I finished Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney for the second time recently, and I've had Phoenix Wright on the brain since then. This led to me thinking about the series' worth as a collection of stories (I'll post those thoughts another day, since this post will probably take a while), and later, it also led to a somewhat lengthy discussion among 'Gome, Ace and myself about who we'd cast were the Phoenix Wright series to be animated (they took on the task of English casting, while I went with the Japanese cast).
Here are the fruits of my labor, with links to support where needed! I stuck with important characters and minor characters who play a strong role in multiple cases. (Also, long post is LONG. If you somehow make it through this whole thing, then congratulations. It probably didn't take as long to read as it did to write. >>)
Phoenix Wright: He is the most difficult character to cast. You need someone who can pull off sarcastic asides, but who can also be genuine, somewhat idealistic and forceful when needed. 'Gome and I agreed that you'd probably have to cast someone completely unknown (talk about a big break!). However, if I were to go for someone already established, I'd cast Yuichi Nakamura. His role as Tomoya Okazaki in Clannad shows he has the ability to handle both amusing sarcasm and serious, dramatic moments with ease. Plus, I would REALLY want to hear him shout "OBJECTION!" (or whatever the Japanese equivalent is), because it would be amazing. Here is a scene from Clannad so that you can gauge his voice.
Miles Edgeworth: The guy is cast in everything under the sun, but Edgeworth screams Takehito Koyasu to me. Edgeworth just seems like the kind of character Koyasu would excel at (excuse the pun): Refined, a bit haughty, kind of a dork under the surface and kind of scary if you're the one going against him. Here is a good scene featuring Koyasu as Jade from Tales of the Abyss.
j/k lol There's a bit here with Koyasu as Touga from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
Apollo Justice: Apollo is sort of tricky to cast, because you need someone who can sound authoritative but also young and out of is league on occasion. After a bit of thinking, I ended up with Tetsuya Kakihara, who plays Simon in Gurren Lagann. Simon is kind of a goofball but always runs full speed away, which reminds me a lot of Apollo. Skip to about 4:45 to hear Kakihara as Simon, although this conversation is a HUGE Gurren Lagann spoiler, so you might want to hold off if you've not seen the series.
Manfred von Karma: Could this be anyone other than Norio Wakamoto? I don't think so. (Allow me my typecasting, damn it!) Von Karma is the type of high class, intimidating, evil SOB Wakamoto has portrayed many times over his long career. Skip to 3:30 or so, listen to Wakamoto as the Emperor of Britannia and tell me that isn't Manfred von Karma. You can't. Also, big spoilers for Code Geass R2 if you haven't seen it yet. >>;
Franziska von Karma: For Franzy, you need someone with strength and who also sounds as if she's putting you down every other sentence. I've been watching a lot of Soul Eater lately, so I immediately thought of Houko Kuwashima, who plays Medusa in that series (she can also draw on her experience as Tomoyo in Clannad for when she goes whip crazy). Franzy wouldn't sound quite that sinister, of course, but I think it's a good match. Skip to about 6:40 to hear her in action (and beware spoilers of course).
Godot: Jouji Nakata, for sure. Imagine this: Godot's theme is playing during a scene, it fades out slowly and then you hear this voice (Nakata is the Count) challenge Phoenix Wright, toy with him, etc. How awesome would that be?
Klavier Gavin: I could definitely buy Daisuke Ono as a flamboyant rock star/prosecutor. Klavier is nowhere near as weird as Hosaka from Minami-ke, but just take a listen to that voice. That's rock star quality right there.
Kristoph Gavin: Oh lord, he is so damn difficult to cast. After a lot of thought, though, I settled on Sho Hayami, who is currently playing Eiji Ogata in White Album. I think that's the kind of voice that would work for Kristoph -- he's got the smile going, but there's something vaguely sinister about the voice that you can't quite put your finger on. It's just there, waiting for the right moment to strike. Ogata shows up at about :20 in this video from the latest episode of White Album. It's a raw, so no real spoilers unless you can speak Japanese. :P
Elise Deauxnim/Misty Fey: Kikuko Inoue, for sure. I am 100 percent certain on this. If she'll play a wise, motherly, regal type for everyone else, then she'll play it for Ace Attorney, too! If you need convincing, listen to this Inoue interview starting at about :48. That is a voice fit for the head of the Fey clan, my friends.
