Series / Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger

"Thieves and Cops: two teams that can never join forces are destined to clash!"

The Lupin Collection, a set of mysterious treasures gathered by the legendary phantom thief Arsène Lupin, has been stolen by the Ganglers!
"The phantom thieves who fight to recover what they've lost."
"The police force who fight to protect world peace."
Whose side are you on?!

Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger ("Phantom Thief^note spelt as "Swift Thief" Squadron Lupinranger" VS "Police Squadron Patranger"^note a portmanteau of "Patrol" and "Ranger") is the 42nd entry in the Super Sentai franchise. It aired alongside Kamen Rider Build, and later, Kamen Rider Zi-O in the Super Hero Time block. The Title Theme Tune was performed by Tatsuhiko Yoshida and Hitomi Yoshida.

As the title implies, it is the first Super Sentai season to feature two distinctive teams. Despite this, both the Lupinragers and Patrangers are officially numbered as the 42nd Sentai, sometimes collectively known as the "VS Sentai".

Over a century ago, the infamous Phantom Thief Arsène Lupin stole a number of mysterious treasures which would come to be known as the "Lupin Collection". Rumor has it that if every item of the Lupin Collection is brought together, their combined power would be enough to destroy the planet.

When the Lupin Collection is stolen by an intergalactic gang of villains called the "Gangler", a young trio of aspiring phantom thieves decide to take up the name of the legendary rogue and steal the Collection right back as the anti-heroic "Lupinranger".

Yet they are not alone in their pursuit of the Lupin Collection! In response to the theft, the Global Special Police Organization (G.S.P.O.) put together their own elite task force called the "Patranger", whose mission is to arrest the Gangler and safely contain the Collection before their power can be misused to hurt innocent people.

With these two superhero teams on opposite sides of the law, a three-way race for the most valuable treasures in the world begins!

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Recurring Super Sentai tropes:

• Color Character: The Lupinranger Power Trio are another "[team prefix] [English color]" Sentai, combining in The Movie to form Lupin Tricolor. Subverted for the Patrangers who, like the ToQgers before them, are identified by Japanese numbers. Also subverted for the Sixth Ranger, who flip-flops between the gold-colored Patren X and the silver-colored Lupin X.
• Combining Mecha: Both teams use the same "core" component - the Good Striker - to make their respective Super Robot.
  • Lupinrangers combine their Dial Fighters with the Good Striker to form the Lupin Kaiser. Victory Striker can be used in place of the Red Dial Fighter to form Victory Lupin Kaiser.
  • Patrangers combine their Trigger Machines with the Good Striker to form the Pat Kaiser. Siren Striker can be used in place of Trigger Machine 1gou to form Siren Pat Kaiser.
    • Dial Fighters and Trigger Machines can be mixed-and-matched; other than using each other's Mecha Expansion Packs, the only such combination in the show so far is Hensoku ("Irregular") Pat Kaiser with Good Striker in its Pat Kaiser mode and Trigger Machines 2gou and 3gou, but the Red Dial Fighter in place of 1gou.
  • Patren X/Lupin X combines his X-Trains to form X Emperor.
  • The Dial Fighters, Trigger Machines, X-Trains, and Good Striker can all come together to form the Good Cool Kaiser VSX.
  • The Lupin Magnum can use the Blue and Yellow Dial Fighters to become Lupin Magnum Superior.
  • In the summer movie, the Lupinrangers combine their Dial Fighters with a different core, the Jackpot Striker, to form Lupin Rex.

• In the Name of the Moon: Both teams have a simple one with just their name and catch phrase.
  • The Lupinrangers:
    Kairi: Lupin Red!
    Touma: Lupin Blue!
    Umika: Lupin Yellow!
    Noël: Lupin X!
    All: Kaitou Sentai! Lupinranger!
    Kairi: Here's your warning: we're here to take your treasure!
  • The Patrangers:
    Keiichirou: Patren 1gou!
    Sakuya: Patren 2gou!
    Tsukasa: Patren 3gou!
    Noël: Patren X!
    All: Keisatsu Sentai! Patranger!
    Keiichirou: By the authority of the Global Police, we're stopping you by force!
  • Since Noël has access to both the Lupinranger and Patranger powers, he gets two solo role calls, albeit with a little more grandeur. As seen above though, if he's actually there for a team transformation and using the same form, he'll join as a regular member of the team he's helping.
    Lupin X: A solitary, sterling phantom thief... Lupin X!
    Patren X: The proudly glittering police officer... Patren X!
• Law of Chromatic Superiority: Two teams, but both have a red Ranger and both of them serve as the leader of their respective group.
• Make My Monster Grow: This is done by Guche Lu Medo using her piece of the Lupin Collection on the busted safe remains of the defeated Gangler. The fact that she doesn't do this after a Gangler is seemingly destroyed before they can collect its collection piece convinces them that the Gangler is still alive.
• Mecha Expansion Pack: The Lupinrangers have the Cyclone, Scissors, Magic and Victory Striker Dial Fighters, while the Patrangers get the Trigger Machines Biker, Crane, Splash and Siren Striker. Scissors and Crane also come with smaller secondary mecha that the Kaisers use as offhand weapons, the Blade Dial Fighter and Trigger Machine Drill. Both groups also have Music mecha that showed up in the opening sequence to cross-promote en Film, but they never appeared in canon. X-Trains Fire and Thunder can also be used as expansions for the Kaisers.
  • There's also a promotional Hammer Dial Fighter toy, which briefly appears in the show in a weird situation in #11: The Monster of the Week hits the Blade Dial Fighter with its Gender Bender power hoping to make it less lethal, but just turns it into an equally effective blunt weapon instead. (Don't ask how a machine can get its gender swapped, because even the Lupins don't know.)
