History Characters / AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersJusticeForAll

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Ben = Ven.

-->'''Engarde:''' ''Hold on.. I'm gonna consult myself, OK?''

[[folder:'''Matt Engarde''' (''Shingo Otoro'') -- '''All spoilers unmarked''']]

* EpiphanicPrison: A really spoiler-y example. [[spoiler: In order to escape the consequences of what happened at the Grey Clinic and killing her younger sister in a fiery crash, Mimi took over her identity. But her younger sister was a ditzy art student who loved the occult, something Mimi herself considered "mumbo-jumbo," and she was then forced to keep up the facade for ''years'' lest she be discovered, and it's implied that she was left angry and miserable from the experience. Fittingly for the trope, when Grey's channeling could've revealed the truth, she fought tooth and nail to prevent it from coming out, even resorting to murder, despite success just leaving her in the same unhappy situation in the end. While Phoenix Wright exposing her plot does leave her crying on the stand, it also finally frees her to be herself for the first time in a long time.]]

* IdiotHair: Underneath her hat. [[spoiler:The real Ini didn't have it, making the [=CGs=] of her outside the burning car make you know it's Mimi and not Ini that survived]].

[[folder:'''Adrian Andrews''' (''Kirio Kamiya'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/AyakaAsai ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/MallorieRodak ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adrian_andrews.png]]
[[caption-width-right:261:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''Trials and Tribulations'']]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_7666.png[[/labelnote]]]]

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

Adrian first shows up as the [[TheStoic 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 [[CuteClumsyGirl clumsier]] personality.
----
* AlliterativeName: Both her Japanese and English names.
* AmbiguouslyLesbian: 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 [[DrivenToSuicide 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 [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Franziska teaching her how to use a whip.]]
* BespectacledCutie: She wears glasses and is a beautiful and endearing young woman, especially in ''Trials and Tribulations'' where she's a much more cheerful CuteClumsyGirl.
* BrokenBird: 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.
* BungledSuicide: 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.
* ContinuityCameo: She shows up briefly during TheStinger of [[Film/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the film]], though she doesn't have a speaking role.
* CuteClumsyGirl: 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.
* DarkSecret: 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.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Especially in the third game, when she's significantly more cheerful.
* TheDogBitesBack: 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.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: 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.
* FailureKnight: Swore revenge at Matt due to how he treated Celeste [[spoiler:and took it in the good ending.]] Also took revenge on Juan for the same reason, descreating his corpse.
* FramingTheGuiltyParty: [[DeconstructedTrope It backfires so hard]] that she finds herself accused of the crime she NEVER committed. [[{{Reconstruction}} However, if she had never done this]], Matt Engarde would probably have escaped justice.
* GenderBlenderName: 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.
* ImportantHaircut: 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.
* InfiniteSupplies: She breaks her glasses and pulls out a spare pair several times over the course of the second game. (Seven, to be exact.)
* IronicName: '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 DarkReprise of the Steel Samurai's theme.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: 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.
* MeaningfulName: 'Adrian' means 'the dark one', which probably refers to her clothes switch to black, and that she once was full of dark secrets.
* NiceGirl: 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
* NotSoWeak: 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.
* OldShame: 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.
* OnceAnEpisode: 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.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: 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.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: 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.
* ShrinkingViolet: Was this for the majority of her life, and tried to behave like her late mentor (who was TheStoic 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.
* SpannerInTheWorks:
** 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 [[spoiler:the photo of [=Mask=]☆[=DeMasque=] "stealing" the Urn in Lordly Tailor was actually taken long before the actual theft took place]].
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Tries to be TheStoic, but ends up being this.
* SympatheticMurderer: ...or at least of stabbing someone who was already dead. Juan Corrida was already dead, but when she stabbed his dead body to FrameUp Matt she didn't feel any regret because of what Matt and Juan did with Celeste.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: Her appearance in ''Trials and Tribulations'' is much nicer and cheerful, showing that it's her true personality after completely [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]]. By ''Trials and Tribulations'', she's recovered enough that smiling is her default expression.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her innocent act of taking what she didn't know was Shelly de Killer's CallingCard 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.
* WhenSheSmiles: Just like Lana Skye, she smiles for the first time in the end upon being found not guilty of murder.
* WildTake: Her glasses start to crack and then shatter completely, followed by her putting on a replacement pair.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:'''Shelly de Killer''' (''Sazaemon Koroshiya'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Wataru Yokojima ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/MarcusDStimac ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shelly_dekiller.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him in Investigations]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gk2_shelly_de_killer.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->"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.
----
* AdaptationalKarma: 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.
* AffablyEvil: Despite being an assassin, he's nothing but polite to the lawyers. Until he breaks down after finding out Matt blackmailed him, that is.
* AntiVillain: Not a good guy, but not someone who engages in pointless cruelty. He can even be reasoned with if you can understand his motivations.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: In ''Investigations 2'', [[spoiler: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.]]
* BadassInANiceSuit: Being a butler and an assassin, he's this.
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: [[spoiler: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.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: 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.
* TheButlerDidIt: Occasionally he ''does'' pose as a butler...
* CallingCard: 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.
* CatchPhrase: "People are rarely what they appear to be."
* CreepyJazzMusic: His theme, "Whim of a Murderous Gentleman" is a very smooth and slow tune befitting his classy, sinister nature.
* DistinctionWithoutADifference: 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.
* DragonInChief: He was hired by Matt Engarde to be his hitman, and becomes TheHeavy 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.
* TheDreaded: Everyone is on the edge of losing their nerves when this guys's around, even Edgeworth and the Judge. He also defeats [[TheWorfEffect Franziska, who could instill fear herself,]] by shooting her shoulder.
* DueToTheDead: He respects the late Ethan Rooke, being [[WorthyOpponent one of the only few who managed to beat him in a fight]], [[spoiler:and his death led to him discovering the true nature of Di-Jun Huang.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** 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.
* EvilCounterpart: 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 CrusadingLawyer, De Killer is an assassin feared by law enforcement. They are both among the foremost people in their respective fields, considered to be [[BunnyEarsLawyer 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.
* ExactWords: 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.
* ExpressiveAccessory: 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 [[YourHeadASplode exploding]]. His ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' appearance mirrors this effect using an ice cream cone he carries.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Subverted, they ''look'' shut, but a very close look at his sprite reveals they're actually just extremely narrow, and he has a perpetual DeathGlare at all times.
* FailedASpotCheck: 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.
* FinalBoss: 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 than Engarde betrayed ''both'' of them is what finally wins the case.
* TheHeavy: 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.
* HighClassGlass: 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.
* HonorBeforeReason: 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 [[spoiler:Simon Keyes, who purposely concealed information, was saved by a fellow assassin.]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: 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 [[spoiler: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.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: 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 [[spoiler:framing Adrian Andrews to cover up for his real client.]]
* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: 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.
* ItsPersonal: 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.

