Get Backers Volume 1: G & B On the Case - Underland Online
- Underland Online
- Mike
- 11/01/04
- click here
Get Backers Vol. 1: G & B on the Case
At one point of another, each and every one of us has lost something material that we've had problems finding. Maybe it's our keys that we've lost (I lose mine almost on a weekly basis) or our wallets (again, for me that's a weekly occurrence) or just about any other tangible thing. Frantically we search, thinking that it was left in the kitchen or just about anywhere else, wishing the whole time that there was someone that could assist with the ongoing search and find the item in question. Get Backers deals with just such a team of individuals, though the items that these two are looking for tend to be a little bit larger than just a key ring.
Set in Tokyo's seedy Shinjuku, the Get Backers are the duo of Ban Midou and Ginji Amano, two men who have taken it upon themselves to act as retrievers, a for-hire practice where the two will find anything that is lost, for a price of course. With a success rate of close to 100 percent, you'd think that business would be booming, but that isn't the case for them at all. Instead, Ban and Ginji and constantly finding themselves on the short end of the deal, and with a huge tab running up at their favorite eatery, whose owner, Paul, severs as their information gatherer, these two need a way to get cash, and fast.
Ban and Ginji however aren't your average Joes either. The two of them have some very interesting and unique abilities. Ban has what is known as the Snakebite, a powerful grip that packs a force of over 200 kilograms behind it as well as his Jagan, a piercing gaze that sends its victims into a dream world of a single minute. Ginji on the other hand can conduct electricity from his body, much like an electric eel, and together, these two are a force to be reckoned with.
Get Backers is one of those series that I went into knowing very little about, and yet have been somewhat familiar with, in name alone, due to constantly seeing original soundtracks and the pair appearing on covers of Japanese magazines. Initially, after learning the premise in the first episode, the nagging question was just how entertaining could this be? The idea of two guys trying to recover lost of stolen goods not only didn't sound too appealing, but it's something that didn't seem like it could be carried on for too terribly long.
That's where I was wrong however, and Get Backers actually is a very entertaining series with a concept that is comparable to other anime in some ways, but also stands very well on its own. The series is something of a 'buddy comedy,' but with a healthy does of action thrown in to make it more appealing. At first though, the series seems as though it's going to be a self-contained endeavor, as the initial two episodes don't extend their stories beyond what is presented, but there is a method to the madness. The first episode brings in an additional character, young Natsumi Mizuki, who hires the two to find a lost item and then ends up working part time for Paul. It's always important to have a cute girl in an anime series, even if she is just a minor character.
The last three episodes from this collection however bring an actual story element into the mix. Ginji and Ban are hired to recover a treasure that may (or may not) be platinum. The cargo however is in the position of a rival and under the watchful eye of a group of transporters. Ban has a past with one of them, Himiko, who has skillfully crafted perfumes that can cause a variety of results from degeneration to a primitive state to creating the equivalent of internal combustion within a human. These two have a sorted past and Himiko is under the belief that Ban killed her brother, which really doesn't' seem to be the case at all, but he isn't willing to reveal the truth to her. Himiko is partnered with an insane driving madman called Mr. No Brake and then the psychotic Dr. Jackal, a man who has the power to generate scalpels from within his body and enjoys slicing up his opponents, and if it results in death, that's even better.
Aside from getting a brief bit of past on Ban though, Ginji has a bit of a dark past as well it seems. At one time, he was the leader of one of the most dangerous gangs on the streets of Shinjuku, the VOLTS. However, the exact details on how he and Ban teamed together still isn't quite clear, though it does seem the two many have faced off against one another at some point. The partners though, in some ways, are completely opposite. Ginji seems very compassionate for the most part whereas Ban is a bit more reserved, taking jobs only if the price is right. Unfortunately though, the two end up taking on more free jobs that actually getting paid, and so early on, it seems that they've probably made themselves targets of the Yakuza as they have managed to get in their way at least twice, and I'm sure that's not the end of it.
