"The man who gets beat down isn't the loser. The guy who can't tough it out in the end, he's the one who loses." Nanba channeling Kuze through his veins
A detail I really love about ebina’s dynamic intro is that even when getting jumped by the rest of the party he *never* stops staring directly at kiryu
@Garland846 nahh, It's evidently be seen that Only Kiryu that can match Ebina and beat him alone in The Dynamic Intro and His Ending Cutscene, Kiryu is still The Strongest even with his Cancer... That's it
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' Fucking love that RGG finally let him exist.
@@IchiBUNProductionsi think it shows how even tho it hates the Yakuza he himself became one to get his revenge, he is what he hates, and he accepted it
@@TheDisquietingNight i took it as since he lost begging Kiryu to at least help him get rid of one Yakuza, himself. Whether he already felt he was before the fight or not is up to debate i guess,
Not so important fun fact, ebina is the only final boss who shouted kiryu's full name. Other bosses are just screaming KIRYUUUU while ebina just straight up mental and goes "KIRYU KAZUMAAAAAAA"
Ebina, a man whose life was turned upside down by the Yakuza since birth. Shishido represented Kiryu's struggle to end the Yakuza ways, Ebina represents the anger of the innocent affected by the Yakuza.
For those wondering why ebina has a tattoo: read again the title of this ost. He became the very thing he swore to destroy and the tattoo reveal is the moment he finally accepts it
The fact that he basically had to become a Yakuza to try and genocide them with the Judge of Hell on his back is just poetic. Kuze deemed Kiryu worthy of traveling the actual Yakuza underworld after testing Kiryu over and over again before his big battle with Shibusawa. But Ebina? He judged that the Yakuza and it's legends should be sent straight to hell for the pain he had to suffer through and had to become a Enma to make that call to Genocide his own kind.
Kiryu's two final big battles. Shishido. A true Yakuza aspiring to reach the top and not let such a way of life die. Kiryu knew he had to put an end to the way of Yakuza once and for all. Ebina. Once a civilian, affected by the sins of the Yakuza. The culmination of its victims now driven by hate and revenge. Kiryu knew he had to ask for forgiveness on behalf of himself and that Yakuza era. Perfect closing to the Dragon of Dojima's story.
While imo both Gaiden/IW are much better than Y6 I do think Iwami deserves to be part of this " ultimate antagonist trifecta". While he's neither a true Yakuza or a victim of such, he's a very twisted reflection of Kiryu and the Yakuza dream his image as the Dragon helped build, someone with a story that mirrors Kiryu's just as much as it flips it on it's head, creating his one true ideological antithesis.
@jogtube103 infinite wealth’s writing was already finished by the time they were writing Gaiden, so theres a high chance he’ll come back if they get the actor back
It's fitting that the two final boss opponenets that Kiryu faces in his career are both harking back to his Yakuza roots. First you had Shishido, the personification of the old school Yakuza who didn't want to go out quietly. For all his grand speeches on the power of the Yakuza and the dream of rising up the ranks, only for Kiryu to tell him "the dreams of the Yakuza don't mean a damn thing." The Yakuza have no place left in this world, but Shishido and his fellow Omi still fought to the bitter end to maintain those dreams. And even four years later, many of those Yakuza are still struggling to make something new of themselves. Then you have Ebina, personifying the damage the Yakuza have done to those dragged into their orbit. He had basically zero impact on the whole Hikawa v Arakawa thing, and still lost everything as a result. So he turned himself into the thing he hated the most to drag as many of those former Yakuza back and condemn them to a radioactive hell. And Kiryu's faced with the very real consequences of the life he used to lead. Though he's been out of the Yakuza for decades by this point, he still has to come to the terms with the fact he could have done more as the 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan to stop people like Ebina from coming about...but he didn't. So in the twilight of his life, it's time to finally stop denying his own role in the whole mess and take on the accumulated sins of his brothers. The Ebina fight may not be as epic as the one with Bryce, but thematically it's hugely important for Kiryu and the series at large. The terminally ill dragon putting everything on the line one final time, and finally taking responsiblity for his past inactions. You can just feel Kiryu pouring everything he has into that final, fateful punch to smash Ebina off of his feet and win the battle at the end, and then tearfully beg Ebina to give the Yakuza a second chance. Because everyone deserves the right to change themselves for the better.
Just.... wow You steal the words of my mouth I actually feel bad for ebina when i discover his past. While ichi was doing friends and followin his father steps. Ebina was trowin his life to trash just to get revenge.
@@EdoloChannel Exactly my thought. They build up Bryce's character and his myterious vibe so much just for him to use 2 FKING GUNS AND A SWORD on the last battle while posing no actual menacing threats .
Kiryu was guilty, because he didn't take up his responsibilities, to use his influence and changed the yakuza, causing civilians to suffer, even people closed to him. In the end he still decided to go against what Hamazaki said, because just like what he said in gaiden to shishido, yakuza's dream is nothing compared to civilians', especially when it ruined normal people's lives and dreams, causing people like ebina to appear.
Even innocent people hurt by the yakuza, like Eiji and Ebina, appeared to take matters into their own hands to destroy the ex-yakuza who wanted to integrate into civilian society. It's like a victim of school bullying enduring pain and suffering from the bullies when they were in school, and then when they are older, the victims decide to take revenge against the bullies (when the bullies have already moved on from their past mistakes)
@@ignatiotios3459Just like Ebina said 'Years of preying on those weaker than them and now they want an honest life?', i find him very justifiable to get that revenge.
@@LaVitaNouva , plus the storyline of the lost Judgment and Yakuza 8 (Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth), have the same plot for both games. Both games focus on the suffering of the victims, where the victims suffer from the social group (School bullies and Yakuza) that made them suffer. The victims ((Ehara, Reiko, & Kuwana for school bullies because the bullies are killing their children) (while Ebina & Eiji for Yakuza because the Yakuza are destroying innocent people's lives like Eiji & Ebina) decide to take the law into their own hands and to do vigilante justice for them ( former School bullies and former yakuza).
@@OneManCastidk man, after seeing Kiryu looking 10 years older and in a wheelchair I doubt he'll fight ever again. I imagine him as now just being a wise mentor to Kasuga, not a warrior anymore
I think Ebina was a great villain, and I'm surprised that we don't get more characters seeking retribution against the Yakuza as an institution for the lives they ruined. You can definitely question his methods, but I understand why he would do what he did. I also love the Buddhist theming with him. He wants to break a cycle, the cycle of violence! Finally, during his speech they very specifically show the moon behind his back, which is in stark contrast to his half-brother, Kasuga, spending so much time in the sun. Kasuga got Arakawa's attention, but Ebina got nothing.
Considering where we are story wise now, I think villains like Ebina will become more common. After all, the Yakuza are disbanded for good this time, so they will need new plotlines to keep Kasuga and the fans coming back. I certainly hope we get more villains similar, but different at the same time, to Ebina or Bryce. They were a breath of fresh air to a franchise that started to need it. Let's just hope they stay away from dumb plots points like Yakuza 3.
Thats way more positive than anything i could come up with. Intentional or not, it atleast slightly redeems Ebina. Because for me he was just a massive nothing burger. Just a carbon copy of Masato in way worse. Leader of Bleach Japan, has Sawashiros apparent loyalty, also son of Arakawa and brother of Ichiban, also bossfight in the same place you fought Masato, also trying to destroy the Yakuza while using them secretly. Granted his backstory was a lot more understandable than Masato, both are irredemable, but Ebina clearly suffered more, but thats the only thing going for him. The story of Infinite Wealth was pretty garbage either way, but i guess Ebina isnt as bad as i thought. Edit: His plan was awful as well, almost everything about it was well calculated and nonsensical at the same time. Not only that but after pretty much succeding, he admits that he never wanted to win in the first place and just waited for him to be killed by Kyriu/Ichiban, which is just a big why, why go through such a long plan only to give up at the goal, makes zero sense. If he was depresse d and broken so hard he realistically wouldve given up long before the events of Infinite Wealth.
