Getbackers

[Akira_Li]

Just a couple of questions:

Has the manga finished up in Japan, and if so, how many volumes are there?

Thanks for the help.

[Dorfl]

I know it's up to 21 volumes right now and still running, but that's about all I know. I think it's pretty popular.

[eLstar]

Well I went to the mall just the other day and lo' and behold they had the GetBackers fresh off the presses from Tokyopop and few days earlier then the release date that was announced in Animerica.

So anyway here's my review for it:


Story:

Ban Mido and Ginji Amano are the GetBackers. Two punks who run a business of retrieving anything back whether lost or stolen. I mean they even have a retrieving percentage of almost 100%. Whatever the job may be the GetBackers will see that it's done mainly because they have absolutely zero luck with money and they'll take anything they can get. Although the business sounds stupid it really is a dangerous job for ordinary people but luckily the GetBackers aren't ordinary.

Ginji, the former leader of the most notorious gang known as the "Volts", holds within him the power of electricty and can use this power to fry his enemies (or Ban) to a crisp. The mysterious (and chain smoking) Ban has a grip that can hold/crush 200 kg and is also the wielder of the "Evil Eyes" which is the ability to cause your enemies to have hallucinations for a total of one minute.

With both their abilities and friendship they endure through poverty and kicking the crap of other super powered freaks all in the service of getting back what you lost.


Review:

If any of you are fans of the anime then you should prepare yourself for two things.

1. The huge change in art
2. Heavy adult material

The art in GetBackers is mediocre compared to some of the heavy hitters out there but manga is pretty old and so the art evolves later on into the series. But for now the art looks pretty bad compared to the Anime. I make it sound horrible but it's really not THAT bad. The other thigns that is unexpected is the heavy sexual induendo and gropping that goes on in this series. I already expected it since I read the first Volume scanlated before it got licensed but that was back in July or so. I forgot all about it and I was shocked at the dramatic change of content. So if you don't like seeing various people (like Ban) gropping half naked girls then you should reconisder buying this manga otherwise all the power to you.

Anyway I was both thrilled and horrified by Tokyopop's translations. All the names stayed the same and nothing was censored (at least from what I've seen). The only thing that bugs me is when translators add hugely unecessary comments by trying to keep up with what's "in" nowadays. Ban and Ginji uses slang like "Dude" and "Bro" WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too often. The first time was enough to make me cringe and I thought the torture would stop there but unfortunately I was wrong.

Dead wrong.

Anyway besides that I found everything enjoyable. All of the graphic stuff was kept in and the GetBackers are exactly the same people as they are in the Anime, only more sexually charged. All of the characters (that no one really cares about) appeared including Paul, Natsumi, and even Hishiki appear! And so does Hevn (except MUCH more revealing then usual).

Overall I give the Manga a 7 out of 10

If you enjoyed the Anime Series and miss seeing it then I think you'll enjoy the Manga because where else are you gonna catch your two favourite Retrieving Specialists in wild and crazy action?

[Dorfl]

Originally Posted by Dranz

Anyway besides that I found everything enjoyable. All of the graphic stuff was kept in and the GetBackers are exactly the same people as they are in the Anime, only more sexually charged. All of the characters (that no one really cares about) appeared including Paul, Natsumi, and even Hishiki appear! And so does Hevn (except MUCH more revealing then usual).

Errr...not quite. The personalities of Ban and Ginji in the manga seem to be quite different from the ones in the anime. In particular, Ban in the manga is much less oh-so-serious and oh-so-dark and "trying to act so cool," which makes him quite delightful. And Ginji is more sensible in the manga, he certainly keeps his mind more on the job than Ban does.
Unlike most people, I read the scanslated manga before trying to watch the anime. I loved the manga, but my anime attempt was a failure. It was like trying to watch "Two Stupid Dogs" with the roles reversed = fiasco. Anyway, I saw vol.1 in the bookstore yesterday, might as well go back and flip through it.

