Get Backers Soundtrack Review: Part I

I figured that while I’m doing the other stuff, I’d just sit down and review the music of Get Backers too.  It’ll be in three parts– Get Backers OST I, OST II, and the opening/ending themes.  I won’t be reviewing the ‘Bonus tracks’, seeing as they’re not songs.

Get Backers: OST I
Composer: Taku Iwasaki

01. Getbackers
02. Gymnopedie?
03. Honky Tonk Wan
04. Obsession I
05. Electric Shock
06. Lady Poison
07. Reminiscence
08. Chameleon Guy
09. Obsession II
10. Bloody Rain
11. The Roaring Of Beasts
12. Tiny Waltz
13. Makubex
14. Dubious Answer
15. Wire Doll
16. J
17. Bloom
18. Awakening And Rage
19. Gib Mir Dinen Giftstop Bzahn
20. Domestic Babylon
21. Even If You Are In The Distance

The Get Backers is a nice way to open the album, as it reflects the opening of the entire series (remember the crow and Ban’s eyes fluttering open?).  It’s an average but upbeat and fun song, and the saxophone seems to be a recurring instrument in order to bring a down-to-earth and street flair to the album as a whole.

Continuing the laid-back atmosphere is Gymnopedie? another saxophone-based song.  Depending on one’s mood, it could be either relaxing or boring.  Honky Tonk Wan is the final song in the string of atmospheric songs.  A nice melody, but once again, nothing too great musically.

These first three songs really do set the whole Get Backers mood…if you’re not bored by them.  Overall, these tracks are more atmospheric than anything else, and reminiscent of the lazy (filler) Get Backers episodes.

Then things get a little more serious with Obsession I!  The moment you hear this, it’s dark, gritty sound will definitely transport you to a fight– just before the song changes gears.  It becomes more upbeat with a brass taking the melody lead, but it is still fight oriented.  Overall, Obsession I is a skip-able track unless it gets stuck in your head of course…in which case you’ll have to listen to it over and over.

Electric Shock is another song I find myself skipping often, although it is placed very well on the album, continuing the line of upbeat street fight songs.

The theme continues with Lady Poison, but the difference is that this song has a different quality and texture altogether.  If the previous songs were about raw power, this one focuses more on technique, agility, and speed– a song worthy of Himiko’s battle style.  So far, it’s the best song on the album.

…and then Reminiscence starts playing.  It has a beautiful melody with the saxophone (again!!) holding a duet with a piano, and the result is gorgeous.  There’s a slight climax (which was something lacking in the previous tracks), and a calm, drifting song, it segues into–

Chameleon Guy. Yikes.  The “street” saxophone makes its appearance again.  It’s not bad, but I feel like the flow was interrupted here.  Oh well.  Another skip-able song.

Obsession II–it’s darker and subtler than it’s predecessor “Obsession I”, and brings a whole new mood to Get Backers–the feeling of intense premonition and ‘something evil lurks’.  There’s also a hint of sadness and fear, the very essence of the Limitless Fortress, or someone’s dark, secret past.  It has three parts/themes to it (or that’s the feeling I get), and the last one is more fight oriented while still keeping the serious tone.  You’ll definitely recognize Obsession II when you hear it.

Sigh.  Bloody Rain, I’m not really a fan of.  My friend really likes this song for it’s dark, blatant reference to Akabane, but I never really feel like listening to the whole thing.  I usually skip it after 30 seconds, and it’s relative shortness makes it more of an interlude type thing anyway.

The Roaring Of Beasts continues the series of serious battle songs, but it’s good listening to if you have it stuck in your head.  Otherwise, it’s just a song that will remind you of scenes in Get Backers, nothing more really.

And it jumps to Tiny Waltz! Yes, I know that “Roaring Of Beasts” was Shido’s song, and to put Madoka’s alleyway song right after is in interesting contrast, if not clever.  It’s a fun, lighthearted tune.

Oh, wow.  The contrasts continue.  MakubeX depressing as hell, but it’s beautiful.  As opposed to the uplifting solo violin in “Tiny Waltz”, “MakubeX”, and the continuation of this theme Dubious Answer use a full orchestra and rich chords and melody.  So far, these two are the richest and most carefully contructed tracks.

