Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook Vol.1 - The Phoenix Wright Files

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook #1

by Kenji Kuroda, Capcom

OBJECTION!

Only one name strikes fear into the hearts of evildoers Phoenix Wright, ace attorney. Join Phoenix Wright and his adorable assistant Maya–plus Miles Edgeworth, Detective Gumshoe, Franziska von Karma, and others–as they investigate twenty intriguing cases. And find out why Phoenix Wright has devoted his life to fighting injustice!

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Humor, Fiction, Video Games, Comics, Comedy

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2008

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was weird. It was too weird. I enjoy playing the game but this is a book of short stories, very weird short stories. I didn't enjoy this, didn't really have anything of substance at all.

[Nicolo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a disappointing read. It wasn't what I was expected. I got this book after hearing of high praise for the original video game. If the main character made it to the line-up for what is currently the best fighting game, the latest installment of Marvel Vs. Capcom, he must be popular and well-liked enough to merit the inclusion. I actually wanted to see a lot of courtroom action and suffice to say I didn't get any. It's a collection of one-shot stories from various artists that barely have a plot. Granted, my experience would have different had I played the game, and I would have been in on the references and other supporting character quirks that would have enhanced my enjoyment of the overall story of the game. But I didn't and thus the sad rating this book got from me.

I usually finish manga in one sitting, but this one, and not because it is a double sized collection, it was a pain to read, the stories too inane even for a video game tie-in manga. Only the first two stories were tolerable, because it actually narrated Phoenix Wright's motivation as a character and the second because he got to demonstrate his talent for defending his clients by casting reasonable doubt on what could have been an open and shut case. The book went downhill from there.

I would not recommend this book unless you have played the game or is just a plain manga glutton.

[Diana Welsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, OK. I am a nerd. I am aware of this fact. But I read this in an afternoon and really enjoyed it.

It is a fan-made doujin that has been put out by Capcom, comprised of many short stories in the manga style. This means that the art style varies from story to story. Some are serious, some are funny; the characters' looks and tone may change radically from one story to the next. This does not bother me at all, in fact, I think the book is much richer for the variety.

This manga is definitely for fans only. People who haven't played the games would probably not understand much of it at all. Edgeworth drives a rickshaw? Godot can pour coffee out of his mask? A dog slobbers on the judge's shiny bald head? These things are all funny if you are a nerd like me, but it would leave most people scratching their heads.

The best one, in my opinion, is the one where Phoenix and Maya are trying to simulate a waterfall so Maya can channel Mia to help with a case. He dumps a bucket of water on her from a ladder (er, a stepladder), sprays her with a power washer, but nothing seems to work.

Marvin Grossberg notices them at their futile pursuits and wants to help. His disastrous solution involves dumping thousands of gallons of water from one of those airplanes that is used to fight forest fires. Why he thought that was a good idea, I will never know, but it makes for a hilarious comic strip.

Pick up this book if you are a nerd like me.

[Zimmy W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to rate this title 2.5 stars.
The video game series has always had a problem with over sexualizing the underage girl characters (I'm thinking especially how often Mia takes over Maya and Pearl's bodies, which are much too small for Mia's frame to fit into), but this collection really pushed the envelope too much for me. Often the cartoonist were over sexualizing Maya just as herself (and isn't she like 15??).
There were some stories that were fun and made me chuckle, so I don't want to detract from the work those artists did too much.
I'm just mad that the oversexualized cartoons made it in in the first place.

[Libraty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt very conflicted going into this manga collection. On one hand — yeyy, more Phoenix content! On the other — this is almost the last piece of Ace Attorney media centered around Phoenix that I have left (only missing the Professor Layton crossover) ☹

That said, this is such a fun collection to read after falling in love with the franchise. You can tell it was made by fans for fans — and you can feel that love on every page. It’s packed with Easter eggs, callbacks, and references to characters and moments from the games.

