Aigis

**Aigis** (**Aegis** in Japan) is a character from *Persona 3*.

## Design

Aigis appears as an android with short, blond hair and dark blue eyes. Ikutsuki explains that her humanoid shape allows her to process thoughts like a human making it easier to handle a Persona. When she transfers and appears in the Gekkoukan High setting, she wears the generic female school uniform but retains her red ribbon except at the beach excursion in Yakushima, a brief school field trip in Kyoto (in which she wears a bathrobe) and the post-New Year's Day when she wears a kimono at the nearby shrine.

During *The Answer*, she dons a new metal visor and a tactical vest that can carry spare ammunition along with an engraved gorget.

In *Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight*, she wears a bright blue ribbon tie and black and white dress with blue-trimmed. She dons a black headphone-like headband with blue linings.

After 2 years, during *Persona 4 Arena*, she returns, donning a new red tie in place of her red ribbon. She is now equipped with new advanced features on her metal headband, legs and three weapons are behind her back. Before entering a battle she starts off wearing a black military coat dress, with a black jacket underneath (almost similar to her original school uniform), and black pants.

It is explained by Shigenori Soejima that her colors, blue, yellow, and red are used to evoke the image of classic anime heroes while her "headphones" resemble the Antikythera mechanism. The drum magazine on her arm is modeled after the Luger P08's Trommelmagazin 08.

## Personality

Aigis' initial personality is simply a robot designed to obey orders, although she is drawn to the protagonist and states that it is very important for her to be by his side, going so far as to hug them in front of everyone. Her desire to protect the protagonist is so strong, in fact, that she was able to overcome Ikutsuki's programming and free the entire team from their shackles, when Ikutsuki had attempted to sacrifice them to bring forth the Fall. As a result of having no emotions, Aigis' social skills are more-or-less non-existent; it's frequently noted on-screen that while she may look human, she is far from passing as one. She is prone to doing very strange and socially unacceptable things, such as breaking into the protagonist's room to wake him up and requesting to be on standby in their room, which Yukari calls her out for. A video recording shows that she has a habit of breaking into his dorm room at night in order to check on him, even going so far as to keep a record of how long it takes her to pick the lock, In *Falling Down*, she even goes so far as to sneak into the boy's rooms during the group's stay in Kyoto, claiming it was unfair that she and Makoto weren't in the same room. Lack of social grace notwithstanding, Aigis is nonetheless very polite to everybody, always using the honorific '-san' when addressing them. In the original Japanese version, she ends her sentences with "de arimasu" prior to developing emotions.

She is shown to be able to understand Koromaru and often translates for the others. She states that dogs don't have a language, but speech is not the only way of communication, with *The Answer* revealing that she can understand Koromaru's thoughts and feelings. *Arena* reveals that this is because it was inherited from the 5th Generation Anti-Shadow weapons, one of whom took time to communicate with a puppy named Snowy. In *Persona 4 Arena Ultimax*, Aigis meets him, now an old dog.

In November, when Ryoji Mochizuki first transfers to Gekkoukan High, Aigis immediately becomes suspicious of him and warns the protagonist to be wary of him, saying that he is dangerous, albeit for reasons she can't quite explain. It's around this time that Aigis starts to feel some degree of human emotion; she admits to the rest of the group that she envies them, saying that they know what it means to live, while she isn't 'living' so much as 'functioning'. During the next full moon, she encounters Ryoji and realises why she was so suspicious of him; he is the Appraiser of Death, whom she sealed away ten years ago in the body of a nearby boy; that boy was the protagonist, which is why she wanted to be by his side so much. After being grievously wounded in her battle with Ryoji, Aigis feels immense grief before she ceases functioning, believing herself to be 'worthless' as she has been unable to fulfill her purpose as a machine.

Toward the end of December, after being repaired by the Kirijo Group, Aigis's simulated computer software personality (artificial intelligence) develops human emotions, and she becomes compassionate and loyal to her friends, though she struggles to fully understand her new emotions. She deeply regrets imprisoning Ryoji inside the protagonist, believing that they wouldn't be suffering if she hadn't. Initially, Aigis desires for her friends to kill Ryoji, as she can't bear to see her friends suffer and believes they are wasting their lives trying to fight Nyx. She still considers herself as a mere machine whose purpose is to destroy Shadows, and asks what her purpose is if she can't defeat them. The group replies that she's the only one who can answer that question but as long as they're alive, they have to do something. It is then that Aigis realizes that someone doesn't have to save the world in order to find meaning in life, and that more often than not, it can be simpler, such as taking care of someone or something, even a pet. She decides to live on so that she can protect her friends and fight alongside them and gains a renewed sense of purpose, which triggers the evolution of her Persona.

