Episode 3: Turnabout Serenade is the third and penultimate episode in the video game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The Borginian duo Lamiroir and Machi Tobaye are invited by the Gavinners to guest perform in their "Guilty as Charged" Tour. However, the concert comes to a shocking conclusion when Lamiroir's manager, Romein LeTouse, is murdered in a series of events that seem to mimic the lyrics to the song "The Guitar's Serenade". Apollo Justice is subsequently hired to go to court for Tobaye in a highly publicized trial, with Phoenix Wright busy on his own mission. Justice uncovers a darker international plot behind the scenes, but although it becomes plain who the real culprit is, he will require more than the evidence on hand to secure his case under the current court system.
The intro depicts the Gavinners concert in the first of three acts. There are silhouetted close-ups of Klavier Gavin and another band member. Klavier Gavin then announces that there will be a special guest for the next act, and that there will be a 20-minute intermission.
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Date
Event type / related incident
Description
Notes
2005-6
Misc.
Magnifi Gramarye begins his magician careeer.
Valant: I know what you are thinking in that head of yours. "Gramarye, yes," you say. "I recall seeing him on television." Something of that sort? [...] It was twenty years ago... A young magician, a genius of his time, came down among us... His name... was Magnifi Gramarye! It was he who began the great Troupe Gramarye! Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Serenade (in English). 2008.
April 2026
Turnabout Serenade
Romein LeTouse becomes Lamiroir's manager.
N/A
July 7, 2026
Turnabout Serenade
Romein LeTouse is murdered during the Gavinners's Guilty as Charged Tour.
N/A
July 9-10, 2026
Turnabout Serenade
Trial of Machi Tobaye for the murder of Romein LeTouse.
N/A
References to popular culture[]
When Gavin's guitar catches fire, the audience believes it to be an intentional part of the show. This is similar to Jimi Hendrix's performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival, at the end of which he lit his guitar on fire and smashed it on the floor. This iconic event has been referenced in several other media, and Gavin's guitar catching fire may be yet another of these callbacks.
During a conversation in the early part of the investigation, Justice and Gavin have the following exchange: "Nobody told me there would days like these" "Strange days, indeed". "Nobody told me there would days like these. Strange days indeed" are lines in the chorus of the John Lennon song "Nobody Told Me".
There are several references to the band The Police when investigating the Gavinners's dressing room. If a poster of a policeman is examined, Trucy wonders if the band are trying to "trick kids into thinking the police are some kind of band". Justice thinks "that's just silly. Who'd name a band the "police"?" Also in the dressing room, if the red light on the wall is examined, Trucy thinks that it would "be cooler if they turned that red light on". Justice, on the other hand, says that "They don't have to turn on the red light", which is a reference to The Police song Roxanne. Also, when Trucy tells Apollo that the members of the Gavinners are all connected to the police, Apollo responds, "The Police?" (capitalised, indicating a name), then Trucy clarifies that she means the "real police".
Before the second trial, when Valant Gramarye enters the courthouse using the front door, Justice comments that he's entering just like a regular muggle. This is a reference to the Harry Potter fantasy novels, which are set at a school for magic, with non-magic users (i.e., the general public) being referred to as "muggles".
During the second day of investigation, Trucy mentions Lamiroir as having "elephant ears", to which Justice replies: "Somehow I don't think it means what you think it means." Furthermore during the second day of the trial, Justice says: "That's the only logical explanation", referring to the position where Lamiroir was when she witnessed the crime. Gavin responds by saying: ""Logical"? I do not think this word means what you think it means, Herr Forehead!" These are references to a similar line said by the character Inigo Montoya to Vizzini (Vizzini: "HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE." Inigo Montoya: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.") in the 1987 American romantic comedy adventure film The Princess Bride.
Examining the bouquet in Lamiroir's dressing room on the second day of investigation leads to Apollo suggesting the idea of a "magnolia made out of steel". This alludes to the 1989 American comedy-drama film Steel Magnolias.
Examining the right most poster on the wall in Lamiroir's dressing room reveals that it is an advertisement for an upcoming production called "Case Closed", which Apollo says he wouldn't mind seeing. This could be a reference to the murder mystery manga and anime series, Case Closed (also known as Detective Conan).
If the silk hat in the Wright Anything Agency is examined, Trucy will say "Of course! My hat's like a little universe! Bigger on the inside than on the outside!" after which Justice will reply with "Hmm... That reminds me of a sci-fi show I used to watch." This is a reference to the sci-fi show Doctor Who, in which the main protagonist, The Doctor, travels in space and time in his TARDIS, which is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
Before going to the Gavinners' dressing room to find Lamiroir and after Valant Gramarye disappears again, Apollo thinks, "Curiouser and curiouser..." This could be a reference to Alice in Wonderland, in which Alice says the same thing.
Typos and mistakes[]
When Justice asks Lamiroir if she is the siren that LeTouse spoke of before he died, she says, “That is the meaning of my name is Borginese, yes.” instead of “That is the meaning of my name in Borginese, yes.”
During Justice's investigation on the second day, Klavier Gavin, while in his office, says "...Too tell the truth, I'm not even sure what it is" instead of "...To tell the truth, I'm not even sure what it is".
When Klavier reveals that Machi could actually see and the bullet holes were indeed caused by kickback, his nameplate reads “Kristoph” instead of his real name.
Notes[]
The 45-caliber revolver used as the murder weapon appears to be based off the real-world Smith & Wesson Model 29.
Outside Sunshine Coliseum there is a figure that appears to be a man wearing orange and having a picnic with what appears to be a woman. This could conceivably be Phoenix Wright's childhood friend Larry Butz (considering his attire and his presence with a woman), although the figure is too far away to say for certain and it may just be a subtle nod by the developers. A few months later, another figure can be seen outside the Coliseum wearing pink and painting, which may also be Butz (as "Laurice Deauxnim") but, once again, he is too far away to say for certain.
This is one of only three cases in the series to date to have a child suspect (the others being Turnabout for the Ages and The Foreign Turnabout). While Athena Cykes and Miles Edgeworth were also children when the UR-1 Incident and DL-6 Incident respectively occurred, they weren't tried for that case until they were older.
Of the five victims in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Romein LeTouse is the only one who did not partake in any known immoral activities: Shadi Smith staged evidence that would have implicated Phoenix as a cheat (artificially destroying his reputation); Pal Meraktis was a mob doctor who hid the fact that the bullet in his patient was still there; Drew Misham was a dealer in forged art; and Magnifi Gramarye blackmailed both of his pupils with a death that hadn't actually happened.
Before Crescend takes the stand, Gavin states that he was the first detective he ever worked with, despite the fact that Dick Gumshoe was in charge of the initial investigation for his first trial. Although seemingly a contradiction, Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth has been shown, with the assistance of detectives, investigating and solving cases that he did not end up actually prosecuting for (e.g., Turnabout Reminiscence and Turnabout Ablaze).
Other languages[]
Brazilian Portuguese (fan-translation) - Serenata da Reviravolta (lit. "Turnabout Serenade")