Ace Attorney Wiki
Register
Advertisement
The Magical Turnabout
Image Gallery Transcript

Trucy Wright
Shame on you, Mr. Reus! Using magic for evil!

Episode 2: The Magical Turnabout is the second episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice. When a fellow performer dies during a magic show at the Penrose Theater, Trucy Wright is put on trial for murder. With Phoenix Wright out of the country, it is up to Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes to clear Trucy's name and save the Wright Anything Agency. This case introduces Prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmadhi and reintroduces Ema Skye, now as a forensics investigator instead of a detective, although she is still called as such during the trial and is in charge of the case.

Investigation[]

April 27, 10:00 AM
Trucy´s Magic Show

A promotional poster for "Trucy in Gramarye-Land".

Trucy Wright was finally set to make her big debut at the Penrose Theater with the magic show "Trucy in Gramarye-Land", after years of performing at small venues. Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes were among those invited to a dress rehearsal two days before the official performance, while her adoptive father, Phoenix Wright, was still out of the country. After the end of the first act — in which "The Great Mr. Reus", a masked magician clad in green and purple, turned into a dragon, only to be trapped under a giant top hat by Trucy — Justice and Cykes went to see her in her dressing room during the 20-minute interlude. They found her signing a contract with Take-2 TV, a television company that was interested in broadcasting her show nationwide.

Trucy was enthusiastic about the show, and told Justice and Cykes that, in the second act, she would be performing a never-before-seen trick from the repertoire of Troupe Gramarye, the group founded by her late grandfather Magnifi and of which Mr. Reus had been a member in the past. She appeared to be somewhat nervous from the gravity of carrying on the Gramarye legacy this way, but Justice assured her that she would be fine. Trucy was then called back to the stage by her assistant, Bonny de Famme, as the show was about to resume. Before she left, de Famme gave a cryptic message wondering if Trucy would make it through the rest of the show.

"A Magical Mishap"[]

Trucybonny

Trucy thrusting the sword into the coffin.

Trucy and Mistree

Standing in shock over Mr. Reus' motionless body.

Dragon

The dragon set piece crashing onto the stage.

The second act revolved around a villain, played by de Famme, who had a teleportation ability. Trucy attempted to confront de Famme, but the latter teleported and knocked Trucy into a green and purple coffin on the center of the stage. Closing the lid, she charmed Trucy's puppet Mr. Hat with a kiss, telling him to sacrifice Trucy to Mr. Reus and bring him back to life. A hypnotized Mr. Hat then prepared to thrust a sword into the coffin through the hole in the right, only to be engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The smoke dissipated to reveal Trucy standing where Mr. Hat had been with the sword in her hand, having escaped from the trap. After a round of applause from the audience, Trucy thrust the sword into Mr. Reus' coffin.

Trucy opened the coffin to reveal what was inside, but when she did, Mr. Reus fell out and lay motionless on the floor. Trucy stood over the body in confusion for a few moments before letting out a scream. Just as the audience realized that what had happened was not supposed to be part of the show, the dragon set piece hung over the stage came crashing down. The audience flew into a panic and was told by a staff member to evacuate the theater. Worried about Trucy, Justice tried to ask if she was all right, but was thrown out along with Cykes.

It was later announced that the show had been canceled and the theater had been locked down so the police could investigate the incident. Justice was unable to find out what had happened to Mr. Reus, but was informed that at least Trucy was unhurt. A "Mr. Retinz" had also arrived at the scene. He was annoyed upon learning of the accident, saying he had sunk a lot of money into the show, and insisted that the staff let him in. Cykes then suggested that she and Justice go back to the Wright Anything Agency and wait for Trucy to call.

At the office, Justice tried to call Phoenix in Khura'in to inform him of the incident, but to no avail. His name came up on the news at that very moment, however, with Justice and Cykes both surprised to hear that Phoenix had won a trial in Khura'in, resulting in the first "not guilty" verdict the country had seen in twenty-three years. The news report then gave an update on the Penrose Theater incident: Mr. Reus had, in fact, been killed, as a result of being stabbed with a sword. Furthermore, Trucy was being held responsible and had been arrested on the charge of involuntary manslaughter. The report revealed footage of the incident that showed Trucy thrusting her sword into the coffin, which appeared to be the moment when Mr. Reus had been stabbed. Upon learning of this, Justice and Cykes immediately left for the detention center to see Trucy.

"Interview with Trucy"[]

According to Trucy, the main magic trick had gone as planned, but the sequence of events starting with Mr. Reus' appearance from inside the coffin had not been part of the show. Hoping to shed some light on the situation, Justice asked her to make an exception for the magician's code of secrecy and explain the trick. Trucy had exited the coffin through a trapdoor at the bottom, which led understage. From there, she had used a stage lift placed under Mr. Hat to pop back up to the stage, while, at the same time, Mr. Hat was quickly pulled to the catwalk above the stage by wire. This was a technique known as misdirection: keeping the audience focused on one event to distract them from another.

