Apollo Justice


 * You may be looking for the game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

"Apollo Justice"

- I find that shouting "I'm fine!" in a loud voice really relieves stress. It's part of my "Chords of Steel" workout, and a must before every trial.

Apollo Justice is a defense attorney who has operated in the United States and Khura'in. Although he started off at Gavin Law Offices, he spent most of his career at the Wright Anything Agency before heading to Khura'in and establishing his own firm to help rebuild the country's legal system. In the U.S., he is notable for his involvement in a test trial for the Jurist System, an effort to reintegrate the jury into court proceedings, along with co-counsel Trucy Wright, Prosecutor Klavier Gavin, and mentor Phoenix Wright.

Early life

 * Main articles: Turnabout Succession, The Cosmic Turnabout, & Turnabout Revolution

Apollo was born to the stage magician Thalassa Gramarye and the musician Jove Justice. Some time after he was born, Jove brought Apollo with him on a trip to Khura'in, where he performed for the queen at the time, Amara Sigatar Khura'in. However, an arsonist set the queen's residence ablaze, resulting in Jove's death as he tried to save his son. Due to the uproar over the queen's death, Apollo was lost in the chaos, leaving Thalassa unable to reunite with her son, although Apollo was given one of her bracelets before the incident. Thalassa later returned home, remarried and gave birth to a girl.

Apollo grew up not knowing about his mother or his half-sister. Instead, he was raised by Dhurke Sahdmadhi, husband of the reportedly now deceased Queen Amara, alongside Dhurke's own son, Nahyuta. However, Dhurke was falsely accused by Amara's sister and the new queen of Khura'in, Ga'ran, of being the arsonist. Although Dhurke, a skilled defense attorney, managed to prove his innocence in court, Ga'ran subsequently accused him of falsifying evidence and he was forced to flee to the mountains, taking Nahyuta and Apollo with him. Dhurke went on to form the "Defiant Dragons" rebel group to oppose Ga'ran and repeal her Defense Culpability Act.

One day, Apollo and Nahyuta were playing by a riverside and happened to get swept up in the rapids. Luckily for the two boys, Dhurke rescued them at the last moment and assured the pair that he would look out for their safety no matter what.

With his plans for a revolution to free the kingdom from Queen Ga'ran's corrupt clutches, Dhurke came to the conclusion that it was too dangerous for Apollo to stay in Khura'in and so, when Apollo was nine, Dhurke sent him back to his native America. Although Dhurke promised that he would return for him someday, as the years passed, Apollo lost hope that he would indeed return, and thus decided to forget his old life in Khura'in.

In middle school, Apollo came to idolize and respect the well-known defense attorney Phoenix Wright, and aspired to someday become a lawyer just like him.

One day, Apollo found a classmate named Clay Terran crying alone after learning that his mother had died. Knowing the pain of having no mother himself, Apollo encouraged Terran to yell, "Clay Terran is fine!" in an effort to make him feel better. The two soon became close friends, and both shared and talked about their dreams, with Terran wanting to become an astronaut. It was through this friendship that Apollo came to visit the Cosmos Space Center and meet Solomon Starbuck, whom he came to deeply respect. Apollo and Terran became practically a fixture in the Space Center throughout their high school years. Meanwhile, Phoenix Wright was disbarred in 2019 following a vaguely reported forgery incident, which contributed to the ushering in of the so-called "dark age of the law".

Gavin Law Offices

 * Main article: Turnabout Trump

As an adult, Apollo passed the bar exam and came to work for Kristoph Gavin's law firm, Gavin Law Offices, where he assisted Gavin in court for at least one case prior to his own debut as defense team leader. The defendant for Apollo's first trial was none other than disgraced former lawyer and Apollo's idol, Phoenix Wright, with Gavin initially acting as the rookie defense attorney's co-counsel. The trial was a very standard one until Wright began to accuse Gavin of being the real killer. Wright helped Apollo to figure out the truth about the case, securing a not guilty verdict and resulting in Gavin's arrest.

