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Get Backers Rating:  Genre: Action, Comedy, Fighting Studio: TBS Year: 2002 Length: 49 episodes Reviewer: ThunderEmperor Synopsis: Ginji Amano (Morikubo Shotaro) and Mido Ban (Hayashi Nobutoshi) are the Get Backers, they are retrieval agents for hire with a recovery rate of almost 100%. They specialize in retrieving lost objects to stolen valuables of their clients -- as long as the pay is good, Ginji and Ban are on it. Review: After seeing the captivating opening sequence of Get Backers, I knew that this is going to be a very enjoyable anime. We see the whole cast of GB showing off their cool special abilities. Everybody is well animated and good-looking and I find Get Backers' plot very unique. As expected, GB's plot is all about retrieving valuable things for their clients. Some of these retrieval jobs are life risking. Ginji and Ban needs to pass or battle skilled transporters, cleaners, protectors, etc. before they can get back the requested items. Thanks to their own unique powers, their jobs will not be that hard. Ginji has the power to generate electricity from his body like an electric eel. Ban has two special abilities. First is his powerful 200kg grip that's like a snake tangling its prey. Second, is his Evil Eye ability -- he can make anyone see one-minute-long illusions in real-time and can only be given to a person once within 24 hours. Speaking of which, origins of their abilities are slightly explained but if you really wanna know, log on to Dakkanya.net for more information. I suggest you finish GB first before logging on 'coz spoilers can be found there. The art and animation are totally superb (well, not all the time especially in the second half). The heroes look cool while the villains look ferocious. Character designs are very interesting, as is always the case with TBS. If you are familiar with Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Someday's Dreamers and other TBS titles, you will find GB's character designs very equal to them. The characters are all likeable... of course, especially our retrieval duo. There are other interesting characters in GB with interesting abilities as well that our duo unwittingly meets during their retrieval jobs. There's the "Beast Master" Fuyuki Shido, he has the ability to control animals by whistling; "Lady Poison" Kudo Himiko, her weapons are her seven different types of poison perfumes; "Doctor Jackal" Akabane Kurodo, his weapons are scalpels hidden within his body (whoa!); "Kazuki of the Strings" Fuchoin Kazuki and other much, much more interesting characters. Akabane Kurodo is my favorite character of all. I adore his cool abilities especially his Bloody Sword (he uses this superb weapon when he fights seriously). What I like about him is the fact that he fights just for fun, fighting very calmly in his battles, his gentleman-like looks, his nice tuxedo and his charismatic voice. He reminds me of Hisoka from "Hunter X Hunter" (know him?), they have almost equal characteristics. The fight scenes are cool and totally exciting. They are not violent like Berserk's, blood for example here in GB is are colored in black or white so bloodsheds don't look brutal and gory. The music themes are remarkable. Every songs that you'll hear are great and I really enjoyed hearing their two opening themes "Yuragu Koto Nai Ai " and "Barairo no Sekai". What I absolutely like about anime songs is when a high-voiced singer does it, it makes the song so loud and lively. The background and character themes are top-notch. Some of these themes can only be heard once in a particular episode. Characterizations are fine. Everyone's pasts are touching, memorable, interesting and involving. Get Backers' humor is very, very funny. The funniest characters are Ginji and Ban, they really make me laugh whenever they spring a joke or whenever they turn to cute, funny-looking, petite-sized people. Though their stupidity, they are the kind of team you can count on to. I should also mention that Ginji's petite-sized form (see 4th screenshot) was not funny in the first half but in the second half, you'll laugh and love the petite Ginji XD. So there you have it, one of the best anime series in 2002. I have mentioned all the good things why Get Backers is a must-see and a must-have anime. Oh and why am I only giving 4 stars? I may be saying that this anime is perfect but there are some loose ends like few unexplained characters and unexplained events. Still, very fun anime experience! Rating: Reviewer: SHiN_aKuMa Synopsis: Amano Ginji and Midou Ban are the Get Backers. They specialize in retrieving anything that has been stolen, lost or asked by their clients. Anything means anything, from a small doll to priceless artifacts, you name it and they'll get it. Review: I'm very lucky to encounter an action oriented anime title like Get Backers. Action anime are rare nowadays, Japan is always releasing shoujo and ecchi anime because due to fact that majority of the fans prefer more on romance and panty-shots than mecha and fist/chi fights. There are still action anime to be found like, Baki the Grappler, Hajime no Ippo, Naruto, E's Otherwise, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Gundam SEED, Berserk, etc. If you're lucky to stumble on an action anime title, by no means GET it! What's striking about Get Backers is the very good combination of good characters, original sub plots, good art and great music. As the title suggests, they get back what was stolen, lost or asked by their clients. They'll get it if the price is right. Every episode is all about Ginji and Ban on their retrieving missions; some missions are 2-6 episodes long. Of course their job doesn't come without hazards. They must encounter different kinds of enemies along the way, from goons to highly skilled Protectors. The good part of GB is that every character possesses special abilities. Ginji can use lightning and thunder attacks while Ban uses his super-human strength and his mysterious Evil Eye, which confuses the enemy. The enemies has their own abilities and with these abilities makes Ginji and Ban's work very difficult. They also get to meet new people, allies and foes in their missions. The characters are very good and original. The beast master Shido, the string-wielding Kazuki, cold-blooded but polite Akabane who uses scalpels for weapons just to name a few. They have their own personalities and personal agendas; you'll definitely love the characters. Specific episode focuses on one or two characters in order to find out what drives them. They are suprisingly given great depth and none of them are one-dimensional. The art and animation are great. Clean, vibrant backdrops and characters. The character designs are very attractive. The art in the first half is great, however in the second half, the art and animation falls a step behind. Lesser frames and poorly rendered characters are very noticeable. If compared to the first half art to the second half art, the first half is the Mona Lisa and second half art is the Picazzo. It's not that BAD, it's just disappointing. The music is very good. Cool background and theme tracks, they fit to every situation nicely and you'll never get a second thought on buying its Original Soundtracks. However, there are flaws in GB. One is their comedy. Some are not that funny and others are worth a good chuckle or two. Two is the addition of some useless episodes, they do nothing significant and some of them are corny like the monkey episode. And the third is the weak second half, the missions are shorter about 1 to 2 episodes long. All in all, GB is a great anime, it has its flaws but its good points shadowed it. Don't bother picking this title up. Misc: GB contains some few yaoi themes. |
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