I love in his dynamic intro, despite three others rushing him, Ebina NEVER breaks eye contact with Kiryu; even when he headbutts Seong, it's only at the side of his brow rather than the center of his forehead. His eyes are on the prize: the embodiment of everything he hates.
Also. This is the first final boss dynamic intro where Kiryu was the one that attacked first. Every other time the boss was the one who rushed first. This means something, but I don’t know what.
@@wonderfulprogress2952Every single boss fought Kiryu because they had something to prove - Shibusawa wanted to prove he was superior to Kazama, Nishiki wanted to prove he had surpassed his sworn brother, Ryuji wanted to prove he was the real dragon, Mine that bonds and honor were a weakness, Daigo that his way of ruling Tojo was right, Aizawa that he deserved to rule Tojo over Daigo and Iwami that he was a real yakuza. All of them saw Kiryu as their trial, the guardian dragon who stood in the way of proving themselves right. Ebina does not see Kiryu as a trial - he views him as a living symbol of the injustice he faced. A legend of yakuza world, who every criminal reveres or fears, who helped preserve the Tojo Clan and their ways time and time again, who exemplified what it meant to be a yakuza. A hero of the people who destroyed Ebina's life. And because Ebina wants all yakuza burning in hell for eternity, Kiryu is not his trial. Ebina is the trial for Kiryu - a battle that Kiryu must win to prove that yakuza deserve their chance at redemption.
@@wonderfulprogress2952 Ebina was a true yakuza, even tho it was the thing he wanted to destroy, life kept beating him down at every turn, but he always keeps getting back up and going after his wicked dream.
@@wonderfulprogress2952in my opinion, I think it could be symbolic of Kiryu finally running towards his guilt and denial rather than letting it come to him. In the whole series he fights his destiny as much as he can but in this one, he finally accepts all that he did and who he is and with that strength and wisdom it gives him a chance to help ebina in the only way he can. By taking him head on.
Ebina is an antagonist i expected for so long. We play yakuza characters and focus so much on their life, but no matter how we say it, yakuza did so much damage to the society, there might be the more 'honorable' ones, but still doing crimes all the same. Then come Ebina with his 'fuck your romanticizing image of yakuza, i'm the result of your dream' Love that RGG finally let him exist.
Yakuza Zero: the very first thing we see Kiryu do is beating on a guy and shaking him down. No matter how honourable or decent some Yakuza are, they're all essentially criminals in organised families and clans. They're ruined countless lives by the time of Infinite Wealth, probably. And even though the Tojo and Omi are technically gone, Ebina comes along to drag them all into his schemes to condemn as many as possible to a radioactive hell. Kiyru even admits that he could have stayed on as Fourth Chairman and done a lot of good. Perhaps things would have been very different for a lot of people. But no, he chose to run away. And now he has to face the consequences of his actions, and of every Yakuza over the last few decades.
Technically the very first scene in the entire franchise is Kiryu shaking down and threatening a business owner in the original 2005's Yakuza@@jamesnorman9160
@@jamesnorman9160Plus we see over the course of the series that the honorable Yakuza like Kiryu, Majima and Saejima are the exception rather than the rule.
It is curious to see that Kiryu's interactions with Arakawa's descendants showed how he was tyring to handle his last show. He was dealing both with someone tyring to make a future ni spite of roughness, and someone stuck in the past and sabotaging everything for a pointless revenge. Then again for the future to shine, one has to settle a score with the past once and for all
Fun fact, Shinichi Tsutsumi (Jo Sawashiro) and Hiroki Hasegawa (Masataka Ebina) used to worked together in the movie called "Why don't you play in hell".
In Japanese swordsmanship, you're not actually supposed to throw away the sheath. It's supposed to go in your off hand, onto your belt or be carried by a trusted servant. However, in Samurai tradition, the warrior tosses it aside if he's going to a battle he intends to die in or doesn't expect he'll make it out of. Many Yakuza consider themselves the successor to samurai. This, along with the symbolism of this tattoo shows that Ebina fully accepts he's going to die. If not against Kiryu, then in his war against the Yakuza. And if not literally, spiritually for sure. Kiryu is fighting to stop a suicide, in a way.
since u have vergil pfp id like to mention at the end of the DMC 3 where Vergil goes to fight Mundus, after he said line "If my father did i should be able to do it too" then he ran off and i think he threw away the sheath, as if he knew he would not win that fight
He was ready to die while dragging more than 30,000 yakuza's to hell with him. I wish we could've seen more of his ambitious plan and Ebina himself throughout the game. The revelation at the end felt a bit rushed imo.
Another awesomely melancholic boss fight theme after “Ism” in the previous game. This capture the tragic background of Ebina pretty well, who was abandoned by the same system that’s responsible for his existence in the first place. At the end of the fight, Kiryu profusely apologized for the things he could have done to the Yakuza, but didn’t do, which gave rise to vengeful individuals like Ebina.
RGG really putting out banger after banger antagonists: Shishido, Ebina, Kuwana, Kuroiwa, and Tendo/Aoki. They can’t miss. Ebina represents the side of the Yakuza’s effects that wasn’t focused much on, which is their effects on the lives of the general public. Ebina is the hate that normal people harbor towards the Yakuza for their way of life amassed over years of strife. Maybe if Kiryu never abandoned his post as chairman, things would be different. But now, he must apologize and atone on behalf of decades of Yakuza.
Wellll, there was one miss - Ichi's final boss. It's been 6 months since I've played infinite so I don't remember his name. Now I wonder if Ichi's story in infinite wealth was compelling at all. I get the sense that most of the interesting parts in his story happened around Ichi and not because of him. I only remember two compelling moments from him - when he convinces Tomizawa to join him, and when he talks to Eiji for the last time.
@@smokey0111 Just finished the game and I agree with you. The whole island in itself felt underwhelming, even though the shark fight and squid were cool. More like an RPG boss, evil cult is evil. The game starts out with Ichiban as main quest holder, but later in they begin to explain more about why Kiryu is here and then the attention shifts over to him. Especially since Ichibans squad did what they were asked to do, get Lani and Akane and the rest feels as extra (even though Bryce had to be stopped). But in Kiryus fight with Ebina you learn he saw Bryce his plan as doomed to fail anyway.
While I think Ebina is an amazing antagonist and a(nother) fitting end to Kiryu, I feel he has an extreme lack of screentime that really makes him not cut as deep as folks like Ryuji or Mine. That being said, the entirety of the fight at the top of the Milennium Tower makes up for it somewhat. The start of it all, with Ebina recounting his motivations and story, helped by, in my experience, Daniel Dae Kim’s amazing voicework, followed by this motherfucker of an intro AND THEN THE ACTUAL FIGHT. Lord. This track may be one of the very best in the entire series, and Ebina thematically speaking is an excellent antagonist. Like most of this game, he was just short of perfection… except this fight. This is the only boss I had to reload my save and grind for. Imagine my surprise when after a grueling climb of the Milennium Tower, my level 47 team gets absolutely wrecked in three turns by this level 52 monstrosity. Had to go back and finish the Yokohama Underground to be able to match him and kick him into the ground, but when I did, oh so sweet payback… Ebina is a cool dude. Probably one of the better villains in the series. Just sliiightly missed the mark. But not with this fucking masterpiece.
That also shows how high the standards are for RGG villains. On his own Ebina is a great villain, but he’s not on the level of Kuwana, Shishido, Kuze, Nishiki etc.
have you seen how insane tokyo cops are in this series? kuroiwa, soma, sugiuchi, etc i wouldnt be shocked if this kinda shit was just from routine training
I hate how this song at points refrences random bs song's it has no involvement with other than being the last final boss (for now doubt they wont just make kiryu beat cancer and be fine) of kiryus story but i cant help but to love it just wish ichiban hit as hard as kiryu for me so i could enjoy the mainline going forward but i dont think im gonna
@@shrpha7112 idk about the way of life that was already trashy and should be forgotten the yakuza 1 callback made sence but destiny? They are just tryna call back to stuff so wildly unconnected it's insane someya was more like shishido than ebina yet they still called back to someya in ebinas theme? That's so unneeded
@@microwave1148 Huh I never noticed that before but I think I hear it now. Either way though this theme is fantastic and one of my favourite final boss themes in the series.
According to Like a Dragon’s tattoo artist, Ebina’s back-piece is called “Mugen Gokusotsu” (Infinite Hell Prison Guard) I think it represents that in his quest to drag the yakuza he despises down to hell, Ebina has condemned himself alongside them.
People saying ichiban should have been fighting Ebina have missed the entire point of this battle. Much like the Shishido fight where Kiryu is fighting to END the era of Yakuza and that way of life, his fight with Ebina is Kiryu trying to atone and ask for forgiveness to a victim of that dreaded bygone era of yakuza.
Agreed. Ebina _is_ the yakuza’s past. Someone who’s been hurt by that system and representative of the damage it caused. Kiryu even acknowledges he could’ve steered them all in a better direction, but then instead chose to ran away. Only Kiryu could’ve fought Ebina, because he’s everything Ebina despises - a yakuza who had the power to finally put an end to the system that brought so much harm, but ultimately chose to perpetuate it.
