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Raymond Shields
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This article contains information from the unofficial English translation patch for Gyakuten Kenji 2.
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Owing to the lack of an official translation of the Japan-only Gyakuten Kenji 2, the information and names in this article come from the unofficial English translation patch known as Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor's Path. More information on this can be found here.

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Raymond Shields
Well, how about a hug then? As a sign of affection.

Raymond "Ray" Shields is a defense attorney who owns the Edgeworth Law Offices. He worked under the law firm's original owner, Gregory Edgeworth, and worked with him in the field during his investigation of the IS-7 Incident. When he met his former mentor's son, Miles Edgeworth, years later, he questioned Miles about his chosen path of being a prosecutor, rather than becoming a defense attorney like his father.

The IS-7 Incident[]

Main articles: IS-7 Incident & The Inherited Turnabout
GregoryShigaraki

In a photo with Gregory Edgeworth.

In December 2000, Gregory Edgeworth invited Shields to work a case with him, in what would turn out to be their only case together, the IS-7 Incident. Edgeworth's client was the famous television chef Jeff Master, who was accused of murdering fellow chef Isaac Dover during a confectionery competition held at Master's mansion. During their investigation, Edgeworth and Shields met the infamous prosecutor Manfred von Karma, who was leading the police investigation. Von Karma saw the pair as mere pests and actively stifled their attempts to investigate.

During the investigation, the sherbet sculptures that Dover had made for the competition disappeared. Master's assistant and adopted daughter, Katherine Hall, claimed that she had accidentally melted them. Von Karma subsequently took her in for questioning, along with the other competition contestants, Dane Gustavia and Delicia Scones. Meanwhile, Edgeworth discovered that, although the police claimed that the body of the victim was in their possession, it had really disappeared. Additionally, the victim was actually a sculptor who went by the name Pierre Hoquet.

In court, Edgeworth confronted von Karma about the disappearance of the body, but the prosecutor responded with a forged autopsy report. The trial lasted a year, until von Karma got Master to confess to being an accomplice to the murder. However, Edgeworth proved that the confession had been coerced; the detective in charge of the initial investigation, Rip Lacer, had threatened to indict Hall as being complicit in the crime. Although Edgeworth still lost the case, von Karma was penalized for the first time in his "perfect" career. After the trial, Gregory Edgeworth was murdered by an unknown assailant (which would be revealed fifteen years later to be von Karma) inside the courtroom elevator.

Shields subsequently took over the Edgeworth Law Offices, inheriting Edgeworth's hat. He tried to appeal Master's case, but although von Karma had left the case to a different prosecutor (having gone on the first, and only, vacation of his career after Edgeworth's death), the appeal failed due to a lack of new evidence pointing to a killer. Shields continued to visit Master regularly, and though he could not make it every day, Hall managed to do so. Meanwhile, Gregory's son Miles grew up, with von Karma himself molding him to become a ruthless prosecutor just like him. Due to this, Shields began to resent Miles for seemingly completely abandoning his father's path to follow instead in the footsteps of the man who stood against what he believed in.

A shaky reunion[]

Main article: The Imprisoned Turnabout
ImprisonedTurnaboutGang

Roland and Shields hugging.

Eighteen years after Gregory's murder, Shields returned from abroad and took on the case of the bodyguard Horace Knightley, who was accused of attempting to assassinate his employer, President Di-Jun Huang of Zheng Fa, as well as murdering the latter's head bodyguard, Ethan Rooke. However, upon visiting the detention center, Knightley was discovered to be missing. Shields entered the prison only to find his client dead, and Gregory's son Miles examining the crime scene with Dick Gumshoe and Kay Faraday. Meeting Miles for the first time in years, Shields reacted in a sarcastic and disdainful manner to Edgeworth (and even initially pretended to recognize him as Manfred von Karma), saying that the prosecutor had betrayed his father to follow the "von Karma way"; Shields continued with this passive-aggressive attitude all the while investigating alongside the group, up until they were removed from the investigation and forced to leave the premises by Justine Courtney and the replacement prosecutor, Sebastian Debeste, after which he parted ways in an unfriendly manner.

The next day, Miles, having heard from Gumshoe that Debeste had indicted someone for Knightley's murder, returned to the prison to see who the suspect was. The man, Simon Keyes, turned out to be a scared and meek person, seemingly incapable of ever doing such a thing, thusly leaving Miles very unconvinced on the direction the investigation was taking. Meanwhile, Shields had agreed to defend Keyes and headed to the detention center again, and to his surprise, he encountered Miles in the hallway. Unwilling to interrupt his own investigation and let the truth remain undiscovered, Miles took the opportunity to ask permission to Shields to act as assistant, in order to continue investigating. While Shields initially replied that he did not take on assistants, and that he did not trust Miles, he in the end agreed to Miles's offer after Gumshoe and Faraday vouched for him, saying that he had forsaken his old ways that had been influenced by von Karma, with Shields willing to see if said change was genuine.

