GetBackers: an overview

[gisho.livejournal.com]

GetBackers has everything. Supernatural powers, futuristic technology, strange family traditions, witches, magicians, mad scientists, Dashing Adventures, Touching Moments, and more passionate male friendship than you can shake a stick at. Also, boobs. It follows two young men, Ginji and Ban, as they stuggle to do their job, actually get paid, make sense of their lives, help out old friends, and avoid old enemies, in a Tokyo that isn't quite the one we know. It's utterly madcap. It has more twists than a Slinky. And it alternately makes you laugh aloud and sniffle with sympathy.

Come on, who wouldn't want to read the only shonen manga in existance to include a canonical mpreg joke?




The technical details:

GetBackers is by Yuuya Aoki and Rando Ayamine. There's a manga (37 volumes and still going - it will probably wrap up at 40ish - 16 of which can be found in English) and an anime (49 episodes, all out on DVD). The anime got wide English exposure first, but the manga is more complex, includes some strong characters who don't appear in the anime, and is getting a lot of fans as it comes out here. Me included. The overview below is all manga-verse, although some fic recs may be anime-verse. For more info on anime vs. manga, go see the stupidly exhaustive Wikipedia article. Anything past the end of the Card Arc will be marked SPOILERS.

The Story

Once upon a time ...

well, not really, but it sure feels like it. Anyway. Once upon a time, there was a place called Mugenjou (or the Infinite Castle, or the Limitless Fortress, or ... well, you get the idea). It was a slum area that sprung up around the mysterious Babylon Tower, a hi-tech building put up after the "great Shinjuku fire". At least, that's what people say. Nobody remembers quite how it came into being. The top of the tower is called Babylon City, and watches over the rest. The middle areas are the Beltline, where monsters spring from. At street level is Lower Town, inhabited mostly by people just trying to lie thier lives ... if the monsters would leave them alone. Those who live in Mugenjou start to develop strange powers. Those born there are stranger still.

The rest of the world would rather forget it exists, but order inside Mugenjou was still kept, mostly by a gang called the VOLTS who tried to protect the ordinary people. Their leader was called Raitei; he was a teenager with strange powers and was dying by degrees. Until the day a stranger with purple glasses walked into Mugenjou. He encountered Raitei, and they fought. Who won is never revealed.

But however it happened, a little while afterward Raitei walked out of Mugenjou with him without looking back. Three of his four chief lieutenants, who were called the Four Kings, left as well. One was left behind to clean up the wreckage.

Fast-forward two years and a bit, and here is where the story opens. Midou Ban and Amano Ginji are the GetBackers, the best retrieval agents (they find lost or stolen items) in Shinjuku, who boast of an "almost 100% success rate!" They are usually broke and live in their car (a souped-up Subaru 360 Ban calls Ladybug), and run up a terrible tab at their favorite cafe, the Honky Tonk. Their jobs range from the straightforward to the messily complex. Really, they're good at what they do - just not good at getting paid. Or at not getting parking tickets.

And of course, eventually, their pasts come back to haunt them. Over the course of the series, they find old friends again, encounter old enemies, often find that the friends have become enemies, and try to uncover the mysteries of their past - all of which, of course, goes back to Mugenjou. Everything does.

The Characters

To quote mullenkamp's icon: "Everyone's a great big dork."

There are so many characters, all with twisted histories, that I'm leaving out a good number. If you're curious, Wikipedia is your friend. In approximate order of first appearance:

