Aigis

Aigis (アイギス, Aegis in the Japanese version and in Persona 3 related publications in Japan), is the 7th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon developed by the Kirijo Group. Unlike other characters, Aigis bears the distinction of using an exclusive 'Tactic' command, Orgia Mode, which increases her overall attack capabilities, at the cost of being immobile after using it.

Appearances

 * Aegis: The First Mission: Protagonist
 * Persona 3: Playable Character
 * Persona 3 (Manga)
 * A Certain Day of Summer: Main Character
 * Persona 3 FES: Playable Character, Social Link, Protagonist (The Answer)
 * Persona 3 Portable: Playable Character, Social Link
 * Persona 4 Arena: Playable Character
 * Lord of Vermilion Re: 2: God Tribe

Design
Aigis appears as an android with short, blond hair and dark blue eyes. Ikutski 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 headband and an armored army vest.

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 featues 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.

Design Development
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. The gun barrel on her arm is modeled after the.

Personality
Her initial personality is simply to obey orders, although she is drawn to the Protagonist and begins breaking into his room at night to be with him. In November, she developed emotions, becoming compassionate and loyal to her friends, though she struggles to fully understand her new emotions. After awakening to the Wild Card, Aigis' personality further develops into her current personality of a sweet, gentle, empathetic and strong hearted young woman with a talent for leadership.

Aegis: The First Mission
In this Japan-exclusive title, Aigis serves as the protagonist of Aegis: The First Mission. The game details her creation and the events that led to the sealing of Death and the incident that occurred in 1999.

Persona 3
Aigis makes her first appearance in Yakushima, where members of S.E.E.S are enjoying their vacation. She appears to be looking out towards the ocean, where the protagonist, Junpei, and Akihiko are attracted by her beauty. The trio formulates a plan to flirt with her, only to fail. During the protagonist's encounter with her, parts of her memories are restored and Aigis escapes. She is later revealed to be an Anti-Shadow weapon developed by the Kirijo Group (much to Junpei and Akihiko's dismay), and also happens to be the final Anti-Shadow weapon still capable of functioning. Ikutsuki later assigned her to S.E.E.S as a member, and she enrolls in Gekkoukan High to act as the protagonist's bodyguard.

Throughout the game, Aigis shows an instinctive interest in protecting the protagonist, an interest which even she cannot explain. As the story progresses, she begins to question her existence, human lives, and her role in life. When Ryoji Mochizuki transfers to Gekkoukan High, she becomes hostile to the transfer student, and warns the protagonist not to get near Ryoji.

After the twelfth shadow's defeat, Aigis is reprogrammed by Ikutsuki to lure members of S.E.E.S to Tartarus. Ikutsuki reveals his plans for succeeding Mitsuru's grandfather's wish: to awaken the thirteenth arcana that was never meant to be, Death. Under Ikutsuki's programming, Aigis is forced to subdue members of S.E.E.S and is then ordered to kill them as a sacrifice to awaken Death. However, Aigis can't bear to kill the protagonist, and begins to fight back Ikutsuki's reprogramming. It is her strong desire to protect that saves the protagonist. However, Takeharu Kirijo is killed by Ikutsuki.

During her battle with Ryoji on the Moonlight Bridge, Aigis regains the memories trapped in her damaged circuits. The player learns that ten years before the game, her mission was to defeat or seal away Death so that the coming of Nyx would be averted. Since she was unable to defeat Death, she sealed the entity away in a young boy who was the sole survivor of a nearby car crash. That young boy was the protagonist. She is driven to protect him both to try and suppress Death and because she feels a great deal of guilt over her actions. Since Ryoji is an incarnation of Death, she senses that he is her natural enemy.

Aigis is damaged during her fight with Ryoji and must be repaired by the Kirijo Group. When she returns, she requests of the protagonist to kill Ryoji, as she believes that a robot who failed her motives is a failure itself. Aigis remarks that as a robot, she cannot feel, and thus cannot even shed a tear for the others. The party comforts her, saying she already shows more human-like qualities and emotions, and is slowly becoming more human. Taking her friends' words to heart, Aigis's resolution is strengthened, and she decides to stand against the power of Nyx with her friends in S.E.E.S. She is the only one who remembers Tartarus, the Dark Hour, and the protagonist's sacrifice during his borrowed month of life after the defeat of Nyx. She allows him to live like a normal student for the few precious weeks that he has. Then, on Graduation Day, she holds the protagonist as he drifts into his final sleep, and swears that she will live her life protecting him.