Besides the Three Jima boss fight, Ebina was by far the only boss in the game I genuinely struggled with. Man constantly KO’ed my party, and the only reason I was able to win was because of grabbing Namba’s clutch signature armor set that prevents him from being KO’ed.
It was at this point of the game that I realized all the yakuza trying to find a new life but being brought back to the seiryu clan mirrors kiryu's life in a lot of ways. Kiryu is fighting Ebina to stop the yakuza from becoming like him, a civilian who keeps getting hunted because of their yakuza background. This may have been already apparent but I felt the need to talk about it
Don't forget that all the yakuza Ebina rounded up aren't just being killed but specifically being sent to Palekana's waste dump, aka Cancer Island - to very likely have the same fate as Kiryu on a much faster and more widespread scale, given how high the concentration of radioactive material was in that cave and how nonexistent the safety regulations were. Not to mention how Bryce is an orphanage owner who uses his sway over the kids to create his own loyal army. Kiryu has to entrust dealing with Bryce to Ichiban (just like Ichiban has to entrust stopping/saving his half-brother to Kiryu), but he is very personally invested in both of the finale's conflicts, and I absolutely love it
Love how RGG involves the party during theses dynamic intros. Especially this one, to make you understand that you will need everyone for the battle ahead.
Man, I loved this game's final bosses. Both fit each character so well thematically. Bryce is the foil to Ichiban's work at Hello Work, with both gaining a following from their charisma and leadership, only to lead them down different roads. Ichi sees his "followers" as individuals with their own unique struggles to overcome, believing himself to be imperfect but that everyone has a chance to reform and grow. Bryce believes he's perfect and everyone else imperfect pawns to be used. Only he and his chosen few matter, while everyone else can be discarded. Ichi is a leader, while Bryce is a boss. Ichi is entrusted with the yakuza's future by reforming them, not treating them like pawns or slaves like Bryce does. Ebina is indirectly the result of the sins of the yakuza lifestyle, ones that Kiryu has to carry. While this game has Kiryu realize that he can rely on others and that his struggles don't have to be his own, even he acknowledges that if he didn't run from his duty as 4th Chariman, things might've been different. Ebina is just one casualty among countless others of the yakuza, and this past is one that only Kiryu can clean up. His last plea to Ebina really gives a "father of the Yakuza" vibe to me, a theme that extends from the themes of Yakuza 6. While Ebina was Ichi's half-brother, that's honestly kinda irrelevant; the REAL meaning of this was that he was just a discarded son of Arakawa, yet another product of yakuza politics. Kiryu faces the yakuza's past, as the spiritual father of the modern (late 80's and beyond) yakuza with tangible effects today. This story was amazing; might be among my favorites in the series!!
@@Daddy_Grimm Thanks!! While 8's story is a bit less personal than 7's, I think they NAILED the themes of this game while also summarizing that of Ichi and Kiryu's lifestyles!!
Kiryu knows better than anyone else how many lives the yakuza have ruined, but he never tried to improve the system and honestly couldn't accomplish anything by himself anyway. He does genuinely want a better future for everyone but he never actually thinks through how he can best help people achieve that beyond sacrificing himself. He is so consumed by his survivor's guilt that he always short shortsightedly leaps to action to save what's in front of him, without any regard for the consequences. It's no coincidence that his cancer diagnosis came from diving into a contamination leak to save a stranger, on top of having volunteered for nuclear waste disposal in the first place referencing the Japanese elderly that volunteered for cleanup following the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns. But in this game, he learned so much from Ichiban's example and Date's support that he could finally change his way of thinking, allowing him to understand Ebina and convincing him to finally seek treatment and live on. Ebina being Kiryu's final boss was brilliant in the same way Aizawa worked thematically (though imo both final bosses were disappointingly backloaded and underdeveloped). In the same way that Shishido is Aizawa 2.0 with how RGG is doing another take on the themes of each final boss, I think Ebina is Daigo 2.0 representing the consequences of Kiryu abandoning his responsibilities like with Daigo in y4.
@@GrooseyGroose Definitely agree with a lot of this; Kiryu has always been stubborn, and his survivor's guilt combined with this stubbornness really does show up in some very negative ways in many of Kiryu's later games (this one included). I definitely think Ebina was better built up than Aizawa, though. Strangely enough, while I agree with the Daigo from Y4 comparison, I also see a little bit of Mine in Ebina, too. They both worked their way up from a life that just did not support them, both feeling wronged by everyone that they felt should've cared about them. RGG has been delivering some especially great villains since Y6, imo!!
I think it was an interesting story because it intertwined well with the situation in Japan.real yakuza hiding out in Southeast Asia directing Japanese crime as the mafia, old yakuza becoming hit men because the younger ones decline, some trying to rejoin society, others wanting to stay in prison because they have no place to stay, etc.
when ebina was one hit away from dying he used his ultimate katana move and wiped out the entire party except for kiryu who was in critical health. I managed to just finish him off with essence of rememberance which was super cool. it felt like kiryu was channeling all his previous fights, experiences and regrets into one final KAKATEKOI and it just managed to kill Ebina. it was super down to the wire and i think i will remember the excitement, dread and feeling of finality that came with beating kiryu's final fight in the series for a long time.
Man I love that. I wanted Kiryu to get the last hit, so when Ebina only had a little hp left I just had a character do a basic attack thinking he'd tank it. Then another ran over to do a follow-up move and almost stole the kill lmao, but thankfully Ebina hung in there to get decimated by Dragon's Resurgence
I love how we can have moments like that in these games, where it's like we're helping to craft the story. Reminds me of when I played the end of LAD Gaiden. When Kiryu was with his Tojo friends fighting Omi outside Omi HQ, I picked up a sword without realizing it was there and activated a heat action with it. felt like a real "anime moment". Then when it came to the last QTE against Shishido, I was caught off-guard and kinda panicked. I felt like I pressed two buttons in the moment, but somehow I pulled off the QTE and the fight ended. it's like things came in clutch, and Kiryu was able to narrowly secure the win 😆
@@Sune that's actually a great way of putting it. I never thought of it as the player helping to make the story more exciting and memorable through their actions but I guess that's actually pretty true. I loved the gaiden finale too and I made sure to finish off shishido with a really hard to pull off juggle combo that i spent a while practicing to mixed results. So to see it work with him was really exciting and fun.
In a way it brought me memories from LJ story such as Kuwana could not forgive the bullies walking away scott free, ebina could not see the yakuza walking way into an happy life leaving the victims of their actions without justice.
Dame Da Ne Guy: It's The End of Denial, Doctor Da Han. It's about Baka Mi-time I end your ambitions to commit Baka Mi-crimes to get Infinite Wealth! Doctor Han: Hah! YongYeah right, Dame Da Ne Guy! Unlike you, I am a surgeon, and I'm gonna give you a Han'd in dying down Like a Dragon!
This right here is Kiryu's Swan Song. It feels like his journey is finally coming to a close. I feel as if the 80's synth captures that feeling perfectly since that's where it all started.
Kiryu facing the culmination of all those years of sins committed by the Yakuza. And at the end of the road, the only thing left is the end of the denial. Yep, its peak.
I got my ass thrashed so hard by this guy, that I was left with only Kiryu standing. It was just him and Ebina trading blows and occasionally healing. God it was satisfying to finish off.
Ebina: Physically Strong Enough to go toe to toe with Kiryu's party and Kiryu who even though had cancer, was battle hardened and had a lot of skill with his training with the Daidoji. Ichiban: Was the only Party Member who was left standing against the fight with Kiryu because of the pure willpower he has. Arawaka literally created two almost supersoldiers sons
The man annihilated an entire family at the peak of the yakuza’s power during the Bubble - and a decently known Tojo family at that. Arakawa was no slouch himself.
Arakawa being set up as this legendary figure we don't actually know that well is such a refreshing thing for this franchse. 'Cause everyone else that filled that role has been long gone and we've been missing that feel of a long, historied world.
