Haruka Minazuki and Aoi Kannazuki, lifelong friends and classmates at St. Cherine Academy, are their school's most admired students, but they also work as Magical Girls, thwarting the nefarious organization Black Auction in their every move, as Red Angel and Blue Angel, respectively. When things go tough, the masked gentleman Misty Knight — resident Chick Magnet Yuito Kisaragi — appears to their aid.
Originally pachinko machine characters, the Twin Angels got a two-episode OVA in 2008. In summer 2011, they got a full 12-Episode Anime series, Kyunkyun Tokimeki Paradise!!, in which Haruka and Aoi earn a new ally in the form of the diminutive Kurumi Hazuki, the White Angel, and clashing head-on with the Twin Phantom — transferees Tesla and Nine Violet.
The series has also spawned a set of eight
Webcomics, a freeware Visual Novel (Maboroshi no Shoujo), an internet radio show, and a PSP game, Toki to Sekai no Meikyuu, which adds two new Angels — Tsukasa Hazuki (White Angel) and Aprille Mattia (Platinum Angel).
A series that loves its tropes and indulges in them shamelessly. Usually runs on the Rule of Fun, Rule of Cool and Rule of Cute.
Tropes in Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel include:
- Artifact Title: Originally the "Twin Angel" team had only two people (hence the name), but the TV version adds Kurumi.
- Attack Its Weak Point: How Aoi takes down the mecha in episode 6.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: In addition to getting there in the first place and then surviving reentry, all without any equipment other then their usual transformed forms. It lets them blow up the kill sat in the last episode.
- Battle Butler: Heinojou Nagatsuki, butler of the Kannazuki household who provides help to the girls both in their civilian and Twin Angel personae.
- Beach Episode: Where Tesla and Nine are first introduced.
- The Cameo: Culture Japan's mascot, Mirai Suenaga, appears at the start of episode four, and is also one of the hostages.
- Cat Girl: Nyan Tomochi, and Kurumi. Kurumi's is an Animal-Eared Headband in her normal form; in her transformed form, she has different cat-ears that appear to be mechanical and it's not obvious how they're attached.
- In the first episode, Salome has a gas that turns the Angels into catgirls as a distraction. It's surprisingly effective.
- Child Prodigy: Kurumi is only a grade-school kid, but her high IQ sent her to Saint Cherine, a high school. Her talents include tennis, math, and welding.
- Clark Kenting: Yayoi sees the Twin Angels in Episode 4... up close and personal. And they don't wear masks, hats... anything to conceal their identities. And she still doesn't figure out who they are. Neither are the trio aware that Black Carrier is Saijou-sensei in an cleavage-baring bodysuit.
- Tesla and Nine follow Twin Angel, and are shocked when they de-transform into their new friends... despite the only things changing being their clothes.
- Cryptid Episode: One episode concerns rumors of an unidentified giant animal in the pond behind the school. Yayoi is determined to find the truth, and Twin Angel decides that if there is a monster they want to protect it from being captured and studied. The monster is a giant salamander (both the real species, and the magic kind) that grew from swallowing one of the Seven Amulets and has befriended Nyan, who named him Pitan. Misty Knight uses rose pollen to make Pitan sneeze, expelling the amulet and returning him to normal size.
- Did I Just Say That Outloud: Black Carrier unintentionally reveals that one of the Seven Amulets is hidden in the belly of Pitan, Nyan's giant salamander friend.
- Digital Piracy Is Evil: A man uploading videos on the internet is presented as a fat otaku. His crime isn't presented as too heinous, but still...
- Disney Death: Misty Knight pulled this off 3 times. First, coming back from a bomb explosion and the next two times were after he was supposedly killed by Mary.
- Embarrassing Animal Suit: One of Yuito's part-time jobs involves wearing a bear mascot suit. It gets stuck.Misty Bear: I know heaven! I know earth! I know bears!
- Enemy Mine: Salome and Alexander are willing to ally themselves with Twin Angel against Black Fund. It doesn't help that Black Trader forcibly booted them out.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The photographers deliberately ignore Kurumi when she tries to get photographed, citing city ordinances. Kurumi is actually annoyed by this.
- Expy: Misty Knight, of Tuxedo Mask.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: The Seven Amulets, a series of magical items that both groups are after.
- Humongous Mecha: Controlled by Salome.
- Identical Stranger: Salome managed to find a clothing thief who looked exactly like Yuito, save for the giant buckteeth.
- Kabuki Sounds: These are heard in the last episode during a post-transformation sequence done in the style of kabuki theatre.
- Kick Chick: Haruka prefers her kicks, including her a la Rider Kick finisher, Angel Tornado.
- Legacy Character: Misae and Sakie, Aoi's grandmother and her sister, were Twin Angels themselves once.
- Living with the Villain: Twin Angel's greatest ally and most prominent enemies are all in the same classroom, and except for Misty Knight, none of them seem aware of the other.
- Loves My Alter Ego: Haruka loves Misty Knight, but has no idea that he's Yuito.
- Mundane Utility: In episode 5, Haruka uses Angel Tornado to dig a hot spring.
- Non-Indicative Name: Everyone is confused as to why, even though they're called Twin Angel, there are three of them.
- Ojou: Aoi polite girl from a wealthy and respected family, with a Battle Butler.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: The only thing that changes in the Twin Angels' appearance are their costumes, and nobody seems aware of their identities behind the costumes. This goes for Black Carrier as well, constant remarks about being Saijou-sensei notwithstanding. At least Misty Knight bothers to put on a mask.
- In the OVA they even star as the Twin Angels in a play at their school.
- Proper Lady: Despite her Tsundere streak, Kurumi does her best to be polite.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The colors (of their costumes and hair) even match up. Also, Aoi's name is written as 葵, which means "hollyhock", but it sounds the same as 青い, which means "blue".
- Spoiler Opening: It's glaringly obvious in the opening that Kurumi was going to join the team.
- Taken for Granite: Haruka and Aoi are captured this way in Twin Angel Break, forcing Meguru and Sumire to take over. They get revived in the second final episode.
- Temporal Theme Naming: Minazuki and Kannazuki are the names of the sixth and tenth months in the old Japanese lunisolar calendar.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Haruka is the tomboy to Aoi's girly girl.
- Transformation Trinket: The Pocketen, a digital compact.
- Trap Door: How Salome and Alexander are disposed of by Black Trader. Twice. And the second time is them doing it to themselves (and their robot!).
- Trouser Space: During the hot springs fight with Misty Knight, Alexander pulls out a bar of soap from his swim shorts.
- Truck Driver's Gear Change: Several times in the opening theme.
- Underboobs: Nine, in Phantom form.
- Unexplained Recovery: Misty Knight survived his deadly explosion by "withstanding the blast". All it got him was bandages over his body. Twin Angel is so dumbfounded that they can only give a Flat "What" when the first Eye Catch hits.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Aoi stores her Pocketen between her breasts, both in civilian and Angel form. Haruka tries it, only to hilariously fail.
- As of episode 5, Black Carrier has this as well.
- Xanatos Gambit: When Mary decided to hypnotize Misty Knight, it didn't matter to her if he fakes it. The pressure of being caught already limited his movements so he'd follow her orders and she counted on him needing to investigate Meguru himself to get the information she needs anyway.