Amano Ginji: Our Hero, the G in GB, and arguably the dorkiest character in the series. Ginji in the present is a happy-go-lucky, enthusastic teenager, who wants everyone else to be happy too. Ginji is affectionate to his friends and sympathetic to his enemies, with an intuitive understanding of people's emotions. However, the person he cares for the most is unquestionably Ban. Ginji uses elctricity in often improbable ways - he generates it within his body, but can also, for example, do a superfast healing by hooking himself up to a source of external current, or in stormy weather 'call down' a lightning strike. Of course, he has a Tragic Past - and it still shows up from time to time, in the form of his terrifying alter-ego, Raitei. (Variously translated as Thunder Emperor, Lightning Lord, etc. Many fans just use the Japanese, which sounds cooler.) He once ruled Mugenjou and was accorded the name out of respect, but as he had to use his powers more and more, he found it harder and harder to control them, and discovered his human emotions were vanishing. Eventually, he fled, terrifed of losing himself or destroying those he loved. When Ginji's life is threatened, Raitei will still sometimes 'emerge'. As Raitei his powers are far greater, but he can be indiscriminately destructive. Often it takes a threat to Ban for him to 'snap out of it'. Ginji enjoys ice cream, girls with nice butts, and perpetual optimism. Midou Ban: Our Antihero, the B in GB, and a man of many parts, most of them unsavory. Described as a "fighting genius", he has two useful powers: the Evil Eye, which enables him to send people to a "nightmare" of his imagining for a minute at a time, although it can seem longer to them, and his "Snake Bite", a supernaturally powerful blow. Literally, supernatural. It seems to be a side effect of "Asclepius", a snake-related god that posseses him and which he could draw upon at will - presumably connnected to the Greek one, but .... He too has Tragic Backstory. There are no fewer than eight people out for his head becaue he killed a sibling of theirs (although seven of them are the Miroku; see below). He was rejected by his mother for being a "demon" because of his mysterious powers. Much of his childhood was spend shuttling across Europe with his grandmother, the "Witch Queen", avoiding a murderous cult. Most of his adolescence was spent living on the streets. It doesn't show. In the present Ban is brash, cocky, incredibly egotistical, slightly manic, and a terrible cheapskate - except when business is good, when he happily splurges on beer and sushi. A lot of Ginji's old friends resent him for taking away their leader. Ban doesn't give a shit. There are perhaps two people in the world he honestly cares for deeply. Only with Ginji does he admit it. He is good at his job and takes great pride the Getbackers' (almost) 100% sucess rate. He also plays the violin. Ban enjoys a quiet smoke, girls with big breasts, and the opportunity to prove his superiority. He calls most people by rude nicknames. Ginji calls him "Ban-chan".
	Wan Paul: The long-suffering proprietor of the "Honky Tonk" cafe. Makes a great cup of coffee. Ban and Ginji owe him several hundred thousand yen, and the number shows no signs of dropping. A lot of people call him "Master" (in English; the English translations changed it to "Chief" or "Boss"). He has admirable patience, and is able to be caring and philosophical in the face of utter disaster. He may be involved with the black market. SPOILERS: (It is eventually revealed that Ban and Ginji are in fact the third group to be known as the GetBackers. Paul and Ban's father were the first. Paul was known as the Gale King; he can control wind. He bears the Stigma Eye, and hides it by always wearing sunglasses.)
	Hevn: An "intermediary" who helps the various freelancers of the series find clients. Hevn is suave, charming, and frequenctly underdressed. She is capable of remaining cool and collected in the most distressing of situations. Ban has a habit of groping her breasts; she has a habit of inflicting violence on him. Hevn is not her real name, but what her real name is has not been revealed. SPOILERS: (She has a Past with Masaki, and knows more about what's going on than most people.)
	Mizuki Natsumi: Waitress at the Honky Tonk. A cheerful, capable teenager. Natsumi is a small and welcome slice of normalacy, whose immediate ambitions mainly include learning how to make coffee as good as Paul's (an ambition she does, eventually, realize). She cares for Ban and Ginji and is often there at the end of their missions with a sympathetic ear. However, Natsumi is not without her slightly evil side. She is talented at shogi and ping-pong.
