya was hidden in a box, and the person who had been hiding there was out in front, pretending to be Maya.
Fiery Redhead: She has a red afro and she gets angry quite often, either at something Phoenix did or something bad that happens to her.
Funny Afro: In the second game, she asks if you remember her name. "Lotta Hair" is one of the possible answers. Pearl remembers her as that woman with "cotton candy" hair.
Going for the Big Scoop: This is Lotta's ONLY reason for being on ANY of the crime scenes she shows up at.
The Idiot from Osaka: Lotta plays this trope straight with her brash personality, though she claims the stereotype is completely wrong — it's just her who acts that way. In the US version, she's the Idiot From the South, instead.
Intrepid Reporter:
- Subverted. She thinks she's this, but she doesn't really do any hard digging for info, and she contemplates a career switch whenever the going gets rough.
- Case 4 of Investigations 2 has this played straight, where she, along with Nicole Swift, personally track down the black market auction at the P.I.C. offices in the Grand Tower.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Lotta isn't exactly what one would consider the nicest person in the world. In fact, the first time you find her she not only seems ABSOLUTELY NUTS but is loud and rude. Until you tell her she might be a witness to a murder. Despite being hot-tempered and sassy, she's actually one of the most willingly helpful recurring characters.
Laughing Mad: Happens once in case two in the second game. It scares the heck out of Phoenix Wright.
Leitmotif: "Blissful People". While she also shares it with other characters in the first game, it becomes associated solely with her from Justice For All onward. She even has this as her theme in Investigations 2, which otherwise uses its own set of "People" themes.
New Job as the Plot Demands: Lotta keeps cycling through photography-related careers as she appears throughout the original trilogy. This leads to her being near the crime scenes and taking incredibly important photographic evidence, while also leading to her being a witness.
Paparazzi: After Case 2-2, Lotta decided to pursuit a career with "more glamour and less gore". Obviously, this was the next logical step.
Punny Name: She's got a lot of heart, especially for photography and her camera. "Ohsawagi" means "big commotion". When she shows up in 2-2 and asks if you remember her name, one of the gag choices is "Lotta Hair" playing off her actual name, and her funny afro.
Self-Deprecation: Lotta is often pretty hard on herself. She often compares herself unfavorably to other Southerners. She also goes into a mini-Heroic BSoD in 2-2, for relatively trivial reasons, where she runs away from Phoenix yelling about how she's 'lower than garbage'.
Shutter Bug: Lotta always has her camera on hand and you can tell she's nearby either by her mouth or by her snapping photos. Except in case four of Justice For All when it was stolen by Wendy Oldbag.
Silly Walk: Or silly run. Her run-cycle in Investigations 2 is quite goofy, to be frank.
Spanner in the Works:
- Setting up her camera to automatically take photos upon hearing a loud noise in the first game ends up being critical to find out that the murder scene in a boat in Gourd Lake was actually a Frame-Up, and that the real murder happened earlier.
- It's implied that she's the one that took the photo that depicts the Yatagarasu flying between the two embassies in the final case in Investigations. It ends up helping prove how the two Primidux statues were switched.
- The killer in the fourth case of Investigations 2 may have never been caught were it not for Lotta sneaking into the black market auction. The picture she takes also manages to clue Edgeworth in to who the mastermind really is when what she believes to be Moozilla turns out to be the hot air balloon from the Berry Big Circus.
Stop Being Stereotypical: A weird case of this trope in the first game, in that she does it to herself. Specifically, when Phoenix and Maya first meet Lotta, Lotta admonishes them not to go thinking all Southerners are like Lotta, because "I'm the exception!"
Talks Like a Simile: Related to her Deep South stereotype.

Debuting in Justice for All

Maggey Byrde (Mako Suzuki)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yoshiko Ikuta (anime)

Voiced by (English): Dawn M. Bennett (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maggey_byrde.png

^{Click here to see her in Trials and Tribulations}

^{Click here to see her in Investigations}

"Next time we meet, I'll only be an "Unlucky Person", instead of a goddess!"

Policewoman-turned-waitress-turned-security guard-turned-unemployed with horrifyingly bad luck. Maggey has the dubious honor of being accused in three different trials (the second one was a mistrial, though). Her luck does seem to be looking up, when she helped close a case. Gumshoe has an obvious crush on her.

Adaptational Late Appearance: She doesn't appear in Season 1 of the anime due to "The Lost Turnabout" being skipped. Season 2 has it as the premiere episode to tie in with "Recipe for Turnabout".
Bespectacled Cutie: In the anime, she considers her glasses to be cute and "her mark of identity".
Born Unlucky: She fell from the 9th floor of a building as a baby, got hit by all sort of vehicles, got sick from all sorts of food, failed every test she has ever taken, lost every game of Tic-Tac-Toe she's ever played, was framed for murder three times (one of which was a mistrial)... She was even nicknamed Goddess of Misfortune as a child, and Lady Luckless by the time she reached college.
The Chew Toy: Maggey Byrde has a perpetual streak of bad luck, which culminated in her being accused of murder on three separate occasions.^note Maggey lampshades this a lot too, and considering her name is a pun on the magpie bird, known to bring bad luck, she's practically the female version of Larry. When she was six months old, she apparently fell off the balcony of her 9th floor apartment...
Cosmic Plaything: Maggey is convinced to be a victim of this trope, given her extreme bad luck. If it's not herself who suffers from her bad luck streak, it's someone close to her (such as Dustin Prince).
The Ditz: She is not a very smart girl, often failing to catch extremely obvious things such as when her lawyer obviously has amnesia or is a mafioso very badly impersonating her actual lawyer. Phoenix thinks it makes her a perfect match for Gumshoe.
Phoenix: Maggey and Gumshoe are like dumb and dumber.
Fair Cop: A very cute and kind-hearted cop.
Fangirl:
- Phoenix's business card is her most prized possession.
- The way she practically squees over Edgeworth in Investigations hints that she may be one for him as well.
- In the very least she has an affinity for the Blue Badger, as she wears Blue Badger shirts when she's not working.
Jerkass Ball: Maggey in 3-3 doesn't treat Gumshoe well for testifying against her despite the fact that it is his job in the first place; he only sees the staged murder, not the real one, unlike in 2-1 when she just passed him off as incompetent. They make up towards the end of the case though, and it stays that way in Investigations.
Inconsistent Spelling: A plot point — her name is "Maggey", as opposed to the more common "Maggie", which Richard Wellington learns the hard way when he tries to frame her for murder. (In the original Japanese, her name is written with nonstandard kanji)
Likes Older Men: Dated a fellow police officer no less than eight years older than her.
Meaningful Name: Her name is a reference to the magpie, a bird associated with bad luck. Very fitting for someone Born Unlucky.
Meido: Soon after her first trial, Jean Armstrong employed Maggey as a waitress at his restaurant. And the waitresses wear maid outfits.
My Nayme Is: In her first trial, this is a plot point. Dustin's killer heard it over the phone and mis-spelled it.
New Job as the Plot Demands: First she was a policewoman, then a waitress, and in Ace Attorney Investigations a security watcher. Explained in that she keeps getting fired, usually as a side effect of the murder case she's involved in.
Maggey: I wonder what my next job should be...? Ooh, this is actually kind of fun!
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In her first case, her finding a missing cell phone and promising to return it to its owner has her boyfriend killed and she gets framed for it.
No One Could Survive That!: She first fell off the window of her 9th floor apartment as a 6-month old baby, and it's only gone downhill from there. Seriously, surviving that almost contradicts her incredibly bad luck.
Ocular Gushers: Cries with sparkling tears of joy whenever something greatly pleases her.
Plucky Girl: Maggey is pretty strongwilled, considering she hasn't been broken apart completely with every misfortune she gets.
The Pollyanna: Despite all that's happened to her, she never seems to lose hope or become cynical, always hoping for that one moment of good luck.
Punny Name: Magpie birds are unlucky. 'One for sorrow...', as the rhyme goes. "Mako Suzuki" is a pun on "maketsuzuki", "continuing to lose".
Unluckily Lucky: The fact that she's managed to make it through all of the horrible misfortune in her life without ever seeming too much worse for wear is impressive. She even managed to get a Not Guilty verdict despite her attorney having amnesia throughout it.
Unwitting Pawn: In the first case of Investigations, she is tricked by Jacques Portsman to open Edgeworth's office's door, by placing his own office's door number on it, so that he can steal evidence from one of Edgeworth's cases.

Director Hotti/Hickfield (Hotta/Hikita)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drhotti.png

"Hmm, yes... Well, it's the quality, not quantity that counts. Uh huh..."

Actually, neither of those are his real names. "Director Hotti/Hickfield" is actually a patient of the Hotti/Hickfield clinics who routinely sneaks out of his room to steal the actual director's stethoscope and lab coat and wear them in order to try and fool visitors.

