Because of how diverse the cast of characters in Ace Attorney is, there are plenty of characters who some fans tend to like more than others, leading to much discourse throughout the fanbase over their quality and impact on the narrative.
Mainline entries
- Recurring:
- Phoenix Wright himself has become very divisive following Apollo Justice. While his characterization in the trilogy is still well loved, his portrayal in Apollo Justice has become very divisive. Some see his depiction as a Trickster Mentor and The Chessmaster to be a logical step forward for the character and an interesting way to take him, on top of loving the idea of him being a father figure to Trucy, while others find aspects of him such as him using forged evidence in "Turnabout Trump" to be very out of character for him and dislike how he went from a prestigious defense lawyer in the original trilogy to a scruffy "hobo", feeling it ruins his arc from the trilogy. The fact that the games following it would revert back to his trilogy characterization and role is also divisive, with some finding it to be a good move after what Apollo Justice did to him or an overcorrection to the aforementioned criticisms that regressed his character as opposed to further developing him and the qualities he had gained in Apollo Justice.
- Apollo Justice. Depending on who you ask, he is either a worthy successor to Phoenix Wright and a fun protagonist in his own right or an underdeveloped Replacement Scrappy who is a mere shadow of Phoenix. This did die down after Dual Destinies reinstated Phoenix as a defense lawyer, allowing people to view and judge Apollo on his own merits than as a replacement of Phoenix.
- Depending on who you ask, Maya Fey is either an endearing and incredibly sympathetic Genki Girl who has a great dynamic with Phoneix or an obnoxious and immature idiot who couldn't stop getting imprisoned for the life of her. The fact that she has a tendency to get imprisoned or kidnapped in every appearance she makes doesn't help her reputation.
- Franziska von Karma tends to be the most divisive amongst the reoccurring prosecutors. Some adore her for her over-the-top nature, her Hidden Depths and sibling-like relationship with Edgeworth, while others find her to be an unlikable, whiny and poorly developed Jerkass who hurts people for no good reason and lacks Edgeworth's more noble and likable qualities, and her father's Evil Is Cool status.
- Athena Cykes became this as soon as she debuted in Dual Destinies. Some fans love her for being a main playable female defense attorney (the first since Mia Fey) and consider her to be an endearing, fun and sympathetic main character with a compelling backstory and interesting chemistry with Apollo. Others though, find her to be an unnecessary addition to an already large and bloated cast that takes away the spotlight and focus from characters that need it more (such as Apollo), on top of finding her to be a glorified plot device who acts more like an assistant than the defense attorney she is supposed to be. After Apollo was Put on a Bus at the end of Spirit of Justice, debates heated up as to whether she should take over as the protagonist in possible future entries.
- Depending on who you ask, Larry Butz is either a hilarious side character or an unlikeable and sleazy creep. This reception is particularly prevalent in the Western fanbase, as Larry is more well-liked amongst the Japanese fanbase.
- Trucy Wright. Many enjoy her interactions with Apollo and her ability to avoid getting in trouble every single game unlike Maya, while others feel instead that her chemistry with Apollo is a weaker attempt to echo the Phoenix-Maya duo. Despite her role as an assistant, she also has the recurring tendency to imply to Apollo that she's solved the mysteries behind the cases well before he has, and yet chooses not to explain them to him directly.
- Klavier Gavin. Some dislike him for his much less harsh attitude toward the defense, arguing it makes him an underwhelming adversary, and what are seen as stereotypical Bishōnen tendencies. Others like him because of his surprisingly helpful attitude and aversion of the Persecuting Prosecutor trope, as well as his zany rock star attitude and career, and point out that (for the most part) the prosecutor isn't meant to be a villain; they're simply there to present counterarguments to the defense, something that was established in the Phoenix arc between Phoenix and Edgeworth. General opinion of him seems to have swung more positively since, with many lamenting that he was Demoted to Extra in both Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice.