• Mini Dress Of Power: Part of the costumes of both Lupin Yellow and Patren 3gou. For the Patrangers, this gets inverted in their Gender Bender episode.
• Super Mode: Lupin Red gets to use the Victory Striker to turn him into the clairvoyant Super Lupin Red, and Lupin X gets to use the Siren Striker to turn him into the Shoulder Cannon-mounted Super Lupin X. Later, as an 11th-Hour Superpower, Patren 1gou becomes Super Patren 1gou with the Siren Striker, and Patren X becomes Super Patren X with the Victory Striker.
• Swiss-Army Weapon:
  • Outside of the VS Changer used by both groups, Lupinrangers use the Lupin Sword, which can shift between sword and claw (as in a "magic hand" grabby-claw, not Wolverine Claws) modes, and Patrangers utilize the Pat Megabo, a megaphone that can turn into a Lawman Baton.
  • Noël has the X Rod Sword, which he uses differently based on which mode he's in; he uses the Rod (a jitte Lawman Baton) as Patren X and the Sword as Lupin X. His X Changer also has two modes based on his form, but it's a blaster either way and he just switches out the gun barrel.
• Transformation Trinket:
  • The VS Changer, a gun used by both teams, albeit in a different manner: Lupinrangers stack their Dial Fighters on top of it, while Patrangers attach their Trigger Machines beneath it. The Lupinrangers also input codes on their Dial Fighters - 010 for Red, 260 for Blue, 116 for Yellow.
  • Patren X/Lupin X uses the X-Changer, another gun which is itself a combination of X-Train Gold and X-Train Silver. It has two configurations based on which form he's transforming into.
• Transforming Mecha: The Good Striker, which has both ground vehicle and jet fighter modes to match both teams' mecha themes. X Emperor also has a different mode for each team.
• Utility Belt: Both teams have similar-looking belt buckles that serves different fuctions depending on the team:
  • For the Patrangers and Patren X, it serves as their civilian police badge.
  • For the Lupinrangers and Lupin X, it fuctions as a grappling hook & wire for them to make quick escapes (and to perform Wire Fu maneuvres and attacks), as well as a holder for their calling cards.
  • For Lupin X, it additionally functions as a digital lockpick in place of a Dial Fighter.
• Villains Act, Heroes React: As is the norm for Super Sentai, we generally get a Gangler appearing with an Evil Plan Once an Episode, with our heroes then arriving on the scene to stop them. Justified for both the Patrangers, who are a police force, and the Lupinrangers who, while not bound by the law, aspire to assemble the Lupin Collection, the individual pieces of which are carried by the Gangler Monsters who are regularly wreaking havoc.

Tropes Present in Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger

• Actor Allusion:
  • Some scenes with Cmdr. Hilltop turn into impromptu language lessons, which mirrors what his actor Ike Nwala normally does on primetime tv. More specifically, the "omimai" mutateed into "Hold me tight" is a Running Gag of his.
  • In episode 17, when Sakuya asks Umika to sign a photobook of her in the dream world, she exclaims that she hasn't published one, but her actress Haruka Kudo has. The title of the photobook "mi" is even a reference to Haruka's first photobook "Do" (both are the last characters of their last names).
• And the Adventure Continues: Even after the series is over, there are still Gangler remnants out there with the last few Collection pieces, and the thieves still need the rest of the Collection (including those belonging to the cops) to grant Noël his wish, so the Lupinrangers and Patrangers are still at each other's throats.
• Artistic License – Military: There's really no excuse for the Patrangers saluting with the wrong hand in the Transformation Sequence (considering they get that right every other time).
• Badass Cape: The Lupinrangers' suits have capes on them, making them the fourth Sentai to wear capes after Gorenger, JAKQ, and Magiranger.
  • Lupin X averts this, while he is introduced wearing a silver hooded cape, he tosses it off during his first introduction and his actual transformation doesn't include it at all.
  • Badass Longcoat: Instead, Patren X has a trench coat design to it to match the detective motif Patren X has going for it. One step further with Super Patren X as he is given a golden cape on top of his outfit.
• Book Ends: The series starts and ends with the Lupinrangers, Patrangers and a Gangler with a Collection piece in a Mêlée à Trois inside a bar.
• Call-Back: In #2, the Patrangers all shout “what’s this!?” when they realized they fused as PatrenUgou. In The Ultimate Weird Combination, Keiichiro shouts the exact same thing after Magda Pon magnetizes him and LupinRed together. The other rangers do the same after they get struck by the attack later on.
• Calling Card: Being phantom thieves, the Lupinrangers are fond of using them from time to time (and also incorporate them into their transformation sequences). In Episode 18, the Patrangers also send out a calling card of their own, albeit in the form of the news issuing an evacuation warning at the sight of an eventual battle with a Gangler, to lure the Lupinrangers out.
• Chained Heat: In #13, Umika and Tsukasa end up getting chained together by a Gangler's powers and have to perform an Enemy Mine in order to get free.
  • In a weird example, in #18, Red forces his Dial fighter to take #1's place in the Kaiser, leading to a mismatched mecha, Hensoku Pat Kaiser, and a surprised Goodie, 2 and 3. This leads to Red fighting off 2 and 3 in cockpit while all three are also using the mech to fend off the giant Gangler attacking them, at one point actually working together and cheering before remembering they're enemies (and in the wrong seats) and resuming fighting.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Bordering on a literal take on this trope, the Trigger Machines were designed at the same time as the Dial Fighters, which have the ability to unlock a Gangler safe by cracking the combination. Turns out the Trigger Machines have a related function - scrambling the combination and preventing the Gangler from using them. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't actually do anything as Ganglers can still just activate their collection piece, but it turns out to be Zamigo's one fatal weakness seeing as how he spawns his guns via the safes.