Aigis falls for the protagonist regardless of gender, even expressing lament towards not being a male during the female protagonist Social Link, though she gets over it by the end. In *Persona Q*, if she's chosen as the destined partner of Yu Narukami, she will refuse, insisting that the protagonist of *Persona 3* is her most important person.

After the death of the protagonist, Aigis is so devastated that she once again loses the will to live and wishes to return to being a mere machine, as she had promised to always protect him. She apparently found herself unable to face him, as she was the only one who didn't attend his funeral. However, she is still shown to be very kind, as she warms up to Metis notably quicker than the rest of the group, even giving her permission to call her 'Sister.'

When the group are having an argument about what to do with the keys, Aigis is completely unsure about what to do, not being able to decide whether the past or the present was more important. After defeating Koromaru and Junpei, Aigis decides that fighting her friends is too much to bear and decides to give up her key to Yukari and Mitsuru, much to Metis's devastation as she doesn't want her to die, and she believes giving up her key will kill her. After a talk with Metis, Aigis learns something; strengthening the bonds of friendship doesn't mean the pain of living will stop, as pain is a natural part of life. She also learns she can still fulfill her promise to the protagonist. It is then that she decides not to change the past, but to bear the burden of the protagonist's death and continue living towards the future. After defeating Erebus, Aigis fuses back with Metis, and returns to the person she was after the Kirijo Group repaired her, and decides to return to school with her friends. Over *The Answer*, she ultimately develops into a sweet, gentle, empathetic and strong-hearted girl with a talent for leadership, and regains her will to live. Yukari even admits that out of all of SEES, Aigis cared about the protagonist the most, which is why out of all of them, she was the one who inherited his power.

## Gameplay

#### Playstyle

Aigis is a morphing character but unlike Naoto, she is completely respectable at any range with her Orgia Mode especially boosting her abilities drastically while having the downside of limited ammo (which refills each round) and mediocre offense without Orgia Mode. Aigis is also the second fastest character in the game after Yosuke. Her gameplan revolves around multitasking: she must judge the proper situation to use her normal and Orgia Mode and must be prepared to switch at a moment's notice several times throughout a single round in addition to constantly keeping her normal meter, Orgia Mode meter and ammo in check. Athena serves both as a way to defend Aigis as well as complement her assault. Unlike the other Personas used in the game, Athena is actually immune to Persona breaks when she uses her shield, and will then counter the enemy after her shield is hit. With all of these options and with enough practice, if one can carefully manage all of her mechanics, Aigis can become one of the most powerful characters in the game. Aigis is arguably the most dangerous character to face in Score Attack other than Elizabeth, due to her incredibly powerful buffs, such as having 999 bullets instead of her standard 120 and her Orgia Gauge being perpetually full and active. Also, Aigis holds the distinction of being one of only two characters (the other being Yu) in the game who can use two Personas in battle; Athena for normal combat, and Palladion for her Instant Kill, Heritage Liberator Palladion.