Adapted Out: He doesn't appear in the anime at all, with his info provision being instead shifted to Lotta's findings.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: A rather notable aversion. Throughout the entirety of case 2-2, he makes your job the least more difficult out of every single character, barring the defendant Maya — Morgan and Lotta testified against you; Pearl and Mia had Psyche-Locks; Ini was both of the above; and Gumshoe, Franziska, and the Judge were doing their jobs as normal, which typically means "against you". All this while providing you with some of the most crucial evidence to the case. The only thing you have to do with him is provide one or two bits of evidence and deal with his Verbal Tic.
Comedic Lolicon: He apparently has a thing for the 15-year-old Trucy, and is eager to "examine" (more likely "molest") Pearl in the Japanese version of Justice for All when she is 8 years old in that game.
Continuity Cameo: After helping Phoenix solve the mystery behind Case 2-2, he has brief appearances in Case 2-4 (only to get whipped by Franziska) and Case 4-2 (while under a different name).
Dirty Old Man: He really likes female patients, and is eager to take them off for "examination".
Dr. Psych Patient: While it's not stated what he's in for at both hospitals, everyone mistakes him for the real Director Hotti/Hickfield. Only Phoenix discovers the truth, but by Case 4-2, he just seems to play along.
Fourth-Wall Observer: He's somehow able to read Phoenix's inner monologue and comment on the static background of the Hotti Clinic.
The Ghost: In Dual Destinies's DLC case, "Turnabout Reclaimed", Apollo mentions talking to Director Hickfield in order to obtain information about a pill, but it's not known whether he refers to the real Director Hickfield, or this patient.
Gonk: Looks exceptionally ugly even for an old man. He looks almost like Sloth from The Goonies with broken teeth.
Ironic Name: Despite his name being "Dr. Hotti", he's not attractive by any means, and instead, he's the one looking after "hotties". Of course, that's not actually his name.
Leitmotif: The "Eccentric" theme plays when he appears in both Justice for All and Apollo Justice.
Too Kinky to Torture: Even harbors lust for Franziska von Karma; it's even implied he doesn't mind the whip. If Phoenix presents Franziska's profile to Hotti, he will say that he is jealous of Phoenix for getting whipped.
Vague Age: Unlike most characters who appear in the court record, his age isn't mentioned. The most you get is that he's an old man.
Verbal Tic: He adds "hmm, yes" to most of his sentences. Eventually it rubs off of Phoenix.

Regina Berry (Rika Tachimi, stage name Mirika)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yo Taichi (anime)

Voiced by (English): Jad Saxton (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reginaberry.png

"Alright! I look so cute in this picture! Don't you think I look cute? Don't ya? Don't ya?"

Russell Berry's daughter and animal tamer of the Berry Big Circus. Because of her sheltered life (in a circus, no less) and her father's protective upbringing, she has a very naïve outlook and doesn't really understand death (in the English version, she thinks that when people die, they become a star in the sky; in the Japanese version, she just thinks that they are in a deep sleep), even when her father doesn't hide the fact that he shot one of the lions with a rifle. Returns in Investigations 2's second case as a witness due to being asked to put on an animal show at the prison at the time of the murder. Has apparently taken on more responsibility in the circus but otherwise hasn't changed much.

Awful Truth: Moe brings her to the final trial to make her realise the truth behind her father's death, and that she's indirectly responsible for the events thus far.
Bishie Sparkle: She can summon it at will.
Break the Cutie:
- Moe ends up bringing her to court just so she could see everything that really happened because of her innocence, from the Deadly Prank that led to Bat's coma to her father's death.
- It ends up happening again in Investigations 2 when she finds out new circus member Simon, one of her closest friends, is far from who he appears to be.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer:
- Despite her naïveté, she's really good at taming and commanding all sorts of animals at quite a young age.
- She even manages to make an alligator that wasn't part of her troupe to open its mouth. It was so Edgeworth could retrieve the decisive evidence it was forced to swallow.
But Thou Must!: The way her beauty charms multiple characters into being completely agreeable with her is a Running Gag. It's enforced in-game when she asks Phoenix to get a vest that's important to her, as his responses to the request are all variations of "sure I will".
Cargo Ship: Invoked, with Trilo. She is unaware the Trilo's just a puppet and that Ben is the one who has feelings for her, but is still seriously considering "Trilo's" feelings.
Cartwright Curse: Aside from Maximillion's and Ben's affection for her, any legitimate chance of romance with her or even just being close friends ends up tragically falling short such as her accidentally putting Bat into a coma and Simon Keyes being a manipulative criminal.
Character Development: By her appearance in Investigations 2, she has not only become more responsible but retains her awareness of the reality of death and how it affects people, shown by her attempts at comforting Simon Keyes after the death of his childhood friend. Although the effort ends up wasted on Simon considering his true nature, she remained observant enough to provide proof that Simon was the middleman between Knightley and Dogen, and thus the one pulling the strings.
Cheerful Child: Has this air, and she even has a little "jumping up and down in glee" animation.
Children Are Innocent: Subverted. She's 16, which makes her a borderline Kiddie Kid, but she acts much younger.
Circus Brat: As the ringleader's daughter. It's given her a somewhat skewed view of reality.
Cloudcuckoolander: Due to her sheltered upbringing in the fantastic environment of the circus.
Cuteness Proximity: How she (unwittingly) wraps everyone around her finger.
The Cutie: In-universe. Is idealistic and innocent which is why she didn't comprehend the gravity of the situation around Acro's brother.
Deadly Prank: To Bat. Technically, he didn't die, but he's currently in a coma with little hope of waking up. This, combined with her overall naivety and the fact that she is blissfully unaware of the severity of what she did, is what lead Acro to try and kill her
Death Is a Sad Thing: Despite being a teenager, she's so sheltered that she still doesn't really understand death; in the Japanese version she thinks people who die are only in a deep sleep, while in the English localization she thinks people become stars when they die. This is played more darkly than most examples, as she doesn't realize that her prank on Bat was deadly enough to put him in a coma. Moe takes her to the trial in order for her to fully understand the consequences of her actions and that her father really isn't coming back. Naturally, this is very upsetting for her despite being a necessary lesson.
Dramatically Missing the Point: She doesn't guess that Acro's note was directed at her, even though he slipped it in her pocket (although the wording calls her a "murderer," whereas she was guilty of a Deadly Prank) and posts it on the cafeteria bulletin board.
Dude Magnet: Max, Ben, and Bat were all attracted to her. With Max being 21 and Bat being 22, the age difference isn't that big^note5 years and 6 years respectively, but depending on the country or region, that could bring legal issues. Ben, on the other hand, is a lot less understandable.
Dumbass No More: From an ingenue who innocently downplayed the effect of Bat's coma and the very concept of death while being blissfully ignorant of her part in effectively ruining Acro's life to taking full responsibility and comprehending the gravity of the situation by the time the trial is over, all in the span of a few days. By Investigations 2, she has a better head on her shoulders to the point of helping bring up vital evidence that was essential in taking down Simon Keyes.
Easily Forgiven: Thanks to her cuteness. This is part of why she doesn't realize that it's wrong to, for example, let a tiger stalk after Phoenix and Maya as a prank in their first meeting. Subverted, because her resulting naivety over the harm she committed in her little pranks is why Acro can't forgive her.
Establishing Character Moment: Pulling a prank on Phoenix and Maya by way of siccing her pet tiger on them for a good scare. Then when Phoenix and Maya express their condolences for her father's murder, Regina doesn't show any grief that a normal person would to their parent's sudden and recent death.
Even the Girls Want Her: Maya seems pretty interested.
Maya: Regina seems to be quite the hit with the men in the circus.
Phoenix: She must have some sort of strange power over them!
Maya: You're not kidding. Two people in one day! Even I want to profess my love for her!
Phoenix: (Me too! She's so cute...)
Regina: *giggle*
- Continues into Investigation 2, where Kay Faraday is immediately taken with her and wishes that she could join the Yatagarasu with her.
Fluffy Tamer: She's even capable of coaxing fearsome creatures that don't even belong to the circus into obeying her commands.
Friend to All Living Things: She cannot keep Money the Monkey under control, but she has no issue taming and befriending any other animal.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: A variation: It's not fanservice that attracts people to her, but her apparent cuteness. And she never notices the effect it has on others even once.
Innocently Insensitive: Played for Drama. Her ignorance about the true nature of death and cheerfulness after what Acro and Bat suffered pushed Acro over the edge, since she would keep making jokes about that prank she pulled on Bat... even though it clearly caused Bat severe brain damage, and she said these jokes to Bat's surviving brother.
It's All My Fault: What she says once the truth is uncovered in court. Accompanied by her finally opening the waterworks.
Lethally Stupid: Her naivety directly results in Bat having little to no chance to recover from his coma, and further indirectly leads to her father's death since she didn't realize that the note that was in her pocket was addressing her, leading to her father falling into Acro's lethal trap as he tried to protect his daughter.
Limited Wardrobe: Wears her circus outfit every time she's onscreen, even in court.
Love Triangle: Regina has/had the affections of three of the other performers: Bat, Max, and Ben/Trilo.
Magical Girl: Has the appearance of one, as well as toting a Sailor Moon-esque wand.
Meaningful Name: "Regina" means "queen", and she's currently the young princess of the Big Berry Circus.
Missing Mom: Died not too long after she was born.
Must Make Amends: Once Regina finds out the truth behind her father's death, and Phoenix explains why Acro was so desperate not to be caught, she vows to stay by Bat's side in Acro's place.
My God, What Have I Done?: Once she realizes the truth of what her Deadly Prank did to Acro, she breaks down into tears and blames herself for him and Bat going away. It's even worse in the anime when she breaks down after realizing her indirect role in Leon and her father's deaths as well as Bat's coma to the point she even says that she should be the one to go to prison.
Nice Girl: Though in her case her kindness is underlined by how utterly innocent and naïve she is.
Non-Standard Character Design: The way she's shaded, her eye design and her Regal Ringlets makes her look like she's straight out of a shoujo manga.
Oblivious to Hatred: She doesn't realize that Acro is less than fond of her, until the final day of the trial reveals that he'd tried to kill her. While Acro tries to downplay his disdain for Regina, Phoenix and Maya quickly notice how he feels about her.
Pepper Sneeze: Bat did this to her in the past, and she decided to return the favor... with disastrous results.
Regal Ringlets: Fits, given her Meaningful Name.
Spanner in the Works: In Investigations 2, she derails Simon Keyes' rebuttals twice via collecting the frequently-late mail including Horace Knightley's last written chess note proving that he had a connection with Simon, and revealing that he's in control of the rented freezer warehouse where he hid John Marsh and the fake Di-Jun Huang's body to throw off the time of death.
Spoiled Sweet: She's a kind person at heart, and Acro says this is because Russell was "too kind" to her.
Stage Names: Only in the Japanese script ("Mirika"), which is the combination of the last character of her family name (mi) and her given name (Rika). This was not localized for any other region so she simply goes as "Regina Berry" both on and offstage.
Stars Are Souls: Why she's not too broken up about her Dad's death. He told her that's what happened to Leon, her lion, when her father had to shoot him. She then started to believe that when anyone dies, they just go into the sky. In the Japanese version, she was told that the dead are just sleeping.
Take Me Instead: In the anime, she asks to be imprisoned instead of the culprit, since she blames herself for everything. The culprit refuses, taking full responsibility for the crime.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her innocent prank rendered Bat comatose, paralyzed Acro, got an old circus lion put down, and then six months later, sends both her father and Acro to their deaths. And she remains completely ignorant of all this until the very end of 2-3, where Regina finally realizes what she did to most of her family.

