Paul Wan

Paul Wan (王波児, Japanese: "Wan Pōru", Chinese Pinyin: "Wáng Bōér") is a fictional character in the anime/manga series Get Backers. He is voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto in the original Japanese version. (First appearances - manga: act 2 part 1, anime: episode 1)

Person

The owner of the Honky Tonk cafe. Ban and Ginji always have unsettled tabs with him, and sometimes forces them to work off their debt or refuses to give them food. Paul also happens to be computer-literate, and his past would be revealed in the series.

While he seems to be mostly retired, Paul has a large source of connections and access to hard-to-get information - which only Hevn and a select few others seem to know about. He is friendly towards Ban and Ginji and extremely tolerant of their wacky antics, but gets upset that they often bust up the Honky Tonk and are never able to pay their tab. He is sort of a philosophical father-figure in the series. Later in the manga, it is revealed that Paul, along with Ban's father, were the first generation of Getbackers and they had, in their time, ascended to the top of the Infinity Fortress, even entering Babylon City. However, neither can remember their time there as a result of the seal, which the "stigma" eye gained at that time, placed on the memories of that time. In his fight against Shimon Miroku (the Miroku 7's father), he once reverted back to his younger self (during his days as a GetBacker), when he was stronger physically. But, alluding to the wise words he has given to others, he realised that his true strength lies in the wisdom he has discovered in himself since the time he set up the Honky Tonk. He turned back to his older self, donned his trademark dark glasses, and proceeded to defeat his opponent. It turns out that his dark glasses are completely opaque, forcing him to rely on his "Sixth Sense" to detect his opponent's attacks.

Upon his return to Ura Shinjuku, he set up the Honky Tonk, and handed the name of the Get Backers to 3 youths. His vast network of connections may be through these "second generation" Get Backers, who had passed down the name to Ban and Ginji. Eventually, he had two assistants under him: Natsumi Mizuki and Rena Sendou.

In the anime, Paul's background is revealed in episode 42, and is quite different from the manga. Here, he was once part of a trio of thieves.

Abilities

Paul controls the winds and this ability, along with his great speed, earned him the nickname, "Gale Emperor" (疾風の王). Given his off peak condition, he could still beat off Der Kaiser's henchmen easily, something which the GB duo couldn't do initially. During one fight which showcases his top form in his youth, a mere walk from him can generate a vacuum so strong it could cut people like knives and render them unconscious.