Even I thought Ichi should have been the one to finish Ebina but him fighting Bryce makes much more sense, if it were Kiryu to have done it it's possible Chitose might not have gone through with revealing she's Tatara Channel and apologize to all those she hurt thanks to Ei Chan. That and Kiryu may have potentially let Bryce die and he himself actually dying in this game. I think besides apologizing to Ebina, Kiryu finally atoned not just his in actions to save the Yakuza but is a free man again in the long run.
I get kind of annoyed when people say this fight sucks and that Ichiban should've been the one to take Ebina down. It feels like such a misunderstanding of Ichiban's character. He cares so much more about found-family than blood that he'd really have nothing to say to Ebina. Whether or not Arakawa was his biological dad never mattered, he considered Masato his brother, and he never considered Akane his mother because he never knew her. What they did here with Kiryu and Ebina is SO much more thematically interesting than what it would've been with Ichiban.
i feel like there's a third option here: Kiryu and Ichiban should have both fought him at the same time. Kiryu fighting for the reasons you said, and Ichiban fighting as the man who wants to help former yakuza against the man who wants to destroy them. i feel like having ichiban's group take care of bryce and then have the entire group team up for the final battle would have been a MUCH better way of going about it imo.
@@kronim1624 I think the themes of Ebina fight are fantastic, it just isn't built up well. Plot is way too meandering... I guess it's not unusual for a Yakuza game, though.
Ebina finally clicked for me when his backstory with Arakawa was revealed. In the background of all the tales of honor, struggle, and glory we see exposed in the series, people like Ebina are made to suffer in the crossfire - even if the yakuza in question are “good guys”. Ichiban hails Arakawa as a hero and regards him with utmost respect, and yet, aside from being an assassin, his boss (and father) abandoned his first lover (even if it was an arranged marriage) and left her behind with a son he didn’t even know existed, and never once cared to check on her. Ebina saw just the side of Arakawa that his half-brother was too blinded to see and never acknowledged. Despite that, though, Kiryu is the perfect opponent for Ebina, because he had the opportunity to fix it all as the Fourth Chairman. He could’ve gone back and stopped the cycle of violence and greed that bred people like Ebina, but instead chose to ran away, being ultimately selfish; Kiryu only cared for getting himself and his loved ones out of the yakuza crossfire and thus validated Ebina’s assessment of him. Even with the Great Dissolution, he contributed because he was brought on by Watase and the Daidoji. If Watase didn’t try reaching him to begin with, he probably would’ve continued to do busy work for the Daidoji and running away from the world he could’ve fixed. The same reality he abandoned pulled him in one last time to bring an end to it, like he could’ve done so many years ago - it’s the _End of Denial_ of his responsibility and what he should have done. Fighting Shishido was Kiryu’s chance to put an end to the world he left behind. Fighting Ebina is Kiryu’s penance for letting it fester to begin with.
And I can't wait to see how the next main game will close another chapter of Kiryu. He still has 1 final affiliation that he needs to resolve with in the Daidoji Faction. Given that he did enough for them to allow him to regain his name back, it remains to be see what will happen next to Kiryu. I feel like the next game will hopefully explore the Daidoji Faction and the Fujinomiya Conglomerate to see what they really are.
It's crazy for the entirety of the dynamic intro Ebina never once takes his eyes off Kiryu, even when he gets attacked by the party his gaze remained on Kiryu.
It could be due to the fact that, Kiryu is a huge representation of the people who are the architects of his suffering (despite the fact that he wants to wash his hands of it) Edit: Sorry for the repeat lol
I honestly loved this boss. Heard a lot of complaints about Kiryu facing him and not Ichiban despite being his half brother, but I feel like it would've added nothing other than just a sense of deja-vu from Ichiban fighting a brother again. For Kiryu, however, it's the perfect chance to look back on all of his adventures trying to keep the Tojo Clan in one piece but rarely ever successfully changing it for the better. Hell, the very fact he specifically harkens back to not staying as the fourth chairman at the end of the first game (might not be the first one chronologically, but it is the beginning of the series) makes it a very special case of bookend. And I was so moved by Kiryu crying and begging Ebina for forgiveness, too
Ebina is like the total opposite of Ichiban in a lot of ways, and that's precisely why i prefer that Kiryu was the one who got to face him. Kiryu, in the eyes of Ebina, represents everything he hates about the Yakuza of the past and their crimes, while Ichi is just a fool who idolises a killer. Ichi would never be able to reason with Ebina, because their views are completely flipped. Kiryu, on the other hand, did manage to get something out of him at the very end. I do belive that Ebina realized that those tears were genuine, we don't really know what his thougths were, but we can tell by his expression that he was at least conflicted. Also, Ichi doens't care about his real family, he says so multiple time throughout both games, blood relations don't matter to him, he wasn't even fazed when he learned that he was his half-brother.
@@BlueGuyTube Ebina was always reluctant about his action, we can tell from the ending on why he kept Sawashiro alive, he wanted someone to come clean with him about the yakuza, things could have been much different if Kiryu met him a few years earlier. So yes, he's a perfect opponent for Kiryu, a man who had to live his whole life damaged by the yakuza's dream.
@@LaVitaNouvasame with Masato actually. Kasuga was the only one who can talk directly to him so had he gone out 3 years earlier like originally intended the politic landscape of Japan would have been significantly different
"The sins of the Yakuza are mine to bear. If I have to, I'll take on every last one." Seems fitting that if Shishido was the personification of the Yakuza that didn't want to go out quietly, Ebina is the personification of the damage the Yakuza can do to those caught in their orbit. Appropriate then that Ebina serves as Kiryu's final battle in the entire series. He even gets Kiryu to admit that he could have done a lot more if he stayed on as 4th Chairman, but he didn't. Yet he kept coming out of retirement to help out the Yakuza time and again, so of course he chooses to end his reign as the biggest legend of the Yakuza world by taking on the accumulated sins of his brothers. Honestly, the second we're introduced to Ebina I thought to myself 'he's going to be the final boss'. He reminds me of Mine a lot: the clean-cut, well-dressed Yakuza officer who happens to be an absolute monster in a fight. Of course their mid-air clash in the introduction was very Mine-esque too. Those title cards where you only have the person's name on it too are superb to me, because it implies that Ebina isn't fighting in the name of the Seiryu Clan, but for his own interests. And with the clan basically dismantled by this point, all he has is his rage and his anger. Also, he's probably the only boss in the game that doesn't come to battle with a handful of goons backing him up, so he makes up for it with a load of area of effect attacks with really intimidating names attributed to them. He might be outnumbered, but he's still an absolute monster of a fighter. The way he just wrecks the others in the intro proves that. And of course it has to end with so many throwbacks from the series biggest fights: Kiryu catching the sword and breaking it with a punch, then following up by smashing Ebina off of his feet with a punch channeling all of his power, and then finally dropping him for good by doing the old Kiryu/Ryuji Goda double jaw smash and powering through it. And after all of that, he begs for Ebina to give the Yakuza another chance. In the twilight of his life, he's no longer trying to deny the damage the Yakuza have done. Hence, the End of Denial.
Kiryu used to see the idealized view of the yakuza, the glory, the bonds, the tradition. In the final Ebina meeting in Tojo HQ the yakuza boast about being a 'necessary evil', a boon to society, they boast it to Ebina, someone who sees the yakuza for what it truly is. The yakuza ruins people's lives, the fleeting 'gokudo' dream was a lie, and now Kiryu has to come to terms with his own sins. He fights Ebina for an oportunity for atonement, if someone who has every right to hate the legendary dragon and all he represents can forgive him, maybe he can forgive himself and see value in his own life.
