For starters, I apologize for releasing this one so late after #3. Things are a little hectic for me around here, but I'm still going to try to keep up.
Anyway, GetBackers. The story revolves around 2 guys who form a "retrieval agency" whose punchline is "We get back what was taken." First, there is Ban Mido, a man descended from witches with the power of the Evil Eye. By merely looking into a person's eyes, he may create a perfect illusion to that person for up to 1 minute, once a day. Then, there is Ginji Amano, a man renowned as the "Lightning Lord of Infinity Fortress,"who can control the natural flow of the electricity of his muscles and amplify them, causing powerful shocks to those who oppose him. Together, and with the help of a few friends who also possess supernatural powers, they work together to get back what's been taken.
With the synopsis out of the way, I would like to state that while the synopsis is that small, it is for good reason--this series, both in the manga and anime, possesses a different plot every arc, meaning that there is no one main plot to the story. Also, I'm going to have to make some major differentiations between the manga and the anime, because at some points, they are that different.
First of all, the anime has a few crippling weaknesses despite its strength as a graphic novel. The first example I should give is blood volume. There are many fights in the series, many of which including a man who fights with scalpels hidden in his body, Dr. Kuroudo Akabane. I would understand it if they only showed a few blood droplets every now and then when somebody gets a mild slice. However, the original is censored so badly that no blood appears at all, even in scenes where people get impaled. It's understandable that in some cases, there must be censorship, but I believe it is unreasonable to censor something that badly. Another weakness it has is with music. With the exceptions of Namida no Hurricane and Changin', the other openings and endings range from mediocre to impossible to listen to. Additionally, the anime adaptation actually changes the intended crowd. For example, the manga is filled with gratuitous fanservice, including Hevn, the coordinator for the GetBackers, wearing close to nothing in every frame she's in. However, the anime changes so drastically, that the show tries to focus almost on a homosexual relationship between Ban and Ginji, easily ruining the show for anybody who read the manga and isn't a yaoi fangirl. Finally, the anime is actually missing about half of the story arcs from the manga, including Natsumi's background, the Marine Red wine, and many others. With all of this said, I feel like I should give separate scores between the two mediums since they are so different.
The anime falls short. With interesting characters but unreasonable censorship, destruction of the true relationship between Ban and Ginji, and poor music, it's reasonable to say that the anime, though not terrible, isn't good, either. For that reason, it gets a 5/10.
The manga, however, is far more entertaining and introduces genuinely interesting story arcs, much bloodier (and more realistic) battles, much more intimidating dream sequences via the Evil Eye, generous portions of boobage, and an overall better delivery. For that reason, it gets a 9/10.
Overall, then, the final score becomes a 7/10. Read the manga, don't bother with the anime unless you want to experience firsthand how much better the manga is, as well.
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