Kiryu Tribute - The End of Denial

Just a quick tribute for the best protagonist in gaming.
Infinite Wealth is one the best Yakuza games and End of Denial is one the
best OST's in the yakuza series so I felt like I had to do this.
I was going to do a different approach at first but ended up with a sync montage instead. I still like the result though.
I rendered the video in 1080p but some of the clips are 720p so there is some inconsistency in the quality. Also I missed a frame at 2:18 but I genuinely cannot find it in the editing software I used so I'm keeping it there for good luck :)
Game clips from
‪@devilleon7‬ ‪@Santosx07‬ ‪@maddogmajima7244‬ ‪@FazFaz‬
Inspired by ‪@SnowiestAngeman‬
Song: End of Denial - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• The End of Denial
Editing software: Wondershare Filmora and Premier Pro

[@dinoblade8167]

Man, as a player, we have been there with this man basically his whole life,from young to old, from his prime to his retirement, his legendary accomplishments and sufferings, we were always alongside him til the end, which makes this is probably the most well-constructed and emotionally-authentic fictional character in media.

[@gtxblade7552]

100% agree

[@samfire3067]

Even suring the saddest momments to the happiests.

[@haseo1996]

I like you put Nishiki's dynamic intro as the last one. I always think that day is the day that really change Kiryu's life.

[@gtxblade7552]

Yeah, he lost every reason to live in Yakuza 1. Date was there to saved the day tho

[@haseo1996]

@@gtxblade7552 Losing Nishiki and Yumi at the same day🥲Luckily, Kiryu have Date and Akiyama who would never give up on him. And the last phase of his life, he met Ichi and Ichi's companion.

[@ridhwan6113]

It's 1 Oct 1995 when Kiryu's life really changed as Nishiki's rise for power and Yumi marrying Jingu was a result of that day. Sure, it was in 2005 when Kiryu felt the lost of his loved ones but for me it was at that time when Kiryu's decision has a big impact on his future

[@abdulahadkhan6779]

We practically saw kiryus whole life from a yakuza to a legend from a legend to a myth kiryu kazuma

[@theunicyclist3440]

RGG really went and made End of Denial one of the best (if not the best) final boss themes in the entire series, very fitting for the Dragon's final fight

[@tambettammisto7423]

It is very good and fitting for his last battle but IMO gaiden's and lost Judgement's final battle themes sound better overall

[@gtxblade7552]

@@tambettammisto7423 yeah End of Denial is probably top 3 but Unwavering Belief stays on top

[@goldenaegis6637]

Edit goes unbelievably hard. I especially like all the focus on Y1 and having Nishiki being Kiryu's 'last' boss in the count instead of Shibusawa.

[@gtxblade7552]

I'm glad you noticed. It felt right to give Nishiki the spotlight and Yakuza 1 was where Kiryu lost most of his loved ones.

[@thedragonofdismashq]

Unbelievable. Tbh the ending to infinite wealth was confusing, but man. That boss. The yakuza series is our oyster. I love this franchise, no matter what it does to me, whehter it pisses me off about some stuff or makes me hyped up

[@athallahreifananda2060]

I really like this soundtrack. felt like I was being transported to a memory from my past. And Kazuma Kiryu I consider like myself. Who slowly leaves the darkness in order to live in peace with his family.

[@gtxblade7552]

felt like the perfect soundtrack for an edit like this

[@athallahreifananda2060]

@@gtxblade7552 Yeah. Indeed

[@HotelOwner-ul5nc]

Great work. I did get a little emotional, not gonna lie. I felt hopeless at the beginning of the pandemic and lockdowns until I started Yakuza 0. Seeing Kiryu's relentless drive to keep going in all of his struggles still inspires me to this day. To have played through his entire saga was such an amazing experience, and you did an excellent job commemorating it.

[@gtxblade7552]

Thank you! Yakuza will forever be special to me, yakuza was there for me on my lowest.

[@MrLlama-rc8nj]

End of Denial isn't about Ebina at all. It's all about Kiryu. He's put himself and other people through so much shit and always tried to escape, but he can't do that now. He's a yakuza and a dragon through and through and he has to stop denying it to send both him and the powers that work against it to the grave

[@purviswilliams2502]

It’s a little about ebina, kiryu’s decisions (or lack of decisions while being the Tojo’s clan 4th chairman) could lead to possible ebina’s. Veins in the last fight is the worst possible outcome for a person who is affected by the yakuza and the title “end of denial” is probably about how kiryu can’t deny his fault in system since he had some power to influence how the yakuza (or at least how a portion of the Tojo clan) could operate.

[@ShadowThe771]

Crazy how the final fight of Kiryu is a rock heavy 1980s synth ost. Fitting since his legendary run started in the late 80s.