After the trial, Wright told Apollo that he had faked a key piece of evidence. Horrified that someone he respected would openly admit to forgery, Apollo punched Wright and then left, intending never to see him again. Gavin Law Offices was consequently dissolved, and Apollo was left without employment. Although Wright invited Apollo to work for the Wright & Co. Law Offices, the latter refused. At the time, Terran was preparing for his screening exams to become an astronaut at the Cosmos Space Center, and he encouraged Apollo to continue being an attorney despite recent events.

Joining the Wright Anything Agency

 * Main articles: Turnabout Corner & Turnabout Serenade

"Phoenix Wright"

- You know what changed her mind? Hearing your defense in there today. She could feel your gaze, unwavering, always looking straight at the truth.

After two months, with nowhere else to turn for a job, Apollo reluctantly visited Wright's old law firm, only to find that it was now the "Wright Talent Agency" and run by Wright's adoptive daughter, Trucy Wright. After some initial confusion, Trucy hired Apollo as the agency's lawyer. Since Apollo had no entertaining talent to speak of, Trucy renamed the agency the "Wright Anything Agency" to account for Apollo's involvement in it.

At first, Phoenix assigned Apollo to three minor, unrelated, and seemingly pointless cases, but Apollo later found that all three were tied to a murder that had occurred in nearby People Park. Desperate for real work, he offered to take on the resulting defendant's case. With the help of Trucy and Detective Ema Skye, Apollo gathered evidence and then faced off against Kristoph Gavin's brother, Prosecutor Klavier Gavin, in court. Apollo implicated the defendant's fiancée as the real killer, and as Klavier began to figure out that Apollo was right in his accusation, he helped Apollo to prove her guilt. However, this left Apollo wondering whether he had really earned his victory.

As well as being a prosecutor, Klavier also had his own band, and he invited Apollo and Trucy to one of his concerts at a discounted price. However, during the concert, a bodyguard was fatally shot, and Apollo once again defended the accused in court against Klavier. A blind witness implicated one of Klavier's band members, Daryan Crescend, as the real killer. While Crescend had set up an alibi for himself, Apollo was able to show that Crescend had set up the crime in such as way as to throw off the time of the shooting, and that he had been smuggling an illegal Borginian cocoon, which had led to the confrontation that had killed the victim. Lacking decisive evidence, Apollo convinced his client to testify as to his involvement in the smuggling, thereby proving Crescend's motive and securing his arrest.

The Jurist System

 * Main article: Turnabout Succession

Three months later, Apollo participated in a test trial for the Jurist System, defending Vera Misham against the charge of her father's murder, with Klavier once again prosecuting the case. Although Phoenix promised Apollo a "simple" case, it quickly escalated into a complex monstrosity, as the murder weapon, a Troupe Gramarye commemorative stamp laced with atroquinine, was tied to the defendant's secret life as a forger, as well as to the case that had cost Phoenix his attorney's badge. It was revealed that Phoenix had continued his investigation into his last case for the intervening seven years, and that the forged evidence he had presented during said trial had been given to him without him knowing it was fake.

Eventually, Kristoph Gavin was summoned from his prison in Solitary Cell 13 and was accused by Apollo of setting up the murder seven years prior. As Apollo and Klavier closed in on the truth, they found that they had no decisive evidence to prove that Kristoph had done the deed. However, they had no need for this under the Jurist System. As Kristoph utterly broke down upon finding out that mere members of the public would decide the outcome of the case, Klavier and the judge gave their justifications for the new system, though Apollo was rendered speechless. Apollo vowed that he would learn what law was for himself and fight to change it if he had to.

The new recruit and the Twisted Samurai

 * Main article: The Monstrous Turnabout

The following April, Apollo stumbled upon a murder scene in the village of Nine-Tails Vale. He agreed to defend Damian Tenma, who had been accused of killing alderman Rex Kyubi, and met up with Athena Cykes, a new lawyer whom Phoenix had recruited during a trip to Europe who would act as his assistant and co-counsel during the case. The duo met the stalwart detective Bobby Fulbright and faced off against the convict prosecutor Simon Blackquill. Eventually, Apollo and Cykes were able to prove Damian Tenma's innocence by revealing the true culprit.