Wire Doll is just one weird track.  It’s most similar to “Obsession I” in its use of synth-like factors, but it hardly evokes that same feeling of mystery.  It’s an underground almost rock-ish song with it’s odd melody (if there eve nis one).  The tune is dictated by beats and rythm, and I listen to it if I’m in the mood for a quirky, beat-driven song (which is not necesserily a bad thing).

J is a song similar to “Bloody Rain” in it’s overall mood and harshness.  It’s quite grating (of course, it was meant to be that way) with it’s clashing notes and ferocity– and it’s interesting, but once again, nothing too great.

Bloom, which comes right after seems likely an oddly placed track, but its initial calmness is deceptive.  The orchestra does a nice job segueing into the upbeat (and once again), fight-oriented track, but this is less of a “fight-mindlessly” aura and more of a graceful and playful mood.  Once again, it was placed perfectly–it’s a deceptive lead into “Awakening and Rage”.

I love the next three songs, which are similar in mood.  Awakening and Rage and Domestic Babylon really build up, and the climax is astounding and powerful.  These aren’t bittersweet, sad, or happy songs.  They’re about premonition, power, and domination.  Taku Iwasaki can really employ the orchestra well, and there are subtle tones that make these songs an enjoyable experience even now.  As for Gib Mir Dinen Giftstop Bzahn, it’s the best “fight” song on the entire album, and I feel that the only song that matches it’s scope is “Battle on the Warship Isle” in Get Backers OST II.

The album ends with one of my favorite songs of all time– Even if you are in the Distance.  As its title implies, it’s nostalgic, beautiful, and bittersweet.  The orchestra is at its height here, and even now (after 5 years), I love it.  It’s beautiful, and its sad warmth (especially when contrasted with the previous track, “Domestic Babylon”) really characterizes the messages and themes in Get Backers about loss, friendships, betrayals, and the good and bad things about everyday life.  I know I’m sounding really sappy and overdone right now, but I just can’t recommend this song enough, as I feel it is the best track on the entire album.

Overall, Get Backers OST I does what it needs to do–capture the essence of the Get Backers.  Although I feel Taku Iwasaki could have done better considering his Rurouni Kenshin soundtracks, he uses the saxophone and orchestra skillfully to create the variety and contrasts that the show/manga is filled with.  Get Backers is all about those things.  One one hand, we have the tracks which are raw, unsubtle and harsh, exemplifying the Get Backer’s life on the streets and their rough times.  On the other hand, we have the tracks which are sad, melodic and sweet, reminding us of the subtle and heartwearming moments of the show.  It’s a varied album (so I’ll do a breakdown), and I do recommend it if you are looking for an atmospheric yet engaging experience.

The only thing that I really regret is that there are a few songs which were not included, which I’ll also breakdown and maybe upload.

Rating:
7.5/10

As used in the show:
9/10

Recommended Tracks:
Lady Poison, Tiny Waltz, MakubeX, Dubious Answer, Gib Mir Dinen Giftstop Bzahn, Domestic Babylon, Even if you are in the Distance

Breakdown:
(note that some songs fall in between categories, so I’ll star them according where they could be)
Calm, Laid-back (*)
Gymnopedie, Honky Tonk Wan, Chamelon Guy

Upbeat, Fun (**)
The Get Backers, Tiny Waltz, (7*)Obsession I

Sad, Pensive (***)
MakubeX, Dubious Answer

Melodic, Mysterious/Deceptive (4*)
Lady Poison, **Bloom, (7*)Obsession II

Nostalgic (5*)
Even if you are in the Distance, Reminiscence

Powerful and Thematic (6*)
Awakening and Rage, Domestic Babylon, Gib Mir Dinen Giftstop Bzahn

Fast and Fighting-oriented (7*)
Everything else!

Missing Tracks
*until I can figure out how to clean up the talking, the uploads will remain as a direct rip from the video to the mp3.

