#Also! I know even less about The Great Ace Attorney to avoid spoilers. so that's why I don't reblog it much on my side blog for now 🫣

[fantasy-girl974]

I have mass deleted all my arts on the bird account🧹 So you can find all my socials here : Carrd (take note for Bluesky I have one for my other arts and one for Ace Attorney)

But just know I post majority of my arts mainly here where I'm the most active ✨ *** I'm also taking this opportunity to say hello new followers!! 👋💕

If you're here for my Ace Attorney content and my fanbook project, welcome welcome, you're in the right place!

I'll probably be in this for a looong time since I only just started the Apollo Justice Trilogy last week. I'm at case 4-3, and I can't wait to finally fully discover the 4-4 case (I only know the big events of the story just thanks to the Wiki when I was starting to get interested by the games, but really in depth after AA4, I know nothing *hides* ).

Anyway *ahem* enjoy your stay 💖

[rivalsforlife]

AA7 Speculation Post: One Year Later

here we go again.

A year and a day ago, I made a speculation post about if/when we’d ever be seeing AA7. Obviously, my claim that AA7 would be announced in September 2020 did not turn out to be true, but later that year we did get a leaked calendar containing information on the new ports for Chronicles, and also plans for a new aa7, which I summarized in this post.

Now that we have Chronicles we can verify that the leaks contained legitimate information (as if a statement from Capcom saying they were hacked wasn’t legitimate enough). So that leaves us with one key question: is AA7 still happening? If so, when can we expect it? As well, what other information from the leaked calendar can we consider, especially with early sales data on Chronicles? In addition, what are the implications of this new survey on Chronicles from Capcom?

All of that will be discussed under the cut so that this doesn’t take up too much space.

Revisiting The Calendar

Once again, here is a rough translation of the calendar that was present in the leaks:

As a note, in this post, I’ll be referring to our new games as “Chronicles” to prevent this from being blocked by people avoiding spoilers.

So: this original calendar, generated before the pandemic, had Chronicles releasing in Q1 of FY2021 - and it’s also important to note that in Japan, each fiscal year starts in April 1st, so FY2021 is actually April-June 2021. This shows that Chronicles was pushed back about a quarter from their expected release date. However, Chronicles was a port of already existing games, therefore somewhat less work was needed on them - upscaling models and textures, adding in some new features like autoplay and story mode, and of course, the English translation and voicework were needed, which is still a lot of course, but less compared to development on an entirely new game. In addition to that, the pandemic hit AA7 in its early development stage, assuming this schedule was still being followed by the time the pandemic hit. That could cause more delays than expected.

So the original plan was for AA7 to be released in Q3 of 2021, which corresponds to October-December, aligning with the 20th anniversary of the series in October. While it’s a desirable goal, it’s quite likely the pandemic pushed it back at least a quarter, if not more, if not cancelled it entirely. ... haha.

We’ll only know the fate of AA7 for certain when it’s announced. Which it is possible it may never be. However, I have two theories for, if AA7 is getting an announcement, when it will be:

1) Sometime during September 2021, either in the leadup to or during Tokyo Game Show this year. These are for the same reasons as I outlined in my initial speculation post. It’s a popular time for Ace Attorney game announcements, after all. TGS, according to what I can find, will be held online this year from September 30th to October 3rd. If Capcom announces AA7 earlier in September through Famitsu, like they did with AA6 for example, then we can expect to get some information during TGS... 

2) Sometime during a 20th Anniversary Event, possibly in October 2021. I’m assuming AA is planning something for the 20th anniversary - Chronicles wasn’t really marketed as a 20th anniversary release, for instance. If they can’t release a new game for the 20th anniversary (which at this rate, seems unlikely, as we’re about two months out from that with no word about it) then an announcement would be just as good at generating hype for it.

Naturally, if we reach this time next year with absolutely no news on AA7, it’s probably safe to say it’s been cancelled or at least delayed so severely that anything we currently know about it isn’t worth much.

There’s one more point of interest on the calendar: reconsidering the porting of 456. I feel that this depends heavily on how well the Chronicles ports are doing; if it’s not financially viable to keep porting games, then why bother? So, let’s take a look at that.

The Success of Chronicles

As I write this, it’s about two and a half weeks since the release of Chronicles worldwide. So... how did the games do? It’s a bit hard to tell, especially as I am not a game marketer and don’t know the expectations for Chronicles. What is obvious is that, if Chronicles does much better than expected, porting 456 and possibly even the investigations games seems likely. (If Chronicles, indeed, does especially well in the West, than a porting of the investigations games and localization of investigations 2 after ten years could very well be possible.) If Chronicles does absolutely terribly, it damages the chances of porting, and possibly of continuing the series. If it does terribly especially in the West, where the games are essentially new, it could damage the chances of any new games being localized at all.

So, a lot is riding on this, and I don’t know enough to tell how well it did. Here’s what I have found, however:

Nintendo Enthusiast reports on Famitsu sales of Switch games, and overall thinks it’s not doing so great. Chronicles ranks third on the list of Switch sales in its first week, with 14,460 units sold, over 4000 less than NEO: The World Ends With You, which was released on July 27th. Keep in mind that Chronicles was released in Japan on July 29th, which is two days later, and that these are only Japanese sales (where they’ve had Chronicles for years on both mobile and 3DS) and only Switch sales, where NEO:TWEWY is currently only available on Switch and PS4 (Chronicles has the additional platform of Steam, where there could be many more sales). In the next week, Chronicles ranked 22 overall, with NEO:TWEWY at 23, though of course they’re still a little less than 4000 units behind NEO:TWEWY overall. Slightly closing the gap, I guess.  

How about overseas data, then? ... It’s hard to tell. I can find this report from gamespot which discusses the top 20 games sold in the US in July, and Chronicles is not on the list, while NEO:TWEWY is at 16. However, they don’t give any number for the units sold, and it seems that they aren’t considering digital sales for a lot of them, so it’s hard to tell how much of a hit that is.

However, let’s go back to Japanese sales for a bit, and look at the 2019 Trilogy re-release for a comparison against Chronicles. Allegedly, combined Switch and PS4 sales in the first week of the trilogy’s release only amounted to about 8000 units, a little more than half that of Chronicles’ Switch sales. It’s also important to note that the 2019 trilogy ended up being the only ace attorney game to sell over a million copies. Ace Attorney is not a big series; I’m sure Capcom takes this into account when considering sales data, especially for ports. If Chronicles does end up doing better than the trilogy overall, it’s definitely looking good for ports and especially so for Chronicles.

However, there’s more to this than just sales data.

The Survey

Capcom now has a user survey for Chronicles, which you can answer even if you’re partway through the first game. I believe it’s only open until September 30 2021, so if you think you can finish the game before then, I’d recommend filling it out once you’re done so that you can give the best feedback.

It asks you a bunch of questions like what platform you bought it on, why you bought it, your expectations, and all sorts of detailed questions on the various mechanics, difficulty and enjoyment of the trials and investigations, satisfaction of visuals, plot, characters, music, and even free response sections for what you liked and disliked about the game. It’s a very detailed survey that’s pretty long but I think is worth filling out. At the end they ask you to fill out some demographic questions (such as age, gender (male, female, other), country, what kind of things you like to spend money on, and what kind of games you like, what platforms you have to play games on). But what’s possibly the most interesting question is this:

“If a new [Chronicles] game is released in the future, do you think you would buy it?”

This means that, depending on the answers to the survey, they could very well decide to work on a third game to Chronicles.