Supporting roles

 * Main articles: Turnabout Reclaimed & Turnabout Academy

Phoenix, having been exonerated, regained his attorney's badge and took on his first case two months after the Nine-Tails Vale case. While Cykes accompanied him to the crime scene at Shipshape Aquarium, Apollo was left behind to look after the office. During the course of the investigation, Phoenix found a suspicious pill and gave it to Apollo to research. Apollo dutifully went to the Hickfield Clinic to investigate and found out that the pill was a powerful sleeping drug of which the aquarium's vet, Dr. Herman Crab, had bought a large quantity. This information would later prove important to solving the case and finding both defendants innocent.

In October, the three lawyers went to attend a presentation and mock trial at Themis Legal Academy. Although only Phoenix had a seat reserved for him, he gave it to Apollo while he and Cykes waited for Constance Courte, one of the teachers. As the mock trial started to draw to a conclusion, police officers interrupted the proceedings and alerted everyone to a murder that had occurred on the school grounds. The victim was Courte and the circumstances of the murder seemed to match the exact details of the mock trial. Juniper Woods, an old friend of Cykes who had organized the mock trial with Courte, was subsequently arrested for the murder, and Cykes took up her defense. Apollo and a visiting Klavier brought her up to speed on the mock trial by re-enacting it with her. Apollo aided Cykes as her investigative partner and co-counsel, and the pair ultimately overcame Prosecutor Blackquill and the real killer to win the trial.

Clay Terran's death

 * Main articles: The Cosmic Turnabout, Turnabout Countdown, & Turnabout for Tomorrow

"Apollo Justice"

- The truth, huh? That's a noble cause. But what if the truth you seek and the truth I seek turn out to be different?

In December, the Cosmos Space Center was bombed while attempting to launch the HAT-2 rocket, and Terran, one of the intended passengers, was found stabbed to death. Apollo took up the defense of the other passenger, Solomon Starbuck, who was Terran's mentor. Apollo and Cykes could not investigate much due to the heavy police presence, but they did see the murder weapon. To Apollo's surprise, his bracelet reacted when Cykes saw the murder weapon and denied having seen it before. It would continue to react whenever they talked about the case.

Wracked with guilt at the thought that he considered his friend and co-worker suspicious, Apollo chose to wear a bandage over his eye so he would not be able to sense any of Cykes's tells. During the trial, Apollo cross-examined Fulbright to get as much info as possible, and he noticed that Blackquill seemed particularly determined to convict Starbuck. Apollo managed to make significant progress, but suddenly, a time bomb was activated, interrupting the trial as Courtroom No. 4 was evacuated. Apollo was subsequently injured as he attempted to protect Juniper Woods from falling debris.

Woods was arrested for the bombing and put on trial the next day. Apollo, who now sported bandaged arms and Terran's tattered Space Center jacket, intended to take the defense's bench, but due to his injuries, Phoenix and Cykes took over. During the trial, Woods told Apollo that she had lost her cough medicine in the courtroom bombing, and the two went back to Courtroom No. 4 to look for it. Eventually, Woods was called back to testify, but Apollo continued to search alone until he was suddenly attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. He was hospitalized while Phoenix won the trial (and in the process revealed that the true culprit was the same individual who had attacked Apollo) and took over Starbuck's case.

Apollo eventually discharged himself from the clinic and announced to the Agency that he was taking a leave of absence, stating that he planned to catch Clay Terran's killer in his own way. Phoenix eventually cleared Starbuck of all charges using decisive evidence submitted by Fulbright, only for the evidence to indict Cykes instead. This seemed to confirm Apollo's suspicions even further, and he investigated the Space Center to find out more about her connections to the place. He subsequently found security footage that showed Cykes as the only person leaving the Space Museum, which was the only reasonable path through which the killer could have escaped the crime scene.

Apollo eventually learned about the UR-1 Incident and met Simon Blackquill's sister Aura at the robotics lab. It turned out that Metis Cykes, Athena's mother and Aura's research partner, had been murdered during the UR-1 Incident. While the two were talking about the Hope probe, Phoenix and Trucy found their way into the robotic lab as well. Apollo refused to give any clear opinion about the case to them, only saying that he did not know if Athena was the culprit yet.