I think the most important part of this battle for Kiryu was forcing him to understand that the yakuza destroyed his life, too. Kiryu’s as much a victim of them as Ebina, with virtually every game he stars in sans maybe 4 (since he isn’t really involved in the plot of that game much) involving them royally fucking him or the people he loves over. From his “finale” in 6 where the scheming of the Yomei Alliance nearly kills his daughter, her child, and hurts everyone close to him, to all the way back in 0 where he was made to be the fall guy for the Empty Lot hit, was hunted and attacked by the Dojima family at every turn, and watched Tachibana die in his arms at their hands, the chief cause of Kiryu’s grief is the very thing he tried to hold together and embody the ideal of. Kiryu has serious Stockholm Syndrome for the world of the yakuza, and all this time, he’s tried to make up for the people he’s hurt by being a part of it (like apologizing for dragging Daigo into it in his “dying” letter in 6), but couldn’t bring himself to tear the rest of it down until Gaiden. Kiryu had a part in the harm that the yakuza caused, Ebina’s right about that. He spent basically his whole life since the first game trying to make up for it. But what Ebina couldn’t see was that they’re both victims. Shishido couldn’t see how he’d been a victim of the yakuza, but Ebina couldn’t see how anyone else was. Kiryu realized the evils he allowed and committed as a yakuza, but he hadn’t come to realize the evils the yakuza world inflicted on him.
kiryu is a person who screwed himself over unintentionally. he wants to be a civillian that cares for his kids in an orphanage, but then as soon as there is trouble he starts becoming the 4th chairman and the dragon of dojima. a man who hates the yakuza but also can't understand why other people hate the yakuza. ebina and kiryu had to fight, because kiryu would still be making the same mistake for 20 years
fr. When I did my 2nd playthrough with the English cast I was. Really confused as to why they had him sounding so collected. Even when the animations themselves show how broken and unhinged he is
"I guess we are almost like Two Dragons, after all. Almost, if it weren't for this one thing. For Who's Sake are you fighting in this Scattered Moment? You think your belief allows you to Fly, that you're fighting For Faith, but you will soon realize this Battle For the Dream, for The Way of Life, is nothing but a Deadly Struggle for a Fleeting Dream. It's about time you've reached The End of Denial." - Kazuma Kiryu
"Damn you... Like 100 Execution tenfold! The yakuza shall Return to Nothingness! It's time you realise your age has come to a Calamity Point as a Penumbra shrouds my righteous Assassination of Bodhisattva! That day when I was Born to be Wild, I knew my Unwavering Belief would never be shattered by a MUPPET such as yourself!" - Masataka Ebina
i love how ebina really puts a spotlight on ichiban and kiryu's previous idolisation of "good" yakuza. a lot of previous yakuza games were about keeping the "good" yakuza (tojo) going, sometimes against the threat of the "bad" yakuza (omi/ueno seiwa/yomei), but the image of the "honourable" yakuza kiryu helped uphold was a total lie, and keeping the yakuza going as long as it did the way it did did nothing but continue the cycle of violence and ruin the lives of people like eiji and ebina, because yakuza are yakuza and you can't just have the "honourable" yakuza and nobody else, because for every one of them there's a hundred yakuza they're enabling to do all kinds of nasty shit. that's what the yakuza dream led to, and ebina is the result of all of it. everyone framed for a murder, lost their family to yakuza, lost their money, their home, caught in the crossfire, he represents that. kiryu helped keep the tojo going longer than it should have, but for what? it really ties in with ichiban's theming - the cycle of violence has to end, and ebina feels kiryu kept it going LONG after it should have ended with his yakuza dream
Be nice if Kiryu ever took any sort of personal responsibility for this and all the other shit he's caused, but he always just leaves once the momentary crisis is over--gives up being the Chairman, then forces Daigo to take over, then beat Daigo up and tells him to do better, then leaves again until forced to come back to keep cleaning up the crap he helped caused. At least after fighting Ebina he seems to realize how badly he fucked things up over the last 15+ years, but I doubt he'll ever truly have a reckoning with his irresponsibility harmed so many people by proxy.
The fucked thing is that for every Kiryu, Daigo and Saejima there are five Arakawa, Majima and Yamai, and for every of them there are twenty Sawashiro and for every Sawashiro there are hundreds if not thousand thugs, cruel crime lord, cold blooded murderers, etc… Infinite Wealth really give people the well deserved slap about romanticizing crime
He's probably one of the few bosses in the whole game who doesn't bring a squad of goons into the fight with him, so he uses a load of area of effect attacks instead. And it seems to fit his character well as he's just pouring his rage and hatred into each blow.
It's probably just me, but the vibe I'm getting from this theme is: "I have the energy and the strength to kill God for all of his wrongdoings, and no one can stop me!"
Man, these guys keep pulling swords out on Kiryu, and it never works. But man seeing Kiryu so desperate made me cry at the end. Never killed a single person.
Kiryu has had two really good boss themes, one a great rendition of reieve you, but I imagine if Kiryu ever got his own, totally uniquely composed Boss theme that wasn't "Recieve You" it would be this. Somethin about this sounds more like it's Kiryu's boss theme than Ebina.
Man, wish they could have added in the others for the dynamic intros for Ichiban when they fought Bryce like they do here for Ebina, even though everybody gets dropped. Even an intermission scene like when the Ijincho gang protect Kiryu during the Jimas fight.
Amazing soundtrack, finally got to finish the game and this track did not disappoint - we have a villain that his motivation wasn't superficial Ebina struggled with his screen time throughout the show and lack of impact whenever he's on screen but thematically he fits the bill for Kiryu to pick up the Yakuza's sins, it broke me when Kiryu went pleading for Ebina to give the Yakuzas a shot at redemption and atonement
It's a massive shame. Ebina didn't hit as hard as he could've because of the lack of screentime and the feeling that he didn't really "do anything", but symbolically he does work very well and the more I listen to The End of Denial/Metempsychosis, the more I appreciate it. It's battling and melancholic at the same time, a lot like Ism/Light and Darkness from LaD.
The whole fight is peak writing here. Kiryu once again has stand in the underground once again to finally pull the plug in the Yakuza. I wish Sega made a phase where the game style changes from turn based to Combat.
I think my favorite part here is the one that lasts from 3:27 to 4:16 (and 5:30 to 5:53). Something about it evokes the mental image of the turning of a clock for me, or the spinning of a wheel if we stick to the Buddhism theme in this fight. It's as if it was supposed to symbolize the endless cycle of struggle for honor and glory the Yakuza are trapped in, eventually leading into Ebina's character arc of someone who has been at the receiving end of such a struggle, suffering from the collateral damage of that "honorable" struggle. The title is two-fold here, I think: On one hand, it symbolizes Kiryu's character arc turning from being a stubborn stoic into someone who actually wants to live, it's the end of Kiryu denying that he wants to be with his family and loved ones, continue to live, and flip it off to the Daidoji for holding him back from that. But on the other hand, it's the end of denial about all the fucked up consequences those endless Yakuza struggles bring for those uninvolved, or, as Kiryu put it, "compared to everyone else, those who are struggling just to get through their daily lives, the dreams of the Yakuza don't mean a damn thing."
Tough choice between choosing my favorite theme in the series from this one and Deadly Struggle. Completely contrasting themes and ideals but both as equally emotional. This one definitely gave me Two Dragons vibes while I was playing. These past 2 final boss themes have been BANGERS. They are cooking!
What an utterly fantastic game. All things considered, probably the best ending in a yakuza game. Btw, think you can do an extension of this song where the phases are half n half?
I swear if Kiryu would have been in his yakuza 6 shape he would have still wiped the floor with Ebina like he did with ichiban but without his Cancer nerf
Resolve and emotion are a powerful thing in RGG series, like how Shishido went from regular boss to final boss out of desperation from being cornered. I think Ebina would've showed great strength out of pure spite.
Ichi should have at least been there. Ebina is his literal nemesis. A man that want to ruin every single thing that Ichi achieved in Yakuza 7, that want to destroy the memory of his father. I get it was the last Kiryu fight and they wanted to give him a final fight as the protagonist, but Ebina was a clear match for Ichiban.
Nah it would have just been a brother vs brother scenario again when they already did that. Besides Ichiban and Ebina have very little connection to each other aside from their shared Father. The whole point was for Kiryu to take responsibility for the sins of the yakuza and apologise to a victim of them as Ebina's hate for the yakuza has far exceeded Arakawa.
Gaiden has an Antagonist who only wanted to protect the Yakuza and make sure the people there just didnt rot away Infinite Wealth had a villain who wanted nothing but to burn down the Yakuza and make sure everyone involved burned with it Honestly I dont know why the Daidoji didn't just get Shishido to stop Ebina. I think he wouldn't argue with that task
That is such a mischaracterization for both Shishido and Ebina. Shishido wants to uphold the Yakuza dream even though they will become tools of the government. Not only is this the antithesis of why the Yakuza was born in the first place (to be free and able to follow their ideals), but it also enables the monsters born from the Yakuza dream to continue without repercussions. Ebina sought to punish the Yakuza, including ones trying to reform by condemning them to death. He's the representation of the sins of the Yakuza, the byproduct of the dream created by the monsters the Yakuza dream created. Doesn't matter if you're a good Yakuza with morals like Kiryu or not, Yakuza are still Yakuza, and they're still part of that corrupt system that harmed people.
Shishido wasn't fighting to protect his people lmfao. He didn't gave a fuck about the fellow yakuza he was only fighting to save his own selfish dream. Even if Shishido would had won the government had made the hell for yakuza, the situation only would had been worse. What Ichiban is doing for yakuza is much much better
Sega:yakuza 6 the song of life will be the last game of kiryu journey,after that,he will finally take the rest Sega a few year later after yakuza 6:continute bring kiryu back and not let him rest And now they make him sick and give him death flag Hello sega,this is what you call let uncle rest huh????
Hi RC!, first of all thanks for uploading again the soundtrack but now with better quality and also for making the compilation of the boss songs, now I want to ask you something. I don't know if you make requests for music of games that you haven't uploaded to your channel yet and if you do I would like to ask for the game "Transformers Devastation", besides being a quite unknown game, I think its music would have a perfect space in this channel and also because I would like to have the extended versions with the quality that you always manage Obviously if it is possible. Cheers!