## Battle Quotes

### *Persona 3*

Persona names: Athena

* *"Orpheus!"* or the name of any of her other Personas, e.g. *"Pixie!", "Satan!", "Jack Frost!"* and etc. (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
* *"Palladion!"* (Summoning Persona: Palladion)
* *"Summoning Persona!"* (Summoning Persona: Palladion)
* *"Initiating summon sequence."* (Summoning Persona: Palladion)
* *"Proceeding."* (Summoning Persona: Palladion)
* *"I ... cannot ... lose!"* (Summoning Persona: Athena)
* *"Athena!"* (Summoning Persona: Athena)
* *"I need your help!"* (Summoning Persona: Athena)
* *"Persona!"* (Summoning Persona: Athena)
* *"This is my duty!"* (Summoning Persona: Athena)
* *"This is a sign of my determination."* (Summoning Persona: Athena)
* *"It must be eliminated."* (After attacking, enemy survives)
* *"The enemy is still alive."* (After attacking, enemy survives)
* *"Providing assistance."* (Using an item on a party member)
* *"Providing support."* (Support skill.)
* *"Providing backup."* (Revival skill)
* *"Understood."* (Changing battle tactics; Relenting from All-Out Attack)
* *"I understand."* (Changing battle tactics)
* *"Locking on."* (Regular attack)
* *"Let us commence with an All-Out Attack."* (Requesting AOA: Palladion)
* *"Fatal Strike."* (During AOA: Palladion)
* *"Let us strike while the iron's hot."* (Requesting AOA: Athena)
* *"I can't miss!"* (During AOA: Athena)
* *"Damaged!"* (Knocked Down)
* *"Damage sustained!"* (Knocked Down)
* *"When you fall, get right back up."* (Recovering from "Down" status: Palladion)
* *"I can still fight."* (Recovering from "Down" status: Athena)
* *"I will follow suit!"* (Requesting Co-op)
* *"I'll attack too!"* (Requesting Co-op)
* *"I'm sorry..."* (Knocked out)
* *"Hasta la vista!"* (Using weapon)
* *"You won't escape!"*
* *"I won't go down!"*
* *"Man's best friend indeed"* (Cheering on Koromaru)
* Way to go, Yukari-san! (Cheering on Yukari)
* Well done, Mitsuru-san! (Cheering on Mitsuru)
* *"Enemy annihilated."* (Battle won: Palladion)
* *"Efficiently executed."* (Battle won: Palladion)
* *"I can't lose here!"* (Battle won: Athena)
* *"Did I succeed in protecting everyone?"* (Battle won: Athena)
* *"Time to get serious."* (Recovering from a knock down in P3P)
* *"Slash attacks, ineffective."* (Enemy resistant to Slash)
* *"Strike attacks, ineffective."* (Enemy resistant to Strike)
* *"Pierce attacks have no effect."* (Enemy resistant to Pierce)
* *"Fire isn't working."* (Enemy resistant to Fire)
* *"Ice isn't working."* (Enemy resistant to Ice)
* *"Wind attacks aren't working."* (Enemy resistant to Wind)
* *"Electricity has no effect."* (Enemy resistant to Electricity)
* *"Light isn't working."* (Enemy resistant to Light)
* *"Darkness power, ineffective."* (Enemy resistant to Darkness)
* *"Almighty attacks aren't working."* (Enemy resistant to Almighty)
* *"I won't allow this world to be destroyed!"* (Final Nyx battle)

### *Persona 4 Arena*

* *"I'm on a mission."* (Character select)
* *"Please leave it to me."* (Character select)
* *"A world inside a TV? There's no mistake, I sense Labrys in here."* (at the start of her Arcade Mode)
* *"Target!"* (While performing 7th Gatling Blast)
* *"I got you ... Launch!"* (While performing Awakening super move, Heavenly Spear)
* *"Athena ... Do it!"* (Alternative quote to Heavenly Spear)
* *"Standing by! The Goddess!"* (While performing Awakening super move, Goddess Shield)
* *"Charging ... Now!"* (Alternative quote to Goddess Shield)
* *"My other self!"* (Using Athena)
* *"Burn!"* (Using Orgia Megido Fire EX)
* *"Orgia Drive Activated!"* (Activated Orgia Mode)
* *"Cooling down."* (Deactivated Orgia Mode)
* *"Machine Gun!"* (Using her Gatling Gun)
* *"Full Auto!"* (Using her Gatling Gun for an extended period of time)
* *"So many openings!"* (Using Orgia Boost)
* *"Functions ... Shutting Down..."* (Depleted Orgia Gauge)
* *"Open fire!"* (Initiating Instant Kill, while Athena appears and throws her spear)
* *"This is farewell!"* (Instant Kill)
* *"Ready! Final Strike!"* (While performing Instant Kill)
* *"Final sequence!"* (Initiating Heritage Liberator Palladion)
* *"Palladion number 10!"* (Instant Kill)
* *"Maximum Charge... Fire!"* (While performing Instant Kill)
* *"I must show to you how much I've grown!"* (vs. Elizabeth)
* *"I know this feeling... I wonder why..."* (vs. Yu)
* *"My Armor!"* (Taking Counter Hit damage)
* *"We need to end this."* (round win)
* *"Your odds of winning are minimal, at best."*(round win)
* *"I made my decision to live!"*(match win)
* *"It was good knowing you."*(match win)
* *"A crushing victory!"* (match win)
* *"I can't lose here..."*(match win)
* *"Thanks for the match."* (match win against Mitsuru)
* *"Please leave the rest to me!"* (match win against Akihiko)
* *"Mission complete!"* (match win against Shadow Labrys)
* *"I comprehend."*(match win)
* *"Don't worry; they were set to stun."* (match win)
* "*Let's eat!"*(match win)

#### *Arena Ultimax*

* Ready to deploy. (Character select)
* Aigis, ready for combat. (Character select)
* Long time no see, Junpei-san! (vs. Junpei)

#### Victory Quotes

##### Normal Type

General
* Minimal damages. Preparing for the next battle!
* Since I have claimed the victory, one could call me a winner!
* I may have shot too many bullets. I hope it does not lead to "lead poisoning."
* I made sure to throw in extra rounds, on the house. It's a steal!
* Mission complete. No damage to either body or mind. That was a rather good battle.
* I comprehend. Quite an interesting strategy. It was illuminating.