This has huge implications for the future of the series. I’ll probably make a separate post on plot-related stuff later, but for now... let’s talk about logistics.

In my initial AA7 speculation post I said I highly doubted that they would ever make another Chronicles game. I also said that they probably never would be localized, so, guess who’s a clown now. 

Right now the AA series is in a bit of a dry period, with no new games having been released in the last four years. As well, with Yamazaki (the director of the investigations games and AA5/6) having left Capcom, the next director of the mainline games is completely unknown. As described in this video, the main reason Chronicles ever came about was because Capcom went ahead with mainline AA5 before Takumi could come back from the Layton crossover. Now, since 2017, we don’t really know what Takumi is working on. It’s possible he’s gone back to mainline to work on AA7 (though of course, there is absolutely no evidence suggesting that he has, so definitely don’t take that as any sort of confirmation).

However, if we do get a Chronicles 3, it’s quite likely Takumi would return to work on that, as he directed the previous two games. In addition, if Chronicles ends up being such a success to completely eclipse mainline (from what I’ve heard, though I have no serious proof, Resolve is considered as highly rated as T&T by many Japanese fans) then the series could permanently go down the road of writing more Chronicles games, leaving mainline stagnant (which, let’s be real, it’s already stagnating). The success of that is uncertain considering how neatly our current Chronicles duology wraps up, but... we’ll have to see how things unfold in the future.

For now, I highly recommend filling out the survey to give your input to the series’ future directions. Maybe mention that you want localized investigations 2 somewhere in the free response section because uhh I forgot to do it in mine. do that for me.

TL;DR

Main takeaways from this post are:

- I personally expect an AA7 announcement either during TGS or a 20th anniversary event

- If Chronicles does extremely well, then 456 ports are likely to happen, and I personally speculate investigations ports (along with localized investigations 2) will as well.

- Fill out this Chronicles survey before September 30th to give your input on the games and possibly the future direction of the series. I recommend completing the games before you do, but if you think you won’t before September 30th, you can fill it out at any time.

- We Very Well May Get Another Chronicles Game. Who saw that coming. Not me.

Thanks if you read through all of this, let’s hope September/October doesn’t leave me looking like a fool again.

[peniswrightjusticeforballs]

The Victim Behind the #Girlboss: Analysing the Tragedy of Dahlia Hawthorne

   **WARNING: this essay will contain mentions of pedophilia, grooming, and neglect, as well as (obviously) spoilers for Trials and Tribulations**

   Dahlia Hawthorne, as the major antagonist in Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations, is often seen as one of the most evil villains in the series due to her multiple attempted and successful murders, as well as her targeting of Phoenix Wright and Mia and Maya Fey. She is often portrayed through fan content (as well as even in the games writing) as a cruel, heartless, and evil bitch. However, the story of Dahlia Hawthorne is one of the most tragic in the series, and I would even be so bold as to claim the reason it’s not recognized as such is due to flagrant misogyny. While perhaps not moral or excusable, her actions certainly are not without reason; and are unquestionably owed some sympathy.

EARLY LIFE

Dahlia's childhood is one of pain and neglect. Her parents certainly don't care for her. Her father saw her and Iris as a means of power and left Kurain with them when it became clear they were not of use for power. Even Iris points out that Dahlia had a neglectful childhood and never had an actual parental figure. Furthermore, Iris theorizes that it’s likely she would never committed murder had she had that support and guidance in her life.

One point brought up against Dahlia showing her “evil” in childhood is that she convinces her parents to send Iris away to Hazakura at a young age; this blatantly ignores both the reality of sibling relationships and their neglectful parents. Fighting with and getting angry at your siblings is a common experience as is wishing for them to go away. Considering her father and stepmothers' uncaring attitudes toward their children, it certainly must not have been hard to convince them to send Dahlia's twin away. Rather than being a sign of manipulation and heartlessness of a child, this event is a sign of the inability to care for their children that her parents had. This is amplified by the implication in the game that her father thought “two girls is enough”, so he would have been already biased towards sending one away as he had an older stepdaughter.

This point brought up also brings to light part of why Dahlia ends up like she is, alongside what Iris says. When a child is constantly told, whether explicitly or implied, that they are evil or cruel and value-less, it is reasonable for them to step into this role and boldly claim it. While not impossible, it shouldn't be expected of a kid to avoid evil and to be good when they've never been given the opportunity or resources to be anything BUT evil.

In addition to the neglect, it is implied that Dahlia’s father cares more for his job and the illusion of power and a perfect family than the wellbeing of his family and children. That implication is also supported by his belief that two children is enough-three would be outside what he thinks fits the perfect family. It is stated that Dahlia’s plot on Dusky Bridge is intended to “exact revenge on her father”. It is clear how a neglected and mistreated 14 year old could think it necessary to resort to such drastic measures as theft for attention and revenge.

TERRY FAWLES

   Dusky Falls, of course, is where it starts to go steeply south. Terry Fawles is 20 when he enters into a relationship with 14 year old tutoring student Dahlia. Dahlia is a victim of pedophilia and grooming un-debatably. There is no defense for Terry’s actions toward Dahlia, regardless of whether Dahlia considered the relationship mutual or not. Faking her death and consequently getting Fawles jailed may not have been a necessarily good decision when considered on its own, but is not morally wrong-for starters, it very well could have seemed a great or perhaps the only option to a traumatized 14 year old. Also, Fawles being incarcerated was a good toward society.

   Terry Fawles being manipulated into drinking poison was a good thing. That isn't necessarily proof of tragedy on Dahlia’s part, but rather an assertion I have decided to include here.

   Valerie Hawthorne’s murder should also be considered when looking at Dahlia and her actions. At first glance, her death appears to be an act motivated by selfishness and self interest-but upon deeper look, has two major motivations that make perfect sense. The first is that Valerie Hawthorne was directly complicit in Dahlia's grooming by Terry Fawles. She was part of the plan to steal the diamond that involved seducing Fawles. The second, of course, is panic. Valerie telling the truth about the events of Dusky Bridge could not only reveal Dahlia and her part in attempted theft, but also get Fawles a lighter sentence or even free once it is exposed that he didn't push Dahlia.

TRIAL(GODOT&MIA)

   Flash forward to when Dahlia is on trial. Diego Armando and Mia Fey take the defense of Terry Fawles in the murder of Valerie Hawthorne. While they are defending him on the charge of the murder of Valerie, they are still defending Dahlia’s groomer. Dahlia has every reason to hate them for this.

   Diego specifically has a way of speaking condescendingly to those around him. Most women are familiar with the humiliating and belittling experience of being talked down to by an older man. While as players it's visible that this is how Godot often speaks to other people regardless of gender(Phoenix and Ron Delite for example), a young woman on the stand would have no way of knowing this. In addition, he calls Dahlia words such as “Kitten”. Again, Dahlia is a victim of grooming and pedophilia. Like previously stated, Diego calls multiple people this; however, without this context his words come off as misogynistic and belittling at best and hostile and taunting at worst. Being talked down to and treated like this is such a viscerally humiliating and angering experience even without the life experience Dahlia has and it’s completely reasonable for her to react with vitriol. (Although likely less of a factor and of lesser relevance to the case, the judge’s treatment of her certainly couldn't have helped, despite working to her advantage at the beginning of her first trials.)