I like how final boss for this game is a civilian and someone who is on a "good" side morally, because its the first time we fight a non yakuza but rather someone who wants Yakuza dead, for all the unjustice they brought up. Its cool to fight a badass standard yakuza wannna make it to the top type of character, but its special to see someone on the other side, the one who suffered from Yakuza actions since birth. I find it very somber, and theme reflects on it by melancholic and tragic untertones.
This is the perfect send off while gaidens final boss represented the purest form of yakuza the lifestyle kyriu dreamed off in 0 he realizes that it longer belongs in our society and it falls to him to put a end to the yakuza. 8 final represents the people that suffered from the yakuza, and only kyriu can put a stop to ebina since he was there since the beginning and only he can attone for it. I would be happy if it ended here and RGG created a new story or focused on judgment.
at this point bringing Kiryu back to story is gonna be pointless because KIryu had already had his peak, his character development and his end here, they could show him in the next game back with Haruka and kids and thats it, its a wrap for Kiryu, let the man rest RGG. Like you said either focus on Ichiban next or new Judgment game would be very much appreciated.
Despite having played several of these games at this point, I still was not prepared for Ebina to reveal he had an 18-pack under that suit this whole time. After seeing him swat away almost the entire party, I could only muster one word: "Fuck."
This game has been absolutely crazy and I didn't think they could one up Gaiden's final boss. This game had me in a chokehold the second I started to play it and I still want more after beating it. I had my doubts about the game but RGG somehow pulled through and made peak again. Not sure what they could do in LAD 9 but I doubt they could possibly beat the very high stakes that LAD IW had.
@@battlerushiromiya3400 For the first time in a while, the villains felt like they were a proper threat like the Tojo clan in Yakuza 0 or Yakuza 1. Ichiban was also hunted by basically the entirety of Hawaii because there were so much people indoctrinated by Palekana. Kiryu was also no longer the unstoppable beast he was because he had cancer so he isn't in a good state to be fighting an entire organization like he usually does.
@spacegoose2989 I agree with everything you said... But even so, I'm still really bummed that the finalle didn't have any of these high stakes at all. It felt like we were still in the middle of the game, you know? There was no more danger. We were just finishing up business with pretty much nothing against us, not anymore.
@@battlerushiromiya3400 The stakes were saving the Yakuza and Hawaii gangs and civilians both from themselves and from Ebina and Bryce. The two antagonists were not only going to set up the private island to be a dumping ground but also as torture site where the inhabitants were going to die from cancer. The who plan was Ichiban was in charge of letting the Yakuza and by extension the people of Hawaii a future while Kiryu takes on his and the Yakuza's past sins to pave way to the future generation.
Putting aside Nanba and Saeko, can we appreciate how effortlessly Ebina swats away Seon-hee and Zhao. The current head of the Geomijul/Liumang alliance, and the former head of the Liumang, without breaking a sweat.
The guitar riff choruses have a nice parallel. The first one is from low to high, to show the build up of hatred. The second one from high to low, where the hatred is fully released.
I agree tho, It should have gone like the Party members are tired and the usual happens where Kiryu and Ebina does the "lets finish this" punch, but instead of Kiryu quickly finishing off Ebina, they both push eachother back, they both have a 1v1, in beat em up style, both in their very last limits, being driven by willpower alone
I like to think that Kiryu still could have pulled through this fight solo, I mean, he broke a sword with his bare fists, and then launched Ebina into the air like volleyball, plus Ebina was locked onto him the whole time anyways, but he wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale without the party.
While I preferred Ichiban's final boss, I gotta say I'm impressed how the final bosses fit so well for both characters. Ichiban fights a guy who thinks he's god (So, JRPG trope of slaying god) Kiryu gets a traditional Yakuza final boss (aside from it being turn based now).
@@slasherzero7275I liked it. It made the Jingu/Munakata horde type boss battle good. As it so happens, making the battles in this franchise turn based made such battles more bearable.
One thing I noticed with Ebina as a fight, so much of the cutscenes felt like references to other fights. The moment I saw the Jumping knee block, I thought of Mine, even if Kiryu was doing his signature high kick. The punches that narrowly miss each other so that they hook elbows makes me think of the start of Saejima's fight in 4. Immediately after followed by haymaker after haymaker like the last fight against Kuze in 0. Not sure if I'm reading into it too much, but I definitely got giddy.
Ebina may well be the best villain in the main series. At least for me. Strong motivation. Genius intellect constantly being a move ahead. A viable physical threat for the good guys. For me only Masato, Shishido and Iwami come close in terms of main villains.
I don't know about y'all but Kurosawa was a genuinely good villain. He serves as the antithesis of the games message. And this guy was strong as hell in his prime. Probably the most powerful If it weren't for his lung cancer he could have killed Kiryu, Watase, Katsuya and Saejima with his bare hands.
Yeah yeah i get kiryu's nerfed but ebina still packed the rest of the crew by the end. A 1v5 is still a 1v5 and bro lasted long for facing an opponent who can break a fucking katana with his bare hand.
@@Norrabal Honestly, I think this is the _actual_ end of the road for Kiryu. All his loose threads have been tied up, and the man physically cannot fight like he used to. They spent a solid few moments explaining that "yes, Kiryu has cancer, it's terminal, and there's no way he can heal it. 6 months to live, no bones about it." They ended with him being in a hospice. He can't come back without some extremely twisted writing. Best case scenario, he comes back in something non-canon. For all intents and purposes? The Dragon finally has a place to roost, with a Hero below able to carry his torch into the future.
I feel like everyone can agree that this man got off HELLA lucky considering that Kiryu was dying of cancer throughout the game. If this was healthy Kiryu, this would've been a landslide fight.
so embaeassing for zhao and seonhee to get put down like that 😭😭 these r leaders of crime syndicates wtf r they doing; USE YOUR SWORD AND CLAWS AND SHIT
It's even more surprising when you look at how they perform during the fight against Dojima, Saejima and Majima. Seonhee even manages to defend Kiryu against Saejima himself.
@@HarmonySword actually in Like A Dragon Gaiden in the Omi fight which is from Kiryu's perspective, 4 years before he gets Ichi's gamer brain rot, you can see the LaD7 party fighting against omi grunts and Zhao has his saber out. :3
@teee123 I've already listened to those before this lmao. For My Sake is so goddamn good. I love the improvision like a minute and a half in it. Destiny and Scattered Moment are ok imo. I prefer Bad Flower Fortune and Bloodstained Philosophy over their tragic counterparts
@@kasidechjumpeeruang1413It seems like there were plans for an Eiji boss battle somewhere along the line pretty far into development, judging by him having a full enemy model in the Sujidex after his battle in the El Dorado (Yamai’s cabaret). He stands and holds a gun on his model showcased there, unlike the other enemies from 7 and 8 who appear as still projections when they’re either too big or have a special build (like animals, the Sojimaru variants, and the construction equipment). If him having a regular enemy model means what I think it does, then it would explain why he appears so different in the epilogue cutscene when we never actually see him flee Hawaii and go into hiding despite that small appearance during Chitose’s exposé.
Just make Ichiban severely injured and exhausted after Bryce's fight and still needs to fight Eiji 1vs1, that would make the boss fight more even and convincing.
It's a shame Ebina and Ichi never got another encounter outside of the beginning and all the Tatara channel stuff. Kinda made Ebina being his half brother a semi-useless reveal
He doesn’t care anyway, the way Ichiban was acting towards mothers, it seems like he was like: okay, I save your life but I don’t care about you, I’m on a mission
@@andresashura5550 wow... he clearly does care, he also EXPLICITLY SAYS HE DOES NOT SEE AKANE AS HIS MOTHER BUT AS THE WOMAN HIS BOSS LOVED... its plausible he feels the same about Ebina, he still literally risked his life for Akane and Lani a bunch of times and would have tried to save Ebina too...
The reveal wasn’t that he was Ichiban’s half-brother, the reveal was that he was Masumi Arakawa’s son and as a necessary consequence that makes him related to Ichiban. But yeah it’s a shame they never explored that even if it makes sense that Ichiban wouldn’t care overly much.