- Ema Skye, initially a fan-favorite assistant for the first game's bonus case, developed into this starting with Apollo Justice. Her redesign is adored as she is one of the few assistant girls in the series to avert Not Allowed to Grow Up, but her newfound grumpy personality after her failure to qualify for the forensics unit has made her divisive. That being said, there are those who greatly appreciate this distinction from the other assistant girls. Her relationship with Apollo is another point of debate; some of Apollo's detractors tend to give her a pass for venting out at him for no reason at all while others feel that their bickering is more friendly and harmless than anything, particularly in the fourth case.
- Depending on who you ask, Wendy Oldbag is either one of the funniest and most memorable characters in the series, or an insanely annoying Stalker with a Crush who ruins the mood of every case she appears in due to being unfunny and cartoonish.
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Angel Starr. She's either an interesting witness with a unique gimmick who poses a formidable challenge, or an obnoxious and unlikable person who wears out her welcome early on by being an annoying Wake-Up Call Boss who serves to pad out the already bloated first half of the case.
- Justice for All:
- Maximillion Galactica is either seen the best character in an otherwise poor case, or is just as unlikable as Benjamin Woodman. While not as bad as Ben in terms of age difference, he's still noticeably older and more experienced to the point of being inexcusably creepy, while Regina is mentally immature and naïve, even disregarding her only being 16. However, many others choose to look past this uncomfortable aspect of his character, finding his personality entertaining and captivating. His fans are sympathetic in that despite his arrogance, he genuinely cares for his coworkers and only wants them to do better, but only gets hatred in return, showing a surprising amount of depth to his character. However, his haters dismiss him as an arrogant jerk, who even despite his creepy interest in Regina, assaults Ben over her and gets away with it, making him a very unsympathetic defendant from the get go.
- Regina Berry. One one hand, between her appearance, personality, and role as the heart of the third case, many fans will concede that it's nearly impossible not to like her. However, many other fans find her naïveté unbearable and hold her responsible for putting Bat into a coma and causing Acro's paralysis, and not showing any sympathy over them. Defenders, however, will say that her lack of remorse for the accident is because she did not understand the concept of death, rather than being a heartless monster.
- Moe. There's his jokes, which are either just straight up unfunny or charming in their awfulness, his design, which is either just plain creepy or silly in a good way, and his small character arc which climaxes with his decision to bring Regina to the last day of trial, which is considered either a cruel Jerkass move or an necessary step to help her come to terms with Bat's accident and her father's death. While it's hard to argue against his irritating gameplay mechanic during trials, some players can look past that and appreciate these other aspects of his character, such as his surprisingly grounded and mature presence within the case and genuine care for the members of the circus, though there are still plenty who still dislike him either because of or beyond those gameplay issues.
- Acro is divided between his fans and those who seen him as Unintentionally Unsympathetic. Fans see him as a tragic character who lost a great deal, being paralyzed from the waist down and seeing his brother go into a coma, and believe that while that doesn't excuse what he did (which Acro himself has the decency to admit), it does make him one of the more sympathetic killers. Detractors, however, don't like how he intended to murder a young girl who'd accidentally been responsible for those tragedies, who was also the daughter of his benefactor, and point out that the case wouldn't have happened if Acro had decided to confront the person responsible in a more sensible manner.
- Bat. While never present in the story, it tries to portray him as an innocent, naïve young man who just wanted a date with Regina and is now in a coma with no hope of waking up due to a prank she herself pulled. On the other hand, the 22 year old is the only one of Regina's three "love interests" who has been with the circus since before Regina was born which makes his actions even worse than Max or even Ben.