Maya Fey: Marina Inoue all the way. I'm thinking she could use a voice similar to what she used as Kana Minami in Minami-ke. Maya is about as goofy as Kana at times, though she has her serious moments, too.
Mia Fey: Mia is kind of tough to figure out -- for a while I couldn't find a voice that fit her quite the way I liked. Then I had a sudden burst of inspiration: Youko Honna, who plays Sumeragi Lee Noriega in Gundam 00. She's tough but also a bit playful when the time is right. I think she works well enough. Here is a bit with Sumeragi from the first episode of Gundam 00.
Morgan Fey: I think Miki Itou would fit well here. Specifically, I am thinking of her role as Miyo Takano in Higurashi (skip to around 6:25 to hear it). Itou's voice has the air of someone who sounds very important but would also slit your throat to get ahead if you crossed her. What could be better for Morgan Fey?
Pearl Fey: For Pearl, you just want someone who can be a realistic kid, and I am enjoying Kemono no Souja Erin, so I went with Nanase Hoshii, who plays Erin in that series. I couldn't find anything on YouTube, so this episode on Veoh will have to do. Erin is the young girl with the strange eyes.
Dahlia Hawthorne: For very spoilerish reasons, the person playing Dahlia needs to have good range, so clearly Rie Tanaka fits the bill. She can play batcrap crazy (just listen to her as Sayara from Mnemosyne, although I must warn that this video is violent and creepy), and she can also play very sweet (she's Chii for crying out loud). Tanaka would handle Dahlia no problem.
Trucy Wright: I kept thinking of Yukari Tamura, who plays Mei Sunohara in Clannad. Voice sample here! Make the voice sound a bit older, and it would fit decently well. It'd be amusing hearing her shout about magic panties, haha.
Zak Gramarye: I had to think of a way to sneak Keiji Fujiwara into this, so I present him this role. Zak is the kind of role Fujiwara could have fun with -- he's big, loud, boastful and a bit wild. Definitely Fujiwara's type of character. Don't believe me? Listen to these voice samples.
Valant Gramarye: I had NO clue who I'd cast as Valant for a long time. In many ways, he's a similar character to Zak, except he's a bit more highbrow. Then, all of a sudden, I heard Jun Fukyama's voice -- maybe I am temporarily insane because I want to find a seiyuu who fits, but take his performance as Issei from Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu, make it sound a bit more cultured and you have your Valant. I can't be completely nuts, can I?
Lamiroir/Thalassa Gramarye: Haha, too bad I already used Kikuko Inoue, because she would totally fit here, too. After a bit of thought, though, I'd be cool with Emi Shinohara here. I know her best as Youko Mizuno from Marimite (she's the girl with the neck-length blue hair). Despite how snippy she sounds in these early episodes, she's actually a kind, caring person who you can't help but listen to. I don't know how her singing voice is, but we can figure that out later. :P
Dick Gumshoe: I like Ryotaro Okiayu for this part. He has a strong enough voice that you could buy him as a detective, and, as anyone who watches Clannad knows, he reaches epic levels of goofiness as Akio Furukawa, which is perfect for Gumshoe. (You also get the bonus of more Kikuko Inoue and Yuichi Nakamura with this clip.)
Ema Skye: For some reason, I thought of Aya Hirano right away. It'd be fun to hear her as an energetic, idealistic young'un, and then fast forward to the Apollo Justice years and hear her as a grumpy, jaded detective. Plus, Aya Hirano is already well acquainted with Ace Attorney.
The Judge: The Judge is kind of tricky to cast for some reason. In the end, though, I went with Rikiya Koyama, who plays Shinigami-sama in Soul Eater. Deepen up that voice just a tad and it works well enough for me (you can hear it after the first minute or so).
Larry Butz: Got a random friend of the main character? Daisuke Sakaguchi is the one to call! These clips of Sunohara getting his ass kicked many times in Clannad should be evidence enough to show why he'd make a good Larry Butz.
Winston Payne: Payne is another tough one, but eventually I went with Mitsuaki Madono. He's got the kind of voice that's good for losers who believe they are winners. Take a listen to him as Clive from Hare+Guu (he appears around 3:45). When Clive is angry or in trouble, it's hilarious, so the end of case reactions from Payne would be epic.
OH GOD I AM FINALLY FINISHED. I didn't get to every character, but my God, would any of you want to read it if I did?????