Aura later took hostages at the Space Center and demanded that the police hand Athena over to her, as she believed her to be behind both the UR-1 Incident and Terran's murder. With Trucy as one of her hostages, Phoenix instead gave her a counter-proposal: a retrial of the UR-1 Incident. Aura agreed to this and let him choose a courtroom, though she was in control of the rest of the details, including having Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth take the prosecutor's bench and indicting Athena for the murder. Phoenix managed to win the "trial", thereby proving that someone else had killed Metis.

Before the "trial" ended, however, Apollo took the opportunity to take the stand and indict Athena for Terran's murder. He gave the reasons behind his suspicion, only to eventually admit that he just wanted to make sure that he could really trust Athena, and implored Phoenix to prove that some other possibility existed so the doubt in his mind could be cleared. Phoenix was able to do just that, showing the real route that the killer, an international spy known only as "the phantom", had used; the phantom had manipulated the evacuation during the bombing to create an escape route for himself. Phoenix then went even further and accused the one who had been in charge of the evacuation, Bobby Fulbright, of being the phantom.

Apollo, who was finally rid of his doubt, was asked to join Phoenix and eventually Athena back at the defense's bench, which he did after shedding his bandages and jacket. Via a bracelet read on Fulbright, it was revealed that the evidence that had supposedly pointed to Athena had been forged. Eventually, it was discovered that "Fulbright" was an impostor, as the real detective had died a year earlier. The three lawyers of the Wright Anything Agency worked together and managed to finally bring the phantom to justice after a long battle. After the case's resolution, the three attorneys agreed to do their best to help put the so-called "dark age of the law" behind them. Apollo was later present at the HAT-3 rocket launch, where he encouraged Solomon Starbuck as the astronaut finally returned to space.

Confronting the familiar

 * Main article: The Magical Turnabout

The following April, Apollo and Athena went to the Penrose Theater to watch Trucy's magic show "Trucy in Gramarye-Land", which would be her television debut. During the show, however, her co-performer, a magician named Mr. Reus, turned up dead, and Trucy was accused of involuntary manslaughter, as the victim appeared to have been killed by one of her magic tricks. With Phoenix abroad in the Kingdom of Khura'in, Apollo took on Trucy's defense. During their investigation, Apollo and Athena encountered Detective Skye, who had finally achieved her dream of becoming a forensic investigator. Apollo was shocked to learn that the case would be prosecuted by Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, whom he had not seen in fifteen years, and that the charge had been changed to premeditated murder.

After exposing the real culprit, Apollo confronted Nahyuta, saying that the prosecutor had changed since the last time he saw him. Although Trucy, Skye, and Athena questioned how they knew each other, Apollo did not answer, merely musing to himself that would have to tell them eventually. With her name cleared, Trucy went back to her magic act, with Apollo acting as her (unwilling) assistant.

Dispute with Wright

 * Main article: Turnabout Revolution

A couple of days after Athena took on a case by herself and triumphed, Apollo and Trucy were graced by a strange visitor to the Wright Anything Agency: Dhurke Sahdmadhi, Apollo's adoptive father. Dhurke took them to Kurain Village to meet Archie Buff, who was studying Kurain and Khura'inese artifacts. However, by the time they arrived, Buff had died in an accident and Ema Skye was investigating the scene. Dhurke and Apollo would go on to investigate a cave in the nearby mountains in search of the Founder's Orb, but were pushed down a slope by an unknown assailant. Upon returning from the cave with the artifact (after almost drowning in the process), they were approached by Phoenix, who seemed to disagree with Apollo's view on the artifact's identity and claimed that it rightfully belonged to Paul Atishon. This led into a civil trial that split the Wright Anything Agency in half, with Apollo and Phoenix on opposite sides of the court.

During the trial, Apollo proved that the artifact they had found in the caves was the Founder's Orb by melting the wax inside to reveal a small statue of the Holy Mother, Founder of Khura'in. During the recess, Athena overheard Phoenix and Atishon discussing an "agreement", with it transpiring that Maya Fey, Phoenix's old assistant and close friend, had been kidnapped by Atishon, thereby explaining why he was desperately trying to win the trial. Apollo was subsequently able to prove that a transaction between the Defiant Dragons and Buff for the Founder's Orb was legal, as Atishon had murdered Buff. With this, the trial was ruled in favor of Apollo, Athena, and Dhurke, who were able to keep possession of the Orb.