As for Mr. Reus, the TV station had chosen him to appear in the show because of his past membership in Troupe Gramarye. He had left the Troupe thirteen years previously after being injured while practicing, but he had made his comeback sometime around the past year. Trucy was noticeably shaken by his death, but told Justice not to worry, as she had to stay strong for her fans. However, his bracelet reacted when she said this. Justice urged Trucy to tell him what was wrong.

Trucy explained that a part of her trick was switching the real steel sword for a fake rubber one before stabbing it into the coffin. Although she had practiced this trick hundreds of times and remembered doing it during the show as well, the accusations against her made her doubt that she had pulled off the maneuver correctly. Justice assured Trucy that he had seen how much time she had put into practicing for her show and did not believe she would make a mistake like that. In tears, Trucy thanked Justice for believing in her and formally asked him to be her lawyer.

"The Leg Work Begins"[]

Justice and Cykes then headed for the crime scene, but before doing so, Trucy asked them to bring her the black notebook she had left in her dressing room, as it was private and she did not want anyone else reading it.

After another failed attempt to contact Phoenix, Justice was greeted at the Penrose Theater entrance by Ema Skye, the detective in charge of the police investigation. Justice was surprised to find her much more cheerful and agreeable than he remembered, which he soon learned was because she had finally become a forensic investigator as she had always dreamed. Skye told them the grave news that the prosecutor in charge of the case, a Khura'inist monk who had been traveling the world to further his studies, had seen evidence that Trucy had killed Mr. Reus in a premeditated murder. When Skye said that the prosecutor's name was Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, Justice recognized the name from his past, hardly able to believe that he would have to face the man in court. Skye promised she would try to convince Sahdmadhi of Trucy's innocence.

Skye accompanied the lawyers to the stage. The murder weapon, a sword covered in the victim's blood, was inside a sword stand at the back of the stage. According to Skye, no fingerprints had been lifted, which was consistent with Trucy wearing gloves during the show. Justice deduced that the only opportunity to switch the steel sword with the rubber one was after the audience had evacuated the theater. He was also suspicious of the timing of the dragon set piece falling. Justice checked the footage recorded by the camera, which was the same that had been shown on television. Cykes pointed out that a strange-looking shadow could be seen going upwards on the stage backdrop at the same time the dragon set piece fell.

Deadmagician

Crime scene photo.

The three also examined the coffin. According to Skye, the side panels were designed to be interchangeable. There was also a back door as well as a trapdoor to the understage, just as Trucy had mentioned. Skye also handed them a photo of the body, since only an outline remained at the scene. Justice noted the stunt harness that Mr. Reus had used to fly, as well as the fatal stab wound in his back.

Skye then assisted Justice in dusting the coffin for fingerprints. The only prints on the inside belonged to the victim, and were positioned on both sides of the coffin. Oddly, they were facing backwards, despite the fact that he had been facing forward when he fell out of the coffin, and it was too small for an adult man to turn around in. Bonny's fingerprints were on the front lid from closing the coffin during the show, but another set of fingerprints was found on top of the coffin, which Skye said did not match the prints of any of the people involved with the case.

Justice and Cykes then investigated the backstage area. There, they found a fire bucket, which, according to Skye, had been bought especially for the show, yet it was not only empty, but covered in dust. They also examined the two winches that operated the stage's pulley system, which included cushions placed in the catwalk above the stage to absorb impact when something was hoisted up. Mr. Hat was lying on top of one of these cushions, still attached to the wire, but his cape was torn as if by a blade. The other winch was attached to the dragon set piece. As they returned to ground level, Justice and Cykes asked Skye whether they could investigate the understage, which was locked. She responded that the magicians had locked the entrance after the police investigation, so they would need permission from one of the magicians.

Retinz

Justice's encounter with Retinz on the stage.

As Skye left to continue her own investigation, "Mr. Retinz" arrived at the stage. He introduced himself as Roger Retinz, a producer for Take-2 TV who had handled Trucy's show. Upon seeing Justice's attorney's badge, he quickly adopted a sycophantic demeanor, only to abandon it and react with disgust when he learned that Justice was defending Trucy. Retinz called Trucy unhinged, blaming her for the incident and the money lost from it. He expressed a strong dislike of magicians, and in particular of Troupe Gramarye, who he said were all criminals. As for what he had been doing at the time of the incident, Retinz said that he had been filming a program at the TV station and that the staff could vouch for his alibi. Before he left, Retinz told the lawyers that he intended to mete out his "justice" against Trucy by digging up dirt on her and selling the story to news outlets all over the world, ensuring that she could never walk the streets again even if she were acquitted.