Ichiban carrying Ebina across the city after the defeat and forming a bond with him during it would've been 100 times more effective than what we got with Eiji
Yakuza fans try not to turn every discussion about a kiryu fight into a fucking battle shonen powerscaling discussion
"Kiryu's Tiger drop is easily high universal in terms of raw strength 🤓☝️"
i would solo kiryu ngl
Kiryu's tiger drop will solo thanos fr fr
Tiger drop negs all damage
I could solo all 4 of saejima, kiryu, majima, daigo (not in a fight though)
''Terminally ill man breaks a katana with his forearm''.
God i will miss Kiryu
My jaw near dislocated when he did the thing with the katana in Gaiden
Imagine the next game has Kiryu as one of the protags again but the excuse for why he’s level 1 again is because he survived his chemo
@@zappiestlynx9567 I’d be on board with that 👍
Nanba charging at Ebina first like the legend he is 🔥🗣️
We all need a friend like Nanba
@@Hilversumborn Absolutely, what a chad
Just to get bodied first 😭
Bro charged in knowing he's 100% gonna get dropped 😭 get a bro like nanba
"The man who gets beat down isn't the loser. The guy who can't tough it out in the end, he's the one who loses."
Nanba channeling Kuze through his veins
A detail I really love about ebina’s dynamic intro is that even when getting jumped by the rest of the party he *never* stops staring directly at kiryu
This is wild. Can't believe I didn't notice that.
That's so cool.
He does for a brief moment when he throws Seonhee, but yeah his real target is Kiryu.
Just imagine if this game didn't switch to RPG, it would've just been another solo fight for Kiryu.
Ebina is the definition of locked in.
"Kiryu would easily beat Ebina without canc-" ALRIGHT I GET IT
@Garland846Not to mention Ebina beat Sawashiro, who in LAD7, took a lot from the whole party to beat.
@@LaVitaNouvano he didn't. For all we know he could've been ambushed which is almost always the case in Yakuza
@@LaVitaNouvaHe blackmailed Sawashiro into submission
@Garland846 nahh, It's evidently be seen that Only Kiryu that can match Ebina and beat him alone in The Dynamic Intro and His Ending Cutscene, Kiryu is still The Strongest even with his Cancer... That's it
@Garland846 what? the fight with the jimas was a draw, everyone, even kiryu, was floored
i really like they just put his name, no title, no symbol, just the man and his hate, now denying his facade of a captain
Also mirrors Kiryu's first fight as a boss. (Saejima's post breakout boss in Y4) Kiryu there does not have anything else besides his name.
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'
Fucking love that RGG finally let him exist.
And thats why i would prefer Ebina without a tatoo
@@IchiBUNProductions I was thinking this last night and come with only one excuse, to disguise himself as a yakuza better than without tattoo.
@@IchiBUNProductionsi think it shows how even tho it hates the Yakuza he himself became one to get his revenge, he is what he hates, and he accepted it
@@dou5397 is he? Iirc, after the fight, he begs Kiryu to kill him because it finally clicks in his mind that he became the monster he sought to end
@@TheDisquietingNight i took it as since he lost begging Kiryu to at least help him get rid of one Yakuza, himself. Whether he already felt he was before the fight or not is up to debate i guess,
Not so important fun fact, ebina is the only final boss who shouted kiryu's full name. Other bosses are just screaming KIRYUUUU while ebina just straight up mental and goes "KIRYU KAZUMAAAAAAA"
Ebina, a man whose life was turned upside down by the Yakuza since birth. Shishido represented Kiryu's struggle to end the Yakuza ways, Ebina represents the anger of the innocent affected by the Yakuza.
Kiryu’s “Deadly Struggle”
@@felipebastos7661A deadly struggle against what the yakuza is known for and the end of denial for what the yakuza has caused
@@ajm_07knuckles63 It’s a shame that Ebina had such an Unwavering Belief and allowed himself to be part that Viper’s plan, Bryce
Which is ironic, because Ebina is more Like a Yakuza than he realizes.
@@OneManCast That's why he asks Kiryu to just kill him at the end, he can't live with what he has become in his pursuit of revenge.
For those wondering why ebina has a tattoo: read again the title of this ost. He became the very thing he swore to destroy and the tattoo reveal is the moment he finally accepts it
It's a pretty killer tat as well.
@@EDDYSUNSHINEv2 sure, one of the best in the entire series imo. He basically has a demon version of himself on his back
The fact that he basically had to become a Yakuza to try and genocide them with the Judge of Hell on his back is just poetic.
Kuze deemed Kiryu worthy of traveling the actual Yakuza underworld after testing Kiryu over and over again before his big battle with Shibusawa.
But Ebina? He judged that the Yakuza and it's legends should be sent straight to hell for the pain he had to suffer through and had to become a Enma to make that call to Genocide his own kind.
Kiryu's two final big battles.
Shishido. A true Yakuza aspiring to reach the top and not let such a way of life die. Kiryu knew he had to put an end to the way of Yakuza once and for all.
Ebina. Once a civilian, affected by the sins of the Yakuza. The culmination of its victims now driven by hate and revenge. Kiryu knew he had to ask for forgiveness on behalf of himself and that Yakuza era.
Perfect closing to the Dragon of Dojima's story.
Nah it’s not yet the perfect end the yakuza last chapter or yakuza 9
Until the the next game then the game after that will be the end of his story
It'd be only a perfect ending if We saw Kiryu and Haruka Reunite on screen
While imo both Gaiden/IW are much better than Y6 I do think Iwami deserves to be part of this " ultimate antagonist trifecta". While he's neither a true Yakuza or a victim of such, he's a very twisted reflection of Kiryu and the Yakuza dream his image as the Dragon helped build, someone with a story that mirrors Kiryu's just as much as it flips it on it's head, creating his one true ideological antithesis.
@jogtube103 infinite wealth’s writing was already finished by the time they were writing Gaiden, so theres a high chance he’ll come back if they get the actor back
“The end of denial” is such a cool track name, and so fitting for kiryu’s arc.
and metempsychosis is the Greek version of reincarnation, fitting for the theme of passing on the torch
Passing the spirit of the Dragon to Ichiban.
It's fitting that the two final boss opponenets that Kiryu faces in his career are both harking back to his Yakuza roots.
First you had Shishido, the personification of the old school Yakuza who didn't want to go out quietly. For all his grand speeches on the power of the Yakuza and the dream of rising up the ranks, only for Kiryu to tell him "the dreams of the Yakuza don't mean a damn thing." The Yakuza have no place left in this world, but Shishido and his fellow Omi still fought to the bitter end to maintain those dreams. And even four years later, many of those Yakuza are still struggling to make something new of themselves.
Then you have Ebina, personifying the damage the Yakuza have done to those dragged into their orbit. He had basically zero impact on the whole Hikawa v Arakawa thing, and still lost everything as a result. So he turned himself into the thing he hated the most to drag as many of those former Yakuza back and condemn them to a radioactive hell. And Kiryu's faced with the very real consequences of the life he used to lead. Though he's been out of the Yakuza for decades by this point, he still has to come to the terms with the fact he could have done more as the 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan to stop people like Ebina from coming about...but he didn't. So in the twilight of his life, it's time to finally stop denying his own role in the whole mess and take on the accumulated sins of his brothers.
The Ebina fight may not be as epic as the one with Bryce, but thematically it's hugely important for Kiryu and the series at large. The terminally ill dragon putting everything on the line one final time, and finally taking responsiblity for his past inactions. You can just feel Kiryu pouring everything he has into that final, fateful punch to smash Ebina off of his feet and win the battle at the end, and then tearfully beg Ebina to give the Yakuza a second chance.
Because everyone deserves the right to change themselves for the better.
Bryce's fight was very underwhelming.
lol no, Ebina's fight was way more epic, emotional and cooler than Bryce
Just.... wow
You steal the words of my mouth
I actually feel bad for ebina when i discover his past. While ichi was doing friends and followin his father steps. Ebina was trowin his life to trash just to get revenge.