1. A saxaphone melody (you think they would have included this!)
*appeared in the 1st episode
Saxaphone (raw)

2. “Even if you are in the Distance” piano version that starts out nostaligically and builds into a powerful and hopeful, full-blown orchestra theme
*appeared in episode 25, at the ending of the ending of the Limitless Fortress Arc, so it was big!!  For such a grand and epic song, I’m so surprised that the people didn’t add this one in.
Even if you are in the Distance (raw)

3. Babylon City– a theme similar to that of “Domestic Babylon”, but not so similar that they should exclude it.  This song and “Domestic Babylon” have a relationship akin to “MakubeX” and “Dubious Answer”.
*appeared in episode 49, the end of the entire series.  So once again, I express my surprise and disappointment at it’s exclusion.
Babylon City (raw)

A new month means…

…a new featured character!  And she is………….

*drumroll*

…………….

Madoka Otowa!

Heh.  As if you didn’t see her humongous picture on the side. 🙂

Spoiler Alert!

…..don’t say I didn’t warn you!
It’s about Kyoji Kagami.

Remember the reference to his “pathetic fate” I made in the previous post? Well, to be fair, I was feeling a little snarky that day and I honestly don’t hate Kagami as much as I let on. In fact, he’s kinda cool, and is quite charming and handsome (or so they say)…. *ahem*

So if you’ve ever gone on Wikipedia because TokyoPop translates too slow, you’ll know that Akabane killed Kagami (whose arm was also ripped off by Ban) towards the end of volume 38 because Kagami knows too much.

But I am honestly not sure if Kagami really died…. He used the term 「眠る」, or “nemuru/sleep” to say things like “I want to sleep”–Akabane also said “Please sleep peacefully”. Well, in Japanese, “nemuru” is a euphemism for ‘death’, but honestly… Get Backers has always been filled with double meanings.

Maybe “sleeping” is also a way for Kagami to lose his memories (or the really important ones)…. but who knows?

I hope he isn’t dead…!

Episode 16: Explosion! The Lightning Emperor Angry

I figured that there are SO many unused tags, I might as well pick an episode with a huge cast and just ramble about it.

Anyway, this episode focuses mainly on Ginji/Raitei’s role in the Limitless Fortress while revealing a little bit more about the nature of the place.  Ban, Shido, Hevn, Himiko, and Kazuki appear briefly before the episode ends, but I’ll talk about them anyway.

We start the episode with Ginji and Akabane meandering around the basement levels of the Limitless Fortress  (Which I’ll call L.F.) before a gang shows up and blocks their way.  They then tell Ginji and Akabane to get out of the way before they’re  killed, and of course I’m shaking my head because they’re stupid (this is called dramatic irony by the way, because the viewers know what the characters don’t– the gang is going to die just for showing its face to Akabane).

But Ginji saves the day and doesn’t allow Akabane to kill these men–and not through words either, but physical force.  Akabane is disappointed, but stays quiet when he witnesses Ginji doing this:

He realizes that Ginji’s power (and his own interest) is growing by the second.  So smiling ever-so-politely, he turns and starts walking away saying “well, let’s continue” or whatever it is that Akabane says.  But Ginji doesn’t follow because he’s angry and troubled and having flashbacks.

Major plus points.  Ginji is not the sweet, naïve person we all thought he was, and he had a dark past in which he was manipulative and out of control.  It adds more depth to his character, and that’s the one thing I love about ‘Get Backers’–its awesome characters.

But thennnnnn we turn to MakubeX talking about his calculations.

Forgive me, but I have to say it: ugh!

MakubeX really bothers me right until about the second half of the 5th volume.  I feel sorry for him, EVERYONE feels sorry for him, but I think that the writers really harped upon his ‘calculating’ nature a bit too much.

And as for Sakura?  She looks like she can be an amazing character, but she might as well be nonexistent because the only thing she does is allow MakubeX to use her lap as a pillow.  A major bun role.  The manga does a better job overall, but still– in the first half, she’s either a sidekick or a live demonstrator of Raitei’s ability to turn people to barbecue.  A wasted role, I think.

Yeah, we get it.

Whennn he says THIS about Ginji though–

–and proceeds to call him the equivalent of ‘chaos’, I have to admit my opinion of him increased.  Congratulations MakubeX, you provided me with more evidence for the argument that Ginji=God/Prophet and Ban=Devil/Devil’s child!  It makes for an amazing symbolism and discussion, doesn’t it?  This show/manga really needs more credit than it’s given.