--> '''Shelly 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.
* KarmaHoudini: 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. [[spoiler:He's still at large as of the end of ''Investigations 2''.]]
* KnightOfCerebus: 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 TakeAThirdOption. In short, the entire case serves to emphasize how incredibly dangerous this guy is, and the ending does NOT alleviate that in any way.
* LegacyCharacter: 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".
* MassOhCrap: He elicits this response in ''Investigations 2'' in Case 5, when after [[spoiler: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.
* MexicanStandoff: Against [[spoiler:Sirhan Dogen near the end of Investigations 2's Case 5, when de Killer arrives to kill Simon Keyes for betraying his trust.]]
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler: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 GoldenEnding.]]
* MrSmith: 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 [[MeaningfulName unidentified dead bodies the cops find]]).
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
** ''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'.
* NobleDemon: He stresses the professional part of being a ProfessionalKiller through a personal code of honor & trust between him & his clients. Taking down Engarde involves proving Matt betrayed that trust.
* NotMeThisTime: Claims this in Case 1 of ''Investigations 2''. [[spoiler: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.]]
* NotWorthKilling: [[spoiler: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.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: Highly suspicious at least. He looks like a stereotypical butler (who, we all know, [[TheButlerDidIt Did It]]) but with a skunk stripe and ''a stitched seam down the middle of his face''. Naturally, everyone is completely {{Genre Blind|ness}} to the fact and no one really comments on his eye-catching look. Besides Will Powers, but Phoenix discredits his claims.
* OverlyLongName: "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]] Actually, the middle character in his given name, 右 isn't read at all, just being a VisualPun with 左 (left-right).[[/note]]
* PaperThinDisguise:
** 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 PlotHole as well. How can Edgeworth not notice the signature shell of Shelly's CallingCard on the back of his ice cream outfit?
* ThePowerOfTrust: He strongly believes that there should be nothing but trust between him and his clients. [[spoiler:Betraying his trust is a good way to end up as a target of his]].
* ProfessionalKiller: Of the assassin variety.
* PunnyName: (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".
* RealMenWearPink: He sports a pink kimono while posing as an ice cream vendor on Gourd Lake during ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
* RedHerring: 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.
* RoomDisservice: Kills Juan Corrida whilst masquerading as a hotel waiter.
* StiffUpperLip: 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, [[NotSoAboveItAll objects that resemble his face show his actual emotions quite frequently.]]
* TheStoic: PlayedWith in ''Investigations 2''. De Killer's expression is unflappable and does not change even once, but his ice cream cone [[ExpressiveAccessory is way more expressive]] and shows De Killer's actual emotions.
* ThisPageWillSelfDestruct: Although his radio has repeatedly exploded into pieces during his testimony, it does so for the final time in the credits.
* ThouShaltNotKill: ...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.
* TranquilFury: He's pretty upfront and calm during his statement that he's going to hunt down and kill Matt for betraying him.
* UndyingLoyalty: 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 [[SchmuckBait his client underestimating his skills]] won't make him break the contract. No, for that Shelly absolutely has to be betrayed first.
* VillainsNeverLie: 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.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: This hitman has white hair on the top of his head.
* WildCard: He lives by a complex code of honor, bordering on BlueAndOrangeMorality, 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.
* WorthyOpponent:
** 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.
[[/folder]]