- Trials and Tribulations:
- Godot, despite being the only prosecutor to rival Edgeworth in terms of popularity, has his own detractors. Some fans enjoy him for his quirky personality, surprisingly tragic backstory, and motivations that don't quite fall into "win at all costs," like pre-Heel–Face Turn Edgeworth and Franziska did. Others despise him for his actions in 3-5, in which he kills Misty Fey as part of a complicated plan to save Maya's life, which could potentially have resulted in Pearl and/or Maya herself dying, as well as Iris or Maya being wrongly convicted for murder, simply because he didn't trust Phoenix. There's also the nature of his coffee-themed Ice-Cream Koans; some find them amusing, others find them to be needlessly padding out the story's runtime (along with his overly long drinking animations).
- Furio Tigre, in no small part due to how divisive Case 3-3 itself is. His detractors typically view him as the worst villain in the original trilogy (with the possible exception of Redd White), due to him falling way short of the standards of the other villains seen in the game, how ridiculously implausible his plan is, and how he's constantly talked up as being some incredibly devious criminal mastermind despite the fact that he offers up some of the most rickety, hole-ridden testimonies in the entire franchise, with the only difficulty coming from the fact that you get penalized for pressing on the wrong statement (itself considered a Scrappy Mechanic by some). That being said, he does have some fans, due to being such an absurdly cartoonish and over-the-top villain, his plan falling under Refuge in Audacity for some, and is at least popular enough that his outfit appeared as a DLC outfit for Phoenix in Spirit of Justice.
- Despite only appearing in the final case, Iris is easily one of the most polarizing characters in the franchise. Her fans view her as a sweet, well-meaning young woman who genuinely loves Phoenix. They like her because of the contrast she provides with her sister and believe she is only hurt due to a lack of proper screentime. Her detractors by contrast see her as a boring and underwritten Satellite Love Interest at best, or as a willing enabler of Dahlia at worst. Ship-to-Ship Combat is also a factor; the one thing Phoenix/Maya and Phoenix/Miles fans can agree on is their distaste for the main character's sole confirmed love interest.
- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney:
- Wocky Kitaki. Many fans hate him for being an abrasive Jerkass who does nothing but berate his own defense attorney to the point of outright complaining about getting acquitted on murder charges, all because Alita, a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who openly admitted to using him for money, was outed as the killer, and who rarely if ever shows redeeming qualities of any kind. Others appreciate him for his moments of Hidden Depths and his relationship with his parents, as well as presenting the unique scenario of defending an unlikeable jerk who is still innocent.
- Kristoph Gavin. He's either a great final villain, or he's one of the worst final villains. A lot of this is due to his motive, that being that Zak passed him over for Phoenix, in his eyes, because Phoenix won a poker game. As a result, he ruins Phoenix's career by making him present forged evidence, kills Zak years later, and tries to kill Vera Misham. This either makes him hard to take seriously because of how petty he is or incredibly scary because of how petty he is. Defenders of Kristoph argue that he's possibly the most Crazy-Prepared and intelligent villain in the entire series, and like to point out the fact that he's the only villain not caught because of a certain evidence, but because the entire legal system had to be changed to change the odds against him.
- Dual Destinies: The Phantom, also known as Bobby Fulbright. Some think he was one of the most terrifying opponents our lawyers have ever encountered, others think that he was a good concept that was executed terribly, and there's also a third group that considers him a dull and uninteresting character prone to downright moronic actions, such as bringing the lighter with Athena'snote prints in the first place instead of letting Starbuck take the fall. The most polarizing aspect of Phantom is that a lot of emphasis is put on his eventual reveal without much foreshadowing, and that his final identity is a mystery even for himself, resulting in a main villain who is nothing but a mystery for the sake of it.
- Spirit of Justice:
- Dhurke has become one. Is he a badass revolutionary and not only a great parent, but one of the best in the entire franchise? Or is he a horrible parent who not only dumped Apollo in a foreign country while running off and hiding with his biological family (even having another child to boot) and seemingly left Nahyuta to the wolves (unless you take the interpretation that Nahyuta should have asked him for help) until he could pass off rescuing him onto Apollo, but is a naïve idealist whose methods really don't work on a dictator at the level Ga'ran was at? For that matter, did Apollo forgive him too easily?