[@joelzj74]

Bro one of the best final boss ost I love it great job on the tribute

[@gtxblade7552]

The OST is too good so I had to do some kind of edit with it. Glad you enjoyed it

[@brunoagss1906]

The official definition of peak 🔥🔥🙏

[@kartikayysola]

Bro this is so PEAK.

[@andresaguilera115]

Yo this is really fucking cool!

[@sonofbaefrgaming622]

The end of denial is my favorite sonf in the whole ost and it really does feel like kiryu's send off

[@crazyfunnygame736]

End of video it hurt😢

[@hichocaplouk]

Dw pal he's definitely gonna tiger drop his cancer.

[@snesmocha]

other than a few awkward cuts, honestly this is fantastically done

[@shrpha7112]

Love it!

[@L0n3ly43th3arc]

Kiryu retires, Soap dies. That's 2023 for you, ladies and gentlemen. And Makarov be grooving and schmooving in victory as there's a downfall of heroes dying. The villains are rising and ascending from darkness.

[@RandomGuy69.]

Kiryu 🔛🔝

[@gtxblade7552]

The goat 🐐

[@aamacan]

Absolutely based edit man! It took me a while to like this track considering we had Deadly Struggle in Gaiden but I've certainly come to appreciate it since finishing the game. Keep up the solid work!

[@gtxblade7552]

Yeah I still listen to Deadly Struggle on a daily basis it's too good.

[@tambettammisto7423]

This is awesome and well made!

[@ay9lx]

Great video. Kiryu has a special place in my heart, his attitude to just try everything, regardless of how ridiculous it seems, is a real inspiration for me. Not to mention his unfaltering tenacity and undeniable kindness. Your comment in the video description got me thinking. I honestly can´t think of a better protagonist in all of fiction. Maybe Ichiban or Yagami can top him with their next games. (they´re coming pretty close so far, at least) On a side note: if you want to, I can upscale the video to 4k and provide you a download link, so you can reupload it or something. (On my 4k monitor, this video looks pretty bad, quality wise, which is a shame)

[@gtxblade7552]

Thank You! Kiryu is still my favorite character but I think Ichiban is definitely a worthy successor. I did render the video at 1080p but the quality difference between clips is very noticeable. I'm on 1920x1080 so I didn't notice it as much but It would be cool if it was in 4k. How do you even upscale I'm curious? Is it through an editing software or something?

[@ay9lx]

@@gtxblade7552 I bought the Topaz Video AI software, though you could probably use something like Stable Diffusion to do it for free. The results will most likely be a lot worse though. You do need a really powerful graphics card though, or it will take ages.

[@SD120TOMB]

By the way, this is for Nishiki actually as Ichiban now.

[@Norrabal_anims]

0:30 I appreciate you bringing it back to Nishiki instead of Shibusawa, I did something similar for my Yakuza tribute.

[@gtxblade7552]

I checked out your edits. You have good music choices

[@gtxblade7552]

It's Kiryu brother and best friend so it felt right giving Nishiki some of the spotlight

[@Norrabal_anims]

​@@gtxblade7552 thanks

[@Luis-nn9ux]

damn, ive been working on something exactly like this for a while now 😭😭 would you be ok if i uploaded it? great video btw, this song always gives me chills

[@gtxblade7552]

Absolutely! I would love to see it too

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

Man. Some people say Ebina was an underwhelming villain. And i dissagree. Someone that is so out for revenge so hard that he decides to make every yakuza that wanted to redeem themselves not only fall back into a life of crime but also slaves for a cult where they will slowly die to radiation poisoning. With the petty goal of screwing up Arakawa sensei's final wish because Arakawa killed his dad 45 years ago. Just makes him a kinda understandable but still iredeemable villain. This fight makes kiryu face his clouded view of the yakuza as a noble organization so to say spelling kiryu's end of denial. I just love this finale so much. At first i complained there weren't that many action sequences but that wasn't the point. I love this final fight so much. I could rant on much more but i should honestly stop lol.

[@gtxblade7552]

Yeah I do not understand the hate either. Ebina may not be the most complex writing wise compared to a few other villains in the series but I can't say he didn't put up a really good show. Ebina put simply is a hater and I'm all for it. The hate on Kiryu's finale as a whole baffles me even more, I loved it from start to finish. Oh and don't get me started on End of Denial. It hasn't been a while since I beat the game but this game makes it to the top 3 RGG games for me.

[@gazover_]

Arakawa didnt kill his dad, Arakawa is his dad

[@azure6181]

would’ve looked better without the subtitles

[@gtxblade7552]

Yeah you're right. Getting the game footage was the hard part It would take ages to find the footage with no sub and I can't be asked tbh.

[@jtothey1993]

End of Denial is not about Ebina, but Kiryu denying his identity.