[[Characters/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Investigations]] ([[Characters/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMinorCharacters AAI]], [[Characters/GyakutenKenji2MinorCharacters AAI2]]) | [[Characters/TheGreatAceAttorney TGAA]] ([[Characters/TheGreatAceAttorneyMajorCharacters Major]] | [[Characters/TheGreatAceAttorneyMinorCharacters Minor]])\\

[[Characters/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Investigations]] ([[Characters/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMinorCharacters AAI]], [[Characters/GyakutenKenji2MinorCharacters AAI2]]) | [[Characters/TheGreatAceAttorney TGAA]] ([[Characters/TheGreatAceAttorneyMinorCharacters Minor]])\\

* HiddenBuxom: She certainly doesn't look it in her normal outfit. But, when [[spoiler:dressed as Maya she [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/5/5c/Lotta_Channeling_Photo_2.png/revision/latest?cb=20210308180816 has quite nice cleavage]]]].

* IdiotHair: Underneath her hat. [[spoilers:The real Ini didn't have it, making the CGs of her outside the burning car make you know it's Mimi and not Ini that survived]].
* HiddenBuxom: She certainly doesn't look it in her normal outfit. But, when [[spoiler:dressed as Maya she [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/5/5c/Lotta_Channeling_Photo_2.png/revision/latest?cb=20210308180816 has quite the nice cleavage]].

%%* IdiotHair: Underneath her hat.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: She still could have desperately fought on against Phoenix while being cross-examined but since she was already extremely cornered she instead chose to confess to the murder.]]

* SatanicArchetype: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed:]] While he has no supernatural capabilities that would make him similar to Lucifer, he sure shares several similarities with him: First of all, he puts up the façade of being a beloved hero in a kids' show, almost an angel to some. His color scheme is Red and White, two colors in stark contrast with each other, that represent many of Matt and The Morning Star's attributes: He is proud, arrogant, raging and selfish. The fact that his vanity borders a god complex and that he is an absurdly evil handsome young man further drives the point of him being a demonic being with an angelic look home. As if this wasn't enough, the thought of defending him in court gives Phoenix Wright his recurring nightmare the night before the trial: the giant judge, possibly representing God himself, smiting him for having to prove the "Prince of Evil" himself innocent.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: In-universe. From the moment you meet him, you'll be wondering how this guy could possibly be keeping up such a high-profile acting career when he seems incapable of making any of his own decisions and totally unaware of the world around him. Then you reach TheReveal, and it becomes clear that Engarde is actually ''very good at acting'' - everything you thought you knew about him was a facade. Except his acting skills.

* ItsAllAboutMe: He's a full-blown sociopath who truly doesn't give a damn about anyone else and sees nothing wrong with using people then throwing them away.

* AlliterativeName: Both names.

** Pulls one at Juan Corrida. Both use very dirty tricks to upstage each other and drive an innocent woman to suicide during said tricks, but Matt is the one who gets Juan killed.

[[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharacters Witnesses and Other Characters]] ([[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersPhoenixWright Original Game]] | '''JFA''' | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersTrialsAndTribulations T&T]] ([[Characters/AceAttorneyDahliaHawthorne Dahlia Hawthorne]]) | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersApolloJustice AJ]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersDualDestinies DD]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersSpiritOfJustice SoJ]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersManga Manga]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersAnime Anime]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersNovels Novels]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersTheater Theater]]) | [[Characters/AceAttorneyVictims Victims]]\\

[[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersPhoenixWright Original Game]] | '''JFA''' | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersTrialsAndTribulations T&T]] ([[Characters/AceAttorneyDahliaHawthorne Dahlia Hawthorne]]) | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersApolloJustice AJ]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersDualDestinies DD]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersSpiritOfJustice SoJ]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersManga Manga]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersAnime Anime]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersNovels Novels]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyWitnessesAndOtherCharactersTheater Theater]] | [[Characters/AceAttorneyVictims Victims]]\\

[[folder:'''Maggey Byrde''' (''Mako Suzuki'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/YoshikoIkuta ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/DawnMBennett ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])

[[quoteright:226:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maggey_byrde.png]]
[[caption-width-right:226:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''Trials and Tribulations'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maggey_byrde_tat.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:226:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''Investigations'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maggey_byrde_portrait_2.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->"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.

