A building-high mural, painted in England to celebrate the launch of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, has finally been removed after impressing city visitors for seven glorious years.
The painting of Revengeance protagonist Raiden has adorned the side of Aireside House in Leeds since 2013, when artist collective EndoftheLine was commissioned by Konami to create three separate works in Leeds, Liverpool, and London to promote the hack 'n' slash spin-off.
While the London and Liverpool murals were repainted years ago, this giant image of Raiden - in the style of the legendary Yoji Shinkawa - has continued to stand tall over the city's streets. That is until recent weeks when, as noted on Twitter by user @kraker2k, the building was finally repainted.
I personally stumbled across this mural quite by accident in 2017, while visiting Leeds for a fighting game tournament. Having decided to walk to the venue rather than take a cab, I was struck in awe upon turning a corner and immediately coming face-to-face, (or face-to-ankle) with the stories-high portrait, which hadn't weathered a day from its creation.
It's sad to see Raiden finally vanish back into the shadows, but congrats to EndoftheLine for creating such an impressive and enduring image. For more information on their work visit the official EndoftheLine website.