A Certain Day of Summer
Aigis is the main focus of the first story of A Certain Day of Summer. The first story centers around Aigis touring the town before she begins going to school at Gekkoukan High School. When she's dressed in her dorm mate's clothing, Yukari's clothing fit the best. She was going to describe all the differences between her body and Yukari's, but Yukari stops her.

Persona 3: FES
In the Persona 3: FES expansion, the player can access an epilogue to the main game called The Answer (Episode Aegis in the Japanese version). There, Aigis replaces the protagonist as playable protagonist, inheriting his power to summon multiple Personas, but unfortunately she can no longer use Orgia Mode. After the death of the protagonist, Aigis decides to stay in the lab instead of continuing her studies. It is also revealed that she kept the protagonist's Evoker after his death.
 * Initial Persona: Pallas Athena, which transfigures to Orpheus

After the events of the Journey, the members of SEES decides to regroup one last time. It is here SEES was assaulted by Metis, who introduces herself as a "sister" of Aigis. Seeing the members of SEES as a hindrance, Metis easily defeats them, and engages Aigis to a battle. After a heated battle, Aigis tries to summon Pallas Athena, but the Persona instead transfigures into Orpheus, the persona of the Protagonist. Overusing the Orgia Mode, Aigis eventually passes out, but succeeding in subduing Metis, rendering her incapable to continue fighting.

During her time of being unconscious, Aigis awoke in her subconscious, and was taken into the Velvet Room. In there, she learns about the Protagonist' unique ability. Igor informs Aigis that the transfiguration symbolizes a change in Aigis' psyche, and that her Journey is about to begin. While unconscious, Aigis' body was also being enhanced with more armors and rations by the members of SEES. Metis would later lead Aigis to the Abyss of Time, an underground labyrinth situated below the dorm. Mitsuru would eventually regroup SEES, with Aigis serving as the field leader, inheriting the position of the Protagonist, an incident which greatly irritates Yukari.

As the story progresses, it is revealed that Aigis slowly rekindles her urges and will of losing the side of humanity and the penalties a living being must face upon the protagonist' death. Her will and wishes to remove her side of humanity manifests as Metis, whom is known as her "sister" who doesn't want to be left alone. Upon venturing to the deepest area of the Abyss of Time, the members encounters the shadow manifests from S.E.E.S' negative feelings and will of seeing the protagonist one more time. They also witness fragments of the past of each S.E.E.S member while exploring the abyss of time. Metis also reveals that a persona is a person's shadow but tamed, this surprises everyone but Metis is also surprised that the S.E.E.S did not know.

After defeating the shadow, Yukari expressed hostility upon Aigis out of jealously, as she inherited the protagonist's Wild Card ability, and having one of the keys to unlock the past. Aigis would later team up with Metis and Fuuka to regain the remaining keys, which can be only taken from members of S.E.E.S via being victorious in battling them. As the fight goes, Aigis slowly remembers her reasons and will of living, and decided not to change the past, but to bear the burden of the protagonist' death and continue living towards the future.

When Aigis collects all the keys and forge them into the "true key", she decides to explore the protagonist's true reason of dying, and was transported, along with members of SEES, to the final battle against Nyx. In there, they witness the protagonist's sealing of Nyx, and what he becomes. Upon Metis' explanation, the party realizes that the protagonist has not became a seal to prevent Nyx's coming, but a seal to prevent humanity's desire for destruction, personified as Erebus, from making contact with Nyx. Upon witnessing Erebus attempting the destroy the seal, and thus the protagonist himself, the members of S.E.E.S decides to defeat Erebus.