   Mia, on the other hand, does not call her these terms, but still does defend Terry Fawles. While avoiding the hostility Diego shows in his condescending nature, she presents her own hostility through viewing Dahlia as a threat from the beginning and treating her accordingly. Mia only ever truly views her through the eyes of a lawyer defending her client against a criminal, despite the twisted nature of her client and the reasoning of the perpetrator. Mia is a stubborn and vicious lawyer, and while those are not necessarily bad, they place her as Dahlias biggest threat. In addition to being a threat, Mia's open hostility inspires further anger because she treats her as suspicious and villainous from the start, just as she was as a child, as well as coming off as extremely confrontational.

   It is often less energy to pretend you were always evil from the start instead of looking back and acknowledging issues with your past and how they affect you. Pretending to be purely cruel and heartless and never anything more allows Dahlia to put up protective barriers. Her trial with Mia and Diego forces at least some of her painful past to come to light, knocking down some of her walls. It's only reasonable that Dahlia would become upset at this.

DOUG AND PHOENIX

Dahlia's treatment of Phoenix correlates to the threat he presents to her. Everything she's been building up can be ruined if he is too careless with that necklace. Similarly, Doug Swallow presented a threat when he tried to warn Phoenix. Dahlia has never had the chance to handle things in a “reasonable” way so as far as she was concerned, his murder was the only option.  

Her  murder of Doug Swallow and attempted murder of Phoenix Wright can certainly be attributed to girlboss behavior, but are also tied with everything else in her life-both in that her problems with them stem from everything thats been stacking itself since she was a child, and in that her methods of dealing with them stem from the trauma shes experienced.

IN SUM

   Dahlia's characterization as a pure villain with sole motivation of evil is one void of critical thought and sopping with misogyny. While the way Capcom sometimes writes their female characters and their villains means that it would make sense for Dahlia to be a one sided character motivated by pure cruelty and evil, the dismissal of her character cannot be fully chalked up to that. Taking into consideration the way she was raised and treated in life, growing to be manipulative with a twisted view of the world and morals is completely logical. While Dahlia Hawthorne WAS unequivocally a Girlboss, she was also a victim and her story is ultimately one of tragedy rather than depravity.

[mamthew]

Thoughts on Great Ace Attorney: Adventures

I finished the first of the Great Ace Attorney games last night and have some thoughts I want to write out. I'll be mostly avoiding spoilers, and I mark the ones I do have.

I approached this game with the thought that this - a new AA game with completely new characters, set in an entirely different time period - would be the first entirely functional jumping-on-point the series has had since the original back in 2001. For that reason, I critiqued the game mostly through that lens: how much of this game would show newcomers the best of what the series has to offer without requiring information it doesn't provide? GAA fits the latter wonderfully. There's no Phoenix or Apollo or Athena, only minor references to other games that don't detract from this game's story in any way. Players don't need to understand spirit channeling or magician heredity or Larry Butz. This is a game a newcomer can approach and play without any long exposition on who has what relationship with whom. However, this game simply doesn't show newcomers the best of what the series has to offer. GAA has five cases, and of those five I would consider two of them to have a satisfying resolution. Obviously, that's pretty subjective, but at the very least, Ace Attorney is known for its villains and this game has maybe one. And that one villain...doesn't get a freakout. Two of the cases feel like attempts to redo and fix the two most poorly executed cases in AA2, and they definitely succeed at doing that, but it means that the cases don't have satisfying conclusions by design. The gimmick of this game, too, feels less satisfying than previous gimmicks. The testimonies place multiple characters on the stands at once, and in theory that means the player must be scanning the other characters' faces for reactions to what is being said, but in practice the game simply makes a loud sound and gives you an icon telling you exactly which character made that sound. It's considerably less satisfying than scanning for subtle body language hints as Apollo or using your evidence to break through people's walls as Phoenix. It's too simple, and that, combined with the mostly uninteresting solutions to the cases, makes finishing each case not feel like an achievement. This is also the first game in the series to spend a lot of time setting up plot points for future games. Every other Ace Attorney game is self-contained; it's useful to know the previous games, but every mystery brought up in a game will be solved by the end of that game. I can think of at least ten questions off the top of my head that are introduced in this game but aren't given any resolution specifically so that those mysteries can carry forward into the sequel. This probably is less of an issue in this format, where both games are in one collection, so I can just move on to the next one as soon as I'm done with this one, but it makes GAA feel like a less cohesive title. I've played five cases of this game and could tell you almost nothing about the prosecutor. There isn't a single other AA game where that's the case. Obviously, this is just a different storytelling philosophy than the series has had in the past, but it's one at odds with the game's own theming. The character of Sherlock Holmes is very important to the plot of this game, which is delightful, and makes sense given just how much influence Holmes mysteries have had on the series as a whole. But each of Doyle's stories about Holmes was self-contained, which was why the character held such mass appeal. The writers of this game are laying claim to a pedigree from which they are simultaneously distancing themselves. Hell, in the past I've turned on old AA games on a whim and replayed old chapters out of order because generally each mystery stands on its own. I would not do that with this game. There's no reason to replay case 3, for instance, without just replaying the entire game. Case 4 spends more time dealing with the fallout of cases 2 and 3 than it does investigating its own mystery. And it looks like this trend will be continuing. I watched the opening cutscene of the second game, and its first case seems to be about answering the questions left unanswered from the first case of the previous game. That

leaves me excited to play the case and learn the answers to those questions, but it also means the tutorial case for GAA isn't resolved by the end of the game. That's ludicrous when compared to any other game in the series. The closest comparison I have is the first case of AA4, in which the victim's identity, the murderer's motive, and both their relationships to the defendant are left hanging, but that's all resolved in case 4, and the act of solving the murder itself was satisfying enough that I didn't find myself worrying about those answers until I was meant to. By the end of GAA, I only know one of those details about the first case, and I spent most of the game waiting for those answers to come. Hell, in case 4, two characters I'd never seen before or since stage a conversation in front of the protagonist, and I can only assume they'll be important again in the second game. Their character models honestly shouldn't even have been in this game. The pacing is also oddly quick, even with an extra case. We only see the prosecutor's gimmick in action once, another character out-mia-fey's mia fey with the level of disrespect in their death, and while the main themes of the series get a lot of lip-service in this game, it mostly doesn't feel earned, except in the last case. To dip my toe into spoilers for the next paragraph:

-

-

Every AA game deals heavily with the theme of belief in one's client. The Japanese justice system is pretty fucked, so the games talk a lot about how a defense attorney must fully trust in their client's innocence, because literally no one else will. It's a pretty powerful motif, especially when you consider the real-world implications. In Ace Attorney, trusting in your client's innocence includes being willing to take risks by pointing out evidence that seems to hurt your client's case, because getting a fuller understanding of the truth is the only way to find the real culprit, in the end. In GAA, the protagonist's ability to trust in his clients is dashed with his very first case, so early he never had a chance to understand the importance of that trust. So his journey of trying to learn how to trust in his clients feels unearned for returning players and will probably feel entirely confusing and out-of-place for first-time players.

-

-

Okay, that's the end of those spoilers

None of this is to say this is a bad game. It's much better than 5 or 6, and it's still probably the best jumping-on point since 1. If anyone asked me where to start the series, I'd still tell them to play the original trilogy, but this isn't a terrible place to start either. I love the characters a lot, their take on Sherlock Holmes is delightful, and the use of the turn-of-the-century time period is great. You even defend an actual historical Japanese novelist from the time, which is really a treat.