  • The Collection book was given to the Lupinrangers to help with putting the collection in. It's the very thing that causes Dogranio Yabun's downfall as being in his safe with the book, the Lupinrangers simply puts his entire collection into it, disabling his ablitiy to use any of it. It also allowed Jackpot Striker to enter the safe via the book to get them out.
• Chevalier vs. Rogue: The Lupinrangers are rogues who steal, while the Patrangers are officers of the law who try to apprehend them.
• Civil War vs. Armageddon: The two Sentai teams are both opposed to the clearly villainous Ganglers, but as the title indicates, they also oppose each other — partly because the Lupinrangers are self-proclaimed phantom thieves and the Patrangers are police officers, but also because the Lupinrangers are focused on taking the pieces of the Lupin Collection from the Ganglers before defeating them, which can lead to the monsters getting more time to wreak havoc. Meanwhile, the Patrangers want to defeat the monsters as quickly as possible, though doing so might result in the destruction of the Collection piece which would keep the Lupinrangers from reaching their goal.
• Clark Kenting: Nobody figures out who the thieves are in their disguises, despite the fact their disguise is just a hat and a eye mask. Noël reveals in #26 that the Lupins' eyemasks have a special ability to fully conceal their identities, unlike ordinary eyemasks.
• Counterpoint Duet: The show's theme song, "Lupinranger VS Patranger", forms a well-meshed duet out of the individual teams' theme songs, "Lupinranger, Spin the Dials" and "Chase You Up! Patranger".
• Darker and Edgier: While it's predecessor is way darker due to the world being ruled by evil, this show still retains the tone due to the three-way battle between the Lupinrangers, Patrangers, and the Ganglers.
• Double-Meaning Title: The "VS" in the title represents how the two teams are versus one another, but "VS" also has some yet-unspecified meaning in-universe: the Transformation Trinket is called the VS (pronounced "Vee-Ess") Changer, and the Lupinrangers have a "V" logo while the Patrangers sport "S" insignia.
• Dream Emergency Exit: Anyone who approaches the legendary Lupin Magnum gun is trapped in an illusion where the only way out is to shoot your lost loved one, to ensure that only those who won't let themselves be fettered by Morality Chain Beyond the Grave can claim it.
• Driving Question: A majority of the conflict between the Lupinrangers and Patrangers, beyond the obvious "cops and robbers" angle, is this: "How did the Patrangers manage to get their hands on pieces of the Lupin Collection?" Even the Gangler get in on asking that question when Destra takes an interest in the two Machines that were being given to the Patrangers.
• Early-Bird Cameo: The Gangler banquet in episode 1 has a number of faces you'll see later, like the slug monster in episode 3.
• Elite Mook: Two variants for the Ganglers:
  • "Status Double" Ganglers have two safes in their bodies, allowing them to use multiple powers from the Lupin Collection.
  • "Status Gold" Ganglers have golden safes with extended lock combinations that cannot be cracked with a single Dial Fighter, requiring multiple Dial Fighters to be used to unlock a single safe.
  • And then there are those like Zamigo and Destra who are "Status Double Gold" (two gold safes).
  • And of course there's the boss Dogranio who is a "Status Gold: Physical Protection", aka the chains around his safe. It's also noteworthy as his safe is Bigger on the Inside and he can hold any number of Lupin Collection Pieces, and use them simultaneously. He can even put in other things inside such as people to trap them.
• End of an Age: The last series to be fully aired during the Heisei period.
• Failed a Spot Check: The Gangler that had impersonated the deceased Satoru would've probably gotten away with fooling the Patrangers had he either kept his MP3 Player with him or put anything on it.
• Foil: Lupinrangers and Patrangers contrast each other in almost every aspect.
  • The first are thieves, while the latter are police officers.
  • Lupinrangers have black suits with colored "jacket" designs, while the Patrangers have colored suits with white "jackets". Their helmets are similarly inverted; the Lupinrangers have black helmets with colored visors and the Patrangers have colored helmets with black visors. More subtly, the Patrangers have a vertical stripe down the middle of their suits reminiscent of a tie, while the Lupinrangers' suits have a stripe that tapers at the collar that makes it seem like they're wearing bow ties.
    • Their outfits when untransformed reflect this as well - while both teams are Color-Coded for Your Convenience, the Patrangers wear uniforms akin to what you'd see actual police wear, with a stripe of their color on the left side of their outfits; the Lupinrangers, on the other hand, are dressed very formally, with some elements of their color implemented to it^note Kairi and Touma wear dark suits (red for Kairi and blue for Touma) over a white dress shirt while Umika wears a generic formal jacket over a yellow gown.
  • Each team goes with different form of Nom de Guerre - Patrangers use simple numeric designations (ex. Patren 1gou), while Lupinrangers use the Colorful Theme Naming (ex. Lupin Red).
  • The Lupinrangers' Finishing Move has one member split in three. All three Patrangers, on the other hand, combine into a single Ranger, Patren Ugou.
    • In the summer movie, Kaitō Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en Film, the Lupinrangers fuse into Lupin Tricolor with the Jackpot Striker.
  • Lupinrangers Dial Fighters are planes, while Patrangers Trigger Machine are land vehicles. Noël gets to use X Trains.
  • Lupinrangers title and role call poses are expressive and fluid, while Patrangers' are much more solid and to the point.
