GetBackers/Characters
A description of characters in GetBackers.
Obligatory warning: this page will contain spoilers, including up through what Tokyopop has published in English, and beyond.
Ban Mido
One half of the titular duo, Ban acts like a jerk to just about everyone except Ginji. A "fighting genius," incredibly intelligent, and very well-read on a number of subjects. Was once a thief with Himiko and her brother, but seemed pretty burned out on life until he met Ginji. Fights using his "Snake Bite" arm and his Jagan eye's illusions.
He is a quarter-German, and it's from his German grandmother that he gets his witch blood. His right hand has an over 200kg grip, a benefit of his family's curse of Asclepius. The Evil Eye (usually left as the Japanese Jagan) is another curse, which he can use to give anyone he makes eye contact with a realistic nightmare that lasts exactly one minute. These curses have their downsides; the Jagan can only be used three times in 24 hours - any more and he will disappear. It is said his family is destined to have terrible luck.
You'd almost have to agree, based on how things go - he's had to kill two friends on their request (Yamato and Eris) and can never seem to catch a break when it comes to money.
He was raised by Maria Noches, his grandmother's apprentice, though he ran away from her at a young age. From there he spent some time with Himiko and her brother Yamato, and after he had to kill Yamato he left for the Infinite Fortress where he met Ginji.
- Ace Lightning Syndrome (Ban's inability to control his strength when he loses his temper is a recurring cause of their debt.)
- Achilles' Heel: The limitations on his Evil Eye.
- All Just a Dream (How Ban almost always uses the Evil Eye. Things seem bleak, sometimes the bad guy wins, only for everything to turn around at the last minute, revealing that he's been under the control of Ban's Evil Eye the whole time. More often than not, this trick is pulled with the audience as much as the character who's suffering its effects. He sometimes uses it for more beneficial and heartwarming effects, though.)
- Animal Motifs (He's characterized and likened to a snake... which probably makes sense, given that the name of one of his trademark techniques is "Snake Bite." His slitty eyes certainly contribute to it, as well. He's even called "Snake Bastard" by Shido.)
- Battle Aura: He gets a rather unique one where when he gets serious, Ban's aura manifests as the winding coils of a massive serpent.
- Big Brother Mentor (Plays this role for Ginji and Himiko, and even seems to extend it to Shido, Kazuki and Makubex at times. Yamato was this for him.)
- Big Brother Instinct (Kagami found this out the hard way after doing things to Himiko)
- Bishonen: Most noticeably in the anime , which obviously aims to attract an audience that goes beyond the typical shounen fans.
- Break the Haughty: His past is pretty messed up.
- But Not Too Foreign: He's a quarter German on his father's side. 'Mido' is his mother's last name.
- Captain Ersatz: Cool Shades, spiky Anime Hair as well as the voice of Nobutoshi Canna? Some people compare Ban to Basara Nekki
- Catch Phrase ("Exactly one minute." And "Have any good/bad dreams?")
- Confusion Fu: His "snakebite" fighting style.
- Cool Shades
- Cursed with Awesome: For the longest time, Ban's "Curse" seemed to be to utter a totally badass mantra before completely kicking ass with his amped up snakebite. Some thirty-two volumes in the series we finally start learning why it's a curse.
- Deuteragonist --> Anti-Hero Protagonist: In the manga, where he's secondary to Ginji for the first half of the series but eventually becomes just as important to the plot.
- Deuteragonist --> The Artifact: Anime only. A really weird consequence of the fact that the manga avoided Ban's secrets early on is that in the anime, Ginji really comes across as the main character. The vast majority of major and supporting characters are Ginji's friends, or friends of Ginji's friends; the only exceptions are Himiko and Akabane, neither of whom had fleshed out back stories just yet. Oddly, the one chance the anime did have to touch on Ban's past (his feud with the Miroku 7) was cut short, as 5 Miroku were omitted and why Natsuhiko hated Ban was never addressed.
- Evil Eye
- First-Name Basis (Switches from "lightning brat" to "Ginji" after they retrieve Natsumi's dog. Maybe half of the recurring characters call him by his last name; Himiko, Maria and Paul are three of the very few who use his given name with no honorific whatsoever, while Ginji uses the cutesy and affectionate "Ban-chan.")
- Good Is Not Nice (Unless you're Ginji. And maybe Himiko or Maria, on a good day.)
- Green Lantern Ring: His Jagan has shades of this as its abilities are not rigidly defined aside from its basic limitations (can't use on person more than once a day, can't be used more than three times, lasts 60 seconds). However, he often demonstrates a variety of applications for it that make it difficult discern what the Jagan is capable of.
- He can distort the subject's perception of time to increase the duration of the illusion (sort of like Itachi's Tsukuyomi).
- It apparently gives him a certain degree of telepathy since he can generate illusions using images and knowledge known only to the person being affected.