	Kudou Himiko: A transporter called "Lady Poison" for her various magical perfumes, which have such effects as causing the inhaler to think they're a monkey or obey her every whim - or enabling her to breathe fire and move at superhuman speeds. Himiko is the first person we meet who's trying to kill Ban. It seems that when they were younger, she, he, and her older brother Kudou Yamato lived together in relative happiness, until the day Himiko came home to find Ban had messily killed Yamato. What Ban knows and isn't telling is that Yamato asked him to. Why he asked is not revealed for a very long time. (SPOILERS: It appears that thanks to a curse related to the Voodooists, on his twenty-seventh birthday, Yamato was doomed to encounter a 'mirror' of himself which would attempt to destory everything he loved; there was no way to destory one without destorying the other, and Yamato asked Ban to kill the 'mirror' without admitting that it would also kill him. There is a similar curse on Himiko which will come due when she turns seventeen - which she does during the Lost Time arc. Oh, and she's one of the three Keys.) She does stop trying to kill him later, although she still wants an explanation. Himiko is no-nonsense and capable, a connsummate professional. She can get very annoyed, especially when her maturity is questioned, and Himiko is a very bad person to annoy. Initially Himiko is very bitter and driven, but she later relaxes. Ban still thinks of her as a little sister. Akabane considers her a vaulable colleage. Kagami claims to be in love with her, to her disgust and dismay.
	Akabane Kuroudou: A Transporter known as Dr. Jackal who often works with Himiko; polite, debonair, and utterly terrifying. He enjoys nothing so much as a good fight. His weapons are a number of scalpels that he somehow carries inside his body, although he does this is never made clear. Akabane has a tendency to slice his opponents into little bits instead of disabling them and letting them live; he horrified Ginji by doing this when they first met on opposite sides of a job. Subsequently he has taken an interest in Ginji, and has his heart set on someday fighting Raitei at full power. Akabane will always finish a job, but he can, and has, worked both sides at once. He is somehow connected to Babylon City, and knows the Professor. (SPOILERS: At some point in the past, Akabane was a medical doctor and a freind of Semimaru, a leader of the Kiryuudo; he was unable to save the life of Semimaru's son, which may have led him toward his current destructive path.) Oh, and he smiles all the time.
	Fuuchoin Kazuki: Another of the Volts Kings; before joining the Volts he led a gang called "Fuuga" (aka Elegance). Kazuki is the last survivor of the Fuuchoin family; he came to Mugenjou because it was his mother's last request, and in hopes of finding the people responsible for the deaths of his family. His Mysterious Family Martial Art involves koto strings. Most of his attacks are patterned after nature and have absurdly long names. He also has non-violent tricks such as using it to listen in on distant conversations. Works as an "annaiya" (generally translated as "guide") - basically he sells information, although for his friends he will give it away (Kazuki is usually the character called upon for long blocks of exposition about arcane topics). He is cheerful, curious, devoted to his friends, and still loyal to Ginji. His best friend is Juubei; a lot of people (including Ginji, the mangaka, and about 95% of fans) think they're a couple. Kazuki is one of very few people from Below to have entered the Beltline and returned alive. SPOILERS: (As a result he has the Stigma Eye, and hides it with a contact lens. It is eventually revealed that the attack on his family was organized by Yohan, who is really Kazuki's younger brother, raised by another branch of the family because he was born with the Stigma Eye, making him cursed. Yohan is also working for the Voodooists. I could go on at length, but if you care about the details, you're probably already following it on the comms.) Ban calls him "thread-spool".
	Otowa Madoka: A genius violin player. Blind since birth, she gets around with the aid of her seeing-eye dog, Mozart. She hired the GetBackers to retrieve her stolen violin. In the course of job they met Shido, initially as an enemy, then an ally. Madoka and Shido hit it off instantly; after the job he accepted her offer to stay with her, and bring his friends. (Most apartments don't allow lions, but Madoka has a big lawn.) She's kind-hearted, friendly, and generally a pleasant person. Fuyuki Shido: One of the former Four Kings of the Volts, and almost the last of an aboriginal tribe called the Mariuudo. Shido gets on better with animals than most people - posibly because he can talk to them. This ability earned him the nickname of "Beastmaster". His Mysterious Family Marital Art gives him the ability to imitate animals, taking on their useful qualities - claws, fangs, in one notable instance ultrasonic hearing, etc. When we first meet Shido he's a bodyguard-for-hire; later he works as a retrieval agent, and has a running rivalry with Ban. He hooks up with Madoka fairly early on, and they're heart-meltingly cute. Shido is generally serious and reliable, although it is possible to provoke him into screaming fits, especially if you're Ban, and call him 'monkey-trainer'. Shido does have a Past, but it doesn't seem to bother him much. His hereditary enemies are the Kiryuudo, a tribe who can control insects. SPOILERS: (At one point they kidnap Madoka; in the process of his quest to get her back we meet three other remaining members of his tribe, one of whom - Natsuki Amon - tragically dies in order to save Shido's life, in the process giving him a strange artifact called the Kimera, which is one of the three Keys.)
