History Anime / KaitouJoker

[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1556969097_kaitou_joker_11.png]]
[[caption-width-right:225:Welcome to the shining night!]]

''Kaitou Joker'', or ''JOKER'' as it is known to some, follows the adventures of the Phantom Thief Joker and his apprentice Hachi. Using various tricks and skills, the two match wits with the hapless police department of Tokyo, whose anti-Phantom Thief division is led by Inspector Oniyama, along with his assistants Ginko and Momo. Along the way they also cross paths with rival Phantom Thieves Spade and Queen and the villainous Professor Clover. The series follows Joker and Hachi on their attempts to steal priceless artifacts and other goods with the trying-their-hardest police force at their heels at each turn around the world.

''Kaitou Joker'' premiered as a manga with story and art by Hideyasu Takahashi in 2007; it is serialized in the magazine ''Coro Coro Comic''. It currently has 20 volumes published. An anime adaptation by Asatsu DK began airing in the fall of 2014.

Crunchyroll is currently streaming the anime worldwide excluding Asia. It can be [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/joker viewed here]].

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!!This series provides examples of:

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Queen Diamond's sword. It's literally made out of diamonds.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: In the manga, Ginko and Momo don't appear until Chapter 20. In the TV show, they're present from the very first episode.
* AdultFear: Having your enemies target your children for stuff you did in the past.
* ActionGirl: Queen Diamond and [[spoiler: 'Dark Ai']]. Ginko and Momo are also shown to be this in Season 2. The manga also has Rei Dragon, a detective/Hong Kong action star.
* AnimeHair: Almost all the main and relatively major characters have this, but the extras look like normal people.
* APirate400YearsTooLate: Captain Blue and his crew are archetypal pirates, although Kaito Joker is presumably set in modern times.
* ArtisticLicensePhysics: This can be found in most episodes, and ranges from anywhere to mild (Joker moving a giant anchor underwater, bending the wires on a steel cage) to extreme (fighting on the wing of a jet airplane, Joker getting fried in a deep-fryer and surviving unscathed. And of course, [[TimeTravel]])
* BadassCreed: "I am the shadow that paints the light black! Shadow Joker"(or alternatively: "I am the shadow that blocks out the light that is you: Shadow Joker!")
* BattleButler: Hachi and Dark Eye play this role for Joker and Spade, respectively, cooking their meals and doing the housekeeping on their airships while also assisting them on their phantom thief missions.
* BalloonBelly: Not just their belly but Queen Diamond and Roko get their whole body like this after the chef takes them prisoner. They had to work off the weight down after they were freed.
* BareYourMidriff: Spade and Joker as the JJ brothers.
* BigEater: Joker is, which is why Hachi enjoys cooking for him.
* {{Bishonen}}: Spade, as well as Silver Heart when he was younger.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: The main kaitous don't seem to find anything wrong with stealing, so long as they give an advance notice and not use violent methods (though it could be that Spade, Joker and Diamond have been raised up since very young to think that it's ok...)However, their actions seem pale compared to some of the antagonists, like the Clover Faction. It appears that the main characters do nothing with their treasure other than keep it in collections.
* BlindedByTheLight: Joker's 'Straight Flash'
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Silver Heart does this in almost every episode. Spade even joins in on the fun on one occasion.
* ButtMonkey: Oniyama and Hachi.
* CallingYourAttacks: ALL of the Phantom Thieves do this. Gingko, one of the cops, has done this as well.
* CatsAreMean: Doubt, Professor Clover's assistant, can assume the form of a cat. This is most notable in "The Beast that Howls at the Moon".
* ChromaticArrangement: The Shuffle Sisters dress in red/pink, green and blue, and their clothes match their hair and eyes.
** Also, Joker, Hachi and Hosshi's main colors (red, blue and green respectively.)
* ClickHello: How Spade greets Joker in episode 7, though just did it to scare him. [[spoiler: Does it again when they get surrounded by the enemy]]
* CloudCuckooLander: The entire security force from episode one. They do get better as the series continues though. Momo seems to have shades of this.
* CoatHatMask: Both Joker and Shadow in their kaitou garb.
* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Joker and [[spoiler:Queen]], which led to both of them being raised by Silver Heart. The audience knows that [[spoiler:Professor Clover killed Queen's parents, and it's implied that he killed Joker's also]].
* CoolCar: The Road Joker. It doubles as a duckboat, and is able to move across water.
* CoolOldGuy: Silver Heart is this.
* CompressedHair: Spade, in his disguises, manages to tuck in his hair such that it looks like a bob cut.
* CrazyMemory: Played for laughs in "The Island of the Evil Scarlet God" with General Manbou and Hachi. Joker lampshades it in both instances.