Character Specific
* Yu Narukami: My certainty deepens each time I see you. You are indeed similar to him...
* Yosuke Hanamura: Analysis of your battle tendencies shows that you are quick to defend your crotch. Could it be your weak point?
* Naoto Shirogane: That was an elaborate battle tactic. May I preserve your internal data for future reference?
* Mitsuru Kirijo: I held nothing in reserve. Please allow me to fight you again some day.
* Yukari Takeba: Yukari-san! Your latest model anti-Shadow suit is quite "sweet"!
* Ken Amada & Koromaru: I'm glad to see that you two are well. The growth of living things always surprises me.
* Elizabeth: Whew... I managed to win. What an unparalleled display of power, as always.
* Labrys: I have more experience as a Shadow Operative. I cannot lose, even to you, Sister.
* Sho: You are the mastermind behind this case, correct? Why would you do this...?
* Minazuki: So you're the one who did such horrible things to my sister... What is it that you want?
* Marie: I'm picking up a reaction unlike that of normal humans. Who in the world are you?
* **Shadow Aigis**: It's useless to try and disturb me! I will not be unsettled any longer!

##### Shadow Type

General
* Hahaha! You're done already? You're more fragile than glass!
* I was created to fight... and I'll use that power to destroy you!
* Atone with your death! This form itself is an embodiment of your sins!
* I'll hunt down everyone that gets in the way, just like I've always done!
* Severe damage, preventing further participation in combat... That was too easy.
* Power must be used correctly, to bring about a world where only the powerful survive!
* You pushed me into this grotesque body... I'll return the favor by locking you in a coffin!

Character Specific
* Mitsuru Kirijo: Now that the difference in power between us is clear, I'll give you an ultimatum. Accept your fate and die in silence!
* Labrys: Sister, stop being such a disgrace in front of your younger sister! It makes me sad! Ahahahaha!
* **Aigis**: I'll take your place right away! And the first thing I'll do is get my revenge on the humans!

### *Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth*

* "Ta!" (When attacking)
* "Hugh!" (When attacking)
* "Stop!" (When attacking)
* "Target lost." (When attack misses)
* "I have missed." (When attack misses)
* "Persona, rise up!" (When using Skill)
* "It is time, Palladion!" (When summoning Palladion)
* "Summoning Palladion." (When summoning Palladion)
* "Please use this!" (When using Item)
* "Orgia Mode!" (When activating Orgia Mode)
* "Power in maximum capacity." (When in Orgia Mode)
* "I... am... at... my... limit..." (When Orgia Mode ends/Overheat)
* "Taking action." (when Overheat ends)
* "I will not make such a vow!" (When Merciful Clergyman uses Vow)
* "Our actions are now unrestricted!" (When Merciful Clergyman's Vow is lifted without being broken)
* "The punishment is effective against robots as well." (Start of the turn after Merciful Clergyman's Vow is broken)

## TMNT x Pokemon

Aigis is made to fight the Foot Clan. She eventually becomes friends with K1-B0.

