Aigis (''Persona'')

Aigis
Persona character
Aigis in Persona 3
First game Persona 3 (2006)
Created by Shigenori Soejima
Designed by Shigenori Soejima
Voiced by Karen Strassman (English)
Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese)

Aigis, rendered in Japanese as Aegis (Japanese: アイギス, Hepburn: Aigisu), is a character introduced in the 2006 role-playing video game Persona 3 by Atlus. She is an android created by the Kirijo Group, and the last surviving model of their experimental anti-Shadow weapon. Besides possessing a wide variety of high-tech weapons, from machine guns and rocket launchers to long-range guns and "rocket punches," Aigis also has access to the power of Persona she uses alongside the main cast to defeat the Shadows attacking mankind. Across the game, Aigis starts showing human-like traits and it is revealed the reason for her attachment to the game's protagonist whom she seeks to be safe.

Aigis was created by Shigenori Soejima who despite being bothered by her inclusion in the game as a result of being android, came to find her design one of his favorites due to the amount of freedom he was provided in creating her. Aigis is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese and Karen Strassman in English. Critical reception to the character has ranged from mixed, with praise aimed at her character development.

Creation and design

Aigis was created to remind people of the robots being used in manga, though character designer Shigenori Soejima said that he did not want to create her since a robot like her does not exist currently in the modern world.[1] However, Aigis' existence served to give Persona 3 its manga feel that differentiated it from its sequel, Persona 4. Despite Aigis looking out of place, Soejima took extra time when designing her as he believes she was one of the game's most important characters.[2]

Of all the characters he has ever illustrated, Soejima believes Aigis to be most easily identifiable character. As a result, she was used in the cover of the artbook Shigenori Soejima Art Works 2004-2010 over the Persona 3 and Persona 4 protagonists. He said Aigis was always a special character to him, especially with regards to her level of design. This meant Soejima had noticeable amount of freedom when designing her as he was not asked to make a realistic character, such as Yukiko Amagi from Persona 4. All of the Aigis illustration he has done have had to be altered to better suit the anime. By removing all of those external constraints from the picture, he was able to draw Aigis however he wanted, with as much detail as he wanted.[3] She is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese and Karen Strassman in English.

Appearances

Aigis is introduced during SEES' summer beach vacation. She immediately shows an instinctual interest in protecting the Protagonist which even she cannot explain. Ikutsuki has her assigned to aid SEES, and she enrolls in Gekkoukan High to act as the Main Character's bodyguard. Her Personas are Palladion and Athena of The Chariot Arcana. The Protagonist can also date Aigis in Persona 3: FES as the Aeon Arcana (永劫, Eigō), and when you max her Social Link she will fall in love with him. In Persona 3 Portable, it is implied that Aigis also falls in love with the Female Protagonist upon maxing her Social Link. She expresses lament towards not being a male.

During her battle with Ryoji on the Moonlight Bridge, Aigis regains the memories trapped in her damaged circuits. 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 protagonist who was the sole survivor of a nearby car crash. She is driven to protect him both to try to suppress Death and because she feels a great deal of guilt over her actions. When she returns, she shows more human-like qualities and emotions, and decides to stand against the power of Nyx with her friends in SEES. Finally, on Graduation Day, as she is holding the Protagonist in her lap, she suddenly realizes what it means to be human and also the true purpose in her existence is to protect the life of the Protagonist.

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 alongside Orpheus of The Fool Arcana, but loses the ability to use Orgia Mode. During her story, Aigis is filled with grief over the death of the Protagonist and wishes to become a mere machine like she used to be. Metis makes her remember the feelings she has cast aside, and she realizes that she's still able to fulfill her promise with the Protagonist. At this realization, she decides to continue attending Gekkoukan High as Yukari's roommate rather than returning to the lab she had initially intended to.

Other appearances

Aegis: The First Mission follows Aigis' adventures before she sealed Death. She also appears as a playable character in Persona 4 Arena, which takes place over two years after "The Answer".[4] Using Athena as her Persona, Aigis joins Mitsuru and Akihiko in their search of another Anti-Shadow weapon, Labrys, that was stolen from Mitsuru. Also, in Elizabeth's story mode, she, along with her successor and fellow Wild Card wielder Yu Narukami, help Elizabeth understand the true nature of the Wild Card.

Aigis also appears in Square Enix's arcade card game Lord of Vermilion Re:2 as a summon spell.[5] She is also available as a paid DLC character in the crossover fighting game BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (which combines characters from the Persona 4 Arena, BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY franchises), for which she is known globally under her Japanese name.[6][7]

Aigis also appears in the Persona 3 animated films, her first appearance being Persona 3 The Movie: No. 2, Midsummer Knight's Dream.[8] In the 2.5D musical adaptation, Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade, she is portrayed by ZAQ. In the Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax stage plays, she is portrayed by Kanon Miyahara.

Reception

RPGFan described how Aigis in particular was one of the most developed characters in Persona 3: The Answer.[9] Kotaku compared her with Anya Jenkins from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as both are "non-human who joins the group and slowly learns what it means to be human."[10] In a review of The First Mission, Ryan Mattich from RPGFan complained about Aigis' lack of importance to the story despite being the game's titular character.[11] Lucas Sullivan from GamesRadar described Aigis as one of the "old Persona 3 favorites" alongside Elizabeth in Persona 4 Arena.[12] Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku praised Aigis' inclusion in the second anime film as well as her relationship with Makoto Yuki.[13] She was also listed as the sixth best Persona character by Kimberley Wallace from Game Informer who praised her character development across the series despite being a cyborg.[14] IGN also listed her as the third best Persona character, praising her skills and, like Wallace, her growth across the game.[15] Multiple figurines of Aigis have also been released.[16][17][18]

References

  1. ↑ Soejima, Shigenori (2007). Art of Persona 3. Atlus. p. 34.
  2. ↑ Soejima, Shigenori (2012). Art of Persona 3. Atlus. p. 39. ISBN 978-1926778433.
  3. ↑ Soejima, Shigenori (2012). Shigenori Soejima Art Works 2004-2010. Udon Entertainment. ISBN 978-1926778327.
  4. ↑ Ciolek, Todd (August 31, 2011). "The X Button Blade Meridian". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-23. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  6. ↑ http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2018/03/16/blazblue-cross-tag-battle-jubei-aegis-carmine-added-as-dlc/
  7. ↑ https://twitter.com/ArcSystemWorksU/status/974681536460218373
  8. ↑ キャラクター ｜ 劇場版「ペルソナ３」 公式サイト. Persona 3 The Movie (in Japanese). Aniplex. February 14, 2014. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  10. ↑ "Persona 3 Really Is Buffy, Down To The Smallest Characters". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Aegis: The First Mission". RPGamer. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Persona 4 Arena preview – Hands-on impressions of these haunted high school pugilists". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ Eisenbeis, Richard (June 9, 2014). "Persona 3's Second Movie Reminds Me Why I love Persona 3". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Top Ten Best Persona Characters". Game Informer. October 1, 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Top Ten Persona characters". IGN. July 22, 2015. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  16. ↑ "New Persona 4: Arena Aigis Figmas Feature Her In Original And Labrys Colours". Siliconera. August 31, 2012. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  17. ↑ "This Is One Awesome Aigis Figure". Siliconera. July 1, 2010. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  18. ↑ Hawkings, Matthew (May 23, 2011). "Persona 3 Aigis Figure On The Way". Game Set Watch. Archived from the original on July 29, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
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