It was also super interesting to see so many different artists take on the Ace Attorney cast. Of course, some comics and art styles clicked more with me than others, but honestly, there wasn’t a single bad one.

Some of my highlights:
• Progress Toward Tomorrow, in which the story got surprisingly philosophical and personal. We’ve never really seen Phoenix like that before (also he is so obviously gay for Edgeworth — you can’t convince me otherwise)
• Turnabout Illusions, which was absolutely bonkers. I still can’t believe they revealed Oldbag as the mysterious woman only to kill her off and then reveal it was her grandmother all along.
• Kind Lies, a wholesome and sweet story. I love every interaction between Nick and Pearly and Mia’s appearance in the end just makes it better
• Turnabout Misunderstanding, because I need more content of those three idiots and Maya. Pure comedy gold.

I also really enjoyed the silly little comic strips in between the bigger ones.
There were also several things I wish were canon — like Phoenix visiting Iris from time to time (I don’t even ship them, but it’s sad she never appears again), or Maya and Phoenix adopting a cute little office cat.

And then there’s just a bunch of hilarious shenanigans like: Grossberg flooding a rooftop to help Maya train; everyone randomly ganging up on Phoenix to roast his looks and personality; Maya knitting him a sweater; Phoenix being a pathetic little sick boy during a trial; a case about who stole Gumshoe’s lunch (spoiler: it was the Judge); and an eating contest with Edgeworth, Franziska, Maya, and Phoenix competing for free food LMAO

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWEOSME BEAUTIFUL I LOVE ACE ATTORNEY

[Myffanwy Geronazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got my copy from someone on Facebook Marketplace and it's in super rough shape. My favourite part though, is that ALL cleavage is completely blacked out in pen...so hard that it TEXTURED the pages.

This book features a lot of Mia as well so that's like...there's a LOT of black pen scribbles and honestly I laughed so freaking hard at that.

I love that it was a bunch of different artists, but this person didn't care; Mia was getting the black pen treatment 🤣

[Rish · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of short doujinshi (fan-written stories), which I didn’t realize when I purchased it. I thought it was just another Phoenix Wright manga spin-off or something. Honestly the title and synopsis on the back of the book are really misleading and don’t mention this at all.

This was still an ok read, but is really only for fans and won’t make sense to anybody trying to get into the series or somebody who hasn’t played any of the games. I didn’t care for it much, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Some of the artwork was weird and some of the stories just didn’t really make any sense, I don’t even know. There were some funny ones, though, so if you’re interested in doujinshi and just really like anything to do with Phoenix Wright then I’d say go ahead and read it. However, if you’re not really the fanfiction type and you’re more into real Phoenix Wright stories with more cases and court scenes and just more substance in general, then you should probably pass on this; although it would be nice as a collector’s item.

I’m not totally disappointed in this and I’ll still read the second book since I already bought it, but I just felt the cover and title and the synopsis were the most misleading things. It’s called “Official Casebook” and the synopsis says “Join Phoenix Wright...as they investigate twenty intriguing cases,” but probably only one or two of the stories even talk about or deal with cases; and there’s no mention anywhere of it being a collection of fanwritten doujinshi.

Hopefully the second volume, “The Miles Edgeworth Files,” will make up for it a bit (since now I at least know what I’m getting into) and feature more of Miles Edgeworth as the title implies! ❤️

[Arielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently started playing Ace Attorney, and I got a bit obsessed with it. I finished the first game only a few weeks ago. So when I saw this book at my local used book store, I had to have it.

I'll be honest, there were a few references that went over my head, but this book was fun. None of it is really cannon, and all of it was silly and fun. It felt fan made, but not necessarily in a bad way. More in the "people who love this game as much as me had fun ideas and turned them into little manga/comic stories" kind of way. Worth reading, and very few spoilers, though I found that having knowledge of both the first and part of the second game helped. It would probably help more to have finished all three games. But no matter what, it was a fun experience.

[Francine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite story by far was "Turnabout Illusions".

