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This Villain was Headlined on July 2009. |
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“ | That's right, Manfred von Karma. He's the best prosecutor there is. He hasn't lost a case in his 40-year career. He is a god of prosecution, Wright! A god! | „ |
~ Miles Edgeworth to Phoenix Wright about Manfred von Karma. |
“ | Decisive evidence... A decisive witness... What else could possibly be required? | „ |
~ Manfred von Karma |
“ | Wrong. There is only one thing you need to do here. You will slam down your gavel and say the word "guilty". That is your role! | „ |
~ Manfred von Karma to the Judge in “Turnabout Goodbyes.” |
Manfred von Karma (Japanese: Gō Karuma) is the main antagonist of the Ace Attorney franchise.
He is the "God of Prosecution" who is obsessed with protecting his perfect record of winning cases, forging evidence, and killing anyone who stands in his way to do so. He is also the biological father of Franziska von Karma and the adoptive father of Miles Edgeworth. His murder of Gregory Edgeworth directly causes almost every major event that occured within the Ace Attorney franchise.
Manfred von Karma was originally voiced by Masakazu Sugimori in Japanese, who also composed the soundtrack for the first game. In the movie, he was played by Ryo Ishibashi. In the anime, he was voiced by Akio Ōtsuka in Japanese and Bill Jenkins in English.
Biography[]
Manfred von Karma was known and feared as the god of prosecutors. In his trials, he always played the judge, the attorney, the defendant, and the testimonies like marionettes. The main characteristics of his achievements were perfectly clean testimonies and perfectly clean (if forged) evidence, leaving no shadow of doubt on anyone. He never lost a case in his 40 years of prosecuting, prizing his pristine record above all else.
The IS-7 Incident[]
Manfred von Karma was assigned as the prosecutor of what would be known as the IS-7 Incident. The defendant was Jeff Master, a famous pastry chef and TV star, who was the main suspect of the murder of Paul Holic, a sculptor who was participating in a contest Jeff hosted at his mansion, which incidentally was the crime scene. The attorney assigned to the case was Gregory Edgeworth, who directly confronted von Karma at the crime scene. While Edgeworth tried not to judge von Karma's actions based on the rumors of forgery, he eventually concluded that von Karma was indeed forging evidence, since the victim's body disappeared from the scene yet von Karma somehow had access to an autopsy report. Despite Gregory's accusation, von Karma insisted that the autopsy report (which he had received from cororner Bonnie Young) was genuine, and the police also vouched for it's legitimacy.
The IS-7 trial dragged on for a whole year, due to von Karma's machinations. He ultimately won the case by threatening to accuse Master's adpoted daughter, Katherine Hall, of the murder unless Master himself confessed, with Master being declared guilty as an accomplice to the murder. However, Gregory was able to prove that Master's confession was coerced, resulting in von Karma receiving his first penalty. The case was then put on hold, due to the only other witness and suspect, Dane Gustavia, having fled the country. In truth, von Karma had no idea the autopsy was forged and Blaise Debeste had used him as a scapegoat to throw off suspicion on himself.
The DL-6 Incident[]
Von Karma's loss of his perfect record affected him deeply. Gregory and his son, Miles Edgeworth, as well as the bailiff Yanni Yogi, entered the elevator to leave the court when an earthquake struck the building, leaving the three of them trapped. The oxygen inside the elevator started to run low, causing them to become desperate and confused. In a panic from the lack of oxygen, Yogi attacked Gregory, causing his gun to fall from its holster. The gun fell near Miles, who picked it up and threw it blindly at Yogi to prevent the bailiff from hurting his father.
At that time, von Karma was standing outside the elevator when Miles threw the gun, which discharged. The bullet passed through the elevator window and struck von Karma in his right shoulder, who released a demonic scream that became the subject of Miles' nightmares for years to come. The three trapped in the elevator fell unconscious, and as the power returned and the door opened, von Karma saw the them lying on the floor and Yogi's gun at his feet. Seizing the opportunity, von Karma picked up the gun and shot Gregory in the heart, killing him as revenge for ruining his perfect record. Yogi was accused of the murder, but was ruled as not criminally responsible after his attorney, Robert Hammond, convinced him to plead insanity and fake brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. During Yogi's trial, the court summoned Misty Fey, master of the Kurain Channeling technique to communicate with the deceased Gregory; Fey successfully channeled him, but because he had been unconscious at the time of his death, Gregory believed Yogi to be his murderer. Professional blackmailer Redd White later bribed Hammond's employer, Marvin Grossberg, into giving him information regarding Fey's involvement in the investigation, which he later sold to the media; Misty was subsequently labeled a fraud, the reputation of the Fey clan was destroyed, and she left Kurain Village in shame. While he and Hammond had won the case, Yogi's life was ruined following his insanity plea; he lost his job as a bailiff, his social standing, and his fiance, Polly Jenkins, who committed suicide. As such, he decided to live as a senile old man named 'Uncle', renting out boats at Gourd Lake with only a pet parrot he named after his fiance for company.
