WTFDM checks out his banner prize, 'Get Backers'.

[Sy]

A couple of days ago me and a friend watched the first disk of Get Backers and so far it was entertaining if not horribly cliched and somewhat generic. So far i'm not quite sure what to think about it but i'm going to give it a good chance and see how I feel at the end of disk 3 because like I said it's entertaining and very easy to watch. No thought needed here.

When we first put in the DVD I was instructed to first try the English dub (much to my distaste). The dub seemed average and after a couple of minutes we switched it over to Japanese but I noticed something that i've heard on other UK ADV releases and that's a sort of echo effect on the English dub which is not present on the Japanese audio track. I noticed it right away and found it very irritating. Not a problem for people who prefer the original language but bothersome for dub fans.

The first thing I noticed about the series itself was the high quality and fluidity of the animation which was maintained throughout the episodes we watched. I also really loved the music which sounded like, and might have actually be, Taku Iwasaki who did the soundtracks for R.O.D and Witch Hunter Robin. The look and style of the show was highly class all 'round and even the character designs that I thought would irritate me didn't become a problem at the end of the disk.

The show itself isn't without it's fair share of let downs though. Every so often I enjoy a show where no thought is need, something you can just watch and enjoy and this is that. I was worried at the end of the second episode that each episode was going to follow the same pattern....

Somebody has a problem -> Investigation -> Fight in a Warehouse

Yeah, seriously. At the end of the first two episodes it ends with a Mafia fight in a warehouse. It's not like anything was even hard to figure out what was going to lead it to that point either but regardless... It still somehow managed to be somewhat fun to watch.

Given that it's only 52 episodes compared to the size of similar shows I think I could easily manage to the end of the series if it keeps up the entertainment value it has been for the last 5 episodes. It's really nothing special at all and it's something i'd just give a miss if I didn't get them free but it's watchable and has some funny moments as well as excellent animation, some cool fights and some great music.

I just hope for more character depth in future episodes and hopefully less predictable storylines. Who knows, I might be surprised but I somewhat doubt it. Even Naruto had some decent backstory though so WHO KNOWS!

If mindless fun is what you're looking for then this series might be worth checking out since it can be picked up pretty cheap in it's entirety.

Oh whatevaz i'm going for a pint!

 

[Paul]

It gets better as the series hits it's main storyline and Ginji's backstory comes to light (no pun intended). Just to echo your general sentiment, I never felt compelled to watch Get Backers but when I did, it was actually quite fun and easy going. For whatever reason, there is just no real edge to the story or characters.

 

[Ginji]

A couple of days ago me and a friend watched the first disk of Get Backers...

....but I noticed something that i've heard on other UK ADV releases and that's a sort of echo effect on the English dub which is not present on the Japanese audio track....

Yeah, seriously. At the end of the first two episodes it ends with a Mafia fight in a warehouse. It's not like anything was even hard to figure out what was going to lead it to that point either but regardless... It still somehow managed to be somewhat fun to watch.

I just hope for more character depth in future episodes and hopefully less predictable storylines. Who knows, I might be surprised but I somewhat doubt it. Even Naruto had some decent backstory though so WHO KNOWS!

The first two episodes of GetBackers are hardly the best and not very representative as practically none of the rest of the cast have been introduced and the only single episode stories in the first half of the anime. At this point in the series you don't really need any backstory but we do get a a brief flashback of Ginji's old gang in the opening episode.

However, your message suggests that you haven't progressed beyond the first two episodes of the five episodes on the first disc. The remaining episodes form a three-part story which is much better and introduces two important characters (Himiko and Akabane) and reveals some of Ban's past. By the time you get the end of the third disc you'll been swamped by Ginji's backstory.

Oddly although you described it as "horribly cliched and somewhat generic" one my main criticisms of it is that later on, especially during the Limitless Fortress episodes it starts getting too metaphysical. The other criticism is that the series goes downhill a bit, particularly around episodes 30-40 when anime diverges from the manga.

 

[Sy]

No, we saw right to the end of the disk and even though a little character information was creeping in it seemed pretty standard fare. Especially the forced half told back stories which seem to be a fixed element of this type of series and the overly extended battles padded out with rather pointless dialogue about who's going to win (plus she must have informed him about her brother at least three times). I also kinda laughed how they kept telling the guy they nicknamed 'Mr No Brakes' to hammer on the brakes.

I'm still waiting for it to kick up a notch right now and i'm happy to hear that as it progresses it does get a little more interesting. At the moment though things just seem to be presented in a rather forceful and thown in manner but I'll give it until the end of the third disk to if I want to continue with the series because like I said in spite of all that it's fun and easy to watch.

 

[Ginji]

even though a little character information was creeping in it seemed pretty standard fare. Especially the forced half told back stories which seem to be a fixed element of this type of series and the overly extended battles padded out with rather pointless dialogue

By anime standards the battles in GetBackers aren't particularly long. If anything some fights are all build-up an over before they begin or defered until later. (As a general point I wonder if the fights, in any series, just go on without the pointless dialogue how watchable are they?)

but I'll give it until the end of the third disk to if I want to continue with the series because like I said in spite of all that it's fun and easy to watch.

The opening story on the second DVD involves some of Ginji's story and introduces two people from his old gang. In the anime Ban's backstory tends to play second fiddle Ginji's past. When you get to the start of the third DVD (episode 11, or Act VI in manga) you suddenly realise, or at least in seemed to me, that the stories in the previous 10 episodes had all been a prelude to this story and basically served to introduce the characters and backstory.

 

[McIcy]

It gets better as the series hits it's main storyline and Ginji's backstory comes to light (no pun intended).

How long have you been waiting for someone to write about this series so you could say that

Brilliant series and definately gets better as the story builds and unfolds it just takes a few eps to get to that point

 

[Sy]

By anime standards the battles in GetBackers aren't particularly long.

That's somewhat true but if you compare it with the likes of Naruto by cutting out all the flashbacks of earlier sections of a fight and remove the long reminders at the start of the episodes then I don't think the battles would be much longer than in Get Backers. So far the reminders on Get Backers have been brief and to the point.

(As a general point I wonder if the fights, in any series, just go on without the pointless dialogue how watchable are they?)

Well if the dialogue doesn't hold up and the action isn't strong enough to stand on it's own with minimal dialogue then that would suggest it needs to be trimmed.

We've now watched to the end of Disk 2. Still very watchable but i'm looking forward to more substance in the next disk.

 

[Ginji]

That's somewhat true but if you compare it [GetBackers battles]with the likes of Naruto by cutting out all the flashbacks of earlier sections of a fight...

Even with full padding neither, even if put together, come anyway near the long drawn-out battles in DBZ

We've now watched to the end of Disk 2. Still very watchable but i'm looking forward to more substance in the next disk.

The third disc starts off the 15 episode "IL" arc, the longest in the series, which continues onto the fourth and fifth disc.

However, I consider the "Venus de Milo" arc (eps 29-33, irritatingly straddles dvds seven and eight) to be the best story in the anime even though they did change the really cool and unusal method of escape used in the manga story to something much more mundane.

 

[TRASHBAT]

There is deffinately a lot of characters i wish they developed more,or even included when considering some of the great characters in the manga,but overall i adore Get Backers.Just wish there were more episodes...there is so much packed into the manga they could use (though that in itself is bloody long!)