Capcom's April Fools' Joke Turns Ace Attorney Characters Into Dogs

[Steven Bogos]

Capcom's April Fools' Joke Turns Ace Attorney Characters Into Dogs

A Japanese word-pun leads to all of the characters in the upcoming Ace Attorney game being transformed into dogs.

It may still be March 31 over in America, but here in the land of the rising sun, the annual day of foolery has already begun, and Japanese developer Capcom is leading the charge with "Dog Ace Attorney". The joke comes from a Japanese word pun - the Japanese name for the upcoming Ace Attorney game [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133905-Next-Ace-Attorney-Set-in-Meiji-Era-Japan-with-New-Character] set in the Meiji era is 大逆転裁判, or "Great Gyakuten Saiban". If you change the very first character slightly, from 大 to 犬, it becomes 犬逆転裁判 - "Dog Gyakuten Saiban".

Check out the adorable fake trailer to the right, featuring furry investigators and lawyers such as "Sherlock Hound" and "Inu (dog) hodou Ryuuichi". It definetely falls into the category of "April fools jokes that we really wish were real".

While traditionally, April Fools day has been a predominantly western tradition, Japan has been really expressing its jokey side in recent years. April 1 is the start of the school year in Japan, so many senior students in particular love to prank their new schoolmates.

Check out the best of last year's Japanese April Fools jokes [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133400-Japans-April-Fools-Day-Roundup], and stay tuned as we pick out the best of this year's offerings throughout the day!

Source: YouTube

Permalink

 

[OtherSideofSky]

This fails as a joke because Sherlock Hound is an actual show that exists (and isn't even that obscure because of all the famous people who worked on it).

It would be better if they had just made them actual dogs in little outfits.

 

[SilverHunter]

This fails as a joke because Sherlock Hound is an actual show that exists (and isn't even that obscure because of all the famous people who worked on it).

It would be better if they had just made them actual dogs in little outfits.

Hey, c'mon now! Everyone knows that Capcom isn't all that creative to begin with! Let them think they did something potentially unique! I mean, they're practically bankrupt (in terms of creativity, as well as financially I think they are still really hurting), so I think we at least owe them a compliment for every big named individual still sadly attached to them... So... For Mr. Ono, um... It could of been lazier? And we didn't have to pay to unlock dogs in the trailer!

 

[EternallyBored]

So the male characters have actual dog heads, and the female characters seem to just be human women with hair shaped to look like dog ears. So are they they supposed to be humans living alongside anthropomorphic dogs? Are they just female versions of the dog species in this world? how does that even work?

Aggg, stupid April fool's joke is nagging my pedantic nerd senses, why can't these joke trailers for fake games follow an internal sense of logic damnit.

Seriously though, I got a chuckle out of it, I always liked all the silly things that appear on the internet on April 1st.

 

[FPLOON]

"Ruff-jection!"

So the male characters have actual dog heads, and the female characters seem to just be human women with hair shaped to look like dog ears. So are they they supposed to be humans living alongside anthropomorphic dogs? Are they just female versions of the dog species in this world? how does that even work?

Let's assume that these are different breeds of dogs... and the female dog just so happened to have a snout that was smaller than a male dog because they were different breeds.. That would probably not answer your question properly, but I digress... We need to find more clues and shit...

OT: It's almost too good to be true... The key word is "almost" since I lack proper knowledge of different breed of dogs to understand all of the better dog puns... Other than that, could the sound effects be DLC for the future Ace Attorney game?

 

[EternallyBored]

"Ruff-jection!"

So the male characters have actual dog heads, and the female characters seem to just be human women with hair shaped to look like dog ears. So are they they supposed to be humans living alongside anthropomorphic dogs? Are they just female versions of the dog species in this world? how does that even work?

Let's assume that these are different breeds of dogs... and the female dog just so happened to have a snout that was smaller than a male dog because they were different breeds.. That would probably not answer your question properly, but I digress... We need to find more clues and shit...

OT: It's almost too good to be true... The key word is "almost" since I lack proper knowledge of different breed of dogs to understand all of the better dog puns... Other than that, could the sound effects be DLC for the future Ace Attorney game?

