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Klavier Gavin
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Klavier Gavin
Heh. Heh heh heh. Not so fast. This party's just getting started! Now, we rock!

Klavier Gavin is a prosecutor and the younger brother of Apollo Justice's former mentor, Kristoph Gavin. He was also the lead vocalist and guitarist of his own rock band, the Gavinners, before they disbanded so he could continue practicing law full time.

Beginnings of a rock-star lawyer[]

Klavier Gavin trained to become a prosecutor at Themis Legal Academy. While there, he grew to respect the judge course teacher, Constance Courte, and her ideal of seeking the truth in trials, despite not being in her class. He then spent some time studying abroad in Germany. He also formed the Gavinners around this time, and the band's first single, "Thirteen Years Hard Time For Love", went platinum overnight.

First trial[]

Klavier Gavin
I know what you're thinking: "You're out of your league, rock-boy." True, my debut single, "13 Years Hard Time For Love", went platinum overnight... ...but that's just a hobby to me compared to this, ja?
Main article: Death of Magnifi Gramarye
The Gavin Brothers

Meeting with Kristoph before the Gramarye trial.

Klavier was soon touted as a genius, a "true thoroughbred of the prosecutor's office", which helped to propel him to his first trial at the age of 17, in which he would face off against his brother Kristoph. Before the trial took place, however, Kristoph informed him that Phoenix Wright was going to be on the defense's bench instead of him. Kristoph also claimed that Wright was going to present false evidence in court, and gave Klavier a witness, Drew Misham, to testify as such. Convinced that Wright was a fraud, Klavier engaged Wright rudely and taunted him in an attempt to bait him. Eventually, Wright was forced into a corner and presented the fake evidence, a page that he alleged had come from the deceased's diary.

Klavier sprang his trap, and Wright was exposed as a fraud. However, the defendant disappeared from the courtroom, and no verdict was given. Wright would later lose his badge in a hearing with his fellow defense attorneys. The aftermath of the trial led to internal strife as Klavier wondered how his brother had known about the forgery ahead of time, but never questioned him about it. Instead, he took a leave of absence and focused on his burgeoning band career. The Gavinners subsequently became wildly successful, following up with hits like "Love With No Chance of Parole", "My Boyfriend is the Prosecution's Witness", and "Guilty Love".

Return to court[]

Main article: Turnabout Corner
Klavier Gavin
Your tactics are outdated. Trying to shake the witness by objecting to trifles? Surely you haven't forgotten the fatal wound your master suffered seven years ago? Phoenix Wright... was it?

Seven years after Wright's disbarment, Kristoph accompanied Apollo Justice, a student of his, to his first trial, his client being Phoenix Wright himself. Unexpectedly, however, Kristoph was exposed as the true culprit, and Justice later joined Wright's former law firm, now known as the Wright Anything Agency. This presented a further dilemma for Klavier, exacerbating his existing inner turmoil between his desire to believe in his brother and the possibility that Kristoph had tricked him somehow. Intrigued, Klavier ended his leave of absence and faced Justice in his next trial to test his true worth and integrity.

Klavier first met Justice when he and Wright's daughter Trucy were trying to enter People Park, and convinced the police to let them through. During the course of the trial, Klavier suddenly turned to help Justice through the process of implicating the real criminal, causing Justice to wonder whether he really had "won" the case.

The siren[]

Main article: Turnabout Serenade
Lamiroir and Klavier

Playing "The Guitar's Serenade" with Lamiroir.

During a visit to Borginia, Klavier met Lamiroir and was entranced by her voice, calling it "divine". He invited her to sing in one of his concerts, and she in turn gifted him with a guitar. They wrote "The Guitar's Serenade" together to debut in the concert.

Upon his return to the United States, Klavier gave Justice and Trucy a discount for his upcoming concert featuring Lamiroir. However, the day of the concert was not a good day for Klavier. First, his keys were stolen, forcing him to take a taxi to the concert and break open his guitar case. Second, during his performance with Lamiroir, his guitar burst into flames for no apparent reason. Finally, to round off the whole fiasco, Lamiroir's bodyguard was shot dead with his own revolver.

Justice and Klavier faced off in court again, with Lamiroir's piano accompaniment Machi Tobaye as the defendant. In court, Lamiroir named the Gavinners' second guitarist, Daryan Crescend, as the real killer. Klavier refused to believe Lamiroir's accusation at first, but eventually came to grips with the truth. It turned out that Crescend was behind the illegal smuggling of a Borginian cocoon, and that everything that had gone wrong with the concert had been linked to the smuggling operation and the murder.

Klavier worked with Justice again to find the evidence, until eventually there was no more evidence. The only way to prove Crescend's guilt was if Tobaye admitted to being involved with the smuggling, which he did because the penalty in his country was death, and he would receive a lighter sentence in the United States. After this, Klavier bid his former band mate farewell. Distraught by these events, Klavier decided that he would never play "The Guitar's Serenade" again.

