The anime under the magnifying glass is now...
GET BACKERS! I'm not sure who did the manga for this but it's by the production company known as TBS who are known for "Groove Adventure Rave" and a few others.
The anime is "Get Backers". Yes, that title is WEIRD, but there is an explanation. The heroes (the oddest dynamic duo I've watched thus far) typically undertake cases were they "get back" your lost items. Usually for a price. After 2 episodes (disconnected) it became quite clear what this anime was. A "City Hunter-ish" style anime where a problem is presented to the heroes, and they spend their 24+ min. of each episode solving it. I find that quite original in terms of execution however.
How original you ask? How much anime has been released that possessed disconnected episodes? Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Ranma 1/2, Chobits, Tenchi Universe, the list goes on and on. Does this mean bad? Naw! It's just different. The heroes are Ban Midou and Ginji Amano. For a second, the "style" of art reminded me of "Fake". Then I thought, "Chojin... If this is Yaoi, I'll have you shot...". Then I saw the intro and said, "DAMN! THEY'RE HOT BABES!" (In reference to the clients these 2 dudes are constantly serving...) Layout of the eps? I've seen 2 and I've come to a conclusion. A rather "non rich" customer comes to them for help, Ban asks for $$$$$$ up front, but then through some ridculous circumstance, the Get Backers end up working for free! Not much of a spoiler really, since it happens in each episode. The manga is quite hilarious and the chicks are HAWT... Rule of thumb, do NOT look into Ban Midou's eyes and do NOT shake hands with Ginji Amano. Ok, on to the animation!
The animation's capture quality is from here on in is quite perfect. As far as digisubbers go, all digisubs from now on seem to come from perfect dvd rips or tv rips. I give a standing ovation for allowing us to see such AWESOME quality footage both for our anime lovin' enjoyment and for amv footage. ^_^ There's some CG in here but it's mostly for the "magic" fx. Lighting, flickering light sources, illusions, good standards for use of cg. Not as blatant as Vandread, but more subtle like Inu Yasha. (which probably has the best usage of anime CG to date...) I could swear the opening intro uses the "Image Transparency" effects used in Premiere!
Sounds good too! The opening intro kind of sounded bad to my ears, but the song picks up quite quickly. The BGMs aren't really anything to write home about. Not like Noir, Samurai Deeper Kyo, or Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex... The end theme is "hoppy" and calming at the same time. Both opening and end themes are sung by Japanese artists who sound like babes I should hear more from.
In terms of action, there's more fighting in this anime than I expected. You even see headshots from guns! [gruesome] This all due to Ban's "Evil Eye" ability. Lots of "nightmarish" events occur here and if you're looking for quick bursts of extreme violence, than this anime delivers. By the poundage so to speak... I'd go more into the backgrounds of the two heroes but I want to keep the spoilers low for now... But their pasts are reasons why the violence level quite good. Don't expect any 5 episode fights DBZ style however. (thank God)
Lip Synch: (not domesticated yet. ^_^)
The Effort. This anime is an excellent show of what cg can do to an anime when done PROPERLY. The art style is quite unique with cute SD fighting between the heroes occuring at the beginning of the eps. Many different characters are showcased in the intro so I'm hoping for a nice turnout in the storyline and the events. The plot is for sheer "fun" purposes and this is fine by me. Yes, this is a highly recommended anime designed perfectly for the "standard" otaku audience.
Overall I see this anime as nice way to waste time. No pun intended. It's fresh, it's fun, it's got ridiculously fun-loving handsome guys and SUPER HAWT females. Yes, for all audiences. I find myself laughing my ass off watching episode 2 at this very moment...
Reviewable is not what this anime was for however. I don't find anything too big to be missed going by episode by episode. It's plain fun. Just the way I like my anime. ^_^
If you have any other info about this anime:
Original Manga Artist
Seiyuus
extras
etc.
Please tell me!
Also, I'm looking for another critic who's willing to watch anime and do some "minor" analysis as well. It don't hurt me at all if the critic just wants to disagree with everything I say either! We all need open minds!
Originality: 9
Capture: 10
Sound: 8
Action: 8
Lip Synch: N/A
Effort: 8
Overall: 9
Reviewable: 5
hah hah! I didn't forget the scores this time!