* AdaptationalLateAppearance: 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".
* BespectacledCutie: In the anime, she considers her glasses to be cute and "her mark of identity".
* BornUnlucky: 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, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking lost every game of]] TabletopGame/TicTacToe [[BeyondTheImpossible 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.
* TheChewToy: Maggey Byrde has a perpetual streak of bad luck, which culminated in her being accused of murder on ''three'' separate occasions.[[labelnote:*]]Only Maya Fey has more murder accusations under her belt throughout the series[[/labelnote]] Byrde lampshades this a lot too, and considering [[MeaningfulName her name]] [[PunnyName 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...
* CosmicPlaything: 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).
* TheDitz: 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.
* FairCop: 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.
* JerkassBall: 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; [[spoiler: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''.
* InconsistentSpelling: A plot point--her name is "Magg''ey''", 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.)
* LikesOlderMen: Dated a fellow police officer no less than eight years older than her.
* MeaningfulName: Her name is a reference to the magpie, a bird associated with bad luck. Very fitting for someone BornUnlucky.
* {{Meido}}: Soon after her first trial, Jean Armstrong employed Byrde as a waitress at his restaurant. And the waitresses wear maid outfits.
* MyNaymeIs: In her first trial, this is a plot point. [[spoiler:Dustin's killer heard it over the phone and mis-spelled it]].
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: 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.
-->'''Byrde''': [[LampshadeHanging I wonder what my next job should be...? Ooh, this is actually kind of fun!]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In her first case, [[spoiler:her finding a missing cell phone and promising to return it to its owner has her boyfriend killed and she gets framed for it.]]
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: 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 [[BornUnlucky incredibly bad luck]].
* OcularGushers: Cries with sparkling tears of joy whenever something greatly pleases her.
* PluckyGirl: Maggey is pretty strongwilled, considering she hasn't been broken apart ''completely'' with every misfortune she gets.
* ThePollyanna: 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.
* PunnyName: Magpie birds are unlucky. 'One for sorrow...', as the rhyme goes. "Mako Suzuki" is a pun on "''maketsuzuki''", "continuing to lose".
* UnluckilyLucky: 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.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: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]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:'''Richard Wellington''' (''Takamasa Moroheiya'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/DaisukeKishio ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/RiccoFajardo ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])

[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/richard_wellington.png]]

->"I am Richard Wellington, the "Drifting Virtuoso" with a Ph.D. in Drifting, as it were."

A wannabe university student (who claims he just hasn't found one up to his standards yet) who is very picky with words and a pompous jerk. He beans Phoenix over the head with a fire extinguisher and knocks him out.
----

[[folder:'''Director Hotti/Hickfield''' (''Hotta/Hikita'')]]
[[quoteright:272: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.

* AdaptedOut: He doesn't appear in the anime at all, with his info provision being instead shifted to Lotta's findings.
* BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible: 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 VerbalTic.
* ComedicLolicon: He apparently has a thing for the 15-year-old Trucy, [[http://www.capcom-unity.com/zeroobjections/blog/2014/11/21/localization-and-ace-attorney 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.
* ContinuityCameo: 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).
* DirtyOldMan: He really likes female patients, and is eager to take them off for "examination".
* DrPsychPatient: 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.
* FourthWallObserver: He's somehow able to read Phoenix's inner monologue and comment on the static background of the Hotti Clinic.
* TheGhost: 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 ''Film/TheGoonies'' with broken teeth.
* IronicName: 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''.
* TooKinkyToTorture: Even harbors lust for ''Franziska von Karma''; it's even [[CasualKink 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.
* VagueAge: 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.
* VerbalTic: He adds "hmm, yes" to most of his sentences. Eventually it [[GotMeDoingIt rubs off of Phoenix]].
[[/folder]]

!!Turnabout Big Top (''Gyakuten Circus'')

[[folder:'''Maximillion Galactica''']]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Shinya Hamazoe ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/AaronRoberts ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxgalactica.png]]

->"Ab-so-lute-ly FABULOUS!"

His real name is '''Billy Bob Johns''' (''Kouhei Yamada''), and he's a famous magician under the employ of the Berry Big Circus; his biggest trick is flying around. Cue the murder of the circus ringmaster whose assailant leaves no footprints in the snow. He's actually a country bumpkin.
----

[[folder:'''Regina Berry''' (''Rika Tachimi'', stage name ''Mirika'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/YoTaichi ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/JadSaxton ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:308: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.