Even after his own meeting Keyes, Shields had not gathered much information about the case, as the timid man did not reveal much about himself, not even to his own lawyer. Because of this, it was not until later on that Shields learned that he was a circus performer who had done a show at the prison. Nonetheless, the "defense team" of Shields, Miles, and Faraday (Gumshoe having been forced to return to his post and work alongside Courtney and Debeste) eventually came to expose the true culprit: the prison director, Patricia Roland. Through this process, Shields found that Miles had really changed his ways, and was now serious about finding the truth and saving people. As such, he offered the young prosecutor a place in the Edgeworth Law Offices as a defense attorney. Realizing that it would be some time before Miles Edgeworth would come upon a decision, Shields decided to not further pressure him, saying he would wait for his answer for his proposal when Miles was ready.

IS-7 resolution[]

Main article: The Inherited Turnabout
Shigaraki reminiscing

Shields muses on the IS-7 Incident.

A few days later, Shields found that Hall had bought Master's mansion and was converting it into the Zodiac Art Gallery, with the intention of featuring various works by Pierre Hoquet, including alleged replicas of his sherbet sculptures from the IS-7 Incident. Wondering what this all meant, Shields took advantage of this opportunity to take Miles with him to Gregory's last crime scene to talk about the IS-7 Incident. However, during his retelling of events, Dane Gustavia, who had also come to visit, succumbed to a poison gas trap inside one of the sculptures. Even more dramatically, the body of Issac Dover, missing for all those years, suddenly turned up in the gallery's fountain.

Shields began to suspect that these events had been part of a plan by Hall to expose the truth behind the IS-7 Incident and find the real culprit. It was eventually discovered that the body had been hidden inside one of the sherbet sculptures, and that Hall had stolen them, not knowing until buying the mansion that the body was hidden inside. Shields and Miles eventually proved that Gustavia was indeed the killer and that the statute of limitations on the incident had not expired for him. Thus, the IS-7 Incident was finally solved. Shields went on to ask Hall if he could defend her in court, to which she tearfully agreed.

Murder at the Grand Tower[]

Main article: The Forgotten Turnabout

On April 5, 2019, news quickly spread of a murder at the Grand Tower. Shields knew that Miles was due to have a hearing with the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee there, and hurried to Edgeworth's office, where he found him looking for Faraday. Faraday was currently suffering from amnesia and was being blamed for the murder of Jill Crane, and Miles had relinquished his badge trying to protect her. The two decided to investigate the murder and the cause of Faraday's amnesia, which led to the discovery of a secret black market auction of police evidence.

The Chair of the P.I.C., Blaise Debeste, tried to twist the truth, and even had Miles imprisoned, but during the latter's hearing, everything came to light. Blaise was the auction conductor and had killed Crane to prevent her from taking revenge on him for a past crime. As a result of this, Sebastian, Blaise's son, ran away. As Sebastian was supposed to prosecute Roland's trial and Crane was supposed to be her defense attorney, Shields agreed to take over the defense, while Franziska von Karma acted as the prosecutor.

Roland's trial[]

Main article: The Grand Turnabout

The following day, the trial of Patricia Roland began. However, all of the evidence for the case, including the murder weapon, was missing, and Courtney hastily tried to end the trial in a not guilty verdict. Miles discovered that Courtney's adopted son, John Marsh, had been seemingly kidnapped by Blaise's cronies in order to coerce Courtney into acquitting Roland. Shields and Franziska stalled the trial as Miles found both Sebastian and Marsh, as well as a connection between Blaise and Roland. Shields called Blaise to the stand and continued to stall until Miles and Sebastian arrived. Sebastian took over the prosecutor's bench and confronted his father about his crimes, eventually proving that he had tried to dispose of the evidence against Roland.

Once the trial was settled, Miles and Shi-Long Lang investigated the murder of President Huang, who had been found dead earlier that day in a Global Studios filming lot beside the Big Tower. Meanwhile, Shields and Franziska investigated the connection between Blaise and Roland further, and found that Blaise had been in charge of the SS-5 Incident 12 years prior. It was eventually discovered that the president had in fact been killed during the SS-5 Incident, and the one who had just been murdered was a body double who had conspired with Blaise and Roland to replace the president. This led to Miles confronting and arresting the mastermind that had killed the fake president and orchestrated the murders of Knightley and Crane, which turned out to be Simon Keyes, in truth a very different person from his meek façade, being instead a calculating, resentful manipulator.

Two days later, Miles communicated to Shields his decision to continue as a prosecutor, and to use his position to fight the contradictions and abuses from which the law and people suffered. Shields saw the same determination in the younger Edgeworth that Gregory had, and wished him well on his new path.

