Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook Vol 1

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Capcom Publisher Del Rey External Links Official Del Rey Manga Website

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the first Phoenix Wright game on the Nintendo DS, I didn't get into the series as much as I should have. Chalk this up mainly to limited time and an ever growing backlog of games. Nevertheless, the story's quirky characters and fun game-play mechanics definitely put these games on my must play list of DS titles. Well, Phoenix Wright finally has its own official manga tie-in. But instead of being treated to an overarching plot, tying directly into the game spanning story, we are given a collection of short stories that are a few different artists' interpretations of the games characters, pretty much nebulous from the games themselves.
 
It is very difficult to fully enjoy the collection when its art tends to veer so much away from the games' own style, which we have grown so used to. In addition, each story has its own style and there is no uniformity in this sense throughout the majority of the book. That's not to say the art isn't good at times.  I really liked Tomo and Tsukapon's more cutesy versions of Wright and crew even though they are a great diversion from the art in the rest of the book. I am sure there is a style and story represented in this collection for every taste, but as a whole, this is not what I had expected.
 
As far as plots go, each story is as unique in its topic as they are in their visual presentation. Plot points range from Wright's motivation in becoming an attorney to the task of finding Pearls's lost ball. However, it is kind of odd when, in a collection of this sort, two stories focus on virtually identical plot devices: that of an abandoned kitten and whether or not Wright will let it live in the office. Not only that, but since each story is distinct in and of itself, happening in its own bubble Phoenix Wright universe, these two cat quandary stories do not make any mention of each other. They even have different outcomes.

In addition to the collection's main stories, also included are a small group of 4-panel comics dispersed throughout the book. These play great if one knows the characters, but if one is new to the Phoenix Wright franchise, some punchlines can easily go over most people's heads. Overall these are a good addition to the collection and at their best will be enjoyed by a fan of the series of games.

Official Casebook Vol. 1 is probably not what most fans of the series have been waiting for. Not being a die-hard fan myself, I still found it lacking in too many aspects to deem it worthy of purchase. Most chapters even seem to be missing the back and forth courtroom action and point raising that is one of the most prevalent aspects of the games. Some of the better stories in the collection definitely do have heart and are worth a read, it's just too bad they cannot all be reviewed individually or taken a little further by themselves.