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[dangermousie]

Mr Mousie and I spent a part of today watching GetBackers. If you click on the 'getbackers' tag, you'll see I was watching the show at a great clip a month or so ago. But then, as I said, I got a bit burned out on anime and it was put aside. Well, I've restarted it now, and we watched four eps and I am in love all over again. For those who are interested but don't know about this, the super-quick summary is that Ban and Ginji run a service which will get back for you things that are lost or stolen. It's a bit adventure, a bit humor, a bit of angst, and a bit of romance. It's also excellent.

You know, I kept saying Supernatural reminded me of anime, in its sensibility. More specifically, if I had to pick any anime it reminded me of, it would be GB, with Dean being the Ban character and Sam being Ginji.

Anyway, back to the episodes.



The first ep (well, it's 30something but whatever) involved stolen blood that needs to be recovered blah blah blah. I am usually totally a Ban girl (Ginji is a bit too sweet and uncomplicated for me), but this ep actually made me love Ginji, what with desperation and the angst (he is so desperate about the gig because he is flashing back to his childhood and a girl who died and he couldn't do anything that time) and the wounding. He is very intimidating when he gets angry, isn't he? And I loved that Akabane basically gave the blood back because he was so annoyed at his 'support' interfering with his fight. Love Akabane, psycho that he is.

Another ep, and a hilarious favorite, involved Natsue (the friendly waitress at the restaurant the boys frequent) taking on a case in GB's absence. It was so hilarious, especially her outfit, which was part Ginji and part Ban. I think she and Emishi should hook up, and it was funny that the sidekicks' sidekicks got an ep. I also love that G&B themselves got sidetracked and never met a client because they were beasically ogling the girls at the beach and hanging out with them. Such guys.

And then there was the ep where we finally learned just why Ban killed Himiko's brother, and oh my. The brother asked him to spare himself the awful curse and I love seeing the young Ban, his defences aren't up yet, all horrified and young. The curse thing makes me worry though, because Himiko is subject to the same curse. When is it going to hit and what is it (must be something really nasty) and who were the ones cursing them?

I love every episode with Ban and Himiko. They are such an OTP. I love the little flashbacks to when they lived together. I just love how they are so hyper-sensitive to each other. And they keep fighting but everyone but them can read through it (I love how Ginji, after such a spat comments 'you get along really well'). And I love that Ban is all about protecting Himiko (crumpeteer once said that she and Ginji are the only two people he'd die for) but that he'd never admit it to her: I love it when they find her (she is working a job with them, and they've split up) and he is razzing hr about not being at the meeting point and then Ginji artlessly adds "Ban has been frantically searching everywhere for you." (I also love that Himiko is capable on her own, though obviously not as psycho good as Ban is). And I love the fact that while we know why Ban killed Himiko's brother, she doesn't. But she still loves him. And it's interesting to me that while she doesn't know why he killed him, she by now knows Ban's character so she knows he must have had some worth reason. That's a lot to take on trust. I do wonder why Ban never told her. He is not one for clearing himself, but I think that also has to do with his promise to protect her. He probably doesn't want her to know about her brother going cursed, or for her to know about the curse. I kept doing 'just have sex with each other already' throughout the ep.

And I love that one of the last things in that ep, is Ban thinking about protecting Himiko.

And that segues neatly into the last ep of the bunch I've seen. Which is a Shido/Madoka ep. Guuuh. I love Ban and Himiko's dysfunction but the OTP that makes me melt and squee and everything else is Shido and Madoka. I think every girl should have a boyfriend like Shido. If you want pretty speeches or flowery gestures, definitely look elsewhere. But he will do anything to take care of her and she repays him by being utterly loving and open and taking him on his own terms. Of course, it's also the visual/personality contrast thing. Madoka is tiny and delicate and blind. Shido is tall and tough and very reserved and unemotional. Unless it comes to Madoka. In this ep, Madoka has him come to her recital (she is a famous violinist) and I love that he actually gets Hevn to help him pick a suit. And he gets all blushy when Hevn asks him how far he and Madoka had gone. Cute. And I love that he agrees to go to the recital even though he doesn't really like being in crowds because his not being there would make Madoka unhappy (and I love that she wasn't going to push the issue). And she gives him that thread bracelet thing and says she will wait for him forever (at the recital). And is a rare girl who means it.

And of course he gets waylaid by some former enemies of his and there is a huge fight but even though it's his arch-enemy he won't kill him because he thinks of Madoka (which of course is good connection to when they first met, and she was the one who stopped him from killing). She is such an influence on him. She brings back his humanity. And Ban points out that if he wants to protect Madoka, he should keep away from her because his enemies would keep coming and he retorts that he'd rather die than have harm come to her and Ban, even though they aren't friends, obliquely offers help and the 'don't off yourself' type comment and help.