Adrian Andrews (Kirio Kamiya)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ayaka Asai (anime)

Voiced by (English): Mallorie Rodak (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adrian_andrews.png

^{Click here to see her in Trials and Tribulations}

"I hate to waste time, so let's get down to business."

Adrian first shows up as the stoic manager of Matt Engarde in the last case of the second game. She takes her turn as a suspect in the inevitable murder, and quite nearly gets convicted before mitigating circumstances get her off the hook. She is revealed in the process to be a lot more complex and troubled than her icy persona makes her out to be. Turned out to be popular enough to return in part three, this time with a much sunnier and clumsier personality.

Alliterative Name: Both names.
Ambiguously Lesbian: While it's initially assumed that she was involved with Juan Corrida, it's revealed that she was getting close to him in an attempt to recover the suicide note of Celeste Inpax. Her dependency on Celeste reads quite like unrequited love, and the implication becomes even more obvious when it is revealed that she tried to kill herself after Celeste's death. She then seeks a similar type of relationship with Franziska, which leads to them keeping in contact after the case is over and Franziska teaching her how to use a whip.
Bespectacled Cutie: She wears glasses and is a beautiful and endearing young woman, especially in Trials and Tribulations where she's a much more cheerful Cute Clumsy Girl.
Broken Bird: She lost her mentor, her pillar of strength, feels the world is out to get her because Matt and Juan got away with driving Celeste to suicide, and it's easy to see why she's this.
Bungled Suicide: After the suicide of her mentor, Adrian had tried to follow her to the afterlife out of despair, but apparently had failed in the past. Instead, she decided to take revenge on those who pushed her mentor to suicide.
Continuity Cameo: She shows up briefly during The Stinger of the film, though she doesn't have a speaking role.
Cute Clumsy Girl: Downplayed; Adrian really isn't that clumsy, but in Trials and Tribulations, her errors with the sacred Fey urn and her ensuing shame are played very sympathetically, and she looks both mortified and plain adorable in the artwork where she accidentally dropped it.
Dark Secret: Her attempted suicide because of the loss of her beloved mentor, and her dependent nature towards her mentor due to her crippling insecurities. Her secrets are so shameful that she would try again should anyone else find out.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Especially in the third game, when she's significantly more cheerful.
The Dog Bites Back: Turns out Matt and Juan had ruined her life, so she stabbed the latter's corpse and framed the former for the murder. Since he was guilty, it worked.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Andrews' mentor (and possible crush) kills herself, she's forced to work for a man she hates, has her mental illness exploited during court to get her to confess to a crime she committed with the intent of proving how evil Matt Engarde is, and she gets arrested. Despite this, she's portrayed as a deeply troubled woman with a kind heart under a harsh exterior. She gets released rather soon after her incarceration, gets a decent job, and becomes friends with Franziska. Adrian goes through hell, but finally gets everything she wanted.
Failure Knight: Swore revenge at Matt due to how he treated Celeste and took it in the good ending. Also took revenge on Juan for the same reason, desecrating his corpse.
Framing the Guilty Party: It backfires so hard that she finds herself accused of the crime she NEVER committed. However, if she had never done this, Matt Engarde would probably have escaped justice.
Gender-Blender Name: This is a plot point, as Shelly de Killer tries to frame Adrian for hiring him, but proves he never met her by referring to her with male pronouns. This also applies to her original Japanese name.
Important Haircut: She cuts her hair shorter and pulls it back when she appears in Trials and Tribulations, marking how she's made a 180 on her outlook.
Infinite Supplies: She breaks her glasses and pulls out a spare pair several times over the course of the second game. (Seven, to be exact.)
Ironic Name: 'Adrian" means 'the dark one'. She is one of the very few witnesses who frame a defendant out of hate and are innocent, and in fact she is the heroine of her story with him.
Leitmotif: "Reminiscencing ~ The Steel Samurai's Ballad," a Dark Reprise of the Steel Samurai's theme.
Living Emotional Crutch: Both Celeste Inpax and Franziska von Karma are this to her. Lampshaded in the Case Files, in which Phoenix suggests that if she's relying on Franziska's advice, she's still dependent.
Meaningful Name: 'Adrian' means 'the dark one', which probably refers to her clothes switch to black, and that she once was full of dark secrets.
Nice Girl: Starting from 'Trials and Tribulations' where she makes her second and last appearance in the game, she's a kind, open-minded and cheerful girl who's happy to help Phoenix, Pearl and Maya with giving information to find the culprit for the Urn stealing case
Not So Weak: She believes herself to be insecure and lacking in confidence due to her extreme dependency in others, to the point where she was once willing to follow her beloved mentor to the afterlife after Celeste's suicide. However, Adrian shows a surprising act of initiation and determination to take her revenge on Matt Engarde and Juan Corrida while bringing peace to Celeste Inpax who had taken her life because of the two, while drawing enough attention towards Matt Engarde to convince Phoenix Wright that his client is not as innocent as he seems, all by herself. Even Matt Engarde of all people, who considered her to be a weak person, seemed rather impressed with Adrian's plan to take revenge on him and Juan.
Old Shame: In-Universe. Her failed attempt at suicide fills her with great shame and she tells Phoenix that if anyone were to find out about it, she would rather die than to live with the shame.
Once an Episode: In Trials and Tribulations the Sacred Urn of Ami Fey got broken because of her...again. Fortunately, her guilt about this is the only problem she has in that game.
Related in the Adaptation: In the anime, Celeste is not just her mentor, she's her older sister. The stageplay adaptation also makes them family, with the added clarification that Celeste was her orphaned cousin and subsequently adopted by Adrian's parents.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Her belief that Engarde was responsible for Corrida's death was correct, but she didn't realize that he hired an assassin rather than carry out the crime himself. Needless to say, this leads to a lot of problems... but thankfully, it's also what allows for the circumstances to work out so that Engarde's crimes are exposed.
Shrinking Violet: Was this for the majority of her life, and tried to behave like her late mentor (who was The Stoic before her death) to cope with the loss and her low self-confidence. Her insecurities worsen during court as she is implicated for a murder she has never committed, to the point where she takes Franziska's advice and pleads the fifth in a desperate attempt to protect herself.
Spanner in the Works:
- Because she framed Engarde for Corrida's murder, he gets arrested, and de Killer ends up kidnapping Maya to force Phoenix to defend Engarde. Her absentmindedly taking de Killer's calling card from the crime scene, due to not understanding its purpose, didn't help matters. While this did create the whole mess that is Case 2-4, it's worth noting that by her actions, the police actually arrested the correct person for the first and only time the whole series!
- Her accidental breaking and smearing of the Kurain Sacred Urn in Case 3-2 ends up being a vital point to prove that the photo of Mask☆DeMasque "stealing" the Urn in Lordly Tailor was actually taken long before the actual theft took place.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Tries to be The Stoic, but ends up being this.
Sympathetic Murderer: ...or at least of stabbing someone who was already dead. Juan Corrida was already dead, but when she stabbed his dead body to Frame-Up Matt she didn't feel any regret because of what Matt and Juan did with Celeste.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Her appearance in Trials and Tribulations is much nicer and cheerful, showing that it's her true personality after completely defrosting. By Trials and Tribulations, she's recovered enough that smiling is her default expression.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her innocent act of taking what she didn't know was Shelly de Killer's Calling Card from the crime scene of Corrida's murder complicated trial proceedings enough to almost convict her of the murder itself, and made Phoenix think de Killer would kill Maya for his inability to get a Not Guilty verdict on Engarde. After the first trial day, Edgeworth calles her out on the problems her taking the card caused.
When She Smiles: Just like Lana Skye, she smiles for the first time in the end upon being found not guilty of murder.
Wild Take: Her glasses start to crack and then shatter completely, followed by her putting on a replacement pair.

Shelly de Killer (Sazaemon Koroshiya)

Voiced by (Japanese): Wataru Yokojima (anime)

Voiced by (English): Marcus D. Stimac (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shelly_dekiller.png

^{Click here to see him in Investigations 2}

"Alright, I'll tell you that much. My name is... de Killer."

A gentleman assassin from the second game. Polite, professional, and highly values honesty and trust between himself and his clients. His alias is John Doe (Tarou Tanaka) He appears in Ace Attorney Investigations 2 as a recurring character. While "Farewell, My Turnabout" spoilers are unmarked, AAI2 ones are not, so read at your own risk.