- The overall effectiveness of the illusion tends to vary, up to and including making the target hallucinate his own death effectively enough to literally fool destiny.
- And plenty of others...
- Heroic Sacrifice: Manga only.
- Hey, You: Starts calling Ginji by name soon after they became partners. Himiko, Yamato (in flashbacks), Paul and Maria he always addresses by first name with no honorifics attached. Pretty much everyone else gets insulting (though oddly fitting) nicknames.
- Lampshaded during this conversation between Ginji and Paul in the manga;
Ginji: ...That's when Ban-chan started using my name, and you know how bad he is at remembering names!
Paul: You know that's not true -- he actually remembers everyone's names. He's just not willing to use 'em.
- Hidden Depths (Appears to just be a homeless perv with weird powers who gets things back with his best friend. Then you learn he's a brilliant violinist and thoroughly educated in a number of subjects. Then you learn why...)
- Insufferable Genius (It's even stated outright in the manga omake. He's hated at first by pretty much everyone he meets, as he's very condescending and arrogant. Though in all fairness, he is justifiably so - he really is a genius.)
- In the Blood: In the arcs where his hair is 'down', he looks very much like Der Kaiser; both men have similar abilities and somewhat similar personalities as well.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Lovable Sex Maniac
- Master of Illusion AND Mind Rape (The effect of his Jagan. One of the very rare cases where a hero has powers like that)
- Naomi Shindo (his seiyuu as a child)
- Nobutoshi Canna (his seiyuu)
- Power Gives You Wings: When he overcomes the curse of Asclepius in his battle against Der Kaiser, Ban's aura takes the form of an angelic wing emerging from his right shoulder.
- Perpetual Poverty
- Sailor Fuku (He and Ginji actually briefly wear one of these during the Birth Arc while trying to fool a security guard for a prison. Ban, being the more thick skinned one, cares less about the embarrassment of it and tries (humorously) to make kissy lips at the guard while telling him that they want to go in for their school project. Yes, he's really willing to do anything just to get the job done.)
- Screw Destiny (His grandmother foretold that either he would kill Ginji or Ginji would kill him. His response? To give Ginji a hug.. To be sure, it wasn't exactly Screw Destiny. His Heroic Sacrifice was averted only because Akabane was feeling generous.
- Shounen Hair
- Smoking Is Cool: One of the many anime poster boys for the trope.
- Tall, Dark and Snarky: A pretty good example of the trope -- though maybe minus the 'tall' part (Ginji's actually taller than him, according to Word of God)
- Teen Genius: Constantly called this by other characters. Even his grandmother admits that he's one, although she also mentions that he's useless at everything else.
- Tsundere: A Type A one, very much more tsuntsun. Especially the way he calls Ginji an idiot at least five times per chapter, kicks him, whacks him over the head, slams him to the ground with a (comedic) hammer...though of course, it's all his way of showing affection.
- He often teases Himiko for being a "washing-board girl" (due to her "flat" chest) who has no worth because of her "lack of sex appeal", pretends to not care about what she does or where she goes...but is still the devoted Big Brother Mentor who goes rushing off to save her whenever he senses she's in real danger.
- Tsurime
- Unstoppable Rage: A minor case, since he's usually surprisingly calm during battle -- but tends to invoke this during certain fights.
Ginji Amano
The other half of the titular duo, normally bubbly and affectionate, but definitely not someone you want to cross. In the past, he was the leader of the VOLTS street gang, but ended up leaving for various angsty reasons. He's very dependent on Ban, likely because he's not used to having someone he can depend on; instead being the person everyone else looks to. Everyone loves Ginji, and he loves everyone, so it worked for a little while, but eventually threatened to destroy everyone around him. Fights with electricity.
His alter ego the Lightning Emperor requires electricity only the Infinite Fortress can provide, unless he blacks out an entire city section. Ban makes sure Ginji doesn't turn into the Lightning Emperor, as it can be difficult for Ginji to control himself in this state.
He grew up in the Infinite Fortress, and used to have black hair before his electricity turned it blond.
- Badass Adorable : Becomes this after teaming up with Ban.
- Bishonen: Most noticeably in the anime , which obviously aims to attract an audience that goes beyond the typical shounen fans.
- Blond Guys Are Evil (Played with, as Ginji had dark hair until his friend Longhua died and he first became Raitei--it turned blond from the shock. However, it was a permanent thing and Ginji doesn't really become the happy-sweet Ginji we all know and love until after he leaves Mugenjou.)
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
- First-Name Basis (Switches from "Midou-kun" straight to "Ban-chan" after their first recovery mission together.)
- Healing Factor (An often overlooked power of Ginji's is abilty to heal rapidly from severe injuries, after his first fight with Akabane he healed all of his cuts as soon as he ate. His Raitei from takes this up PAST Eleven with the ability to instantly heal from injuries such as a sword to the gut and a KNIFE TO THE HEART!!!