[whatever123]

thanks Dranz for the info u already encouraged me to buy the manga (probably the first ever manga i would buy) i was really worried about censorship and bad translation and probably some altering in the story and names just one question do they keep the names of the moves?

also could i ask u a favour? i wonder if u coud keep reviewing the manga with each volume out?

sorry if i was asking to much of u

[eLstar]

Originally Posted by Dorfl

Errr...not quite. The personalities of Ban and Ginji in the manga seem to be quite different from the ones in the anime. In particular, Ban in the manga is much less oh-so-serious and oh-so-dark and "trying to act so cool," which makes him quite delightful. And Ginji is more sensible in the manga, he certainly keeps his mind more on the job than Ban does.
Unlike most people, I read the scanslated manga before trying to watch the anime. I loved the manga, but my anime attempt was a failure. It was like trying to watch "Two Stupid Dogs" with the roles reversed = fiasco. Anyway, I saw vol.1 in the bookstore yesterday, might as well go back and flip through it.

Are you talking about the Manga in general? Or just the first volume?

Because in the first Volume the first act alone is almost exactly like episode 2 in the Anime. Ban is not willing (at first) to help the old geezer yet Ginji who is the heart of the GetBackers encourages him to do so.

Ginji is playful and in the anime he always tries to be friends with everyone and it's the same thing in this first Volume. I don't see Ginji be any more sensible then he has been int he manga. Ban actually *does* try and act all cool in the manga rather then not from what I've seen. Nothing has really changed about them IMO in the first Volume.

So I haven't read any scanlations apart from Volume 1 and I see no differences from the things you've stated.

[Dorfl]

Well, I read the first 3 volumes of the manga scanslated and I tried watching some other eps of GB. I know I tried ep 1, then I skipped around a bit (didn't watch ep 2) and watched two or three more. I still found Ban too dark and serious in all the eps I tried and Ginji too soft and floppy. However the bit I'm talking about where the eyes-dude (Ban, right) tries to be all-cool is when they go on the mission with the truckers and the chick with the perfumes. All those serious reminiscences and sad looks, I was just like AAAAARRRGH, get over yourself. Hmm, plus they both have pointer faces in the manga, it's not sexy.

In the manga Ban was rather more flippant and happy-go-lucky about the whole deal, (IMHO) and Ginji seemed to hold his own more and was less gay about the whole "he's my friend" thing. Perhaps what made the difference is seeing it animated instead of reading in on paper. I had to listen to the voices and the crappy sound effects and all the action was so much slower. After a couple of minutes of "Baaaan-chaaan!" I was more than ready to stab myself. I definitely recommend the manga, though.

[BOZZY]

Finally a review on Getbackers Volume 1...

I agree pretty much with you about the hip dialogue... At first I was a little mad that they changed "Just One Minute" to "Just a moment" and that Paul is now Pore (hehe) but after reading it through I'd say it was decent... It's not Initial D bad but hey... I guess they learned a bit at how badly they can mess up dialogue...

I can't wait for Volume 2 to hit to see if there's a marked improvement from Tokyopop... I'm just really happy the manga is being released... It's definetly gonna surplant (sp?) my Initial D collection

Oh and by any chance have you guys compared it to the scanlations of the First Volume, a lot of differences or no?

[derfderf]

i read the chinese version of gb up to vol 23...
it's SOOOOOO much better than the anime.. i thought the anime sucked after the first infinite castle incident anyway.
there are alot of adult material and it mite be offending, but otherwise it's great..
things do get kinda messy and confusing tho from around vol 13... maybe i have to reread again?? hmm...

[Kyuven]

the street slang will probably fade away by vol. 3 or 4 (tokyopop translates and prepares all the manga in "batches", usually the first 2-4 volumes are one batch (i.e. translated by the same schmoe, it's pretty obvious in their early translations that there are multiple people translating that probably never see each other, and their final editors suck)
for instance: if you look at the first few volumes of GTO and love hina, you'll see that there are a lot of inconsistancies (particularly with character names in GTO...there's at least 2 different spellings for "Fukada", "(Mr.) Sakurai", "Kanzaki", and "Fukaroda". "Fukuda", "Sakurada", and "Kanzawa" being just a couple) (inconsistant spelling abound in Love Hina too, as well as altered pop culture references...i think they do this in akamatsu's A.I. Love You...btw they translated the name of that one...)