Adaptational Karma: Downplayed, but present in the anime. The entire court sees his face in a videotape recorded by Maya, and Phoenix comments at the end of the arc that it won’t be long before he's caught.
Affably Evil: Despite being an assassin, he's nothing but polite to the lawyers. Until he breaks down after finding out Matt blackmailed him, that is.
Anti-Villain: Not a good guy, but not someone who engages in pointless cruelty. He can even be reasoned with if you can understand his motivations.
Awesomeness by Analysis: In Investigations 2, not only does he point out a major contradiction between two pieces of evidence that puts doubt on Nicole Swift, he's the first to realise that President Di-Jun Huang is a fake during the first case after the latter refuses to try and stop Shelly from killing Knightley, whereas it took Edgeworth digging up a 14 year-old case in the final case to find this out himself.
Badass in a Nice Suit: Being a butler and an assassin, he's this.
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Phoenix and Edgeworth practically indirectly hire him against Engarde by proving that he's a traitor willing to blackmail him, scaring Engarde to take a Guilty verdict and release Maya.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: He is an incredibly dangerous assassin who has no qualms with what he does, or with holding an innocent for ransom. However, he DOES have a code of honor; he won't actually harm that innocent unless there is no ambiguity whatsoever that the person he's blackmailing has well and truly screwed him over, and everything he does in Case 2-4 is for his client, not himself. He also shows some regrets over having been forced to injure several police officers in an attempt to retrieve Engarde's tape. de Killer has rules, but they make little sense to most normal people.
The Butler Did It: Occasionally he does pose as a butler...
Calling Card: He leaves a card with the drawing of a pink shell in the places where he assassinated a target. This is one of his measures to protect his clients, as the presence of the card immediately draws attention to de Killer instead.
Character Catchphrase: "People are rarely what they appear to be."
Creepy Jazz Music: His theme, "Whim of a Murderous Gentleman" is a very smooth and slow tune befitting his classy, sinister nature.
Distinction Without a Difference: He claims, in the final case of Investigations 2, that he hasn't been spying over Edgeworth and Kay, but that he was just watching them while disguised as a salesman. Edgeworth can only react by thinking there's no difference between both things.
Dragon-in-Chief: He was hired by Matt Engarde to be his hitman, and becomes The Heavy for the entire case when he kidnapped Maya. He is also more competent than his client and makes him a pushover if he turns on him.
The Dreaded: Everyone is on the edge of losing their nerves when this guys’s around, even Edgeworth and the Judge. He also defeats Franziska, who could instill fear herself, by shooting her shoulder.
Due to the Dead: He respects the late Ethan Rooke, being one of the only few who managed to beat him in a fight, and his death led to him discovering the true nature of Di-Jun Huang.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- This is how Phoenix finally beats Matt Engarde, by proving to de Killer that he was planning to blackmail him with a video of the murder. This immediately has de Killer release Maya and all but explicitly say in court that if Matt Engarde isn't found guilty, he will kill him.
- Unlike some of the other assassins Engarde describes, he doesn't blackmail his client and it's part of his policy that he tries exceptionally hard to ensure they get off when things don't go as planned and his client gets charged. Which shows that he doesn't just hate traitors, but isn't a hypocrite either. That Matt is too cynical to believe this is actually arguably his biggest downfall.
- He is willing to go a long way to accommodate any extra conditions his client may have when requesting a hit (such as stealing a particular item belonging to the target, or committing the assassination at a specific time, place and date) but one thing he will never do is frame someone else for one of his killings and in fact states that, if his client attempts to do so behind his back, it would be grounds to terminate his contract.
Evil Counterpart: He functions as one to Phoenix, being another affable professional with weird hair and an extremely honorable and loyal attitude towards his clients, of which Matt acts as towards both of them. While Phoenix is a Crusading Lawyer, de Killer is an assassin feared by law enforcement. They are both among the foremost people in their respective fields, considered to be quirky but VERY competent. de Killer seems well-aware of this, since he hand-picks Phoenix to represent Matt and goes to extreme lengths to force him to do so.
Exact Words: de Killer speaks about trust between him and his client, and about honor. So, of course he lies about who his client is, Shelly never betrays his clients first.
Expressive Accessory: de Killer himself always wears a completely stoic expression, but his radio, which resembles his face, shows a lot of emotion, including hopping in anger, sweating oil, and exploding. His Ace Attorney Investigations 2 appearance mirrors this effect using an ice cream cone he carries.
Eyes Always Shut: Subverted, they look shut, but a very close look at his sprite reveals they're actually just extremely narrow, and he has a perpetual Death Glare at all times.
Failed a Spot Check: In "Farewell, My Turnabout", he makes the uncharacteristically careless mistake of referring to Adrian Andrews as a man since it's an unisex first name and because the subject of her gender never came up when she was being discussed while he was present. This slip-up allows Phoenix to prove he's lying when insisting that she was the one who hired him.
Final Boss: He's the final witness of Justice For All, and the final culprit along with his client.
Foil: To Phoenix. On the surface, they have very little in common. de Killer is composed and polite while Phoenix is often flustered and putting his foot in his mouth. However, they're both dedicated to their craft and fiercely believe in their clients. Proving to de Killer that Engarde betrayed both of them is what finally wins the case.
The Heavy: He's the main source of conflict and intrigue during "Farewell, My Turnabout", even though he's only acting in the interests of his employer, who's the real villain of the story.
High-Class Glass: None of his disguises or the various facsimiles of his face that crop up fail to include his monocle, and he speaks in a highly polite, polished tone.
Honor Before Reason: de Killer never kills out of spite, and only kills as instructed. The only times he kills for personal reasons are when a client betrays him, but he's never had to do it before. He has come close, though; Matt Engarde, who had intentions of blackmailing him, was saved by his conviction, while Simon Keyes, who purposely concealed information, was saved by a fellow assassin.
Horrible Judge of Character: He insists on meeting and speaking with potential clients face-to-face to gauge whether or not they're trustworthy. Funnily enough, the two clients we've seen him take in the series so far turned out to be anything but trustworthy. To wit: Matt Engarde intended to blackmail him with video footage of the very murder he was payed to commit, and Simon Keyes knowingly sent him at a decoy target. However, it should be noted that those clients are very good at hiding their true colors.
Horrifying the Horror: He scares both Franziska von Karma, who can intimidate anyone else with her whip, and Matt Engarde, a man who practically gloats over being the source of Celeste Inpax's suicide, getting away with a man's death, and inflicting untold emotional scars on Adrian.
Hypocrite: For all his talk about honor and honesty, he has no problem framing Adrian Andrews to cover up for his real client.
I Always Wanted to Say That: After telling Phoenix his conditions to returning Maya to him in Justice for All, he says "And don't think about callin' the cops!", which is something he wanted to say since he's playing the role of kidnapper. He admits it's not as good as he thought, but it still works out.
It's Personal: A ruthless assassin who normally only kills strictly for business, if by chance you somehow manage to earn his genuine ire, there won’t be a place on earth you can hide from his wrath. Matt Engarde, who decided to try and blackmail de Killer, learns this the hard way.
de Killer: For the honor of the de Killer name, even if it takes an eternity... I would follow that person to the ends of the earth to exact my punishment.
Karma Houdini: He gets away at the end of Justice For All, and in the epilogue announces that he'll be going abroad for a while, though anyone interested in his services can still contact him. He's still at large as of the end of Investigations 2.
Knight of Cerebus: In contrast to every other villain in the series before him, de Killer is ice cold and deadly-serious; he has barely any comedic moments to lighten the mood while he's on stage, and he has the singular distinction of being one of the only people in the series to get away with his crimes. The only reason he doesn't force Phoenix to either compromise his moral code or consign Maya to an early grave is that his own client backstabs him first, giving Phoenix a way to Take a Third Option. In short, the entire case serves to emphasize how incredibly dangerous this guy is, and the ending does NOT alleviate that in any way.
Legacy Character: Edgeworth mentions that Shelly is the fourth generation of the "de Killer" name. Amusingly, Shelly can even offer to make Phoenix into his apprentice/the next de Killer in his testimony.
Leitmotif: "The Whim of a Murderous Gentleman".
Mass "Oh, Crap!": He elicits this response in Investigations 2 in Case 5, when after Simon Keyes is exposed as the mastermind of the whole game, he casually walks right in to kill him for lying about his target, in front of no less than twelve other people currently present.
Mexican Standoff: Against Sirhan Dogen near the end of Investigations 2's Case 5, when de Killer arrives to kill Simon Keyes for betraying his trust.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Both of his known clients are secretly betraying him, and proving that Engarde is doing so is the key to defeating Engarde. In that case, Engarde becomes one of de Killer's targets in the Golden Ending.
Mr. Smith: He goes by John Doe in English, or Tarou Tanaka in Japanese. Both are exceedingly plain names that are commonly used as pseudonyms. (John Doe is also the legal alias used when a person's real name is not known or he specifically requests that it not be disclosed, and is most famous for being used for unidentified dead bodies the cops find).
Names to Run Away from Really Fast:
- de Killer?! Yeah, it's pretty obvious he's an assassin even before you meet him.
- The first three kanji in his name mean 'tiger,' 'wolf,' and 'death' respectively. His entire given name can mean 'The death house with tigers and wolves'.
Noble Demon: He stresses the professional part of being a Professional Killer through a personal code of honor & trust between him & his clients. Taking down Engarde involves proving Matt betrayed that trust.
Not Me This Time: Claims this in Case 1 of Investigations 2. Played with. He's telling the truth... but he did plan to kill the President before the actual case occurred and threw everything into chaos.
Not Worth Killing: In Investigations 2, despite being near him, Shelley outright refuses to kill President Di-Jun Huang despite being his target, as he figures out that he's really an impostor.
Obviously Evil: Highly suspicious at least. He looks like a stereotypical butler (who, we all know, Did It) but with a skunk stripe and a stitched seam down the middle of his face. Naturally, everyone is completely Genre Blind to the fact and no one really comments on his eye-catching look. Besides Will Powers, but Phoenix discredits his claims.
Overly Long Name: "Sazaemon Koroshiya" is nine kanji long (虎狼死家左々右エ門). Most names clock in at four, but he uses an unusually long name by Japanese standards, composed of a string of characters using very short readings.^note
Paper-Thin Disguise:
- His distinctive face means that his different attire does little to disguise him — but he makes sure few people know what he looks like, so it works anyways (except for the players). Lampshaded by one of the Ace Attorney Investigations 2 producers while discussing "John Doe" at a panel:
  "Mr. Doe... he's one of those people you just can't have a second game in a series without."
- It's commented on in Investigations 2. Edgeworth never actually met him face-to-face in "Farewell, My Turnabout", so it makes sense he falls for it. He still ends up mentally scolding himself once he finds out though, reminding himself he should have at least seen his picture come up in case files. This actually becomes a Plot Hole as well. How can Edgeworth not notice the signature shell of Shelly's Calling Card on the back of his ice cream outfit?
The Power of Trust: He strongly believes that there should be nothing but trust between him and his clients. Betraying his trust is a good way to end up as a target of his.
Professional Killer: Of the assassin variety.
Punny Name: (Sea) Shell(ey), the Killer. "Sazae" means "seashell", and "Koroshiya" means assassin. There's so little pun in this that Maya initially thinks he's just calling himself "the killer"/"an assassin".
Real Men Wear Pink: He sports a pink kimono while posing as an ice cream vendor on Gourd Lake during Ace Attorney Investigations 2.
Red Herring: Despite being a professional assassin and having intended to kill the President of Zheng Fa in "Turnabout Target," he turns out to be one of the few who hasn't committed a crime.
Room Disservice: Kills Juan Corrida whilst masquerading as a hotel waiter.
Stiff Upper Lip: His speech is meant to sound very polite and humble, with an almost British accent to it, and his face never actually shows what he is feeling. However, objects that resemble his face show his actual emotions quite frequently.
The Stoic: Played With in Investigations 2. de Killer's expression is unflappable and does not change even once, but his ice cream cone is way more expressive and shows de Killer's actual emotions.
This Page Will Self-Destruct: Although his radio has repeatedly exploded into pieces during his testimony, it does so for the final time in the credits.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: ...Anybody that isn't his target, that is, so it's a very downplayed example. Best exemplified when he only incapacitates the three officers trying to stop him from retrieving Engarde's tape, and he even expresses regret that he had to resort to doing so. In short, de Killer won't kill anybody unless he's ordered to by his client... or if a client betrays him.
Tranquil Fury: He's pretty upfront and calm during his statement that he's going to hunt down and kill Matt for betraying him.
Undying Loyalty: Unless his client betrays him first, Shelly will defend his client at all costs, even lying about their indentity in court and kidnapping for ransom. He follows any orders to the letter, and even his client underestimating his skills won't make him break the contract. No, for that Shelly absolutely has to be betrayed first.
Villains Never Lie: Subverted in "Farewell, My Turnabout". He goes to great lengths to establish his code of honor during his radio testimony... and then proceeds to lie like a rug to frame Adrian in order to cover for his real client.
White Hair, Black Heart: This hitman has white hair on the top of his head.
Wild Card: He lives by a complex code of honor, bordering on Blue-and-Orange Morality, and if it suits his goals he'll be downright cooperative with the main characters, even those who would like nothing more than to see him arrested and brought to justice.
Worthy Opponent:
- Considers Rooke to be this, since he was one of the only people to be able to wound him. This is partially why he forces Knightley to allow Edgeworth to investigate his death.
- Also considers Sirhan Dogen this, enough to decide fighting an avoidable battle to the death with him would not be worth the trouble.
- Finally, he considers Phoenix, although in a roundabout manner. He hand-picked him to defend Matt Engarde, and his general dealings with Phoenix show that he takes him quite seriously; kidnapping Maya was something of a nuclear option that could — and indeed does — bring down a LOT of heat on his head, but it's the only way to ensure that Phoenix won't let Matt be found guilty. He even asks Phoenix if he is "interested in a new life" after commenting that he cannot retire because he still hasn't found a protege to take up the de Killer name.