- Hero Protagonist
- Love Freak / The Messiah
- Magnetic Hero: Very much so. Heck, not even Ban is immune.
- No Sense of Direction
- Perpetual Poverty
- Psycho Electro (If he uses his powers for a long time, his Super-Powered Evil Side arises)
- Ryoko Shiraishi (His seiyuu as a child)
- Sailor Fuku (Wears one of this along with Ban briefly during the Birth Arc. It embarrasses and grosses the heck out of him.)
- Shock and Awe
- Showtaro Morikubo His seiyuu.
- Super-Deformed
- Super-Powered Evil Side (Raitei)
- Tareme
- Tender Tears (It's not uncommon for the manga to cut from a heartwarming scene to a shot of Ginji sniffling happily.)
- Unstoppable Rage (In this aspect, he completely outdoes his good pal above. Raitei is later revealed as being the embodiment of all the Mugenjou residents' anger, hatred, despair and pain. So you can't really blame the guy for having no self-control, can you?)
- Would Hit a Girl (Only when he goes berserk and becomes the Lightning Lord. He's shown to be willing to electrocute and torture Sakura when she gets in his way, and even Akabane seems surprised that Ginji would do something so ungentlemanly as beat the living shit out of a woman.)
Himiko Kudo
A transporter by trade, often works with Akabane and kinda-sorta-maybe-not wants to kill Ban for killing her older brother. Nicknamed "Lady Poison," she fights with her "Seven Poison Perfumes," a form of witchcraft tied to scent. She used to work with her older brother Yamato - and later Ban - as thieves, until Ban killed her brother.
She is a Voodoo Child, otherwise known as an aborted fetus of a witch who was brought back to life by the Shamans. Naturally, this comes with a curse: once she becomes a certain age, a mirrored clone will appear. If one dies, so does the other.
Related to Ban by consanguinity - though it's never directly stated just how they're related. Not sure if that is true. In volume 38, Ban did state outright that she was his sister.
- Action Girl (Matures into a Lady of War as the story goes on, particularly after the Kiryuudo arc.)
- Arc Words ("Voodoo Child.")
- The Artifact (The anime writers appeared to have a lot of trouble with Himiko, as only two of her arcs were animated, and the manga didn't really get into her personal arc until after the anime wrapped up production. This is especially apparent in the final arc, as all the main characters obviously have to be present for the conclusion, but Himiko has absolutely no connection to any of the previously-established plot points. She basically goes on this last adventure just for the hell of it.)
- The Chick (IL arc.)
- Clothing Damage
- Master Poisoner
- Natsuko Kuwatani
- Panty Shot
- Training from Hell (Manga-only. Overseen by Akabane, though he doesn't teach her anything.)
- Tsundere (Even as she gets over the idea that Ban killed her brother, she still doesn't mind beating him up if she can. In the last manga chapter, even after knowing that he's her REAL brother, she still doesn't mind the thought of having a bout with him due to their opposing professions.)
- Dead Older Brother ( or so it seems at the beginning)
Kuroudo Akabane
Another transporter who likes to kill things. Very much. Has a weird fascination with Ban and Ginji, which they do not appreciate. Fights with various scalpels and blood-made weapons. Nicknamed "Doctor Jackal." Knows things that no one else does.
A former resident of Babylon City, he used to, in fact, be a doctor in an unspecified war. Until, of course, he fails to save the son of his friend (who later tries to get his revenge) and decides he's better off killing people instead.
- Affably Evil
- Anti-Hero: Type V
- Blood Knight: Quality of fights matter more to this doctor than money. He'll do ANYTHING to get a good fight -- including smuggling plutonium to a teenager who's building nukes (and is all too willing to use them).
- Bloody Murder
- Consummate Professional: Depending on the situation, the client concerned, and the opponent(s) he's up against, this is either played straight or subverted.
- Dissonant Serenity: In the manga, his MO. Not surprising, once you know how he got his powers.
- Ditto Fighter: To a limited extent. In later manga chapters, he often uses his powers to create his own versions of attacks that his enemies use against him. This is particularly evident in his fights with Kagami and Masaki.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Has never killed women or children. When MakubeX uses Mind Control on a bunch of kids against him, he merely puts them to sleep (Himiko was pleasantly surprised). He also puts himself in harm's way to protect Hevn. When you really think about it, his victims are almost exclusively those who don't know what they're getting themselves into by taking him on.
- Giggling Villain: Though he's not really a "villain", per se.
- Heroic Sociopath
- Karma Houdini: Manga only
- Knife Nut
- Lovable Traitor
- Manipulative Bastard: More prominently in the manga.
- Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate: Though he was very dedicated to saving lives back when he was a practising surgeon, the death of his best friend Semimaru Kanade's son despite his best attempts to save him apparently lead the Doctor to decide that he'd rather take up his current job.