Confronting Kristoph[]

Main article: Death of Drew Misham

Three months later, Klavier participated in Phoenix Wright's test trial for the Jurist System, which involved the poisoning and subsequent death of Drew Misham, with his daughter Vera as the defendant. The case's connection to Klavier's first case came to light when Vera revealed that she had created the fake page from Magnifi's diary. Klavier's composure progressively broke down as he was forced to face his inner conflict head on, becoming especially nervous as Kristoph was summoned from his cell as a special witness, accused of being the real killer. The longer Justice took to pin anything definitive on Kristoph, the more Klavier appeared to take Kristoph's side. In the end, however, he was able to resolve his inner turmoil and stand up to Kristoph, no longer subject to his manipulations and threats.

Once again, Justice and Klavier worked together to piece together the circumstances and motives behind the crime at hand, but they could not conclusively prove Kristoph's involvement in the forgery that had ended Wright's career, the key to winning the case. Nonetheless, Klavier remembered that the jury, not the judge, had the power to decide the defendant's fate. When Kristoph found out about the jury, he was furious at the prospect of his plan being nullified by common people. Klavier told his brother that the law no longer needed him, and the jury declared the defendant innocent of the murder. These events affected Klavier so deeply that he decided to disband the Gavinners and pursue his law career more fully.

Return to the academy[]

Main article: Turnabout Academy
Klavier Gavin Themis Legal Academy

Klavier at Themis Legal Academy.

Following the Gavinners' breakup, Klavier redoubled his efforts as a prosecutor. Roughly a year after the Misham case, he returned to Themis Legal Academy, this time as a guest invited by Courte and the defense attorney course teacher Aristotle Means, to watch a mock trial put on by the students, with the recently reinstated Phoenix Wright also being invited. If the prosecutor student, Robin Newman, won the mock trial, she would be treated to a lesson from Klavier, while Wright would do the same for the defense attorney student, Hugh O'Conner, if he won. Klavier was also asked to put on a special show for the academy as part of their school festival. Klavier agreed, and worked with judicial student Juniper Woods to play a special acoustic performance of "The Guitar's Serenade", in which she would wear an outfit based on Lamiroir's.

During the mock trial, Courte's body was discovered and Woods was arrested on suspicion of murder. Klavier soon found Justice investigating the case along with his new co-worker Athena Cykes, who had taken her friend Woods's case. Klavier agreed to help Cykes and Justice in their efforts by taking part in an abridged version of the mock trial alongside Justice in order to help ascertain the facts of the case. He did not take the prosecutor's bench in the actual trial (with said role being taken by Simon Blackquill), instead opting to help Cykes.

The next day, Klavier found Cykes and Justice at the crime scene, and helped them reassemble two statues that had been broken near the crime scene. Klavier later used his connections in the music industry to have an incriminating tape analyzed and determined to be a fake designed to incriminate Woods. After the trial, Klavier and Woods performed for the students, with Wright, Justice, and Cykes amongst the audience.

Klavier would later express his hopes for Woods as a judge, and said he looked forward to handling a case alongside her at some point in the future.

Flowers in Gramarye-Land[]

Main article: The Magical Turnabout
Penrose flowers

Klavier's bouquet of roses (middle) in Trucy's Penrose Theater dressing room.

When Trucy Wright was set to make her big television magic debut in "Trucy in Gramarye-Land", Klavier was among the well-wishers who sent her flowers as a sign of support, sending a bouquet of red roses (along with a small Gavinners logo trinket). During the course of an investigation there, Ema Skye, having finally become a forensic detective like she always wanted, commented to Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes that she was glad to not have to work with the "glimmerous fop" anymore, although she did still have some reservations about her new superior, Nahyuta Sahdmadhi.

Personality[]

Klavier Gavin
I wouldn't miss this day in court for the world. It's worth even more than VIP passes to one of my concerts, ja? How could I pass up a chance to see the true strength... of the little boy who bested my brother? It was worth cancelling a show or two.
KlavierMugshot

In 2027.

Klavier usually gives off an air of coolness, confidence, and friendliness befitting a rock star. He often comes up with and changes lyrics for his music on a whim, much to the chagrin of Daryan Crescend. He has described his music as being based on feelings rather than on memories. He was once so engrossed in his music that he lost his voice and kept on singing without even realizing it. He is also a perfectionist who is easily angered if he hears even the smallest mistake. Ultimately, however, Klavier considers his music career a hobby and law his real passion. While he maintains his rock-star mannerisms in the courtroom, and he avoids investigative work, he takes prosecution very seriously.

