Igor

Igor (イゴール, Igooru) is a recurring important figure in the Persona series. His role is crucial in the Persona Protagonist's journey.

Appearances

 * Megami Ibunroku Persona: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 2: Tsumi To Batsu: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 2: Eternal Punishment: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 3: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * A Certain Day of Summer: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 3: FES: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 3 The Movie: Propietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 4: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona 4 Arena: Proprietor of the Velvet Room
 * Persona -trinity soul-: Mysterious stranger
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Proprietor of the Velvet Room

Design
Igor has the appearance of a bizarre old man with long nose and bulging, bloodshot eyes. He wears a black suit with white gloves.

In Persona ~Trinity Soul~, he was seen wearing a black robes with a happy mask.

Personality
While presenting himself as a mere servant of Philemon, Igor seems to be far more than this. Being a doll created by Philemon, Igor ponders upon the question of whether he is merely a doll or perhaps even human. Thus, he shows an interest in human beings. Further on, he creates Margaret, Elizabeth, and Theodore (proprietors of the Velvet Room who pursue similar questions in life) to assist him in the Velvet Room.

In every Persona game to date, Igor has played the role of Proprietor of the Velvet Room, a space which transcends both dream and reality. As the Proprietor, Igor provides insight to the protagonists regarding their powers, emotional bonds, and possible dangers that await them in their journey. Igor also provides the vital services of Persona Fusion, which allows the creation of vastly more powerful Personas from preexisting ones; and the use of the Persona Compendium, which allows previously created and/or acquired Personas to be recalled at a later time.

Despite his rather striking appearance, Igor bears a calm and courteous demeanor while speaking with players. Though the well-being of the protagonists is important to him, he reserves the disclosure of certain information for more "timely" points in the story. During conversations concerning the protagonists’ actions, Igor opts for rather cryptic comments that tend to foreshadow coming events and possibly the outcome of the story as a whole, regardless of whether or not those comments are at the time understood (which may be his intent). This suggests that Igor may have near-omniscience, though by his own admission, there are things that even he can't foresee.

Megami Ibunroku Persona
Igor is the mysterious proprietor of the Velvet Room. In Persona, Igor calls himself "a servant of Philemon". He is always found in The Velvet Room between consciousness and unconsciousness. He uses a phone made of bone to call up Personas from the depths of the soul.

Persona 2
Igor remains mostly unchanged. He is still a servant of Philemon and he handles Persona summoning in much the same way. Outside of Persona summoning and dismissal, Igor tends for a brief while to Ulala Serizawa following her bout of Joker insanity, warning her to be careful with her emotions lest the Joker power return.

Persona 3
Igor is no longer seen with the phone but he still handles Persona fusion through the use of cards. Only the Protagonist can enter The Velvet Room, and he does so for the first time in a dream. None of the other Persona users can see The Velvet Room. The Protagonist signs a contract with Pharos and Igor at the start of the game agreeing to take responsibility for his actions. Philemon is never mentioned.

A Certain Day of Summer
Igor decides to reward the protagonist by reviewing memories of past events. The first event is something that happened after the trip to Yakushima.

Persona 3: FES
Igor gives a key to Aigis and allows her access to Elizabeth's services.

He seems to show a bit of kindness towards Aigis, commenting that they are both similar beings.

Persona 3 Portable
Igor's role remains the same in the portable remake of Persona 3. Players choosing the female route may choose to switch Elizabeth out for Theo.

Persona 4
Igor is seen with a new assistant named Margaret. Igor has the same role in this game as in Persona 3.

Persona -trinity soul-
He is one of the few game characters to appear in the anime Persona -trinity soul-, appearing to Shin Kanzato and Takuro Sakakiba in dreams. Shin Kanzato has a clay statue of Igor that he sculpted.

Trivia

 * Igor's Japanese voice actor,, best known for his voice-over for Medama Oyaji (Eyeball Father) in the anime series . The choice of Igor's voice actor could be related to the age and the salient eyeball of the character. Tanonaka died at the age of 77 on January 13, 2010 of a heart attack.
 * Although Persona 4 The Animation is produced after Tanonaka's death, the Japanese staff roll lists him as a "special cast" for Igor. The animation reuses the audio data from the original game instead of recording new voices. This continues into the Persona 3 movies, with Tanonaka being listed as Igor's voice actor.
 * Another Japanese voice actor who played Igor is in the Drama CD Persona 2: Innocent Sin ~ The Errors of Their Youth. However, in May 2010, Aono was hospitalized due to the heart attack and stroke. He eventually passed away on April 9, 2012.
 * Igor's name, along with Margaret, Elizabeth, and Theodore, may come from "Frankenstein", though Igor was a later addition and didn't appear in Mary Shelley's novel.
 * Exactly what Igor is has as not yet been revealed. He did say to Aigis in Persona 3 FES, that they are both similar beings. He didn't say how, and in what way, they are similar beings though.