Valant Gramarye

"Phoenix Wright"

- I always get the characters, don't I?

Valant Gramarye is a highly prolific magician who was a member of Troupe Gramarye, a famous group of magicians.

Troupe Gramarye
Valant Gramarye, along with Zak Gramarye, was an apprentice of the legendary magician Magnifi Gramarye. Together with Thalassa Gramarye, the group Troupe Gramarye was formed. Troupe Gramarye became a household name as their popularity rose to great heights.

However, beneath all the fame and hype, there was a dark side to the Troupe. Rumors of a love triangle between Zak, Valant, and Thalassa persisted. Thalassa left the group when she married another stage performer, but when he died in an accident on stage, she returned to the group. Ultimately, she married Zak, having a daughter, Trucy, with him.

Shooting incident
Some time later, tragedy struck. During a rehearsal of a shooting trick in which Zak and Valant fired a series of bullets around Thalassa, she was hit by one of their bullets and was critically wounded. Magnifi managed to keep the accident a secret, but the relationship between the mentor and his pupils would never be the same, as he constantly hung Thalassa's "death" over their heads.

Magnifi's death


Two years later, Magnifi was nearing the end of his life, confined to a hospital room with cancer and diabetes. A year afterward, Valant received a letter from Magnifi. Valant saw the letter for what it was, a test, and he came up with a plot to kill Magnifi and frame Zak for the crime, in order to inherit the legal rights to his mentor's magic.

Valant arrived at Magnifi's hospital room at 11:20 p.m., as ordered. Magnifi was asleep in bed. However, Valant's nerve failed, and he couldn't bring himself to shoot his mentor, turning to leave instead. Magnifi, who was not really asleep, stopped him, telling him he'd already passed on his magic to Zak, and asking Valant to support him.

Valant left the room a broken man, knowing that even if he continued his career, he would be forever in Zak's shadow. As he stood out in the hall in shock, he suddenly heard a gunshot from inside the room. He quickly raced back inside, and found Magnifi dead. Magnifi had taken the gun and shot himself in the forehead.

Hurt and angry, Valant went with his original plan to frame Zak for the crime. He moved the gun out of reach of Magnifi, injected some additional IV fluid into Magnifi's IV bag (to throw off the time of death), and then called the police. Just as Valant intended, Zak was arrested for Magnifi's "murder," and Valant offered himself as a witness.

Trial

 * Main article: Turnabout Succession

The case looked bad for Valant initially. Phoenix Wright showed some evidence linking Valant to Magnifi's death, revealing the fact that the IV drip was tampered with. Over the course of the trial, Wright presented a page from Magnifi's diary that turned out to be a forgery, and the trial was abruptly ended. However, something happened that Valant had not intended: Zak vanished from the courtroom, never to be seen again for seven years. No verdict was ever given for the trial.

Valant thought that Zak's disappearance was as good as a confession of his guilt, but rumors began spreading that Zak had actually disappeared to cover for Valant. Thus, Valant was incarcerated for some time. Wright visited him in jail and questioned him about Troupe Gramarye, learning about the accidental shooting of Thalassa. Valant insisted he had not committed the murder, but Wright did not believe him. Valant also warned Wright to stop reopening old wounds, but Wright was resolute in his search for the truth and he left to continue his investigation of Magnifi's death.

Career post-Troupe
Valant was eventually released and able to continue his career. However, since he was not a legal heir to the rights to Magnifi's magic tricks, which had been left to Zak, he had to get by on his own, vastly inferior talents. Combined with the lingering suspicions from the public and his continued real guilt, this meant that Valant would come upon hard times. He would eventually come to live in a one-bedroom apartment and perform in supermarket parking lots. He continued to bide his time, though, knowing that in seven years, if Zak never showed up, he would be declared legally deceased, and Valant would inherit Magnifi's magic.

Gavinners gig

 * Main article: Turnabout Serenade

Seven years after Magnifi's death, Valant obtained a job with the popular Gavinners band. The Gavinners had acquired a foreign singer, and they worked with Valant to pull a disappearing act with her during one of their concerts. The disappearing act allowed the singer to witness a murder, which helped to prove the innocence of the defendant in the subsequent trial.

Resolution

 * Main article: Turnabout Succession

Three months later, the time had come for Valant to inherit the rights to Magnifi's magic by Zak's disappearance, and he scheduled a comeback show to revive the Gramarye magic. However, this was not to be, for Phoenix Wright met with Valant, showing him that Zak had reappeared long enough to make a legal will transferring the rights to the magic to his daughter, Trucy, as well as a written letter of confession by Zak. Valant admitted that Zak's confession was a lie, and he finally told the truth about Magnifi's suicide and his own crime of altering the scene to frame Zak. Having lost everything, Valant decided to turn himself in. His last words to Wright were that "she" might still be alive...

Personality
Valant maintains a high air of arrogance and prides himself on the larger-than-life persona he plays on stage. He is a true showman in every sense of the word. He wears yellow because that is his lucky color. He has a tendency to make puns that revolve around the word "Alakazam" when he is shocked and/or surprised, such as: "Alakazam, Alakazing... Alakaboom", "Alakanoooooooooo!" and "Alakazoooooooomg!" He also tends to use a substantial amount of alliteration when he speaks. It is possible that his arrogance is actually a front for a low self-esteem, as at one point, he admitted to Phoenix Wright that he actually doesn't believe himself to be a very talented magician.

Name

 * The Japanese surname "Arumajiki" (或真敷) means "unworthy". It could also be a play on "aru" meaning "there is" and "majiki", possibly meaning "magic".


 * The Japanese given name "Varan" (バラン) comes from the word "zakkubaran" meaning "frankly".


 * Valant likely comes from "valiant" meaning someone who shows courage or determination. Although not shown as a particularly couragous character, Valant does show great determination to become a great magician in his own right.


 * In chemistry, "valence" electrons are electrons on the outermost "shell" of an atom that are involved in chemical bonds with other atoms. Valant is the only member of Troupe Gramarye who has no legal or blood relations to the others, and who was never intended to inherit Magnifi's magic. He orbits around the rest of the troupe, but is never really a part of it. In the potential love triangle between Zak, Thalassa and Valant, it is Valant who is cast off.


 * Valant formed a performing duo with his partner Zak which was referred to as "Zak and Valant". This may be a play on "knack and talent".


 * His English surname "Gramarye" comes from a word once used as a synonym for magic or sorcery. It is also an alternative spelling of "grimoire", which is supposedly a book of instructions in the use of magic. The French surname "Grimoire" is a more obvious play on this.

Development

 * Valant's younger self was designed first, and was given black hair so that it would be obvious he was graying in his older years.


 * In the Japanese version, his belt buckle used to have a "B" on it, with the intention that his name would be "Baran." It became a "V" in the final version.


 * In the back of the Gyakuten Saiban 4 Guidebook, there's a character chart that labels Valant's feelings towards Thalassa as "one-sided love." This ties in with Spark Brushel's speculation that there was a love triangle between Valant, Zak, and Thalassa.


 * Valant's older "shocked" sprite has fewer doves and rabbits than his younger "shocked" sprite does. He also spins his baton a fewer number of times when he is older.


 * Like the other members of Troupe Gramarye, Valant's cape is held in place by a brooch in the shape of a suit in a deck of cards. In Valant's case, this is hearts.