- Nice Hat: A black fedora which has a brim that seems to expand as the series goes on; it also acquires a cut/slit, courtesy of Kagami.
- Nobuo Tobita: His seiyuu.
- Offscreen Teleportation: The scene plays right out of a Warner Brothers cartoon. Really.
- Pet the Dog: He has his moments. Puts the "Heroic" in Heroic Sociopath.
- Prophet Eyes: Manga only. Combined with his other traits, it's very frightening.
- Psycho for Hire
- Slasher Smile: In the anime. In the manga he tends to smile "normally"...and freak people out all the same.
- Tall, Dark and Handsome: He's this when he's not trying to kill you.
- What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: Manga only. During his rescue of Paul, him raising his "Bloody Sword" to create a path to safety out of nothing.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Manga only. Part of his power is being able to negate enemy powers by simply stating that he can't imagine those powers being true. In addition, he has seemingly come back from the dead simply because he can't imagine himself being dead.
Kazuki Fuuchoin
Well-read, formerly one of the Four Kings of the VOLTS and really, really girly-looking--qualifies for She's a Man In Japan, Viewer Gender Confusion, Dude Looks Like a Lady and Dropped a Bridget On Him. Oddly charismatic and naive when it comes to his personal relationships. Fights with koto strings. Nicknamed "Kazuki of the Strings" and "The Terrifying Prince." Has a tragic past.
- Bishonen
- Dropped a Bridget On Him (Kazuki being the Bridget)
- Played with in the canon, since his childhood friend Juubei thought he was a girl when they first met.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady (The reason why)
- Fan Service (Kazuki is weird in that Ayamine uses him to titillate both male and female readers. Don't think about that too hard.)
- Four Is Death
- Even the Guys Want Him (Fanon mostly, but let's be honest - we REALLY can't fully blame fangirls for seeing it that way)
- Et Tu, Brute? (His friends kind of want to kill him.)
- Super-Powered Evil Side: Manga only
- Evil Costume Switch, Mind Control Eyes, Slasher Smile (While in his Orpheus persona.)
- The Artifact (Yup, him, too. Again, the one chance the anime was given to go into Kazuki's past and motivations was omitted. For once, an effort was made to pluck an aspect of his past from the manga (Toshiki) and transplant it into the anime's final arc, but it was mostly a distraction to the actual story going on, and Kazuki's actual participation was minimal, at best.)
- I Have the High Ground (Kazuki likes this trope. He pulls it on Ban and Shido while they're on a rooftop.)
- Important Haircut: (Manga-only)
- Eye Scream: (Manga-only)
- Gender Blender Name: Manga-only, brain-breaking spoiler The Kazuki Fuuchouin from "normal" Shinjuku is very much a girl.
- Razor Floss
- Rapunzel Hair
- She's a Man In Japan (Not that Shido calling him a bitch wasn't funny, of course. Quickly corrected, and lucky thing, since there's a scene where Kazuki is both naked and explaining the reasoning behind his femininity.)
- Soichiro Hoshi (His voice)
Shido Fuyuki
Another of the VOLTS' Four Kings, Shido hates Ban and loves Madoka. Used to be a bloodthirsty loner, but love and Ginji made him change, so now he works as a retriever. Being from an (fictional) aboriginal tribe, Shido gets to use all their cool abilities, such as talking to animals. Nicknamed "Beastmaster."
There is a ancient feud between his animal-whisperer tribe and the one that controls insects, the Kiryuudo - the insect ones managed to kill off a vast majority of Shido's tribe. After the slaughter, he goes to the Infinite Fortress.
- The Artifact (He becomes this in the anime's final arc, as there really isn't anything for him to do, especially since he was probably the character most often used in filler episodes. Unlike Himiko, though, he was at least associated with the characters driving the arc.)
- Speaks Fluent Animal, The Beast Master and Friend to All Living Things (Animals love this guy)
- Four Is Death (Twice. Not only is he a member of the Four Kings, but a member of the Shiki clans--when he and the other three get together, it literally does mean death for the Kiryuudo.)
- Gag Penis (Ginji and Ban: "Like a horse! :OOOO ")
- In the manga, it's practically a running joke by Ban that Shido uses his 'Horse Form' to convince Hevn to give him jobs (it's not true, of course).
- Heel Face Turn / Face Heel Turn (Introduced as a Akutsu's bodyguard who was formerly Ginji's friend.)
- Heroic Sacrifice: Manga-only, fortunately, he got better.
- Ineffectual Loner (His back story is basically this, with Amon, Emishi and Ginji all making breakthroughs to him, but Madoka really sealed the deal. It's weird, as he averts it at the same time: with his animals, he's never alone.)
- Not Good with People
- Official Couple (With Madoka)
- Pose of Supplication (When Madoka is kidnapped and he needs Ban's help to get her back)
- Relationship Upgrade (The very beginning of the Eternal Bond arc. Madoka finally says "I love you," and Shido reciprocates. Not that we didn't see it coming a mile off, of course.)