* CriminalDoppelganger: Joker gets blamed for a number of crimes committed by Shadow Joker, who looks like him and uses many of the same tools.
* CustomUniform: Momo wears a pink variation on Ginko's more standard-looking uniform.
* CuteWitch: [[spoiler: Rose]]
* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: PlayedForLaughs with Captain Blue, who while panicking speaks aloud a (pathetic) plan to defeat Joker, and Joker hears every word of it.
* DisguisedHostageGambit: [[spoiler: How Joker pulls off the heist in the first episode.]]
* DisguisedInDrag: Via Image Gum, Joker has impersonated Kaneko and Shadow Joker has impersonated Ginko.
* DistressBall: All the main characters are prone this, particularly Hachi and Queen.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: Joker is averse to dipping sauce due to a prank played on him in childhood.
* DoNotTryThisAtHome: Said nearly word for word by Silver Heart in Episode 15 in regards to [[spoiler: how Joker survived falling into a Cooking Pot that was currently in use.]]
* TheDragon: Doubt to Professor Clover.
* EndOfSeriesAwareness: Inverted. In the first episode of season 3 many characters acknowledge that a new season has started.
* ExoticEyeDesigns:
** Dark Eye has one enormous eye; the iris is green, while the pupil is oval-shaped and has a second, darker green ring around it. [[spoiler: It's just a mask, though.]]
** Akai/Phoenix has pink eyes with cross-shaped pupils.
** Professor Clover has one solid red eye with no iris or pupil, while the other has a gold iris but otherwise looks normal. It’s unknown whether those are his real eyes or just part of his mask.
** Queen has half-orange/half-yellow irises and diamond-shaped white pupils.
** Silver Heart’s one visible eye has rings in different shades of blue, and the pupil is also blue.
** Spade has pupils that are half-black/half-white and shaped like a spade, while the visible part of his irises are purple.
* EveryScarHasAStory: [[spoiler: Both Joker's and Shadow's scars are from the time where they got stuck by the electricity gun, trying to save Rose.]]
* EyesAlwaysShut: Momo.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler: In the final episode of the second season, Joker and Cyan kill [[BigBad Clover]] by melting him with ''sulfuric acid''.]]
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: While it isn't as frequent as, say, Manga/OnePiece, this still pops up from time to time in the anime. One notable example is in Episode 27, where an invisible wire trap inflicts several bloody cuts on Joker's body, in addition to [[ClothingDamage destroying part of his suit.]] There's also [[spoiler:the loss of Silver Heart's left eye and Clover's right arm in Episode 24.]]
** Even when characters ''don't'' visibly bleed, they still get seriously wounded sometimes. For example, [[spoiler:Silver Heart gets cut in the back while protecting Joker from Queen in Episode 8 and Roko [[TakingTheBullet takes a shot to the chest]] from a security camera laser to protect Spade in Episode 26. They both got better, though.]]
* ForWantOfANail: Invoked by Joker in episode 15. He tries to push tons of bad luck on Lucky Pyramid. By the Butterfly Effect, he ends up getting a satellite hurling into to them [[spoiler: later freeing him and Hachi from the trap spoiler]]
* HeroicComedicSociopath: Joker shows a few shades of this. For example, Joker gleefully laughs as [[spoiler: he sets off bombs he planted in Lucky Pyramid's home to cause him misfortune]][[CheshireCatGrin He carries a full teeth grin]] as Lucky Pyramid [[YouMonster screams in the background]].
* GagHaircut: Both Queen and Spade have hair altered [[spoiler: after they were temporarily turned to stone]]. Queen had her pigtails chopped off while Spade's crown got smaller.
* GeniusBonus: Subverting this is the whole point of Silver Heart's [[BreakingTheFourthWall Explanation Corner]], explaining the trick of the episode in simpler terms for the sake of the [[TargetAudience younger viewers]] in the Aaudience. Considering not many children are likely to know how, for example, radio waves works, this isn't necessarily a [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools bad thing either.]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** In one episode, Joker says the word "[[PrecisionFStrike kuso]]".
** In the next episode, there's a scene where the Lucky Pyramid apparently ''nosebleeds'' while he gets hit by a card.
* HalfIdenticalTwins: Cyan and [[spoiler: Rose]]. {{Downplayed|Trope}} though, as while they look nothing a like, they act [[{{Synchronization}} very similarly]] and have similar interests.
* IdolSinger: The Shuffle Sisters. Hachi, Joker and Spade also tried to be one as the JJ Brothers.
* ImpossiblyDeliciousFood: The Rainbow Peacock Egg is said to be this.
* InsaneTrollLogic: Joker pulls this with Hachi in Episode 1. If you let the owner of what you want to steal know you're coming then it does not become theft, it becomes a showdown between you and the owner of your target. What's more is that Hachi follows along with Joker and finds that while that is very sketchy thinking, it does make sense.
* InvincibleHero: Averted. While Joker has all the trappings of an invincible hero, he doesn’t always get the treasure, and occasionally even finds himself outwitted by his WorthyOpponent for the week.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: King Spade and Silver Heart (when he was younger).