In the dressing room, Justice and Cykes found a script on the table with "Bonny" written on the cover, which described the magic tricks that were to be performed in the show. After Trucy's escape trick, there was supposed to have been a fire trick, which, according to the script, would require a fire bucket to be prepared. They also took a look at a 13-year-old poster of Troupe Gramarye on the wall, from when Mr. Reus was still part of the group. Oddly, Trucy's notebook was not in her bag but was hidden behind a suitcase among Mr. Reus' possessions.

"Questions for Bonny"[]

Bonny

Bonny in the dressing room.

Bonny entered the dressing room as Justice and Cykes were deliberating. In a brief misunderstanding, Bonny asked them to return what they had stolen, but apologized when Justice explained that Trucy had asked them to bring her the notebook. Quite unlike the strange girl they had seen earlier, Bonny now came across as cheerful and excitable, raving about how much she admired Trucy for both her talent and the hard work she put into her magic tricks. Cykes praised Bonny for her own teleportation trick, wondering how it worked, to which Bonny replied that no one would ever figure it out, since she always performed it perfectly. However, Justice's bracelet reacted to this statement, and he asked Bonny whether she had made a mistake during the teleportation trick. Bonny replied that she had gotten that part right, and Justice realized that she had messed up Trucy's escape act. Bonny admitted that she had accidentally placed Mr. Hat on the wrong side of the coffin — the right side instead of the left — which would have ruined the escape act, had Trucy not done some quick thinking on her part and managed to appear on the same side as Mr. Hat.

As Bonny was agreeing to unlock the understage door for Justice, Retinz entered the room, looking for Justice. Having heard that the lawyers were from the same agency as Trucy, he showed them the contract she had signed with Take-2 TV:

If, through the fault of the second party, the show must be canceled in part or in full, the second party will pay three million dollars as compensation to the first party.

Retinz then left with Bonny to do more filming, leaving a bewildered lawyer duo who decided that they would need to hear Trucy's side of the story right away. As Justice suspected, Trucy assured them that the contract she had signed did not contain that article. Justice also returned the notebook, which Trucy explained had originally been used by Magnifi to jot down ideas for magic tricks, including some that only members of Troupe Gramarye had ever laid eyes on. Inside the notebook was the creed passed down to Trucy by her late father: "A true entertainer always keeps a smile on their face." Justice then said that the notebook had been found in Mr. Reus' possessions, shocking Trucy, who refused to believe he would steal the notebook.

Trucy pushing the lift

Trucy pushing the raised stage lift out of the way.

Justice asked Trucy how she had managed to cover for Bonny's mistake. Trucy replied that she had received a signal from Bonny saying Mr. Hat was on the wrong side immediately after descending to the understage passage. She had been supposed to go back up to the stage using the lift under the left trapdoor, but Mr. Hat was over the trapdoor on the right, and the stage lift under that trapdoor was already in the raised position and could not be used. Since Trucy could not lower the lift herself, she had pushed it out of the way and moved the other, lowered lift to the trapdoor under Mr. Hat to use it. She stressed that she had not told anyone about this.

"Beneath the Stage"[]

Returning to the dressing room, Justice's found the clipboard that Trucy had used to sign the contract. He discovered and removed a loose screw, causing the back panel to pop out and reveal a sheet of black carbon paper inside. This paper had caused Trucy to unwittingly sign a hidden contract inside the clipboard, which Justice knew to be Retinz's doing.

Justice left with Cykes to explore the final part of the crime scene, which Bonny had unlocked. There, they found the rubber sword Trucy had claimed to have used during the trick, further indicating that someone had switched it with the steel one. Additionally, the understage had two ladders leading up to the stage: one, marked by glow-in-the-dark tape, led to the spot where the coffin used during the show was, while the other one directly behind it led to a dark, cramped place, which Cykes speculated was the inside of the other coffin they had seen backstage.

Cykes then heard voices approaching, and, picking up strange emotions in them due to her sensitive hearing, urged Justice to hide. The voices turned out to belong to Retinz and Bonny, who seemed to be discussing some sort of plan to ruin Trucy's reputation. In particular, Bonny, who seemed like a completely different person from before, viciously claimed to loathe Trucy, whom she called a sniveling brat, and was quick to take her anger out on Retinz, who was acting lovestruck and submissive towards her. Once they left, Justice and Cykes decided to investigate Retinz's alibi, ruling out Bonny due to her being on stage during the entire show. The employees at the Take-2 TV station gave Justice a copy of the show footage shown on television earlier, as well as a confirmation that Retinz had been at the station during the incident and thus had an alibi. He had gone to Penrose Theater by taxi that morning, but only arrived after the incident.