So, with all of the main story soundtrack has been upload on this channel, I think this is the best time to talk about the game overall. TL;DR of my thoughts: Great story, could have been improved. 7.5/10 And sidequest? 10/10. It was so fun to take it easy while complete the game. What do you guys thinks about the story of IW? (Spoiler Warning down below) . . . . . Pros: - This game take a very serious issues in which the doxxing and cyber-bullying in general in to the game and show us the consequences of it. - While Ebina doesn't have much of screentime just like Mine, I can still understand his motive and his hatred toward the Yakuza, fuck his life over. Just like one comment I have seen somewhere: "Ebina is the mirrored version of Shishido. Shishido wants to preserve the Yakuza while Ebina want to destroy it completely." - Most of the character in the game has their own moment, some hilarious, some was sad. My personal favorite is Dwight, Eiji and Yamai. - They also did a good job in portraying Arakawa in this game, as much of a good person when we see him in 7, he also has a dark side. - I also loved that we have bonding moment with Akane and Ichiban. Even though it was short, the feeling of regret in Akane make this hit harder to me. Cons: - Kiryu in this game overshadowed Ichiban a lots. - The ending feels a bit unsatisfactory to me. - Joon-gi and Zhao was feels a bit too force to be involve in this game story. - Wong Tou and Hanawa was "wasted potential" - Some of the fight feels a bit "fan-service"-y - Kiryu Soul Links part was honestly make me conflict so much. While it's understandable why he can't talk with most of the characters present in this story, it's make me feels mad more than sad (At least CHADkiyama was here, having the best Soul Links Story) => Overall, while the story has some problem in it, this game did a great job at implementing real world issues in the game and show how much people was affected by it. If I can compare this and 7 story, it would definitely be the Judgment and Lost Judgment story, being the first one is a personal story and the 2nd is more of a grand issues in real-life.
@@roihu3m I do think Y8 is better than every aspect of Y7, the story may be debatable for people, but if you live in Japan and know the real scenario of real Yakuza in Japan, it will relate much more than normies who just play game without knowing context. Y8 touches on the real thing in society and that is why the Japanese really love this game, Yakuza real life is collapsing and the game is a prime example to demonstrate that
@@roihu3m Yeah, but at the same time, I like Infinite Wealth and Lost Judgment more. Cause the writing for the characters is kinda better, but unlike Lost Judgment, Infinite Wealth doesn’t have one of the best villains they’ve ever made
![Like a Dragon: Gaiden OST Mix - A [Deadly Struggle] for a [Fleeting Dream] - (Final Boss Theme)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cjv1AN6XldI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
I love in his dynamic intro, despite three others rushing him, Ebina NEVER breaks eye contact with Kiryu; even when he headbutts Seong, it's only at the side of his brow rather than the center of his forehead. His eyes are on the prize: the embodiment of everything he hates.
Also.
This is the first final boss dynamic intro where Kiryu was the one that attacked first. Every other time the boss was the one who rushed first.
This means something, but I don’t know what.
@@wonderfulprogress2952Every single boss fought Kiryu because they had something to prove - Shibusawa wanted to prove he was superior to Kazama, Nishiki wanted to prove he had surpassed his sworn brother, Ryuji wanted to prove he was the real dragon, Mine that bonds and honor were a weakness, Daigo that his way of ruling Tojo was right, Aizawa that he deserved to rule Tojo over Daigo and Iwami that he was a real yakuza. All of them saw Kiryu as their trial, the guardian dragon who stood in the way of proving themselves right.
Ebina does not see Kiryu as a trial - he views him as a living symbol of the injustice he faced. A legend of yakuza world, who every criminal reveres or fears, who helped preserve the Tojo Clan and their ways time and time again, who exemplified what it meant to be a yakuza. A hero of the people who destroyed Ebina's life. And because Ebina wants all yakuza burning in hell for eternity, Kiryu is not his trial.
Ebina is the trial for Kiryu - a battle that Kiryu must win to prove that yakuza deserve their chance at redemption.
@@wonderfulprogress2952 Ebina was a true yakuza, even tho it was the thing he wanted to destroy, life kept beating him down at every turn, but he always keeps getting back up and going after his wicked dream.
@@wonderfulprogress2952in my opinion, I think it could be symbolic of Kiryu finally running towards his guilt and denial rather than letting it come to him. In the whole series he fights his destiny as much as he can but in this one, he finally accepts all that he did and who he is and with that strength and wisdom it gives him a chance to help ebina in the only way he can. By taking him head on.
@@wonderfulprogress2952 it means the end of denial lol
Ebina is an antagonist i expected for so long.
We play yakuza characters and focus so much on their life, but no matter how we say it, yakuza did so much damage to the society, there might be the more 'honorable' ones, but still doing crimes all the same.
Then come Ebina with his 'fuck your romanticizing image of yakuza, i'm the result of your dream'
Love that RGG finally let him exist.
This exactly. This is why I love Ebina.
Yakuza Zero: the very first thing we see Kiryu do is beating on a guy and shaking him down.
No matter how honourable or decent some Yakuza are, they're all essentially criminals in organised families and clans. They're ruined countless lives by the time of Infinite Wealth, probably. And even though the Tojo and Omi are technically gone, Ebina comes along to drag them all into his schemes to condemn as many as possible to a radioactive hell.
Kiyru even admits that he could have stayed on as Fourth Chairman and done a lot of good. Perhaps things would have been very different for a lot of people. But no, he chose to run away. And now he has to face the consequences of his actions, and of every Yakuza over the last few decades.
Technically the very first scene in the entire franchise is Kiryu shaking down and threatening a business owner in the original 2005's Yakuza@@jamesnorman9160
@@jamesnorman9160Plus we see over the course of the series that the honorable Yakuza like Kiryu, Majima and Saejima are the exception rather than the rule.
Something about those midair dynamic intros makes me go insane, they’re so badass
3, 4, 6 and now 8 all have those badass air intros
It is curious to see that Kiryu's interactions with Arakawa's descendants showed how he was tyring to handle his last show. He was dealing both with someone tyring to make a future ni spite of roughness, and someone stuck in the past and sabotaging everything for a pointless revenge.
Then again for the future to shine, one has to settle a score with the past once and for all
Fun fact, Shinichi Tsutsumi (Jo Sawashiro) and Hiroki Hasegawa (Masataka Ebina) used to worked together in the movie called "Why don't you play in hell".
It's a fucking awesome movie, very fun. Heavily recommended to anyone reading this.
In Japanese swordsmanship, you're not actually supposed to throw away the sheath. It's supposed to go in your off hand, onto your belt or be carried by a trusted servant. However, in Samurai tradition, the warrior tosses it aside if he's going to a battle he intends to die in or doesn't expect he'll make it out of. Many Yakuza consider themselves the successor to samurai. This, along with the symbolism of this tattoo shows that Ebina fully accepts he's going to die. If not against Kiryu, then in his war against the Yakuza. And if not literally, spiritually for sure. Kiryu is fighting to stop a suicide, in a way.
Ebina after the fight asks several times to kill him and Kiryu says something like dont die
since u have vergil pfp id like to mention at the end of the DMC 3 where Vergil goes to fight Mundus, after he said line "If my father did i should be able to do it too" then he ran off and i think he threw away the sheath, as if he knew he would not win that fight
Not just one… but two. Remember after the fight, Kiryu once again has a desire to live as he breaks into tears before passing out.
That adds a lot of meaningfulness to Kiryu breaking his sword
He was ready to die while dragging more than 30,000 yakuza's to hell with him. I wish we could've seen more of his ambitious plan and Ebina himself throughout the game. The revelation at the end felt a bit rushed imo.
Ebina literally said that yakuza (games too) keeps
coming back, fighting, never stops because they (we) want it.
Everyone talking about Nanba as if poor Zhao didn't get folded like a pretzel goddamn
ebina put some raw RANCOUR into that kick goddamn
Utterly devastating
this song is basically like kiryu journey through all the games
Another awesomely melancholic boss fight theme after “Ism” in the previous game. This capture the tragic background of Ebina pretty well, who was abandoned by the same system that’s responsible for his existence in the first place. At the end of the fight, Kiryu profusely apologized for the things he could have done to the Yakuza, but didn’t do, which gave rise to vengeful individuals like Ebina.
Pretty sure that track is actually called "Light and Darkness".
@@mikebliss3153 That's the fan name. The official soundtrack released on February 2022 and its name there appered as "Ism".
@@diegordi1394 DID I ASK YOU?
@@mikebliss3153 You didn't. I just wanted to clear something up.
Tbh i kinda want Ebina to return and become Ichi's Vergil in LAD9 if he somehow gets back from prison
Hope ebina brings this track back with him too.
@@ephemeral6153 The end of denial ~atoned~
RGG really putting out banger after banger antagonists: Shishido, Ebina, Kuwana, Kuroiwa, and Tendo/Aoki. They can’t miss.
