Metis

Metis
Japanese Name	メティス
Romaji	Metisu
First Appearance	Persona 3 FES
Affiliation	SEES
Weapon	Battle Axe
Arcana	The Hierophant
Persona	Psyche
Japanese VA	Chiwa Saitō
English VA	Stephanie Sheh

Metis is an exclusive character in the playable epilogue of Persona 3 FES, titled The Answer. She is symbolized with a wreath of red butterflies, and known to be fiercely protective of her "sister", Aigis.

Appearance

• Persona 3 FES: Party Member; Hierophant Arcana

Design

Metis is a humanoid android and the same model as Aigis. She has a golden helm-like headpiece with a red butterfly visor. Her skin is pale, she has black hair and red eyes. As an android, her body is mostly mechanical. Her armored body is black, though her right arm is white almost to resemble a long extended glove. She has a metallic "skirt" which continues the red butterfly motif.

Personality

Metis has a childlike personality and cares deeply about Aigis, whom she recognizes as her "sister", and as a result tries to protect her from harm. Initially, Metis is hostile toward the other SEES members, claiming that they're the reason for the time skips and attempts to eliminate them. However, once she's subdued and everyone has had a chance to interact with her, she's accepted into SEES and begins to cooperate with them to find the reason for the time skips and the reappearance of the Abyss of Time. Once everyone begins fighting for the keys, Metis sides with Aigis and claims that she was created to facilitate the fighting, returning to her previous hostility toward the rest of SEES, but at the cost of Aigis' trust.

Profile

Persona 3 FES

Metis is a character from Persona 3 FES 's playable epilogue, The Answer. Metis replaces Aigis' role as an Orgia Mode user, as Aigis loses hers due to her new ability to use the Wild Card. Instead, Metis has access to an improved "Neo" Orgia Mode, which not only boosts her offenses but also lets her use her skills at no cost. She also appears to replace the deceased Shinjiro Aragaki, with both of their personas being of the Hierophant Arcana and their ability to use bludgeon-class weaponry, as well as having similar behavior in battle.

Following after the protagonist's death and the defeat of Nyx, the remaining members of SEES decide to regroup one last time before their dorm closes. During their reunion, SEES encounters a weird atmosphere, in which time would stop flowing, resetting each time the clock passes midnight. This is where Metis is first seen and assaults SEES. Upon seeing Aigis, she claims to be Aigis' sister, and exclaims that she was tasked to protect her. She views the remaining members of SEES as a hindrance, and thus, wants to destroy them.

After Aigis loses consciousness due to overusing Orgia Mode to subdue her, Metis participated in upgrading Aigis' body parts. However, she was later chained for further questioning. Metis later leads the members of SEES to the Abyss of Time, a labyrinth below the dorm. There, Metis explains that the Abyss of Time was created by the members of SEES, but refuses to reveal the cause. Since the creation of the labyrinth was SEES' responsibility, Metis believed that once SEES has been annihilated, time would flow once again.

Due to her attacking SEES earlier, the members initially show hostility towards letting her joining SEES. Metis harbors a great dislike towards them as well, with a notable exception of Aigis. Metis eventually joins SEES when Aigis threatens to leave her alone, much to her horror and grief. Throughout their journey, Metis appears to be protective of Aigis, and addresses Aigis as her sister. She is also seen to hold a certain understanding towards the nature of the Abyss of Time and, among others, the protagonist and Nyx.

Later, defeating the manifestation of SEES' negative wills and desire of seeing the protagonist, SEES realizes that they have the ability to travel back to the time to when the protagonist sealed Nyx. However, each member has their own opinions on doing so. Yukari wants to return to the past to stop the protagonist's actions, but is opposed by Junpei, who explains that changing the past would essentially undo the sealing of Nyx.

As their opinions differ, SEES was separated, leaving only Metis and Fuuka standing on Aigis' side. Aigis would eventually team up with Metis and Fuuka to reclaim the keys to unlock the past given to SEES members. Upon recollecting them and forging into the 'true key', Aigis decides to return to the past where the protagonist performs the miracle of sealing Nyx so she could understand the reason for the protagonist's death. However, as Ken mentions their luck of having the door to Pauwlonia Mall to not yet vanish, Metis and Mitsuru quickly realize that because said door has not yet vanished, meaning that its purpose has not yet been fulfilled (which is to prepare them for battle), their battles are not yet over. During this time, Metis expresses her confusion at the protagonist's actions, as Nyx herself was neither hostile nor malevolent, and a seal wasn't necessary. She would also mention SEES' promise of meeting each other in Graduation Day, much to the suspicion and confusion of SEES. When SEES tries to question her true identity, Metis replies that she "just knows it", and explains that the protagonist wasn't exactly planning to seal Nyx, but Erebus, a grand manifestation of humanity's grief from contacting her to bring forth the Fall.

Metis' true identity is finally revealed late in-game, where SEES was transferred into the Velvet Room. In there, the members of SEES appear in front of Igor. Metis, seemingly familiar with the Velvet Room, appears alongside Igor. Metis explains that she comes from "the other side", which is actually the manifestation of the emotional side of Aigis, separated from Aigis after Aigis wished to return back to being fully machine to escape the emotional burden of losing the protagonist. Due to this, Metis often feels helpless when Aigis threatens to leave her during their fight with the other party members, as such an action would leave her all alone, like when Metis was first formed. Finally knowing Metis' true nature, the sisters reconcile, with Metis returns into Aigis, fully completing Aigis' Journey. Metis' voice is last heard when Aigis unlocks the door of the dorm, where she encourages Aigis to make the most out of her life and hopefully, her actions would influence the others, so the protagonist's burden would be lightened.