Debuting in Trials and Tribulations

Ron DeLite (Yusaku Amasugi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Kōtarō Nishiyama (anime)

Voiced by (English): Justin Pate (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ron_delitte.png

"Come on! I'm guilty! Throw the book at meeeeeee!"

Ron is first introduced having turned himself in for being the Phantom Thief Mask☆DeMasque. Naturally, with his appearance, high-strung actions, and the fact that his (incredibly hot) wife says he's delusional, Phoenix has his doubts.

Affectionate Nickname: "Dessie" for Desirée.
And I'm the Queen of Sheba: This is the general reaction he gets when he insists that he's Mask☆DeMasque; not even his wife believes him, and neither does Phoenix when he represents him in court. He really is Mask☆DeMasque.
Anime Hair: His hair is something else; Not only is it massively compressed from its natural length, but it's parted in the middle into what are effectively sideways Ojou Ringlets, which even shoot out in perfect spirals in his 'damage' animation. One of Ron's idle animations has him tilt his head, allowing his hair to somehow perfectly stay in shape even as it sways to the side. His hair's compressed shape probably helps when wearing the Mask☆DeMasque helmet.
Anti-Villain: He didn't want to become a thief in the first place.
At Least I Admit It: Pointed out by Desirée; while Ron as Mask☆DeMasque sent calling cards to the authorities as if to say "I'm going to rob this place. Get ready for me!" and still managed to get egg on their faces despite giving them a fair headstart, Luke Atmey was a Manipulative Bastard who worked behind the scenes and had no suspicion placed on him.
Cassandra Truth: Ron tries to tell people he's Mask☆DeMasque, but nobody believes him (until other people prove it in court) because, well... he's Ron.
Cloudcuckoolander: While Ron is quite intelligent, not to mention cunning enough to pull off several rather intricate crimes and get away with them, he's childish, more than a little spacey and bafflingly naïve to the point of going onto wild and unhelpfully frank tangents, flooring Phoenix and even Godot more than once.
Phoenix: Why did you hide the body in the safe, anyway?
Ron: (completely serious) Because it wouldn't fit in a drawer.
Cowardly Lion: A timid young man who shies off from even finishing his sentences, but when it counts (such as when saving his at the time future-wife from robbers) he'll jump right into danger. Even if he's crying and yelling in terror the whole way.
Crazy Enough to Work: Why does Ron claim to be Mask☆DeMasque even though everyone starts suspecting less and less of him, and even after being acquitted of stealing the Urn? Because it gives him an alibi of Kane Bullard's murder, which happened at the same time the urn was stolen, at the same time Ron was at the crime scene. Unfortunately for Ron, Maya, Phoenix and Desireé didn't get it, and almost got him convicted of murder.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not only is he really the Phantom Thief Mask☆DeMasque, he also saved Desirée from a band of robbers. He apparently did it in a rather hysterical way, but he still did.
Expressive Hair: His locks fly out to the sides when he's upset, which is often.
Fanboy: Desirée says that Ron styles himself after the phantom thief because he's such a fan of his. Mask☆DeMasque does have a fanbase around his antics, but the reality is that Ron is in fact the thief.
Foil: With his self-proclaimed arch-nemesis Luke Atmey. Both have (or had) jobs related to security, some speech patterns are shared (such as "dancingly descended" in each one's first testimonies in the first day), both show Obfuscating Stupidity at what they do and both use Mask☆DeMasque as an alibi of Kane Bullard's murder. The one thing that's inverted is the truth behind their two personas: while Ron really is the original DeMasque and did most of the heists for Atmey, Atmey poses as a supposed Ace Detective but is a bigger criminal.
The Fool: For much of the case, Ron comes off as a cheerful, harmless schmuck pinballing through the machinations of others by the skin of his teeth — which turns out to be at least partially true, though Ron's more on the ball about the consequences he faces and how to get out of them than he seems, but even before the case his response to being blackmailed into serial thievery was just to smile, nod and hope it all worked out. What little we see of him afterwards shows that he grew somewhat from the experience and channels his cunning and assertive side on his own terms going forward.
Genuine Impostor: He really is Mask☆DeMasque, but nobody believes him because of how quiet and shy he is.
Greed: His fatal flaw. He stole in order to fund the lavish lifestyles of himself and his wife.
Happily Married: Despite his fears that she might leave him were she to learn his secrets (which turns out to be incorrect), he and Desirée are genuinely happy together.
Heel–Face Turn: If you examine the chief of police in the next case, you'll hear that Mask☆DeMasque tries to stop a bank robbery. Admittedly, he wasn't much of a bad guy to begin with. At the end of the game he's revealed to have turned crimefighting into a business (though he also sells the criminals plans to get them to commit the crimes in the first place.) Though by Investigations 2, he seems to have returned to pulling heists again, this time with Desirée assisting him.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Ron is the thief Mask☆DeMasque, he yells that he is the thief at anyone nearby, and is wearing the signature outfit of the criminal at all times. He essentially hid himself by being so insistent of his true identity that everyone stopped paying attention to him.
Karma Houdini: Downplayed. Phoenix gets him acquitted of several non-violent crimes he did commit in the process of getting him acquitted of a violent crime that he didn't.
A Lighter Shade of Black: A thief in a cast where all other criminals are killers, he isn't this just to Luke Atmey, but to most other outlaws in the original trilogy. Despite being one of Phoenix's two clients that are guilty of what they were accused of (although he did not steal the Sacred Urn, which is why he was arrested to begin with), Ron is still very sympathetic, unlike his counterpart, Matt Engarde.
Leitmotif: "Pleeeeease Listen"; actually, if you want to get technical, it's Mask☆DeMasque's theme.
Nice Guy: Behind his Mask☆DeMasque persona is a polite, nervous and ditzy guy who steals only for his wife's happiness.
Not Proven: Thanks to double jeopardy laws and Godot's failure to present evidence and testimony that he was the Mask☆DeMasque that committed the first four thefts when he was on trial for the fifth theft, he is declared by the court to be Not Guilty of being Mask☆DeMasque at all, meaning he can never be tried for his heists and possibly the data theft. He doesn't even lose his wife, which was the thing he was afraid of. Luckily, he's not that bad of a guy. Namely, he is a thief, but is not a murderer.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Played With. His apartment is full of memorabilia and gadgets related to the thief, he is constantly wearing DeMasque's costume, he tells anybody who asks that he really is DeMasque, and nobody believes him for a second because of his shy, nervous personality. Not only is he telling the truth, it actually works too well, and nearly gets him found guilty for a murder he didn't commit, instead of a theft he did commit.
Phantom Thief: Yes, he really is Mask☆DeMasque, and he did steal all those valuable treasures, despite sending all of them Calling Cards long before he would commit the crimes. Atmey may have helped him out and done the planning, but that doesn't make his many heists any less impressive.
Punny Name: "Amasugi" means "too sweet". His English name may be a play on "run the light" which may be a clue about his identity as a thief, or on "rondelli," a pasta that resembles his spiraled hair.
Redhead In Green: When he's wearing Mask☆DeMasque's costume.
Red Herring: Right after it looks like the true identity of Mask☆DeMasque is going to be the central mystery of "The Stolen Turnabout", you're told that the thief has turned himself in.. only to meet Ron, who is shy, nervous, very polite, and nothing like the bombastic daredevil Gentleman Thief seen in the intro cutscene. Nevertheless, Ron insists that he absolutely IS DeMasque, despite the increasing doubts of everybody around him, including Phoenix and his own wife. He's telling the truth.
Rescue Romance: He met Desirée during his security guard days, where she was held at gunpoint and Ron just shouted at them. Somehow, this worked.
Shrinking Violet: He's not really good with people.
Unconfessed Unemployment: The reason behind his becoming Mask☆DeMasque; so that he could still pay for his wife's shopping habits without her finding out that he had lost his job.
Verbal Tic: ...well, no, that's not exactly true. It's just a tendency for his explanations to trail off into nothing...
What Does This Button Do?: During a penalty, you can get Ron to admit that he has a habit of doing this.
Wild Take: At the slightest provocation.

