These judgment memes compare some of the game’s hilarious moments to fantastic pop culture references with great effect.
Judgment and the Yakuza series as a whole, has a strange dichotomy to it. On one hand, these games are filled with dramatic acting, pulse-pounding action, and mysteries that would make even Sherlock Holmes blush. They also have a very weird side to them.
This is true for many Japanese games as that is seemingly their distinct flavor: wackiness. From underwear jokes, to peeping Toms, to chicken mascots turned CEOs, this series has it all. There is also a lot of humor one can add to this already stacked series of hilarity through memes. That said, let’s explore what the fans have come up with to both honor Judgment in particular and poke fun at it.
9. It Was Sephiroth All Along
One of the earliest things that happens in the game is Okubo getting freed from his court hearing only to have him commit a crime later on. He kills his girlfriend and tries to burn down the apartment.
At least, that’s what seems like what happened that night throughout most of the game but there is more to it than that. Sephiroth was not the killer but it would have been crazy if he suddenly made an appearance in this or in fact any Yakuza game.
8. Two Yagamis
If you have either read or watched Death Note, then the name Yagami will be more familiar to you than just through this game. For those unaware, Death Note is about Light Yagami, who also wants to be a detective although he is more like the villain instead; since he has a literal book of death with which he murders.
It seems too coincidental to have the team at Sega not realize what they were doing with the naming convention. That’s why this meme works.
7. What Is A Man?
This line is taken directly from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It’s a pretty famous line in video games so most gamers probably know it.
As for how it relates to this game, there is a side mission called Interview With A Detective. In it, an actor needs Yagami to dress up like his character Bram Sylvania III in order to distract the press. It gets pretty whacky as one can imagine from a Yakuza game.
6. Breakdance Fighting
It’s kind of weird how good Yagami is at beating thugs up. Not only that but he can breakdance like a pro. He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee as the saying goes.
So adding in this line from Zoolander into this meme works well. There’s no secret plot assassination against a prime minister, but there are some ties one could relate between these two properties.
5. You Died
Early on in the game Yagami is forced to chase a masked man who steals his phone. He keeps up with him pretty well, but after trying to jump across a rooftop he almost dies.
If not for some help from that thief, he would have been splattered across the pavement. That’s why this added-in death screen from Dark Souls is so funny for this meme.
4. My Bike!
Almost anything lying around can be used as a weapon in Judgment. Two things that are plentiful across Yakuza games, and Kamurocho in general, are street cones and bikes.
How Yagami is able to shatter a bike over someone and that someone not die is hard to believe but that’s not the point. What is for this post is about how people must feel in town over this destruction of property.
Remember how mad Misty was at Ash for ruining her bike in the anime? It’s time to pay up Yagami.
3. Tony Hawk’s Kamurocho Underground
If there is one thing that can be said about this game and all of the proper Yakuza titles, it’s that the choreography in action cutscenes is second to none.
Take this scene wherein Yagami learns how to skateboard while trying to get away from the Yakuza. That remastered collection of the Tony Hawk games was great last year but just imagine what a new game crossed over with Yakuza could be like. It may not be what fans want or expect, but it’s what they deserve.
2. Bleached
One of the bigger early mysteries pertains to the aforementioned phone thief’s identity. It turns out he wants to join Yagami in his fight for justice. He reveals his identity as Fumiya Sugiura, but what if he was someone else like Ichigo from the Bleach manga and anime series?
Why that reference works in this meme is because they both have orange like blonde hair on top of wearing white masks. It’s a perfect meme joke.
1. Before And After
Yagami is like a one-man wrecking crew just like most characters in the Yakuza series. No matter if he picks up an object or simply runs into it, chances are that thing is going to explode.
This scene in the meme is just one example of how ridiculous his power is. This room was filled with furniture before the fight ends only to have it be a room full of nothing but a hostage. He’s like a tornado of Justice or something.
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