Justice is not a rival to Klavier in the same sense as Phoenix's rivals were to him. Klavier's dynamic with Justice is largely informed by his inner conflict regarding the true natures of Kristoph, Phoenix, and Justice by extension as their student. Klavier's primary concern is not in winning but in the excitement of a fair fight (seen in, for instance, the way he has described his ill-fated clash with Kristoph) and testing his opponent's integrity. As such, he would have no issues with openly discussing cases with the defense, letting them investigate crime scenes unhindered by the police, and even helping the defense if he was unsatisfied by how the trial might end. Klavier also likes to tease Justice when the defense attorney falters, for example often calling him "Herr Forehead" in reference to an objection made by him about where a murder victim had been shot. Klavier has a vaguely similar working relationship with Ema Skye, with the prosecutor teasing her and the detective treating the "glimmerous fop" with contempt, though Ema does not seem to have a positive view of Klavier, preferring her working relationship with Nahyuta Sahdmadhi despite the latter treating her harshly.

Klavier's speech makes gratuitous use of German words, even starting his pet names for various people with "Herr" (German for "Mr.") and "Fräulein" (an historical German honorific equivalent to "Miss." that fell out of common use beginning in the 1960s) (e.g. "Herr Forehead" for Justice), and beginning several sentences with "Achtung" (Attention), but isn't actually German, as evidenced by his noticeably affected accent.[2]

Name[]

  • Japanese - Kyōya Garyū (牙琉響也):
    • The first kanji in "Kyouya" (響) means, "to echo" or "to resound".
    • There is no official explanation for the surname "Garyū" (牙琉), but homophones include 我流 meaning "self-taught" (example 1, example 2), 牙龍 meaning "dragon's fang", 臥龍 meaning "unrecognized genius" or "reclining dragon" (example), and 臥竜 meaning "hidden dragon" (example 1, example 2).
  • English - Klavier Gavin:
    • "Klavier" means "piano" in German and "clavier" is the name for the keyboard of an organ, pianoforte, or harmonium, though he doesn't actually play any keyboard instrument in his band.
    • "Gavin" may have been chosen as the basis of his band's name, the Gavinners, which may have in turn come from the German word "gewinner" meaning "winner".
  • French - Konrad Gavin:
    • "Konrad" is believed to ultimately come from the Proto-Germanic words "kōniz" (meaning "bold" or "brave") and "rēdą" (meaning "counsel"). Combined it translates roughly as "courageous advice".
  • German - Kantilen Gavin:
    • "Kantilen" likely comes from "cantilena", a vocal melody or instrumental passage in a smooth and lyrical style.

Unofficial[]

  • Brazilian Portuguese - Kléver Galvão: [3]
    • "Kléver" is an adaptation of Klavier, and can refer to both the names "Cléver" and "Cléber", both of Germanic origin and meaning "he who inhabits the hill" (Cléver) and "poster paster" (Cléber).
    • "Galvão" is the Portuguese variant of Gavin from English and Gawain from Medieval English, being translated as "White Falcon". The meaning of the surname indicates both purity and goodness by the white color, and attentive and noticeable eyes like a hawk; in addition to being the name of one of the famous knights of Arthurian tales, recognized in literature both for heroic acts and for the sins committed.

Development[]

  • The Gavin brothers were originally designed each with two pointy hair twists (one on each side of their heads), which made them look like ancient Egyptian pharaohs (more specifically the striped headcloths called nemes).[2]
  • Klavier's necklace forms a "G" for "Garyū" as well as the shape of his hair, upside down. This meant that the English name had to start with "G" to retain the double meaning of the necklace. The same symbol is found on the bottom of his shoes and is also the symbol for his band. He also wears a chain link belt, an earring in his left ear, and rings on his left index finger, right thumb, and right middle finger.
  • Klavier's signature "air guitar" animation, in which he gestures as if he is playing an invisible guitar, is one of the longest in the Ace Attorney series. However, because of the nature of sprite animations in the games, the animation has Klavier "playing" his "air guitar" in a left-handed manner despite being right-handed, as seen when he plays his real guitar in Turnabout Serenade and Turnabout Academy, as well when he is seen cleaning it in a flashback in Turnabout Succession. Incidentally, the "air guitar" animation was not seen again in his subsequent appearances in Turnabout Academy and Apollo Justice: Asinine Attorney, along with a few of his other courtroom animations.
  • Klavier was written to contrast from the previous rival prosecutors in the series. While the other rivals all had a sense of darkness to them, Klavier has a bright, carefree personality, with his brother Kristoph serving as a "shadow" of sorts.[4]
  • Klavier is the only character in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies to have debuted in another Ace Attorney game and not (with a brief exception during the epilogue/credits) appear during Turnabout for Tomorrow.
  • Klavier (appearing in the non-canonical Apollo Justice: Asinine Attorney) is the only prosecutor in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice to never use the Objection! speech bubble.
  • Klavier is the first, and so far only, prosecutor to appear first during the investigation and not during the trial.

Cultural references[]

Klav and Justice Lucky Star

Apollo Justice and Klavier Gavin in Lucky Star.

References[]

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