@@EdoloChannel Exactly my thought. They build up Bryce's character and his myterious vibe so much just for him to use 2 FKING GUNS AND A SWORD on the last battle while posing no actual menacing threats
.
1:45 Yakuza ps2 start menu roar
A beautiful callback
No fucking way
I booted up my ps2 yakuza
HELL YEAH IT IS!!!
Siren you mean?
i also heard, right before the roar, a few of the notes from For Faith. i wouldn't be surprised if this theme has a lot more references like that :)
Ebina pushed away the party members like nothing while keeping his eyes completely on Kiryu. Cause he knows who his biggest threat is
Kiryu was guilty, because he didn't take up his responsibilities, to use his influence and changed the yakuza, causing civilians to suffer, even people closed to him. In the end he still decided to go against what Hamazaki said, because just like what he said in gaiden to shishido, yakuza's dream is nothing compared to civilians', especially when it ruined normal people's lives and dreams, causing people like ebina to appear.
This is deep
Even innocent people hurt by the yakuza, like Eiji and Ebina, appeared to take matters into their own hands to destroy the ex-yakuza who wanted to integrate into civilian society. It's like a victim of school bullying enduring pain and suffering from the bullies when they were in school, and then when they are older, the victims decide to take revenge against the bullies (when the bullies have already moved on from their past mistakes)
@@ignatiotios3459Just like Ebina said 'Years of preying on those weaker than them and now they want an honest life?', i find him very justifiable to get that revenge.
@@LaVitaNouva , plus the storyline of the lost Judgment and Yakuza 8 (Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth), have the same plot for both games. Both games focus on the suffering of the victims, where the victims suffer from the social group (School bullies and Yakuza) that made them suffer. The victims ((Ehara, Reiko, & Kuwana for school bullies because the bullies are killing their children) (while Ebina & Eiji for Yakuza because the Yakuza are destroying innocent people's lives like Eiji & Ebina) decide to take the law into their own hands and to do vigilante justice for them ( former School bullies and former yakuza).
@@ignatiotios3459 Reiko's son doesn't die tho. He's in a coma and wakes up after a long time
Saeko being the only one smart enough not to rush the guy.
I wouldn't be surprised if the developers made Seonhee a party member just so the enemies don't hit Saeko.
Tbh Seonhee had more melee skills and experience than Saeko so it would make sense. Saeko is more into like cheerleading and medic.
i think you mean rgg will never animate saeko fighting in a cutscene ever
@@commanderodinstark3416 they already did, at the Omi HQ battle (nerd emoji here)
What she gon do???😂😂😂
Bro Kiryu is dying AND BROKE A KATANA WITH HIS BARE
DUCKING
HANDS
Kiryu is just that guy, pal
Kiryu is nicknamed "Dragon of Dojima" to Yakuza, but the normal people call Kiryu "Him"
We are adults,
No one will tell you off for swearing,
No need to censor yourself
@@theonattrass2207Yeah but you know how TH-cam works. Sometimes swearing means your comment can't be seen if you Sort by Top Comments.
And here I thought him blocking a katana with his bare hands in Gaiden was impressive
Even almost dying, past his prime, kiryu still manages to give a fight, this man is definitely the legendary Dragon he is
I like how even Sawashiro barely alive acknowledges Kiryu saying he is a different breed
remember, the Amon Clan will end Kiryu, not some illness.
I wish the fight was not turn based
@@cantufekci23 I hope the true Last Kiryu Saga game will be against the Amon clan.
@@OneManCastidk man, after seeing Kiryu looking 10 years older and in a wheelchair I doubt he'll fight ever again. I imagine him as now just being a wise mentor to Kasuga, not a warrior anymore
I think Ebina was a great villain, and I'm surprised that we don't get more characters seeking retribution against the Yakuza as an institution for the lives they ruined. You can definitely question his methods, but I understand why he would do what he did. I also love the Buddhist theming with him. He wants to break a cycle, the cycle of violence! Finally, during his speech they very specifically show the moon behind his back, which is in stark contrast to his half-brother, Kasuga, spending so much time in the sun. Kasuga got Arakawa's attention, but Ebina got nothing.
That's a very good analysis !
@@nasmatiquethank you! I'm glad someone enjoys my overthinking about game stories :)
@@coolfish420 I like the symbolism with the sun and moon! Honestly helps the idea that Ebina is supposed to be a dark mirror of Ichiban and his path
Considering where we are story wise now, I think villains like Ebina will become more common.
After all, the Yakuza are disbanded for good this time, so they will need new plotlines to keep Kasuga and the fans coming back.
I certainly hope we get more villains similar, but different at the same time, to Ebina or Bryce.
They were a breath of fresh air to a franchise that started to need it. Let's just hope they stay away from dumb plots points like Yakuza 3.
Thats way more positive than anything i could come up with. Intentional or not, it atleast slightly redeems Ebina. Because for me he was just a massive nothing burger. Just a carbon copy of Masato in way worse. Leader of Bleach Japan, has Sawashiros apparent loyalty, also son of Arakawa and brother of Ichiban, also bossfight in the same place you fought Masato, also trying to destroy the Yakuza while using them secretly. Granted his backstory was a lot more understandable than Masato, both are irredemable, but Ebina clearly suffered more, but thats the only thing going for him. The story of Infinite Wealth was pretty garbage either way, but i guess Ebina isnt as bad as i thought. Edit: His plan was awful as well, almost everything about it was well calculated and nonsensical at the same time. Not only that but after pretty much succeding, he admits that he never wanted to win in the first place and just waited for him to be killed by Kyriu/Ichiban, which is just a big why, why go through such a long plan only to give up at the goal, makes zero sense. If he was depresse d and broken so hard he realistically wouldve given up long before the events of Infinite Wealth.
If "That part of the song:" Was a full track
The first part is so fucking good
ITS SO PEAK
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.
Hatred, Grief and Vengeance will do that to a person.
Amongst three of Masumi's sons, Ebina is definitely the strongest
Besides the Three Jima boss fight, Ebina was by far the only boss in the game I genuinely struggled with. Man constantly KO’ed my party, and the only reason I was able to win was because of grabbing Namba’s clutch signature armor set that prevents him from being KO’ed.
Essence of remembrance was the perfect way to end this fight, saved it just for the last hit
I finished it with the Dragon's Resurgence, I thought that was a great way too
I had seonhee step on his nuts. Best way to end this fight.
ultimate essence dragons resurgence for me
ended it with the essence of the dragon god, since in the description it says it's the dragon of dojima's last stand
End the fight with Kiryu's best friend trademark kick? The first rival he defeated in that same Millenium Tower? Poetic
Ebina is the biggest player hater in this series and I'm all for it
Same.
We are the yakuza 4!
The fact that the song features an 80s-style synth lead and Kiryu's story started in the 80s I'm not crying you're crying!
i didnt think this track could get anymore peak until u pointed this out
This comes close to being on a higher tier than 2 dragons but loses by half a point.
It was at this point of the game that I realized all the yakuza trying to find a new life but being brought back to the seiryu clan mirrors kiryu's life in a lot of ways. Kiryu is fighting Ebina to stop the yakuza from becoming like him, a civilian who keeps getting hunted because of their yakuza background. This may have been already apparent but I felt the need to talk about it
Don't forget that all the yakuza Ebina rounded up aren't just being killed but specifically being sent to Palekana's waste dump, aka Cancer Island - to very likely have the same fate as Kiryu on a much faster and more widespread scale, given how high the concentration of radioactive material was in that cave and how nonexistent the safety regulations were. Not to mention how Bryce is an orphanage owner who uses his sway over the kids to create his own loyal army. Kiryu has to entrust dealing with Bryce to Ichiban (just like Ichiban has to entrust stopping/saving his half-brother to Kiryu), but he is very personally invested in both of the finale's conflicts, and I absolutely love it
Love how RGG involves the party during theses dynamic intros. Especially this one, to make you understand that you will need everyone for the battle ahead.
That was made easier by the fact that the members are separated into two parties, which honestly is creative on their part
1:45 The guitar riff from the track "Roar of the Dragon" from Yakuza 1 can be heard faintly
its coming full circle
Surely this means this is Kiryu's last battle.