Ebina represents the side of the Yakuza’s effects that wasn’t focused much on, which is their effects on the lives of the general public. Ebina is the hate that normal people harbor towards the Yakuza for their way of life amassed over years of strife. Maybe if Kiryu never abandoned his post as chairman, things would be different. But now, he must apologize and atone on behalf of decades of Yakuza.
Wellll, there was one miss - Ichi's final boss. It's been 6 months since I've played infinite so I don't remember his name. Now I wonder if Ichi's story in infinite wealth was compelling at all. I get the sense that most of the interesting parts in his story happened around Ichi and not because of him.
I only remember two compelling moments from him - when he convinces Tomizawa to join him, and when he talks to Eiji for the last time.
@@smokey0111 Just finished the game and I agree with you. The whole island in itself felt underwhelming, even though the shark fight and squid were cool. More like an RPG boss, evil cult is evil. The game starts out with Ichiban as main quest holder, but later in they begin to explain more about why Kiryu is here and then the attention shifts over to him. Especially since Ichibans squad did what they were asked to do, get Lani and Akane and the rest feels as extra (even though Bryce had to be stopped). But in Kiryus fight with Ebina you learn he saw Bryce his plan as doomed to fail anyway.
"Sorry Kiryu-san, but I'm truly the Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth OST - The End of Denial" -Masataka Ebina
"This is The End of Denial, John Yakuza !"
@@TheKazuma410Pi will show you what infinite wealth is, Ebina
fighting ichiban as a boss : calm the fuck down ichi. see the bigger picture.
figthing ebina as playable : this cycle of hate must be destroyed.
While I think Ebina is an amazing antagonist and a(nother) fitting end to Kiryu, I feel he has an extreme lack of screentime that really makes him not cut as deep as folks like Ryuji or Mine.
That being said, the entirety of the fight at the top of the Milennium Tower makes up for it somewhat. The start of it all, with Ebina recounting his motivations and story, helped by, in my experience, Daniel Dae Kim’s amazing voicework, followed by this motherfucker of an intro AND THEN THE ACTUAL FIGHT. Lord.
This track may be one of the very best in the entire series, and Ebina thematically speaking is an excellent antagonist. Like most of this game, he was just short of perfection… except this fight.
This is the only boss I had to reload my save and grind for. Imagine my surprise when after a grueling climb of the Milennium Tower, my level 47 team gets absolutely wrecked in three turns by this level 52 monstrosity. Had to go back and finish the Yokohama Underground to be able to match him and kick him into the ground, but when I did, oh so sweet payback…
Ebina is a cool dude. Probably one of the better villains in the series. Just sliiightly missed the mark. But not with this fucking masterpiece.
I agree and honestly i'd take him as a final ever fight for kiryu over iwami anyday.
That also shows how high the standards are for RGG villains.
On his own Ebina is a great villain, but he’s not on the level of Kuwana, Shishido, Kuze, Nishiki etc.
Just finished the game, I have no words, it was amazing.
Like the Tendo/Masato split, the Bryce/Ebina split is like a "Final Boss for the RPG fans" vs "Final Boss for the Yakuza fans" scenario.
Hits hard af.
where tf did Ebina learn to do All That Shit
Put whole life into destroying yakuza and ex-cop. Idk too where you learn to spin in air several times
have you seen how insane tokyo cops are in this series? kuroiwa, soma, sugiuchi, etc
i wouldnt be shocked if this kinda shit was just from routine training
@@frostyprime8110TANIMURA
@@frostyprime8110wasn‘t soma a nikkiyo consortium assasin for the Tojo Clan
@@amarson2322 yes but he was a spy planted by the police which is pretty impressive considering how young he was
I'm making a Nishiki theme mashup of this. Get ready, "For Nishiki to be Ichiban" now.
amazing song
Goated song
Kiryu is fighting Johnny Gat
This time Johnny Gat loses to a legendary Yakuza.
Anyone else read this as "The End of Daniel" every other time it gets recommended to them?
daniel dae kim getting ended with this one!!!
Why do you want to end me
I hate how this song at points refrences random bs song's it has no involvement with other than being the last final boss (for now doubt they wont just make kiryu beat cancer and be fine) of kiryus story but i cant help but to love it just wish ichiban hit as hard as kiryu for me so i could enjoy the mainline going forward but i dont think im gonna
Well it having the Yakuza 1 menu theme and a bit of the way of life from Yakuza 6 makes the theme all the more cool imo.
@@shrpha7112 idk about the way of life that was already trashy and should be forgotten the yakuza 1 callback made sence but destiny? They are just tryna call back to stuff so wildly unconnected it's insane someya was more like shishido than ebina yet they still called back to someya in ebinas theme? That's so unneeded
@@microwave1148 Wait where did you hear Someyas theme in here? I never heard any similarities in this theme.
@@shrpha7112in this video starts at 3:28
@@microwave1148 Huh I never noticed that before but I think I hear it now. Either way though this theme is fantastic and one of my favourite final boss themes in the series.
Nishiki theme reincarnated.
:D
According to Like a Dragon’s tattoo artist, Ebina’s back-piece is called “Mugen Gokusotsu” (Infinite Hell Prison Guard)
I think it represents that in his quest to drag the yakuza he despises down to hell, Ebina has condemned himself alongside them.
Infinite Wealth vs Infinite Hell
HAIL 2 U vs HELL 2 U
@@TheThrillerJunkieAnd at the end Kiryu begs Ebina to give everyone a second chance, including Ebina himself.
I honestly thought he was going to have a dragon tattoo (bring a dragon to slay another dragon), but I guess that fits too.
@@animangamania It makes quite the image. A heavenly beast begging a merciless demon to have mercy on its victims.
@@jamesnorman9160Including demon itself
People saying ichiban should have been fighting Ebina have missed the entire point of this battle.
Much like the Shishido fight where Kiryu is fighting to END the era of Yakuza and that way of life, his fight with Ebina is Kiryu trying to atone and ask for forgiveness to a victim of that dreaded bygone era of yakuza.
Agreed.
Ebina _is_ the yakuza’s past. Someone who’s been hurt by that system and representative of the damage it caused. Kiryu even acknowledges he could’ve steered them all in a better direction, but then instead chose to ran away.
Only Kiryu could’ve fought Ebina, because he’s everything Ebina despises - a yakuza who had the power to finally put an end to the system that brought so much harm, but ultimately chose to perpetuate it.
Even I thought Ichi should have been the one to finish Ebina but him fighting Bryce makes much more sense, if it were Kiryu to have done it it's possible Chitose might not have gone through with revealing she's Tatara Channel and apologize to all those she hurt thanks to Ei Chan. That and Kiryu may have potentially let Bryce die and he himself actually dying in this game. I think besides apologizing to Ebina, Kiryu finally atoned not just his in actions to save the Yakuza but is a free man again in the long run.
I get kind of annoyed when people say this fight sucks and that Ichiban should've been the one to take Ebina down. It feels like such a misunderstanding of Ichiban's character. He cares so much more about found-family than blood that he'd really have nothing to say to Ebina. Whether or not Arakawa was his biological dad never mattered, he considered Masato his brother, and he never considered Akane his mother because he never knew her. What they did here with Kiryu and Ebina is SO much more thematically interesting than what it would've been with Ichiban.
i feel like there's a third option here: Kiryu and Ichiban should have both fought him at the same time. Kiryu fighting for the reasons you said, and Ichiban fighting as the man who wants to help former yakuza against the man who wants to destroy them.
i feel like having ichiban's group take care of bryce and then have the entire group team up for the final battle would have been a MUCH better way of going about it imo.
@@kronim1624 I think the themes of Ebina fight are fantastic, it just isn't built up well. Plot is way too meandering... I guess it's not unusual for a Yakuza game, though.
"Spill yours ideals all you want, you'll be always Yakuza"
Goatbina Masataka
LOL this cheesy Yakkuza name meme fit his character very well.
His motive sum up by florist "I fucking hate the Yakuza to death"
@@Yuritotheworld fok the entire tojo clan
How many times do I gotta tell you? I'm not Yakuza.
@@ReapCykes You’re retarded or just deaf.
If you hear japanese dub, it also add the line, "Just a piece of shit"
Ebina finally clicked for me when his backstory with Arakawa was revealed.
In the background of all the tales of honor, struggle, and glory we see exposed in the series, people like Ebina are made to suffer in the crossfire - even if the yakuza in question are “good guys”. Ichiban hails Arakawa as a hero and regards him with utmost respect, and yet, aside from being an assassin, his boss (and father) abandoned his first lover (even if it was an arranged marriage) and left her behind with a son he didn’t even know existed, and never once cared to check on her. Ebina saw just the side of Arakawa that his half-brother was too blinded to see and never acknowledged.