* AwfulTruth: [[spoiler: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.]]
* BishieSparkle: She can summon it at will.
* BreakTheCutie:
** [[spoiler:Moe ends up bringing her to court just so she could see everything that really happened because of her innocence, from the DeadlyPrank that led to Bat's coma to her father's death.]]
** It ends up happening ''again'' in ''Investigations 2'' [[spoiler:when she finds out new circus member Simon, one of her closest friends, is [[BigBadFriend far from who he appears to be.]]]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer:
** 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. [[spoiler:It was so Edgeworth could retrieve the decisive evidence it was forced to swallow.]]
* ButThouMust: The way her beauty charms multiple characters into being completely agreeable with her is a RunningGag. 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".
* CargoShip: 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.
* CartwrightCurse: 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 [[spoiler:her accidentally putting Bat into a coma and Simon Keyes being a manipulative criminal.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: 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. [[spoiler:Although the effort ends up wasted on Simon considering [[EvilAllAlong 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.]]
* CheerfulChild: Has this air, and she even has a little "jumping up and down in glee" animation.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Subverted. She's 16, which makes her a borderline KiddieKid, but she acts ''much'' younger.
* CircusBrat: As the ringleader's daughter. It's given her a [[CloudCuckooLander somewhat skewed view of reality]].
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Due to her sheltered upbringing in the fantastic environment of the circus.
* CutenessProximity: How she (unwittingly) wraps everyone around her finger.
* TheCutie: In-universe. Is idealistic and innocent [[spoiler:which is why she didn't comprehend the gravity of the situation around Acro's brother.]]
* DeadlyPrank: [[spoiler: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]]
* DeathIsASadThing: 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. [[spoiler:This is played more darkly than most examples, as she doesn't realize that her prank on Bat was [[DeadlyPrank 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.]]
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: [[spoiler: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 DeadlyPrank) and posts it on the cafeteria bulletin board]].
* DudeMagnet: [[ArrangedMarriage Max, Ben]], and Bat were [[AgeGapRomance all attracted to her]]. With Max being 21 and Bat being 22, the [[DownplayedTrope age difference isn't that big]],[[note]]5 years and 6 years respectively[[/note]] but depending on the country/region that [[JailbaitTaboo could bring legal issues]]. Ben on the other hand is [[OldManMarryingAChild a lot less understandable]].
* DumbassNoMore: From an [[TheIngenue 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 [[spoiler:helping bring up vital evidence that was essential in taking down Simon Keyes]].
* EasilyForgiven: 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. [[spoiler:Subverted, because her resulting naivety over the harm she committed in her little pranks is why Acro can't forgive her.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: 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.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: 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.
* FluffyTamer: She's even capable of coaxing fearsome creatures that don't even belong to the circus into obeying her commands.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: She cannot keep Money the Monkey under control, but she has no issue taming and befriending any other animal.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: A variation: It's not fanservice that attracts people to her, but her apparent {{cuteness|Proximity}}. And she never notices the effect it has on others even once.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: [[spoiler: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'']].
* ItsAllMyFault: [[spoiler:What she says once the truth is uncovered in court. Accompanied by her finally opening the waterworks.]]
* LethallyStupid: [[spoiler:Her naivety directly results in Bat [[FateWorseThanDeath 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.]]
* LimitedWardrobe: Wears her circus outfit every time she's onscreen, even in court.
* LoveTriangle: Regina has/had the affections of three of the other performers: Bat, Max, and Ben/Trilo.
* MagicalGirl: Has the appearance of one, as well as toting a ''Manga/SailorMoon''-esque wand.
* MeaningfulName: "Regina" means "queen", and she's currently the young princess of the Big Berry Circus.
* MissingMom: Died not too long after she was born.
* MustMakeAmends: [[spoiler: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.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Once she realizes the truth of what her DeadlyPrank 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.]]
* NiceGirl: Though in her case her kindness is underlined by how utterly innocent and naïve she is.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: The way she's shaded, her eye design and her RegalRinglets makes her look like she's straight out of a shoujo manga.
* ObliviousToHatred: She doesn't realize that Acro is less than fond of her, [[spoiler: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.
* PepperSneeze: [[spoiler:Bat did this to her in the past, and she decided to return the favor... with ''disastrous'' results]].
* RegalRinglets: Fits, given her MeaningfulName.
* SpannerInTheWorks: In ''Investigations 2'', [[spoiler:she derails [[BigBad 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.]]
* SpoiledSweet: She's a kind person at heart, and Acro says this is because Russell was "too kind" to her.
* StarsAreSouls: 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 [[PleaseWakeUp just sleeping]].
* TakeMeInstead: 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.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: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.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:'''Moe''' (''Tommy'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Takeshi Uchida ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/SonnyStrait ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moe_3.png]]

->"Aha! Aha! Aha! Aha! Aha! Aha! Aha! Aha!"

