A Collaboration between Gyakuten Saiban 4 (3DS ver.) and Wanzhuji, Running Now! Takumi (Director) and Eshiro (Producer) Review the Food!! And We Ask About The Future of the Gyakuten Series (2018)

Title: A Collaboration between Gyakuten Saiban 4 (3DS ver.) and Wanzhuji, Running Now! Takumi (Director) and Eshiro (Producer) Review the Food!! And We Ask About The Future of the Gyakuten Series / 「3DS版『逆転裁判4』×万豚記コラボ実施中！　巧D＆江城Pが食レポ!!　『逆転』シリーズの展開も訊く」

Source: Famitsu 

 

Summary: Following the release of the 3DS port of Gyakuten Saiban 4 ("Ace Attorney 4 - Apollo Justice") in December 2017, the Chinese-style restaurant chain Wanzhuji, with restaurants all across Japan, featured a special collaboration with that game, with special sets recommended by Gyakuten Saiban 4 characters Odoroki Hōsuke (Apollo Justice), Garyū Kyōya (Klavier Gavin) and Minuki (Trucy), which also came with special stickers for each time you ordered one of these sets. Editors of Famitsu interviewed the producer Eshiro Motohide and director Takumi Shū in Feburary 2018 as they tried the food, but also asked them about special memories they have of Gyakuten Saiban 4 as well as about the future of the series.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to the respective owners.

 Sorry for disturbing you while you’re eating. We’re from Famitsū…

 

 

We went up to Mr. Eshiro and Mr. Takumi who were both trying the food, and asked them how it tasted.

 

Interviewer: What do you think of the food, now you’re eating the real deal?

 

 

Eshiro: The taste of the black sesame tantanmen should appeal to the mature eater. That has parallels with Garyū Kyōya (Klavier Gavin). You can really taste the sesame. I love sesame, so I love this. And it's quite a big plate. Women might want to order this and something else, and then share it together.

 

Takumi: At first sight you’d think a soup-less tantanmen would be spicy, but it’s not really spicy at all, and really easy to eat. It’s sweet and spicy, and has thick, wavy noodles. And the fragrance of these spices, or are these nuts? I have never reviewed food, so I hope I’m doing this right (laugh).

 

Eshiro: You’re doing fine. The set recommended by Minuki (Trucy) is really delicious too. The fried rice with pork and vegetables. There’s a lot of pork, so it fills you up good. By the way, the collaboration sets are inspired by the theme colors of the characters. The black sesame tantanmen corresponds to Garyū Kyōya’s black (Klavier Gavin), the rayu (chili oil) of soup-less tanntanmen corresponds to Odoroki’s red (Apollo Justice) and the set corresponding to Minuki’s blue uniform… well, the food isn’t blue, but there are “vegetables” in it (TN: the ‘green’ in the Japanese word for ‘green vegetables’ can also mean ‘blue’).

 

 

Interviewer: Haha. How do collaboration projects like these get started?

 

Eshiro: in this particular case, we came up with the proposal. And we don’t just have collaboration menus. You can also get stickers with the characters as sprite art when you order something, and we also have an original mystery minigame made by the development staff of the 3DS version. And we even have a raffle, where ten people can win a Objection! towel. The thing makes quite an impression and I wish we could just sell this on our own.

 

Interviewer: Wow, it is pretty big. It looks simple, but the words really make an impact. I’m sure it would sell like crazy if you’d make it available!

 

Eshiro: It’s a rare piece of merchandise, so I can recommend all of your readers to try the food here and try to win the towel.

 

Takumi: The Annin Tofu desert is great…

 

 

“We’re thinking about what should happen next. Look forward to it”

 

Interviewer: Do you have any special memories about Gyakuten Saiban 4 (“Ace Attorney 4 – Apollo Justice”)?

 

Takumi: There is a lot that made a lot of impression on me. Like how we decided on the name of the protagonist Odoroki Hōsuke (Apollo Justice), memories of the second episode “Turnabout Corner” and how I was given the theme of the Lay Judge system to work with. Oh, and when development on Gyakuten Saiban 4 started… It was right after we had finished work on Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten (Ace Attorney 1 DS), so everybody on the team felt content, but also completely drained because we had poured everything into that game. But then someone really high up in the company announced “We are developing Gyakuten Saiban 4” in public. When we heard that, we all thought: “We—we are?” (laugh)

 

Eshiro: I was at the time the assistant producer on Gyakuten Saiban 4, so I remember how I was tasked with support for the creation of the first ever television commercial for that game, and how I was there when we filmed the commercials with the attorney Maruyama Kazuya. Oh, and I remember working on the court set at our booth at the Tokyo Game Show. I think that was the first time we created a courtroom for the series at the show?

 

Takumi: It was. We only had the designs for the new protagonist ready at that Tokyo Game Show, just that one illustration. And of course, he didn’t have a voice yet. So his sprite wasn’t animated, and he could only talk in beeps (laugh). Oh, and I was working together with Nuri again on Gyakuten Saiban 4 after working with him on Yomigaeru Gyakuten, so that was nice. If not for that, the Dai Gyakuten Saiban series (The Great Ace Attorney) would probably not be here.

 

Interviewer: Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 – Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Kakugo (The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve) went on sale in August 2017. Is there anything going on now in regards to a new entry in the Gyakuten series or anything else for the future?

 

Eshiro: There is nothing specific I can say at the moment (laugh). But basically, both of us are thinking it over, so this is the time to prep and see what comes. I hope fans can look forward to what may come, and keep an eye on everything related to the Gyakuten Saiban series!