"Crisis Close to Home"[]

Anythingincrisis

The agency covered in repossession stickers.

Puzzled, Justice and Cykes decided to return to the office to revise their plan for the trial the next day, only to find that Retinz was inside and all of their belongings had been covered in stickers reading "repossessed". In lieu of the agency paying off the contractual debt, Retinz was planning to sell the agency's possessions to cover his financial losses. The faulty clipboard was not enough to prove that Retinz had forged the contract. Moreover, Retinz implied that he had specifically waited for Phoenix to be away to carry out this plan. Retinz then turned on the TV to show a live report about the upcoming trial being filmed just outside the agency. As Justice and Cykes looked out the window to see a sea of reporters outside, Retinz explained that the public had already decided Trucy was guilty, and that the entire country would be against Justice if he defended her in court. Before leaving, he said Justice and Cykes had to be out of the agency building by the next day.

Phoenix, having finally received Justice's messages, called him in a panic. After being briefed on the situation, Phoenix said that there was still hope: the liability for compensation clause could be nullified if Justice could prove Trucy's innocence. Phoenix assured Justice that, after watching him grow as a lawyer for two years, turning various hopeless cases around and helping Cykes on her way, he believed that he could entrust Trucy's fate to him, and wished him luck for the trial the next day. With the future of both Trucy and the agency in his hands, Justice resolved not to let his guard down, regardless of who the prosecutor was.

Trial[]

April 28, 9:15 AM

As Trucy's trial was about to start the next day, Justice felt the tremendous gravity of the situation, and the immense responsibility with which he had been burdened left him noticeably more nervous than usual. Cykes had done some research on Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, and found that he was known for his ability to foresee the outcome of any trial by predicting the defense's arguments.

Opening[]

9:30 AM

The trial began, though there was a short delay as Sahdmadhi prayed for the victim, explaining that he viewed a murder trial as the victim's last rites according to Khura'inist tradition. He then gave his opening statement. The incident had occurred during a magic show, where the defendant had thrust a sword into a coffin, out of which the victim's body had then fallen. The victim was Manov Mistree, better known by the stage name "The Great Mr. Reus," and his blood was present on the sword used during the show. Sahdmadhi claimed that the incident had been a murder made to look like an accident, and that Trucy was the one responsible; Ema Skye had apparently not been able to convince him otherwise.

"Cross-Examining Ema"[]

Canceled

The thirteen-year-old poster of Troupe Gramarye, with Mr. Reus' scar visible on his right forearm.

Skye was called to the stand. Stress-eating a bag of Snackoos, she stated that she believed Trucy was innocent. Reprimanding Skye for this, Sahdmadhi asked her to explain the defendant's motive for committing the crime. Skye obliged by showing the court a 13-year-old poster of Troupe Gramarye like the one at Penrose Theater, except it said "canceled" under Mr. Reus. Skye explained that the scar on Mr. Reus' right forearm was the result of an injury he had sustained while practicing for a magic trick. Because of this accident, Magnifi had removed Mr. Reus from the Troupe's next show, but Mr. Reus had defied him by showing up anyway, which had caused Magnifi to immediately oust him from the Troupe. After this incident, Mr. Reus had apparently come to harbor a grudge against the Troupe and sworn to have his revenge someday.

According to a statement by Bonny de Famme, Mistree had planned to steal the Gramarye notebook from Trucy and reveal the secrets to all of the Troupe's tricks during the magic show. By the time Trucy had discovered the theft of the notebook, it was too late, and so, Sahdmadhi claimed, she had killed Mistree and made it look like an accident. When asked what basis there was for this claim, Sahdmadhi explained that Mistree had meant to climb the upstage ladder into the backstage coffin, but the luminous tape had been moved to the downstage ladder to mislead him into climbing into the coffin on the stage, into which Trucy had thrust her sword. Trucy's fingerprints had been found on the luminous tape, but Justice pointed out that Trucy had been wearing gloves during the show, so the fingerprints must have been left sometime before the show.

Sahdmadhi conceded this point and asked Justice if he wished to plead involuntary manslaughter. Justice maintained that the defendant was entirely innocent and that the death had been a murder. More specifically, he claimed that a third party had killed Mistree understage, and placed his body inside the coffin. Sahdmadhi responded by throwing his rosary around Justice's head and psychically constricting him with it. He said that the only people in the show other than the victim were Bonny and Trucy, and the former had been on stage for the entire show. Cykes demanded an explanation as to how Trucy, then, could have carried the body of an adult man up the ladder to place it in the coffin. To answer this, Sahdmadhi summoned his main witness, Bonny de Famme.