  • In a meta sense, the Patrangers are using a previously used theme (police, which was previously used in Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger), whereas the Lupinrangers are the first Phantom Thief-themed team.
  • In terms of colors, Lupin Blue and Lupin Yellow are wearing colors that are almost always present on a Sentai team, whereas Patren 2gou and Patren 3gou have colors that aren't present in every season, but are the most common colors used.
  • The default transformation standby sound for both teams are the same, but they deviate upon activating the type of trinket used:
    • Dial Fighters activate a "Masqueraise!" announcement with a grandiose heist-themed standby tune, followed by "Kaito Change!" and a feminine "Lupinranger~" announcement completing the transformation.
    • Trigger Machines activate a "Patrise!" announcement with a rock and police siren-themed standby tune, followed by "Keisatsu Change!" and a masculine "Patranger!" announcement completing the transformation.
  • Lupin/Patren X's transformation sounds mirrors both teams; the X Changer first activates a "X-nize!" announcement.
    • Through "Kaito X-Change!", it plays a symphonic heist-themed standby tune, which ends in a guitar rift while announcing "Lupin X!" to complete the transformation.
    • Through "Keisatsu X-Change!", it plays a rock and police siren-themed standby tune, which ends in a symphonic James Bond-esque fanfare while announcing "Patren X!" to complete the transformation.
    • The teams also fire differently, the Pats fire above themselves, whereas the Lupin fire ahead (if space permits. A few close quarters situations have led to them firing to the side)
  • During the transformation, the Lupinrangers hold the handle end of the VS Changer steady and turn the barrel so the Dial Fighter is on top, while the Patrangers hold the barrel steady and turn the handle, with the Trigger Machine ending up on the bottom. X combines both elements for any of his forms, rotating his X Changer's barrel first before holding the barrel steady and then rotating the handle.
  • The sequences are also mirrored, the Lupinrangers summon a calling card that magically forms their suit in a dark stage-like surrounding, while the Patrangers summon a police badge and armor parts that mechanically forms their suit in a bright technological setting.
    • The roll calls are different as well. The Lupin do the traditional different pose for each member, whereas the Pats all do the same pose, just holding up a different amount of fingers based on their own number.
    • This also extends to summoning their mechs. The Lupinrangers are simpler and more subtle with the VS Changer announcing the Dial Fighter's name in a stutter. The Patrangers on the other hand have their Trigger Machines and Good Striker come out with Hot-Blooded marching chants.
  • Even the direction for each team in fight scenes contrasts. Patranger focused fights are shot in more of a standard Sentai style, with more hard cuts and steady shots, while the Lupinrangers get slow motion and panoramic shots in order to emphasize their flashiness. This even extends to the mech fights, where Pat Kaiser fights are more suit based, while Lupin Kaiser fights focus more on fast motion and flashy CGI.
    • Noël's fighting style is reversed for each of his forms. Lupin X is steady and defense-based like the Patrangers, while Patren X is flashy and acrobatic like the Lupinrangers.
    • Speaking of the mecha, they're mirrored too. The secondary male (Blue, Green) is on opposing arms on both, as are the girls. However in an interesting coincidence, it is the more calm, serious characters (Touma, Tsukasa) that form arms with embedded fists, in addition to the weapons they carry.
    • Furthermore, the seat placements on each Mecha is reversed as well with Lupin Red taking the center in the front row with Lupin Blue and Lupin Yellow in the back row in Lupin Kaiser and Patren 1gou taking the center in the back row with Patren 2gou and Patren 3gou in the front row in Pat Kaiser.
  • This even extends to their Transformation Trinkets functions. The Dial Fighters double as automatic lock picks used to open the safes lodged in the Ganglers bodies and retrieve their piece of the Lupin Collection, with the hats of the jets actually being combination lock dials. The Trigger Machines on the other hand have a function to lock Gangler safes by resetting their passcodes for a new code to be input manually, once done it prevents the Gangler from being able to open their own safes themselves.
  • The Lupinrangers typically hold their guns with one hand each, while the Patrangers are usually seen holding theirs with both hands.
  • Individually speaking:
    • Kairi is pretty patient and relaxed, arguably too relaxed while Keiichiro is pretty hot-blooded and stubborn. And in another comparison between the reds, the former is a ex-juvenile turned phantom thief while Keiichiro is a career cop.
    • Touma is much wiser and older but can be a bit impulsive while Sakuya is young, naive and cheerful. In another comparison, Touma was faithfully engaged to his fiancée while Sakuya is a shameless flirt.
    • Umika is a clumsy and ditzy Genki Girl while Tsukasa is the Only Sane Man (unless there's a stuffed toy around).
    • When comparing The Lancer characters, Touma is stoic and cynical, Tsukasa is logical and compassionate.
    • When comparing the youngest members, Umika and Sakuya are both clumsy and naive in many respects, but Umika plays up the clumsiness more while playing as the Morality Pet while Sakuya plays up the naivete more with a hint of innocence being the one with the least experience.
  • Both teams have a huge difference in how they handle certain revelations about Noël. When one of the Gangler try to frame him a mole for them leaking information out of Global Police HQ, the Patrangers initially nearly believe him since the Gangler is using a form of one of Keiichiro and Tsukasa's old friends and they were supicious of him from the start, and it's only them noticing a few things off about their old friend do they notice he's an imposter at the last second. Meanwhile the Lupinrangers don't buy this for a second because they know Noël's true goals and know he'd never cooperate with the Gangler. The much bigger reveal that Noël isn't human and comes from the Gangler world however causes the Lupinrangers to get very hostile to him because of their bad blood from the losses they took to the Gangler and it's only getting his full backstory and him getting vouched for by Goodstriker do they trust him again. On the Patrangers side though, by the time they find out he's not human Noël had already nearly gotten killed trying to save them and was in dire need of rescue, so they couldn't care less about his origins at that point because they'd already accepted him as one of them and his life was on the line.