But don't you see, they don't have any fur either, what does it mean? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Are they some breed of short hair chihuahua? Do they have an unfortunate case of mange? I'm freaking out here, game over man, game over.

We need some kind of detective to solve this case.

 

[Micah Weil]

...am I the only one going "Can we please have this?"

 

[FPLOON]

"Ruff-jection!"

So the male characters have actual dog heads, and the female characters seem to just be human women with hair shaped to look like dog ears. So are they they supposed to be humans living alongside anthropomorphic dogs? Are they just female versions of the dog species in this world? how does that even work?

Let's assume that these are different breeds of dogs... and the female dog just so happened to have a snout that was smaller than a male dog because they were different breeds.. That would probably not answer your question properly, but I digress... We need to find more clues and shit...

OT: It's almost too good to be true... The key word is "almost" since I lack proper knowledge of different breed of dogs to understand all of the better dog puns... Other than that, could the sound effects be DLC for the future Ace Attorney game?

But don't you see, they don't have any fur either, what does it mean? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Are they some breed of short hair chihuahua? Do they have an unfortunate case of mange? I'm freaking out here, game over man, game over.

We need some kind of detective to solve this case.

Maybe she's hairless? Maybe she's secretly an alien dog... from Osaka...

Dammit, we need Sherlock Bones and his companion Watson the golden retriever...

...am I the only one going "Can we please have this?"

And it's 101 future cases, of course... and leave no park unvisited, either...

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I don't get it. They're dogs...and?
I guess the joke is that they're not normally dogs, so this change must be humorous?
Because you know...dogs are funny. That's what all the young hip trending kids laugh at while their on-the-line.

 

[dragongit]

This fails as a joke because Sherlock Hound is an actual show that exists (and isn't even that obscure because of all the famous people who worked on it).

It would be better if they had just made them actual dogs in little outfits.

I don't think they were simply being unoriginal, That really is Sherlock Hound at the end. This is a straight up homage, save for the fact Watson being a Loli now.

 

[Timeless Lavender]

LoL at least the Ace Attorney series is alive and kicking (to be honest the only Capcom studio that done well besides Clover studio)

I can not wait for this game and I hope that Miles Investigation 2 also come over too.

 

[residentout1]

This fails as a joke because Sherlock Hound is an actual show that exists (and isn't even that obscure because of all the famous people who worked on it).

It would be better if they had just made them actual dogs in little outfits.

I think your being a little ruff on Capcom can't you just throw them a bone but I may be barking up the wrong tree but don't worry Capcom bark worse than there bite.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

Does anybody else remember when Game Dogs [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/game-dogs] was a thing here on the Escapist?

This joke just reminded me of that, is all.

 

[CaitSeith]

Can anyone access the video? Because I can't.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Does anybody else remember when Game Dogs [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/game-dogs] was a thing here on the Escapist?

This joke just reminded me of that, is all.

Yes... I wish I didn't... XD

(Nah, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't exactly good either)

 

[Pyrignis]

This video is private...

April fools? :\

 

[Steve Waltz]

I don't get it. They're dogs...and?
I guess the joke is that they're not normally dogs, so this change must be humorous?
Because you know...dogs are funny. That's what all the young hip trending kids laugh at while their on-the-line.

Or you could have read the article where they explained the joke? The joke has cultural significance which is why it all went right over your head.

The next Ace Attorney game is called 「大逆転裁判」in comparison to their usual title 「逆転裁判」. So, they basically added the character 大. Well, for their April Fools marketing joke, they changed  大 to 犬, which means dog in Japanese. With that, they changed the appearance of the characters in their upcoming game to dog people and changed their name with dog puns. Such as changing the name Iris Watson to Iris Wanson--?Wan? being a Japanese onomatopoeia for a dog bark.

There are other puns in the video as well. Such as the line 「僕は弁護犬になる。。。必ず」 The line should be 「僕は弁護人になる。。。必ず」which translates to ?I play the role of a defense counselor...Like always.? But instead, they changed the kanji for person 「人」with the kanji for dog 「犬」and make it sound like ?I play the role of a defense dog.?

 

[Infernal Lawyer]

Am I the only one who can't watch the video? Because it's "private"?