Meanwhile, von Karma took a six-month "vacation" to heal from the gunshot wound, this being the first and only time in his life that he ever took time off work as a prosecutor. He hid the bullet from everyone, too paranoid to even have it removed by a doctor and leave a potential paper trail. After healing from the wound, he returned to discover that Gregory's protege, Raymond Shields, was appealing the IS-7 case; von Karma decided to assign a different prosecutor to the case, as he knew that Master's conviction could not be overturned without new evidence. He also decided that he would have even bigger revenge on Gregory by adopting the young Miles and raising him along with his daughter Franziska to become a ruthless prosecutor like himself.
Training Edgeworth[]
Von Karma taught Miles everything about prosecution and Miles became a prosecutor alongside Franziska. Von Karma showed Miles the IS-7 case files, which he modified to say that Masters had been found guilty of the murder, leading Edgeworth to believe that his father's final case had been fully solved and that there was no need to investigate any further.
Miles's first trial was supposed to have him prosecute Mack Rell for the murder of Deid Mann. The defendant had accused the original prosecutor, Byrne Faraday, of being the great thief Yatagarasu and ordering him to commit the murder. Von Karma and his daughter accompanied Miles to the courthouse during the trial recess, but before the trial could resume, Rell and Faraday were both found dead in the defendant lobby. Von Karma strong-armed the detective in charge, Tyrell Badd, into allowing Miles and Franziska to investigate the scene before leaving the two to figure out what happened.
Final Vengeance[]
Years later, von Karma put his revenge plan into work. He contacted Yogi through a letter, giving him instructions about a plan to take revenge on Robert Hammond and Miles Edgeworth, who Yogi blamed for his ruin. So, Yogi contacted both Robert and Miles to go to the lake at different times.
As Robert arrived, Yogi killed him with a point-blank shot and threw him into the lake. As Miles arrived, Yogi and he used a boat to go to the center of the lake, and Yogi shot at nothing in particular just to call the attention of anyone who happened to be at the lake the shot again and dropped at the lake, leaving the gun behind.
Miles was accused of the murder and von Karma assigned himself as the prosecutor of the case, to make sure everything would go according to his plan and to see Miles ruined by himself.
Miles Edgeworth's Trial and Defeat[]
The day before the last day of the trial, Phoenix and his coworker Maya presented von Karma the letter he wrote to Yogi just as he was stealing all the evidence from the DL-6 Incident. He admitted to writing the note but was not willing to let it be presented in court, for it would ruin both his career and his revenge. He then violently assaulted Phoenix and Maya with a stun gun and electrocuted them until they were both unconscious, before stealing back the letter.
Even without the note, Phoenix acquitted Miles, only for Miles to later "confess" to murdering his father, Gregory. Remembering evidence that two bullet shots had been fired, Phoenix became convinced that something else was happening. Although von Karma stole most of the evidence, he failed to steal the bullet recovered from Gregory Edgeworth since Maya managed to take it.
In the final trial, Phoenix realized that von Karma kept the bullet in his shoulder, so he used a metal detector to prove this. Von Karma tried to argue otherwise, but when Phoenix revealed the other bullet and got consent to remove von Karma's bullet, von Karma realized that he was finished and released the same scream that he had 15 years earlier. Edgeworth finally realized the truth as von Karma confessed, banging his head repeatedly against the wall and screaming Edgeworth's name. After 40 years, the great Manfred von Karma suffered the only 2 defeats in his entire career, and he was now exposed as the murderer that he truly was. Seeing that he had finally lost, von Karma demanded the judge to end the trial so that he could face his punishment. The judge obliged, and von Karma was arrested for his crimes and died from an unknown cause shortly after.
Breakdown[]
“ | You and your father are my curse! Your father shamed me with a penalty on my record! And you... you left a scar on my shoulder that would never fade! I...I'll bury you! I'll bury you with my bare hands! Death! Death! | „ |
~ The end of Von Karma's iconic breakdown. |
Von Karma slams his fist on the prosecutor's bench and bellows Edgeworth's name in rage, while images of the DL-6 Incident flash behind him. He then begins to slam his head against the wall behind him, getting faster and faster by the moment.
Later Appearances[]
Von Karma is frequently mentioned in later episodes of the series, often appearing during flashback sequences. In Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, he appears briefly during a flashback sequence, where he takes the young Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma to the courtroom for their first investigation.
He appears once again in Gyakuten Kenji 2/Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path, being a central character in the third case, which is a flashback to Gregory Edgeworth's last case, where Von Karma got his first penalty and killed Gregory.
Personality[]
If his protégé was considered a "demon prosecutor", Manfred von Karma could be considered the attorney equivalent of Satan - he is obsessed with achieving a guilty verdict in court and is willing to trample over anyone he wishes to get there. He often uses his intimidating and imposing appearance and personality to intimidate others into accepting his words; he often even acts for the judge, because he is too terrified to speak in Von Karma's presence.
Ever the perfectionist, Prosecutor von Karma single-mindedly pursues victory in the courtroom (even if the defendant is innocent); whether it be forging evidence or murder, Manfred von Karma will do absolutely anything to get his guilty verdict.