* MacGuffin: The usual plot is that Joker and Hachi are after something valuable and rare to steal and the supporting cast tries their hardest to get in the way, prevent its theft or take it for themselves.
* MasterOfDisguise: Joker's Image Gum allows him to take on the appearance of anything he's seen before, including people and inanimate objects.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never established if [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys Joker's Image Gum and Balloon Gum]] is highly-advanced technology that isn't known to most people or if it's magical in some way.
* {{Medusa}}: One of Kaito's theft was getting past her for her treasure. She had transformed the main characters into stone including [[spoiler: Spade, Dark Eye, Roko and Queen]]. Her dying is what restored everyone back to life.
* {{Meganekko}}: Ginko.
* MonumentalTheft: [[spoiler: Professor Clover's goal is to steal time.]]
* MoralityPet: Hachi is this for Joker, getting him to sideline heists when trouble arises for others (despite Joker's protests).
* MuggedForDisguise: In [[spoiler: "The Shadow Descends" this happens to both Gingko and Oniyama.]]
* NeatFreak: Hachi.
* NinjaTropes: During their visits to Hachi's home, including:
** DoppelgängerAttack: Used by Hachi and his friend in one episode.
** HandSeals
** HighlyVisibleNinja: Hachi and his older siblings all wear ninja outfits, even when working on a mudane unrelated job (such as stocking trading).
** FightingWithChucks: Done by the Kuma Clan.
** NinjaSchool: Hachi grew up in one.
** TechnicolorNinjas: Hachi and his siblings are pretty much rainbow colored.
* NoodleIncident: The reason Joker does not like dipping sauce and the events of "that summer". However, its subverted in that the audience is left knowing what happened but Hachi, who was just as curious as the audience about it, is left in the dark.
* OldMaster: Silver Heart is this to the rivals Joker, Spade and Queen.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The anime adaptation differs a lot from the manga, though not in a bad way. The manga is more episodic with a new kaitou, detective and location each week and less focus on an overarching plot. The anime adaption focuses more on Joker and his dynamic, with the Card Suite Kaitous and Professor Clover's overarching plot.
* LivingMacGuffin: Haruka Oniyama, for one episode.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: PlayedForLaughs. When Oniyama finds out in episode 14 that Joker has voluntarily turned himself in and is now imprisoned, he gets so depressed he almost resigns from the police force. [[spoiler:After Joker escapes he happily rips up his resignation letter and declares that he's going to arrest Joker.]]
* OrphansPlotTrinket: The emerald necklace that rightfully belongs to [[spoiler:Queen, as proof of her heritage.]]
* OutOfCharacterAlert: This is how Oniyama suspects that Shadow Joker is not the real Joker.
* OutOfContextEavesdropping: Exploited by [[spoiler:Professor Clover. When Queen overhears Silver Heart mention during his [[TalkingToTheDead graveside conversation with her parents]] that he stole her as a baby, Professor Clover takes advantage of her ignorance of what actually happened to convince her that Silver Heart also killed her parents in the process of taking her.]]
* PhantomThief: Joker, Queen and Spade were trained to for this by Silver Heart.
* PimpDuds: DJ Peacock.
* ThePrankster: In his childhood, Spade was this and this trickster nature has flowed into his style of theft.
* QuiveringEyes: Happens frequently throughout the series with various characters, especially with Hachi.
* RapunzelHair: Queen Diamond.
* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: Professor Clover reveals to [[spoiler:Queen that her parents ruled the Duchy of Emerald before they died, and that she is the rightful queen of that land]]
* RoseHairedGirl: [[spoiler: It's even in her name]]
* TheRival: Spade to Joker, stemming from their childhood together.
* RedOniBlueOni: Joker is red to Spade's blue.
* RuleOfCool: Most of Joker's heists run on this.
* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler: Season 2 reveals that Dark Eye is actually a girl. And an IdolSinger, no less.]]
* RunningJoke:
** Silver Heart's trick back.
** Kaneari accidentally destroying his buildings with the detonator in his teddy bear.
** People being surprised that Roko can talk.
** Confusion between curry and "karei" (flounder fish).
* SecretSecretKeeper: Spade knew [[spoiler: that Dark Eye was one of the Shuffle Sisters but didn't say anything as she didn't approach him either]].
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: In the climax episode of Season 2, Professor Clover leaves Doubt to die aboard his airship as it crashes into the ocean.]]
* ShoutOut:
** The third episode ("The Mermaid and the Ship of Fakes") has one to ''Titanic'', with Kaneari's outspread arms at the nose of his ship, which is called Poseidon.
** Demon's Heaven Prison is run by a sadistic warden named Jason. His clothes are a nod to [[Franchise/StreetFighter M. Bison]], and later on when he's stalking Joker and Hachi through the prison hallways, he puts on a [[Franchise/FridayThe13th hockey mask]] too.
** Spade is also an mystery author under the name of "Spadon King." This could be a reference to either Creator/StephenKing, or the mystery author Jonathon King.
** Rei Dragon, the detective from Hong Kong, looks a lot like [[Franchise/StreetFighter Chun-Li]].
* SignatureLaugh: Dark Eye’s nasally "kyehkyehkyehkyeh".
* SomethingWeForgot: The manga chapter introducing Shadow Joker ends with [[spoiler: Oniyama still bound and gagged in a bathroom stall while all the other cops go home]]. Averted in the anime adaptation, where he's discovered shortly after [[spoiler: Ginko]].
* StealthHiBye: Dark Eye.
* SigningOffCatchPhrase: Often Joker's (though not always) is "Welcome into the shining night!".
* StuckInTheDoorway:
** In both the anime and manga version of "The Secret Gourmet Party", an ''extremely'' fattened up Queen gets stuck in the doorway of the room she is in when she tries to leave with Roko trying to push her through, eventually using her sword to cut herself free.
** Joker and Hachi experience this in another episode of the anime when their disguises start to fail and swell up like balloons before they explode.
* SunglassesAtNight: Lady Doubt never takes hers off.
* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: Oniyama, to Joker. He even catches on to Shadow Joker’s CriminalDoppelganger nature very quickly when he sees him doing things that the real Joker would not.
* TalkingAnimal: Roko. {{Justified|Trope}} [[spoiler: as he was an experiment that gave him his power.]]
* TalkingToTheDead: Silver Heart, when he visits the graves of [[spoiler:Queen’s parents.]]
* ThemeNaming: Many characters follow spefifc naming patterns (though most of the characters' names are references to playing cards).
** PlayingCardMotifs: The mains kaitos are named either a face card (Joker / Jack), a Suit (Silver Heart, Professor Clover) or both (King Spade, Queen Diamond).
** NumericalThemeNaming: Hachi (8) and Roko (6) have instead this (which still ties into the characters being named after cards). All of Hachi's siblings also follow this pattern (specifically stopping at 10).
** FlowerMotifs: Ginko and Momo are respectively gingko and peach.
** ThemeTwinNaming: [[spoiler:Rose and Cyan.]]
** Though minor characters, The Saffron Kingdom's palace attendants are named after spices. The princess is "Paprika" and the General is named "Basil"
* ThickLineAnimation: Much like Manga/AttackOnTitan, it's not of uniform thickness, giving the impression of a brush pen.
* TimeTravelEpisode: In episodes 19 and 23.
* TrashOfTheTitans: Joker's homebase was in this state before Hachi cleaned it up.
* TransformationSequence: Downplayed as it's unknown whether there is any magic behind it [[spoiler: but it's how we learn that Dark Eye is a Shuffle Sister.]]
* ThemeTwinNaming: [[spoiler:Rose and Cyan, who are also PinkGirlBlueBoy (in the anime, but not in the manga).]]
* TwinTelepathy: Cyan and [[spoiler: Rose]]. Justified as one of them has magic.
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: The main trio: Joker, Spade and Queen.
* {{Tsundere}}: Non-romantically example is Haruka for her dad.
* VagueAge: The main character and his two rivals look and act like they're older than thirteen, but younger than twenty. The only characters who seem to avert this are Hachi, who acts like a teenager but looks like he's younger than ten, and Oniyama who is somewhere older than thirty but younger than fifty. Dark Eye also averts this but it's hard to tell since he keeps his face hidden [[spoiler: and it's actually a subversion because ''she'' is about the same age as the others.]]
* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Professor Clover is particularly evil considering the generally light-hearted and comedic nature of the show.
* VillainProtagonist: Joker, arguably. He's a criminal, but he fights against Professor Clover, who does worse deeds. While Joker's thefts are mostly motivated by greed and self-interest, he will commit thefts to help his allies, like stealing back an amulet that was stolen from Silver Heart. Also, Joker has done some genuinely good things, such as working with Spade to save people stuck in a burning building and letting the people on the island in "The Island of the Evil Scarlet God" have their long-lost Scarlet Heart back.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Joker and Spade have this relationship.
* VoiceChangeling: Apparently Image Gum gives the user the voice of the person they're impersonating, as when [[spoiler: Hachi impersonates Joker, he has no trouble speaking in Joker's voice, but what gives him away is his speech patterns.]]
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys: Joker has his own airship, a duckboat, Image Gum, Balloon Gum and various other tools at his disposal. Spade also has his own airship.
* WingdingEyes: Hachi, Joker and Queen have used them, mostly Hachi.
* WouldNotShootACivilian: Joker says in "The Island of the Evil Scarlet God" that "a phantom thief has no need of killing tools."
* WorthyOpponent: Joker has this dynamic with both Oniyama and Spade.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Joker (white), Spade (purple and yellow), Gingko (lavender), Shadow Joker (blue-gray) amongst others.