Mask☆DeMasque (Kamen Mask)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mask_maske.png

A notorious thief famous for his theatrics and stealing several priceless treasures around the world. Ron DeLite is on trial under suspicion of being Mask☆DeMasque and stealing the Sacred Urn of Kurain.

Advance Notice Crime: He sends his card to victims ahead of time
Calling Card: He sends a card before each robbery, emblazoned with a secret emblem. The police never revealed the details about the emblem to avoid creating copycats. This is also why his wife isn't upset with his career choice — she appreciates that he plays fair with his victims, as opposed to being just a sneaky criminal.
Coat, Hat, Mask: A particularly ornate set, as part of his Highly-Visible Ninja attire. One would think these would get in the way of his stealthy methods, but then again, the dude that supposedly handles the investigation of his robberies is also the one who PLANS his heists, so maybe he does not need to be so stealthy after all. He even complains about how hard it is moving around with that cape.
Cool Mask: Befitting someone named after a mask, Mask☆DeMasque wears a metal mask modeled after the Comedy mask of theatre.
Evil Laugh: A bombastic "Ahahahahaha!"
Expy: Like most Phantom Thieves, one of Arsène Lupin, with him leaving Calling Cards during his heists and having a detective hot on his heels.
Fair-Play Villain: A Gentleman Thief that always sends his calling cards to a location before stealing from there to give the authorities a proper heads-up.
Gentleman Thief: Complete with announcing his crimes beforehand, and a flashy persona.
Highly-Visible Ninja: A Highly Visible Cat Burglar. How he's supposed to be a master of stealth while looking like a dude lost on his way to an anime con is never really addressed, but it's clear from the start that he went for style, rather than practicality, when styling his identity.
Lucky Charms Title: How you're supposed to pronounce that star in "Mask☆DeMasque" is unclear... but you'd better do it.
Repetitive Name: In both Japanese and English — his English name is of the "Classic Classical" variety, while his Japanese name is of the "Classic Kurashikku" variety. Either way, he really wants to call attention to the fact that he's masked.
Shaped Like Itself: Both English and Japanese names basically equate to "Mask Mask".
Signature Headgear: Mask☆DeMasque wears a wide-brimmed hat with two white feathers pinned to the hat by a button bearing the likeness of his mask.
Villain with Good Publicity: Has a very large following. In fact, Ron's trial led to a bunch of merchandise stands outside the courthouse selling wares themed after the thief. Maya buys a publicity photo before the trial.

Desirée DeLite (Mareka Amasugi)

Voiced by (Japanese): Yuka Keicho (anime)

Voiced by (English): Jamie Marchi (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/desiree_delitte.png

Ron's incredibly hot wife. She spends money like it's going out of style and drives her motorcycle fast enough to call it "flying". She despises cowardly criminals above all else.

Affectionate Nickname: "Ronnie" for her husband and "Nicky boy" for Phoenix. Pearl doesn't take too kindly to this.
Beware the Nice Ones: She has the guts to sneak into Atmey's office to steal back Ami's urn. Not only that, she knew from the start that Atmey was planning to frame Ron for the theft and murder of Ron's boss.
Developer's Foresight: Accuse her of being the murderer, and you'll receive a unique conversation detailing her alibi. Of course, as it's the wrong choice, expect your usual punishment.
Drives Like Crazy: Her alibi for both the theft of the urn and the murder is that she was caught speeding at the time of the crimes. Also, she states it often took her 20 minutes to drive from her home to KB Security on her motorbike... even though Larry told Phoenix it takes 30 on car.
Foil: Desirée could be considered one to Dahlia Hawthorne in the previous case. Both are incredibly beautiful, and are in relationships with overly emotional guys when they're first met. However, the two of them might as well be night and day otherwise. Dahlia is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who didn't value any of her boyfriends, tricking one into making a Suicide Pact with her, and tried to make off with an expensive diamond for her own gain. Desirée meanwhile, despite appearing to be a Gold Digger due to her expensive shopping habits, is actually a good person who married someone she genuinely loves, and the fact that he had a high-paying job was just a bonus.
Happily Married: Despite the surface-level impressions you might get from her shopaholic tendencies, she and Ron really do love each other. Even the reveal that Ron is Mask☆DeMasque isn't enough to shake their relationship.
Love at First Sight: The first time they met, Ron saved her from robbers back when she was a security consultant, and she's been in love with him ever since.
Meaningful Name: Sounds like "desired delight", referencing her shopaholic tendencies. "Mareka", on the other hand, was the name of a good female friend of Takumi.
Nice Girl: Very friendly and outgoing, she easily forgives her husband whose career is a thief by night.
Not with Them for the Money: Sure, she's a shopaholic with expensive tastes, and that's definitely a large part of her attraction to Ron, but they actually Married For Love. They're still together by the time of Investigations 2, well after she learns her husband's big secret.
Opposites Attract: Desirée is confident, outgoing, and friendly; her husband Ron is painfully timid and withdrawn. They're still Happily Married.
Perpetual Smiler: Unless she's surprised or upset, she usually has a very warm smile on her face.
Rescue Romance: How she met Ron — he saved her from a bunch of robbers.
Suspicious Spending: Subverted. It's her spending that makes Ron suspicious. She thinks he's loaded because security guards put their lives at risk and are paid appropriately.
What Does She See in Him?: The general response. It's heavily implied that he appeals to her maternal instincts... that and she's under the impression he's loaded; he went into crime to avoid telling her that he was fired. There's also the fact that while Luke Atmey hid and covered up his crimes, Ron always notified his victims ahead of time. So Ron is a criminal, but not the "cowardly" kind Desirée despises. Oh, yeah, and there was that one time when Ron saved her from gun-toting robbers, back when he still worked as a security consultant.

Viola Cadaverini (Urami Shikabane)

Voiced by (Japanese): Saori Hayami (anime)

Voiced by (English): Madeleine Morris (anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/viola_cadaverini.png

The Tiger's assistant at Tender Lender. Very, very creepy. She's also the granddaughter of the biggest, baddest mob boss, Bruto Cadaverini.