"Cross-Examining Bonny"[]

Bonny behaved innocently again and appeared hesitant to testify against Trucy, but nonetheless explained that Trucy could have used one of the stage lifts in the understage passage to lift the body. Sahdmadhi added that stage lift #2 had been found in the raised position during the investigation, corroborating this theory. However, Cykes heard discord in Bonny's voice, and confirmed using her Mood Matrix that she exhibited happiness when she described her mistake regarding Mr. Hat, despite claiming to feel terrible about it. Justice accused Bonny of trying to mess Trucy up intentionally, adding that he had witnessed her true nature understage.

Realizing that the jig was up, Bonny dropped her act, revealing the umbrella with a bat motif hidden in her cane and reshaping her hairstyle similarly to a bat's wings. She testified that she had positioned Mr. Hat wrongly on purpose, appearing greatly satisfied that her "mistake" had forced Trucy to push both of the stage lifts. Justice responded that the only way for her to have known that Trucy had moved the stage lifts was if she had been understage witnessing it herself. Sahdmadhi reminded Justice that Bonny had been on stage the whole time. Justice concluded that there were, in fact, two Bonnys, one of whom was performing while the other was watching Trucy pushing the lifts. This second Bonny had left the unidentified fingerprints on top of the coffin before heading understage while the first Bonny replaced her, completing the teleportation trick.

Twins

Bonny and Betty's magic act exposed.

The witness then admitted that she was Bonny's twin sister, Betty, and the two sisters promptly demonstrated the teleportation trick in the courtroom. This finally explained why "Bonny" seemed to have two different personalities during her multiple encounters with Justice. Betty was relieved because she no longer had to hide or pretend to be Bonny in order to protect the secret. This relief was short-lived, however, as she was now an alternative suspect to Trucy.

"Backstage Malice"[]

Betty testified that she had gone understage in order to prepare the fire trick that Mistree would perform in the third act. However, Justice pointed out that, according to Bonny's script, this trick would require the fire bucket, which had been left backstage, empty and covered in dust, showing that Betty had not even attempted to prepare for the trick. Justice suggested that Betty had known all along that the show would be canceled. At this, Sahdmadhi responded that the falling dragon set piece had been too perfectly timed to be coincidental, and concluded that the entire chain of events had been part of a plan involving the de Famme sisters and Take-2 TV — more specifically, a prank.

Mrmenyo

The video of Mistree understage.

The sisters begrudgingly admitted Sahdmadhi's claim to be true; they had been under contract to keep quiet about it. According to the plan, Mistree would pretend to be dead after tumbling out of the coffin. Betty, who was in the understage passage, would then use the remote control for the winch to drop the dragon set piece onto the stage, after which Mistree would "come back to life" in front of Trucy and fly away. The plan had gone off without a hitch, other than the fact that Mistree had actually turned up dead. Betty presented a video Mistree had shot of himself backstage, in which he announced that he was about to hide in the coffin to set up the prank. All this meant that Mistree had been alive up to his entering the coffin at the earliest, ruling out Betty as a suspect. To make things even worse for the defense, Sahdmadhi then presented a note found in the dressing room, with Trucy's signature on it, which asked Bonny to collect the video camera after Mistree fell out of the coffin, suggesting that Trucy had had foreknowledge of the prank.

As Sahdmadhi convinced the judge to end the trial, Justice defiantly interrupted, stating that there was one matter still left unresolved. The segment of the show in question involved Trucy switching a steel sword with a rubber one before thrusting the rubber sword into the coffin. Justice added that Trucy had distinctly remembered switching the swords, and claimed that someone must have switched the swords again after the dragon set piece had fallen, making it appear as if Trucy had used the steel sword. This individual would also have planted the bloodstain on the coffin to incriminate Trucy further. The judge agreed to have Trucy testify on the matter, and called for a recess to prepare her.

"Cross-Examining Trucy"[]

Retinz wasted no time in going to the defendant lobby to harass Trucy some more. Pulling out his video camera, Retinz mockingly told her to smile in accordance with the Gramarye creed, adding that everyone on the internet was calling her a witch. When Cykes angrily told him to put the camera away, it disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Retinz acted confused, saying he did not have a camera. Before leaving, he said he would call several of Trucy's fans to watch the trial. Trucy told Justice that Retinz must have high-level magic skills to make the camera disappear that way. Just before trial resumed, Bonny came into the defendant lobby and tried to tell Justice that something had been bothering her, but was interrupted by Betty, who took her away.

Surely enough, as soon as Trucy took the stand, the "fans" that Retinz had mentioned started to insult and heckle her, forcing the judge to demand silence twice in a row. Despite this, Trucy resolved to testify with confidence by demonstrating the sword-switching trick. Trucy first showed the court that the sword was the real one by throwing an apple into the air and stabbing it. She then spun around, threw the sword upwards, and grabbed it by the blade, which she then showed to be harmless and made of rubber. Trucy's performance captured the hearts of the gallery, who cheered so much that the hecklers were drowned out. Trucy said that the exact moment she had switched the swords was when she spun around. However, this part was missing from the show footage, despite Trucy's insistence that she had performed the trick correctly.