Return to Khura'in
After the trial, Apollo, Dhurke, Athena, Phoenix, and Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth worked out that Fey was being held in the Kingdom of Khura'in, and so the group traveled to Apollo's childhood home. While there, Minister of Justice Inga Karkhuul Khura'in was found dead and Dhurke was accused of being the culprit. Apollo took on the case, with Athena assisting him while Phoenix and Edgeworth conducted a parallel investigation.

As they approached the court for the trial, Phoenix told Athena to stay behind and out of the trial proper, as he did not want her to get hurt. For the second time in Apollo's career, Phoenix stood with him as his co-counsel.

It was revealed during the trial that Queen Amara had survived the assassination attempt made on her life. However, far more shockingly, Apollo realized that the only thing that would make the case make logical sense was if Dhurke had been channeled by Amara. This meant that Dhurke was already dead, and had been so for days, having been shot three times by Justice Minister Inga several days prior to the trial. It was during this moment that Apollo fell into deep despair, wondering what or who he was fighting for. However, with motivation from Maya, Nahyuta, and the spirit of Dhurke, Apollo successfully accused Queen Ga'ran of the murder of Justice Minister Inga, as well as being the culprit behind the fire that killed Jove Justice twenty-three years prior.

After the trial, Apollo decided to temporarily stay in Khura'in, re-open Dhurke's law office, and help the kingdom get back on its feet. Unfortunately being the only lawyer means he has a lot of clients.

Personality
"Apollo Justice"

- No matter what the truth is that's waiting ahead, I won't be afraid!

Apollo Justice is largely characterized by his seriousness and desire to build his self-confidence. He deals with the bizarre situations that are thrown at him by being somewhat sarcastic and critical toward others, including some of his clients. This often puts him at odds with people like Klavier and the Wrights, who often tease him and make him wonder if he is being taken seriously. He frequently makes puns out of his own name and practices shouting for hours at night, calling it his "Chords of Steel", which sometimes makes his voice raspy. While mostly to "improve" his voice in court, these exercises also function to both psyche himself up and make himself feel better. Justice often uses the phrase "I'm fine!" as a way of psyching or cheering himself up, with his friend Clay Terran also developing this habit.

When Justice started out, he was unsure of himself and easily flustered, and suffered somewhat from stage fright in court. However, he has matured greatly with experience, and has gotten much calmer and more self-assured. Despite still being caught off-guard by Simon Blackquill's swordplay metaphors and slashing motions, Justice has been able to stand up to him effectively, and provided much-needed support to Athena when it was her turn to head the defense's bench. Despite the way he is often treated, Justice is a valuable friend and ally to his co-workers.

Ultimately, Justice is determined about his job, and cares deeply about his friends and clients. For example, he cried in relief after finding out that Trucy was safe following her "abduction", as well as when Vera Misham survived her atroquinine poisoning. After Terran's death, Justice developed a cold demeanor and withdrew from those close to him, overwhelmed by his anger and suspicion of Athena, which she sensed when he announced his leave of absence. However, he still wanted to believe in her and make sure that he could trust her. When discussing the change, Trucy mentioned that it was unlike him to be so "cool and mysterious".

Rivalry with Klavier
Justice has a strange dynamic with Klavier Gavin, in that the prosecutor does not seem to see him as a rival at all. He often calls Justice "Herr Forehead" in reference to an objection made by Justice about where a murder victim had been shot, as well as to the defense lawyer's own rather large and exposed forehead. However, Klavier is generally rather friendly towards Justice outside of the courtroom, even talking openly to him about cases on which they are both currently working. Justice, on the other hand, often shows jealousy and a sense that Klavier is "stealing the show", while also showing a certain level of disdain toward Klavier's brand of loud rock music. Overall, however, they have a friendly relationship, with Justice expressing genuine remorse over the disbanding of the Gavinners that was due, in part, to his own actions.

Miscellaneous
When talking about newspapers, Justice has admitted that he only reads the funnies. He claims to be good with astrology and hula hoops, and used to watch a certain science-fiction show, which he was reminded of when Trucy used the phrase "bigger on the inside than on the outside" to describe her top hat. While preparing a case overnight, he used to have instant noodles, crackers, and manga on his desk; he claimed that the latter is for research, because they were "super realistic and informative". He shares Phoenix Wright's fear of heights and disinclination to drive, preferring biking instead. He also dislikes loud music and is unable to swim.

