This anime series, based on a popular video game franchise, focuses on young defense attorney Phoenix Wright. The courtroom drama occurs in an unusual judicial environment where cases must be tried and decided in a three-day period. Wright is assisted by a spirit medium named Maya Fey, who is the sister of Mia Fey, Wright’s mentor. When Mia is killed, Maya is accused of her death. Wright’s defense of Maya gets off to a bad start, and he winds up getting arrested for Mia’s death, but things eventually work out and Wright takes on the defense of other characters charged with homicide. Ace Attorney is a rather unusual anime series, especially since it uses a warped legal setting as the foundation for wild misadventures. The straight-laced Wright and funky Maya also make for an amusing odd couple, engaging in cases that offer a merry mixture of by-the-book courtroom melodrama and off-the-wall anime madness. While a few plot twists are a bit clumsy, the series overall moves at a crisp pace, and the animation is stylish. Presenting the first 13 episodes from 2016 in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, extras include an episode commentary and outtakes. Highly recommended. [Note: Ace Attorney: Part 2 is slated for release on May 8.] (P. Hall)
Ace Attorney: Part 1
(2016) 4 discs. 325 min. Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 3
Ace Attorney: Part 1
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