And Hevn says that he should go to the recital and he says it's too late now and goes home (he lives with Madoka) and Madoka isn't there and at first he panics that his enemies got her and then he realizes it's not the case and then he remembers her saying she'd wait for him and he runs to the music hall and the performance has been over a long time but she is still there, all by herself, waiting for him. And he tries to explain, but as soon as he hears him, she just throws herself in his arms and that's this romantic hug and she tells him she's saved a song for him and she gives him a recital just for him. I just love that she doesn't even question him, she knows he must have a good reason. And he sits in the audience and thinks his refusing to leave isn't rational but it's not about rationality and he wows to protect her. They make puppies and kittens and rainbows spontaneously appear.

Of course, the bit where I crack up is when Madoka, earlier on, asks some person is Shido is in the audience and she describes him in besotted terms. Heeeee.

Of course, I also love that Shido, of all people, is utterly whipped and unapologetic about it. When Natsue is trying to get him to help, Madoka firmly says he is not available and you see Shido is actually fixing the roof. Heeee.

Comments

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Love Akabane, psycho that he is.

Akabane will always be my favorite psycho. He's just so blithely amoral that you have to like him. And I love that even though no one in the GB group likes him or trusts him, he does have a place there and to a weird degree, friends. Last episode is amazing when he and Ban finally square off and Ban levels him without going completely all out. Interesting that you never see Ban go totally full force at any point in the anime.

And I love the fact that while we know why Ban killed Himiko's brother, she doesn't. But she still loves him.

And that, right there, is why it's one of my favorite OTPs. Himiko loves him without any answers. It IS a lot to take on trust, but she does, as I think she always loved him a little, even before he left. Of course he's now a much more jaded, tough version of what he was when she first knew him, but under it all he's still Ban and can still be amazingly humane. And because of that you realize how killing his best friend must have affected him. While Ginji is the bleeding heart, Ban is the one who just seems to have folded in on himself, probably to protect what humanity he had left.

I've always liked that Himiko can actually take care of herself pretty well, but that still doesn't keep Ban from being concerned. She's good, he's better. She's no swooning damsel in distress, but she's no Ban either. The boy can kill you five ways to Sunday and not blink. It's just a difference in skill levels.

I do wonder why Ban never told her.

It was implicated that her brother did what he did to protect Himiko, so it's always been my belief that Ban never told because he didn't want Himiko to know that her brother technically killed himself for her. Ban would rather have her blame him than blame herself. Makes sense since that's the way Ban is. Part of it also has to do with not letting her know about the curse.

Funny thing with Ban and Shido is that Ban is always getting all over Shido for being at Madoka's beck and call, yet Ban himself spends a great deal of energy looking after Himiko when she needs it. Himiko's not as helpless as Madoka, but Ban's not quite as unattached as he'd like to think.

Also the GBs reaction when they think Shido is cheating on Madoka. It's rather hilarious outrage, especially Ginji.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

And I love that even though no one in the GB group likes him or trusts him, he does have a place there and to a weird degree, friends.

I just love the crazy hospital ep where, to top it all off, Akabane shows up with a fruit basket for Ginji. He is, in his psycho way, fond of the boys. He is blithely looking forward to besting them and killing them, but up until that point he genuinely likes them. And of course, he'd take it as a personal affront if anyone else were to off them.

Himiko loves him without any answers. It IS a lot to take on trust, but she does, as I think she always loved him a little, even before he left.

It does seem amazing. Basically, she decides that Ban is a good person after seeing him in action (and seeing him protect her etc etc). But she knows he killed her brother. So she bridges this dichotomy by thinking that whatever his reasons, they weren't evil. And I give TPTB points because you never get a sense that she's decided that because she finds Ban attractive and her hormones overpower her brain. It's character based for her. And her attraction to him is also rooted in her genuine liking for him and their compatibility, not just because he looks good without his shirt.

Part of it also has to do with not letting her know about the curse.

So she doesn't know about the curse. I can see why Ban wouldn't tell her. It would make her freak and her brother kept looking for a cure but never found one, so the chances for one might be slim. I do foresee a lot of angst in her future though, because sooner or later the curse will activate. And if Ban has to go through killing someone he loves twice, he won't deal well with it at all.

Do they ever go into more detail about this curse thing in the manga, do you know?

Also the GBs reaction when they think Shido is cheating on Madoka. It's rather hilarious outrage, especially Ginji.


Ginji cracks me up. It's all about Shido having two girls and himself having none :P

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

And her attraction to him is also rooted in her genuine liking for him and their compatibility, not just because he looks good without his shirt.

Yeah, interestingly you always get the impression she likes Ban for Ban, and doesn't really consider that he's hot. She loves the decency he tries so hard to hide. In a lot of ways she's like Ginji in that. They both KNOW Ban, not the walls he puts up.

They do go into more detail about the curse in the manga. I honestly don't like the manga's artwork all that much (it's usually the other way around for me), so I can't tell you much more than that I know they talk about it more.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

She loves the decency he tries so hard to hide.

That's a really great way to put that. I realized his cynicism was just a front really early on, in one of the early eps when he used his jagan to see that old homeless man see his daughter, as if she'd really come. That was the beginning of my Ban love.