[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaitojoker_2733.jpg]]

* GeniusBonus: Subverting this is the whole point of Silver Heart's [[{{BreakingTheFourthWall}} Explanation Corner]], explaining the trick of the episode in simpler terms for the sake of the [[{{TargetAudience}} younger viewers]] in the Aaudience. Considering not many children are likely to know how, for example, radio waves works, this isn't necessarily a [[{{TropesAreTools}} bad thing either.]]

* BlackAndGrayMorality: The main kaitous don't seem to find anything wrong with stealing, so long as they give an advance notice and not use violent methods (though given Spade, Joker and Diamond have been raised up as it's ok).. However, their actions seem pale compared to some of the antagonists, like the Clover Faction. It appears that the main characters do nothing with their treasure other than keep it in collections.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: This can be found in most episodes, and ranges from anywhere to mild (Joker moving a giant anchor underwater, bending the wires on a steel cage) to extreme (fighting on the wing of a jet airplane, Joker getting fried in a deep-fryer and surviving unscathed.)
* BadassCreed: "I am the shadow that paints the light black! Shadow Joker"

* GettingCrapPasttheRadar:

* {{Meganekko}}: Ginko

* NeatFreak: Hachi
* NinjaTropes: During their visits to Hachi's home including
** DoppelgängerAttack: Used by Hachi and his friend in one episode

** HighlyVisibleNinja: Hachi and his older siblings all wear the ninja outfit even when working on a mudane unrelated job (such as stocking trading)
** FightingWithChucks: Done by the Kuma Clan
** NinjaSchool: Hachi grew up in one
** TechnicolorNinjas: Hachi and his siblings are pretty much rainbow colored

* PragmaticAdaptation: The anime adaption differs a lot from the manga (though not in a bad way). The manga is more episodic with a new kaitou, detective and location each week and less focus on an overarching plot. The anime adaption focus more on Joker and his dynamic with the Card Suite Kaitous and Professor Clover's overarching plot.
* LivingMacGuffin: Haruka Oniyama for one episode.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Played for laughs. When Oniyama finds out in episode 14 that Joker has voluntarily turned himself in and is now imprisoned, he gets so depressed he almost resigns from the police force. [[spoiler:After Joker escapes he happily rips up his resignation letter and declares that he's going to arrest Joker.]]