Personality[]

Raymond Shields
Ah, this room, eh? Here's a pop quiz for our prodigy prosecutor. Which one of these three is the name of this room?
Miles Edgeworth
...The Lecture Room?
Raymond Shields
So they tied up Knightley-boy and lectured him to death? As expected of Prosecutor Edgeworth! You sure have an eye for the details!
Raymond Shields
Well, let's reveal the correct answer! Prosecutor Edgeworth's answer is... Wrong! The correct answer is the Workroom.
Miles Edgeworth
... (All three choices were wrong. I hate it when he does that.)
Tateyuki young

As a teenager.

Raymond Shields (HD)

As an adult.

As a teenager, Shields stuttered a lot and was easily scared. He was very open about his feelings, particularly his adoration towards Gregory and Master. He had a habit of eating the pages on his notepad to "remember" the notes that he wrote.

The adult Shields is far more playful, confident, and laid-back, and often uses sarcasm and jokes when dealing with others. He has developed the habit of hedging his answers and suggestions, and never quite showing his full hand, as evidenced in a discussion with Miles Edgeworth over chess, in which he lies and claims he isn't capable at the game, to which Miles retorts that he has never been able to defeat him. His paper-eating habit is gone, instead replaced with a desire to ask people (normally women) for hugs, which he claims to have picked up from his time overseas. The only one seen to take him up on his offer was Patricia Roland, who followed up with a kiss as well, much to Shields's shock. He is less easily frightened than he used to be, though the dog Anubis still managed to send him running. Despite his laid-back demeanour, however, Shields has a passion for the truth, a sharp mind, and a fierce loyalty towards his clients.

Shields held great respect towards Gregory, even going so far as to copy his former mentor's way of bowing to others. His initially scornful attitude towards Miles was born out of this respect, as he felt that the younger Edgeworth had abandoned his father's path to follow in the footsteps of the man who had killed him. However, upon getting to know the now adult Miles, Shields soon realised that he was far more like Gregory Edgeworth than Manfred von Karma, and began treating him as an ally. Shields gives "reports" to Gregory by talking to an old photo of Gregory and Shields from the IS-7 investigation.

Unlike other defense attorneys, such as Phoenix Wright, many of Shields's known and intended clients have been guilty as charged. His reasoning behind defending such individuals is apparently due to having compassion towards their plight and working to help them receive a less harsh verdict.

Name[]

  • Japanese - Tateyuki Shigaraki (信楽 盾之):
    • Shields shares the first kanji of his Japanese surname with the first kanji of Gregory's Japanese given name, "shin" (信), which means "trust". The second kanji 楽 comes from the word "tanoshii" (楽しい), meaning "fun". The full name is a reference to Shigaraki ware.[1]
    • His Japanese given name contains the kanji for "shield" (盾), forming a pair with the Edgeworths' Japanese surname "Mitsurugi", which contains the kanji for "sword".[1]
  • English (Unofficial) - Raymond Shields:
    • Shields's English name in the unofficial fan translation patch for Gyakuten Kenji 2 is "Raymond Shields". "Raymond" is a given name originating from the Proto-Germanic words for "advice" (ragin) and "protector" (mund), and could be a reference to the actor Raymond Burr, who played defense attorney Perry Mason in the TV adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardner's detective stories about said character. Raymond Shields also refers to himself as just "Ray", which could refer to a "ray of light". "Shields" is likely meant to have the same meaning as his Japanese name.
    • Shields's nickname of "Ray Shields" may also be a reference to the sci-fi 'force field' of the same name, thus, again, alluding to his job as a defense attorney and possibly even nodding to his seemingly geeky nature.
  • Brazilian Portuguese (Unofficial) - Leandro Escudo

Development[]

  • Though he acts as an ally for much of Gyakuten Kenji 2, Shields is never formally declared a partner by the game, as he mostly observes the protagonists in action rather than actively following them while they investigate.
  • Shields (particularly his younger self) is the favorite character introduced in Gyakuten Kenji 2 of art director Tatsuro Iwamoto.[2]
  • Shields is one of only two defense attorneys seen in-game to not openly wear their attorney's badge, with the other being Diego Armando.
  • Following the events of The Grand Turnabout, Shields is the second defense attorney in the series to suffer an onscreen loss that wasn't later overturned, following Phoenix Wright.
  • During The Imprisoned Turnabout, Shields states "The purpose of my office isn't to make money... We're pro bono," indicating he's more in line with a public defender rather than a private attorney (as he doesn't get paid as an attorney), though this doesn't explain how he's able to maintain his law office.
  • At the time of Gyakuten Kenji 2, Shields has recently returned from America (changed to Europe in the unofficial translation) and has picked up some American traits. The reason he frequently uses finger quotes is because the Japanese team held a misconception that the gesture was used to emphasise words or phrases in English-speaking countries. In reality, it is more commonly used to express sarcasm or irony, meaning that this habit may give a different impression to English-speaking players.[3]

References[]

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