Affably Evil: For a very loose sense of evil. She's a mobster, yes, but she's only in the loan shark business because of Tigre, and she's nothing but polite to Phoenix.
Adaptational Attractiveness: A minor case, but her portrayal in the anime makes her more expressive and softens her facial features, which significantly tones down the creepier aspects of her appearance.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She definitely nails the "dark" aspect with her calm and composed (yet creepy) personality and she's pretty in a dark (and creepy) way, but her official height is listed at only 5'1", so she's really short and therefore doesn't fulfill the tallness aspect of this trope.
Beware the Nice Ones: Although creepy by her appearance, Viola's quite amiable and polite to Phoenix and Maya after they arrived at Tender Lender. But when she discovered that her lover, Tigre never loved her in the first place and was manipulating her to pay off his money debt to her grandfather because of her injury he caused, she gives Phoenix her medical records of the accident to take the Tiger down in court and after he's arrested, in the credits, she's implied to sent poisoned food to him in prison.
Creepy Monotone: Her voice is stated to be like this, and the rate at which her words appear on the screen seem to reinforce that. Confirmed in the anime series, where she speaks very softly with little intonation.
Dark Is Not Evil: Somewhat. She looks very creepy and at first glance, she seems Obviously Evil, but she's more of a victim of the manipulations of Furio Tigre.
Dissonant Serenity: She maintains her calm and polite demeanour while subtly issuing death threats in casual conversations.
The Dreaded: Even factoring out the fact Bruto'd kill you if you looked at her the wrong way, she's very good at making people fear for their lives. Just about everyone she meets notes she's a dangerous and unsettling woman, and just like her grandfather, you will pay your debts to her if you value your life. Lance was willing to fake his own kidnapping just to get the money he owes her.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Very much so.
Establishing Character Moment: Threatening to burn down Trés Bien if Armstrong can't pay his debt, all with that calm and collected smile on her face.
Evil Chef: Frighteningly, she hints that there's poison in her coffee.
Face of a Thug: She's creepy as hell, but not that bad.
Freudian Excuse: She really, really wants to believe Furio Tigre did everything out of love for her. In reality, it was only because Tigre was deathly afraid of her mafia don grandfather.
The Ghost: In the third case of Investigations, it's her demands that Lance Amano paid his debt that eventually sparked the murder that happened in that case, but Viola was merely mentioned in the letter she sent to Lance.
Implied Death Threat: If she ever offers you something to eat or drink, think twice before you accept it...
I Owe You My Life: She’s eternally grateful to Tigre for saving her life. Except that’s not the case. He only did it because Bruto, Viola’s grandfather, saddled him with a million dollar bill, is a notorious mob boss, and a Papa Wolf to the max.
Karma Houdini: Because of the fact that Tigre was callously manipulating her, Phoenix feels angrier over her treatment at his hands than her willing role in framing an innocent woman for murder. Though it's not a surprise she wouldn't suffer legal repercussion for it in any case, seeing as her doting grandfather is a mob boss the police are afraid of. She refers to what was done as "evil," but she's still in the loan shark business as of Investigations.
Like Father, Like Son: The third case of Investigations has her play the exact same role her grandfather did in "Recipe for Turnabout", complete with being The Ghost.
Loan Shark: She takes over Tender Lender at the end of Trials and Tribulations. In Investigations, she sends bills to Lance Amano in the form of love letters.
Love Martyr: She was in love with Furio Tigre despite him only using her as a tool and pretending to reciprocate her feelings due of wanting to use her and out of fear of her grandfather. The real kicker is that deep down she knew all along that he didn't really love her.
Mafia Princess: Granddaughter of mob boss Bruto Cadaverini. Significant because when Tigre accidentally hurts her; he's in debt to the crime family.
Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: She's a bandaged Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette who often offers Implied Death Threats in an oddly serene Creepy Monotone. While she's not evil per se, she still has a discomforting presence.
Older Than They Look: She looks younger than her age of 25.
Punny Name: "Cadaverini" is Italian for "little corpse", while "Viola" might have been chosen for its similarity to "violence," or perhaps a reference to the instrument (which seems to play a big role in goth culture). "Urami" means "grudge", and "Shikabane" means "corpse".
Revenge: The epilogue of Trials and Tribulations reveals that she sent Furio Tigre some poisoned food. "Win Through Compromise", indeed.
Signature Laugh: She has an unsettling and gloomy "Hee... Hee... Hee..." giggle that serves as one of her major character tics.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: She's more "pretty in a dark/creepy way" than "hot", but nonetheless her father is shown very briefly in one case and he and her grandfather aren't exactly attractive, but she is.
The Unfought: Downplayed. While she was an accomplice to the culprit, she doesn't actually make an appearance in court. However, she does have a Psyche-Lock puzzle.
Woman Scorned: During the credits of Trials and Tribulations, she says that she sent poisoned food to Tigre in jail. And when you think about it, him eating that food would be Karmic Death.

Debuting in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Lamiroir

A singer who hails from the nation of Borginia. She was named by her manager as the sole witness to his murder. See Ace Attorney: Troupe Gramarye for more information.

Debuting in Dual Destinies

Jinxie Tenma (Yumemi Tenma)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jinxie_tenma.png

"Be gone, foul beast!"

A friend of Trucy's, and the daughter of the head of the Tenma family. She has a total phobia of Youkai, and is always slapping charms on things to protect herself from them.

Breakout Character: Mildly. Jinxie cameos a few times in Spirit of Justice, once as the author of a note to Trucy, and the next time physically appearing, becoming the only non-major character introduced in the second Ace Attorney trilogy to appear in more than one game, an honor not even Juniper Woods was granted.
Catchphrase: She answers a lot of questions with "Uh-Huh".
Cloudcuckoolander: She'll pretty much believe anyone to be a monstrous Yokai if she squints at them hard enough.
Continuity Cameo: She shows up to help Apollo identify a place Rayfa wants to visit during the Apollo Justice: Asinine Attorney sketch in Spirit of Justice, as Athena is there with her in Nine-Tails Vale.
Daddy's Girl: She really cares for her father, possibly due to the fact that he's the only parent she has left, and one of the few people who's understanding of her fear of yokai.
Foreshadowing: Jinxie is surprisingly knowledgeable about masked wrestlers, and is an especially huge fan of the Amazing Nine-Tails, despite being terrified of yokai. As it turns out, the Amazing Nine-Tails is none other than her father, Damian Tenma.
Hidden Buxom: Her concept art◊ seems to suggest as much, as she's shown to be surprisingly well-endowed when viewed from the side.
Leitmotif: "Nine-Tails Vale ~ Home of the Yokai"
Meaningful Name: "Yume" literally means "dream," which fits with her hallucinations caused by lack of sleep.
Meido: While working as a maid, she wears a traditional Japanese outfit instead of the French Maid outfit typically associated with this archetype.
The Mentally Disturbed: Averted. Through using her Mood Matrix, Athena deduces that Jinxie is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and that it causes her to perceive everyday objects or innocent people as malevolent yokai out to get her. However, it's not portrayed as being a character flaw, and is instead treated as a byproduct of her exhausting work schedule that deprives her of sleep.
Missing Mom: The only thing of note that we find out about her mother is that she's dead.
Mistaken Identity: L'Belle fooled her into thinking he was her father Damian by wearing his wrestling mask, knowing that she wouldn't remove it because masks are Serious Business.
Nervous Wreck: Constantly on edge thanks to seeing Yokai everywhere, and her father being framed for murder certainly didn't help the poor girl. Ironically, the one person she isn't scared of is the intimidating prosecutor Simon Blackquill, instead noticing that he has Exhausted Eyebags and offering a charm to keep yokai from waking him up at night.
Nice Girl: As long as she doesn't think you're a yokai, Jinxie is very polite and soft-spoken, at one point trying to keep Apollo and Simon from fighting (when they were actually in court) in her own bizarre way.
Paper Talisman: Slaps one onto everybody, including her father and herself.
Perpetual Frowner: Due to being exhausted all the time, her default facial expression is a disinterested frown.
Punny Name: Her first name comes from the word "jinx".
Secret-Keeper: She knows that her father is The Amazing Nine-Tails. This becomes a plot point when L'Belle puts on the Nine-Tails mask and confesses to murdering the alderman, tricking Jinxie into thinking that her father was the culprit.
Shrinking Violet: Due to her extreme phobia of youkai, she is very afraid to meet strangers, and constantly hides her face behind a dish. Except at the end of the case, when Apollo and Trucy save her father; then she puts the dish down to smile at them and thank them.
Sleepyhead: Tends to slip into uncontrollable sleepwalking spells due to her job as a maid in Nine-Tails Vale. The people around her chalk it up to being possessed by the Yokai (due to her speech pattern, which is full of vengeful rambling about humanity). She also has perpetually baggy eyes and wears a zoned-out expression in most of her conversations.
Vocal Dissonance: When she speaks in a cutscene, her voice is surprisingly mature, beating out Athena and Juniper, who have much more youthful voices.
When She Smiles: At the end of the case, when her father has been declared Not Guilty, she smiles at Apollo and Trucy while thanking them.

Florent L'Belle (Shuuichi Biyouin)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lbelle_1.png

"Now if [you] would excuse me. It's time to touch up my makeup."

A man working for the Tenma family as one of their secretaries and frequently uses a special brand of perfume and dyes his hair to various colors. The introduction to Case 2 strongly implies that he is responsible for the murder of Rex Kyubi. It's not a lie. He murdered Rex Kyubi in an elaborate plot to gain access to Tenma Taro, a gold ingot. He needs the money because his efforts in creating a cosmetics brand for only himself have rendered him bankrupt.