• Foreshadowing: In the first scene of the Ganglers, Dogranio Yabun makes a statement that they have "threatened, stolen, killed". 43 episodes later and we learn that they killed people to obtain human disguises.
  • In Episode 42, after Destra steals the Siren and Victory Strikers and puts them in his safes, it is Patren Ichigou who steals back the Siren Striker, while Patren X (not Lupin X) steals back the Victory Striker. Then in episode 51, Patren Ichigou and X use the respective Striker they stole to become their Super Form.
  • In the OP despite both teams having a Title Drop in the lyrics, the Patrangers are the one mentioned when the title screen comes up which also shows the Patrangers much larger and in the foreground and the Lupinrangers smaller and towards the back (and when X is added it only shows Patren X of his forms) Despite the extensive focus on the Lupinrangers for nearly the entire show, it's actually the Patrangers who are arguably the true heroes of the series as they are the ones who fight the final battle against the Big Bad and end the Gangler threat for good while the Lupinrangers (having finished their personal grudge with The Dragon one episode before) are regulated to support.
• Fountain of Youth: A Gangler turns a lot of people including the Lupinrangers into children in episode 33.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: Episode 16, a staple plot for Super Sentai. Touma had his mind accidentally swapped with a Gangler. And very briefly before that, Umika with a pigeon.
• Fun with Acronyms: The first syllable of the Lupinrangers' names put together forms "KaiToU" (Phantom Thief) while the Patrangers' forms "KeiSaTsu" (Police).
• Fusion Dance: As a Finishing Move, Patren 1gou, 2gou, and 3gou merge into Patren Ugou (a play on "yuugou", meaning "fusion"). In contrast, the Lupinrangers have a Self-Duplication finisher. Jackpot Striker from the movie, reverses this, fusing the Lupinrangers together into Lupin Tricolor.
• Gendered Outfit: Lupin Yellow and Patren 3gou's suits both have a skirt and their visors lack the sharp edges that their male compatriots have. Lupin Yellow also has heeled boots.
  • #11 features the Patrangers getting their genders reversed, which carries over to their suits; 1gou and 2gou gaining a skirt and 3gou losing it.
• Godzilla Threshold: Anything that can actually get all seven Rangers to work together and form Good Cool Kaiser VSX qualifies as this. The first time requires the threat of their first brush with a Status Gold, while the second time involves a chimera with five safes.
• The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: The show is set up with this conflict, with the Lupinrangers as the morally-grey "Bad" faction in between the Patrangers' Good and the Ganglers' Evil.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors: While neither sentai are evil per se, the police-themed Patrangers suits are dominantly white, while the thief-themed Lupinrangers suits are almost all black.
• Good Versus Good: The Patrangers and Lupinrangers are both good guys, but their motivations put them at odds with each other.
• Goroawase Number: The Lupinranger transformation codes invoke this. Red's is 0-1-0 (rei-tou). Blue's is 2-6-0 (bu-ro-o). Yellow's is 1-1-6 (i-i-ro).
• Gotta Catch Them All: Retrieving the Lupin Collection is the main goal of both teams and the villains. While they have immeasurable power together, each has their own individual abilities also.
  • Comme un cube qui roule (Like a rolling cube): A die that affects luck and probability.
  • Allume-moi (Turn me on): A lighter that creates powerful, and moving flames.
  • Qui a fait qui (Who made who): A small totem that allows for objects to be changed into different shapes.
  • Je vais t'habiller (I'm going to dress you): A ribbon that can disguise objects, as other objects.
  • Jack bondissant tel l’éclair (Jack leaping like lightning): A boot that allows the user to leap incredible heights.
  • Tout ton amour (All your love): A lamp that creates a pocket dimension.
  • L’Orage électrique (The Electric Storm): A small battery that lets the user generate lightning bolts.
  • Fais rouler Beethoven (Roll Over, Beethoven): A wheel that causes people to slip and fall.
  • La vie sur la voie rapide (Life on the fast track): A bracelet that gives the user superspeed.
  • Le rock du bagne (The rock of the prison): A scroll that creates an invisible barrier.
  • Le petit monde (The small world): A shuriken that shrinks the user.
  • Au loin (Far off): A slingshot that increases accuracy.
  • Belles balles de feu (Beautiful fireballs): A ball that shoots explosive fireball-like projectiles.
  • Long, long et long (Long, long and long): A sword that allows the user to extend a body part with light.
  • Le coup de chance (Stroke of luck): A military tracking device that turns the users projectiles into homing attacks.
  • Filer comme le vent (Spin like the wind): A folding fan that allows its user to generate gusts of wind that can cut through anything.
  • La machine d’endorphin (Energy machine): A wristwatch that provides particle energy and doubles the offensive power for attacks.
  • La fumée t’embrouille les yeux (Smoke muddles his eyes): A lion-shaped censer that creates clouds for riding, or gas emissions.
  • Je me change en pierre (I Turn to Stone): A dumbbell that turns the user into stone, increasing his defenses.
  • La pluie violette (Purple Rain): A water gun that allows the user to spray water at a high velocity.
  • La chaleur est là (The Heat is There): A ring that allows its user to generate high amounts of heat via molecular excitation.
  • L’évasion (Evasion): A signal baton that allows its user to constantly evade and deflect attacks.