After the defeat of Erebus, Aigis uses the true key to return to the present time, but was transferred to the Velvet Room along with members of SEES. Igor explains that Aigis had reached the end of her journey, and found her answer of living. It is also here reveals Metis' true identity as the manifestation of Aigis' humanity. The sisters reconcile, and fuses into a single being, with Aigis feeling tired.

The next day, members of SEES was surprised to see that Aigis continued sleeping, fearing that she suffer the same fate as the protagonist, they took Aigis to her room, where they attempt to repair her. However, as Aigis is unconscious, she heard Metis' voice deep down, encouraging her, and awakes upon hearing Yukari's call. Aigis would later cancel her attempt of staying in the lab and decides to continue studying in Gekkoukan High, where Yukari suggests Aigis to be her roommate. Aigis is last seen in the rooftop of Gekkoukan High, where she looks forward for a brand new day.

Social Link
The Protagonist can also date Aigis in Persona 3: FES, and Persona 3 Portable. Aigis represents Aeon Arcana, an exclusive Social Link FES where the Protagonist can access it after December 30, where Aigis returns from the Kirijo Laboratory for repairing after her battle with Death. Unlike other SEES female members, the Protagonist does not require any prerequisite in either Academics, Charm, or Courage to date Aigis. Aigis will not get mad at the Protagonist for dating another female.

Through the Protagonist' interaction with Aigis, he helps Aigis understands the concept of life, and her confused feelings towards herself and the Protagonist. Upon completing the Social Link, Aigis will give the Protagonist her Charred Screw, bestowing the ultimate form of the Aeon arcana, Metatron.

Persona 4 Arena
In her story mode, It all began when a plane was hijacked, the first one in over ten years. Aigis is called in to lead Shadow Operatives in stopping the hijacking. As she finds Mitsuru among one of the passengers, Aigis sees a young woman in a long white dress, much like herself when she was first seen. Mitsuru tell Aigis that an important piece of cargo has been stolen which contains a previous generation model named Labrys. They follow the cargo to Inaba where they meet up with Akihiko and leap into the TV world. Inside, Aigis finds other Persona-users and is forced to fight them due to a strange tournament in this world. She finds a young human girl who resembles the young girl she saw at the plane hijacking and suspects her to be Labrys. But after a while, she loses her confidence and confronts her shadow but soon Elizabeth shows up and confronts her to give her the strength to go on. Aigis continues to the Announcement Room until she finds Labrys confronting her shadow with Yosuke Hanamura and Rise Kujikawa.

Declaring her sister's true name, she follows her and her shadow to the roof where she becomes trapped with Yosuke due to the Tournament. She defeats Yosuke but is impressed by his resolve and promises to save her for him. She returns to the Announcement Room as Labrys confronts her shadow once more and denies her, releasing her full power. After defeating her shadow, Aigis goes to her sister saying that though she doesn't understand the circumstances, as an android, she knows what its like to be different from humans. Labrys feels the sincerity in her words and accepts her shadow which becomes her Persona. Soon both android sisters make their way to the roof again to exit but is not met without resistance. Aigis' shadow appears again as Labrys is hacked into attacking Aigis. Aigis is able to hold her off until Fuuka is able to save her and Aigis defeats her "shadow" who is ultimately the mastermind behind the incident.

As they leave, Aigis recounts the memories of her sister, as Labrys' memoires are also apart of Aigis' as well, and states that in going to the pier and searching for the promised girl, she had also found her precious friends who accepted her as she is. Labrys realizes that in doing that, Aigis had fulfilled her dream as both sisters cry in joy for each other as they continue to search for their "mother".

Aigis and fellow Wild Card wielder and successor Yu Narukami also serve as key characters in Elizabeth's Story Mode, where they teach her the true nature of the Wild Card. Aigis also serves as a major character in Yu, Yosuke, Teddie and Mitsuru's Story Modes, as well as in Kanji's Joke Ending.

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. Pallas 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; Pallas Athena for normal combat, and Palladion for her Instant Kill, Heritage Liberatior Palladion.

Score Attack
Aigis is the ninth character the player fights in Score Attack. Aigis will always be in Orgia Mode which will never deplete and will have 999 bullets.