Real name '''Lawrence Curls''' (''Matsuo Tomida''), he's a stoogey clown working at the Berry Big Circus and old friend of the ringmaster. He's the witness of Russell's murder. Despite his wisecracking antics, he's actually one of the most level-headed members of the circus.
----

[[folder:'''Adrian Andrews''' (''Kirio Kamiya'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/AyakaAsai ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/MallorieRodak ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adrian_andrews.png]]
[[caption-width-right:261:[[labelnote:Click here to see her in ''Trials and Tribulations'']]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_7666.png[[/labelnote]]]]

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

Adrian first shows up as the [[TheStoic 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 [[CuteClumsyGirl clumsier]] personality.
----
* AlliterativeName: Both names.
* AmbiguouslyLesbian: 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 [[DrivenToSuicide 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 [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Franziska teaching her how to use a whip.]]
* BespectacledCutie: She wears glasses and is a beautiful and endearing young woman, especially in ''Trials and Tribulations'' where she's a much more cheerful CuteClumsyGirl.
* BrokenBird: 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.
* BungledSuicide: 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.
* ContinuityCameo: She shows up briefly during TheStinger of [[Film/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the film]], though she doesn't have a speaking role.
* CuteClumsyGirl: 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.
* DarkSecret: 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.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Especially in the third game, when she's significantly more cheerful.
* TheDogBitesBack: 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.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: 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.
* FailureKnight: Swore revenge at Matt due to how he treated Celeste [[spoiler:and took it in the good ending.]] Also took revenge on Juan for the same reason, descreating his corpse.
* FramingTheGuiltyParty: [[DeconstructedTrope It backfires so hard]] that she finds herself accused of the crime she NEVER committed. [[{{Reconstruction}} However, if she had never done this]], Matt Engarde would probably have escaped justice.
* GenderBlenderName: 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.
* ImportantHaircut: 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.
* InfiniteSupplies: She breaks her glasses and pulls out a spare pair several times over the course of the second game. (Seven, to be exact.)
* IronicName: '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 DarkReprise of the Steel Samurai's theme.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: 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.
* MeaningfulName: 'Adrian' means 'the dark one', which probably refers to her clothes switch to black, and that she once was full of dark secrets.
* NiceGirl: 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
* NotSoWeak: 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.
* OldShame: 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.
* OnceAnEpisode: 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.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: 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.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: 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.
* ShrinkingViolet: Was this for the majority of her life, and tried to behave like her late mentor (who was TheStoic 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.
* SpannerInTheWorks:
** 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 [[spoiler:the photo of [=Mask=]☆[=DeMasque=] "stealing" the Urn in Lordly Tailor was actually taken long before the actual theft took place]].
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Tries to be TheStoic, but ends up being this.
* SympatheticMurderer: ...or at least of stabbing someone who was already dead. Juan Corrida was already dead, but when she stabbed his dead body to FrameUp Matt she didn't feel any regret because of what Matt and Juan did with Celeste.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: Her appearance in ''Trials and Tribulations'' is much nicer and cheerful, showing that it's her true personality after completely [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]]. By ''Trials and Tribulations'', she's recovered enough that smiling is her default expression.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Her innocent act of taking what she didn't know was Shelly de Killer's CallingCard 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.
* WhenSheSmiles: Just like Lana Skye, she smiles for the first time in the end upon being found not guilty of murder.
* WildTake: Her glasses start to crack and then shatter completely, followed by her putting on a replacement pair.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:'''Shelly de Killer''' (''Sazaemon Koroshiya'')]]
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Wataru Yokojima ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/MarcusDStimac ([[Anime/AceAttorney2016 anime]])
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shelly_dekiller.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him in Investigations]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gk2_shelly_de_killer.png[[/labelnote]]]]

->"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.
----
* AdaptationalKarma: 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.
* AffablyEvil: Despite being an assassin, he's nothing but polite to the lawyers. Until he breaks down after finding out Matt blackmailed him, that is.
* AntiVillain: Not a good guy, but not someone who engages in pointless cruelty. He can even be reasoned with if you can understand his motivations.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: In ''Investigations 2'', [[spoiler: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.]]
* BadassInANiceSuit: Being a butler and an assassin, he's this.
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: [[spoiler: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.]]
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: 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.
* TheButlerDidIt: Occasionally he ''does'' pose as a butler...
* CallingCard: 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.
* CatchPhrase: "People are rarely what they appear to be."
* CreepyJazzMusic: His theme, "Whim of a Murderous Gentleman" is a very smooth and slow tune befitting his classy, sinister nature.
* DistinctionWithoutADifference: 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.
* DragonInChief: He was hired by Matt Engarde to be his hitman, and becomes TheHeavy 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.
* TheDreaded: Everyone is on the edge of losing their nerves when this guys’s around, even Edgeworth and the Judge. He also defeats [[TheWorfEffect Franziska, who could instill fear herself,]] by shooting her shoulder.
* DueToTheDead: He respects the late Ethan Rooke, being [[WorthyOpponent one of the only few who managed to beat him in a fight]], [[spoiler:and his death led to him discovering the true nature of Di-Jun Huang.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** 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.
* EvilCounterpart: 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 CrusadingLawyer, De Killer is an assassin feared by law enforcement. They are both among the foremost people in their respective fields, considered to be [[BunnyEarsLawyer 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.
* ExactWords: 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.
* ExpressiveAccessory: 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 [[YourHeadASplode exploding]]. His ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' appearance mirrors this effect using an ice cream cone he carries.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Subverted, they ''look'' shut, but a very close look at his sprite reveals they're actually just extremely narrow, and he has a perpetual DeathGlare at all times.
* FailedASpotCheck: 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.
* FinalBoss: 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 than Engarde betrayed ''both'' of them is what finally wins the case.
* TheHeavy: 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.
* HighClassGlass: 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.
* HonorBeforeReason: 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 [[spoiler:Simon Keyes, who purposely concealed information, was saved by a fellow assassin.]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: 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 [[spoiler: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.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: 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 [[spoiler:framing Adrian Andrews to cover up for his real client.]]
* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: 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.
* ItsPersonal: 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.