  • Docteur, docteur (Doctor, doctor): A blood pressure monitor that allows its user to completely heal from severe injury and/or damage.
  • Les minuscules bulles (The tiny bubbles): A mermaid statue that allows its user to produce bubbles as a distraction to escape.
  • Le contrôle (The control): A recorder that manipulates humans with the users voice.
  • Plonge (Plunge): A pair of tonfas that allow the user to swim through solid objects.
  • La mémoire (The memory): A camera that steals memories and turns them into pictures.
  • La vie en rose (The life in rose): A bouquet that neutralizes foul smells.
  • À l’envers (Upside down): A police badge that hides the user's alignment.
  • Prends-le dessus (Take it on): A brace with a currently unknown power.
  • Les voyous (Rouges): A cellphone that can negate its opponent's powers.
  • Appelle-moi (Call Me): A cellphone that can project an energy shield to reflect the opponent's attacks.
  • L'Appel de réveil (The wake up call): A cellphone that allows the user to launch energy claw slashes at its opponent.
  • Le croisement (Crossing): A cellphone that allows the user to perform a powerful kick.
  • Ton amour brûlant (Your burning love): A cellphone that allows the user to launch fireballs from its mouth.
  • Le porte-tempête (The storm-holder): An electric fan that allows the user to create whirlwinds for attacks or for escaping.
  • Ces murs (These Walls): A moai sculpture that allows the user to create walls from the ground.
  • Le grand fossé (The great divide): An inrou that splits a person up into copies with different personalities.
  • L'homme sage (The Wise man): A wrist computer that increases the users intelligence.
  • Atteindre pour toucher (Reach to touch): A hand knife that allows the user to create portals.
  • Elle me rend fou (She drives Me Crazy): A steering wheel that allows the user to control vehicles.
  • Je veux m’envoler (I want to fly): An aviator broach that allows the user to make his opponents float.
  • La fumée sur l’eau (Smoke on the water): A spear head that can create fogs.
  • La coure elastique (Elastic Heart): A resilient bomb that turns the user's body into rubber.
  • Le maître des marionnettes (Master of puppets): A quill that allows the user to control other people like puppets.
  • Un million de voix (A Million voices): A microphone that allows the user to change their voice to anybody else's.
  • Une Faim de Loup (Hungry Like the Wolf): A wolf head shaped paperweight that grants the user a strong sense of smell.
  • Attrapé dans le jeu (Caught in the game): A chess piece that traps a person into the user's game.
  • Évade-toi de l’autre côté (Escape to the other side): A shuriken that allows its user to liquefy their body to negate damge.
  • Bienvenue dans la jungle (Welcome to the Jungle): A magnifying glass that allows the user to tie up his opponents.
  • Météorite osei (Meteor Fall): A Saturn model that allows the user to summon meteors.
  • La vie est une fleur (Life is a Flower): A blade that allows the user to create a smokescreen of blossoms.
  • Crier vers le haut (Shout to the Top): A megaphone that allows the user to issue a screaming shockwave at their opponents.
  • Le feu inoubliable (The Unforgettable Fire): A decorative box that allows the user to create a fire tornado.
  • Le bois norvègien (Norwegian Wood): A decorative box that allows the user to throw logs as projectiles.
  • Une autre brique dans le mur (Another Brick in the Wall): A tablet that allows the user to throw bricks as weapons.
  • The VS Changer: Allows someone to transform into a Ranger if they have a VS Vehicle.
    • The VS Vehicles: The power source for Ranger abilities. Each has a unique form and abilities, and are divided into groups:
    • Dial Fighters - Aerial vehicles that are tied to the Lupinrangers. They all have the innate ability to open safes, which is perfect for the Gangler. Fighters not tied to a specific Lupin all have secondary abilities. The Cyclone for example seems to have dual control of wind and electricity.
    • Trigger Machines - Land vehicles that are tied to the Patrangers. They are all quite fast, and each have a built in trigger, to replace the one on the VS Changer. As with the Fighters any machine that isn't tied to a Ranger have secondary abilities. The Biker can be used as an attack yo-yo in combat.
    • X-Trains - Trains tied to Lupin/Patren X.
  • The Good Striker: A sentient ally, who's great power can be used in many ways. According to him, his ability is to strengthen other pieces of the Collection, though primarily this seems restricted to the VS System.
  • Goche has three of her own pieces that have yet to be collected, but they do have their uses.
    • Gros calibre (Get big): A syringe that revives and grows Gangler monsters.
    • Guéris le monde (Heal the World): A pair of binoculars that could look into the person's personality.
    • Coupe le gâteau (Cut the Cake): A sword that projects a sword from her arm.
• Gratuitous French: Items in the Lupin Collection are named as French phrases.
  • Noël Takao adds in some French sayings into his sentences, given that he did live in the France Branch of the G.S.P.O.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • Through a gambit, Lupin Red uses Zamigo's own ice gun to freeze Lupin X, and then use its instant teleportation function to get Lupin X behind Zamigo and allow him to remove his liquid-transforming Collection Piece.
  • Dogranio Yabun is finally captured and imprisoned by the GSPO with his own chains, which he said that not even he could break.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each episode is numbered #1, #2 etc.
• I Let You Win: N.32 has Noël challenge Keiichiro to a duel to get him to cooperate with the Lupinrangers, with their freedom on the line. The team-up afterwards implies that Noël won outright, but during the flashback, it's revealed that Keiichiro actually had Noël dead to rights, but decided to aim elsewhere and let Noël take the victory.