The real problem that the two face most of the time however is that they just can't seem to make a dollar (or yen) to save their lives. They are constantly taking jobs for free to repay someone's kindness; at least Ginji is making it out that way. Ban would much rather have the cash. Their car gets towed constantly, meaning that's even more money that they need to sacrifice, and they make some very unwise business decisions in terms of what payment should be. It's very formulaic and very predictable, but it adds a nice bit of humor into the mix.
Produced back in 2002, Get Backers has a very good look about it as far as the animation goes. There is a little computer animation used, but sparingly fortunately. I would have to compare the quality of the animation to a number of different things. At first, the series reminded me of Someday's Dreamers, especially with the backgrounds and the occasional usage of background blurs to create dimension. The character designs however bring Saiyuki to mind, especially with the fact that the animators like to throw in some of those 'cute' facial expressions (cat-looks, etc.) like Goku got when he was in the presence of anything edible. Ginji however also reminds me of video game characters. Appearance wise, he reminds me a great deal of Final Fantasy VIII's Zell, but I'm also taken back to some of the characters from the Tekken series, Paul for example. This isn't to say though that Get Backers is an exact rip-off of any of these, and again, it can stand very well on it's own.
With the extras, ADV is again trying to go for commentary tracks, and although that normally would be fine, I'm simply not a fan of dubbed anime. I know there are many people out there that will only watch something in English, but for me, I'd much rather get the dirt from the Japanese seiyuu that were involved since really, they are the ones that brought the true life to the characters. There is also a behind the scenes features, but unfortunately again, this is with the English crew. There should be no big surprise that there are clean version of the open and closing animations included as well.
Packed with action, comedy, and an interesting concept, Get Backers looks to be a very promising series right from the start. The idea of finding and returning items seems to be a bit far-fetched, but it's all presented and pulled off very well. It's going to be interesting to see exactly what direction the series takes, but with a teaser or two of an on-going story thrown in for good measure, Get Backers already has a right formula in place to make it a big hit with fans.
Episode 1 - The Initials Are 'G' (Ginji) and 'B' (Band)
A young girl who has lost something very precious to her, a stuff cat that her deceased mother has made for her, approaches the Get Backers for help. They know who has the item, but getting it is going to be the real problem since it's in the possession of a police officer, and he has ties to the Yakuza, and believing that Natsumi knows of this, he takes her hostage in hopes of luring her accomplishes out.
Episode 2 - Get Back the Rusted Bonds
Ban and Ginji have been forbidden to eat at Paul's restaurant until they find the means to pay off their tab. Starved and half dead (or so they believe) they encounter the kindness of a homeless old man. Discovering what the two do for a living, he hopes that they will find his daughter who was taken prisoner by the Yakuza after he couldn't pay back his bank load. Ginji once again decides that they should repay someone's kindness, but they find that the young girl has a very different story to tell.
Episode 3 - Operation Recover the Platinum!
Hven, an attractive but rather unwanted acquaintance of Ban and Ginji, has a proposition for them, and it's going to have a very healthy price attached to it. They are to recover a box that has a value equal to platinum. Recovering the mystery item isn't going to be easy however when the two discover they are faced with a transporting group with some rather unique individuals on board, including someone from Ban's past.
Episode 4 - Recovery Service vs. Transporter Service
The battle lines have been drawn, and the Transporters aren't willing to give up their precious cargo, making things even more difficult than before. It's going to take both Ginji and Ban's skills to come out on top of this one, and they are faced with a psychotic madman who enjoys butchering his victims as well as Lady Poison, a beautiful but deadly foe from Ban's past who aims to eliminate both the them for good.
Episode 5 - Deathmatch at Sunrise: The Lightning Emperor vs. Dr. J
Ginji and Ban have managed to recover the item they have been sent in search for, but the transporters aren't going to sit idly by. They follow and corner them, resulting in a battle where Ban must face his past and Ginji must face the insane Dr. Jackal, a man who seems to have no weakness.
Posted on Monday, November 01, 2004 (Archive on Wednesday, December 01, 2004)