Man, I loved this game's final bosses. Both fit each character so well thematically.
Bryce is the foil to Ichiban's work at Hello Work, with both gaining a following from their charisma and leadership, only to lead them down different roads. Ichi sees his "followers" as individuals with their own unique struggles to overcome, believing himself to be imperfect but that everyone has a chance to reform and grow. Bryce believes he's perfect and everyone else imperfect pawns to be used. Only he and his chosen few matter, while everyone else can be discarded. Ichi is a leader, while Bryce is a boss. Ichi is entrusted with the yakuza's future by reforming them, not treating them like pawns or slaves like Bryce does.
Ebina is indirectly the result of the sins of the yakuza lifestyle, ones that Kiryu has to carry. While this game has Kiryu realize that he can rely on others and that his struggles don't have to be his own, even he acknowledges that if he didn't run from his duty as 4th Chariman, things might've been different. Ebina is just one casualty among countless others of the yakuza, and this past is one that only Kiryu can clean up. His last plea to Ebina really gives a "father of the Yakuza" vibe to me, a theme that extends from the themes of Yakuza 6. While Ebina was Ichi's half-brother, that's honestly kinda irrelevant; the REAL meaning of this was that he was just a discarded son of Arakawa, yet another product of yakuza politics. Kiryu faces the yakuza's past, as the spiritual father of the modern (late 80's and beyond) yakuza with tangible effects today.
This story was amazing; might be among my favorites in the series!!
I think you perfectly summed up the antagonists. This was a great read after having just finished the game.
@@Daddy_Grimm Thanks!! While 8's story is a bit less personal than 7's, I think they NAILED the themes of this game while also summarizing that of Ichi and Kiryu's lifestyles!!
Kiryu knows better than anyone else how many lives the yakuza have ruined, but he never tried to improve the system and honestly couldn't accomplish anything by himself anyway. He does genuinely want a better future for everyone but he never actually thinks through how he can best help people achieve that beyond sacrificing himself. He is so consumed by his survivor's guilt that he always short shortsightedly leaps to action to save what's in front of him, without any regard for the consequences. It's no coincidence that his cancer diagnosis came from diving into a contamination leak to save a stranger, on top of having volunteered for nuclear waste disposal in the first place referencing the Japanese elderly that volunteered for cleanup following the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns. But in this game, he learned so much from Ichiban's example and Date's support that he could finally change his way of thinking, allowing him to understand Ebina and convincing him to finally seek treatment and live on.
Ebina being Kiryu's final boss was brilliant in the same way Aizawa worked thematically (though imo both final bosses were disappointingly backloaded and underdeveloped). In the same way that Shishido is Aizawa 2.0 with how RGG is doing another take on the themes of each final boss, I think Ebina is Daigo 2.0 representing the consequences of Kiryu abandoning his responsibilities like with Daigo in y4.
@@GrooseyGroose Definitely agree with a lot of this; Kiryu has always been stubborn, and his survivor's guilt combined with this stubbornness really does show up in some very negative ways in many of Kiryu's later games (this one included). I definitely think Ebina was better built up than Aizawa, though.
Strangely enough, while I agree with the Daigo from Y4 comparison, I also see a little bit of Mine in Ebina, too. They both worked their way up from a life that just did not support them, both feeling wronged by everyone that they felt should've cared about them. RGG has been delivering some especially great villains since Y6, imo!!
I think it was an interesting story because it intertwined well with the situation in Japan.real yakuza hiding out in Southeast Asia directing Japanese crime as the mafia, old yakuza becoming hit men because the younger ones decline, some trying to rejoin society, others wanting to stay in prison because they have no place to stay, etc.
Ending the fight with just Kiryu alive and the essence of the memory was something magical in my eyes
Did the same thing and can confirm
I knew deep down I wasn't the only one that ended up finishing the fight that way and seeing this only confirms it
It's either essence of rememberance or dragon resurgence. There's no other way to end the fight better than those
@@dinoblade8167 Ah I didn't know, I based it on the French name of the move
@@uberman64 how tho? the fight wasnt that hard
what impressed me is kiryu still going punch for punch despite knowing his strength is dwindled but his willpower is still shown
Something about the lighting in these scenes really makes Kiryu look even more sick.
god I’m so sad.
when ebina was one hit away from dying he used his ultimate katana move and wiped out the entire party except for kiryu who was in critical health. I managed to just finish him off with essence of rememberance which was super cool. it felt like kiryu was channeling all his previous fights, experiences and regrets into one final KAKATEKOI and it just managed to kill Ebina. it was super down to the wire and i think i will remember the excitement, dread and feeling of finality that came with beating kiryu's final fight in the series for a long time.
I'm really glad I fought him a few levels under, he really made me work for the victory. Super cool fight.
Man I love that. I wanted Kiryu to get the last hit, so when Ebina only had a little hp left I just had a character do a basic attack thinking he'd tank it. Then another ran over to do a follow-up move and almost stole the kill lmao, but thankfully Ebina hung in there to get decimated by Dragon's Resurgence
I love how we can have moments like that in these games, where it's like we're helping to craft the story.
Reminds me of when I played the end of LAD Gaiden. When Kiryu was with his Tojo friends fighting Omi outside Omi HQ, I picked up a sword without realizing it was there and activated a heat action with it. felt like a real "anime moment".
Then when it came to the last QTE against Shishido, I was caught off-guard and kinda panicked. I felt like I pressed two buttons in the moment, but somehow I pulled off the QTE and the fight ended. it's like things came in clutch, and Kiryu was able to narrowly secure the win 😆
@@Sune that's actually a great way of putting it. I never thought of it as the player helping to make the story more exciting and memorable through their actions but I guess that's actually pretty true.
I loved the gaiden finale too and I made sure to finish off shishido with a really hard to pull off juggle combo that i spent a while practicing to mixed results. So to see it work with him was really exciting and fun.
Loved Ebina's motive. He really took the Second Great Dissolution to heart.
agreed! i kinda wish he got more screentime, but that’s only because he was super interesting in literally every scene he was in
In a way it brought me memories from LJ story such as Kuwana could not forgive the bullies walking away scott free, ebina could not see the yakuza walking way into an happy life leaving the victims of their actions without justice.
Dame Da Ne Guy: It's The End of Denial, Doctor Da Han. It's about Baka Mi-time I end your ambitions to commit Baka Mi-crimes to get Infinite Wealth!
Doctor Han: Hah! YongYeah right, Dame Da Ne Guy! Unlike you, I am a surgeon, and I'm gonna give you a Han'd in dying down Like a Dragon!
✍️✍️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 bravo yokoyama
LOL
LMAO
Obligatory 69 like comment here.
This is the worst thing I've ever read. I love it
Kiryu has finally become the natural predator of katanas after all these years.
I love how in gaiden he tried to catch the sword in the dynamic intro but it cut his shoulder, here, he stopped at full force.
bro just keeps on catching katanas with his bare hands, it makes you wonder how fucking tough Kiryu's skin is if they cant even fully cut him
@@nobu6833it's unwise to underestimate the dragons hide
Majima did it first with his katana heat actions
@@weedGato
Kiryu:Grabs a katana with his bare hands and breaks it.
Majima:Catches a katana with his bare teeth and chucks it back at the enemy.
That punch in the final QTE... you could feel the immense power and rage Kiryu put in it.
海老名の背中には罪人を地獄に送る鬼が描かれている。
背中は生き様であり、海老名は復讐と制裁に生きた。
同時に、それは自分もヤクザになり、罪人になった証拠。
例え全てのヤクザに復讐出来なくても、海老名はヤクザとして、自分も地獄に行くつもりだったんだと思う。
This right here is Kiryu's Swan Song. It feels like his journey is finally coming to a close. I feel as if the 80's synth captures that feeling perfectly since that's where it all started.
Virgin "i hid behind women and children" Iwami
Vs
Chad "i almost clutched 1v6" Ebina
6?
