Although I think Edgeworth and Mitsurugi are two different person, their lives have been pretty much same throughout the series. In Dual Destinies, however, it became obvious that Edgeworth’s career is different from his Japanese twin. Actually it was my biggest disappointment in DD localization.

In Localized version of DD, Edgeworth is a Chief Prosecutor of Los Angeles.(Capcom intentionally avoided the term “District Attorney” to show that Ace Attorney Land is different from the real world. Same thing happened in Japanese version too. They used different kanji.) Lana Skye was in that position before Rise From The Ashes, so Edgeworth is called “Lana’s successor” or “Second youngest Chief Prosecutor of LA” by fandom sometimes. Now that is what different from Mitsurugi, because Mitsurugi’s position is NOT SAME with Lana’s in Japanese version. It’s MUCH HIGHER.

When we see Lana in Japanese version, she is Shuseki Kenji(主席検事). Her position is called Jouseki Kenji(上席検事) in the real Japan -Capcom used different name as I said- which is the head of District Prosecutor’s Office. The game never showed which part of Japan this story happens, so we don’t know which district this is. In Localized version, the place is Los Angeles so Lana Skye was localized into Chief Prosecutor of Los Angeles; which is correct.

Mitsurugi is different. Lana was Shuseki Kenji, but he is Kenji Kyokuchou(検事局長). It is called Kenji Souchou(検事総長) in the real world, which can be simply translated into “Chief Prosecutor of Japan.” See the difference now? Lana was the leader of prosecutors only in her district, but Mitsurugi is the one in the WHOLE COUNTRY. It’s like a difference between prefecture governor and Prime Minister. For information: Japan has very strict hierarchy among prosecutors, like a pyramid, and Kenji Souchou reigns over that chain of command. All the prosecutors in Japan are under his dominion.

As an avid fan of Mitsurugi, I was thrilled at this news. “I can’t believe this. Mitsurugi is Kenji Kyokuchou? In this incredibly young age of thirty-four? I knew he was already called the best prosecutor of Japan in GS3, but this is… wow, what a catch, Naruhodou! <3 Does this mean Miles Edgeworth will be the Chief Prosecutor of America? Or of California, at least? I wonder what would they call Edgeworth’s position in Localized Version…” And Heaven knows how much I was disappointed when Miles Edgeworth was localized into the SAME POSITION WITH LANA. This is a serious demotion.

But aside from personal disappointment, I had to remember that it’s not the first time this happened. In Turnabout Sisters, when Redd White called the “Chief Prosecutor”, the person he called was Kenji Kyokuchou, not Shuseki Kenji. In other word, he DIDN’T called Lana skye. He called someone much superior than her.(Ichiyanagi Bansai later appeared to be “Former Kenji Kyokuchou" in GK2, so it would be him or his successor.) But Capcom just translated these two positions into same “Chief Prosecutor”, so in Localized Version the person who received this call became Lana Skye.

So I guess Capcom decided to limit the background into Los Angeles when they localized the very first game. Even though Mitsurugi is on top of his country, Edgeworth had to be only on top of his district because that was the highest position Capcom could give to the character in the series.

Thank you so much, this is enlightening. 

my contribution to the symphonia fandom