But the mood is ruined again when Kagami speaks.

Yeah, we get this too–you like to observe.  sure, like w/ever.  This trait of his makes him a bit bothersome.

After he leaves with Juubei, Sakura proceeds to voice her discomfort with Kagami.  MakubeX agrees with her concern.

As for me, I’ve never felt the same air of mystery and uncertainty that I’ve gotten from Akabane and Ban.  I think both those characters are 100x times more interesting than Kagami (who has a very pathetic fate indeed).  I wonder who else applauded when Ban punched him in the face?

The episode rolls on.

Then FINALLY we get to the part I’ve been waiting for:  The confrontation between Kagami and Juubei vs. Akabane and Ginji! Woot!

…and we get this.

What a moronic spaz.  Ginji, I love you.

This scene still makes me laugh, Ginji is just so adorably dense in it.

Akabane agrees:

<Some more talk.  Skipping, skipping, skipping>

Oh, right! One of my favorite lines EVER.  It’s Ginji’s response to Juubei’s accusation that he became a Get Backer for the money.

On a side note, doesn't the man in front of the car look exactly like Kagami? The outfit and the hair is the same..... If you've read the manga though, you know that this is an inaccurate portrayal of the original Get Backers.

Gorgeous —  One other line was in Ginji’s flashback–they were Paul’s lines (about human nature, and the hole that comes when something that can’t be retrieved–love, or friendship).  Grr, I forget what episode.  Maybe I’ll do that one next, if I find it.

Moving on….

Aha!  Juubei finally admits to Ginji about killing Kazuki.  And Ginji is not pleased at all.

And Juubei does.

Oh wow, scary.  Very very scary.  This is the first time we’ve seen Ginji this angry and out of control.  And so, the slow and torturous transformation begins…..

Once he’s alone, Ginji flops down, thinking that he’s forgotten something important.

What a lovable spaz. ^___^ ❤

And then we get to the fight between Kagami and Akabane.  I’ve been anticipating this!

It’s a challenge!!  Akabane would love to accept, except….

He’s not wrong, is he?  ^o^

But of course, he has to fight.  Kagami is supposed to be an enigma, right?

Kagami!  You’re getting interesting!

Akabane just called Kagami's technique worthless!

And then he proceeds to turn the Diamond Dust to scalpels.

Oh, never mind.

The fight continues with Kagami getting skewered by Akabane’s scalpels.  You mean to say I was excited over this?!

What a creepy look of enjoyment. I love it.

As it turns out, this was a ploy all along.  Kagami was never really there (instead was a mirror illusion), and it was an excuse to “observe” Akabane.  Lame!  He ran away.

Hey, but to be honest, I enjoyed this fight almost as much as Akabane did.  He did some pretty cool things, and we got a little bit more insight into Akabane’s fighting technique.

So it’s almost the end of the episode!  Kagami and Juubei chat for awhile, and Juubei begins to raise some doubts about MakubeX’s plans and leadership abilities.  At least he’s smarter than his sister.

We also learn more about Ginji in the VOLTS era.  So many interesting things about Ginji are revealed in this episode!!

Sweet!  More evidence of the God-like nature of Ginji/Raitei.  And notice the beam of light shining down from the sky as Juubei’s speaking about Ginji.  Hmm, I thought they were in the basement?

Seriously, this show is big on contrast.  Ex.  A little bit of Ginji’s dark past is revealed, and then we turn to the current Ginji who acts like a spaz.  This case was no exception.  We learned a little bit about how the old Ginji used to be, and then we turn to the current one who….

…acts like a spaz.  Does this guy look like he’s capable of saving people from the ‘darkness of the Limitless Fortress’?

Maybe, if the people in L.F. like chibis.

And guess what he forgot?

Unfortunately, yes.

If you’ve watched the episode, you might have noticed the cheesy orchestral/romantic/’we’ve finally reunited!’ music playing in the background.  WOW!  That was just hilarious.  This is probably my favorite scene from the episode.  ^___^

And they continue onwards.

….

Hey!  Guess who the writers have neglected since the start of this episode!

Congrats guys, you’ve made it!