luckily, many of tokyopop's license contracts are begining to include requests to leave in sound effects and honorifics (Ai Yori Aoshi and Fruits Basket for example)

Unfortunately, they still suck, as proved by what they did to Ikkitousen (oh, i'm sorry, i meant "Battle Vixens" 0_o )

[Velg]

i love GetBackers manga. i was a bit ticked off by the way the "hip" slang they used, but i just read past it. vol 2 is out, at least around here it is. i cant wait for volume 3.

as for the scans vs published, i dont see too too many differences...none that really seem noticable save for the slang and the "Just one minute" things. one thing i did notice, when Ban and Ginji land the car in the water, the scans translated it to this:

Spoiler:

but tokyopop translated it to:

Spoiler:

Ginji - Hey, what the hell happened?
Ban - Guess we just lucked out

and i think its alot funnier the scanned way...but other than that i think tokyopop did a pretty good job. ill keep buying it regardless since its my favorite manga that i actually can buy.

[i like-a de action]

Yes. I also think Tokyopop used too much slang. But it was funny as hell seeing Ginji being humped doggy style(literally). Anyway, I also think that Ban is a LOT weaker in the manga (just because he gets his ass kicked more often than in the anime). Also, Ginji's a lot less gay in the manga. He doesn't keep on running to Ban-chan, hugging(or groping) him, or keep on saying that oh, they're best friends(more like boyfriends) like in the anime. Personally, I welcome Ban and (especially) Ginji's sexuality change. THEY'RE NOT AS GAY.

Also Ginji's hairstyle looks way cooler in the manga.

[Superlocke]

lol... well don't worry about it people, i picked up Vol. 4 today, the dialogue is untouched and no more slang-terms are in there anymore ^_^

Big plus, so start collecting!

I also picked up Vol 26 of the untranslated manga... man the art is great later on, so I have to recommend getting this manga, with a rating of about... 9/10 for every volume after 1..

[7thMethuselah]

I've read up to volume 3, the two annoying things at first (being the slang and overused sexual crap) improved in the series.

The slang became less overused (or maybe I just got used to it), the ecchiness just pops up every once in a while, it's just Ban's groping that I find annoying. Storywise it's pretty similar to the anime, but contrary to Dranz I didn't think the art was all that bad. Anyway, I'm gonna order the next volumes in the coming weeks most likely

[snowhite]

Has anyone seen/read this anime/manga? It's about two people, Midou Ban and Amano Ginji, who work as retrievers, known as the Getbackers. If something is lost or stolen, they'll get it back. Midou Ban has the ability "Jagan", which can give a vision of pain/pleasure for a minute. The catch is he can only use it three times a day, and on the same person once a day. He also has the ability "Snake Bite", which gives him 200kg grip. Amano Ginji, or "Reitei" has control over eletricity, which is from his body. who do you think is the best??

[snowhite]

* * *

Water couldn't wash it away, nor alcohol, nor any drug. Not even a willing woman under him, or a man. He lost nights to all of that, to no consequence. Forgetting couldn't change what he was. Every morning he awoke to the stench of that blood on his hands.

But he couldn't see those older stains when there was fresh blood flowing, and if his anger were hot enough it might burn away the last residue of his past. It didn't take much to fight. Goading drunken men in bars and hot-headed punks on the streets, he had raised it to an artform, the fewest words to elicit the fastest reaction. He didn't even need to take the first swing. So what happened after that was their own fault.

One on one, two at a time, four, six, eight. Didn't matter, not with his strength, his fighting genius. He didn't have to think, just respond. Block a punch, throw a kick, slam one into the pavement with his elbow and punch the next into a wall while ducking the others' ineffective sallies. And that blow could kill. And that, and that. Except they never did, no matter how high his rage. Even when he tried. Blood on his hands, but not more lives. A pathetic murderer, he was, who could only slay a friend.

He didn't realize he had walked so deep into Shinjuku that night, until the men around him suddenly pulled back, their fierce knot dissolving into scattered boys, staring at their fallen comrades, then down the street. Light flashed in the darkness, a strobe pulse illuminating the rain-wet faces of the gang, reflecting sudden hope, sudden terror. Thunder boomed.

