“ | We won the trial… but I lost everything. I lost my job, my fiancée, my social standing… Then this year, fifteen years later… a package arrived. It was a letter… and a pistol. The plan was written out in careful detail. It was a plan to take my revenge on the people who ruined my life. | „ |
~ Yanni Yogi |
Yanni Yogi (named Kōtarō Haine in the Japanese version) is a major antagonist in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, in particular being the secondary antagonist of the fourth case, "Turnabout Goodbyes". He worked as a court baliff before becoming the prime suspect of the DL-6 Incident. Fifteen years later, he murdered his lawyer from the DL-6 incident and attempted to pin the murder on Miles Edgeworth.
In the anime adaptation of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, he was voiced by Takehiro Hasu in Japanese and R. Bruce Elliott in English, In the film adaptation, he was portrayed by Fumiyo Kohinata.
Personality[]
Not much is known about Yanni Yogi before the DL-6 case, other than the fact that he was the first to panic when trapped in the elevator during the DL-6 incident. After the case, however, his entire personality changed. Due to loss of his job, social standing and fiance, he was completely consumed by rage and his desire for revenge on those he blamed for ruining his life.
Under his fake persona, he pretends to be a senile and forgetful old man, unable to remember anything from fifteen years prior. He constantly mixed up names and had the habit of falling asleep at random intervals. However, when his true identity was revealed, he was very calm and lucid. Even his posture changed from being hunched over to standing completely upright.
Yogi had clearly become a broken wreck over the fifteen years of the DL-6 incident, as the suicide of his wife and his forced isolation took a toll on him mentally. He had become mad with loneliness and vengeance, hoping for a way to get revenge at those who had ruined his life.
When his true identity is exposed, Yogi seemed almost relieved, as he no longer had to feign insanity to uphold an unfair conviction he had been handed. He calmly accepted his punishment and apologised to Edgeworth for what he had done.
Biography[]
DL-6 Incident[]
Yanni Yogi was the baliff for the IS-7 case. After the case was settled, he ended up in an elevator with Gregory and Miles Edgeworth. Suddenly, an earthquake struck, shutting of the power and leaving the three of them stuck in an elevator for five hours. Yogi panicked due to the lack of oxygen and attacked Gregory; Miles, desperate to stop Yogi from hurting his father, threw Yogi's pistol (which had fallen from its holster) at the bailiff. A shot was fired and all three fell unconsious from oxygen deprivation. When Yogi woke up, he found that Gregory was dead and he was subsequently accused of the murder. Due to lack of evidence, the police hired Misty Fey to channel Gregory's spirit, who identified Yogi as his murderer. Despite this damning evidence, Yogi insisted that he was innocent.
During the subsequent trial, Yogi's lawyer, Robert Hammond, convinced him to plead temporary insanity and fake brain damage brought about by the oxygen deprivation. He was declared not criminally responsible for Gregory's death, but lost his job and social standing as a result; in addition, his fiancée, Polly Jenkins, committed suicide. He managed to find a job running a boat rental shop, with only a pet parrot he named after his lost love to keep him company. However, he still wished for revenge against Robert and Miles for ruining his life, believing that the latter was Gregory's true killer.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney[]
15 years later, Yanni Yogi received a letter from Manfred von Karma giving him instructions on how to kill Robert and frame Miles. On Christmas Eve, Yogi invited Robert and Miles to come to his shack at different times. He kills Robert on sight and when Miles arrives, he disguises himself as Robert and takes Miles on a boat. Yogi revealed his intentions for revenge before firing to shots into the air and falls into the water, leaving Miles and the pistol on board. He puts the disguise back on Robert and throws him into the lake. He calls the police and miles gets arrested.
When the case began and Phoenix Wright starts investigating the shack and finds Yogi there, who is pretending to be insane. However, his parrot says "Don't forget DL-6", revealing that there is more to Yogi than what Phoenix originally thought. During the second day of the trail, Yogi shows up as a witness and Phoenix can't pinpoint anything down. The judge declares Miles guilty, however Larry Butz burst into the courtroom to give his testimony. During the testimony, Yogi escapes from the court. Phoenix receives a code to a safe from Polly. He then goes to open the safe, but Manfred von Karma finds them and steals the evidence
During the third day, Yogi was at last apprehended. Phoenix tries to prove Yogi's identity, however, it is proven impossible. But when Manfred makes a snide remark that he should interrogate the parrot, Polly, Phoenix decides to take him up on his challenge as use Polly as evidence. When Polly revealed the combination of the safe again, Phoenix connected it to the DL-6 case. He also mentioned that Yogi named his parrot after his fiance, which he could not have done if he was insane.
Yogi decided to give up and revealed his true identity He admitted to the murder of Robert Hammond and to the fact that he wanted revenge on both Miles and Robert for ruining his life. He was apprehended and not seen again. It later transpired that von Karma had been the true killer of Gregory Edgeworth; when Miles threw the pistol at Yogi and the weapon discharged, the bullet travelled through the elevator window and struck von Karma (who was standing outside) in the shoulder. When power returned and the elevator opened, von Karma took the gun and shot Gregory in the heart as revenge for getting him penalized surting the IS-7 case, which he saw as a blemish on his perfect win record.