In Ace Attorney Investigations, Von Karma is also shown to be restrictive with his daughter, Franziska, which is reflected in her personality. However, his perfectionism is a weakness as well as a strength, and since Von Karma cannot stand to lose, he is willing to do absolutely anything in his power to prevent the defense from winning (going so far as to knock Wright unconscious with a stun gun).
Von Karma is incapable of showing love for another person, seeing it as a weakness. It's notable that, when he is complimenting someone, it's their abilities or skills he praises, rather than them. An example is when he mentions his wife's cooking in a positive light, rather than mentioning his wife as a person. To Von Karma, people are pawns in his path to perfection, meant to be disposed of when they are no longer useful to him.
Victims[]
Murder/Attempted murder victims |
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Victims of his actions
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Quotes[]
“ | Hah! A mere detective, speaking back to me. ...I admire your courage at least. Badd. Stand watch and see to it that they don't misbehave. | „ |
~ Von Karma meeting Badd. |
“ | Tsk tsk tsk... If you have an objection, say it. Do you think a mere defense attorney can break my logic? | „ |
~ Von Karma taunting Gregory. |
“ | The victim was not seen, as he stayed locked up in his room after the contest had begun. The only one who could have unlocked the locked rooms was Jeff Master. And the murder weapon, the rock salt lamp, was being kept in Master's room. This should be the decisive evidence in proving Master's guilt! Defense attorney. You've lost to me before you even had a chance to stand in court! | „ |
~ Von Karma claiming he won the case over Gregory. |
“ | What are you hesitating for! I should've known you weren't ready yet! Franziska, you disappoint me as well, now get out of my sight, the both of you! | „ |
~ Von Karma dismissing both Edgeworth and Franziska when the former gets too many penalties in the first part of Turnabout Reminiscence. |
“ | Von Karma: RAAAAAAARGH! Judge: E-excuse me? Mr. Von Karma? Von Karma: Three minutes just passed. |
„ |
~ Manfred von Karma. |
“ | Phoenix: I'm going to run this over you, and see what we find. Von Karma: ... I... refuse! Judge: Y-you refuse...! But, refusing this means... You acknowledge that the bullet is still inside you? Von Karma: Judge! I call for a suspension of this trial! This is an invasion of privacy! Phoenix: The statute limitations runs out on this case today! Von Karma: Mm... mmmph! Where did you get that?! Mmmph... mmmph! Phoenix: Well, Mr. Von Karma!? Von Karma: Mmmrrrrrrgggh! UAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! Uaaaaarrrrrr... aaaa.... oohh. Worrrrrrggg... aaa.... oooooohhhhh.... Worroooorrrrghh Eh... Edgewooooorrrrthhh...................... .... Ehh... Edgewo, ooooorrth..... Only... you would.... dare.... defy me...! Edgeworth: So... it was you! Von Karma: You and your father are my curse! Your father shamed me with a penalty on my record! And you... you left a scar on my shoulder that would never fade! I'll bury you! I'll bury you with my bare hands! Death! Death! |
„ |
~ Von Karma getting caught, and his famous breakdown. |
Trivia[]
- "Manfred' is the German word for "man of peace", which can be considered ironic due to his personality. It can also be an allusion to Manfred von Richthofen, known in World War I as the "Red Baron", who also had a great number of victories and was, indeed, defeated by a single bullet much like von Karma.
- "Von Karma" is an allusion to the bad karma he developed over the years. His daughter carries the same influence and power as her father did.
- His Japanese name "Karuma" (in Japanese: 狩魔) is the romanization for "karma", while "Gou" (in Japanese: 豪) may come from "gouka" (in Japanese: ゴウカ), which means "from the fires of Hell".
- Manfred lived in America in the Japanese games, though this was moved to Germany in the localization, due to the games taking place in America.
- The statute of limitations that Von Karma attempts to exploit is retconned in the second Miles Edgeworth investigations game, as the limitations are paused when the culprit moves country. This would mean that he would have been well within the limitations, due to being in Germany for long periods of time. Even without this retcon, there is still some added irony, as him and Gustavia (the culprit he inadvertedly enabled to get away with his crimes for 18 years) are both defeated due to being within the statute of limitations.
- In the anime version, Von Karma's breakdown was cut short, only showing Manfred screaming and failing to made a finger snap. After his confession, Wright pointed out that it was the truth that defeated Von Karma before the latter snapped his cane and collapsed on the ground like a broken man. The anime version of Von Karma's breakdown completely omitted the scene on which he bumped his head on the wall again and again.
- Furthermore, the live-action film reduced Von Karma's breakdown into a lengthy motive rant.
- Manfred Von Karma's death is never explicitly stated, thus his cause of death is unknown; it has been theorized that he received the death penalty for his crimes, though he may have alternatively committed suicide or simply died of natural causes while in prison.
- Manfred Von Karma is one of only two main antagonists to appear in more than one game, as he appears in both the Miles Edgeworth investigations games. Mael Stronghart appears in both of the Great Ace Attorney games and is the main villain in both of them.
- Manfred is the first of many law enforcement officials to be arrested in the series.
External Links[]
- Manfred Von Karma on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Manfred Von Karma on the Ace Attorney Wiki