He looked, and saw the man within the lightning, who was barely a man at all, no older than him, hardly taller, hardly broader in the shoulders. He might have laughed, that this was the fearsome king of Mugenjou, that this yellow-haired brat was the emperor some called demon and some called god. He might have, but he could feel his hair standing on end in the raw power around him, and the boy's voice was slow and certain, commanding. "This is Volts territory. You should leave quickly if you don't want to die."

"Try it," he said, and that was all it took. The gang fled like scared rats, dragging their wounded with them, and in their wake their emperor came, lit in unnatural fire, his fists with the power of a thunderstorm behind them. Impossible to block, he dodged instead, lashed out with his own strength, but the emperor was feline-agile, and he had been fighting for an hour already. Adrenaline washed away the aches and beginnings of fatigue, however, and he became faster as their battle did.

Every punch that he got through burned on impact, current shocking him, but it was a different sort of pain than the bruises of fists and cuts of knives. The trembling of his muscles could be forgotten in the vicious thrill of seeing that emperor stumble, the smooth flow of his attacks faltering under his own injuries. There was surprise in those narrowed eyes--a dictator, after all, not used to being defied. And yet he didn't fight the harder for it. Surprise, but the anger was cold, not uncontrolled, not the desperation he was used to seeing.

He pounded his fist forward, caught the emperor across the jaw and threw him flying back. The crumbling cement wall behind them cracked as his body hit, and he stood over the shining figure, flexing his hand, feeling the hiss of the snake coiled within. "Why don't you fight me for real?" he demanded, panting, the air too light to fill his lungs. "Where's your power?" He could taste it, the very atmosphere humming with that energy, but as yet untapped, the emperor's true sword still sheathed.

Those colorless eyes fixed on him, mouth also open as he gasped for his own breath. He thought he would be answered, and his fist was ready to reply.

Instead there was a voice behind him, a panicked shout, high enough to be a woman, or a young boy. "Ra--Raitei!"

He believed everyone had fled from here, but when he turned he saw a child, grubby balled fists pressed to her open mouth, fearful tears shimmering in her eyes.

Suddenly unsure, he took a step toward the girl, raised his hand, intending to scare.

"No!" and it was a tiger's growl. Too late he felt the energy around him concentrate, and then the electricity rippled through him.

If he had been braced for it he might have overcome it, but that surge was too immediate to resist. He fell, muscles seizing in the current. Darkness pressed around him, but he forced open his eyes, to see the emperor, that tyrant of this demon land, take the child's hand and smile down at her.

The emperor looked back once, to say, "Don't come here again," and then they walked away.

When he regained consciousness he was on the far curb of one of the streets bordering Mugenjou. His wallet was still in his pocket, with all the money from his last job. There were two tramps watching from the shadow of a dumpster, but when he looked to them they ducked their heads and turned away, furtive and nervous.

It took two days to heal enough to walk. That night he limped to the Infinite Castle.


* * *

[ChainLegacy]

I watched this anime a few years ago and I'm aware that the second Infinite Castle arc in the anime isn't included in the manga, instead it just continues on. I was wondering if I ordered the translated manga, up to date, would I be reading non-anime content, or is it still behind? I know lots of stuff is different, but I mainly just want to see the story continue...

[Mini]

~hi!
I really like the anime and I was thinking about reading the manga, but I have a couple of quick questions:
1)Does the manga talk about Akabane's past? I know he used to be a doctor, but that is all I know. Can anyone tell me more about his past?
2) Is there more Akabane/Ban fighting scenes in the manga?

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Mini

~hi!
I really like the anime and I was thinking about reading the manga, but I have a couple of quick questions:
1)Does the manga talk about Akabane's past? I know he used to be a doctor, but that is all I know. Can anyone tell me more about his past?
2) Is there more Akabane/Ban fighting scenes in the manga?

Yes to both questions. Akabane's background is still left vague at the end of the manga, but the manga does give us fans something to chew over.

The final fight is Ban vs. Akabane. Go figure.

[Used Can]

Can anyone give me a little summary for the battle between Ban and Akabane in the manga? I've read some details, but nothing specific.