Raymond Shields

Tateyuki Shigaraki is a defense attorney who was Gregory Edgeworth's investigative partner when the latter was alive, with the IS-7 Incident being a notable case in which the two worked together. When he met his former mentor's son Miles Edgeworth years later, he questioned Miles about his chosen path of being a prosecutor, rather than becoming a defense attorney like his father.

The IS-7 Incident

 * Main articles: IS-7 Incident and The Inherited Turnabout

As Gregory's assistant, Shigaraki assisted him with a number of cases, including what would be become known as the "IS-7 Incident". In said case, Gregory took on the case of famous television chef Issei Tenkai, who was accused of murdering fellow chef Isaku Hyoudou during a confectionery competition held at Tenkai's mansion. During the case, Gregory and Shigaraki met the infamous prosecutor Manfred von Karma, who was leading the investigation, and it eventually transpired that the autopsy report that von Karma possessed was a fabricated, owing to the fact that the body of the victim had disappeared before any autopsy report could have been committed.

In court, Gregory managed to prove that the report was fake, and thus von Karma was penalized for the first time in his "perfect" career. However, the case against Tenkai proved too strong, and the chef was still convicted, albeit only as an accomplice rather than the actual murderer. After the trial, Gregory Edgeworth was murdered by an unknown assailant (which would be revealed fifteen years later to be von Karma) inside the courtroom elevator. With Gregory's son adopted by von Karma and taken overseas to Germany, Shigaraki took over the Edgeworth Law Offices.

A shaky reunion

 * Main article: The Imprisoned Turnabout

Eighteen years after Gregory's murder, Shigaraki took on the case of Manosuke Naitō. However, upon visiting the detention center, Naitō was missing. Shigaraki entered the prison to find his client dead, and Gregory's son Miles examining the crime scene with Dick Gumshoe and Kay Faraday. Although he knew exactly who the young prosecutor was, Shigaraki pretended that he was Manfred von Karma to show his disdain of the son who had seemingly abandoned his father's path to follow in the footsteps of the man who had killed him.

Eventually, Miles was removed from the investigation by Hakari Mikagami and replaced by Yumihiko Ichiyanagi. In order to continue, Miles asked Shigaraki if he could become his assistant for the case, as Shigaraki had agreed to defend Sōta Sarushiro, who was the only suspect for Naitō's murder. Seeing Miles' determination to finding the truth, Shigaraki agreed. The pairs' investigation eventually led them to the truth; it had been the prison director Marī Miwa who was the real culprit.

IS-7 resolution

 * Main article: The Inherited Turnabout

Seeing that Miles was far more like Gregory than von Karma, Shigaraki took him to the newly opened 12 Constellations Art Gallery, which was formerly Tenkai's mansion, to tell him about his father's investigation into the IS-7 Incident. However, during his retelling of events, there was an attempt on the life of another visitor, a man named Yutaka Kazami, who had been a witness in the IS-7 Incident. Even more dramatically, the body of Isaku Hyoudou, missing for all those years, suddenly turned up in the gallery's fountain. Miles subsequent investigation revealed that it had been Tsukasa Oyashiki, Tenkai's assistant, who had attempted to poison Kazami, as she strongly suspected that he was the true culprit. Shigaraki and Miles eventually proved that Kazami was indeed the killer, and the IS-7 Incident was finally solved. Shigaraki went on to ask Oyashiki if he could defend her in court, to which she agreed.

Murder at Big Tower

 * Main article: The Forgotten Turnabout

During the murder of Tsubasa Kagome, Shigaraki was one of the people who helped Miles clear Kay Faraday's name after she was accused of Kagome. Miles revealed that the true culprit had been Bansai Ichiyanagi, the former Chief Prosecutor who had forged the autopsy report in the IS-7 Incident.

Miles and the mastermind

 * Main article: The Grand Turnabout

The following day, the trial of Marī Miwa began, with Shigaraki as the defense (taking over from the late Tsubasa Kagome) and Franziska von Karma as the prosecution. Meanwhile, Miles was investigating the murder of Teikun Ō, the president of Zheng Fa, who was found dead in a nearby Global Studios filming lot.

After the resolution of the case, Shigaraki and Tyrell Badd were set to testify against Kazami in the retrial of the IS-7 Incident.

Personality
As a teenager, Shigaraki was rather cowardly; he stuttered a lot and was easily scared. He was very open about his feelings, however, particularly his adoration towards Gregory and Tenkai. A rather odd habit of his was to write thing down in his notepad, and then eat the page to "remember" it.

The adult Shigaraki is seemingly quite different, as he is far more playful, confident, and laid back, and often uses sarcasm and jokes when dealing with others. His paper-eating habit is gone, instead replaced with a desire to ask people (normally women) for hugs, although the only one seen to take him up on his offer was Marī Miwa, who followed up with a kiss as well, much to Shigaraki's shock. He claimed that it was his time overseas that gave him an appreciation for hugs. Despite his laid back demeanour, however, Shigaraki has a passion for the truth, a sharp mind, and a fierce loyalty towards his clients.

Shigaraki had a great respect towards Gregory, even going so far as to copy his former mentor's way of bowing to others. His initially scornful attitude towards Miles was born out of this respect, as he felt that he had abandoned his father's path to follow in the footsteps of the man who had killed him. However, upon getting to know Miles, Shigaraki soon realised that he was far more like Gregory than von Karma, and began treating him as an ally.

Unlike other defense attorneys such as Phoenix Wright, Shigaraki's only known clients have all been guilty. His reasoning behind defending such individuals is apparently due to having compassion towards their plight and working to help them receive a less harsh verdict.

Name

 * His name contains the kanji for "shield" (盾) - this could be a reference to his partnership with Gregory Edgeworth, seeing as Gregory's Japanese surname contains the kanji for "sword". Alternatively, his name could be seen as a reference to his job as a defense attorney.


 * Shigaraki shares the first kanji of his surname with the first kanji of Gregory's Japanese given name; "shin" (信), which means "truth".


 * Shigaraki's English name in the fan translation is "Raymond Shields"; "Raymond" is a given name originating from the Proto-Germanic words for "advice" (ragin) and "protector" (mund). He also refers to himself as just "Ray", which could refer to a "ray of light". "Shields" is likely meant to have the same meaning as his Japanese name.

Development

 * Though he acts as an ally for much of Gyakuten Kenji 2, Shigaraki is never formally declared a partner by the game.


 * Shigaraki (particularly his younger self) is the favorite new character of art director Tatsuro Iwamoto.