"In the Shadow of the Footage"[]

It appeared once again that the trial was about to end badly for Trucy, but Bonny then took to the stand. Touched by the courage Trucy had shown earlier, and in defiance of her sister, Bonny testified that something about the show footage seemed different from what had happened during the show. She submitted some show footage of her own, filmed by a cameraman at Take-2 TV who had given it to her as a present. This alternate footage showed playing cards being thrown after Trucy appeared on stage. Trucy explained that she had thrown the cards while spinning and switching the swords. Evidently, this had been edited out of the other video.

"Cross-Examining Retinz"[]

Shadow

The shadow seen in the footage.

Claiming that there was a misunderstanding, Retinz presented the unedited footage to the court, which included Trucy throwing the cards like in Bonny's footage. However, Retinz drew the court's attention to the moment at which the dragon set piece had fallen. A shadow could be seen in the video, which Retinz claimed to be Trucy's shadow as she stabbed the victim. He also claimed that it was just a coincidence that the sword-switching had been cut from the video and that he had not done it with malicious intent. In response to this, Justice presented the clipboard that Retinz had conned Trucy into signing on. The signature on this document was identical to the one on the note instructing Bonny to collect the camera from Mistree. All this demonstrated that she had been conned into unknowingly signing both documents at the same time.

"The Real Culprit"[]

Retinz insisted that he had no reason to bear Trucy any ill will, as he had never even met her before the Penrose Theater show. Justice recalled Retinz's hatred of magicians and the disappearing camera trick, and concluded that Retinz was a magician as well. He also recalled that Mr. Reus had held a grudge against Troupe Gramarye, even swearing revenge on them. As Justice explained these lines of reasoning, the judge was confused, reminding Justice that Mr. Reus was the victim in this case. However, Justice proposed that the original Mr. Reus was not Mistree, but the real killer, the one who had set up the show and masterminded the prank: Roger Retinz.

"The Final Cross-Examination"[]

To prove his assertion, Justice pointed out that the original Mr. Reus had a scar on his right forearm from the injury that had cost him his career, but, in the video Mistree had shot of himself, no trace of the scar was visible. Retinz, claiming to have nothing to hide, calmly rolled up his sleeves, revealing the scar he had sustained thirteen years previously, and admitted that what Justice had said was true. Mistree had been an aspiring magician whom Retinz had met on one of his programs a few years before. Upon learning that Mistree was a fan of Mr. Reus, Retinz had told him his secret identity in confidence and trained him to be his successor. Regardless of having a plausible motive, however, Retinz still had an ironclad alibi for the crime, since he had been at the TV station prior to the murder. Justice's subsequent cross-examination proved futile.

"The Truth Revealed"[]

As Retinz gloated about his "magic" alibi, Justice realized that he and the court were caught in some sort of illusion due to misdirection. The key to the illusion was in a faulty assumption that the culprit had been present at the moment of Mistree's death. Recalling the shadow alleged to belong to Trucy, Justice noticed that a similar shadow appeared behind Bonny after Mr. Hat disappeared, which Trucy identified as Mr. Hat's shadow as he was hoisted to the catwalk above the stage. Justice deduced that "Trucy's" shadow was actually Mistree being pulled to the catwalk himself, as the prank plan script stated that he was to fly upwards after pretending to be dead in the coffin.

Mistree sword

Mistree being pulled into the sword planted in the catwalk.

Justice explained that the culprit had planted a sword in the cushions on the catwalk before the show. In accordance with the prank plan script, Mistree had been connected to the dragon set piece by wire so that Betty could pull Mistree up by dropping the set piece. In doing so, Mistree had rocketed straight into the blade, killing him. This also explained why Mr. Hat's cape had been torn. With the catwalk outside of the audience's view, nobody would have seen the sword planted there, including Betty, who was in shock that she had been used like that. The culprit had made sure to arrive at the theater right after the incident and subsequent evacuation, giving him the opportunity to switch the swords and lower the body back onto the stage. Mistree was doomed to die as long as the prank proceeded as per the script that Retinz had written.

Sahdmadhi was not satisfied, saying that Justice had no evidence to support his theory. Justice revisualized what he knew about the case. Retinz's meticulous murder plan had relied on a flawless execution so that no evidence would be left behind, but Justice remembered that Bonny had made a mistake with Mr. Hat's position. This had caused Trucy to stab the coffin through the right side instead of the left, in turn causing the culprit to plant a bloodstain in the wrong coffin hole. After learning of the error, the culprit had switched the sides of the coffin so that the bloodstained hole would be on the correct side.