	Clayman: An mysterious art thief who specializes in forgeries, called Clayman for cunning use of scuplted masks. Clayman is actualy altruistic, attempting to take art from those who don't appreciate it and bring it to the whole world. Her mother was a medium who frequently allowed the spirits of past masters to possess her in order to finish works they never got the chance to do while they were alive; it is Clayman's hope that these paintings will someday be recognized as the true work of the masters, despite their modern materials - after all, materials aside, they showcase the genius of the true painter. The GetBackers were hired to get back a painting she stole from a corporation hoping to destroy it for the insurance money; they eventually switch sides and help her save the work.
	Makubex: The one of the Volts Kings who stayed behind, and brooded, and grew bitter, and who knew enough of the truth to risk everything in a desperate bid to change fate. Fourteen now (he was twelve when Ginji left), he does tend to be a bit of an angsty teenager. He has a lot to angst about. He was abanoned as a baby, found in a bag marked only with the name "Makube"; the X was added later. Makubex is actually an AI, part of the 'virtual world' of Mugenjou and unable ever to leave. It was in part this revelation that led to the IL incident: Makubex attempted to force the "Gods of Babylon City" to give up control of Lower Town by building a nuclear bomb and threatening to destroy Mugenjou entirely. This led to Ginji's first return to Mugenjou, and their eventual reconciliation. Makubex is a genius hacker and also talented at manipulating human minds. Most of the Volts who remained in Mugenjou are now passionately loyal to him. He has tried to kill himself twice. SPOILERS: ( In the Lost Time arc, he discovered that he had the ability to manipulate the reality of Mugenjou directly, without a computer, simply by the power of his will. There's also this mess with the Archive, the Babylon City supercomputer, that I won't even try to explain here.) Ban calls him "computer-boy". Kakei Sakura: Sakura is unusual in that she has no nom de guerre. She was in Fuuga with Kazuki and Juubei, in the Volts, and finally became Makubex's chief minion. By blood she's Juubei's older sister - but Sakura is everyone's older sister, more or less. She is gentle, comforting, and devoted, and you would never think to look at her that she can easily destroy builldings with a piece of fabric (it's her Mysterious Family Martial Art, the other half of the Kakei style). She might be romantically involved with Makubex. It's kind of hard to tell.
	Emishi Haruki: Called the "Bloody Joker". Emishi's main weapons are a whip made from the hair of his female ancestors, and an array of hideous jokes. He was a member of the Volts, working under Shido, whom he followed around like a lost puppy (there's a very cute how-they-met story in volume 8); currently he's one of Makubex's minions. Emishi is, surprisingly enough, not the only remining member of the Rouran tribe. He is however the last of their warriors. He is fond of small children, making people laugh, and Kakei Sakura (or at least her figure). SPOILERS: (He was also very fond of Shido's cousin Amon, whom he met while helping find the kinapped Madoka. They hit it off instantly, jokingly referring to themselves as the "Spring-Summer Teamup". Amon had a sense of humour just as weird and wonderful as Emishi's. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few days - Amon died to save Shido, leaving Emishi bereft and confused.)
	Kakei Juubei: Kazuki's best friend, destined protector, and arguably boyfriend. His Mysterious Family Martial Art involves tobari (long throwing needles) and the manipulation of chi. The family were also physicians skilled with acupuncture, who have served the Fuuchoin for generations. When Kazuki's family were killed, Juubei accompanied him to Mugenjou. For reasons unknown, when Kazuki left Mugenjou, Juubei stayed behind. They reconciled after the IL incident, when Juubei lost his vision. Juubei is immensely serious and has no sense of humour; he has come to see the latter as a personal failing and attempt to correct it, to no avail. The runner-up for Dorkiest Character. Ban calls him "samurai-boy", which is not that innacurate; Kaziki just calls him "old-fashioned" and apparently finds his occasional dramatic declarations of eternal devotion very sweet.
	Fudou Takuma: "Fudou the Enlightened" has a mechanical prosthetic arm with claws on, the ability to see three seconds into the future, and a TWTICHING DESIRE. Seriously. His only goal in life is to kill Ban and possibly dismember the quivering remains. Apparently Ban was responsible for the loss of his original arm, and Fudou is a man who knows how to nurse a grudge. He joined Makubex's minions for the chance to get at Ban, but eventually got his ass kicked. Current wherabouts unknown.