But I worry that unless the second game is a considerable jump in quality, that this side story simply won't have the staying power of the original trilogy, 4, or investigations. I've been mad for a really long time that we only got this game 6 years after the first one released and 4 years after the second, but after having played this I'm at least glad it released packed in with the sequel, or I'd've probably been considerably more disappointed with it than I already am. Then there are other issues that come with the collection format meaning we essentially have a second tutorial halfway through the game.

In any case, once I've finished the second game I'll probably write some thoughts on that, too, and possibly rank the series.

[odanurr87]

2019: My year in K-Dramas - Part 2

And we’re back! So, um, yeah, this took a lot longer than I imagined at first, but the truth is I was also dealing with coursework and other projects. As a result, I decided to break this last post into two, so instead of 6 shows in 1 post, you get 6 shows across 2 posts, building anticipation like a kdrama! And, I mean, two of those shows are My Love from the Star and Descendants of the Sun... Those two powerhouses deserve a bit more attention, maybe a couple of rewatches. Anyway, let’s get this show on the road!

WARNING! I’ve purposefully kept any big spoilers out of this post but some light spoilers may remain. Proceed with caution.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the Camellia Blooms (2019)

Gong Hyo-Jin as Oh Dong-Baek and Kang Ha-Neul as Hwang Yong-Sik.

Release Date: September 18 - November 21, 2019

Episodes: 20

Available on: Netflix

Summary: Dong-Baek is a single mother who moves to the town of Ongsan to open up a bar, the Camellia, while trying to raise her son, Pil-Gu. Six years later, Yong-Sik, a police officer and the youngest son of Dong-Baek’s only friend in Ongsan, returns and is instantly smitten by her. Yong-Sik is determined to woo her but Dong-Baek is also equally determined to resist his advances at first, a situation that is further complicated by the sudden reappearance of Dong-Baek’s ex and Pil-Gu’s biological father, Kang Jong-Ryul, who tries to win her back. When a serial killer known as Joker resurfaces after years of inactivity threatening to go after Dong-Baek, Yong-Sik launches an investigation to catch the elusive Joker once and for all.

What I liked:

The down-to-earth feel of the show. Save for the murder mystery element of the show, When the Camellia Blooms is pretty down-to-earth, depicting characters that could very much exist in our neighbourhood and exploring problems related to everyday life. How many kdramas show the struggles of a single mom trying to handle a love life while raising her son? I bet there are not a lot of them, and the only similar one I’ve watched, and would recommend, is One Spring Night, that depicts the life of a single dad balancing a romantic relationship while raising his son (it’s probably a more realistic representation all around down even to side characters). Even Yong-Sik is not the idealized male protagonist that most kdramas favour, at one point referred to as a “country bumpkin” by Dong-Baek’s ex, and while he may come across as rather simple-minded, he’s also refreshingly honest, determined (both in his pursuit of Dong-Baek and Joker), hard-working, and always there when the chips fall. While Dong-Baek’s ex is an ass for the majority of the show, I appreciated his inclusion because it clearly showed the contrast between the two characters vying for Dong-Baek’s affections: the man who pities her, and the man who encourages her; the man who’s ashamed of how she’s living her life, and the man who’s proud of what she has accomplished; the man who loves his memory of her, and the man who loves her as she is now; her past, and her present. Which one of the two will become her future?

The supporting cast. I am going to put them all together in the same bag as I don’t think anyone was particularly outstanding, but they all contributed to making this show a most entertaining watch from beginning to end: from Yong-Sik’s superior and chief of police, Byun Bae-Soo (played by Jeon Bae-Soo), through the simple-minded landlord with political aspirations, Noh Gyu-Tae (played by Oh Jung-Se), his cunning wife and ace attorney, Hong Ja-Young (played by Yeom Hye-Rae), to Dong-Baek’s kleptomaniac friend, Choi Hyang-Mi (played by Son Dam-Bi). At one point I even became more interested in the relationship between the characters of Gyu-Tae and Ja-Young, so strong were their performances. And I couldn’t help but feel sad for Hyang-Mi despite her many opportunistic deeds, a character who’s had a life as unforgiving as Dong-Baek, especially when we learn the reason behind some of her actions, and happy for her when she realises family isn’t always blood and ultimately chooses to walk a path of redemption. Sure wish we had seen more of that. You could make the case that Gyu-Tae and Hyang-Mi are the best out of the supporting cast, perhaps because of how much their characters grow over the course of the show.

What I didn’t like:

How the murder-mystery was handled/resolved. The first episode starts with the murder of an unknown person at some unspecified point in the future, a typical enough hook. We’re shown that person is someone who Yong-Sik apparently knew and cared for, but even when later episodes extend that scene frame by frame, tempting the audience to participate in this game of whodunit, the identity is only allowed to be revealed when the series catches up to that moment. The murder mystery element is sprinkled throughout the series as Yong-Sik is intent on protecting Dong-Baek and catching the serial killer Joker. But this isn’t Broadchurch, where the entire show revolves around solving the murder mystery and seeing its effects on the people of the small town of Dorset. No, in a way, the murder mystery in When the Camellia Blooms feels like a strategy, designed so that when the real goal of the show is revealed, the exploration of motherhood, you’ll be too invested to back out. One could argue the same for the romance between Dong-Baek and Yong-Sik. As a result, the murder-mystery feels drawn out and starts losing some of its steam as we approach the final episodes. Involving Dong-Baek’s mother in the whole affair was oddly convenient but felt out of place and worked against the show. Here we have a woman who knows, or thinks she knows, who the killer is several episodes before the end, and not only does she not tell the police about it but she actually confronts the killer. In any other show, the outcome would have been inevitable: the woman is murdered, leaving the police another clue as to who might have done it. However, since the show has already planned a happy ending for this character, she can’t be killed (incidentally, this happens with another character as well), even if the show later tries to toy with our feelings by suggesting she’s dead (not because of Joker though). The reveal of the culprit’s identity was a letdown, not only because the writers showed their hand early on but because we were never really given good suspects to begin with, and in a murder mystery that’s essential. Yes, we’re given a good pool of suspects for Joker’s latest victim, but since we also know Joker killed other people and is targeting Dong-Baek, not to mention the tone and themes of the show, we can readily eliminate almost all of them. They could’ve toyed around with the idea of a copycat, killing a person and pinning it on Joker, but they didn’t. And don’t get me started on how they finally catch Joker, this dreaded serial killer who had managed to avoid capture for years but turned out be to a bit of a joke, pun intended.

How insufferable Pil-Gu became towards the end. To be fair, I blame the adults (and writers) in this show more than I do Pil-Gu. I had no qualms about how his character had been handled for most of the show, but then along came Episode 17, where the writers decided to amp the drama to 11 just for the sake of it, a trope I really don’t like. Basically, through a series of misunderstandings that no adult feels compelled to clear up, Pil-Gu throws a tantrum, accusing her mother of not loving him anymore, and why does she need to get married, and why can’t she live alone with him for the rest of her life, etc., etc., forgetting it was Pil-Gu who, earlier that episode, had asked Yong-Sik to stay at their home and protect his mom. Like I said, nobody even bothers to explain the situation to him (even though he’s shown to be pretty smart and should’ve probably figured it out himself) and, worse, Dong-Baek plays along and decides to break up with Yong-Sik, determined never to love anyone other than Pil-Gu for the rest of her life. Jesus. As if wanting to twist the knife further, Episode 18 ends with a grown-up Pil-Gu, a jarring and decidedly out-of-place transition, suggesting he grew up to be a fine man as a result of her mom’s decision, but anyone who’s ever watched a kdrama knows better than that: you’re just padding out events for the sake of drama and this show didn’t need that. At this point, I lost whatever appreciation I might have had for the character of Pil-Gu and was half rooting for Yong-Sik to be promoted and get his ass back to Seoul ASAP, never to return to Ongsan again.