Despite that, though, Kiryu is the perfect opponent for Ebina, because he had the opportunity to fix it all as the Fourth Chairman. He could’ve gone back and stopped the cycle of violence and greed that bred people like Ebina, but instead chose to ran away, being ultimately selfish; Kiryu only cared for getting himself and his loved ones out of the yakuza crossfire and thus validated Ebina’s assessment of him. Even with the Great Dissolution, he contributed because he was brought on by Watase and the Daidoji. If Watase didn’t try reaching him to begin with, he probably would’ve continued to do busy work for the Daidoji and running away from the world he could’ve fixed.
The same reality he abandoned pulled him in one last time to bring an end to it, like he could’ve done so many years ago - it’s the _End of Denial_ of his responsibility and what he should have done.
Fighting Shishido was Kiryu’s chance to put an end to the world he left behind.
Fighting Ebina is Kiryu’s penance for letting it fester to begin with.
👏👏👏👏👏👏 Beautifully said.
Bro you just put into words what I've been thinking ever since I beat Infinite Wealth. Very beautifully said.
Damn, dude 10/10
And I can't wait to see how the next main game will close another chapter of Kiryu. He still has 1 final affiliation that he needs to resolve with in the Daidoji Faction. Given that he did enough for them to allow him to regain his name back, it remains to be see what will happen next to Kiryu.
I feel like the next game will hopefully explore the Daidoji Faction and the Fujinomiya Conglomerate to see what they really are.
It's crazy for the entirety of the dynamic intro Ebina never once takes his eyes off Kiryu, even when he gets attacked by the party his gaze remained on Kiryu.
He knows who is the most dangerous here
A man who has nothing to lose and consumed by rage and desire for revenge is the most dangerous of them all
The Yakuza fucked Ebina, and Kiryu is a huge representation of that society amongst other things in his eyes
But in the end received the dragon after his passing. I mean Kiryu is not dead but his inheritance passed to Ebina as he lying unconscious.
It could be due to the fact that, Kiryu is a huge representation of the people who are the architects of his suffering (despite the fact that he wants to wash his hands of it)
Edit: Sorry for the repeat lol
I honestly loved this boss. Heard a lot of complaints about Kiryu facing him and not Ichiban despite being his half brother, but I feel like it would've added nothing other than just a sense of deja-vu from Ichiban fighting a brother again.
For Kiryu, however, it's the perfect chance to look back on all of his adventures trying to keep the Tojo Clan in one piece but rarely ever successfully changing it for the better. Hell, the very fact he specifically harkens back to not staying as the fourth chairman at the end of the first game (might not be the first one chronologically, but it is the beginning of the series) makes it a very special case of bookend. And I was so moved by Kiryu crying and begging Ebina for forgiveness, too
Also Ebina's goal ties very nicely into Kiryu's self destructive side and parallels very nicely to it
Ebina is like the total opposite of Ichiban in a lot of ways, and that's precisely why i prefer that Kiryu was the one who got to face him. Kiryu, in the eyes of Ebina, represents everything he hates about the Yakuza of the past and their crimes, while Ichi is just a fool who idolises a killer. Ichi would never be able to reason with Ebina, because their views are completely flipped. Kiryu, on the other hand, did manage to get something out of him at the very end. I do belive that Ebina realized that those tears were genuine, we don't really know what his thougths were, but we can tell by his expression that he was at least conflicted. Also, Ichi doens't care about his real family, he says so multiple time throughout both games, blood relations don't matter to him, he wasn't even fazed when he learned that he was his half-brother.
@@BlueGuyTubethis is perfectly said, this comment should
be red by those guys who think that ichiban should’ve fought ebina
@@BlueGuyTube Ebina was always reluctant about his action, we can tell from the ending on why he kept Sawashiro alive, he wanted someone to come clean with him about the yakuza, things could have been much different if Kiryu met him a few years earlier.
So yes, he's a perfect opponent for Kiryu, a man who had to live his whole life damaged by the yakuza's dream.
@@LaVitaNouvasame with Masato actually. Kasuga was the only one who can talk directly to him so had he gone out 3 years earlier like originally intended the politic landscape of Japan would have been significantly different
"The sins of the Yakuza are mine to bear. If I have to, I'll take on every last one."
Seems fitting that if Shishido was the personification of the Yakuza that didn't want to go out quietly, Ebina is the personification of the damage the Yakuza can do to those caught in their orbit. Appropriate then that Ebina serves as Kiryu's final battle in the entire series. He even gets Kiryu to admit that he could have done a lot more if he stayed on as 4th Chairman, but he didn't. Yet he kept coming out of retirement to help out the Yakuza time and again, so of course he chooses to end his reign as the biggest legend of the Yakuza world by taking on the accumulated sins of his brothers.
Honestly, the second we're introduced to Ebina I thought to myself 'he's going to be the final boss'. He reminds me of Mine a lot: the clean-cut, well-dressed Yakuza officer who happens to be an absolute monster in a fight. Of course their mid-air clash in the introduction was very Mine-esque too. Those title cards where you only have the person's name on it too are superb to me, because it implies that Ebina isn't fighting in the name of the Seiryu Clan, but for his own interests. And with the clan basically dismantled by this point, all he has is his rage and his anger.
Also, he's probably the only boss in the game that doesn't come to battle with a handful of goons backing him up, so he makes up for it with a load of area of effect attacks with really intimidating names attributed to them. He might be outnumbered, but he's still an absolute monster of a fighter. The way he just wrecks the others in the intro proves that.
And of course it has to end with so many throwbacks from the series biggest fights: Kiryu catching the sword and breaking it with a punch, then following up by smashing Ebina off of his feet with a punch channeling all of his power, and then finally dropping him for good by doing the old Kiryu/Ryuji Goda double jaw smash and powering through it.
And after all of that, he begs for Ebina to give the Yakuza another chance. In the twilight of his life, he's no longer trying to deny the damage the Yakuza have done. Hence, the End of Denial.
Shishido was a man desperately trying to keep the light of the yakuza from dying out.
Ebina was a man who lived his whole life in its shadow.
@@creativename1673They would fucking despise each other.
Kiryu used to see the idealized view of the yakuza, the glory, the bonds, the tradition. In the final Ebina meeting in Tojo HQ the yakuza boast about being a 'necessary evil', a boon to society, they boast it to Ebina, someone who sees the yakuza for what it truly is. The yakuza ruins people's lives, the fleeting 'gokudo' dream was a lie, and now Kiryu has to come to terms with his own sins. He fights Ebina for an oportunity for atonement, if someone who has every right to hate the legendary dragon and all he represents can forgive him, maybe he can forgive himself and see value in his own life.
I think the most important part of this battle for Kiryu was forcing him to understand that the yakuza destroyed his life, too. Kiryu’s as much a victim of them as Ebina, with virtually every game he stars in sans maybe 4 (since he isn’t really involved in the plot of that game much) involving them royally fucking him or the people he loves over. From his “finale” in 6 where the scheming of the Yomei Alliance nearly kills his daughter, her child, and hurts everyone close to him, to all the way back in 0 where he was made to be the fall guy for the Empty Lot hit, was hunted and attacked by the Dojima family at every turn, and watched Tachibana die in his arms at their hands, the chief cause of Kiryu’s grief is the very thing he tried to hold together and embody the ideal of. Kiryu has serious Stockholm Syndrome for the world of the yakuza, and all this time, he’s tried to make up for the people he’s hurt by being a part of it (like apologizing for dragging Daigo into it in his “dying” letter in 6), but couldn’t bring himself to tear the rest of it down until Gaiden. Kiryu had a part in the harm that the yakuza caused, Ebina’s right about that. He spent basically his whole life since the first game trying to make up for it. But what Ebina couldn’t see was that they’re both victims. Shishido couldn’t see how he’d been a victim of the yakuza, but Ebina couldn’t see how anyone else was. Kiryu realized the evils he allowed and committed as a yakuza, but he hadn’t come to realize the evils the yakuza world inflicted on him.
@@thegrapethief5514he ends the denial
@@gazover_ ⌨🔥
kiryu is a person who screwed himself over unintentionally. he wants to be a civillian that cares for his kids in an orphanage, but then as soon as there is trouble he starts becoming the 4th chairman and the dragon of dojima. a man who hates the yakuza but also can't understand why other people hate the yakuza. ebina and kiryu had to fight, because kiryu would still be making the same mistake for 20 years
Kiryu stops calling the yakuza gokudo. He calls them yakuza in this game.
Hiroki Hasegawa did an amazing job of voicing Ebina.
bro went from defeating Shin Godzilla to a Yakuza Final Boss….he truly lives long enough to see himself become the villain :))))
fr. When I did my 2nd playthrough with the English cast I was. Really confused as to why they had him sounding so collected. Even when the animations themselves show how broken and unhinged he is
Bro nanba gets absolutely dropped during that intro, bro should be out for the entire fight after that hit
bro forgot his umbrella, the very source of his power, for the BIG FINAL FIGHT
I expected Zhao to get 1 hit in but he gets tossed LOL
Nanba’s such a real one of course he jumps in first. He was fr the mvp of infinite wealth
He was my reserve party member for that fight so he kinda was for me 😅
@@frostyprime8110The umbrella blocks all incoming damage, hobos are powered by it.