	Kyouji Kagami: Unsurprisingly if you know Japanese, Kagami's power involves mirrors - he can make himself vanish, make duplicates of himself appear, and use a power called "Diamond Dust" that spreads tiny glass particles for his opponents to breathe in and cut up their lungs. He comes for Babylon City, but joined Makubex's minions for a better chance to "observe". Kagami is utterly impenetrable and gives the impression of silently laughing at whoever else is nearby. He claims to be in love with Himiko, apparently because she once defeated him soundly. SPOILERS: (Kagami is involved with the Voodooists and Brain Trust, and in the Lost Time arc he kidnaps Himiko with the intention of somehow using her and her mirror.) Ban calls him "bar host".
	Radou Ren: Gen's granddaughter; she works with him as an apothecary and does most of the exploration for the map of Mugenjou that he is attempting to construct. Ren is tomboyish, optimistic, and inclined to quick changes of mood. During the IL arc, she rescued Kazuki when he was injured after a fight, and promptly fell for him, very hard. At the end of the arc, she attempted to leave Mugenjou to follow him - which was when she found out the hard way that she, like Makubex, was one of the virtual people.
	Radou Gensui: In the present, Gen lives quietly with his granddaughter as an apothecary in Lower Town. However, in the past he was an architect - the designer of Babylon Tower, and a member of Brain Trust. Gen is also the one who raised Makubex, and taught him at least some of what he knows about computers. He has a lot of regrets and is doing his best to make up for what he sees as his previous failings.
	Teshimine Takeru: Possibly connected to Brain Trust, an old friend of Paul's, and the man who raised Ginji. Ginji was apparently abandoned in Mugenjou at a young age and Teshimine found him and took him in. Some time after Ginji's powers emerged, he quietly left. He has the Stigma Eye, has for at least twelve years, and makes no attempt to hide it.
	The Professor: "Hakase" in Japanese. This mysterious little girl first shows up during the Venus de Milo arc, when she gives some of the cast candy that seems to increase their fighting ability. It is later revealed that she is, or was, a member of Brain Trust. SPOILERS: (And her name has recently been revealed to be "Makube".)
	The Miroku Seven: Seven siblings who share their existance, although not technically their body. Each specialzes in a different weapon. The ones who appear most often are the eldest, Natsuhiko, who is rather bloodthirsty, and the youngest and most powerful, Yukihiko, who is rather sweet but but by no means gullible or easily swayed. They are out to get Ban because he killed their elder sister, Eris. SPOILERS: ( Eris was actually Yukihiko's fiance; the seven of them were originally supposed to merge into one - Yukihiko, the strongest, would be the primary personality - but after Eris's death they all decided to stick around so they could all enjoy the revenge. Their family is traditionally on the side of the witches.) The GetBackers encounter them on the job. Yukihiko and Ginji strike up a friendship before discovering, regertfully, that they are on opposite sides.
	Uryuu Toshiki: Toshiki was a member of Fuuga, but when Kazuki disbanded Fuuga to join the Volts, Toshiki refused to follow him. He eventually joined up with Lucifer, a witch who was trying to remake the world using the artifact known as the "Divine Design" cards (Kami no Kajitsu), with the assistance of the "archangels", five teenagers he has taught to use the cards' magic. Toshiki was known as the Hell Knight. His Mysterious Family Martial Art involves direct chi manipulation, enabling him to cast deadly attacks at great distance. Toshiki is very honorable and will never attack someone from behind. In the Fuuga days, he was madly in love with Kazuki, but grew bitter because he felt Kazuki never noticed him, preferring Juubei. By the end of the arc they reconcile, and Toshiki returns to Mugenjou with Juubei, where he joins Makubex's minions.
	Maria Noches: A powerful witch and a student of Ban's grandmother; she took care of him for a while when he first came to Japan. He swallows his pride and asks for her help after he is almost defeated by Lucifer; it emerges that Maria is the holder of one of the original Divine Design card sets. Despite appearances she is actually 99 years old. Maria is postively gleeful about life in general and enjoys playing tricks on people. She thinks Ginji is the cutest thing ever. Also, she's a slash fangirl.
	Sendou Rena: Originally a servant of Lucifer's, the Archangel Remiel. A teenage girl with a dark but sadly not unusual past; she later becomes a waitress at the Honky Tonk along with Natsumi.
	Masaki Kurusu: The most mysterious of the Volts Kings. Comes from Babylon City. For most of the IL arc, he was known only as That Guy or The Other One. SPOILERS: (He shows up again in the Lost Time arc, as a servant of the Voodoo King. He also has a Past with Hevn.)