"Conclusive Evidence"[]

Mistree

How Mistree would have been positioned inside the coffin.

Backwards prints

The backwards-facing prints.

Justice now only had to provide evidence that the coffin sides had been switched. Mistree's backward-facing fingerprints inside the coffin did just that. Wiping the blood would still have left traces that could be detected with luminol, so the culprit had had no choice but to switch the coffin sides to cover his tracks. Moreover, someone who had been present at the show would not have made the mistake of putting the blood on the wrong side, least of all Trucy. Sahdmadhi could only respond that Justice and Trucy were bound for hell, to which Justice retorted that Sahdmadhi was the one who had tried to convict an innocent girl. Sahdmadhi stretched his rosary until it broke, causing all the beads to hit him in the face and knock him to the floor. Justice summarized his argument, stating that the culprit must have been someone who had known about the prank, but had not actually seen the show, and had the opportunity to tamper with the scene afterwards. Justice told Retinz that all of his tricks had been revealed, pointing to him as the true killer.

Breakdown and resolution[]

Insisting that there were no "tricks" to reveal and that his magic was real, Retinz summoned a red curtain behind him. He proceeded to lift his cape to reveal masks of the other members of Troupe Gramarye — Thalassa, Valant, Zak, and Magnifi — burning them one by one. When he raised his cape for the fifth time, however, the mask that appeared was not one of Trucy, but of his own identity, Mr. Reus. Flustered, he tried again, but the mask of Mr. Reus appeared once more, this time covered in blood. As spotlights started to shine on him, Retinz desperately tried to explain himself, saying he had not done anything wrong, until he finally collapsed, cursing the Gramarye name.

Trucy was shocked and hurt that Retinz would hate Troupe Gramarye so much as to murder an innocent man. Retinz explained that he had dreamed of being a magician since childhood, and said that Magnifi had taken everything away from him by throwing him out of the Troupe. Trucy berated him, saying that magic is not supposed to be used for something so evil, and that he had no right to call himself a magician. Retinz responded that, since Trucy had not seen through his tricks, he had proven himself to be the superior magician in the end. He laughed triumphantly as he was taken into custody. Trucy was saddened afterward, but obliged when the judge asked to see her smile once more before handing down his "not guilty" verdict.

"Post-Trial Wrap-Up"[]

As they returned to the defendant lobby, Trucy thanked Justice, while Bonny and Betty apologized to her for their roles in the crime. Trucy assured the twins that they were not to blame. Betty still insisted that she hated Trucy, but Bonny revealed that Trucy was the one who had inspired both of them to become magicians, and that Betty still had an autograph from meeting Trucy. As the twins left to practice for the next day's show, Trucy asked Justice what he thought about Retinz's words. Justice reminded her of the Gramarye creed, saying that Trucy had proven her worth as a true performer by performing in court with a smile on her face, even through all the jeering.

Skye also gave a brief visit to apologize to Trucy for testifying against her and failing to convince Sahdmadhi of her innocence, but Trucy assured her that she was only doing her job. Soon enough, Sahdmadhi requested Skye's help in closing the books on the case. As they were leaving, Justice told Sahdmadhi that he had changed a lot, and asked if Sahdmadhi had forgotten about him. Sahdmadhi left, telling Justice he had nothing to say to him.

Screenshot 2016-06-29-11-43-15-1

Justice in the coffin as Trucy's unwilling assistant.

Justice then received a call from Phoenix. He was immensely relieved upon learning of Trucy's acquittal, and told Justice that he had proven himself a dependable person and a full-fledged lawyer. Phoenix asked Justice to attend Trucy's magic show the next day in his place, and Trucy said she would save the best seat for him. The next day, however, Justice realized that the "best seat" was the inside of the coffin on the stage, with Mr. Hat about to thrust a sword inside. Thus, "Trucy in Gramarye-Land" ended with a big round of applause and Justice's "ear-splitting screams."

References to other cases[]

  • The flowers in Trucy's dressing room come from Jinxie and Damian Tenma, from The Monstrous Turnabout, as well as Klavier Gavin and Lamiroir. Justice mentions to Cykes how Lamiroir was involved in a case that he and Trucy worked.
  • Ema tells Apollo and Athena that Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth has been removing corrupt prosecutors, and the prosecutor’s office being “rather empty these days”. A case that Edgeworth took care of involved a corrupt prosecutor, in which Edgeworth found him out and got him arrested.
  • If answering "The Bonny onstage is a fake", Sahdmadhi and the Judge question to Justice "Oh! Maybe YOU are the fake, and your attorney's badge is made out of cardboard!". Justice asks: "No, no! I'm the real thing, I swear! ...And why cardboard, specifically...?", which the Judge responds: "Let's just say I had an infuriating experience once thanks to one...", referencing Recipe for Turnabout where someone fooled the entire court with one.
  • The judge comments on how he plans to be on the bench for another ten years, which Cykes openly doubts. Justice scolds her, telling her to remember what they discussed about inner monologues. This is a reference to a similar conversation Cykes and Justice had in The Cosmic Turnabout.

