Bobby Fulbright


 * "Bobby" redirects here. You may be looking for the character Bobby Wolfe from the Kodansha Comics manga.

""Bobby Fulbright""

- In justice we trust!

Bobby Fulbright was a hot-blooded detective with the catchphrase "In justice we trust!" He had evidently worked with Simon Blackquill many times and was paired up with him in court. The detective hoped to help the prosecutor redeem himself, and he seemed completely oblivious to the latter's attempts to manipulate him.

Fake Fulbright

 * Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

At some point during 2026, Detective Fulbright died via undisclosed circumstances (although it was heavily implied that he had been murdered), although no one would find out that he was actually deceased for a whole year as his body was unidentified at the time.

A mysterious international agent known only as "the phantom" took on the late detective's identity, meaning that the Fulbright that Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, and Athena Cykes met during their cases was this imposter. It would not be until the retrial of the UR-1 Incident that the real Fulbright's body was identified and his imposter brought to justice for the murders and bombings that he had performed while disguised as the justice-obsessed detective.

Personality
Fulbright was very enthusiastic about his work and had a very strong sense of justice. As a detective he was fairly competent and would rarely overlook anything important during an investigation. However, he would frequently get caught in a conundrum of "which justice is the most just?" when asked to take sides. Fulbright was put in charge of the convict prosecutor Simon Blackquill, although it would frequently seem the other way around, with Blackquill constantly ordering him around and referring to him as "Fool Bright". The detective didn't seem to notice or mind, however.

It should be noted that all that is known of Fulbright in terms of personality comes from the phantom's portrayal of him. However, since the spy himself would wish to mimic the original as closely as possible and lacked the normal range of emotions that a normal individual would have, it can be safely assumed that the personality of the imposter was almost identical to the real Fulbright.

Name

 * The kanji used for his Japanese surname "Ban" (番) is also used in the Japanese words for "watchdog" and "guard/sentry", referring his occupation as Blackquill's guard.


 * His Japanese given name "Gouzou" is made up of the kanji for "roar/thunder/boom/resound" (轟) and "three" (三). The letter "gou" (轟) reflects his enthusiastic personality. Alternatively, "gou" could be interpreted as "bombing" (轟), which implies his culpability in the bombing of the HAT-1 rocket, HAT-2 rocket, and Courtroom No. 4.


 * His full Japanese name, "Ban Gouzou", may be a play on "ban-gou" (番号), which means "number in order". This fits with the remaining part of his name, "zou" (三), to form "number three". This could be a reference to him being the third main detective in the series after Dick Gumshoe and Ema Skye.


 * His English given name "Bobby" is a diminutive of "Robert", which means "bright with glory" (fitting with his surname "Fulbright"). "Bobby" is also a British slang term for a police officer. Interestingly, the only individual in the Ace Attorney games to date to have the given name "Robert" (i.e., Robert Hammond) was also impersonated by another person after his death.


 * "Fulbright" was likely chosen so that Blackquill could call him "Fool Bright".