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I played Persona 3 completely blind, knowing absolutely nothing about it: not the characters, story or even gameplay. I started to love aikoto and Aigis the second she appeared on screen, her design and speech manner stood out from the rest of the cast and she latched herself onto Makoto instantly (even if up to a few moments before, the game teased Yukari as Makoto’s partner)! She kept saying that Makoto was very important to her; and right after she joined the dorms, she woke Makoto up when the morning came! I think that was the scene that sold the ship to me, I thought it was so cute.

During the game, I found adorable how pushy Aigis was to be together with Makoto, while he just stood there being ok with it all (since he is the player character, he is kept blank/with little personality, but all reactions towards Aigis are positive). During most of the story, the ship was mostly that: a robot girl trying to navigate the world, find out how humans’ body & interaction works because she really wanted to be with someone; while the mentioned person plays along with her.

But then [month] happened and both Aigis and Makoto remembered their short meeting years ago: when Makoto was 9yo, Aigis sealed Death inside him. Now being aware of this, their relationship in the last ~4 months of the game change a bit and started to be more close to each other. During the course of the game Aigis wanted to be near Makoto so she could monitor Death, but this feeling didn’t disappear after Death was freed from him. As she spent more time with him, now fully embracing her emotions, she started to realise she was in love with Makoto.

That’s pretty much the plot of her Social Link, which you unlock on the very last playable month of the game, January. While she was already navigating how the world and humans work like prior to her S.Link, this time around you guide her a bit and she explores way more seriously and heartily, since she fully awoke to her emotions. Just like the other female characters, the link ends with the player dating her, but the way her link plays out makes it feel way more genuine, and for me, it was the only dating S.Link that actually felt real.

I think a huge part of that is that her S.Link is not a standalone story with the protagonist like with the others: it adds to the main story. Like I said earlier, both Makoto and Aigis already had a close relationship prior her Link; and continue having one after it even if you don’t start or complete it. Even with her Link out (like it was the case of vanilla Persona 3), her relationship with Makoto remains the same because it already plays out during the main story. Rather than being a dating sim like the others, it just enhanced the relationship the game already established, so you can understand her feelings better (and to see Aigisr being a total cutie). With or without her link, they’re in love; it plays slowly, calmly but surely during the course of the game, always being there for each other, helping the other grow or simply having fun.

I talked lots about Aigis’ relation with Makoto, but what about his side of the story? Well, I played Portable, so I missed most of his in-game interactions with her! 😭 And they removed the lap pillow scene…! (the only reference of their position was “Aigis is sitting close to where you’re lying”. Also no mention to Makoto wiping her tears away either…) Despite that, and thanks to a few cute extra text boxes describing their actions/thoughts, his feelings towards her reached to me, they're just that strong.

For some reason, one of the things that stood out to me in P3P was when he hold her hand when the collapses during the Moonlight bridge scene, he mentions how it feels (“>You clasped her hand…. >It’s warm…”). Mostly on FES, he is seen reacting towards Aigis without playing input, but you’re better off reading about it from someone who has played it, sorry! The little interactions are pretty cute, they really show that their relationship happens canonly whenever there’s a S.Link or not, like I previously said.

Right after finishing P3 I went to look up if there was more media of it, since I remembered they made a P4 anime, so I started to watch the movies! And they gave me all the content I had lost with P3P and more.

Also on Persona Q, one of the very few games we get to see him talking from a 3rd person perspective, characters from Persona 4 tend to mistook him and Aigis as a couple a few times. While they weren’t dating yet (the game happens on August, more or less), Aigis always responded affirmatively, while Makoto said nothing to neither her or the Persona 4 characters, presumably being ok or not minding it.

They complement each other very well and help the other grow. They both have struggles understanding humanity, relationships, life, death.. .Makoto due to his apathy towards life (thanks to the accident he was involved when he was little) and Aigis due the fact that she’s a robot, her heart was still developing, the few human interaction she had was erased from her memory (on Aigis the First Mission) so she had to start completely from scratch, not understanding anything about the world.

Another thing I like about them is that Aigis' development doesn't follow the typical ''robot becomes human because it fell in love'' trope. She falls in love because she is human, not 'she's human because she fell in love'. Aigis is who she is thanks to the love and friendship everyone gave her.
What made Aigis fully awaken her emotions was not only romantic love, but the support she received from SEES, pretty much her found family. And even though at the end of the game she said her reason to live was to protect Makoto, she didn't limit it to him alone after and made her mission to protect everyone important to her. Yes, she talks lots about him because of the huge impact he had on her life, but she is still attentive and cares about people other than him.
Same with Makoto, he and Aigis are each other's most important person, they helped each other grow and wouldn't be the same person if they hadn't met, but the game doesn't restrict them to that bubble and show that all the friendships and connections Makoto made during his life are equality as important. Despite how close (and sappy at times, shown in the CD dramas), it's refreshing that not once do they try to show that romance is the most important kind of love; and that they got lives outside each other, that's how healthy relationships work.

As a final note, in all the games where you play as Makoto you can’t be mean to Aigis. Usually when the game let the player pick an action/line during a conversation the options are: -”Yes/a nice option” “No” “Don’t care/a rude option”-, but with Aigis all the conversation options are positive, even on the spin-offs. While the MC is supposed to represent the player and be a blank state, the inputs give you hints of their personality (just look at how different Kotone’s/FeMC choices during the game are), and I found interesting that Aigis is the only character who is treated like this, with no negative opinions or thoughts, which shows how kind and accepting the MC is towards her.
All the player (Makoto’s) inputs towards Aigis are positive. And even without the player’s input, Aigis is one of the few characters Makoto reacts to closely outside social links (like holding her hand during the moonlight bridge scene) I should mention that there's a pseudo self-insert element on both sides that makes me love this ship even more.. I'm actually in love with Aigis (I will explain that in a future aigis shrine) and every time I see her I just want to cuddle and spend time with her. On the other hand, I love how patient and gentle Makoto is with Aigis and that’s something I really need in a partner, to feel accepted and safe with them.
I don't really self-insert on this ship (I guess it's more related to them than anything), but still seeing them makes me happy inside and feel the same things as them. Aikoto's gentleness really comforts me.

• The only time we see Makoto laughing in all the 4 movies is thanks to Aigis. Most of the few times he smiled was because Aigis too.
• Makoto is the only one in SEES who recognizes Aigis’ handwriting [CD drama]
• Aigis and Makoto are the only ones who understand each other’s humour [PQ2]
• In the game's code, Aigis is listed as 'lover'. If you go to Tartarus alone with her she will say a special line: "When I'm with you [MC]-san, I feel in pain. Is this what it feels to have your heart pound?" [Persona 3, FES, Portable]
• She's the only one in the team who is fine with wearing the maid costume. Also her opinion of it changes after she starts to become more human. At first she likes it because it's easy to move while wearing it, but after November she appreciates it because it made her happy that Makoto wants to see her wearing it (possibly already aware of the dress' connotations) [Persona 3, FES, Portable]