| “ | I was wrong to acquit you earlier in the year. If I'd known that it would result in anyone having to listen to this drivel... I would've declared you guilty just to spare the world your ridiculous bombast. | „ |
| ~ Seishiro Jigoku threatening Ryonnosuke Naruhodo when he accused him of murder. |
| “ | It was that damned trial ten years ago... That's when all this began. Looking back now, my fate was decided that day. I was doomed already... It's over! My life... is over. | „ |
| ~ Seshiro Jigoku's villainous breakdown. |
Judge Seishiro Jigoku (Japanese: 慈獄政士郎, Jigoku Seishirō) is the secondary antagonist of The Great Ace Attorney duology, serving as a minor character in The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and the secondary antagonist of The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve.
He is a legitimate judge on both of the first cases of the duology, and the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, he is also responsible for the murder of Tobias Gregson and one of the people responsible (alongside Mael Stronghart) for the betrayal and subsequent murder of Genshin Asogi.
Personality[]
Jigoku is known for being calm, but quick to anger. As a judge, he is bashful but fair when giving verdicts in the court, usually following more of the situation than the main franchise's judge. He's also shown to be forgiving with people he knows, like in the first trial when he knew that Susato was disguising herself to look more masculine to enter as a lawyer to the courtroom and defend a friend of hers, he decided to ignore it and pass it off.
However, whenever someone gets on his nerves, he's quick to fight back by being openly combative. For example, when Naruhodo accused him of murder, he started to question Naruhodo's role as a lawyer and even commented that he should've given him a guilty verdict back when he was on trial for the murder of John H. Wilson.
Biography[]
Seishiro Jigoku was one of three Japanese exchange students to England, along with Genshin Asogi and Yujin Mikotoba. He was a witness in Asogi's trial, where he got so angry at his guilty conviction that he allegedly destroyed the witness stand.
It would be then that Stronghart roped Jigoku into his scheme, promising the man a high position in Japanese government. His plan was to secretly free Asogi and send him back to Japan to keep his will a secret. Stronghart faked the execution and then had Asogi buried alive. However, Enoch Drebber, a science student looking for cadavers to dissect, found the still living Asogi while grave-robbing, so in order to assure that no one would be witness to the plan, Stronghart convinced Jigoku to shoot Asogi while hiding, leading to his death.
Later on, Jigoku would serve as the judge for the murder of Dr. Wilson, with Ryunosuke Naruhodo as the defendant. However, Ryunosuke, alongside his companion Kazuma Asogi, would prove his innocence and Jigoku found him not guilty. He would also preside over Jezaille Brett's murder with Rei Membami, giving her a not guilty verdict as well. He knew that "Ryutaro Naruhodo" was actually Susato in disguise, but didn't say so in the trial.
Prior to the events of the fourth case, Stronghart tasked Jigoku with the murder of police investigator Tobias Gregson, in an assassination exchange program. However, this plan hit a snag when the assassin, Kazumi Asogi (Genshin's son), left to Dunkirk after learning the truth about Genshin's death. Jigoku ended up boarding the ship, and then attacked Gregson by choking him to unconsciousness. When Tobias woke up early, Jigoku shot him dead in a panic. He hid the body in a suitcase, before freezing it in the refrigerator on the ship to hide its time of death. After entering London and meeting up with his old friend Yujin, he hid the body in the apartment of Hugh Boone, Tobias's accomplice. He planned to frame Hugh for the crime, but instead, Barok van Zieks, who was investigating Tobias, stumbled upon the crime scene and was arrested for his murder.
Later on, Jigoku was found by Herlock Sholmes and Yujin on a ship, hiding in a suitcase. He was later brought to court to testify. He tried to frame Kazuma for the murder, but failed, thanks to Ryunosuke.
Breakdown[]
When Jigoku was proven to be the killer of Tobias Gregson and Genshin Asogi, he raises his shaking fists into the air with an infuriated expression on his face. He then brought his fists down and smashed the witness stand in a fit, reducing it to a pile of wood. He was said to have a similar breakdown when Genshin was first declared guilty. Jigoku was ultimately arrested and presumably executed for his crimes.
Trivia[]
- Jigoku's true nature is foreshadowed in the first chapter. He makes no move to stop Jezaille Brett from destroying evidence, despite knowing full well what she is doing, implying he may not be as just as he seems, especially since he's portrayed as otherwise incredibly levelheaded. An even bigger hint is dropped in the second game, when he tackles Raiten Menimeno before the journalist can reveal more information about the conspiracy that Jigoku is involved in.
- Seishiro's villainous breakdown mirrors that of Daley Vigil, a character that appeared earlier on the trial, seeing as how both say "My life... is over" in their breakdowns.
- Seishiro's appearance resembles the Buddhist god Enma, the ruler and judge of the underworld, which may be a nod to his true personality.
- To add to this connection, Seishiro's last name, Jigoku, is the Buddhist equivalent of Hell.
- Alongside Mael Stronghart, Seishiro breaks the series tradition of the judge not being guilty of any crime in the series.
- To add to this, Seishiro, along with Stronghart, are also the only judges in the series to be responsible of murder.
- Seishiro is one of the few judges in the series to be named. Others are Verity Gavèlle and Mael Stronghart.