@@gazover_ 6 including sawashiro
@@rafazeppeli8778 i see
To be fair, Ebina was more than fine having an inoccent little girl be sacrificed as long as it didn't involve him directly.
@Garland846 if ichi thinks eiji deserves a second chance, why not. He's a good judge of character
Kiryu facing the culmination of all those years of sins committed by the Yakuza.
And at the end of the road, the only thing left is the end of the denial.
Yep, its peak.
I got my ass thrashed so hard by this guy, that I was left with only Kiryu standing.
It was just him and Ebina trading blows and occasionally healing.
God it was satisfying to finish off.
Yeah for me Kiryu and Saeko were the MVPs of the fight
3:03 love the build up
Man just how strong was arakawa. He got two strong af sons.
Ebina: Physically Strong Enough to go toe to toe with Kiryu's party and Kiryu who even though had cancer, was battle hardened and had a lot of skill with his training with the Daidoji.
Ichiban: Was the only Party Member who was left standing against the fight with Kiryu because of the pure willpower he has.
Arawaka literally created two almost supersoldiers sons
The man annihilated an entire family at the peak of the yakuza’s power during the Bubble - and a decently known Tojo family at that. Arakawa was no slouch himself.
Arakawa being set up as this legendary figure we don't actually know that well is such a refreshing thing for this franchse. 'Cause everyone else that filled that role has been long gone and we've been missing that feel of a long, historied world.
Imagine Gaiden game where we play as Arakawa and Kazama in their prime during the bubble era
@@lilstarxo4483 just like X and Zero are a Super Prototype Sons
I like how final boss for this game is a civilian and someone who is on a "good" side morally, because its the first time we fight a non yakuza but rather someone who wants Yakuza dead, for all the unjustice they brought up. Its cool to fight a badass standard yakuza wannna make it to the top type of character, but its special to see someone on the other side, the one who suffered from Yakuza actions since birth. I find it very somber, and theme reflects on it by melancholic and tragic untertones.
Another melancholic banger of final boss theme after Shishido's. Somehow it reminds me of Parasite Eve's soundtracks.
If Kiryu was healthy, this fight would be similar to "Saejima vs Kido" fight.
Ah yes, the "balls out" fight
More like Kiryu vs Nishiki
This song uses the same riff as the ps2 startup holy shit this is my favorite final boss theme. I love all the little details in this song
This is the perfect send off while gaidens final boss represented the purest form of yakuza the lifestyle kyriu dreamed off in 0 he realizes that it longer belongs in our society and it falls to him to put a end to the yakuza. 8 final represents the people that suffered from the yakuza, and only kyriu can put a stop to ebina since he was there since the beginning and only he can attone for it. I would be happy if it ended here and RGG created a new story or focused on judgment.
at this point bringing Kiryu back to story is gonna be pointless because KIryu had already had his peak, his character development and his end here, they could show him in the next game back with Haruka and kids and thats it, its a wrap for Kiryu, let the man rest RGG. Like you said either focus on Ichiban next or new Judgment game would be very much appreciated.
When I'm in my 50's I wish to look like a beast like Kiryu lmao
Despite having played several of these games at this point, I still was not prepared for Ebina to reveal he had an 18-pack under that suit this whole time.
After seeing him swat away almost the entire party, I could only muster one word: "Fuck."
This game has been absolutely crazy and I didn't think they could one up Gaiden's final boss. This game had me in a chokehold the second I started to play it and I still want more after beating it. I had my doubts about the game but RGG somehow pulled through and made peak again. Not sure what they could do in LAD 9 but I doubt they could possibly beat the very high stakes that LAD IW had.
Infinite Wealth felt like an Avengers Endgame type of event. You can't really replicate it.
"Very high stakes."
What?
What stakes did they had in the end, once again?
@@battlerushiromiya3400 For the first time in a while, the villains felt like they were a proper threat like the Tojo clan in Yakuza 0 or Yakuza 1. Ichiban was also hunted by basically the entirety of Hawaii because there were so much people indoctrinated by Palekana. Kiryu was also no longer the unstoppable beast he was because he had cancer so he isn't in a good state to be fighting an entire organization like he usually does.
@spacegoose2989 I agree with everything you said...
But even so, I'm still really bummed that the finalle didn't have any of these high stakes at all. It felt like we were still in the middle of the game, you know? There was no more danger. We were just finishing up business with pretty much nothing against us, not anymore.
@@battlerushiromiya3400 The stakes were saving the Yakuza and Hawaii gangs and civilians both from themselves and from Ebina and Bryce. The two antagonists were not only going to set up the private island to be a dumping ground but also as torture site where the inhabitants were going to die from cancer. The who plan was Ichiban was in charge of letting the Yakuza and by extension the people of Hawaii a future while Kiryu takes on his and the Yakuza's past sins to pave way to the future generation.
Shout-out to Saeko for being a group pillow; she really knows how to stand next to someone and yell their name. MVP.
Group Pillow, LOL. Never heard that one before, gonna start using that.
Putting aside Nanba and Saeko, can we appreciate how effortlessly Ebina swats away Seon-hee and Zhao. The current head of the Geomijul/Liumang alliance, and the former head of the Liumang, without breaking a sweat.
Dr. Han is the final boss of a Like A Dragon game
Thank you for coming to my tedtalk
The guitar riff choruses have a nice parallel. The first one is from low to high, to show the build up of hatred. The second one from high to low, where the hatred is fully released.
Hot take or not, this was the only storyline boss fight I wish was a beat em up fight in Infinite Wealth.
Honestly agreed, I thought the boss was still cool but seeing as this is very likely Kiryu's last game, it would've been nice
Or at least give it a Dragon Resurgence segment, like the Jimas Trio.
I agree tho, It should have gone like the Party members are tired and the usual happens where Kiryu and Ebina does the "lets finish this" punch, but instead of Kiryu quickly finishing off Ebina, they both push eachother back, they both have a 1v1, in beat em up style, both in their very last limits, being driven by willpower alone
@@nobu6833that is so fucking cool omg
Girls when drunk: omg that guy is so cute!
Boys when drunk: 2:49
I can't even Imagine this is the last fight of Kiryu..
But he fought like its his prime, truly incredible.
Ebina with that equal hands
I like to think that Kiryu still could have pulled through this fight solo, I mean, he broke a sword with his bare fists, and then launched Ebina into the air like volleyball, plus Ebina was locked onto him the whole time anyways, but he wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale without the party.
Kiryu still got the moves and hit hard, but he will occasionally get exhausted and cough blood, and that's when other members need to cover for him.
I had the most insane music sync with essence of rememberance in the second part. Non stop chills I tell you.
It's such a shame that The Palekana's existence detracts so much from Ebina's message of romanticizing the Yakuza life.
While I preferred Ichiban's final boss, I gotta say I'm impressed how the final bosses fit so well for both characters.
Ichiban fights a guy who thinks he's god (So, JRPG trope of slaying god)
Kiryu gets a traditional Yakuza final boss (aside from it being turn based now).
The battle with Bryce, I personally found boring 👎
@@slasherzero7275I liked it. It made the Jingu/Munakata horde type boss battle good. As it so happens, making the battles in this franchise turn based made such battles more bearable.
Bryce final boss sucks though. Music and combat sequence were inferior to Ebina in every aspect
@@dinoblade8167 Bryce's theme ain't inferior, both songs are goated
Beautiful boss theme
One thing I noticed with Ebina as a fight, so much of the cutscenes felt like references to other fights.
The moment I saw the Jumping knee block, I thought of Mine, even if Kiryu was doing his signature high kick.
The punches that narrowly miss each other so that they hook elbows makes me think of the start of Saejima's fight in 4.
Immediately after followed by haymaker after haymaker like the last fight against Kuze in 0.
Not sure if I'm reading into it too much, but I definitely got giddy.
They trade tons of blows in the first 2 sequences so maybe that's something
i think the flying knee is more of a daigo’s move than mine tbh
SAITO
Ebina may well be the best villain in the main series. At least for me.
Strong motivation.