• Immortality Field: People can be killed inside the Pocket Dimension of Dogranio Yaboon's "Status Gold: Physical Protection" safe, like what happened with Zamigo, but the Lupinrangers survived for a year inside it without sustenance.
• It's Personal:
  • This has been the Lupinrangers' motivation to take down the Ganglers from the start, as a Gangler killed one their loved ones (Kairi's brother, Touma's fiancée and Umika's best friend) and they need the Lupin Collection to get them back.
  • Also turns out to be Nöel's motivation, as the Ganglers killed his mentor and father figure, Arséne Lupin himself.
  • This doesn't apply for the Patrangers at first, until a Gangler arrives using the face of the GSPO officer slated to be Patren 2gou (and Keiichiro and Tsukasa's friend) as a Human Disguise - implying that he was killed for his face.
  • Even Dogranio eventually has this after Destra is killed, no longer seeing the to teams as mere obstacles and seeks to destroy them personally.
• Jitter Cam: During some of the fight scenes.
• Karmic Thief: The Lupinrangers are thieves, but they're taking dangerous objects back from much worse criminals.
• Kill It with Ice: One year before the series, there was an apparent murder spree by an ice Gangler named Zamigo Delma that froze people to death. Each of the Lupinrangers lost a loved one in the incident, leading Kogure to recruit them with the promise of possibly getting them back. However, it eventually turned out that the freezing didn't kill the victims- they were killed later to be used as disguises by the Ganglers.
• Lightning/Fire Juxtaposition: Two of the X-Trains add this theme to the two teams; as X-Train Fire is associated with the Lupinrangers, while X-Train Thunder is for the Patrangers.
• Latex Perfection: As part of an elaborate scheme to throw off the Patrangers' (entirely correct) suspicions about Kairi, Touma, and Umika's identities in episode eight, Kogure disguises himself as Kairi via an incredibly lifelike mask and a set of Kairi's clothes, allowing the real Kairi to go out as Lupin Red and disguise his duplicates as Blue and Yellow. Per the trope, this actually works, despite Kogure being both chubbier and significantly shorter than Kairi, though a comically tall pair of platform shoes (that the elite police officers somehow don't notice) help with the latter.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In episode 11, the Monster of the Week Pitch Cock accidentally changes the Blade and Scissors zord into a Hammer zord. He says it's a shocking plot twist in the last three minutes. Kairi says we won't need a full three minutes. And there's less than three minutes left in the episode's running time at that point.
• Lovable Rogue: The public thinks of the Lupinrangers this way and cheers them on as they take on the Gangler... and Keichiro takes the implied (and not-so-implied) insult to law enforcement personally.
• Magic Feather: In episode 12 a kid gets a piece of the Lupin Collection and wants to use its Super-Speed powers to win a race. It becomes one of these, partly because the kid can't actually use the powers, but mostly because Touma swapped it out for a fake earlier.
• Mêlée à Trois: Oh my. Sometimes both team engage in one-to-one fights while the monster loudly asks what's going on. Other times, two Rangers of each team engage in fights against the other team, while the remaining Rangers team up against the monster.
• Mid Fight Weapon Exchange: Happens during the final battle As part of a plan to defeat Zamigo, the Lupinrangers end up taking most of the Patrangers auxiliary Trigger Machines from them, but to keep the Patrangers from being helpless against Dogranio they leave them all their auxiliary Dial Fighters in exchange. As a result, the Lupinrangers use the Trigger Machines' hidden ability to lock Zamigo's safes and prevent him from using his guns, while the Patrangers use the power up modes previously exclusive to the Lupinrangers to defeat Dogranio.
• Mission Control: The Lupinrangers get their instructions from the mysterious butler Kogure played by veteran Japanese actor Yoichi Nukumizu, acting on the behalf of one of Lupin's descendants. The Patrangers have their chief Officer Hilltop played by Nigerian-American comedian Ike Nwala.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: A first for Sentai: Good Cool Kaiser VSX has four fully functional arms, with X Emperor contributing the primary arms while the Lupinranger's mecha contribute the top set of arms. Fittingly enough, the monster it debuted against also had four arms.
• Multi Form Balance: X Emperor, Lupin X/Patren X's robot, has two formations with different specialties, which it can swap between by doing a cartwheel. Lupin X's formation, X Emperor Slash, is a Close-Range Combatant with arm blades, while Patren X's formation, X Emperor Gunner, is a Long-Range Fighter armed with a gatling gun.
• No Ontological Inertia: While already a recurring Super Sentai trope, it's taken to egregious levels when the defeat of Zamigo causes all of his victims to be restored to life, in all the locations they'd been frozen in over a year ago!
• Oddball in the Series: The first Sentai to have two separate teams that are against each other, two Reds where one of them isn't the Sixth Ranger, and Patranger is the only team without a blue ranger. It's also the first Sentai series to not have an Ending Theme.
  • Speaking of the Sixth Ranger, he is the first one to belong to more than one team and the first to be able to switch teams actively.
• Oddly Named Sequel: The first Sentai series to have the names of two teams on the title.
• Once More, with Clarity:
  • Partway through N.21, the Lupinrangers get a tip over the phone from Noël about the location of a Gangler. He asks "are you in or out", apparently asking if the Lupinrangers are willing to act on his tip. The Lupinrangers do go to the Gangler's location, but end up being attacked by Noël as Lupin/Patren X. At the end of the episode, the conversation is flashed back to to reveal that what Noël was really asking was if the Lupinrangers were willing to let him attack them, to convince the Patrangers that he wasn't on their side.