- The culprits of "Rite of Turnabout", Tahrust and Beh'leeb Innmee. Some fans see them as some of the series' most effective Tragic Villains in the franchise a pair of secret political rebels who were betrayed by one of the people they cared about most, with Tahrust ultimately forced into a terrible position to protect both the rebels and his family even if it meant betraying someone who trusted them. Others see them as Unintentionally Unsympathetic due to how Easily Forgiven they are by Phoenix and Maya despite them willfully working with a plan that would get the two of them executed by the state, with Tahrust even pushing for Maya being his killer once Phoenix catches onto the truth. That Beh'leeb ends up going more or less unpunished outside of her husband's Heroic Suicide is also a point of contention, as although Tahrust deliberately did not include her in his plan to frame Maya, she was in a position to know much more about what was going on than anyone else.
Spin-offs
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth:
- Miles Edgeworth himself, to some extent. Many fans of his adore the chance for him to take up a full-time protagonist role following his brief stint as player character in part of the final case in Trials and Tribulations, and appreciate the analytical, logic-driven approach he brings to the role, setting him apart from the more emotional Phoenix or Apollo. On the other hand, a large camp criticizes his portrayal, viewing him as a comparatively bland protagonist lacking his predecessors' wide variety of character relationships and emotional connections. Another common criticism accuses him of showing considerably less emotional range than he had in the earlier titles, and derides the considerable deal of Character Shilling he is given by members of the supporting cast.
- Kay Faraday, the new sidekick girl. On one hand, she has a healthy fan following that loves her energetic personality and the way it sharply contrasts with Edgeworth's professional, focused behaviour, as well as her years-long journey to track down her father's killer, which gives her a direct parallel with Edgeworth himself. Her heartwarming friendship with Detective Gumshoe is also widely appreciated. On the other, she receives a considerable degree of criticism for pushing Gumshoe out of focus from his usual role as Edgeworth's investigative partner in favor of what is often considered a retread of the familiar Maya archetype for an assistant character, as well as for her "thief" design gimmick rarely if ever factoring into her characterization or behavior on anything more than a superficial level. A common question shared between both camps is of why she even exists in the first place, when the ever-popular Ema Skye also appears in both games, already bringing with her an established history with Edgeworth.
- Zinc LaBlanc can fall into two categories. The more positive view of him is that he's a challenging and amusing Warm-Up Boss who is a surprisingly astute opponent despite being an unsympathetic Hate Sink. The less forgiving interpretation of him is that he's an overly unlikable and obnoxious character who is too obstructive for someone who has little importance to the case as a whole.
- Gyakuten Kenji 2:
- Justine Courtney. Many people love her for her unique design and her takedown of Blaise in the 4th case, as well as doting behavior for her son and, to a lesser extent, trying to help Sebastian. Many others hate her because she enables Sebastian's poor decision making, acts obstructive at every turn and is generally a huge bitch towards Edgeworth. Even her fans hate her behaviour at the beginning of the 4th case, when she dismisses herself as a suspect without providing any detailed reason she couldn't be the culprit, then uses evidence she is fully aware is fabricated to pin Jill's murder on Kay.
- Blaise Debeste. While some appreciate the sheer audacity of his unabashedly vile personality and the depth of his villainy, others find his almost cartoonishly evil nature impossible to take seriously, harming the mood of the cases to feature him, as well as his very passive approach to arguing with Edgeworth, mostly relying on others to argue for him and repeatedly revealing self-incriminating information he has no reason to.
- Di-Jun Huang or rather his body double can feel like this, due to his role as a Hidden Villain only coming out long after his death, meaning that there's far less impact or satisfaction when all his horrible deeds are revealed. Those who like him enjoy his Cowardly Lion personality and funny moments, and feel that his death was necessary to avoid another Quercus Alba situation.
