The mystery is pretty interesting, especially with the outlandish twists and turns it takes on the case's first day. I think Turnabout Academy, is, well, a solid filler case. I've used the words 'solid filler case' for some of my cuts prior to this. I'll have some words about her origin case up next. Maybe it's not entirely bad how they're going about things now, it's just different, and I'm not sure I can exactly acclimate. One example fitting that description is the not-yet-cut Paul Atishon, and I'll be damned if that legend doesn't get the respect he deserves. Even if a character is static and has this really blatant trait to them, their animations, their design, their dialogue, can all redeem them and make them something just charismatic and captivating. And you know what? Gimmicks can be fucking awesome. Obviously, you guys aren't going to agree with how I feel like the newer Ace Attorney games design and write their characters - many of you have defended characters which I believe follow that pattern and you're perfectly allowed to. It could be for more reasons than just him having to share screentime with some other hotshot attorneys, but I think many of us would agree with that example in particular. My example of Phoenix is a victim of this in Dual Destinies onward. Their gimmick often supersedes the potential for depth they can have it's flanderization. There are outliers, yes, but for a good chunk of witnesses from this newer era, I feel like this pattern is common. Then you take a character from the era in which I call 'nu-Ace Attorney' and it's like this generalization entirely describes the character's premise. That can describe the character, yes, but there's far more to him - he has a great amount of depth and personality past that frequently identifiable trait of his. For instance, you could say Phoenix is a funny lawyer man who asserts his beliefs despite often having no evidence to back them. Really, you could always generalize a character by a few handful of traits or a simple blurb. These attributes, often, if not most of the time, cover up their falsities or character flaws - in the case of Scuttlebutt, it's that the cardboard box, symbolically, is as blunt as an atomic bomb - it blatantly represents her introversion and secrecy, but in truth, all she wants to do is escape her shell (or box) and make genuine connections with the people she distances herself with (even if she claims its for reporting purposes, what I'm saying here is what the writers probably wanted you to think).

Sure, we've had plenty of colorful characters prior in the Ace Attorney series, and they certainly have strong identifiable traits, verbal and physical, but with characters from DD onward, they tend to have these attributes that just blatantly stick out with their character. I feel like Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice have this quirk of making their witnesses and whatnot more gimmicky than ever before. Let's address the obvious: Scuttlebutt is most notable for her schoolgirl appearance being completely covered in a cardboard box.

Scuttlebutt coffee