Lord of Vermilion Re: 2
Aigis, alongside Yu Narukami and Elizabeth, appears in Lord of Vermilion Re: 2. Unlike the other guest characters, Aigis has two cards, one paired with Pallas Athena, and another, Aigis EXO, paired with Messiah. Both cards of Aigis belong to the God Tribe. Aigis' ability is Orgia Mode, which enhances her stats and lets her use Heavenly Spear, which inflicts multiple heavy Light damage to one foe, while Aigis EXO has Orgia Mode EX, which greatly enhances her stats and enables her to use Megido Fire EX as her offensive ability, which inflicts multiple heavy Fire damage to all foes in an area. Element-wise, Aigis is Light Elemental and Aigis EXO is Fire Elemental, and both are weak to Electricity. Although both cards of Aigis have lower stats than her fellow guest Persona characters, her abilities are far more superior than theirs and are more than enough to compensate for her flaws if used properly. However, like in Persona 4 Arena, Aigis' Orgia Mode can only be operated for a limited time. Her HP gauge also acts as her Orgia Gauge, and she will also overheat if her HP reaches 1. This will not only leave Aigis with dangerously low health, her stats will also decrease significantly, making her extremely vulnerable until she regains HP. Also, if either Yu or Elizabeth are on the same team with Aigis or Aigis EXO, their stats will slightly increase (Defense for Yu and Offense for Elizabeth) as an added benefit when she uses Orgia Mode (EX), but not to the same extent as Aigis.

Battle Quotes
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 * "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 Palladion)
 * I... cannot... lose! (Summoning Athena)
 * Athena! (Summoning Athena)
 * Summoning Persona! (Summoning Palladion)
 * Initiating summon sequence. (Summoning Palladion)
 * Proceeding. (Summoning Palladion)
 * 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)
 * Locking on. (Regular attack)
 * Let us commence with an All-Out Attack. (Requesting AOA: Palladion)
 * Fatal Strike. (During AOA: Palladion)
 * Damaged!( Be down)
 * Damage sustained! (Be down)
 * When you fall, you get right back up. (Recovering from "down" status)
 * I need your help! (Summoning Athena)
 * Let us strike while the iron's hot. (Requesting AOA: Athena)
 * I can't miss! (During AOA: Athena)
 * I will follow suit! (Requesting Co-ops)
 * I'll attack too! (Requesting Co-ops)
 * I'm sorry... (Knocked out)
 * Hasta la vista! (Using weapon)
 * Persona!
 * You won't escape!
 * I won't go down!
 * Enemy annihilated. (Battle Ends: Palladion)
 * Efficiently executed. (Battle Ends: Palladion)
 * I can't lose here! (Battle ends: Athena)
 * Did I succeed in protecting everyone? (Battle Ends: Athena)
 * This is my duty! (Summoning Persona: Athena)
 * This is a sign of my determination. (Summoning Persona: 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

 * 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)
 * My Armor! (Taking Counter Hit damage)

Trivia

 * In Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES, Aigis' upper lip twitches when she blinks.
 * In Greek mythology, Aigis 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 Aigis 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 Aigis as the remains of Pallas protecting Athena after death. However an Aigis 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 Aigis. In reality there is no central narrative or tradition, but the Aigis, whatever it specifically was, represents the protection of the gods.
 * This is a possible reference to the fact that Aigis desires 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).
 * 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 Pallas 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 S.E.E.S. members' Personas. Interestingly, among these files, Aigis has different voice clips for Palladion and Pallas Athena, separate from the ones she uses in The Journey.
 * Aigis' theme in Persona 4 Arena is a remix of Heartful Cry, first heard in The Answer when fighting the S.E.E.S. members for the keys.
 * In Persona 4 Arena, Aigis, like Yu, is listed to be of the Fool Arcana, but despite this, Pallas Athena is still listed to be of the Chariot Arcana. That is because Pallas Athena is truly a Chariot Arcana Persona.
 * ​Aigis being listed as the Fool Arcana instead of the Chariot Arcana may imply that Aigis regained Pallas 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.
 * 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 Persona 3 FES's 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 uniform.