NaruMitsu

NaruMitsu is the slash ship between Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth from the Ace Attorney fandom.

Phoenix Wright
Originally, the ship started during the end of “Turnabout Samurai”, where they have their first full-fledged conversation in years. Edgeworth expresses his feelings of unease and uncertainty when speaking to Wright (his exact words were “Thanks to you I am saddled with unnecessary… feelings.”)

The two meet again in Turnabout Goodbyes, as Miles is accused of murder. Phoenix takes it upon himself to become Miles’ lawyer and defend him in court. In the end, he succeeds and the two form a closer bond.

Phoenix’s entire reason for becoming a lawyer stemmed from him having a chance to meet his childhood friend who after the traumatic events during the DL-6 incident, transferred to another school. Their friendship originally started when Phoenix was accused of stealing Miles’ lunch money, even though Larry Butz, their other friend, was the one who actually stole the money. Young Edgeworth decided to defend Wright in the class trial and that is when their friendship began.

Justice for All
From “Reunion and Turnabout” to “Farewell, My Turnabout”, our main character, Phoenix Wright, expresses his anger and feelings of despair while talking about Miles Edgeworth, even him dismissing his existence to his partner, Maya Fey.

It all started when the news of the apparent suicide of Miles Edgeworth started to surface, reaching Wright. The alleged suicide note, read: “Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death.” Phoenix felt that the Edgeworth he knew had died and was replaced with a shadow of his former self. During these cases, it was clear that Phoenix wanted nothing to do with Edgeworth, yet talked about him in great detail whenever someone asked. Jokingly, most fans say that Phoenix acts like a typical ex who just had his heart broken by a former lover.

During “Farewell, My Turnabout”, after the assassination attempt on Franziska von Karma, Miles Edgeworth steps in as the prosecutor for the case. During the investigations, Miles helps out Phoenix, giving him info and evidence that could help him in the trial. Eventually, when Edgeworth finds out about Maya’s kidnapping, Edgeworth and Wright team up and try to get to the bottom of the case, both even helping each other out in court.

A big theme about this trial is the trust Edgeworth puts in Phoenix for him to do the right thing at the end, putting all his faith into Wright. And Phoenix, at the end of the trial, trusts him back and gives his client, Matt Engarde, a guilty verdict.

Trials and Tribulations
During the game’s last case, “Bridge to the Turnabout”, Phoenix falls off a bridge and is unable to defend his client, Iris Fey. Larry calls Edgeworth to inform him of the danger Phoenix is in, and Miles immediately books a flight to go and see Wright.

While Phoenix was not in any danger, he asked Edgeworth to defend Iris in court, giving him his attorney’s badge and magatama. When Iris asks Edgeworth what Phoenix is to him in the 3DS HD remake and onwards, he responds with that he is “a very dear and indispensable friend”. Another interesting thing to note is that when Edgeworth presents an incorrect profile (one other than Phoenix) during a Psyche-Lock session with Iris, Iris will mention a deep dark secret that Edgeworth is hiding and he seems shocked that she knows about it. Iris also says that it "takes one to know one." While we never find out more about this, some people believe that Iris could sense Edgeworth also harbors feelings for Phoenix, like herself.

During the investigation and first court trial, Miles figures out how hard a life of a defense attorney is, and gains a little more respect for Wright. After the trial and after his quick recovery, Phoenix meets up with Miles, thanking and complimenting his skills in the trial.

Day 2 of the Investigation takes a dark turn when an earthquake hit Hazakura Temple. Miles’ biggest fear being earthquakes, Phoenix immediately thinks of the danger Edgeworth could be in and rushes over to Dusky Bridge. While Edgeworth is alright, his noticeable fear of earthquakes is present in his behavior, blaming himself for letting Iris slip away because he was passed out.

After sometime, the two meet in the garden, where Edgeworth talks intimately about his relationship with earthquakes and DL-6, opening up to him. During this encounter, Wright even thinks of hugging Edgeworth, but holds back. If you keep presenting profiles to Edgeworth, he’ll start being comedic with Wright after enough profiles have been presented.

Apollo Justice
While Edgeworth is not directly named in AJ, Phoenix reveals in DD that during the seven-year gap he went overseas to help him with legal work as well as to study the legal systems there.

