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GetBackers

GetBackers (Japanese: GetBackers -奪還屋-, Hepburn: Gettobakkāzu Dakkan'ya; 'GetBackers: Recovery Service') is a Japanese manga series written by Yuya Aoki and illustrated by Rando Ayamine. It was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from March 1999 to February 2007, with its chapters collected in 39 tankōbon volumes. The series follows the GetBackers, a pair of youths endowed with supernatural abilities who specialize in recovering lost or stolen items.

A 49-episode anime television series adaptation animated by Studio Deen was broadcast on TBS from October 2002 to September 2003. The manga series was licensed for English release in North America by Tokyopop, which released 27 volumes between February 2004 and December 2008; its license expired in 2009.

Ginji Amano and Ban Mido are superhuman operatives known as the GetBackers, a freelance repossession team based in a disreputable district of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Specializing in the recovery of lost or stolen items, they claim an exceptionally high success rate, undertaking assignments that frequently involve perilous and unusual circumstances. Their targets vary widely, from mundane personal belongings to components of advanced weaponry. Their exploits are often intertwined with their own complex histories.

A significant portion of their endeavors takes place within the Infinity Fortress, an enigmatic structure composed of interconnected condemned buildings, functioning as a self-sustained microcosm. The Fortress is divided into three distinct regions: Lower Town, the lowest and most subterranean sector; the Beltline, a hazardous intermediary zone; and Babylon City, the highest level. Babylon City serves as the domain of the Brain Trust, the clandestine organization responsible for the Fortress's creation, and is also the residence of Ginji's mother. It is later revealed that Babylon City constitutes the true reality, while the external world exists as a virtual construct. Access to Babylon City is permitted exclusively to those who prevail in the Ogre Battle, a combat tournament whose victors earn the right to reshape reality as they see fit.

Ban and Ginji venture into the Infinity Fortress—Ban to rescue their ally Himiko, and Ginji to reunite with his mother. Within the Beltline, they confront numerous adversaries under the command of the Voodoo King, an entity seeking to breach Babylon City's sealed gates, a barrier established years prior by Ban's grandmother, the Witch Queen. Following the Voodoo King's defeat, Ban and Ginji engage in the Ogre Battle, where Ban concedes upon recognizing Ginji's resolve. Ginji proceeds to Babylon City, encountering his mother, who originates from a parallel universe. She discloses her role in fabricating the Infinity Fortress and its simulated world. After their exchange, the Fortress undergoes a transformation, with its virtual inhabitants gaining true existence. The GetBackers resume their retrieval operations, and their next mission sets them on a path toward Ban's mother.

Yuya Aoki conceived the idea of GetBackers two years before it started serialization. By that time he had few notes about it. Aoki remembers giving many troubles to his editor when he started writing it, but was glad he could finish it. The character of Ban Mido was originally meant to appear in another series from Aoki, but his editor liked it and wanted it to be one of the manga's protagonists. Ginji was meant to appear in the series, but his original personality was first meant to belong to Ban.

GetBackers, written by Yuya Aoki and illustrated by Rando Ayamine, was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga Weekly Shōnen Magazine from March 24, 1999, to February 21, 2007. Kodansha collected its chapters in 39 tankōbon volumes, released from August 17, 1999, to April 17, 2007. An additional one-shot chapter was published in Magazine Special on February 20, 2009.

GetBackers was licensed for English release in North America by Tokyopop, who first announced the acquisition in the Anime Expo 2004 in July 2003. Tokyopop split the manga into two parts: GetBackers (volumes 1–25) and GetBackers: Infinity Fortress (subsequent volumes). The first part was published from February 10, 2004, to July 7, 2008, while Infinity Fortress had two volumes released on September 9 and December 9, 2008. only these two volumes were released. On August 31, 2009, Tokyopop announced that the rights to the series had expired.

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