History YMMV / PhoenixWrightAceAttorney

* CompleteMonster: [[spoiler: Manfred von Karma.]] As a prosecutor, he had a flawless, decades-long win streak, until defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth managed to (rightfully) have [[spoiler: von Karma]] penalized for his illegal workings in the courtroom. Although Gregory still lost the case, [[spoiler: von Karma]] was enraged by the black mark on his previously-perfect record. Unfortunately, right after the end of the case, an earthquake hit the building. It trapped Gregory Edgeworth, his nine-year-old son Miles, and a bailiff inside an elevator. As oxygen was beginning to run out, the bailiff panicked and attacked Gregory. Miles threw a piece of evidence from the trial at them to get them to stop fighting, which turned out to be a gun. The gun fired once, a terrible scream was heard, and then Miles passed out from lack of oxygen. Unbeknownst to the people in the elevator, [[spoiler: von Karma]] had come across them. The bullet from the gun shot through the glass and hit his shoulder, causing him to scream. In revenge for the black mark against his record, [[spoiler: von Karma]] picked up the gun and shot the unconscious Gregory in the heart. Afterwards, [[spoiler: von Karma]] took Miles under his wing and, for fifteen years, raised Miles to be the antithesis of everything that Gregory Edgeworth was, twisting the boy to fit his views and become a ruthless, cold-hearted prosecutor who cared for nothing but getting a guilty verdict every time. Finally, on the very last day before the Gregory Edgeworth murder case was closed forever, von Karma set up a murder and pinned the blame on Miles Edgeworth, intending to have his own foster-son executed for a murder he didn't commit. [[spoiler: Von Karma]] also planned it out so that Miles would be convinced that ''he himself'' was the one who had killed his father and would confess to and be charged with that murder as well.

** "It feels like my hemorrhoids are doing the Harlem Shake!"

* WhatAnIdiot: Sure Phoenix, show ThePerfectionist prosecutor the evidence that will [[spoiler: link him to the crime and]] set the defendant. I'm sure he won't do anything in retaliation- *zap*

* CompleteMonster: The BigBad, [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]]. She ruined--or tried to--the lives of pretty much every single human being she could for utterly petty reasons. Her solution to almost every problem she faces seems to involving murdering someone. The Case Files manga once refers to her as the "most evil woman in AceAttorney".

* CompleteMonster: The killer of Case 2-4, [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]]. Especially what was done to [[spoiler:Celeste and Juan]], over extremely petty things.

* BaseBreaker: Case 2-3 (Turnabout Big Top).

* {{Narm}}: A good amount of the movie qualifies due to the fact that most of the characters look like cosplayers (albeit, fairly good ones), not to mention how they [[LargeHam overact]], oftentimes making hilarious faces and noises at the most inappropriate times. One a few occasions, Phoenix literally ''throws'' holographic images containing evidence at his opponents, and one particularly memorable scene involves him making the rather innocuous observation that Christmas Eve is almost Christmas, which inexplicably causes everyone in the court (including ''[[TheStoic Edgeworth]]'') to fall to the ground in a collective dead faint. Naturally, all of this leads to a lot of...

** Was Morgan so ambitious and protective for Pearl purely because of her strong spiritual powers or was it from the heartbreak of being separated from her two daughters via divorce, discovering one grew into a sociopath, and not knowing what happened to the other?

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In an odd example, a couple gets this. The [=DeLites=] are either [[spoiler:a HappilyMarried couple of a man who isn't above stealing for the happiness of his wife and a woman who likes strong emotions, and authentically loves her husband for many factors besides money, or a HappilyMarried couple of a crook and a gold digger.]]
** No reason they can't be both.
** At least they are HappilyMarried either interpretation.

* AnticlimaxBoss: Sister Bikini's five Psyche-locks come off with two presentations of evidence. Most other unlocking sequences require, on average, one or two pieces of evidence ''per lock''.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Godot. There's a pretty big difference between sympathetic [[spoiler:murderer]] and absolving him of all his [[spoiler:crimes]] and bad decisions. [[CreatorsPet Then again, the writers could have arguably been doing the same thing.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Dahlia in Iris's perspective, although most likely not the player's. Both sisters were separated from their mother and received no love from their father, and while Iris had a mother figure in Sister Bikini. Dahlia had no one. Iris realizes Dahlia has done many unforgivable things, but still cares for her and wants to help her because of what she's been through (including recovering the necklace so she won't commit any more crimes).

* {{Squick}}: STOP TALKING ABOUT HEMORRHOIDS!

* CrazyAwesome: Many characters have their moments. One of the best example is Manfred von Karma who [[spoiler:''retrains a parrot'']]. No, he doesn't want to lose.

* CompleteMonster:
%%Do not add Redd White back to this page per the decision of the cleanup thread. Adding him back will result in moderators being summoned.
** [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma]] from case 1-4. To summarize: [[spoiler:For having his perfect record a bit dented by Gregory Edgeworth and then getting accidentally shot by a misfiring gun, he kills Gregory and manipulates Miles Edgeworth into becoming a prosecutor instead of a defense lawyer like his father was. Yes, the man who killed his father became his mentor and steered him away from the morals he had at a younger age (but thankfully reclaims later). But that's not the real kicker; Karma's plan was to get Edgeworth framed for murder so he would be locked up/executed for it, and if that was to fail, he knew Edgeworth would think that he had killed his father and confess to that instead. The lengths he went to wreck Edgeworth's life for the small things his father did is staggering.]]
** There's also [[spoiler:Damon Gant]] of case 5. [[spoiler:He forged evidence, killed two police officers, blackmailed the Chief Prosecutor, framed a 14 year old girl for murder, all so that he could become Chief of Police and get obviously guilty defendants found guilty, although he got Joe Darke the wrong verdict, and it is implied he sent many other innocent people to jail.]]

*** His daughter Franziska will whip Phoenix, witnesses, and even ''TheJudge'' every chance she gets. That whip sound will be drilled into your ears by the time cases 2-2 and 2-3 are over.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Manfred's frequent, [[NightmareFuel demonic]] '''[[color:red:Objection!]]'''s in 1-4.

** Oh God, Manfred's ''fingersnaps''. They might just be [[UpToEleven worse]] than his Objections. ''Stop doing that.''

** And then we have [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma]] from case 1-4. To summarize: [[spoiler:For having his perfect record a bit dented by Gregory Edgeworth and then getting accidentally shot by a misfiring gun, he kills Gregory and manipulates Miles Edgeworth into becoming a prosecutor instead of a defense lawyer like his father was. Yes, the man who killed his father became his mentor and steered him away from the morals he had at a younger age (but thankfully reclaims later). But that's not the real kicker; Karma's plan was to get Edgeworth framed for murder so he would be locked up/executed for it, and if that was to fail, he knew Edgeworth would think that he had killed his father and confess to that instead. The lengths he went to wreck Edgeworth's life for the small things his father did is staggering.]]