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Sasha Buckler
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Sasha Buckler
I perform like an agile catfish in our pirate show! It'll blowfish your mind!

Sasha Buckler is an orca trainer at the pirate-themed Shipshape Aquarium. She performs in the aquarium's "Swashbuckler Spectacular" show with her trained orca, Orla Shipley.

Early career[]

When Buckler was first hired by Jack Shipley at the aquarium, she worked alongside the resident orca trainer, Azura Summers, as well as the two resident orcas, Ora and Orla. Buckler got on very well with Summers, who was only a year older than her, and learned everything she needed to know about training orcas from her. They were also two of only a few aquarium employees who knew about both orcas.

Unbeknownst to the aquarium staff, Buckler suffered from a severe heart condition, which she refused to tell anyone about. Although the condition was easily treatable with surgery, Buckler instead opted to take medication for it.

Summers' death[]

Dead Summers

A book about Summers' death.

On July 20, 2026, whilst performing alongside Ora in the aquarium's "Swashbuckler Spectacular" show, Summers suddenly collapsed into the water. The aquarium staff and audience could only watch as Ora grabbed Summers in her mouth and shook her violently. Although the aquarium trainer was already dead by that point, it appeared to everyone watching as though Ora had killed her. The Center for Dangerous Animal Control (CDAC) soon learned about the incident and ordered that both orcas be put down. However, this was an action supported by neither Jack Shipley nor Dr. Herman Crab, the resident vet, so they instead moved Ora to the Supermarine Aquarium. Buckler managed to recover a lucky charm Summers carried with her, and made a vow that she would be the best trainer she could be, in order to honor her fallen mentor.

Orla accused[]

Main article: Turnabout Reclaimed
5-6 Shipley Dead, Face down

Jack Shipley's corpse.

Buckler continued to train with Orla for a whole year despite initial concerns, as she was positive that neither orca was dangerous and that Summers' death was merely an accident. She decided that, for the anniversary of the incident, she would hold a special show and explain to the audience that Orla wasn't dangerous at all. However, Shipley had learned by this point about her heart condition, and instead organized a new show without her. Buckler argued with Shipley for some time the night before, but to no avail, leaving her frustrated and upset.

Buckler was still crying the next day when she arrived at 3 a.m. to clean the orca pool. Orla tried to cheer her up by demonstrating part of her show routine, which ended up breaking a large number of props, but managed to accomplish its goal of improving the trainer's mood. Orla was then transported to the stage show pool and Buckler set to work. Rookie employee Marlon Rimes offered to help Buckler sabotage Shipley's plans by moving a skull rock, a key prop for the new show, into Orla's pool. With the prop missing, Buckler believed that Shipley would have to fall back on the old show.

Hours passed, and although Shipley was supposed to come to clean with Buckler and Rimes, he did not show up. However, at 10:10 a.m. that day, Buckler heard two noises, one being a scream from a visitor. Rushing to Orla's pool, Buckler discovered Shipley's dead body. To her further horror, Orla was blamed for his death and was subsequently set to be euthanized.

Saving Orla[]

Gs5-6c

Riding on Orla Shipley, startling Athena Cykes in the process.

In desperation, Buckler approached various lawyers in an attempt to clear the orca's name, but the very nature of the incident meant that most refused. It was then that she approached Phoenix Wright and the Wright Anything Agency for help in defending Orla, having heard of his reputation in winning the strangest of cases. She was further encouraged after discovering that he had once cross-examined an animal before in order to win a case, which she took as a sign that he showed equality towards them. Wright accepted the case, even after discovering he would be defending an orca instead of a human. Together with his new assistant Athena Cykes, he found enough evidence to substantiate an official court trial, and even managed to persuade Prosecutor Simon Blackquill to take on the case.

Although Buckler's testimony in court ultimately helped prove Orla's innocence, she was subsequently arrested herself for Shipley's murder; she was the only one who could give orders to Orla using a special whistle and her argument with Shipley gave her a motive for murder. In the detention center, prosecutor Blackquill told Buckler that Wright would abandon both her and Orla. This was not the case however, as Wright arrived to deliver her medicine and take her case. It was at this point that Buckler came clean about her condition, much to the shock of Wright and Cykes.

The next day, Wright went on to prove both Orla and Buckler innocent by revealing a plot by Rimes to kill Orla, as he had been Summers' boyfriend and blamed the orca for her death. This had led to Shipley's accidental death when he slipped into the empty stage show pool after moving to stop Rimes draining the pool with Orla in it. Rimes had then used the skull rock to move the body to the orca pool in an attempt to frame Orla. It also turned out that Summers had suffered from the same condition that Buckler had, and that she had died of heart failure. Rimes had not only been unaware of the true reason for Summers' demise, but also that Orla was not the same orca he blamed for her death. Rimes was sentenced to rehabilitation, but Buckler held no ill will towards him and let him join her show after his sentence was carried out. Now knowing how much grief Summers' heart condition had caused, Buckler decided to concentrate on her treatment and not do any more shows until she recovered.

Personality[]

S72Fud0

Mugshot.

Sasha Buckler is enthusiastic and cheerful, with such a strong enthusiasm for her work that she often slips into her pirate character, even during a trial. Another habit of hers is using puns in her speech involving names of aquatic animals (e.g., "You min-now" it!"). She treats both orca partners like sisters and goes to great lengths to protect them. Despite incidents like Orla squeezing her so hard that she was unable to use her whistle, she continues to believe that the orcas are not dangerous, even when nobody else shares her faith in them.

However, Buckler's positive and friendly outlook was not restricted to the orcas, as she tried her best to be helpful to her defense team at the Wright Anything Agency, and insisted on referring to them by their given names. She was repaid with the lawyers' sheer resolve, which moved her to tears. She also forgave Marlon Rimes for his crimes, holding no bitterness against him for his attempts to kill Orla.

Name[]

  • Japanese - Shōko Umino (羽美野 翔子):
    • Her Japanese name is a homophone of "umi no shōko" (海の証拠), which roughly means "evidence of the sea".
  • English - Sasha Buckler:
    • Her English name is a play on "swashbuckler", which is a term often associated with pirates.
  • French - Anne Bator:
    • Her French name is a reference to Albator, the localized name of Captain Harlock, a fictional space pirate created by Leiji Matsumoto. The reference has even more layers, since Harlock's name was changed in France since it sounded too similar to Tintin's character Captain Haddock. Sasha's French name then indirectly references two different ship captains.
  • German - Frye Buoyter
    • Her German name is a play on "Freibeuter", another term for pirate.

Development[]

  • Buckler, alongside the design of Marlon Rimes, was developed from a need to fit the "pirate theme" into something that would fit within the Ace Attorney world. Her character was designed as a hodgepodge of "pirate", "punk", "performer", "vocalist", and "orca trainer" themes and motifs; on top of these core elements she was then given the quality of having an "outrageously" vibrant sex appeal.[1]
  • When she becomes shocked and her inner tubes pop, the skull and crossbones design on her hat also goes gawk-eyed.

References[]

  1. (2015). "The Art of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies -". UDON. ISBN 978-1927925447.
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