Ema Skye

"Ema Skye"

- Yes! Isn't it amazing? Ah, the power of science. It's my life.

Ema Skye is a forensics-obsessed detective in the Los Angeles Criminal Affairs Department. She happens to have been in charge of the same cases that defense attorney Apollo Justice handled. She was also Phoenix Wright's investigative partner and co-council in the murder of Bruce Goodman, nine years before she became a detective.

Ema Skye is responsible for introducing forensic investigation techniques to Wright and Justice.

Early life
Ema Skye lost her parents at a young age, so her elder sister Lana was her only family. Lana raised Ema alone while pursuing her detective career, resulting in Ema's interest in forensics. Lana gave Ema an allowance, usually in the forms of money and bottles of luminol. Lana was known for being a cheerful, likable person at the time. Through her, Ema came to know many people in the police department, the Criminal Affairs Department and the prosecutor's office, including Jake Marshall, Angel Starr and Miles Edgeworth.

Ema also used to take organ lessons and was a fan of the popular children's television program The Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo, even having the show's theme music as her ringtone.

Involvement in the SL-9 Incident

 * Main article: SL-9 Incident

During the events of the SL-9 Incident, Ema was waiting for Lana in Lana's office so that they could go out for dinner. Serial killer Joe Darke, who had escaped from his interrogation, encountered her there. Prosecutor Neil Marshall came to the rescue, engaging Darke in a fight. During the struggle, Ema saw a man about to stab another with a broken knife. Thinking the attacker was Darke, Ema pushed him, knocking him out. She lost consciousness soon afterward. When she woke up, Lana was cradling her in her arms, Neil was dead, and Darke had been recaptured.

Detective Bruce Goodman interviewed Ema for evidence, but Ema could not remember anything clearly and was in shock from the experience. A couple of days later, she managed to draw a picture of one man stabbing another on the back of a list of the evidence used to convict Darke. Subsequently, Ema decided to become a scientific investigator to prevent such situations from happening again. Her sister, however, became cold and more serious.

Resolution

 * Main article: Rise from the Ashes

"Ema Skye"

- So, to scientifically analyze the data available so far... You, Ms. Starr, are a lunch vendor with an ulterior motive for coming here!

"Phoenix Wright"

- (Useful analysis. Not.)



Two years after the SL-9 Incident, Goodman was murdered and Lana was accused. Before Lana was apprehended, she called Ema to tell her about the situation. Ema sought Mia Fey, a lawyer whom Lana knew from law school, to defend her, but she found Phoenix Wright in Fey's office instead. Wright informed her that Fey no longer worked there, so she requested his services instead. They visited Lana in detention; Lana told Ema not to get involved, but Ema insisted on helping her only family.

Wright and Ema investigated the scene of the crime: the parking lot at the prosecutor's office. They found the victim's wallet; Ema told Wright to examine the wallet and other evidence "scientifically", from all angles, for clues. The next day, Ema gave Wright a bottle of luminol and told him to use it to find blood. Wright used it to find blood in various areas in the evidence room at the police department headquarters, in which Goodman had allegedly been "murdered" at the same time that he had been murdered in the parking lot. After gathering their clues there, they visited Edgeworth, whom gave Ema a jar of aluminum fingerprint powder for Ema to use, on fingerprints they had found. Wright used the resulting fingerprint evidence to prove in court that the "Goodman" at the evidence room was, in fact, Jake Marshall. Jake had merely wanted to take the evidence from the SL-9 Incident, and he wanted to know whether the evidence was forged. Lana confirmed that she had forged evidence in that incident, sending the courtroom into an uproar.

As the investigation continued, it became clearer that the murder had something to do with the SL-9 Incident, which had plagued Lana ever since it had happened. Wright found out about Darke's attack on Ema and the subsequent arrest. Wright convinced Dick Gumshoe to let them into the office of the police chief, Damon Gant, whom had been in charge of the investigation into the SL-9 Incident. Wright used the fingerprint powder to break into Gant's safe and found hidden evidence from SL-9, including a piece of cloth with a handprint from Ema on it. Just then, Gant came in and told Wright and Gumshoe to leave, firing Gumshoe and telling Ema to stay with him for questioning.

On the last day in court, Lana tried to insist that she had killed Goodman, and Gant pushed for the guilty verdict as well, but Edgeworth defied them both and summoned Ema to the stand, despite Gant's threats. Ema testified about the SL-9 Incident, and the picture she had drawn came up. Eventually, Wright found out that Lana believed Ema had killed Marshall by accident, but at the end of Lana's trial for Goodman's murder, Wright was able to show that Damon Gant was the real killer in both cases, and that he had blackmailed Lana with the lie that Ema was the killer.

Closing the case for good freed Lana from her guilt and she became her cheerful self again. She apologized for the forgeries, saying that she only did it to protect Ema. Ema forgave her, though, because she knew that the old Lana would be back someday. Lana gave Ema the first book she had ever bought: a book on scientific investigation. Lana was going to be tried again for her crimes, so she sent Ema to Europe to live with a friend of hers, who was a coroner, and to learn more about scientific investigation.

Vacation

 * Main articles: The Kidnapped Turnabout, The Forgotten Turnabout, The Grand Turnabout

Two years later, Ema Skye had returned to America for spring break. She was hoping to catch Miles Edgeworth at the airport, but she had just missed him there. So, using a footprint analyzer, she managed to trace Edgeworth all the way to Gatewater Land, where her footprint analyzer helped him find the truth behind the kidnapping and the murder that had taken place there. She believed she would be unable to meet up with Edgeworth again before she returned to Europe, for which she expressed regret.