The existence of Episode 18. Yes, this is the episode where Dong-Baek and Yong-Sik break up, but that’s not what I’m getting at as I discussed that point previously. Episode 18 also sees Pil-Gu suddenly want to live with his biological father out of a misunderstanding (so many misunderstandings in these last few episodes!) and Kang Jong-Ryul try to act as that father to him. It’s clear he’s out of his depth with Pil-Gu, but he seems to be trying so it feels jarring when Dong-Baek returns for Pil-Gu and punches him in the face. Look, Jong-Ryul has been a bit of an ass throughout so he has more than earned that punch but not in this context. The show immediately kicks in the music that depicts this as a moment of triumph and personal growth for Dong-Baek but I kept thinking, “The one time this dude is actually trying to step up to the plate, assuming his responsibilities as a father, and he gets punched for it? Sure, he’s not that great but he’s only had Pil-Gu for, what, a week? Less? And it’s not like he kidnapped him or anything. This doesn’t even make sense.” And what growth are we talking about when she immediately caters to the whims of a kid and breaks up with Yong-Sik? Who is the adult in this relationship? Are there any adults in this show? There’s a decidedly marked absence of fathers, and those there are aren’t shown in a very good light but that’s another matter. Episode 18 is, quite simply, an episode that shouldn’t exist as it really brings nothing to the table and only pads out the inevitable.

OTP: While not my #1 pick amongst the shows I watched in 2019, it was refreshingly different, with the show slowly building their relationship in spite of Yong-Sik’s relentless attempts to woo Dong-Baek. In any other show, such determination could’ve come across as annoying, perhaps bordering on harassment, but this is mitigated by Yong-Sik’s sincere personality, his active listening of Dong-Baek’s problems, his support and encouragement of her, and ultimately his respect of the boundaries set by Dong-Baek, a woman who is not accustomed to such repeated shows of affection and is ill-equipped to handle them. It was very rewarding to see her evolution as a character, finding the confidence to grow out of her shell, even if there were some flaws in the journey.

Verdict: While the show trips a little at the end it was a solid watch, and I could see myself returning to it every once in a while because of its mundane (and I’m using this word as a compliment here) aspects. It doesn’t hurt it has some good humour in between all the crying. Oh, yes, there’s a reason why I chose that particular gif to represent the relationship between Yong-Sik and Dong-Baek.

Rewatch meter: I’m going to cheat and say it’s Medium-to-High.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bring it on, ghost (2016)

Kim So-Hyun as Kim Hyun-Ji, and Ok Taec-Yeon as Park Bong-Pal.

Release Date: July 11 - August 30, 2016

Episodes: 16

Available on: Netflix, Viki

Summary: Park Bong-Pal is a 2nd year Economics student with a side job as an exorcist due to his strange ability to see ghosts, a fact that has prevented him from having a normal life and that he deeply resents. One night, while performing an exorcism at a high school, he comes across Kim Hyun-Ji, a former high school student turned wandering spirit, who has no recollection of her past but possesses an innate talent to fight ghosts and spot their weak points. During this encounter, the two accidentally kiss, and Hyun-Ji briefly recalls some of her memories. Convinced Bong-Pal holds the key to her memories and determined to find out more, she manages to persuade a reluctant Bong-Pal to let her move in in exchange for helping him fight ghosts. But Bong-Pal soon learns that not all ghosts are evil, and some may be even cute enough to fall for.

What I liked:

Kim So-Hyun as Kim Hyun-Ji. Do I need to add anything further? That picture should be enough evidence in and of itself. Kim So-Hyun looks like she’s having a blast acting as a kickass high-school student/ghost who has a penchant for upsetting Bong-Pal and looking criminally cute while doing so. With a personality like that, it’s no wonder Bong-Pal couldn’t help but fall for her. Who wouldn’t? Perhaps what makes her character so lovable is precisely the fact that she works off of Bong-Pal’s more curt personality. As they say, opposites attract.

Lee David as Kim In-Rang and Kang Ki-Young as Choi Cheon-Sang.

The humor. I’ll admit that I miscalculated with these two in the beginning, resigning myself to having to endure their interventions in what I felt was shaping up to be an otherwise great show. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find they made for some good comic relief, especially after they convince Bong-Pal to let them handle the business side of exorcising ghosts and join him and Hyun-Ji in their nightly escapades. That sounded better in my head. The humor is never crass and, most importantly, it never outlasts its welcome. Hey, they even try to do him a solid and hitch him with his crush, but Hyun-Ji has already managed to work her magic on him unbeknownst to her. In fact, much of the show’s humor is also a credit to the comedic rapport between the characters of Bong-Pal and Hyun-Ji, especially in the earlier episodes when their different personalities are most notable, but also later on when feelings of jealousy start to surface. Their playful bickering is often reproduced in some of the background music used and is also present in some of the ghost fights as if saying, “Yeah, we’re fighting a pervert ghost in a sauna and having a blast, what of it?”

The formula. What do I mean by that? For the most part, this show works like a procedural, with Hyun-Ji and Bong-Pal fighting the ghost of the week in each successive episode, while at the same time having a multi-episodic story-arc. This is the formula used in US TV shows: introduce an interesting story-arc in the first few episodes, then forget all about it until the final episodes of the season, with filler episodes in between. The difference being Bring it on, Ghost is actually a good procedural: there are no filler episodes, every ghost fight serves a purpose, whether it be to develop our protagonists (at times providing interesting backstory) or to strengthen their bond, and the main story-arc is always subtly running in the background until the paths of our protagonists and villain cross and events come to a head. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, US TV shows should seriously consider having shorter and tighter seasons, as their quality suffers otherwise. Bong Pal and Hyun-Ji’s ghost fights will also sometimes include moral or life lessons that flow naturally and never feel forced; nobody’s beating you over the head with them and shouting, “DO YOU GET IT NOW?!” As you can imagine, they’re certainly more subtle than US TV shows, but then again kdramas seem to have mastered the art of telling a lot without actually saying it, something others could learn from.

What I didn’t like:

The amnesia trope. Look, before you say anything, I understand why it’s there, sorta, it’s a reversal of Kim Hyun-Ji’s clinginess (that is an actual word) to Bong-Pal, if for different reasons. I don’t mind that it happened, but what I do mind is that it’s never reversed, making it somewhat difficult to believe that she’d fall for a stranger in what appears to be a very short amount of time. You could argue she’s unconsciouscly attracted to him given their past connection, and the show does at one point suggest that she may be regaining her memories, or that it’s possible at least, but nothing comes of it. This sudden bout of amnesia also offers her temporary protection from the villain, but at the end of the day I am left thinking that the show could’ve done without it or reverse it at the very end.

OTP:  It’s a team effort, but Kim So-Hyun kills it!

Verdict: An infinitely rewatchable show with an all-around solid cast and great sense of humor. Like Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon, this show is sure to put a smile on your face if you’re feeling down or if you simply want to have a good time.

Rewatch meter: High

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Time (2016)

Kim Myung Soo as Yoo Tan, and Yoon So-Hee as Moon Da-In.