** Silver Heart's trick back
** Kaneri accidentally destroying his buildings with the detonator in his teddy bear.
** People being surprised that Roko can talk
** Curry and 'Karei' (flounder fish)

** In Episode Three (The Mermaid and the Ship of Fakes) has one to ''Titanic'' with Kaneari's outspread arms at the nose of his ship which is called Poseidon.

** Spade is also an mystery author under the name of "Spadon King." This could be a reference to either Creator/StephenKing or the mystery author Jonathon King.

* SignatureLaugh: Dark Eye’s nasally ''kyehkyehkyehkyeh''

* StealthHiBye: Dark Eye
* SigningOffCatchPhrase: Often Joker's (though not always) is "Welcome into the shining night"

* TalkingAnimal: Roko. Justified [[spoiler: as he was an experiment that gave him his power]]
* TalkingToTheDead: Silver Heart, when he visits the graves of [[spoiler:Queen’s Parents.]]

** NumericalThemeNaming: Hachi (8) and Roko (6) have instead this (which still ties into the characters being named after cards). All of Hachi's siblings also follow this pattern (specifically stopping at 10)

** ThemeTwinNaming: [[spoiler: Rose and Cyan]]

* TimeTravelEpisode: Episode 19 and 23.

* ThemeTwinNaming: Rose and Cyan, who are also PinkGirlBlueBoy (in the anime, but not in the manga).

* VagueAge: The main character and his two rivals look and act like they're older than thirteen but younger than twenty. The only characters who seem to avert this are Hachi, who acts like a teenager but looks like he's younger than ten, and Oniyama who is somewhere older than thirty but younger than fifty. Dark Eye also averts this but its hard to tell since he keeps his face hidden [[spoiler: and it's actually a subversion because ''she'' is about the same age as the others.]]

* VillainProtagonist: Arguably Joker. He's a criminal, but he fights against Professor Clover, who does worse deeds. While Joker's thefts are mostly motivated by greed and self-interest, he will commit thefts to help his allies, like stealing back an amulet that was stolen from Silver Heart. Also, Joker has done some genuinely good things, such as working with Spade to save people stuck in a burning building and letting the people on the island in "The Island of the Evil Scarlet God" have their long-lost Scarlet Heart back.

* VoiceChangeling: Apparently Image Gum gives one the voice of the person they're impersonating, as when [[spoiler: Hachi impersonates Joker, he has no trouble speaking in Joker's voice, but what gives him away is his speech patterns.]]

* WingdingEyes: Hachi, Joker, and Queen have used them, mostly Hachi.

''Kaitou Joker'', or JOKER as it is known to some, follows the adventures of the Phantom Thief Joker and his apprentice Hachi. Using various tricks and skills, the two match wits with the hapless police department of Tokyo, whose anti-Phantom Thief division is led by Inspector Oniyama, along with his assistants Ginko and Momo. Along the way they also cross paths with rival Phantom Thieves Spade and Queen and the villainous Professor Clover. The series follows Joker and Hachi on their attempts to steal priceless artifacts and other goods with the trying-their-hardest police force at their heels at each turn around the world.

** Queen has half-orange/half-yellow irises and diamond-shaped white pupils
** Silver Heart’s one visible eye has rings in different shades of blue, and the pupil is also blue

* EveryScarHasAStory: [[spoiler: Both Joker's and Shadow's scars are from the time where they got stuck by the electricity gun, trying to save Rose]].
* EyesAlwaysShut: Momo

* GeniusBonus: Subverting this is the whole point of Silver Heart's [[{{BreakingTheFourthWall}} Explanation Corner]], explaining the Trick of the Episode in simpler terms for the sake of the [[{{TargetAudience}} younger Viewers]] in the Audience. Considering not many Children are likely to know how, for example, Radio Waves works, this isn't necessarily a [[{{TropesAreTools}} bad thing either.]]
* HalfIdenticalTwins: Cyan and [[spoiler: Rose]]. Downplayed though as while they look nothing a like, they act [[{{Synchronization}} very similarly]] and have similar interests.