However, a few weeks later she was reunited with Edgeworth at the Big Tower rooftop while Edgeworth was looking into the attempted murder of Kay Faraday. After receiving a call from Gumshoe about the case, Ema went to the building to assist Edgeworth, and used her forensic knowledge to aid him in his investigation. Though she was not allowed to be present at the committee's hearing of the case the following day, later that day she was contacted by Shi-Long Lang at Edgeworth's request following another murder, and accompanied Lang to the Berry Big Circus to help Edgeworth confront the suspect there.

Detective career

 * Main article: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

"Ema Skye"

- *sigh* I never seem to get a lucky break. Back after nine years, and they won't give me the position I requested... ...And then I hear he gave up the defense attorney life...

After nine years, Ema Skye returned to the U.S. to become a forensic scientist there and to meet Wright again. To her dismay, she failed to qualify for the job and was hired into the criminal affairs department as a homicide detective. Finding out that Wright had been disbarred only added to her disappointment.

First encounter with Apollo Justice

 * Main article: Turnabout Corner

When defense attorney Apollo Justice visited one of the crime scenes to which she was assigned, Skye ignored him at first, but Wright advised Justice to give her a bottle of fingerprint powder he and Skye had used nine years earlier. Skye immediately brightened at the opportunity to use the fingerprint powder and became friendlier toward Justice. With her assistance and the use of shoeprint casting, Justice was able to find the evidence he needed to acquit the prime suspect of the crime.

Witness to murder

 * Main article: Turnabout Serenade

Later, during a Gavinners concert, someone had stolen Klavier Gavin's keys, so he had called Skye to look for it. She met Justice backstage and then heard two sounds like gunshots. They broke into a dressing room to find a wounded bodyguard, who died shortly afterward. She later testified against Machi Tobaye in the bodyguard's murder.

Involvement in the Jurist System test trial

 * Main article: Turnabout Succession

Three months later, Skye and Justice participated in the trial of Vera Misham for the murder of her father, Drew Misham. They used an atroquinine indicator to find traces of poison on a small picture frame. They also used a special X-ray machine designed to see through objects to read two letters that had been sent to the Misham residence.

During the trial, Skye appeared again, imitating Kristoph Gavin's voice to spook Prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Justice had determined that Drew had sent a letter, using a stamp to do so; the stamp had been poisoned with atroquinine, which had killed Drew. Skye added that she could test for atroquinine on one of the letters that were in the Misham residence. When she did so, she found a small smear near the bottom of a letter, about the size of a stamp. This was crucial evidence for the defense, and with the investigative work of Phoenix Wright, all the unknowns of the case were solved, and the jury declared Vera innocent.

Personality
"Ema Skye"

- Let's be scientific about this, please!



As a high school student, Ema Skye was cheerful and optimistic. She loved science and wanted to be a forensic investigator and was set to go into forensics in 2020. She also deeply admired both her older sister Lana, and the prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, though she was not a fan of his office. She was somewhat lacking in common sense. When examining Wright's desk, she claimed to be studying for a history test and she inaccurately proclaimed George Washington to be "the first king of America." She also had a tendency to write down notes in her notepad, even though they were irrelevant to the case at hand.

Her personality underwent a dramatic shift when she failed to get her dream job in forensics, becoming much moodier than she was at 16 years of age. She does not like to talk to people unless they have something interesting (i.e. something concerning forensics) to discuss. Otherwise, she usually blows people off. She has also taken a liking to "Snackoos", spending large quantities of time vigorously munching on them and ignoring people around her. The sound of her munching has become an identifying signal for Apollo Justice. Sometimes, Skye throws Snackoos at people who annoy her.

"Ema Skye"

- Quiet, please. It's snack time.

Skye's disregard for other people extends to her coworkers. She cannot stand prosecutor Klavier Gavin, calling him "glimmerous" (Justice always tries to correct it to "glamorous" in his head). According to Skye, prosecutors should be "simmerous", "cool of wit and furrowed of brow" (likely referring to the more serious Miles Edgeworth). In addition, Skye likes to investigate crime scenes when assigned forensic investigators are not around.

Ema Skye appears to be a fan of the Steel Samurai franchise. Her mobile ringtone is the "Steel Samurai" theme and her bag has a chibi Pink Princess on it.

Attire evolution
Skye wore three button badges on her lab coat as a teenager: one had a surprised face on it while the two smaller ones had angry faces. These badges bear a great resemblance to the molecular model used for water, with the larger badge representing an oxygen atom and the two smaller badges representing the two hydrogen atoms. When studying in Europe, she only wore the larger button badge with a surprised face on her lab coat. As an adult, Skye only wore the one small button badge with an angry face. The large button from her teenage years can be seen on Phoenix Wright's beanie, carrying a small spy camera in its "mouth".

Name

 * The kanji in her Japanese surname "Houzuki" (宝月) mean "treasured moon" or "jeweled moon".


 * Her Japanese given name, "Akane" (茜), may come from the phrase "akane sasu sora", meaning "a glowing sky". Her English surname, "Skye", may be a reflection of this.

Development

 * Director Takeshi Yamazaki's original idea for Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth was a detective game spin-off for Ema Skye.


 * Ema was modelled after Maya Fey, but was given her own unique traits to make the two distinct from each other. This explains why her hairstyle is nearly identical to Fey's.


 * The reason Ema was made more mature and moody in her Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice appearance was to prevent her role from conflicting with that of Trucy Wright.


 * Character designer Kazuya Nuri wanted to keep her "cuteness" intact for her facial expressions as an adult, so when she is expressing anger it is more like an "adorable pout". His favorite Ema animation is when she is munching on her treats.
 * Her eye color changed from blue to brown.
 * Her legs were never shown in the game.