Justice's unusual hairstyle has inadvertently frightened many of the defendants and witnesses he had met, such as Jinxie Tenma mistaking him for a horned demon. However, unlike Phoenix Wright, who claims his hair is natural, Justice carefully gels his hair every morning.

Bracelet
The bracelet that he inherited from his mother helps him to focus on the nervous habits of other people. When Justice feels his bracelet getting tighter while talking to someone, he knows that they are hiding something from him.

Name

 * His Japanese surname, "Odoroki" (王泥喜), comes from the word for "a surprise".
 * The kanji that make up "Housuke" (法介) can be broken down into "hou" (法) meaning "law", and "suke" (介), which is a common suffix for male Japanese names. This makes the meaning of his first name literally "boy of law" or "law boy".
 * His full Japanese name can roughly mean "a surprising man of law".
 * The name "Apollo" comes from Apollo, the god of, amongst other things, light, the sun and truth in Greek and Roman mythology. This is referenced in Turnabout Countdown, when Juniper Woods describes the moment that Justice shielded her from the explosion. Woods compares Justice to the sun -- strong, bright and warm. Later, when she testifies about Justice looking for her cough medicine, Phoenix Wright thinks to himself that she seems to be making Justice out to be some sort of ancient god, before stopping himself, realizing what he just said. Apollo was also the god of music, fitting with the fact that both of his parents were musicians at some point in their careers. The name may also be a nod to Phoenix Wright's first name originating from mythology.
 * The surname "Justice" is a reference to his job. He likes to make puns with his last name.
 * In both Spanish and Italian, Justice's nickname of "Pollo" means "chicken" (albeit with different pronunciation), which might be a reference to his hairstyle being like that of a chicken's comb.

Development

 * Apollo Justice was the first protagonist designed by Kazuya Nuri. He tried to strike a balance between looking cool and being easy to get attached to by playing with the character's expressions.
 * Apollo Justice has several defining qualities to distinguish his personality from Phoenix Wright's while still being an otherwise relatively blank slate. He is described in official websites as hot-blooded, a quality embodied in his "Chords of Steel" routine and his crimson red suit. He also has some distinctive elements in his speech in Japanese versions of the games in which he appears. For example, he uses the personal pronoun 俺/おれ ore, and almost always refers to a person by their surname followed by the honorific さん san, with only four exceptions. In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, he uses "I'm fine!" ("大丈夫です！" Daijōbu desu!) as a catchphrase.
 * The main clothing color themes of Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, and Athena Cykes (blue, red, and yellow, respectively) are the three primary colors.
 * In Justice's "Stylin' Street Clothes" DLC outfit for Dual Destinies, his backpack has a little keychain that bears a resemblance to Trucy's Mr. Hat puppet and a button similar to those belonging to Ema Skye.

References to popular culture

 * During Turnabout Serenade, Trucy states that her hat is "like a little universe! Bigger on the inside than on the outside!" At this, Justice muses that this reminds him of a sci-fi show he used to watch. This is a reference to the long-running British sci-fi show Doctor Who, in which the main character travels the universe in his spacecraft/time machine, one of the most notable features of which is that its interior is much larger than its exterior.

Other media

 * In the episode "There is Substance in 2-D" of the anime adaptation of Lucky Star, Hiyori Tamura produces two drawings to show Yutaka Kobayakawa and Minami Iwasaki. These are of chibi versions of Klavier Gavin and Apollo Justice, complete with "Objection!" written beside the picture of Justice. The episode premiered in Japan on August 12, 2007, four months after the release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney in Japan. The scene can be viewed here.
 * Apollo Justice appears as an unlockable costume for the character Jack in the Capcom game We Love Golf! on the Wii, which is unlocked by winning all gold trophies in tournament mode. An unlockable Pearl Fey costume for the character Annie also exists in the game.
 * As part of a promotion for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice in Japan, Apollo Justice appears as a fire-element monster in Puzzle & Dragons. The other Ace Attorney characters that appear as part of the promotion are Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, and Rayfa Padma Khura'in.