[Ace Attorney][Spoilers] pulled out all the stops and finished GAA and GAA2

They really reminded me of what I love most about Ace Attorney games

where behind all of the fantastical plots and schemes, impossible crimes, larger than life personalities, silly courtroom antics, and pun names are deeply human characters

I haven't encountered another series that is both so outlandishly cartoonish yet so rooted in complex human emotions as AA

GAA and GAA2 feel like a grand example of this

The greater emotions and motivations that drive the mysteries and plot overall, sure, but also in the little things I noticed

Soseki choosing to return to Japan, for example, I feel like most other stories would have him stay in Britain, but GAA highlights that no matter how much he admires British culture and literature, the racisim he faces on a daily basis is too much for him

Kazuma saying he does not forgive Van Zieks for what happened to his father is so striking, and it's likely he will never forgive Van Zieks for it

But he also doesn't let it stop him from seeing the good in Van Zieks, and the fact that Van Zieks was doing what he believed to be good and just

So while he will probably never forgive Van Zieks for playing a part in the death of his father, he is able to move past it and look forward to a future studying under him

I also want to talk about Ashley Graydon, the big bad of GAA1 Case 5

I love that he wasn't some brilliant mastermind, he was actually a fucking moron who got lucky for a while and got way in over his head on something

and that his stupidity got his father killed and a huge part of his motivation was revenge, even though he was the main reason his father died in the first place

also as an aside, the fact that in a series full of people with punny fake sounding names, the entire cast took one look at "Eggert Benedict" and immediately said that was the fakest ass name they've ever heard is one of the best AA jokes in existence

anyway GAA and GAA2 are great, some of the best in the series

some of the best character writing to date

They’re SO good