--> '''Shelly 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.
* KarmaHoudini: 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. [[spoiler:He's still at large as of the end of ''Investigations 2''.]]
* KnightOfCerebus: 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 TakeAThirdOption. In short, the entire case serves to emphasize how incredibly dangerous this guy is, and the ending does NOT alleviate that in any way.
* LegacyCharacter: 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".
* MassOhCrap: He elicits this response in ''Investigations 2'' in Case 5, when after [[spoiler: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.
* MexicanStandoff: Against [[spoiler:Sirhan Dogen near the end of Investigations 2's Case 5, when de Killer arrives to kill Simon Keyes for betraying his trust.]]
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler: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 GoldenEnding.]]
* MrSmith: 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 [[MeaningfulName unidentified dead bodies the cops find]]).
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
** ''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'.
* NobleDemon: He stresses the professional part of being a ProfessionalKiller through a personal code of honor & trust between him & his clients. Taking down Engarde involves proving Matt betrayed that trust.
* NotMeThisTime: Claims this in Case 1 of ''Investigations 2''. [[spoiler: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.]]
* NotWorthKilling: [[spoiler: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.]]
* ObviouslyEvil: Highly suspicious at least. He looks like a stereotypical butler (who, we all know, [[TheButlerDidIt Did It]]) but with a skunk stripe and ''a stitched seam down the middle of his face''. Naturally, everyone is completely {{Genre Blind|ness}} to the fact and no one really comments on his eye-catching look. Besides Will Powers, but Phoenix discredits his claims.
* OverlyLongName: "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]] Actually, the middle character in his given name, 右 isn't read at all, just being a VisualPun with 左 (left-right).[[/note]]
* PaperThinDisguise:
** 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 PlotHole as well. How can Edgeworth not notice the signature shell of Shelly's CallingCard on the back of his ice cream outfit?
* ThePowerOfTrust: He strongly believes that there should be nothing but trust between him and his clients. [[spoiler:Betraying his trust is a good way to end up as a target of his]].
* ProfessionalKiller: Of the assassin variety.
* PunnyName: (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".
* RealMenWearPink: He sports a pink kimono while posing as an ice cream vendor on Gourd Lake during ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
* RedHerring: 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.
* RoomDisservice: Kills Juan Corrida whilst masquerading as a hotel waiter.
* StiffUpperLip: 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, [[NotSoAboveItAll objects that resemble his face show his actual emotions quite frequently.]]
* TheStoic: PlayedWith in ''Investigations 2''. De Killer's expression is unflappable and does not change even once, but his ice cream cone [[ExpressiveAccessory is way more expressive]] and shows De Killer's actual emotions.
* ThisPageWillSelfDestruct: Although his radio has repeatedly exploded into pieces during his testimony, it does so for the final time in the credits.
* ThouShaltNotKill: ...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.
* TranquilFury: He's pretty upfront and calm during his statement that he's going to hunt down and kill Matt for betraying him.
* UndyingLoyalty: 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 [[SchmuckBait his client underestimating his skills]] won't make him break the contract. No, for that Shelly absolutely has to be betrayed first.
* VillainsNeverLie: 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.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: This hitman has white hair on the top of his head.
* WildCard: He lives by a complex code of honor, bordering on BlueAndOrangeMorality, 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.
* WorthyOpponent:
** 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.
[[/folder]]

* UnluckilyLucky: 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.

* ExactWords: When Phoenix questions him about his case, he denies killing anyone and this doesn't produce any Psyche-Locks. ''Technically'' he was telling the truth, something he lampshades after being called out by Pearl.

* ForWantOfANail: [[BullyingADragon One big mistake]] becomes his downfall, it's explicit there was no other way for Phoenix to win against him.

* VillainBall: A very egregious example. He has an ending where he wins, can put a good facade, has a way to defend himself from many possible setbacks... and also makes a fatal mistake, [[BullyingADragon making a video to blackmail de Killer.]] To put things in perspective, [[LaserGuidedKarma this video causes him]] [[ForWantOfANail all of his major setbacks]] but [[FramingTheGuiltyParty one]].

** 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 basically say in court that if Matt Engarde weren't found guilty, ''he would kill him.''

