"If it's stolen, get it back! Almost 100% success rate. The Repossession Service: Getbackers."
—So say Mido Ban and Amano Ginji, the duo who can help their clients retrieve anything—literally! This anime and manga series follows their adventures while "getting back" these various objects, from valuable items to people and even memories.
Set in the near future, many of the characters have their own unique powers. Ban has powers such as the Snake Bite—the ability to grip weights up to 200kg; and the Jagan—which creates an illusion for up to a minute. Ginji, the former Raitei (Thunder Emperor) of the Volts, can conduct electrical energy. Despite their almost 100% success rate, the duo are perpetually broke. Somehow, they seem to lose out on their earnings—fines to retrieve Ban's Ladybug when it gets towed away, clients that don't pay up, and other misadventures. Hence, they're usually running up tabs at the Honky Tonk Cafe where they hang out with (or work for, to pay off those neverending tabs) the owner, Paul Wan, and Mizuki Natsumi, a high school student who works there part-time. Throughout the course of the story, they meet up with many more friends, rivals and enemies.
GetBackers is originally a manga (Japanese comic) created by Yuya Aoki (writer) and Rando Ayamine (artist), serialised in Shounen Magazine since 1999. The individual tankoubon (manga books) are currently up to volume 24, while the commercial English translations are licensed by TokyoPop.
Its popularity resulted in GetBackers being made into an anime series (produced by TBS) with 49 episodes which aired in Japan from October 2002. The anime has been subbed by a few fansub groups listed at AnimeSuki before the English license was announced by ADV Films. And of course, there's a whole slew of merchandise, including games for various platforms, trading cards, shijitaki, stickers, mugs and cosplay items.