3:27 ughhh🔥 that sawashiro motif. This theme is SO PEAK
1:45 The guitar riff from the track "Roar of the Dragon" from Yakuza 1 can be heard faintly
And 4:17 - Way of Life riff starts
"I guess we are almost like Two Dragons, after all. Almost, if it weren't for this one thing. For Who's Sake are you fighting in this Scattered Moment? You think your belief allows you to Fly, that you're fighting For Faith, but you will soon realize this Battle For the Dream, for The Way of Life, is nothing but a Deadly Struggle for a Fleeting Dream. It's about time you've reached The End of Denial."
- Kazuma Kiryu
"Damn you... Like 100 Execution tenfold! The yakuza shall Return to Nothingness! It's time you realise your age has come to a Calamity Point as a Penumbra shrouds my righteous Assassination of Bodhisattva! That day when I was Born to be Wild, I knew my Unwavering Belief would never be shattered by a MUPPET such as yourself!"
- Masataka Ebina
ITS JUST SO PEAK!!!! Stand proud, you can cook
BRO COOKED! 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥
🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯
Not bad guys
i love how ebina really puts a spotlight on ichiban and kiryu's previous idolisation of "good" yakuza. a lot of previous yakuza games were about keeping the "good" yakuza (tojo) going, sometimes against the threat of the "bad" yakuza (omi/ueno seiwa/yomei), but the image of the "honourable" yakuza kiryu helped uphold was a total lie, and keeping the yakuza going as long as it did the way it did did nothing but continue the cycle of violence and ruin the lives of people like eiji and ebina, because yakuza are yakuza and you can't just have the "honourable" yakuza and nobody else, because for every one of them there's a hundred yakuza they're enabling to do all kinds of nasty shit. that's what the yakuza dream led to, and ebina is the result of all of it. everyone framed for a murder, lost their family to yakuza, lost their money, their home, caught in the crossfire, he represents that. kiryu helped keep the tojo going longer than it should have, but for what? it really ties in with ichiban's theming - the cycle of violence has to end, and ebina feels kiryu kept it going LONG after it should have ended with his yakuza dream
Be nice if Kiryu ever took any sort of personal responsibility for this and all the other shit he's caused, but he always just leaves once the momentary crisis is over--gives up being the Chairman, then forces Daigo to take over, then beat Daigo up and tells him to do better, then leaves again until forced to come back to keep cleaning up the crap he helped caused. At least after fighting Ebina he seems to realize how badly he fucked things up over the last 15+ years, but I doubt he'll ever truly have a reckoning with his irresponsibility harmed so many people by proxy.
The fucked thing is that for every Kiryu, Daigo and Saejima there are five Arakawa, Majima and Yamai, and for every of them there are twenty Sawashiro and for every Sawashiro there are hundreds if not thousand thugs, cruel crime lord, cold blooded murderers, etc…
Infinite Wealth really give people the well deserved slap about romanticizing crime
By the time I saw Ebina straight up scrap everybody with 3 kicks in one move and each one did half our health, I knew this guy meant business.
He's probably one of the few bosses in the whole game who doesn't bring a squad of goons into the fight with him, so he uses a load of area of effect attacks instead. And it seems to fit his character well as he's just pouring his rage and hatred into each blow.
Me who was paranoid so I lvled everyone up to 60+: Tis' but a scratch
The fact he has one attack that straight up puts you to sleep and it HURTS.
Part 1: A duel between dual ideologies.
Part 2: NO MORE F*CKING AROUND
I was thinking that if Kiryu was a bit later in that kick, he would've nailed Ebina in the junk and ended the fight instantly lol
Visualization of me fighting my intrusive thoughts on the daily basis
but what if you could put them to rest?
It's probably just me, but the vibe I'm getting from this theme is: "I have the energy and the strength to kill God for all of his wrongdoings, and no one can stop me!"
Man, these guys keep pulling swords out on Kiryu, and it never works.
But man seeing Kiryu so desperate made me cry at the end. Never killed a single person.
Including that helicopter he blew up with a grenade. No one died...somehow.
@@deanospimonifulor the entirety of that highway sequence in yakuza 0 💀
@@deviljho4260 And the guy he used to block the bullets, totally survived.
Or those guys in Gaiden who he shot when at Nishtani's place
@@Nicboyozeor the helicopter he shot down with an rpg in 6.
WE MAKING IT OUT OF THE MILLENIUM TOWER ONCE MORE WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥🔥🗣🗣🗣💥💥💥
Holy shit it's PS2 majima.
WE MAKING IT UP THE MILENIUM TOWER ONCE MORE WITH THIS ONE*
a.k.a. the theme song of the #1 biggest player hater ever
i aspire to be as big of a hater as this guy
Bro would out-hate Silky Johnson at the Player Hater’s Ball
Hate hate hate hate hate
Chihiro Aoki makes really good musics
the chad "1 v 5" ebina vs the virgin "hide behind woman and child" iwami
Now this is how a chad businessman should beat ass
What Iwami you meant?
@@darrentalvinnoli8133 the one from yakuza 6
He be tsuneo like his name
Kiryu vs Shibusawa: The Legacy of Yakuza's Prestige.
Kiryu vs Ebina: The Legacy of Yakuza's Sins.
It began with legacy.
It ends with legacy.
This theme has some Light and Darkness (ism) vibes
Or Unwavering Belief vibes
"I hate those filthy yakuzers"
-Ebina or something.
I hate the fucking yakuza to death
- -The flo- i mean Ebina
dropping the hard r is crazzyyy (delivery)
@@breadbucket66crazy delivery mentioned
"You'll say sorry again and again, then find some way to justify it."
Kiryu then proceeds to say sorry and justify it 🤭
Ok but he didnt just say sorry he said sowwy 🥺
@@charliemcmillan4561 😢😭
Chihiro Aoki how does she does it AGAINN AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
🧎🏽🧎🏽🧎🏽🧎🏽🧎🏽🧎🏽
Kiryu has had two really good boss themes, one a great rendition of reieve you, but I imagine if Kiryu ever got his own, totally uniquely composed Boss theme that wasn't "Recieve You" it would be this. Somethin about this sounds more like it's Kiryu's boss theme than Ebina.
The way of life btw
One last stand in those perfect tight grey pants.
Man, wish they could have added in the others for the dynamic intros for Ichiban when they fought Bryce like they do here for Ebina, even though everybody gets dropped. Even an intermission scene like when the Ijincho gang protect Kiryu during the Jimas fight.
Amazing soundtrack, finally got to finish the game and this track did not disappoint - we have a villain that his motivation wasn't superficial
Ebina struggled with his screen time throughout the show and lack of impact whenever he's on screen but thematically he fits the bill for Kiryu to pick up the Yakuza's sins, it broke me when Kiryu went pleading for Ebina to give the Yakuzas a shot at redemption and atonement
It's a massive shame. Ebina didn't hit as hard as he could've because of the lack of screentime and the feeling that he didn't really "do anything", but symbolically he does work very well and the more I listen to The End of Denial/Metempsychosis, the more I appreciate it.
It's battling and melancholic at the same time, a lot like Ism/Light and Darkness from LaD.
Knowing Ebina and his reasons for what he’s done makes you wonder what would’ve happened if Kiryu had chosen to lead the yakuza instead
The whole fight is peak writing here. Kiryu once again has stand in the underground once again to finally pull the plug in the Yakuza. I wish Sega made a phase where the game style changes from turn based to Combat.
I think my favorite part here is the one that lasts from 3:27 to 4:16 (and 5:30 to 5:53). Something about it evokes the mental image of the turning of a clock for me, or the spinning of a wheel if we stick to the Buddhism theme in this fight. It's as if it was supposed to symbolize the endless cycle of struggle for honor and glory the Yakuza are trapped in, eventually leading into Ebina's character arc of someone who has been at the receiving end of such a struggle, suffering from the collateral damage of that "honorable" struggle.
The title is two-fold here, I think: On one hand, it symbolizes Kiryu's character arc turning from being a stubborn stoic into someone who actually wants to live, it's the end of Kiryu denying that he wants to be with his family and loved ones, continue to live, and flip it off to the Daidoji for holding him back from that. But on the other hand, it's the end of denial about all the fucked up consequences those endless Yakuza struggles bring for those uninvolved, or, as Kiryu put it, "compared to everyone else, those who are struggling just to get through their daily lives, the dreams of the Yakuza don't mean a damn thing."
The end of denial is when you finally decide to do your homework. Change my mind.
The end of denial is when you finally decide to eat vegetables
@@IchiBUNProductions it is when you finally go outside and socialize after 100% completing every yakuza game.
@@klaus.sfc01official30(impossible)
@@klaus.sfc01official30sounds very personal
Ebina the homework hunter and Kiryu the homework defender 😂😂
It's fucking nuts that every time Chihiro Aoki composes a song it's her new best song. Hidenori Shoji walked so this lady could absolutely sprint
Tough choice between choosing my favorite theme in the series from this one and Deadly Struggle. Completely contrasting themes and ideals but both as equally emotional. This one definitely gave me Two Dragons vibes while I was playing. These past 2 final boss themes have been BANGERS. They are cooking!