All for Nothing: His plan to steal the gold ingot was doomed to fail from the start since the ingot had already been stolen by Azuki Kozo, Filch's grandfather, long before he even learned of the hidden treasure of Nine-Tails Vale.
Arc Villain: Of the second case of Dual Destinies, as obviously spelled out in the opening.
Artistic License – Economics: In-universe. L'Belle fancies himself a genius entrepreneur with a successful beauty product line. To an extent he's right, since there's apparently a lot of demand for his products (especially for a hair dye that easily washes off with water)... except the part about needing to sell your products to actually turn a profit.
- It's even lampshaded in Spirit of Justice; going into Inga's residence in Case 5 as Apollo after Phoenix and Edgeworth search it and then investigating the bottle of 'Je suis L'Belle' hairdye reveals that it's a free sample that was given away to select people, and an advertising blurb at the back of it ends with a disclaimer saying that this product is "not for sale. EVER.", while also calling the user a 'peasant'. Apollo and Athena are bewildered at this, and Apollo's inner thoughts can only ask just what L'Belle's purpose with the business was in the first place.
The Beautiful Elite: Thinks that society works like this, and considers himself as one of its members.
Blackmail: He coerces Damian into forcing a merger against his will by threatening his daughter with a blackmail letter, even destroying the letter if you confront him about it. L'Belle resorts to holding the secret of Tenma Taro over Damian's head in court, trying to prevent him from confirming that he's the Amazing Nine-Tails. It's implied he also threatened to pull the plug on Rex Kyubi's hospitalized wife to get information out of him.
Bold Inflation: Or caps inflation, to be precise. It seems there's at LEAST one all-caps word in EVERY sentence out of his mouth.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Turns out that, despite his thoroughly unpleasant personality and rather foppish demeanor, L'Belle is actually a rather brilliant cosmetic chemist and inventor, having created a line of beauty products that are very effective and ingenious and therefore in high demand, and created his phone-suit himself. Shame his narcissism causes him to refuse to actually sell his products to the public.
Complexity Addiction: His plots to steal the town treasure and pin the murder on Mayor Tenma are the very definition of convoluted; especially when contrasted with Filch's break-in of the Forbidden Chamber. L'Belle's scheme no doubt took many weeks and loads of money spent through blackmail and other illicit measures to set up everything just right. Filch's thievery attempt? It took him 15 minutes, cost him nothing (with the exception of the effort of crawling through a dusty vent and his Tenma Taro costume), and the only reason he did so was because he was bored that day.
Apollo: Yeesh, Rube Goldberg machines have less elaborate setups than L'Belle's scheme...
Cut Lex Luthor a Check:
- Actually a plot point. Had he had even the slightest business sense at all, selling at least some of his products would have made up for the high cost of developing them in the first place as well as the advertisements. Of course, that would be asking too much, making him resort to theft instead...
- To put into perspective the profits he could have gained and the demand for his products, Spirit of Justice reveals that his products were put into distribution following his arrest, and that Khura'in Minister of Justice Inga Karkhuul Khura'in is a regular user of it.
- The business suit he claims to have personally designed for Mayor Tenma wasn't too shabby as well, and the integrated cell phones do fulfill their function of letting him juggle multiple calls.
Doing It for the Art: In-Universe, this is why he spends so much on his (apparently successful) cosmetics line without selling it to anyone. However, this excuse evaporates into plain vanity when it's revealed he spends a lot of money advertising them anyways, purely to revel in the envy of those who want them.
Dye Hard: In-universe, and it's actually a major plot point.
Eye Scream: Sprays cologne on your eyes if he wants you to shut up, and when caught off guard, he accidentally sprays it on his own eyes.
Gambit Roulette: When the totality of his scheme is revealed, even the game itself starts acknowledging what an unholy convoluted mess it is, even by Ace Attorney standards.
Gorgeous George: If you were paying attention at all during the opening cutscene of the case, this isn't even a spoiler.
Hate Sink: At first he's just a bit of a weird bird that can make you chuckle but you write off as harmless (you know he’s the case’s villain from the opening cutscene, but at first he just seems like the Laughably Evil type). Then it's revealed what a ridiculous fop he truly is when all the deductions begin pointing to him as the culprit. He's incredibly vain and has no qualms about sharing that with everyone within earshot, he's condescending towards people constantly as though he's true nobility and you're a filthy peon, and finally the fact that the whole crime was committed because his vanity and narcissism is so out of control that he spends all his money to advertise beauty products that he will never sell because he can't stand the thought of "unworthy" average folk trying to emulate his immaculate look. His solution to this is to steal, extort, and finally kill people, just so he can continue promoting products he'll never make any money off of and feel good about himself, making it inevitable that he'd have to resort to similar measures to fund his beauty line at some point in the future. By the end of the case you'll be chomping at the bit to put him in his place. Don't worry, Athena and Apollo feel the same way in-universe.
Hoist by His Own Petard:
- His damage animation involves accidentally spraying his cologne on his own eyes by squeezing on the spritzer too hard, then hastily covering them in pain.
- The final piece of evidence that seals his fate is his own hair coloring product, which he gave you personally as a free sample, just to rub his exclusive supply of it in Athena's face.
Hollywood Acid: His cologne has a lot of this trope's properties, being green, painful, and corrosive enough to dissolve letters.
Humiliation Conga: After he has his breakdown, he gets call after call that dismantles his career once his looks and reputation are destroyed.
The Hyena: He bursts out in obnoxious laughter frequently as he dismisses your claims. It stops once you have him cornered.
I Have Your Wife:
- Sent a letter to Damian Tenma which demanded him to force a merger between the two towns, or he would pay with Jinxie's life.
- Pressing an unrequired statement in his final testimony implies he also did this with Alderman Kyubi's wife, who was placed under his care while she was hospitalized.
Impossibly Cool Clothes: Those rectangular shoulderpads on his coat? They're actually clamshell cellphones that ring and pop open whenever he gets a call.
Jerkass: This guy will get on your nerves the moment you meet him. It's even implied the reason Blackquill doesn't call him as a witness was because he is just that annoying, and Blackquill sounds completely exasperated when Apollo and Athena manage to drag L'Belle onto the stand.
Leitmotif: "Je Suis L'Belle"
Meaningful Name: L'Belle comes from "la belle", the French word for "the beautiful".
Meaningless Villain Victory: Even if he were to succeed in his plot to gain unrestricted access to the Forbidden Chamber, it would still not solve his monetary problems, as the legendary gold ingot he was after was already long gone, stolen by Filch's grandfather. Even if the gold was still there, L'Belle refuses to actually sell anything from his beauty line, meaning he'd be right back where he started after the money from the Tenma Taro gold dried up.
Monster Clown: He has pale white skin, hair dyed in various crazy colors, a purple suit, and has a flower toy which sprays perfumes that can hurt other people's eyes.
Narcissist: So proud of his own looks and his line of beauty products that he advertises the latter heavily to the public despite them not actually being for sale, just to gloat about them (in the vein of "it's so exclusive that ONLY I can USE them"). This way of marketing has rendered him bankrupt and in desperate need of money.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: He resembles Oscar Wilde in many ways, including his hairstyle, interesting fashion choices and obsession with his looks. Most obviously there's his perfume bottle that looks a lot like a green carnation on his lapel.[1]
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Crosses over with Beware the Silly Ones. L'Belle is far more competent a villain than his appearance suggests. He has most of the case's witnesses scared into silence, carried out a very complex plot and was blackmailing at least two (locally) powerful people with the threat of killing their loved ones.
Obviously Evil: Between his Practically Joker looks and his abrasive attitude, even people who forgot the introduction cutscene of the case would quickly assume he's the killer (and he is).
Practically Joker: His appearance alone will remind you of The Joker, especially his appearance in The Dark Knight Returns. He even likes to spray things in people's faces and shows up with bright-green hair at one point.
Riches to Rags: L'Belle gets this at the end when all of his sponsors abandon him and he ends up with a hefty fine. The murder conviction probably isn't going to help either.
Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Apparently many stores want to stock his beauty products. If he let them, then he'd probably be loaded. But no, his products are only for him, the peasants are unworthy (but he'll certainly advertise them to you to remind you that you can't have them). Better come up with a convoluted plot to steal an ancient chunk of gold instead!
Signature Laugh: "Ah ha ha ha!"
Sissy Villain: Bonus points for his sissiness (his vanity and unwillingness to sell his own products) being what ultimately provides a motive for committing murder.
Skewed Priorities:
- Apollo says it almost word for word when L'Belle claims the thing he was worried about after the murder was Mayor Tenma's suit he personally designed.
- And in the very next piece of testimony, he prioritizes the cleanliness of his designer shoes over a chance to possibly help the dying victim.
Smug Snake: Treats everyone like dirt? Check. Not as clever as he thinks? Check. Unbearably arrogant? Double check.
So Beautiful, It's a Curse: At least he thinks he's this. Everyone else considers him Gonk.
Spanner in the Works: His hair product plays a role in the final case of Spirit of Justice, namely taking care of the hair-related issues regarding spirit channeling.
Stupid Evil: Bankrupts himself by funding a product he won't sell (he's too vain to let anyone else have it), and does convoluted crimes to try and pay his debt.
Too Dumb to Live: His entire murder plot stems from his crippling debt incurred from his business, which as shown in the sequel regarding its use by royalty in a foreign country and an offer he blatantly shoots down, he never bothers to sell it out of pure vanity, even going as far as to frequently advertise it publicly so he can just show off.
Uncertain Doom: As premeditated murder is punishable by the death penalty in the Ace Attorney setting, Florent L’Belle is now at risk of being sentenced to death as his murder of Rex Kyubi was premeditated with evidence of it being the spiked coffee he served to Kyubi and Tenma to knock them unconscious.
Verbal Tic: Tends to ACCENTUATE certain words in his PHRASES to sound upper-crust.
Villainous Breakdown: L'Belle starts to spray his face with more perfume and eventually shows his dyed hair to be now back to its natural color, white, and his skin color to be darker. He then answers a bunch of cellphone calls, learning that his sponsors are leaving him, a vague project is being cancelled, and he is being sued for 100 million dollars for damaging the stratosphere with his products. He then collapses with the news he's now in massive debt.
White Hair, Black Heart: It isn't immediately obvious, but L'belle's natural hair color is white. This is how you determine he was the one wearing the Nine-Tails mask, which leads to his conviction.
Younger Than They Look: Once his true appearance is seen after his breakdown, it's very hard to believe L'Belle's only 33. Then again, he single-handedly used enough beauty products on himself to damage the stratosphere. It's not that hard to believe they had that kind of effect on his hair and face.