Release Date: October 26 - December 14, 2016

Episodes: 8

Available on: Netflix

Summary: Yoo Tan is the lead singer of an indie band called One More Time, together with his girlfriend, Moon Da-In, and his childhood friends. However, with bills mounting and his hopes for success dwindling, his relationships take a turn for the worse. When he’s offered to sign a contract with a music label, Yoo Tan sees his long-awaited chance and decides to burn all bridges to his past life, but an unexpected event that forces him to constantly relive the past twenty-four hours makes him reconsider his outlook on life.

What I liked:

The concept. The idea of being stuck in a time loop is not a particularly new one, with Groundhog Day being the most obvious, and highly entertaining, exponent, although I do remember an episode of Stargate SG-1 called “Window of Opportunity” that exploited the same concept, if to a different effect. As in Groundhog Day, One More Time uses this idea as a vehicle of self-reflection for the main character, transforming him from a bitter, selfish, and somewhat egocentric person, to someone far more likable, who recognises the value in the friendships he has forged and rediscovers the love he holds for the woman who has always been there for him. But this is only the prelude to our story as One More Time extends this concept by providing a reason for the time loop: tying it to Moon Da-In’s life, or death. In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character, Phil, is eventually confronted by the fact that, for all the things he can do as a result of the day resetting, he cannot prevent death no matter how hard he tries. This is a sobering moment for our main character. However, Yoo Tan goes through an even more harrowing crucible, as the person whose death he seemingly cannot prevent is his girlfriend, Da-In. Thus, the series shows us Yoo Tan’s many attempts to save her while delving into Da-In’s past. Will he succeed and get a second chance at a life with Da-In? I guess you’ll have to watch the show for that.

The songs. With a running time of 240 minutes, give or take, don’t expect a large soundtrack (compared to most kdramas), but I believe that is something that actually works in the show’s favour, as the songs are always used to highlight a given context, thus engraving them in your mind and rendering them memorable. I don’t really know how to explain it, and I blame my musical illiteracy. Sadly, the powers that be didn’t think that such a short web series was worthy of having a physical or even digital soundtrack release, what made finding any trace of these songs rather difficult for the past few years. Fortunately, one of the composers and singer, known as ODD, has recently released some tracks on her YouTube channel. These are: ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Birds,’ ‘Without you,’ and ‘In this night.’ While ‘Moonlight’ is my personal favourite, all four tracks are entirely deserving of being released, at least on Spotify so I can listen to them over and over again. With Spotify apparently coming to South Korea this year, that may yet be the case. There is also the main song, ‘One More Time,’ sang by none other than Kim Myung Soo himself in perhaps the most emotional scene in the drama, but it still remains elusive.

The leads and their chemistry. I had absolutely no trouble believing these two were in love with their longing stares and beautiful smiles. Kim Myung Soo and Yoon So-Hee did an incredible job (and the writers too, obviously) selling me on their relationship in such a short amount of time. At every point in the show I could understand where the characters were coming from, how much they cared for one another, and why they’d go to great lengths to protect their better half. Yes, they go through a rough patch at the beginning of the show, but that only makes it feel more real and it’s a necessary stepping stone in Yoo Tan’s character arc. I also really liked how the show took the time to explore Da-In’s past and see events from her perspective, highlighting just how central her character is to the plot of the story. Can’t say anymore for fear of spoilers. Really wish these two actors were to collaborate again in main roles.

Kim Ji-Young as the Grim Reaper. The way the show integrated a Grim Reaper was well thought out, and making her a child was a stroke of genius played to great comedic effect. I mean, who’d think this cute child was the embodiment of Death? Her childlike appearance is contrasted by her adult personality, and you can see she’s more than a bit fed up with troublesome humans who make her job more difficult than it already is, and she grows increasingly annoyed at a particular pair of them. I’ll let you guess who. Come to think of it, she reminds me a little of the older version of Samshin, the goddess of birth and fate, from Goblin. A great character all around without whom the show would be considerably lessened.

What I didn’t like:

Honestly, there’s really nothing that comes to mind. Sure, I could nitpick and say that some characters and storylines are dropped midway through the show, but I think it’s fair to say they had served their purpose, and trying to account for them in later episodes would’ve wasted the show’s valuable runtime. Could it have benefited from having a few more episodes? I suppose it’s possible, and I would’ve welcomed the chance to spend more time with these characters, but I believe the show was effective in telling its story across eight episodes, and any more could have placed the narrative under considerable stress. For instance, while I absolutely love Angel’s Last Mission: Love (incidentally, also starring Kim Myung Soo), one has to admit the plot was stretched longer than it needed to, and certain events do not hold up under further scrutiny.

OTP: 

There is no sadness that last for eternity. There is no love that lasts for eternity either.

I’m going to vote that there is.

Which one are you voting for? Love or sadness?

Sad love.

Verdict: They say that good things come in small doses. If so, that fits this show perfectly. It was my introduction to Kim Myung Soo, who would then go on to deliver a stronger performance in Angel’s Last Mission: Love, as well as my introduction to Yoon So-Hee, whom I’d love to see in more main roles. While delivered in a short format I’m not used to, the show’s creators made the most of it and not a single minute feels wasted. An interesting concept that benefits from some tight writing, beautiful music, solid leads, and a lovable OTP, packaged as a mini-series. What more could I want?

Rewatch meter: High

[askaceattorney]

Dear jnv11,

Only one word comes to mind in that scenario:

Poor Simon would hit a new record for the number of times he shouted that word in a single trial, and Ms. Oldbag might actually run out of breath before she’s done complaining.

Dear jnv11,

You kidding? The woman’s tough, but she’d have a heart attack in no more than five minutes. It’s been a decade since we’ve seen ’er, plus young samurai prosecutor who was suspected of killing his teacher?

Dear anon,

I think what we’ll actually do is stop answering letters that involve real-world politicians altogether, or at least ones that defame them.  Just to be clear, the answers I came up with don’t reflect my actual opinion on Donald Trump.

Apologies to anyone who was hit the wrong way by those letters.  Make no mistake, I was very uncertain about whether or not I should even bother answering them, but the “answer everything you can” part of my mind eventually won over the “avoid political topics” part.  It was all in the spirit of comedy, but, as I should’ve expected, it became more hateful than funny, so I’d say I’ve learned my lesson now.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ethan Starbright,

..................................................Pff...

PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Okay, I’m not sure why, but the utter randomness of that fact cracked me up for some reason.  Thanks for that.

Dear Ethan Starbright,

.............

.....I don’t get it.

(Previous Letter)

Dear 55,

Glad to hear it!  The Ace Attorney series is good at revealing the plot at just the right pace to keep you guessing about who the culprit is and/or what the motive for their crime was, but it’s just as entertaining to see Phoenix and company find the truth for themselves, even if you already happen to know some of it yourself.

Plot-wise, my favorite game was Trials and Tribulations, mostly because of how cleverly it jumped from one timeline (and main character) to another.  Throughout the game, we get to learn more about the events of the past and how they relate to the present day situation -- Mia’s first encounter with Phoenix, Godot’s true identity and history, how Winston Payne lost his hair, and so on, and every tiny bit of it makes the game more intriguing.  My favorite part was Iris’s confession about what she did for Phoenix near the end.  I’d love to see Hollywood try and come up with anything as beautifully touching as that.

It’s been a little while since I listened to the soundtracks from any of the trilogy games, but I think my favorite one comes from the first game, since it’s the most memorable for me.  I sure didn’t expect to hear those kind of fast and engaging tunes in a game about a lawyer, did you?  The other soundtracks are great too, of course, but the songs from the first game (especially the cross-examination theme) are the most fun for me to remember.