Miles Edgeworth: Investigations
Similarly, Phoenix is never referred to by name in the spin-off, but Edgeworth does make vague references to him, even remarking that his usage of the word “contradiction” is Phoenix rubbing off on him. He also makes numerous references to the defense attorney in the second investigations game, referring to him as “that man” or “a certain friend”, and attributing the cause of the destruction of his own “self-centered sense of justice” to Phoenix. At the end of the game Edgeworth has gives a little speech and refers to Phoenix by saying “The sight of that man still shines brilliantly in my eyes...”

Dual Destinies
When Phoenix mentions going to Europe, he reveals that he went to study the legal systems there, and would help him with some cases from time to time. Phoenix actually became a lawyer again because Edgeworth asked him to return to help him prove Blackquill's innocence and put an end to the “dark age of the law”, meaning that for the second time in his life, Phoenix became an attorney for Edgeworth. While Edgeworth only appears in the last case of the game the trial itself is full of characters making quips about how close the two lawyers are. Even Fulbright, comments that they exemplify the phrase “close enough to argue.”

Later, Phoenix needles Edgeworth about his aesthetic sense weakening along with his eyesight (as of this game and onwards, he wears glasses) and Edgeworth is not amused. The Judge steps in to smooth things over, assuring Edgeworth that the defense is only concerned about his ocular health. When the trial is over, Athena comments on their “love-hate” relationship. Add it all up, and it seems that quite a few people in-game seem to regard the face-off between the two lawyers as a marital spat. A funny dialogue happens if you mess up in a certain part of the trial and are shown a back and forth between Edgeworth and Phoenix ending with Phoenix being told to “put a sock in it” and him replying with “Y-yes, Daddy” to Edgeworth.

At the end of Dual Destinies Phoenix has realized that Edgeworth stepped in to speed up the process of getting him reinstated because it was too easy a process. Edgeworth had not mentioned this or tried to take credit for it, but he admits he has a lot of debts to pay up to Phoenix. He says the same in the end credits, since he now owes Phoenix again for helping acquit Blackquill, but swears to repay him someday (while doing his head-tilted half smile pose). There is also the bit where Phoenix tells Edgeworth that the frown lines on his forehead are getting too deep and he should smile more; Edgeworth tells him (while smirking) that he will think about it.

Spirit of Justice
Miles implies he has seen some of Trucy's shows, and she leans on him while asleep on an airplane in a cutscene implying them to be quite close. He even says later when Trucy is found to have stowed away in his bag that she pulled the old sneak into Edgeworth's bag trick, implying she has done something like that before. Miles and Phoenix also share living accommodations while in Khura'in. Both Phoenix and Edgeworth share some fun back and forth moments when investigating during the last case of the trial. If you ever ask Edgeworth if he has “any ideas”, he grumbles about Phoenix leaving the states without telling him. Phoenix asks if Edgeworth missed him, which Edgeworth characteristically denies. They both speculate how much fun it would be to sightsee in Khura’in if they were not there on business, although Edgeworth teasingly adds that Phoenix is the last person he would want to go with.

Later on Phoenix makes fun of Edgeworth for his gaudy taste and his grey hair, asking if he wants to dye it black Investigating anywhere at the Bazaar will have Edgeworth wax sentimental about how he and Phoenix are finally investigating a case “side by side”, only for Phoenix to tease him for being so sentimental. Edgeworth goes out of his way to help out in the last investigation, even chartered a jet for the entire Wright Anything Agency to go to Khura’in (a call back to another time he did this in T&T), and even pulled rank with all the investigators and legal officials in Khura’in to help Phoenix. At the beginning of their segment together, Phoenix confesses that he would have been “totally lost” without Edgeworth’s help.

Other Media
In the anime, both intros heavily focus on the relationship between the two. The first OP showcases a sort of golden chain that binds the two together, not only a symbol of court, but also a symbol of their relationship. The second showcasing, again, the contrast between the two, but since their relationship has grown, they are both seen smiling at each other while facing in court. Something that was added in the anime is the show Signal Samurai and how it connects them together. Phoenix keeps his signal blue keychain and never lets it go as shown by how worn out it is. While Miles denies it at first he never let his signal red keychain go either but kept it hidden away until it can be seen on his desk years later. He even takes it with him after writing the “suicide” note while saying he was sorry to leaving for the second time, addressing this to Phoenix.