A lot of the other stories were pretty forgettable, though it was fun to see all the characters in different art styles.
I wish there would have been more variety, though: the focus was very heavily on Phoenix and Maya and the other main cast (Edgey and Franzy and Larry), but it would have been fun to see more of recurring side characters like Lotta Hart or Will Powers/anything Steel Samurai-related, or dive deeper into characters like the Judge. Oh well.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very quick to get through, and the art was great, but I only really liked the stories with Edgeworth. Yes, because I love Edgeworth and his dynamic with Phoenix, but also because they were deeper. And they didn't overly-sexualize Maya or Pearl.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Essentially officially published doujinshi with fans writing short, comedic comics including the characters. They're cute and fun if you're already a big Ace Attorney fan, which is what I am

[John Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

For every one good story I read in this collection, there were three complete trash stories. The goods ones are worth reading but they just don't make up for the bad ones enough.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few stories set in the Ace Attorney universe. Nothing to stand out, but a good read if you're a fan of the games.

[Klemen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this as a collector's piece, so my expectations were tame, but this blew em all away.

It wasn't just bad. It was criminal. Guilty of being shit fan fiction for 15 bucks.

DNF. Stay away.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its like an official fanbook - a bunch of silly lil stories by a variety of artists!
Some are great, some are silly, art is really hit or miss

[Shann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just like with the games I have no idea whats going but its fun to read!

[bi lalalalalaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like how they’re all best friends the art style is kinda wonky at some parts doe

[rey :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

missile. doggy. missile on page. five stars.

[Bonnie]

No rating? That can't be good. Its true for the first book on this review.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook Vol.1 - The Phoenix Wright Files VERSION: For the official phoenix wright manga scroll down further [on this site, they share the same page].



Mainly just skimmed through this. Its a disappointment when I flipped through the pages and struggled to find a story with good art to catch my attention.

OH THE ART.

Most of the art in the book had an very ugly and unprofessional look to it. The worst part of it is it hardly varied between the stories as described before.

AND THE STORIES -














What were they about again?

I can't seem to really remember what even the decent ones were about.

This book's worse crime is being very underwhelming compared to the original source material being the video games with its intricate and strong storyline.

When I recommend a manga to people, I usually like to recommend to people who aren't into the anime/manga craze in general. This book would be a bad example in my opinion to show them mainly because of the cheap look of the art styles(?). They would probably take one look at it and then be done with manga forever afterwards.



This is the much better of the two. MUCH BETTER.

Now I have mixed feelings on the art. At times It can be very ridiculous such with the character designs like Hatsurou Kimura (bodybuilder guy) and Himeko Komori (Wife of the second client Phoenix is asked to defend)and can range to bland with the case with Phoenix; other times, it fits the story and is very expressive. I think it suits Maya when she is drawn.

The stories are run like a regular manga but I was very impressed with how the manga started in the first chapter. It got better every page going into Turnabout Gallows.

I feel confident in recommending this book to both fans of the original source material to the ones who aren't very familiar with manga.

[Jayden is the Legendary Super Saiyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney is based of off the game franchise with the same name and this book takes place in a modern Japan like setting. Phoenix Wright has all the familiar characters that you may have seen if you played the games and they are all here in manga form. This book stars the defense attorney Nick Wright as the main character all though he is usually referred to as Phoenix Wright and his other friends and rivals also play a part in this book. First off we have Maya (Wright's assistant), Miles Edgeworth (one of Wright's child hood friends and his rival), Larry Butz (another of one of Wright's friends), Pearls (one of Maya's friends from her home village), Mia (Wright's former assistant and she is also related to Maya), and then there is Ms. Von Karma, Detective Gumshoe, Ms. Old Bag, and the Judge.
Every chapter in this book is written by a different person so that means that each chapter also has different art styles. Since all the chapters are written by a different person none of the chapters will connect with each other to form one big story like most other books. Each chapter is more like it's own little small story. This book isn't entirely based off the game either Phoenix Wright goes on entirely new adventures in this book that were not seen in the game, there also some new court cases to spice things up a bit but there aren't that many here.
My personal thoughts on this manga, I think it's a really good read and I also think that is worth reading all the way through. If you liked playing the Phoenix Wright games or if you just want to know the characters a little better without having to play the games then I definitely recommend this manga and It is also longer then most single manga I've read.