3:45 that riff sounds a bit like A Scattered Moment from Yakuza 2
This man could bleed out and there'd still be hate in his veins, hot damn!
I can’t believe Dr. Han would attack Kiryu like that, truly unsurgeonlike.
Ebina is RGG’s Punisher (Marvel)
I don't know honestly this might be my favorite final boss theme in the whole series (excluding Judgment and Lost Judgment)
Even if it turns out not to be, this really sounds like the end of an era, amazing track.
One question, does the second phase have a little of Sawashiro theme song in there? It sounds familiar.
Maybe since he was there and technically he's been a bad uncle to all arakawa's sons, blood related or not
pretty sure that's Impregnable Triangle
4:16 i love how manly this part sounds
Okay, my little composer theory was deconfirmed officially. Ok.
we did get J.I.D and Steve J. Conte for Gaiden, so western composers aren't impossible
@@epiclowdab Yep i just assumed my theory on the suspicious similarities in melody lol
chills man such a beautiful game
“PIERCE THE MULADHARA”🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🗣️🔥🔥😴😴😴😴😴
What an utterly fantastic game. All things considered, probably the best ending in a yakuza game.
Btw, think you can do an extension of this song where the phases are half n half?
the q2e is so embarrassing 😭😭 fair enough nanba but... zhao, seonhee, hello??? what are yall doing....
Me when I run at someone with literally no plan and go down like a sack of potatoes
4:17 - Way of Life riff starts
Cool part of the song, btw Way of Life you mean Yakuza 6 right ?
@@nikamir3845 Yes, Y6 final boss theme
I did this one last night and the ost is great, thank you for uploading it
I was honestly expecting Kiryu's arm to get real big like in those zoom-ins in Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8 after the final QTE happens.
Why is Enrico Pucci fighting Johnny Gat
This might be my favorite song from the game
I swear if Kiryu would have been in his yakuza 6 shape he would have still wiped the floor with Ebina like he did with ichiban but without his Cancer nerf
Resolve and emotion are a powerful thing in RGG series, like how Shishido went from regular boss to final boss out of desperation from being cornered. I think Ebina would've showed great strength out of pure spite.
@Garland846 That's... Nowhere near what that guy said, but alright.
Yeah! Like Yuta going down in two hits early on in 6, but can be an actual boss later in the game when his mind is set. I love that stuff.@@hoyhoy852
Tbf he wouldn’t have even left Hawaii if didn’t have cancer
if this fight was in beat'em up it will be cool as f
Ichi should have at least been there.
Ebina is his literal nemesis. A man that want to ruin every single thing that Ichi achieved in Yakuza 7, that want to destroy the memory of his father. I get it was the last Kiryu fight and they wanted to give him a final fight as the protagonist, but Ebina was a clear match for Ichiban.
Nah it would have just been a brother vs brother scenario again when they already did that. Besides Ichiban and Ebina have very little connection to each other aside from their shared Father. The whole point was for Kiryu to take responsibility for the sins of the yakuza and apologise to a victim of them as Ebina's hate for the yakuza has far exceeded Arakawa.
FINAL BOSS TIME HELL YEAH!!!
End of Rematch Osaka Talent Kamon Kanai Like a Dragon Yakuza 5 Fulfiller of Dreams Ousaka Enterprises????????????
CUMON CANAI
Gaiden has an Antagonist who only wanted to protect the Yakuza and make sure the people there just didnt rot away
Infinite Wealth had a villain who wanted nothing but to burn down the Yakuza and make sure everyone involved burned with it
Honestly I dont know why the Daidoji didn't just get Shishido to stop Ebina. I think he wouldn't argue with that task
That is such a mischaracterization for both Shishido and Ebina.
Shishido wants to uphold the Yakuza dream even though they will become tools of the government. Not only is this the antithesis of why the Yakuza was born in the first place (to be free and able to follow their ideals), but it also enables the monsters born from the Yakuza dream to continue without repercussions.
Ebina sought to punish the Yakuza, including ones trying to reform by condemning them to death. He's the representation of the sins of the Yakuza, the byproduct of the dream created by the monsters the Yakuza dream created. Doesn't matter if you're a good Yakuza with morals like Kiryu or not, Yakuza are still Yakuza, and they're still part of that corrupt system that harmed people.
Shishido wasn't fighting to protect his people lmfao. He didn't gave a fuck about the fellow yakuza he was only fighting to save his own selfish dream. Even if Shishido would had won the government had made the hell for yakuza, the situation only would had been worse. What Ichiban is doing for yakuza is much much better
Shishido would definitely wreck Ebina, but Shishido didn't care that much besides his dream and his Selfishness
IKUZO, KIRYUUUU KAZUMAAAAAAA
KOI, EBINAAAAAA
100/10 THIS ONE IS SUCH AN AMAZING OST :3 🐉❤️
Sega:yakuza 6 the song of life will be the last game of kiryu journey,after that,he will finally take the rest
Sega a few year later after yakuza 6:continute bring kiryu back and not let him rest
And now they make him sick and give him death flag
Hello sega,this is what you call let uncle rest huh????
kiryu is the face of the series
Your formatting will give kiryu cancer again.
Hi RC!, first of all thanks for uploading again the soundtrack but now with better quality and also for making the compilation of the boss songs, now I want to ask you something. I don't know if you make requests for music of games that you haven't uploaded to your channel yet and if you do I would like to ask for the game "Transformers Devastation", besides being a quite unknown game, I think its music would have a perfect space in this channel and also because I would like to have the extended versions with the quality that you always manage
Obviously if it is possible. Cheers!
That piano 😩
So, with all of the main story soundtrack has been upload on this channel, I think this is the best time to talk about the game overall.
TL;DR of my thoughts: Great story, could have been improved. 7.5/10
And sidequest? 10/10. It was so fun to take it easy while complete the game.
What do you guys thinks about the story of IW?
(Spoiler Warning down below)
.
.
.
.
.
Pros:
- This game take a very serious issues in which the doxxing and cyber-bullying in general in to the game and show us the consequences of it.
- While Ebina doesn't have much of screentime just like Mine, I can still understand his motive and his hatred toward the Yakuza, fuck his life over. Just like one comment I have seen somewhere:
"Ebina is the mirrored version of Shishido. Shishido wants to preserve the Yakuza while Ebina want to destroy it completely."
- Most of the character in the game has their own moment, some hilarious, some was sad. My personal favorite is Dwight, Eiji and Yamai.
- They also did a good job in portraying Arakawa in this game, as much of a good person when we see him in 7, he also has a dark side.
- I also loved that we have bonding moment with Akane and Ichiban. Even though it was short, the feeling of regret in Akane make this hit harder to me.
Cons:
- Kiryu in this game overshadowed Ichiban a lots.
- The ending feels a bit unsatisfactory to me.
- Joon-gi and Zhao was feels a bit too force to be involve in this game story.
- Wong Tou and Hanawa was "wasted potential"
- Some of the fight feels a bit "fan-service"-y
- Kiryu Soul Links part was honestly make me conflict so much. While it's understandable why he can't talk with most of the characters present in this story, it's make me feels mad more than sad (At least CHADkiyama was here, having the best Soul Links Story)
=> Overall, while the story has some problem in it, this game did a great job at implementing real world issues in the game and show how much people was affected by it.
If I can compare this and 7 story, it would definitely be the Judgment and Lost Judgment story, being the first one is a personal story and the 2nd is more of a grand issues in real-life.
tbh kiryus part feels hella rushed imo
@@breadburner7276only the final Kiryu cutscene was rushed, the final Kiryu section was a lot better than Ichiban by a lot, gameplaywise
for me, Infinite Wealth to Y7 is like Lost Judgment to Judgment
superior and much more polished gameplay, but story is a bit inferior
@@roihu3m I do think Y8 is better than every aspect of Y7, the story may be debatable for people, but if you live in Japan and know the real scenario of real Yakuza in Japan, it will relate much more than normies who just play game without knowing context. Y8 touches on the real thing in society and that is why the Japanese really love this game, Yakuza real life is collapsing and the game is a prime example to demonstrate that
@@roihu3m Yeah, but at the same time, I like Infinite Wealth and Lost Judgment more. Cause the writing for the characters is kinda better, but unlike Lost Judgment, Infinite Wealth doesn’t have one of the best villains they’ve ever made
Any chances that we will see updated compilations like: every regular battle theme or every regular boss theme?
Soon, yup
Why does the dynamic intro look like it represents something
Can you explain please ?
@@IchiBUNProductions I don’t know
Ebiner higher than Kiryu
Hot take: i don’t think kiryus last stand could have ever live up to expectations and this fight is no exception
I can agree with that, but I at least like how it ends
@@charliemcmillan4561yeah it rocks
Imagine if they touched…
0:56 - 1:19 This brings me Lost Judgment Vibes