- Dane Gustavia is either an interesting culprit due to his memorable gimmick and stoic yet cunning personality or a overly cruel Hate Sink who lacks the emotional impact or personality that the other killers have.
- The Great Ace Attorney:
- Herlock Sholmes himself. Takumi took certain liberties with his character and divided the fanbase into two camps: Those who think he's an Adorkable goofball and those who think he's a moronic Manchild who can never get anything correct. Most players end up warming up to him with time, likely thanks in part to how fun the Dance of Deduction mechanic is and inviting Ryunosuke and Susato to live with them in 221B at the end of Case 4, but the first impressions still tend to be strong either way. With the plethora of adaptations for the series, he may have been (fairly or not) compared to other adaptations of the character more than how he was in the source material, and some fans argue that it's actually easy to pick up the Doyle canon and read it imagining Takumi's Sherlock Holmes. It has been expressed in an interview
how Shu Takumi himself sees him.Takumi: (on his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories) I'm often asked that, but I find it hard to answer. But I think the easiest answer is the first 12 stories that make up the first short story collection. People think of Holmes as the great detective, but even he makes mistakes at times and feels bad because of them, and there's the friendship with Watson. He's a very human character. You'll understand that as you read more of his stories, so I recommend reading a lot of them. - Iris Wilson can prove to be rather divisive. Detractors will state that her Child Prodigy traits don't fit within the more grounded setting, said traits make her appearances feel one-note, she has little direct relevance to the plot at large for how often she appears, and that her character design is gaudy and over-detailed. Others will cite how Ace Attorney has had unrealistic characters like her previously, don't mind that she's more of a side character, and find her design cute. With the full duology's context, it's also worth noting that like with Sholmes' playing with source material as well as Yujin's, her presentation is a Red Herring that plays with audience expectations regarding both Holmes canon and Ace Attorney games, which is either an interesting spin on the Sherlock Holmes stories or a Canon Defilement.
- The culprit of the final case of the first game divides the fanbase a bit, mainly due to how obvious they are by final case villain standards. Their introduction involves using an alias that is hilariously and blatantly fake to a native English speaker even in the Punny Name world of Ace Attorney, and questioning him ends with him pulling a gun on you. But they still have fans since being the killer is hardly the biggest reveal about them, and their backstory is quite deep. There's also the fact that McGilded is ultimately the true Big Bad of the game despite dying in Case 3, something that is much more well-hidden.
- The final boss of the whole duology, Mael Stronghart. Some like how threatening and intimidating he acts as the judge of the final case and think that he and Jigoku do a good job in fulfilling the "judge is the culprit" role. On the other hand, others find him to be a rather flat character who comes off as a poor man's Damon Gant, and the fact that it's very easy to see that he's a villain way before the final case soured him for a few players. About the only thing universally liked about him is his over-the-top and literally explosive breakdown.
- Herlock Sholmes himself. Takumi took certain liberties with his character and divided the fanbase into two camps: Those who think he's an Adorkable goofball and those who think he's a moronic Manchild who can never get anything correct. Most players end up warming up to him with time, likely thanks in part to how fun the Dance of Deduction mechanic is and inviting Ryunosuke and Susato to live with them in 221B at the end of Case 4, but the first impressions still tend to be strong either way. With the plethora of adaptations for the series, he may have been (fairly or not) compared to other adaptations of the character more than how he was in the source material, and some fans argue that it's actually easy to pick up the Doyle canon and read it imagining Takumi's Sherlock Holmes. It has been expressed in an interview
Non-game media
- Ace Attorney (2012): The film's depiction of Maya Fey is divisive amongst fans, largely due to the movie depicting her as being a serious, mature and hurt person as opposed to the upbeat and slightly ditzy Genki Girl she was in the games. Some find the changes to work well for the more serious tone of the film and feel it is more appropriate for someone who had just lost her sister to murder, while others dislike the changes, arguing that the film's more serious depiction strips away much of what made Maya appealing and memorable in the games.