** Inverted when it comes to Max. While Acro admits Max has a number of ego problems, he doesn't hold much of a grudge against him, unlike Moe or Ben. [[spoiler:Max being implicated for the murder was all just a freaky combination of coincidences and Max only went through with it for the sake of remaining by his brother's side]].

* SympatheticMurderer: [[spoiler:The man he killed was like a father to him, and he was so upset upon discovering that he had killed him instead that he even contemplated suicide. Of course, this does not absolve him from intentionally trying to kill Regina and then framing an innocent Maximillion Galactica for the crime. At the same time though, it's not hard to see how he eventually snapped. His only brother was caught in a brutal accident that Regina inadvertently caused, and when Bat fell into a coma (that he likely won't ever wake up from, due to extensive brain damage) she treated it like it wasn't a big deal at all, referring to him as just "a star in the sky." He even says that he didn't harbor any malice towards her because of the accident, but it was just her extreme flippancy about it, all while doting on Acro and reading to Bat like there was nothing wrong. Acro didn't intentionally frame Max, either. Max's bust was incidentally stolen by Money, Max's cloak got caught on the murder weapon by accident, and other witnesses happened to see it and accused Max. Granted, he went along with the story anyways, but not out of malice. He was afraid of what would happen to Bat if he had woke up from his coma without Acro being there, so he didn't fess up to the murder until he was exposed. He also apologizes to Max after he's exposed.]]

* TheKlutz: His routine involves a lot of pratfalls, so practice for it has ended up breaking a lot props in his room as well, he caused the hole in his ceiling with a pogo-stick accident.

* MouthfulOfPi: *whip crack* "Do you like pi? I love pi! 3.141592... (continue for almost two lines of text)! Tasty!"

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: The only final case antagonist to not be the outright BigBad of the entire game, though given the seriousness of the situation and how difficult it is to actually take him down, he might as well be.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Matt Engarde may be cunning and manipulative, but he's unable to defend himself without using others. When his grip on Phoenix Wright and Shelley De Killer is broken, he's reduced to a cowardly wreck, not even having his own cross examination. Engarde may be great at following a script, but he's a lousy improviser.
** Also, being more evil than another villain doesn't automatically make you a threat to them. Being EvilerThanThou worked against Juan Corrida, but his show of evil against Shelly de Killer just pisses off the assassin, who works off EvenEvilHasStandards but remains beyond Matt's ability to easily manipulate.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:She hides behind a façade of blissful ditziness, but her true personality is much more cunning.]]

* FieryRedhead: Played with. [[spoiler:Mimi's red hair seems to complement her fiery personality, since she has frequent temper tantrums once her façade starts to break. However, she's naturally a brunette.]]

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.

** Despite her naïveté, she's really good at taming and commanding all sorts of animals at quite a young age.

* NiceGirl: Though in her case her kindness is underlined by how utterly innocent and naïve she is.

[[folder:'''Matt Engarde''' (''Shingo Otoro'') -- '''WARNING: MAJOR UNMARKED SPOILERS''']]

!!!'''Played by:''' Yûji Abe ([[Film/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney film]])

Actor of the Nickel Samurai, and the fierce rival of Juan Corrida. He's slow-witted, and relies on his manager/producer/et al. for advice via the cell phone he wears like a wristwatch. However, that's all a façade. He's actually a full-blown sociopath who doesn't trust anyone and is the true BigBad of this case, hiring Shelly de Killer to assassinate Juan Corrida.

* KnightOfCerebus: Averts this when he pretends to be naïve and innocent. However, he plays it straight after he reveals his true face and terrifying actions.

** His original name (真悟) means "true self". It's a pretty big hint to the Japanese player.

* SatanicArchetype: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed:]] While he has no supernatural capabilities that would make him similar to Lucifer, he sure shares several similarities with him: First of all, he puts up the façade of being a beloved hero in a kids' show, almost an angel to some. His color scheme is Red and White, two colors in stark contrast with each other, that represent many of Matt and The Morning Star's attributes: He is proud, arrogant, raging and selfish. The fact that his vanity borders a god complex and that he is an absurdly evil handsome young man further drives the point of him being a demonic being with an angelic look home. As if this wasn't enough, the thought of defending him in court gives Phoenix Wright his recurring nightmare the night before the trial: the giant judge, possibly representing God himself, smiting him for having to prove the "Prince of Evil" himself innocent.

** Her accidental breaking and smearing of the Kurain Sacred Urn in Case 3-2 ends up being a vital point to prove that [[spoiler:the photo of [=Mask=]☆[=DeMasque=] "stealing" the Urn in Lordly Tailor was actually taken long before the actual theft took place]].

* OverlyLongName: "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]] Actually, the middle character in his given name, 右 isn't read at all, just being a VisualPun with 左 (left-right).[[/note]]

* ScrollingText: Frequently speaks very rapidly after Franziska gives him ATasteOfTheLash.