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork (Pretty much any scene with Ban...)
- Thou Shalt Not Kill (A promise he made to Madoka.)
Hevn
Fan Service personified, but that doesn't stop her. Hevn is an intermediary who hooks freelancers like the GetBackers up with jobs. Incredibly dangerous jobs. She also works behind the scenes doing research for them, and is genuinely fond of Ban and Ginji.
- The Chick
- Creepy Cool Crosses (Manga-only; she wears a single, dangling cross earring.)
- Cool Big Sis
- Cat Fight (Only verbally, with Himiko)
- Foreign Fanservice
- Hot Scientist (Was one, in her backstory)
- The Load (Not her fault, and she does try to help if she can. But being a non-combatant still means that people in her group had to look after her whenever there are fights)
- Ms. Fanservice
- Mission Control
- No Name Given ("Hevn" is probably a code name of some kind, but who knows?)
- Rio Natsuki
Makubex
The third and youngest of the Four Kings. Another incredibly intelligent and well-read character, Makubex ends up as the de facto ruler of Mugenjou and spends his free time trying to figure out what the hell is going on there. Makubex may or may not exist, and that makes him a bit crazy early on.
- The Cracker
- Four Is Death
- Knight of Cerebus
- Likes Older Women: Strong undertones of this between him and his lovely supporter Sakura. He's 14, she's 23.
- Manipulative Bastard
- Master of Illusion
- Mitsuki Saiga (His voice)
- Non-Action Guy
- Rapid-Fire Typing
- Tagalong Kid (Complete inversion. He's got three (later four) sidekicks, all in their 20s, who would follow him to the depths of hell and back again.)
- Teen Genius
- Tomato in the Mirror: A major point of the IL arc is him coming to terms with the fact that he's essentially a hologram who can never leave the Infinite Fortress.
- Trying To Catch My Minions Fighting Dirty (The fights he sets up involve a lot of this, including Juubei attempting to get Kazuki In the Back and mind controlling a bunch of kids to fight the heroes)
- Well-Intentioned Extremist
Kyouji Kagami
Originally appears as someone from Babylon City who is working for Makubex for reasons of his own. Has a thing for Himiko, and knows things that the rest of the cast does not. Fights with shards of mirrors.
- Affably Evil
- A God I Am: Basically declares that he is the embodiment of Mugenjou in the final arc.
- Big Bad: Competes with the Voodoo King for this title in the final story arc.
- Bishonen: Ban notes this guy could be the head of a host club.
- Improbable Weapon User (he fights with mirror fragments.)
- Master of Illusion (not to the degree of Makubex, but one of his favorite tricks is using a cloud of microscopic glass shards to create holograms of himself.)
- Meaningful Name: Kagami, of course, means mirror, which is an obvious reference to his powers and fighting style. However, it becomes even more meaningful in the final arc, where it's revealed that Kagami is a physicist who helped to create the entire GetBackers universe to begin with. And the theory he developed that led to the creation of that universe was called The Magic Mirror Effect.
- Shadow Archetype (He's this to Akabane; it's been specifically noted that he was put in white to contrast against Akabane's black. Played with in the fact that while their appearances are different, their personalities are very similar also inverted in that the "dark one" kills the "light one.")
- Takahiro Sakurai (His voice)
The Miroku 7
The childhood friend(s) of Ban. They're really seven siblings in one body; the first one seems to have been Natsuhiko. The others include Hikage, Ukyou, Tsubaki, Tokisada, Yukihiko, and lone female Kirara. When they switch, their appearance changes slightly. They were led to believe that Ban killed their sister Eris, which made them become out for his blood. He did, but in self-defense; she was being controlled by the Black Strings at the time.
The kicker is, she wasn't even their sister but their arranged-marriage bride-to-be. The seven siblings are actually only facets of a single person, who would merge into one upon reaching adulthood - merge into Yukihiko's "body," such as it is. (But shh, they don't know that.)
Their father, real older sister, and older brother were Drei Ritter/The Three Knights, guardians of Ban's father der Kaiser.
The image is of Natsuhiko Miroku.
- Ax Crazy (Ukyou)
- Beware the Nice Ones (Yukihiko is easily the most dangerous.)
- Dead Older Sister
- Eyes Always Shut (Hikage, but mainly because he's blind)
- Fragile Speedster (Kirara)
- Revenge
- Split Personality
- Youngest Child Wins
Maria Noches
Witch who studied under Ban's grandmother and ended up partially raising him. 99 years old, but doesn't look it!
