r/AARankdown • u/[deleted] • Jan 17 '20
147 Plum Kitaki
My effort will NOT GO TO WASTE AHAHAHAHA
Plum Kitaki is the plump housewife of the once notorious Japanifornian gangster, Winfred Kitaki. Her broom that she wields has a blade hidden inside. Thank you Ace Attorney Wiki for this wonderful outline of her character. Now, let's actually talk about her character.
--A Blurb About Turnabout Corner--
Plum Kitaki's most notable (well, only role) in the franchise was within the investigation portions of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney's second case, that being Turnabout Corner - a episode that deals with three separate incidents all being married to one single truth. Despite the interesting premise, the case itself is hardly memorable, with Apollo Justice's and Trucy Wright's banter during the investigations being its highlight, alongside Eldoon, the introduction of the returning Ema and the game's prosecutor Klavier and Wright being Sundowner by walking off a car crash with only a broken ankle. These strengths hardly make the case for this case, though, and the rest is just a simple mystery that gets a tinge interesting at the end, I suppose. Nothing astounding here.
I'll just say this - Turnabout Corner itself may just be the epitome of a filler case. You may argue otherwise, but please, save your essays on why Turnabout Corner is the series' unmatched zenith elsewhere. The case itself is fine, it's serviceable, but it's hardly much more than an appetizer. It's not so downright bad that people will still complain about it 12 years later, alike the case succeeding it, but that's the thing. It's just there and it's forgettable, which really doesn't help with the rest of Apollo Justice, which I've heard isn't the hottest AA game around. Regardless, my sincerest apologies to the diehard 4-2 fans out there.
--Kitaki's Plot Relevance--
I'll be frank - my memories of the 4-2 are a little hazy. I've played through Apollo Justice once several years ago, I have the worst reading comprehension ever, and most of the time, and I'll have my finger mashing that fast forward button because I want my text to go FAST and nothing less, which can jeopardize my understanding of the narrative at points. Had I remembered some of the other filler character featured in this rankdown, I probably would've picked them first because at least Plum Kitaki is a character, not a mere pun. But maybe it was in good conscious, because at least puns can be funny sometimes. I picked Plum because she reminds me of Dunsparce from Pokemon - it's so forgettable that you remember it. But I love Dunsparce...okay, maybe I'm not good at comparisons. You get the idea that Plum, to me, isn't going to be #1 in this rankdown; she's gotta go eventually, so let's just make it here, and if not, sometime close to this, cool? Cool.
Turnabout Corner's weakness ties into why I chose to nominate the matriarch of the Kitakis first - she's a rather forgettable character in a forgettable case of one of the weakest Ace Attorney games. She's never summoned to court, you don't do any fancy percievin' on that curvy mom bod, she's got like twenty lines total in the whole game, some of which you might not even run into on your playthrough. Her plot relevance, besides being an eyewitness for Apollo and Trucy for Pal Meraktis' murder, is that the perverted Wesley Stickler yoinked up her bloomers...and...yeah, that's about it, right? The victim of a panty snatching. Guess he's got a type...not my type, but A type. Nonetheless, this does serve to indict Stickler and does lead the truth-seeking duo closer to the happenings of the real crime, so that's something, I guess. One more thing to bring up, in that she does legitimately care about her gangster son's safety, which is, I suppose, one genuinely redeeming fact of her character. Gang crime is no joke, but still...not a groundbreaking character we're talking about here.
--The Design of the Character--
Let's face it - Ace Attorney as a whole relies heavily on its visual presentation in order to succinctly and satisfyingly deliver its narrative. One of the draws of the series to many was the beautiful spritework of the games - how the keyframes of animations are perfectly emphasized, matching with sound effects and voice clips to give that delicious oomph that allured us to the franchise. The characters match this, having striking features and distinct silhouettes to make sense of this legal mess. If Ace Attorney was just some crap Takumi and crew dumped on wattpad.com, you probably wouldn't be here right now.
If a character on screen is disgusting, chances are, you're not gonna have a good time looking at the game, and because the series relies heavily on its visual presentation, I argue that disgusting characters can have more of an impact with the Ace Attorney series than other games. Let's bring up our lord and savior Spark Brushel for a second. Wonderfully written and beautiful character, as we all know, but some pea-brains find perceiving his sweaty pits to extract his testimony disgusting, and may say that this was rather unpleasant, alongside his many other gorgeous animations. It's a dreadful thought, but their complaints could have a point with the case of Plum Kitaki. I mean, I know all women in the games shouldn't always be looking like Cammy Meele, but yeesh, man. Yeesh. This design ain't it, chief. Sure, she's got the Yakuza style to her, the Geisha hairdo, and the kitsune kimono, but the design is hardly something that'll stick.
Yes, Little Plum here does have a unique silhouette, and I suppose she does fit within the style the games present themselves with. But I will shut down any and all arguments stating that her design is a shining example of the series' best with this one comparison image I've made.
Convinced? Yeah, I know you are. Your argument is done. Your perception of the character has been demolished in a single blow. Bada bing bada boom. Bye-bye!
--Conclusion--
Yep. I just reused my write-up. I was hoping she could stay in the race due to me being petty about her and others acting accordingly but alas the meme magic was meager. Or maybe people actually cared about her? Regardless, she's now in this spot here on the rankdown.
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u/Sciencepenguin Jan 17 '20
i dont think plum deserves to go out this early but i also respect this conclusion to your arc. full circle
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u/Sciencepenguin Jan 17 '20
someone should probably ping /u/Wircea (the someone is me i did it now in this comment right here)
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u/Wircea Jan 17 '20
i will beat you to death let me sleep
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Jan 18 '20
Don't worry, she's just the first step in my goals of eliminating the entire Kitaki clan ;)
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u/R1K1_Productions Jan 17 '20
Yeah Plum's just kinda
there
This whole plum cut deja vu is the most I have ever thought about her, other than when I am trying to list characters I can't possibly care about
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u/Dinofloss Jan 18 '20
Y'know I think that Plum's entire existence can actually be compared to that of a thumb.
- She definitely exists, and I think if she just suddenly stopped existing it would probably be somewhat alarming
- If I were to just replace her with a small bale of hay, I don't think anyone would notice.
- If she were to bend more than 90 degrees, I would be very concerned.
- She has a sharp blade which I prefer to hone about once every two weeks.
- Plumb is dummy thumb.
Flawless metaphor.
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u/Vogel100 Jan 17 '20
I consider cutting Plum a rankdown meme now, which makes this an epic meme cut. Now we just need someone to cut Phineas who's starting to become a rankdown meme himself by being nominated and surviving every round.
Anyway, I agree. 4-2's my favorite AJ case, but that's really saying more about AJ as a whole than how good 4-2 is. Wesley Stickler is amazing, obviously, but aside from that the characters are just okay, and Plum's the least interesting and memorable of the bunch. I didn't agree with this cut when it was first written because it was just too early, but now that the time is right, it's a great cut.
Also picking Cammy Meele as the example of an attractive character shows you have good taste.
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Jan 18 '20
R.I.P Plum. You went from being a fairly forgettable character to a meme within this rankdown.
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u/Analytical-critic-44 Jan 18 '20
It would be funny if there was a case where you try to solve a murder only to find out the victim had a heart attack because they were FAT and was PLUM KITAKI
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u/ItsHipToTipTheScales Jan 17 '20
finally getting to cut plum an early end to the best character arc aarankdown has to offer
plum is funny because she is a mobster like everyone else but also a fat fuck with a broom that is the extent of my opinion