Stats

The battle with Metis at the beginning of the Answer cannot be lost - if Aigis runs low on health, Metis will begin to "hesitate".

Arcana Level HP SP Strength 10 Magic 10 Endurance 10 Agility 10 Luck 1 Hierophant 20 500 n/a Slash Strike Pierce Fire Ice Elec Wind Light Dark Almi - - - - - - - Null Null - List of Skills Skill Effect Strike Attack Normal attack using the Strike attribute. Fatal End Deals medium Slash damage to one foe.

Battle Quotes

• "Psyche!" (Landed critical / exploit weakness to enemy)
• "My will is the source of my power." (Landed a critical / exploit weakness to enemy)
• "Persona!" (Summoning Persona)
• "Haah!" (Summoning Persona)
• "Farewell!" (critical physical attack)
• "Ugh, I thought that would do it!" (Enemy survives the attack)
• "It's a tough one." (Enemy survives the attack)
• "Systems... Shutting down." (Being knocked unconscious)
• "Thank you!" (Being healed by Aigis)
• "Alright Sister, let's get 'em!" (Before initiating All-Out Attack)
• "Everyone, attack!" (During All-Out Attack)
• "Come on. Let's dance!" (Initiating Orgia Mode)
• "Fly, Papillon Heart!" (Initiating Orgia Mode)
• "Going into Orgia Mode!" (Initiating Orgia Mode)
• "Orgia Mode is go!" (Initiating Orgia Mode)
• "Limiters released!" (Initiating Orgia Mode)
• "Let's get this started!" (Initiating Orgia Mode)
• "Please wait.." (Overheating from Orgia Mode)
• "I need to be stronger." (Victory with low HP)
• "I must protect my sister." (Victory)
• "Keep your filthy hands off my sister!" (Victory)
• "Here!" (using item)
• "Too slow!" (Dodging attack)
• "Nice try!" (Dodging attack)
• "Death's presence confirmed! Look out!" (Encountering The Reaper)

Gallery

Persona 3 FES: The Answer
Metis Close Up Metis Close Up with her visor on while fighting against Aigis Concept artwork of Metis' expressions Concept artwork of Metis' expressions. Metis in Soejima Shigenori Arts Book 2004-2010 Metis and Aigis artwork from the Soejima Shigenori Arts Book 2004-2010 Metis first appears in the anime cutscene of The Answer. Metis and Aigis skirmish in The Answer.

Persona 4 Arena
File:Metis costume.jpg Aigis & Athena using the Metis & Psyche palette in Persona 4 Arena

Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Kanami as Metis in Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Trivia

• As mentioned in Persona 3's drama CDs, Metis' face is based on the face of a hospitalized girl Aigis once met in a vision. This girl may possibly be the one in Labrys' memories, whose personality served as the basis of the personalities of the early Anti-Shadow Weapons.
• Her name, like Aigis, comes from Greek mythology. Metis (Μῆτις, "wisdom," "skill," or "craft") is sometimes presented as lover of Zeus and mother of Athena, which may refer to Aigis' ultimate Persona.
• Metis' version of Orgia Mode not only improves her offensive capabilities, but also allows Metis to perform attacks for free.
• Metis' Arcana is the Hierophant, a figure that interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric/obscure principles. This fts her perfectly in her role in the Answer, when she reveals that Personas and Shadows are the same to SEES, who did not know of this.
• Descriptions of Metis' true nature implies that she may actually be Aigis' Shadow. Towards the end of the game, Aigis refers to Metis as the embodiment of her repressed emotions and desires, which fits the description of a Shadow Self. She also acknowledges her flaws and proceeds to accept Metis as part of herself in a similar fashion to those of the characters of Persona 4 shortly afterwards, to the point that Aigis herself feels physical and mental fatigue, which are the immediate effects of accepting one's Shadow. Likewise, during the scene where SEES witnesses Aigis' past in Empyrean, Metis can be seen emerging from Aigis' (literal) shadow, after Aigis states that she wishes to discard her emotions in order to escape the pain of losing the protagonist.
  • Although Metis has never appeared in Persona 4 and Persona 4 Arena's story, the games actually provide hints that imply that Metis is indeed a Shadow:
    • In Persona 4: The Golden, Margaret states that Marie is an entity that belongs to the "other side", which is also where Metis is from. It is said to be inhabited only by Shadows, supernatural deities such as Nyx, Izanami and Erebus, and the residents of the Velvet Room such as Elizabeth, Margaret and Igor. Unlike Marie, however, who was actually an avatar of Izanami, Metis is not believed to be a deity or an avatar of one nor is she a resident of the Velvet Room, hinting that if Metis did indeed come from the "other side", she can only be a Shadow.
    • Similarly, in Persona 4 Arena, while posing as the cast's Shadows, the Malevolent Entity states that it came from the "sea of the soul", which is said to be part of the "other side" as well, implying that this is the part of the "other side" where Shadows actually do come from. Metis states that she came from "sea of [Aigis's] soul" after Aigis had accepted her, further hinting that she is indeed Aigis' Shadow.
    • Some of Aigis' inactive abilities in The Answer (ex. Orgia Mode, understanding dog language) are the skills that Metis uses in the game. Presumably, after Metis is brought back to the sea of the (Aigis') soul, it is then she recovers these abilities.
    • Lastly, in Persona 4 Arena, if you choose to play Aigis' story, she will speak of a side of herself that was on the verge of going berserk. This suggests that Metis may actually be a part of Aigis' ego that was between staying as part of her ego and a Shadow
  • If she is in fact Aigis' Shadow, then she is of 3 Shadows that had developed an ego. The others being Teddie & Shadow Labrys.