Dear Anonymous,

That’s actually happened a few times before.  I remember one letter were Maya claimed she’d never been out of the country even though PLvsAA is canon in this blog, and there was another where Apollo sounded skeptical about spirit channeling, even though he’d been born in the land of spirit mediums.  Chances are we’ll have to delete letters that point out contradictions like that, but we’ll try our best to answer them if possible.  There’s no way to tell what Capcom will come up with next, but that won’t stop us from making guesses about it in the meantime.

Dear Anonymous,

If something changes in the canon that isn’t reflected in a previous letter, it’s not important. Previous means not in the moment. Not in the moment means no one will notice unless they go far back enough. And if they comment on stuff that happened a while ago, they... no offence, kinda need a hobby.

Dear Professor Oak,

Yes.

Dear Professor Oak,

No.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Lachtigall,

Sorry to hear that, but hey, at least they picked a different character for the idea, so your letter will still get an answer.  We both answer whatever letters we find regardless of which character they’re written to, but in answer to your question about who answered that letter...

Just kidding, it was me.

Dear guquis,

That should be fine if you’re willing to wait that long.  Just make sure to indicate that in your letter.

Dear guquis,

if you want your letter to be on a specific date, specify it somehow. And also specify if you want that info blurred so it’s not obvious. It’ll be easier for us that way.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ender,

It wasn’t intended to look scary in any way, but whatever floats your boat.  I thought she looked kind of cute like that, actually.

Dear Ender,

Trust me, neither of them are contenders in the scary contest anymore. Have you ever met Robert? THAT, sir, is scary.

Dear SC,

ComEVENo, huh?  That almost sounds like a Native American name.

I’ve finally finished watching Hotel Dusk, but I’ll save my reaction to it for last so I can go into full detail under the cut.  That’s how much I enjoyed it.

My favorite cross-examination theme is from AJ, believe it or not.  I love how it starts out slow and mysterious, then picks up speed and volume when Apollo’s about to discover a big truth.  It’s also nice how the melody begins on the offbeat.  It almost makes me want to dance to it.

I hadn’t thought much about which cross-examination I like best, but I’d probably go with the final confrontation with Furio Tigre.  While bluffing is nothing new for Phoenix, it was fun watching him use the supposedly useless evidence that Gumshoe gave him to give his doppelganger a taste of his own medicine.  It was one of those moments where I had no idea what his strategy was until Furio opened his huge mouth.  After that, it became an “Ooooooh...” kind of moment.

I’d love to see that case ranking you’ve made.  Every case has its ups and downs, but it’s fun to explore just what it is about each one that makes it memorable and...odd.  Let’s be honest, they all have at least a tiny bit of oddness added in somewhere, am I right?

-Modthorne and Co-Mod

(Hotel Dusk spoilers below)

Oh, man..........oh, MAN!!

Seriously, I can’t remember the last time a game’s story left me this satisfied from beginning to end.  To be fair, I just watched a playthrough of it on YouTube, so I might have avoided some potential frustration by not playing it myself, but man...  I can tell the developers put some serious heart into that game.  The music was delightful, the characters were all very charming, the art and animation style were done in a clever way, and the plot...  Man, oh, man.

First of all, there’s the setup: Kyle’s goal in visiting Hotel Dusk (aside from getting a delivery) is established from the very beginning -- finding his former police partner and figuring out why he turned rogue and forced him to nearly kill him.  Oddly enough, he has no real proof that visiting the hotel will lead him any closer to finding him -- all he has is a hunch.

Then there’s the way he goes about gathering information.  Even as a retired cop, his detective instincts are still keen, and by snooping around the hotel (with some help from his “old buddy” Louis), solving a few puzzles, and asking the right people the right questions, he not only gains tidbits of information about Bradley, but also learns the secrets of the hotel’s residents, and how they and their stories are interconnected.  And boy, did some of those connections surprise me.

But here’s what I loved most about the gameplay (and the entire game) -- in order to get the information he needs out of people, he first has to break them down to the point where they not only can’t hide the truth, but they realize how useless it is to keep lying to themselves.  In fact, Kyle said it perfectly himself during one of these confrontations:

Whether it’s pressuring a pretend author to admit to his plagiarism, telling the spoiled son of a lawyer how dangerous his revenge scheme is, or convincing a drunk father to appreciate what he still has -- namely, his daughter -- Kyle just won’t put up with lies, even if he has to sound like the rudest person on Earth to dispel every last one of them...and he doesn’t even need the help of a Magatama!

Like every game, of course, this one isn’t without its faults -- the interactive parts are short, there’s very little challenge in picking the right dialogue options (usually just whichever is less annoying), and the language, while not terrible, could’ve been left out -- but the charm of the story and its characters more than makes up for it.  Speaking of the story, it seems I was a little off on most of the predictions I made, but at least I was right about Melissa.  She didn’t disappoint at being adorable one bit.

Oh, and one more thing -- if anyone reading this feels like playing or watching this game, which I highly recommend, be prepared for your jaw to drop at the very end.  It’s that incredible.

And with that, my gushing about this game is over.  Thank you for suggesting it, SC!

[the-apocryphal-one]

You said I could continue to babble about DR to you as I progress? I’m using the submit option instead because I get more room to babble.  You don’t even have to reply, I just want to write all my thoughts out.  It’ll help me digest the game so far.  I’ll probably be sending these to you after every trial finishes and I reach the first free time period after it.  Hope you won’t mind walls and walls of text.

I’m very disappointed we won’t be able to kill anyone.  Darn.  I definitely would have killed Byakuya.

I got to the first trial and holy crap, it felt like an Ace Attorney trial on steroids and under a clock + a random rhythm minigame that took me longer than it should have to figure out you need to target + that comic manga.  Anyway, I had a ton of fun.  The logic was sound, although really easy to figure out. Since it was the tutorial trial, I can see it getting harder very quickly.  I wish there was a way to look at all of your truth bullets at the same time instead of having to scroll through them, though.  I can easily see that becoming an issue for me late-game when I’ll probably end up with 8+ of them.  Anyway, everyone should have figured it out much quicker than they did. It took Makoto forever to piece together what happened and that got really frustrating and I wish Kyoko stopped spoonfeeding the player the answer. I like her a lot but I wanted to play the game without getting a hint every five seconds. That aside, I had a lot of fun with the trial and can’t wait until it gets crazier.  The game did a great job at juggling so many characters, something that is not easy to do.  I never forgot about one character existing and that’s really impressive.

Going back to Makoto, his character itself is kind of frustrating. I get what kind of character the writers were going for, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. He’s kind of dense, and painfully naive. How did he not see that Sayaka was using him the entire time? There were so many red flags.  I get it that the situation he’s a situation that in would make people not want to be alone but he should have really been more reserved.  On a more positive note, I like how the writers took those traits and making him an easy target for other people to take advantage of.  I’m definitely expecting to end up liking Makoto more but right now, I’m not too big on him.  I can definitely see people liking his character at this point in the game, but I just don’t.

…Also, him refusing to say that Sayaka and Leon aren’t responsible for anything got on my nerves.  I can understand why he said it, but it’s just wrong for him to say they’re completely blameless.  Leon wanted to kill a defenseless fourteen(?)-year-old, and Sayaka wanted to kill someone then pin it on someone she emotionally manipulated.