- Fan Service
- Mentors
- Older Than They Look
Juubei Kakei
Ban says it best: super-serious "samurai boy" who is Kazuki's best friend from childhood, and endlessly loyal and devoted to him (until Kazuki leaves and Juubei tries to kill him...). Blinded very shortly after being introduced, he works it almost into a Disability Superpower. Works for Makubex now, unless Kazuki needs him for something. Fights with giant throwing needles. Nicknamed "Juubei of the Flying Needles," oddly enough.
- Battle Butler (Fills this function for Makubex, and probably Kazuki)
- Bodyguard Crush (Fanon's general opinion of his relationship with Kazuki. Considering their interactions... well, can't really blame the Estrogen Brigade.)
- Estrogen Brigade Bait (Hair in his eyes, great physique, Ho Yay-tastic devotion to his best friend and a damn sexy voice...)
- Mask Power
- No Sense of Humor (Juubei shows us what happens when you tell such a serious, no-nonsense character that he has no sense of humor: he is devastated, and blames his inability to tell jokes for pretty much all of Makubex and Kazuki's problems.)
- Samurai (He's not really a samurai, but is named after one and the word is frequently used to describe him in-series.)
Haruki Emishi
Friend of Shido's who stayed on as one of Makubex's lieutenants after Ginji left. Nicknamed the "Fresh Blood Joker" or "Bloody Joker" depending on your translation, he's another loyal to his friends type who reacts kinda murderously when the friends desert him. Thankfully, this is a one-time thing and he's usually perfectly content to play video games and make bad jokes. Fights with a strong-yet-pliable whip.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine (Pulls a couple of these with Amon. It is awesome.)
- But Not Too Foreign (Is implied to be a descendant of Luolan, which was once a kingdom in West China.)
- Chivalrous Pervert (Really does not appreciate poor treatment of women, but that doesn't stop him from snuggling Sakura-han's breasts when the opportunity arises.)
- Cool Shades (Both used and subverted. His pink sunglasses either increase his goofiness in lighthearted scenes or dehumanize him when he's justifying the nickname "Fresh Blood Joker.")
- High-Pressure Blood (high-pressure explosive blood.)
- The Idiot From Osaka
- Kansai Regional Accent
- Last-Name Basis (His given name is almost never mentioned beyond his initial introduction and a joke that thematically links him to Amon. It's bad enough that the writers at Tokyopop don't seem to have a clue which is which, calling him "Emishi Haruki" and "Haruki Emishi" at different points. In the same volume, even.)
- Manly Tears
- Whip It Good
Sakura Kakei
Juubei's older sister and Makubex's most trusted adviser... and that's about it, really. Still a good hacker and fights with the pink shawl-scarf she wears draped around her torso and as a headband.
- Clothing Damage (Poor girl gets into one fight in the whole arc and her clothes are burned off...)
- Cherry Blossoms (Subverted. The kanji used to write this Sakura's name mean "new moon/first day of the month" and "silk," as her ability is to manipulate cloth.)
- Lady of War (On the very rare occasions she does fight, her favorite technique is calmly wrapping people up in her tapestry, usually with her eyes closed.)
- Morality Pet (The only time Makubex loses his composure while acting as the arc's Big Bad is when she gets hurt.)
- Older Sidekick (She's 23 to Makubex's 14, and is just as loyal and devoted to him as her brother is to Kazuki.)
- Satellite Character (It is very difficult to find a scene of Sakura that doesn't somehow involve Makubex. Even if he's not in the room, she's probably thinking about him, admonishing others to obey him, or working on his computer. Even when she leaves Mugenjou to participate in the Underground Grand Prix for Kazuki's sake, she wears some kind of radio link so that she can speak to Makubex and send him information.)
- Ship Tease (She surprise-hugs Makubex sometimes, and she's quite pleased when Emishi brings her flowers.)
- Team Mom
Paul Wan
Owner of the Honky Tonk where Ban and Ginji are running up the tab of a lifetime. After them, he suffers the most when they can't pay their bills. Another one of those characters who knows things.
He was one of the first generation of Get Backers; Ban's father was his partner. His special skill is super speed. Has the stigma in his left eye, and wears his literally Opaque Lenses to hide it.
He unintentionally gave Ban's father the name for his child; as a baby Ban punched Paul in the face, who called him a barbarian (yuban in Japanese). For some reason, his father thought this would make a good name.
- Blind Without'Em: Inverted. Paul's sunglasses actually cut off his sight entirely, enabling him to focus on honing his "sixth sense," as a way to compensate for his old age.
- Blow You Away: His nickname before he retired was the Gale Emperor. In fact, he's so badass that he can create a vacuum that slices people to pieces just by walking past them at an insanely high speed.
- Let's Get Dangerous
- Opaque Lenses
- Retired Badass
Clayman
A part-time artist, part-time art thief, dedicated to the preserving the integrity of masterpieces. Her mother was a medium that channeled dead artists and gave them her hand to paint their final, greatest works, meaning the art also has a sentimental value to Clayman.
