This is a middle-grade chapter book commissioned by Capcom as an additional murder case in the 逆転裁判 (Ace Attorney) video game series. It takes place sometime after 逆転裁判5 (Dual Destinies), but doesn't necessarily require having played any of the games to understand what's going on, as the series references are sparse and there are character profiles at the beginning of the book. The story is told in first-person from Naruhodo's (Phoenix's) point-of-view, as he takes on the legal defence of his daughter's co-performer, an idol, who is accused of murdering someone during an event at a high-end shopping centre.
This book was much, much easier than I was anticipating. Naruhodo's narration is pretty direct and uses mostly short, simple sentences, and there is a high proportion of dialogue, so the text is not dense at all. There is full furigana, and unlike the games, it doesn't overuse katakana instead of using ordinary kanji spellings. None of the grammar or phraseology stood out to me as particularly complex, so I'd say it should be approachable for any learners who are ready to tackle chapter books and who enjoy Ace Attorney. I felt like I was looking up a lot of vocabulary throughout, but being familiar with the IP beforehand made it relatively easy to guess when a word was court-related or describing the wackiness of a witness or whatever, and lookups didn't interrupt the flow too much.
The story has enough of the Ace Attorney spirit in it to stay engaging, but it's painfully predictable, and some parts were a little frustrating to sit through when I had already guessed (before the murder even happened) how the mystery was going to play out. I was thrown for a loop at the beginning, because Naruhodo makes some mind-boggling sexist comments in the first chapter that felt very left-field, but thankfully that tone doesn't come up again for the rest of the book. The other members of the main cast have barely any lines and only participate in the trial enough to remind you that they're present, which was a little disappointing as someone who mostly enjoys the games for the interactions between the characters. Still, as much as it could, it felt like the story fit in with the series.
Taken as what it is -- an Ace Attorney mystery for 10-year-olds -- I think the book succeeds, though for adults it may have more value as a stepping stone for learning with than strictly for entertainment.
Not much of a mystery, but a breezy read for fans
This is a middle-grade chapter book commissioned by Capcom as an additional murder case in the 逆転裁判 (Ace Attorney) video game series. It takes place sometime after 逆転裁判5 (Dual Destinies), but doesn't necessarily require having played any of the games to understand what's going on, as the series references are sparse and there are character profiles at the beginning of the book. The story is told in first-person from Naruhodo's (Phoenix's) point-of-view, as he takes on the legal defence of his daughter's co-performer, an idol, who is accused of murdering someone during an event at a high-end shopping centre.
This book was much, much easier than I was anticipating. Naruhodo's narration is pretty direct and uses mostly short, simple sentences, and there is a high proportion of dialogue, so the text is not dense at all. There is full furigana, and unlike the games, it doesn't overuse katakana instead of using ordinary kanji spellings. None of the grammar or phraseology stood out to me as particularly complex, so I'd say it should be approachable for any learners who are ready to tackle chapter books and who enjoy Ace Attorney. I felt like I was looking up a lot of vocabulary throughout, but being familiar with the IP beforehand made it relatively easy to guess when a word was court-related or describing the wackiness of a witness or whatever, and lookups didn't interrupt the flow too much.
The story has enough of the Ace Attorney spirit in it to stay engaging, but it's painfully predictable, and some parts were a little frustrating to sit through when I had already guessed (before the murder even happened) how the mystery was going to play out. I was thrown for a loop at the beginning, because Naruhodo makes some mind-boggling sexist comments in the first chapter that felt very left-field, but thankfully that tone doesn't come up again for the rest of the book. The other members of the main cast have barely any lines and only participate in the trial enough to remind you that they're present, which was a little disappointing as someone who mostly enjoys the games for the interactions between the characters. Still, as much as it could, it felt like the story fit in with the series.
Taken as what it is -- an Ace Attorney mystery for 10-year-olds -- I think the book succeeds, though for adults it may have more value as a stepping stone for learning with than strictly for entertainment.