* HalfIdenticalTwins: Cyan and [[spoiler: Rose]]. Downplayed though as while they look nothing a like, they act [[{{Synchronization}} very similarly]] and have similar interests

* InsaneTrollLogic: Joker pulls with with Hachi in Episode 1. If you let the owner of what you want to steal know you're coming then it does not become theft, it becomes a showdown between you and the owner of your target. What's more is that Hachi follows along with Joker and finds that while that is very sketchy thinking, it does make sense.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Joker pulls with with Hachi in Episode 1. Paraphrasing but; if you let the owner of you want to steal know you're coming then it does not become theft, it becomes a showdown between you and the owner of your target. What's more is that Hachi follows along with Joker and finds that while that is very sketchy thinking, it does make sense.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: The main kaitous don't seem to find anything wrong with stealing, so long as they give an advance notice and not use violent methods (though given Spade, Joker and Diamond have been raised up as it's ok).. However, their actions seem pale compared to some of the antagonists, like the Clover Faction. It is unknown what they use the stolen treasure for

* {{Medusa}}: One of Kaito's theft was getting past her for her treasure. She had claimed main characters to stone including [[spoiler: Spade, Dark Eye, Roko and Queen]]. Her dying is what restored everyone back to life.

* VillainProtagonist: Arguably Joker. He's a criminal, but he fights against Professor Clover, who does worse deeds. Also, Joker has done some genuinely good things, such as working with Spade to save people stuck in burning building and letting the people on the island in "The Island of the Evil Scarlet God" have their long-lost Scarlet Heart back.

* ActionGirl: Queen Diamond and [[spoiler: 'Dark Ai']]. Ginko and Momo are also shown to be this in Season 2.

** Spade is also an mystery author under the name of "Spadon King." This could be a reference to either Stephen King or the mystery author Jonathon King.

* ChromaticArrangement: The Shuffle Sisters dress in red/pink, green and blue, and their clothes match their [TheWindowsMatchTheCurtains hair and eyes.]

* TalkingAnimal: Roko. Justified [[spoiler: as he was an experiment that gave him his power]]
* TwinTelepathy: Cyan and [[spoiler: Rose]]. Justified as one of them has magic.

* ActionGirl: Queen Diamond and [[spoiler: 'Dark Ai']]. Ginko and Momo are also shown to be this in season 2.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Some of Joker's operations have shades of this (like his gadgets and background events such as fighting on the wing of a jet airplane).

* ClickHello: How Spade greets Joker in episode 7, though just did it to scare him. [[spoiler: Does it again when they get surrounded by the enemy]]

** Professor Clover. One eye is solid red with no iris or pupil, while the other has a gold iris but otherwise looks normal. It’s unknown whether those are his real eyes or just part of his mask.

** Spade has pupils that are half-black/half-white and shaped like a spade, while the visible part of his irises are purple

* ThemeNaming: Many characters follow spefifc naming patterns (though most of the characters' names are references to playing cards).
** PlayingCardMotifs: The mains kaitos are named either a face card (Joker / Jack), a Suit (Silver Heart, Professor Clover) or both (King Spade, Queen Diamond).
** NumericalThemeNaming: Hachi (8) and Roko (6) have instead this (which still ties into the characters being named after cards). All of Hachi's siblings also follow this pattern (specifically stopping at 10)
** FlowerMotifs: Ginko and Momo are respectively gingko and peach.
** ThemeTwinNaming: [[spoiler: Rose and Cyan]]
** Though minor characters, The Saffron Kingdom's palace attendants are named after spices. The princess is "Paprika" and the General is named "Basil"
* ThickLineAnimation: Much like Manga/AttackOnTitan, it's not of uniform thickness, giving the impression of a brush pen.

** Silver Heart's trip back
** Kaneri accidentally destroying his apartments with his teddy bear.
** People being a surprised that Roko can talk

%%* StealthHiBye: Dark Eye

* PresidentsDaughter: Haruka Oniyama for one episode.

* [[IdolSinger Idol Singers]]: The Shuffle Sisters. Hachi, Joker and Spade also tried to be one as the JJ Brothers.
* ImpossibleThief: Downplayed, while Joker's tricks usually have a reasonable explanation for working (though a bit exaggerated ), his gadgets fall into this.

** Most Phantom Thieves live by this rule.

** ColourfulThemeNaming: The Shuffle Sisters. Kira (pink), Rei (blue) and Ai (green)