## Trivia

* In all versions of *Persona 3* except *Portable*, Aigis' upper lip twitches when she blinks.
* In *Persona 3*, Aigis is the only character (except for protagonist) whose attack animations and battle quotes change depending on weapon equipped. She is also the only character to change All-Out Attack quote after getting her ultimate persona.
* In Greek mythology, Aegis is a shield worn by Pallas Athena. Pallas is an epithet taken by Athena once accidentally killing Pallas, daughter of Triton. In Pallas' memory, Athena erects Palladium, a statue in dedication of Pallas. More corporeal accounts of the Aegis describe a grotesquely ornamented mantle worn over the shoulders and breast, less common a buckler bearing a Gorgon's head — or even simultaneously fulfilling both roles. One theory places the Aegis as the remains of Pallas protecting Athena after death. However an Aegis is recorded to have been worn by Zeus and various Greek heroes on occasion, even Mt. Olympus itself is said to be shrouded by the Aegis. In reality there is no central narrative or tradition, but the Aegis, whatever it *specifically* was, represents the protection of the gods.
	+ This is referenced by Aigis desiring to spend her days defending the protagonist, and, in her words, "always protect him." This reference is bolstered by the fact that the protagonist's ultimate Persona is Messiah, a being who, in world religions, is considered a deity who shall bring salvation to the world upon its end.
* While perfectly able to understand Koromaru's thoughts at first, Aigis loses this ability little by little when she awakens to the powers of the Wild Card in *The Answer*. As the Wild Card makes her become more "human," she starts losing some of her mechanical traits: humans can't speak with dogs, so now that Aigis is more like a human, she can't understand dogs anymore.
	+ This is also reflected once she welcomes back Metis into the "sea of her soul": as she regains all her human emotions, she also regains the ability to cry and her need to sleep when tired (which is why she collapses as soon as they "combine" again).
		- Despite this, she displays the ability to understand Koromaru once again in *Arena Ultimax*.
	+ In the ending anime scene of *Persona 3* where the protagonist sleeps on Aigis' lap, there is skin where Aigis' white suit used to be on her neck, and she has ears instead of the robotic headphone-like pieces she normally has. This could be symbolic of her having become more human.
* Palladion, Aigis' initial Persona, has a highly robotic appearance, representing Aigis' initial robotic emotions, but as she becomes more human, she eventually gains Athena in place of Palladion, who has a more human appearance than her predecessor.
* There are some audio files hidden in the DVD disc of *Persona 3 FES* that contains the voices of the protagonist and Aigis shouting the names of the other SEES members' Personas. Interestingly, among these files, Aigis has different voice clips for Palladion and Athena, separate from the ones she uses in *Persona 3*.
* Aigis' theme in *Persona 4 Arena* is a remix of Heartful Cry, first heard in *The Answer* when fighting the SEES members for the keys. Shadow Aigis' theme is Master of Shadow, which is used against the battles with the Shadow Arcana in *Persona 3* and for all Shadow Bosses in *The Answer*.
* In *Persona 4 Arena*, Aigis, like Yu, is listed to be of the Fool Arcana, but despite this, Athena is still listed to be of the Chariot Arcana. That is because Athena is truly a Chariot Arcana Persona.
	+ Aigis being listed as the Fool Arcana instead of the Chariot Arcana may imply that Aigis regained Athena after the events of *The Answer* as one of her many Personas, rather than completely losing the Wild Card ability. Yu and Elizabeth confirm this in the game, as they frequently state that they sense the Wild Card within her. Another fact that evidences this is that similar to Yu, Aigis will also change Personas during her own Instant Kill, a feat that is exclusive only to them in *Persona 4 Arena*.
	+ During said Instant Kill, as Athena turns into Palladion, she oddly de-evolves her Persona instead of evolving it.
* One of Aigis' portraits in *Persona 4 Arena* is an updated version of her All-Out Attack portrait from *Persona 3 Portable.*
* Aigis' victory pose in *Persona 4 Arena* is a callback to her *Persona 3* victory pose.
* In *Persona 3*'s Drama CD, Aigis is revealed to be capable of understanding French.
* In *The Answer*, the sprite of Aigis with a blank expression has an extra left forearm.
* In *Persona 4 Arena*'s official artwork book, Aigis is revealed to initially have a braided ponytail similar to Fuuka's, but this was apparently scrapped and the braid was given to Fuuka instead. Similarly, there is also a sketch of her wearing the Yasogami High School uniform.
* Aigis is among the few protagonists in the entire *Shin Megami Tensei* series who does not remain silent when controlled by the player, with only the Persona 5 protagonist voicing so many lines inside dungeons.
* Aigis has the distinction of not sharing a mirror match theme with any character in *Persona 4 Arena Ultimax*. While the other female *Persona 3* characters (including Elizabeth) have Wiping All Out as their mirror match theme, Aigis has Mass Destruction *FES*.
* In her electrocuted sprite in *Persona 4 Arena*, the Papillon Heart is visible in her chest.
* Despite Aigis' rifle weapons being magazine-fed, she will carry spare ammunition cartridges between her fingers in battle when these weapons are equipped.
* In *Persona 3 Portable*, Aigis along with Elizabeth are the only characters to fall in love with both genders of the protagonists.
* Morgana can wear an Aigis costume as DLC.
* The events depicted in *Aegis: The First Mission*, during which Aigis is activated for the first time, occur during May 1999. In *Persona 4 Arena*, however, it is claimed that her activation date is, in fact, September 10, 1999; 4 months after the prequel's story.
* In P3D, equipping Sera 's costume will make Aigis sing the first line of Pray ("Light shines on the heaven").
* Aigis’s Name in Greek is (αἰγίς)