References to popular culture[]

  • During the Investigation, Athena says to Apollo while he is deep in thought: "Ground control to Major Apollo! Can you hear me Major Apollo?" This is a reference to David Bowie's famous debut hit "Space Oddity".
  • The name of Trucy's magic show, "Trucy in Gramarye-Land", is likely a reference to the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, commonly referred to as Alice in Wonderland.
  • While explaining investigation to Justice, Cykes tells him "Ten points to House Justice." This is a reference to the Harry Potter series.
  • At one point, Betty threatens Retinz by saying he's going to get it, "POW! Right in the kisser!" This is a reference to a line from the television series The Honeymooners.
  • During Betty's first cross examination, if the player presses her last statement about how she was onstage the entire time of the murder, she'll get angry and utter the line, "Don't spit on my head and tell me it's raining!" This could be a reference to TV personality Judge Judy Sheindlin, who was known to say the phrase, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!", having also titled a book as such.
  • If Apollo presents his badge to Retinz, Retinz proposes a special on Apollo and Athena titled "It's a Lawyerful Life: Justice in the Courtroom!" This could be a reference to the movie It's a Wonderful Life.
  • When Retinz gives Apollo and Athena the contract, he tell them they may have to go fishing for the money they owe, saying, "I can see it now: "Craziest Catch: Legend of the Seasick Lawyers"!" This is likely referencing the television series Deadliest Catch, and possibly its episode "Legend of the Cornelia Marie".
  • If Apollo answers that Retinz is a huge fan of Trucy's while attempting to establish a connection between the two, Apollo asks for his mistake to be "edited out". The Judge responds that he isn't Judge Wackner, and they aren't in the Public's Court. This is a reference to former television judge Joseph Wapner and the reality court show The People's Court.
  • Examining the magic prop to the right of the dragon set-piece prompts Cykes to compare it to "that game where you stick swords into a barrel until a little man inside pops up" which she claims is "pretty famous in Europe". This is a reference to the children's game Pop-up Pirate.
    • Justice responds to Athena's comment by stating "us simple Americans -- we're happy with just a hoop and a stick", in reference to hoop rolling. Hoop rolling was incredibly popular among American children in the 1800s, and children playing with a hoop and stick is a fairly common Americana image.

Notes[]

Trucy in Gramarye-Land

The billboard giving the date of the magic show as Saturday, April 29th.

  • This episode is one of the few in the Ace Attorney series to reveal the day of the week in which its events take place, as a promotional billboard in front of the Penrose Theater mentions that the premiere of "Trucy in Gramarye-Land" will take place on Saturday, April 29th. This means that the murder took place on Thursday, and the trial, on Friday. It also reinforces the notion that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice takes place in 2028 (originally established from the date of the DL-6 Incident), as April 29, 2028 will indeed be a Saturday.
  • Bonny and Betty's testimony in this case is the first instance of two witnesses testifying at the same time in the Ace Attorney main series, with the only other instance occurring in the non-canonical episode Phoenix Wright: Asinine Attorney. Although Lamiroir and Machi Tobaye also take the stand together in Turnabout Serenade, Lamiroir was only acting as a translator for Tobaye in that case and not as a witness herself.
  • Excluding trial-only cases, The Magical Turnabout is one of only two cases in the main Ace Attorney series to have only one day of trial, the other being Turnabout for Tomorrow.
  • While Retinz is in the Wright Anything Agency, examining anything in the room will make him try to put a repossession sticker on Apollo himself.
  • In Turnabout Trump, gambling is explicitly stated to be illegal in the United States. Optional dialogue in this episode during Apollo and Athena's visit to Take-2 TV seems to contradict this by implying the gambling laws of the United States are the same as in real life; Athena states that she wants to give gambling a try, and Apollo, accurately to real-life, tells her she isn't old enough to gamble in most states yet (although Athena would be old enough to gamble in their home state, where the gambling age is 18, though many of those native casinos use the age-limit of 21 regardless). This is an inconsistency caused by a major plot point that had to be localized as is from the Japanese version of Turnabout Trump, which was based around Japan's gambling laws.

Typos and errors[]

  • When Retinz turns on the TV for Justice and Cykes to show them where they stand, the TV announcer says "We're here, just outside the office of the suspect, hoping to get an exclusive peak inside." instead of peek. Fixed in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy.
  • It would have been impossible for Mistree to keep his wire harness connected to the dragon set while under the stage, especially when falling out of the coffin where the wire would have entangled with the coffin roof itself.
Advertisement