Speaking of Sayaka, I really enjoyed how her “the ends justify the means” mindset was somewhat foreshadowed in her conversation with Makoto.  Sayaka implied that she was willing to do some, in her words, “unpleasant things,” to get what she wanted.  It added to her character, in my opinion.  Oh!  And another thing I like, I like how not everyone is just being killed off quickly.  Getting emotionally attached to the characters before they die makes everything way more personal.  I doubt it’ll make me want to hate Monokuma, but still.  Nice effort from the gang.  I like becoming emotionally invested in characters then have a mental BSOD when they all eventually die and I’m left sitting in a fetal position in the corner. …Except Byakuya.  I hope he dies soon.

I’m going to do a little speculating here: there is almost definitely a sixteenth student.  I could be 100% wrong, but I want to have fun with this idea.

Oh, and Junko got killed.  That was unexpected.  Leon’s execution was brutal.  I did not expect the game would force the player in watching someone be killed.  This game doesn’t mess around.  I was in stunned silence after seeing both deaths, not gonna lie.

———

:D Ah, no I don’t mind! Like I said I love hearing thoughts, so babble away!

You aren’t the only one who would have killed Byakuya :P

Yes, the trials do get harder, and there’s less hand-holding. But they’re so fun. There’ll also be more minigames introduced in the future! One thing to keep in mind, about the ‘obvious’ answer, is that they’re all Japanese. So the upside-down LEON, in English, wouldn’t have been as obvious for them as it was for us. But yeah, DR generally does a good job of utilizing its characters and their talents well.

High school starts at fifteen in Japan! Not that that’s much better… I can kinda see where Makoto’s coming from. No, they aren’t completely blameless, but they are only killing because of the situation they’re in. And I also enjoyed Sayaka’s character a lot more after the trial, makes her very ambiguous. How much of her friendship was faked? Was she genuinely sorry at the end, or just spiteful? Her extremist attitude and obsession with her talent were very interesting aspects.

Yes, Dangan Ronpa knows better than to off everyone in a row. They give you lots of time to get attached to the characters first so they can drink your tears :)

Speculate away!

Yeah, I remember going “holy crap” when Junko got impaled, and again when that baseball shooter first popped up. Their deaths were so utterly brutal and horrifying it left me speechless. Monokuma is cruelly, cruelly creative.

(Also, I recommend avoiding Google, YouTube, and the DR wiki like the plague until you beat the game. You should also probably blacklist DR on Tumblr, because you WILL run into spoilers otherwise)

[akashiayakashi]

I finished playing SoJ last week and oh boy

[will contain spoilers]

I started playing the game with zero expectations. Gameplay-wise, I really didn’t like Dual Destinies. I felt like the fun from Ace Attorney was taken away and all the evidence and stuff was staring right at you. I finished that game in a day and a half and left it feeling like I blew $30 for very little satisfaction.

Not to mention, I felt like any development Phoenix’ character had from Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice had just disappeared. It’s like the maturity he gained from those years he wasn’t practicing law just vanished. 

On a side note (which is more on a purely preferential reason), my best girls Trucy and Ema had little to no role in this game so I found it even harder to appreciate. To be fair, I did see that they took a step back so that Athena’s and Apollo’s stories could be explored but while I liked the new charas like Athna and Simon enough, I didn’t love love them so eh

On the other hand, SoJ is probably my favorite game of the series so far.

The mix of all previous ace attorney elements (the psychology, the bracelet, the magatama, etc) and the whole seance system did wonders to make the gameplay so much more interesting. It reverted to how you have to be creative in using your evidence since the game is super specific in what it wants to hear. The only real complaint I have is that the game script is really long so it does feel frustrating to go thru dialogue that can be avoided if other evidence could just be presented right away (which is with all other aa games except dd but the script was really just so long).

Storywise, I loved how everything was connected right from the start just like Trials and Tribulations. And even better, the side cases were really good unlike the 3-2 and 3-3 which I will never speak of again. In any case (ha, get it?), the side stories just showed a lot about the main cast. You see Trucy worrying about her legacy and skill as a magician, you see Trucy’s and Apollo’s bond and Apollo’s maturity and growth as a lawyer. You see Athena’s growth as a lawyer as well and how she and Simon have really patched things up.

The overarching story was one hell of a ride. Case 5 in particular was full of parallels. I saw a lot of things coming but DHURKE’S FUCKING SECRET RUINED ME AND I CRIED FOR 30 MIN AT LIKE 1 AM IN THE MORNING BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK HOW COULD YOU MAKE ME LOVE YOU BUT HURT ME LIKE THIS. HOW DARE YOU DHURKE HOW D A R E

Anyway parallels~

Khu’rain sisters as the older Fey sisters (Misty and Morgan) and as the Hawthorne sisters.

I mean you have these two sisters competing for a seat of power where one is chill and the other is involved in murder in some way. You also have two sisters where one loves the other a lot and helps said sister despite it being a crime. SHIT GUYS HOW MUCH IT MUST HAVE HURT AMARA TO HAVE CHANNELED DHURKE. THINK ABOUT FOR HOW MUCH SHE LOVED DHRUKE AND THOUGHT THAT HE HAS TRIED TO KILL HER FOR 10 YEARS AND THEN LEARNED IT WAS HER SISTER ALL ALONG BUT SHE HAS NO CHOICE TO CONCEDE BECAUSE RAYFA. DhurkeAmara hurts me like it should all of you. Dhurke hurts me.

Nahyuta and Rayfa as the Skye sisters.

Prosecutor helps out big bad in order to protect younger sister...hmmm :)))

I’m also a lowkey Nahyutema fan so :))

EMA WAS BACK IN THIS GAME AND SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND SHE ACHIEVED HER DREAM AND SHE LOVES HER FRIENDS AND I LOVE LIFE. She shits on Nahyuta but doesn’t hate him entirely which made their professional dynamic a pretty interesting one.

Nahyuta could definitely have been a better character but I still enjoyed him. There were moments in the 5th case where it didn’t look like he was forcing himself to support Ga’ran so it made the whole thing seem less believable that he hasn’t changed like Dhurke had kept on insisting. I think his sermons took a bit too much time and slowed down the pace of the cases but I appreciate the times when you can see how dorky he is. Like when he researches on smth and he just learns everything about it?? Cutie pie haha. And how he really appreciates science and how Ema helps him out. I default like someone who appreciates my bae soooo

Dhurke as Phoenix and Apollo

Dhurke parallels Phoenix no doubt with him having to stop practicing lawand adopting a child and raising them - but when he first appeared, I giggled so hard because he looked like Apollo from Dual Destinies. As much as I don’t like that game, I did enjoy the whole Apollo thing where he just went on to investigate on his own and etc and it did add a lot to his character.

Speaking of Apollo, the whole rollercoaster of Apollo’s development and learning about his past killed me. He is best boy no doubt but SHIT I JUST LOVED HIM EVEN MORE IN THIS GAME. WHAT A GREAT GUY.

Also Phoenix grew up a lot in this game? Or at least I felt like he reflected more of aa4 Phoenix than dd did, especially with the whole civil case. 

I missed Klavier tho. I know he’s in a dlc thing but I haven’t gotten around to playing that so eh. I was really looking forward to his chara dev’t since everything but I guess I’ll just need to wait for aa7. 

On a final note, I loved SoJ. It raised the bar for me and broke my heart to pieces. I want to not try and expect too much from aa7 but it’s futile at his point. I really hope we’ll see Apollo in the next game, as well as Klavier, and finally FRANZISKA and Gumshoe.

Okay that’s all.