- Gentleman Thief (Despite being a girl.)
- Master of Disguise (Hence the nickname "Clayman." She sculpts perfect clay masks.)
- No Name Given
- Samus Is a Girl
- Willing Channeler: Her mother was one, allowing for Van Gogh to take her body and finish his Sunflower painting series centuries after his suicide.
Gouzou Maguruma
Along with Akabane and Himiko, Maguruma makes up the GB world's "dream team" of transporters. Unlike his cohorts, he actually has a car. Several, in fact: he's seen legitimately driving a taxi on several occasions. Gets along with Ban and Ginji, Himiko, Akabane and Hishiki. Nicknamed "Mr. No-Brakes."
- Badass Driver (He's earned his nickname.)
- Punch Clock Villain
Ryudou Hishiki
A protector. Formerly a pro wrestler, he's earned the nickname "Undead" for being, well, unkillable. The only opponent Ban and Ginji will actively go out of their way to completely avoid.
- Badass (In a more explicit way than Akabane. In his third appearance in the Manga, he chases after the Ban and Ginji at over a hundred miles an hour while tossing police cars out of the way like bowling pins, all while pedaling away on a lady's bicycle!)
- The Brute
- Implacable Man
- Psycho for Hire
Takuma Fudou
A former thief, and of all the people who actively want to kill Ban, he's the most deranged and obsessed. Yes, that includes Akabane. Nicknamed "The Enlightened," for his ability to see several seconds into the future.
- Ax Crazy
- Best Served Cold
- Combat Sadomasochist (He loves receiving pain in battle as much as he loves dealing it out. Especially noticeable when he gets pissed off when Ban doesn't put up enough of a fight, and starts slashing up his own chest, screaming at Ban to "make him bleed" and "push him to the edge.")
- Disproportionate Retribution (His plans for revenge against Ban can definitely be seen as this - ripping the boy apart, "killing him over and over and over," slurping up his blood, violently murdering anyone that Ban pays attention to or likes, etc. Especially since he managed to get a perfectly fine replacement for his arm that works just as well as his old one.)
- Does This Remind You of Anything? (Anything he says to Ban. Screaming at Ban to "meet his throbbing desires," "give his body to him," "quench his thirst"... yeeaah.)
- Due to the Dead (For the Complete Monster he is, he receives a pretty darn peaceful, compassionate death courtesy of Ban. Ban even gently closes his eyes and wishes him to have good dreams.)
- Evil Tastes Good (He tends to say stuff like wanting Ban to "quench his thirst," and expresses a desire to "slurp up Ban's blood.")
- Foe Yay (He's the human incarnate of it.)
- Green-Eyed Monster (If his confession to Ginji during the Birth Arc is any indication, he's most definitely very jealous of anyone who Ban likes.)
- Murder the Hypotenuse (His obsession with Ban actually gets to the point where he decides to do this to Ginji. Because Ban's eyes were only on Ginji and not on him.)
- Noodle Incident (Ban ripped his arm off. We don't know how or why. Though knowing the crap that Fudou pulls off all the time, it might not be hard to guess why.)
- Oral Fixation Fixation (He has a habit of licking his lips when he gets excited. Which means every time he fights with Ban.)
- Perma-Stubble
- Psychic Powers (Brief clairvoyance that allows him to see seconds into the future.)
- Psycho for Hire
- Say My Name (MIDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!!)
- Stalker with a Crush (He stalks and follows Ban everywhere. Ban even Lampshades it with annoyance, calling him a "damn stalker zombie.")
Gen Radou
Old guy who raised Makubex (and Ren) and introduced him to computers, and the architect of Babylon Tower. Has mysterious connections to the Brain Trust, so he probably knows things.
Masaki Kurusu
The last of the Four Kings, who spends most of his time sitting around and making cryptic remarks as he spies on people. Also knows things. Fights with light.
Toshiki Uryuu
Formerly one of Kazuki's friends and followers, he left because he thought Kazuki was too good for Ginji. Fights with his qi/chi/ki/what-have-you. Nicknamed "The Hell Knight."
- As the Good Book Says... (Invoking Divine Design seems to require reciting passages of the Bible vaguely related to whatever it is you're doing.)
- Bodyguard Crush (As with Juubei, his mancrushing on Kazuki is Fanon, but still incredibly understandable fanon.)
- The Dragon (To Lucifer)
- The Generic Guy (In all honesty, the series already had an honorable type of guy with a Ho Yay-tastic grudge against Kazuki. We're not sure why they thought they needed another one, but we're not complaining, either...)
- Intimate Healing (Which makes him the only person in-series to kiss Ban.)
- Katsuyuki Konishi (His voice.)
- Last-Name Basis (Kazuki is pretty much the only character who ever calls him by his given name, and in the manga, he seems to save it for particularly emotional moments.)