Moving on.

Himiko and Hevn are traveling together.  They are bickering.

Hevn gets captured.  Himiko comments.

Hevn says a cool line.

Himiko tries to save her, but guess who saves the day instead!

Hey, where did you come from?

o rly? But of course, Himiko and Hevn didn't know that.

The continuing dialogue is as follows:

Hevn:  Great!  You can show us the way!  You know everything about this place, right?

Kazuki: No.

Hevn: ….

Kazuki:  I tried going through the mid-floors once.  I almost died, it was so dangerous.

Hevn:  If it was so dangerous, why did you try going there?

A line which is meant to make the viewers excited.  Though to be fair, it actually it worked for me.  And Kazuki’s dark sadness really carries over.

Then we turn back to MakubeX’s headquarters.  A close up of everyone follows.

Dayum he's hot. Too bad he's gay!

Not a bad profile Kagami, not bad at all.

But you can’t end it unless MakubeX does a cliché evil genius line, right?

THE END!

Well….huh.  That’s funny.  It’s like the writers remembered in the last minute that there are five other characters floating around who are integral to the plot.  Then pushed them to the remaining three minutes of the episode.

…

All in all, lots of good things, lots of bad things.  The plot was rushed towards the end, Kagami is a douche, and MakubeX is extremely twisted, BUT that is completely overshadowed because Ginji totally stole the spotlight!  He was funny, engaging, and the true contrasting nature of Ginji began emerging in this episode.  Tension is rising, with more Ginji becoming angry more frequently and glimpses of Raitei increasing.  It’s quite confusing and fascinating, how two completely different personalities inhabit the same body (Ginji seriously has D.I.D….), and I love that Ginji is much darker than we all initially thought.  Although this whole episode was really about him and his past anyway, I wish that other characters weren’t pushed aside as a result of that.  The manga didn’t have the same problem, so it’s definitely a planning mistake.

Either way, Get Backers does an amazing job on characterization.  Nobody is how they really seem (as is the case with everyone in real life), and usually in ways you don’t expect.

Ginji is so cute though, isn’t he?  ^___^  Hmm, this took much longer than I thought it would– it didn’t help that it kept freezing on both windows media AND real player.  The DVDs are getting old… ~___~”

Maybe I should copy them onto the computer before they completely bust…..

…finally!

So, after first creating this blog in…. September…. I finally got it all set-up and ready to go! To be honest, I’m surprised I even got the domain “dakkanya”. Maybe Get Backers isn’t as popular as I hoped. 😦

BUT I’ll try and help change that. ^__^

Updates in the last 2 days>

• Added all the main people I would ever want to talk about in the ‘Character’ section
• Added all the topics in the ‘two sides…’ and ‘upcoming’ section

So now I can get started on the stuff that actually matters– talking about Get Backers! ❤

Oops!

Sorry, I haven’t made any posts under this category yet! 😛

“The Honky Tonk”

http://www34.brinkster.com/worldshards/honky%20tonk/cafe.htm

I just CANNOT recommend this site enough.  The layout is GORGEOUS, the writer is friendly and informative, and I almost fell on the floor weeping when I discovered it.

Okay, exaggeration.  But, if you read my ‘about’ section, THIS is the reason I am refraining from writing any summaries or bios.  No one can compete with this amazing little place, and even though it hasn’t been updated in a while, I always find myself referring to this site.  There are sections for the story, art, characters (the BEST part of this website), an Anime vs. Manga section, and even a hilarious “Where it all went” section which details how and where the Get Backers lost the money they made.

The best part is that the spoilers are kept well hidden.  There are warnings, and in the “character” section, it’s black font on black background, so all the person needs to do is highlight.  To be honest, I cannot get enough of the character section.  The author did an excellent EXCELLENT job on summarizing (mostly) everyone.  The section on Ban Midou especially made me jump up and down in delight, because the personality and story summary was highly accurate and perfectly done.  The spoiler section was pretty well crafted too. 😀

getting started

Since this is the first day I created this blog, it’s still in its beginning stages.  I don’t know how frequently I can get it updated (since school started and all), but I’ll try to make it look nice, at least, as soon as possible.

Until then, keep checking!