[Kevin Magpoc · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to even tell if it's intentional, the way the introductory segment is so straight-faced and serious to the point that it misleads you about the tone of most of the following stories. But it was worth sticking through, since I did enjoy the utter sillies, which are reminiscent of Bobobo and Sgt. Frog (do they share artists/writers in common?). I am glad I read this after playing the first game, since although I don't recall any spoilerish material, I probably wouldn't have gotten much out of it if I hadn't known the main characters already. There even are some characters from the games I haven't played featured, and I felt out of the loop since the book doesn't seem to take any time to explain who any of them are. I mean, not even the customary Brief Cast List Breakdown Found in Many Manga Serials? Or, maybe this is an intentional tease to get people like me to want to play the other games! The other disappointment I had was that I was hoping for any actual "mystery" case stories, the kind that the reader can be expected to solve on his/her own. Can I hope for something like this in volume 2?
Other than that, it's a fun, quick little read, and overall I can't really object to it.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Honestly, you'd have to be a fan of the game that this is based off to get any enjoyment from it. For what we have here is a loose collection of fan-created stories that are all over the place - from random ghost defendants to pointless musings (where are the interesting court cases?). The stories are fairly short, art all over the place, and plotting/characters changing page by page. Nearly all the stories lack an arc or any kind of structure. The result is a muddled mess, to be honest, and one I only got halfway through before finally recognizing that it was unreadable. Clearly, this is just one long advertisement for the game and not a professional and engaging manga. I'll be donating this to the local Goodwill.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think if I had known that this was a collection of doujinshi (fan-made comics) going in I wouldn't have had as high of hopes. As it is, each of the stories is a few pages long, and while the art is fun, only two or three stories have a plot that is something besides hamming up already hammy characters. My favorite part of the games was always the thrill of bringing in new ridiculous evidence in a trial, and this never came up (but might have been a limit of the short comic form). Disappointing.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light-hearted series of vignettes based on the best-selling Capcom videogame series for the DS, this manga captures the charm of the games if not the intelligence. Because the story is a collection written by a slew of guest artists, the quality of both art and story varies from page to page. It isn't the best manga I've ever read, but it's a nice fix for those who want more Phoenix Wright, Maya, Pearl and Co.

[Brock · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as my love of Phoenix Wright abides, this collection of short manga tales are too scattershot and the translation too spotty to make it a very enjoyable read. A lot of the in-jokes fall flat, even for a die-hard fan of the series.

There are one or two interesting and laugh-out-loud funny moments, but far too few to warrant a true recommendation.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of like an official doujinshi for the Ace Attorney video game series (actually, that might be exactly what it is). Reread because it is always surefire hilarity, though my favorites are the comic about trying to create a waterfall for Maya, and everything with Godot!

Because you can't go wrong with Godot.

[Joseph Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I haven't played any of the Phoenix Wright games, this book is quite hilarious. There seems to be a lot of in-jokes that you might not get, or that would take significant thought to get if you haven't played the games. Still mostly enjoyable for someone only barely familiar with this world.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This doujinshi anthology was quite enjoyable, even though I have never played the videogames. The only thing that really bothered me was the character inconsistencies among the story, especially how Pearls looked different amongst several stories. Also, the contrasting stories about stray cats....one where Phoenix says they can keep it and the other where he says that they cannot.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good ol' legal manga for those looking for something new. This is based on a Capcom video game and features a pretty good one and done case in the first chapter, and then a second case which ends in a cliffhanger. Looking forward to volume 2.