- Manly Tears
- More Than Mind Control
- Satellite Character (Would probably be pretty boring if not for his relationships with Kazuki and Juubei)
- Villainous Breakdown (A bit more dramatic in the anime.)
- "Well Done, Son" Guy (To Kazuki)
Natsumi Mizuki
The cute waitress at the Honky Tonk.
- A Day in the Limelight (Her manga only backstory arc aside, Natsumi gets an entire episode in the anime where she takes on a job in place of Ban and Ginji while they're on "vacation.")
- Genki Girl
- Flat Character (Personality-wise, there isn't much to say about her, except that she's happy and likes G&B.)
- Hidden Depths (Subverted. The Birth flashback arc shows her hiring Ban and Ginji to get her dog back, and reveals her sad, sad past involving a dead mom and dead scientist father... but she's still just as clueless and genki and the same lovable Natsumi-chan.)
- Neutral Female
- Parental Abandonment (In the anime, her mom is in the hospital and her dad isn't really mentioned. In the manga, both of her parents are dead and she lives with her dog, Lucky.)
Madoka Otowa
The blind cute violinist Shido falls for. The driving force behind one minor arc, one side story, and one major storyline, and not afraid to go after a yakuza boss to steal back her violin. Her seeing-eye dog is named Mozart.
- Disabled Love Interest
- Damsel in Distress (Well, she is blind, so we can't necessarily blame her)
- Genius Cripple (Despite her blindness, she can play the violin beautifully and distinguish her Stradivarious from others just by hearing its sound)
- Groin Attack (on Hishiki, no less!)
- Fan Service (While Kabuto is possessing Madoka, she's completely naked. No matter what, she is naked. Even when he has a yukata and obi on her arms, he's just too lazy to fasten it and give the poor girl some modesty.)
- Friend to All Living Things (There's a scene in the Eternal Bond arc where Shido realizes that Madoka has picked up the ability to understand animals. One of the things he hates about humans is that they don't take the time to listen animals. Awwwww!)
- Grand Theft Me (Kabuto wants Madoka's body. No, this is not supposed to invoke Naruto.)
- Panty Shot (She's introduced with one, almost.)
- Plucky Girl
- The Ojou (Has one scaringly HUGE Big Fancy House)
- Parental Abandonment (There's a token reference to her father being ill at some point. At first, it seems that she's being cared for by her butler, but he's evil. So now her 21-year-old boyfriend is shacking up with her.)
- Yuki Matsuoka
Rena Sendou
The other cute waitress at the Honky Tonk, formerly a pawn of Lucifer.
- Broken Bird at first, later portrayed as a Wide-Eyed Idealist for no real reason (except so Ban and Ginji would see how brokenhearted she was when her trust didn't pay off).
- Good Is Dumb (Remiel, the evil!Rena, could trap people's souls inside her dolls, and in fact did just that to the men who molested her. Good!Rena... believes shady street hustlers who say they are selling incredibly expensive mushrooms for half the price.)
- More Than Mind Control (She works with Lucifer because she wants to create a fairyland made up entirely of her dolls, because adults have utterly failed her.)
- Neutral Female
- Rape as Backstory
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity Nobody who touched Divine Design escaped unscathed, but Lucifer chose his archangels well, drawing in children who'd been hurt or abused in some way because they'd be easier to manipulate.
Ren Radou
Cute little tomboy who has a cute little crush on Kazuki.
Dr. Amano
A manga-only character, she's Ginji's 'mother'. It's complicated.
She's head of the team which created the dimension where Mugenjou exists.
- A God Am I (An interesting take on the trope. When the dimension containing Mugenjou began growing on its own, beyond the control of her team, she had plans to "format" the dimension like a hard drive. Thanks to Ginji, she put away those plans.)
- Cloning Blues (Averted, due to her being Genre Savvy. When her son died, although it is possible to create a clone to replace him, she knew that the clone would never be a true son to her. Hence, she created an Alternate Universe version of him, who we know as Ginji.)
- Hot Shounen Mom + Hot Scientist
- Ill Girl ( Has poor eyesight.)
The Specialist
The bunny girl. A scientist of some sort, with a connection to Brain Trust. Probably has the best idea as to what the hell is going on, and has apparently told Akabane parts of it. Also known as "the Professor."
Her real name is (massive spoiler) Makube.
The Voodoo King
Basically the final boss of the series, the Voodoo King is one of the Voodoo children who possesses not one, not two but three !!! stigmas (yes he has three eyes). He controls one of the major factions on the Belt Line and is unquestionably one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful characters in the series.
- Big Bad: He and Kagami ultimately compete for this position in the final arc.
- Curb Stomp Battle: Clearly cements his badass credentials by crushing the entirety of Fuuga and the Shiki clan (granted without their respective leaders) as well as Emishi and Takeru with one shot.
- Evil Counterpart: To the Raitei...yes that's right, the Raitei has an evil counterpart!