The second season shows Miles’ face softening in a smile when he notices Phoenix behind him in the intro. In “Turnabout Express - Last Trial”, Gumshoe cries tears of joy at the two working together to find the truth to this case. Before the train blows up, Phoenix can be seen looking back into the car at Miles on the screen, and Miles smiles at him. In “Sound the Turnabout Melody”, it is a flashback with Phoenix, Larry, and Miles as kids. Phoenix still has his signal blue keychain showing he has not forgotten about Miles, and even blushes when Larry sees he still has it. He wants to try to send a message for him and in the end he does. Another flashback is shown of Miles and Phoenix together before Miles left and they both smile and blush at each other. At the end of the last trial Edgeworth goes to shake hands with Phoenix but Phoenix takes his hand with both of his while saying he could not done it without his help, but holds onto his hand for quite a bit while they both stare at each other softly. Even after Larry and the others interrupt their moment together they keep holding hands for a bit longer.

In the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Official Casebook, Volume 2: The Miles Edgeworth Files, Miles can be seen looking up at the stars wistfully as they take the form of Phoenix’s profile, and he thinks to himself, “For some reason, whenever I’m tired, I’m reminded of you”. In another panel, Edgeworth dresses up as Phoenix to help find him and the conversion goes like, starting with Phoenix saying, “D-Don’t tell me, Edgeworth you love m...” and Edgeworth interrupting him with “Don’t finish that sentence”.

In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, they make a brief cameo in She-Hulk’s ending, the two are terrified of her after she breaks a desk with a gavel and jump into each others arms.

The pair has an official set of matching rings made by Material Crown and more recently they've released a set of necklaces as well.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
"Thanks to you, I am saddled with unnecessary... feelings."

- Miles to Phoenix, Turnabout Samurai

Fanon
Wrightworth is one of if not the the most popular ship in the entire Ace Attorney fanbase. The development team after finishing the first game quickly found out how popular it was after searching their game on the internet, while surprised by the results they were happy to see that the game was so popular with the BL community. Many think that the ship could become canon. The chemistry between the two is undeniable, and the two being a great ying and yang pair (Prosecutor and Defense Attorney, Red and Blue, Night and Day).

Around 2015 an event called Narumitsu Week was started that lasts from July 1st to July 8th it celebrates the pairing by making a different theme for 8 days, people can either make fan art or fan fiction to go along with the theme. It started out on Tumblr but starting in 2019 it is now on Twitter as well. The dates for the week were chosen because the 3rd of July is unofficially known as Narumitsu Day in Japan. Because in Japanese “7” is Nanatsu and “3” is Mitsu, Naruhodou Ryuuichi (Phoenix’s Japanese name) and Mitsurugi Reiji (Miles’), respectively.

For 2020, a user wrote an extensive 57,000-word essay on AO3 detailing all canon evidence from the games and other media.

Fans banded together to get a pixelated artwork of the pairing on r/place 2022, at the coordinates "1315, 93." They also appear to be wearing wedding rings, and have hearts surrounding them (one red, one colored in the colors of the bisexual flag, and one colored in the colors of the asexual flag.)

Fandom
FAN FICTION 
 * Phoenix W./ Miles E. tag on FanFiction.net
 * Phoenix W./ Miles E. tag on FanFiction.net

DEVIANTART

PIXIV

REDDIT 
 * Narumitsu subreddit

TUMBLR

TWITTER

WIKIS
 * HoYay page for Phoenix/Miles on TVTropes

Trivia

 * Eric Vale (Phoenix’s English VA) and Christopher Wehkamp (Miles) made jokes regarding the nature of their relationship in the Ace Attorney Outtakes.
 * There was once an article written in issue #72 of an official UK Nintendo magazine called Nintendo Gamer about the best fictional couples, and Wrightworth was on that list.
 * There is a supposed interview with the writers of Ace Attorney, that Edgeworth isn't interested in women, but thinks Phoenix looks rather nice. Also, it has been confirmed that Phoenix thinks Edgeworth looks attractive.
 * On Valentines Day 2014 the Official Ace Attorney Facebook page shared Narumitsu fan-art.
 * The Facebook page also posted more art from a Narumitsu artist on Christmas Eve 2014.
 * They were both once featured in a magazine article called “SoulxMate”. A full translation of the article is unavailable, but it compares the two to light and darkness at some point. The article featured two other couples with ones who harbored feelings for the other.
 * In May of 2021, the San Fransisco Chronicle published an article about the rising visibility of older queer men in video games. The article talked extensively about Phoenix and Edgeworth’s relationship, noting the plethora of romantically-coded moments between the two. The article was also included in a print edition of the paper.
 * Edgeworth and Phoenix placed second in an August 2021 Twitter competition to determine the ultimate red/blue pairing.
 * In June 2022, an article by Inverse covered Narumitsu, analyzing why people ship them, what would happen if it were to be made canon, and the impact of it on the fanbase.