Genius intellect constantly being a move ahead.
A viable physical threat for the good guys.
For me only Masato, Shishido and Iwami come close in terms of main villains.
Which Masato? There's 2
@@tutor5391 Arakawa, Ryo Aoki
bro sneaked baby iwami
@@amarson2322 Yakuza fans when they realize villains do bad things:
I don't know about y'all but Kurosawa was a genuinely good villain. He serves as the antithesis of the games message. And this guy was strong as hell in his prime. Probably the most powerful If it weren't for his lung cancer he could have killed Kiryu, Watase, Katsuya and Saejima with his bare hands.
Yeah yeah i get kiryu's nerfed but ebina still packed the rest of the crew by the end. A 1v5 is still a 1v5 and bro lasted long for facing an opponent who can break a fucking katana with his bare hand.
fr ppl need to put some respect on Ebina's name, cancer or not, Kiryu is still a fucking monster of a fighter.
WE STANDING WITH KIRYU FOR ONE LAST TIME BOYSSS
I can't look at Ebina the same way again after I found out he's the guy from shin godzilla
we need a mashup of this with Shishido's ending theme (Hakanaki Yuki) real bad
End of fleeting dream?
3:53 to 4:24 is such an amazing segment. RGG studios with bangers left and right!
Fuck....Kiryu is such a legend
Kiryu fake out death number 5 lets go!!!
Its becoming boring at this point
@Garland846akiyama
is fucking dead
I don't think it's fair to call this a fake out death.
He was very clearly physically taxed, and people were reasonably worried
@@Norrabal Honestly, I think this is the _actual_ end of the road for Kiryu. All his loose threads have been tied up, and the man physically cannot fight like he used to. They spent a solid few moments explaining that "yes, Kiryu has cancer, it's terminal, and there's no way he can heal it. 6 months to live, no bones about it." They ended with him being in a hospice. He can't come back without some extremely twisted writing. Best case scenario, he comes back in something non-canon.
For all intents and purposes? The Dragon finally has a place to roost, with a Hero below able to carry his torch into the future.
@@areoants9453 yakuza made by Disney: "But somehow kiryu returned....."
I still adore Ebina swatting away the rest of the party like flies while constantly staring daggers at Kiryu
WE ARE PIERCING THE MULADHARA WITH THIS ONE 🔥😴🔥😴🔥
WE ARE CRIPPLING THE MANIPURA
Something I wish for this fight is if they let us break the turn based combat just like they did with Daigo, Majima and Saejima
I feel like everyone can agree that this man got off HELLA lucky considering that Kiryu was dying of cancer throughout the game. If this was healthy Kiryu, this would've been a landslide fight.
It would've been like his fight with Baba or something.
Emotions can power you up against the odds. Shishido got desperation power up, Ebina got sheer spite power up.
Kiryu was already exhausted right before the fight against ebina, maybe because of cancer
And going up Millennium Tower @@THE_BOSS_THE1.
@@hoyhoy852not relevant kiryu was past his prime in gaiden also starting to loss his touch
"He's.... incredible"- Sawashiro on deaths door
1:45 That callback to Roar of the Dragon all the way back from the first game made my hair stand on end
so embaeassing for zhao and seonhee to get put down like that 😭😭
these r leaders of crime syndicates wtf r they doing; USE YOUR SWORD AND CLAWS AND SHIT
It's even more surprising when you look at how they perform during the fight against Dojima, Saejima and Majima. Seonhee even manages to defend Kiryu against Saejima himself.
Most likely underestimated Ebina, they know saijema majima and daigo are strong.
Those weapons are just their imaginations. Which is why you never see any party member pull them out before they fight.
It's not that they're weak but the writers want to show how strong Ebina is, after all, he's the final boss of Kiryu
@@HarmonySword actually in Like A Dragon Gaiden in the Omi fight which is from Kiryu's perspective, 4 years before he gets Ichi's gamer brain rot, you can see the LaD7 party fighting against omi grunts and Zhao has his saber out. :3
Kiryu and never disarming a sword normally
3:04
God i fucking LOVE this part of the song so much.
listen to a scattered moment , destiny and for my sake. those note are everywhere its really cool
I love when it plays that music while it zooms in on their faces Ebina: 😠 Kiryu: 😐
Yeah, sounds heroic
@teee123 I've already listened to those before this lmao. For My Sake is so goddamn good. I love the improvision like a minute and a half in it. Destiny and Scattered Moment are ok imo. I prefer Bad Flower Fortune and Bloodstained Philosophy over their tragic counterparts
Bryce was fucking lame but Ebina delivered
The end of senile
Kinda letdown that we didn't have a chance to fight against Eiji
Even with him being able to walk normally I doubt Eiji could even fight properly.
@@kasidechjumpeeruang1413It seems like there were plans for an Eiji boss battle somewhere along the line pretty far into development, judging by him having a full enemy model in the Sujidex after his battle in the El Dorado (Yamai’s cabaret). He stands and holds a gun on his model showcased there, unlike the other enemies from 7 and 8 who appear as still projections when they’re either too big or have a special build (like animals, the Sojimaru variants, and the construction equipment).
If him having a regular enemy model means what I think it does, then it would explain why he appears so different in the epilogue cutscene when we never actually see him flee Hawaii and go into hiding despite that small appearance during Chitose’s exposé.
@@scarymeunster9095 I could be wrong but this is a cool discovery, thanks.
Just make Ichiban severely injured and exhausted after Bryce's fight and still needs to fight Eiji 1vs1, that would make the boss fight more even and convincing.
Final boss theme is GOATED.🔥 🐐
All I can think from this fight is one last rush of adrenaline, time to put the seriyu clan back in its place: the last page of the great dissolution
Saeko beater 9000
Give me another Yakuza game already! I can't get enough of them!
The next one is being announced in late September
3:53 HAKANAKI YUME acoustic guitar part I reckon
海老名、好きだなぁ
It was kinda cute how Saeko caught Seonhee
saeko is doing her best
世界100万本突破おめ！
It's a shame Ebina and Ichi never got another encounter outside of the beginning and all the Tatara channel stuff. Kinda made Ebina being his half brother a semi-useless reveal
He doesn’t care anyway, the way Ichiban was acting towards mothers, it seems like he was like: okay, I save your life but I don’t care about you, I’m on a mission
@@andresashura5550I wouldn’t say Ichi didn’t care about his mother. Ichi cares about almost everybody.
@@andresashura5550 wow... he clearly does care, he also EXPLICITLY SAYS HE DOES NOT SEE AKANE AS HIS MOTHER BUT AS THE WOMAN HIS BOSS LOVED... its plausible he feels the same about Ebina, he still literally risked his life for Akane and Lani a bunch of times and would have tried to save Ebina too...
The reveal wasn’t that he was Ichiban’s half-brother, the reveal was that he was Masumi Arakawa’s son and as a necessary consequence that makes him related to Ichiban. But yeah it’s a shame they never explored that even if it makes sense that Ichiban wouldn’t care overly much.
Ichiban carrying Ebina across the city after the defeat and forming a bond with him during it would've been 100 times more effective than what we got with Eiji
Magnificient battle and magnificient song this game is perfect ❤❤❤
Dragon of dojima san you are so old now 😢😢
ebina performing better than the tojo legends was insane
Yeah cuz he is the Final Boss like Yosuke Tendo
@@darrentalvinnoli8133tendo was not the final boss, ryo aoki was, you literally have 2 more fights after Tendo
@@andresashura5550 Ever heard of a post-final boss? Nobody seriously considers Ryo Aoki to be the final boss, the real climax there is Tendo
@@shinobirecords2018 Shin Amon bro has more Straw doll and Orbital and Spawn the Simulacrum of Tojo Legends
@@andresashura5550 Yeah but Ryo Aoki is way easy than Tendo unless when its like Kasuga vs Ryo Aoki solo battle
This tune gets me hyped asf
Shesh the opening just hammers home that Ichiban and his squad just ain't that tough compared to the people Kiryu fights by himself.
Ebina is another perfect opponent for Tendo