The Fandom

There's actually good amount of genfic for GetBackers, in part because the format cheerfully lends itself to 'missing episodes'. Take one pair retrieval agents, add one precious lost item, mix well, and beta at 360 degrees! However, the best genfics are often those that focus on the backstory, expound on the mysteries, or show a slice of life between adventures.

Early on Ban makes a hopelessly sappy remark to Ginji: "The S in GetBackers means we're never alone." They're together all the time. The cocky, hypermasculine Ban lets Ginji hug him in public and call him cute nicknames. When Ginji goes berserk, only Ban getting skewered through the shoulder to protect him brings him back from the edge. They can hear each other's voices from miles apart when they're in trouble. Canonically. Unsurprisingly, they get slashed all the time. Usually, it's hopelessly cute and dorky with occasionnal moments of angst about their past - but hey, that pretty much sums up the manga: hopelessly cute and dorky with occasional moments of angst.

The next most popular pairing is probably Kazuki and Juubei. Even Ginji at one point remarks that they look like a couple on their honeymoon. Juubei has demonstrated himself to be willing to die for Kazuki, so it's hard to deny how much they mean to each other - the only question is whether it's romantic as well as fraternal love, and this is a question fans happily answer in the affirmative. So does Ayamine in his freetalks. So. Well. Some fans will inject Toshiki into the mix for a happy or conflicted threesome, depending; it works surprisingly well.

The third popular pairing is Shido and Madoka. They're canon. They're also the CUTEST THING EVER. Not as many authors write for them, possibly because there's not a lot to say that hasn't already been said by the authors themselves.

Other pairings include Ginji/Natsumi (pure fluff, but fun and very plausible), Kagami/Akabane (mmm, bloody hatesex), Emishi/Amon (given that the two spawned a canonical mpreg joke it's hard not to AU things to a happy ending), and Makubex/Sakura (as with Kazuki and Juubei, it's not a question of whether they love each other, but how).

The fandom is blessed with an abundance of good writers. If I rec something, you should probably check out everything else by the author. Beware of mangaverse vs. animerverse discrepancies - some characters, msot notably Toshiki, Masaki, and Teshimine, have very different stories in the anime; many others don't exist at all.

Some useful resources:

• getbackers - the LJ GetBackers community. Not as loud as it used to be, but still occasionally interesting.


• I Read That - a recblog with lots of good stuff, including many fics I'll be avoiding here because of length. The fandom has a lot of good short fics.


• Dakknya.net (archive.org backup) - Now sadly defunct, in its day dakkanya.net was THE information site for the fandom. It still has a lot of nice biographical detail you won't find elsewhere in the Characters section.


• Honky Tonk Cafe - No longer updated, but the existing stuff is good.


• Wikipedia's GetBackers article - this and the other stuff linked to it are stupidly exhaustive, and worth a peruse, especially if you want to find out more about the latest manga arc.