GetBackers

Ban Mido and Ginji Amano run a freelance retrieval service, taking jobs to recover anything that was lost, stolen, or otherwise unreachable. Ban is a sharp-tongued marksman with a mysterious past, while Ginji wields an electrifying power and a kinder heart. Their work drags them into odd corners of the city, from seedy underbellies to decadent towers, and they balance violent showdowns with witty banter and uneasy alliances. The series mixes action set pieces with lighter, character-driven moments, keeping the focus on the duo's partnership and the strange cases that reveal more about their histories without spoiling twists or endings.

The 2002 anime was adapted from the manga and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi and Keitaro Motonaga. It features voice performances by Showtaro Morikubo, Nobutoshi Canna, Natsuko Kuwatani, Soichiro Hoshi, and Takanori Hoshino, and ran as a televised series that blended action, comedy, and supernatural elements.

GetBackers didn't rack up major industry awards, but it earned steady recognition among fans for its cast and memorable episodes. While it wasn't a big presence at mainstream anime award shows, fan polls and community discussions have kept it visible years after its original run.

Several moments and lines from the show stuck with viewers, especially scenes that showcase the duo's chemistry and sudden switches from comedy to high-stakes conflict. The show influenced later pair-based action anime by leaning into snappy dialogue and varied episodic cases. Cosplay, fan art, and online fan communities helped keep GetBackers alive outside Japan, and its blend of urban grit and supernatural twists made it a memorable part of early 2000s anime catalogs.

Critics generally gave the series mixed to positive reactions, praising character interplay and inventive fights while noting uneven pacing and filler episodes. Major themes include loyalty, the cost of power, and the question of identity, presented through episodic missions that reveal layers of the protagonists without losing the show's brisk, genre-mixing momentum.