| Samson Tangaroa |
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| Gregory Edgeworth |
| You didn't kill Mr. Frost. ...Correct? |
| Samson Tangaroa |
| Correct. I swear to you I didn't do it. Like I told you, I could never take a life. Never. |
| Gregory Edgeworth |
| ............ (He seems quite sincere.) Alright. I'm going to take you at your word. |
Samson Tangaroa is a famous confectioner who was widely considered to be number one in the world in his heyday. Alongside his adoptive daughter Judy Bound, Tangaroa hosted a television program titled Bake 'n' Bop, in which the pair would sing and dance while making confectionery goods. However, all this ended after he was falsely convicted for the so-called IS-7 Incident.
Gain and loss[]
The title card for Bake 'n' Bop.
Tangaroa was the heir to the Tangaroa Group, a large pharmaceutical company. However, he instead wished to become a confectioner, which his parents encouraged before their deaths. He achieved this dream and soon became widely regarded as the world's greatest confectioner. He even had his own television program called Bake 'n' Bop, which he hosted together with his adoptive daughter Judy Bound, whom Tangaroa had found abandoned as a baby in front of his mansion back on a snowy Christmas Eve in 1984. The pair also shared an appreciation for the works of Paul Halique, a French sculptor.
Despite becoming a confectioner, Tangaroa was still the heir to the Tangaroa Group. A "recipe book" of experimental drugs not yet available to the general public was left in his care, which included cures for both "dissociated taste disorder" and ageusia. Knowing that the book was highly sought after, he decided that he would give it to someone he respected. To this end, he held a competition at his mansion to see who was the greatest confectioner in the world, with the recipe book as the prize. The Tangaroa Group disapproved of this and sent Delicia Scone undercover in an attempt to win the contest.
The contest[]
The finals of Tangaroa's contest were held on Christmas Eve 2000, with only four contestants remaining: Artie Frost, Carmelo Gusto, Delicia Scone, and himself. Peculiarly, during the semifinals, the entries from Frost and Gusto tasted exactly the same, despite the designs being different. The following day, Tangaroa found that Scone's finals entry used inedible props, and confiscated two lamps made of rock salt and stored them in his room. Tangaroa then had tea with Bound and Scone at 1:30 p.m. while the other contestants finished their works.
Tangaroa prepared a camera for the judging, but curiously, there was not enough film, so he had Bound fetch more. When the judging started at 3:00, Gusto's entry (in contrast to the semifinals) was found to be lacking in both design and taste, while Frost's entry, a set of frozen sherbet sculptures modeled after the zodiac, excelled in both. Disaster struck when Bound found Frost murdered in Tangaroa's room, leading to his arrest for the crime. He contacted defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth, who agreed to take his case.
Tangaroa's hair turned white from lack of chocolate and the mental stress of the relentless questioning by prosecutor Manfred von Karma. He found the salt beef and stew served in prison completely tasteless. When Edgeworth told him that part of Frost's sculptures was salty for some reason, Tangaroa realized that he had a form of dissociated taste disorder that prevented him from tasting salt. Though Edgeworth ensured Tangaroa that he would be able to secure an acquittal, Tangaroa knew that he would not be around for Bound forever, and told her to live her own life instead of doing everything for his sake.
Edgeworth claimed in court that Frost's body was not under police custody, but had gone missing. However, despite his best efforts, the trial continued for a year due to the police continuing to claim that the body had not gone missing. Tangaroa eventually broke when he was told that Bound would be indicted in his place if he did not confess, and he falsely confessed to being an accomplice to the murder. Nonetheless, with the help of detective Tyrell Badd, Edgeworth proved that the confession had been coerced, and although Edgeworth was unable to acquit Tangaroa, the trial left von Karma with the only penalty in his career. After his conviction, Tangaroa lost the Tangaroa Group's support and Bound was kicked out of his mansion by Tangaroa's remaining living relatives. The recipe book was also confiscated by the Group.
Resolution[]
In the following 18 years, Tangaroa endeared himself to both his guards and fellow prisoners by creating delicious confectionery items for them every day. Although Edgeworth was murdered shortly after the trial, his assistant Eddie Fender took over Tangaroa's case and visited him regularly. Bound also visited Tangaroa every day to bring him chocolate. She became an actress, with the aim of saving up enough money to buy Tangaroa's mansion from his relatives.
Bound succeeded in her goal 18 years after Tangaroa's arrest when she bought the mansion and turned it into the "Zodiac Hall", an art gallery dedicated to the works of Paul Halique, who in truth was a pseudonym used by the late Artie Frost. However, part of her reason for doing so was to discover the true culprit of the IS-7 Incident and ensure a re-trial for Tangaroa. She set up a trap to kill the culprit with toxic gas, with Gusto taking the bait but managing to survive. Through this, Gregory Edgeworth's son Miles was able to figure out that Gusto was the true culprit and have him arrested. Bound was also taken into custody for attempting to murder Gusto. With their roles now reversed, Tangaroa promised to wait for her release as she had done for him.
Personality[]
Tangaroa is reserved, polite, generous, and dedicated to his work. Although normally serious, he is not averse to the occasional spontaneous song. He knows that everything that Bound does is for his sake, but wishes for her to instead live her own life. His favorite food is chocolate.
Name[]
- Japanese - Issei Tenkai (天海 一誠):
- His Japanese name comes from "Tenka Ichi" (天下一) which means "the best on earth". This matches Tangaroa's reputation of being the best confectioner. This seems to be one of the few cases where the pun in a character's name is openly acknowledged, as "Tenka Ichi" is his in-game nickname.
- In terms of kanji, Tenkai (天海) can be translated as "heavenly ocean", fitting his chocolate dessert theme of sea voyage.
- English - Samson Tangaroa:
- Both of his English names are derived from religious figures: Samson was a biblical judge who lost his great strength and was imprisoned, with parallels able to be drawn to the character growing old and feeble during his time in prison. Tangaroa is a Māori god of the sea and other bodies of water, similar to his Japanese surname.
- Additionally, his surname is a play on Tango, a partner dance. This is a reference to Bake 'n' Bop, where Samson and Judy Bound would bake while singing and dancing.
- Chinese - Tiāndiàn Dìyī (天澱 帝一):
- His Chinese name is pronunced very similar to "Tián diǎn dì yī" (甜點第一) which means "the best dessert(er)".
Unofficial[]
- English - Jeffrey "Jeff" Master:
- His English name in the unofficial fan translation of Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit is "Jeffrey Master", which is a play on "Chef Master" or "Master Chef". His nickname of "Master Jeff" makes this even more obvious.
- Brazilian Portuguese - Gustavo Mestre
Appearance[]
Tangaroa has a tan complexion, brown eyes, and poofy hair. He wears a black suit with the sleeves rolled up and a red rose on his lapel, a white dress shirt, a red tie, a white apron, and black shoes.