  • During N.32, Lupin X and Patren 1gou have a duel, with the Patranger's assistance and the Lupinranger's freedom on the line. The last image seen is Lupin X aiming his Finishing Move at 1gou, and later the two teams are shown teaming up, but Noël flashes back at the end of the episode to Keiichiro deflecting the finisher and aiming a point-blank headshot, only to instead deflect it off Lupin X's armor and allow Noël to win.
• Order vs. Chaos: The Patrangers are the lawful police enforcers and the Lupinrangers are the chaotic phantom thieves. Noel is more on the neutral spectrum due to his affiliation with both groups.
• Phantom Thief: The motif of the Lupinrangers. They even have it in their team name.
• Phlebotinum Rebel: A rare case in Super Sentai; It was revealed that the Lupin Collection originated from the Ganglers' home world and that supposedly only the Ganglers could use their powers, however Arsène Lupin sought to modify them for human use, resulting in his creation of the Good Striker, VS Changers and Dial Fighters, successfully converted Collection Pieces that are used to fight the Ganglers.
  • Noël took over this role in modern times, converting Collection Pieces into the Trigger Machines and newer VS Vehicles that all fell into police hands and used in their own means in the fight against the Ganglers.
• Public Domain Canon Welding: The series features two rival Super Sentai teams fighting Monsters of the Week and each other to acquire a set of dangerous treasures that Arsène Lupin once collected. One team takes on the legacy of Lupin himself as a group of Phantom Thieves, while the other team is a police squad out to catch the criminals.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Episode 48. Even though both teams managed to save Noël and Gauche is gone for good, the Lupinrangers were forced to reveal their true identities to the world, which also ends up devastating Sakuya. Even worse, Dogranio had taken all of the Collection pieces Gauche had, so the Lupinrangers didn't even gain anything from the ordeal.
• Remember the New Guy?: Satoru, Keiichiro and Tsukasa's friend and the officer tasked to be Patren 2gou until he was transferred to the French branch of the Global Police. Returns as a Human Disguise used by a Gangler - which implies that he was killed.
• Rescue Reversal: The Lupinrangers spent the entirety of the series aiming to save Kairi's brother Shori, Touma's fiancee Aya, and Umika's friend Shiho. At the end of the series with the Lupinrangers trapped inside Dogranio's safe dimension, Kogure recruits Shori, Aya and Shiho as phantom thieves to track down the one Collection piece that could get them out.
• The Rival: The unique aspect of the series: two co-existing Sentai teams with the same goal are competing with one another. While previous series have had sub teams (see the Gouraigers in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger and the Go-on Wings in Engine Sentai Go-onger), this is the first time the two are genuinely separate teams, even if they both use the VS Changer and the Good Striker.
• Safecracking: The Dial Fighters have the ability to crack safes such as the ones in the Gangler's bodies.
• Serial Escalation: The Ganglers originally faced by the teams only had one safe in their bodies, but later Ganglers are show to have two (called Status Doubles by Noël), and a chimeric experiment by Gauche produced one that had five. And that's before accounting for color.
• Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: Everyone who gets de-aged by the Ganger in episode 33 (the Lupinrangers included) ends up stuck in their now-oversized and baggy adult clothes. The Lupinrangers actually have to abandon their costumes for kid-sized clothes from a nearbay shopping stall.
• Sneeze Cut: Done in The Movie, when Touma says he likes Jackpot Striker better then Good Striker, Goody sneezes and asks who's badmouthing him behind his back.
• Spell My Name With An S: There was a debate whether the police team was called "Patoranger" or "Patranger" in English due to the way Japanese works.^note Japanese syllables cannot end in a consonant. The only exception is that there is a syllable that is just the n sound. So パトレンジャー is Patorenjā Merchandise ultimately revealed it to be the latter spelling, with the name derived from the English word "patrol".
  • The individual Patrangers are apparently called "Patren [X]gou◊" (with an E) in English.
  • The kanji spelling of "Kaitou" used for the Lupinrangers is spelled as "fast thief" (快盗) here instead of the more literal proper spelling of "phantom thief" (怪盗).
• Super Cop: The motif of the Patrangers is the police, but with special equipment that allows them to take on far more dangerous (and elusive) criminals.
• Theme Naming: Both teams have, again, opposite themes, with the Patrangers' surnames involving kanji that reference the day while the Lupinrangers' surnames reference the night.
• Treasure Chest Cavity: All of the Gangler have a safe embedded in their bodies, where they keep a piece of the Lupin Collection and can access its powers.
• Trunk Shot: Nearly all the Lupin Collections are revealed by having the camera inside the safe when it's cracked open.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Both teams are arranged this way, with Umika and Tsukasa as the only girls amidst the two men on their teams.
• The Unreveal: The series ends before the audience gets to see what exactly will happen when the entire Lupin Collection is assembled.
• Versus Title: Played with, as "VS" has some other meaning within the show itself, considering it is pronounced as "Vee Ess" in the title rather than "versus" or "tai".
• Victor Gains Loser's Powers: A unique variation regarding the Lupin Collection and the Lupinrangers stealing the pieces from the Ganglers.
• Wham Episode: Episodes 7 ends with Tsukaska suspecting that Kairi, Umika, and Touma are the Lupinrangers.
  • Episode 9 ended with the Lupinrangers failing to grab the collection piece before the Patrangers destroy the Gangler, seemingly crushing all their hopes for their wishes to come true.
  • Episode 18 reveals something huge related to the Lupin Collection: They apparently originated from the Gangler's homeworld. The ones the Lupinrangers and Patrangers use are Human modifications and creations of them. Episode 20 adds on to that reveal as Noël created the Dial Fighters and Trigger Machines for both teams.
  • Episode 39 is probably one of the hugest in the series given the following:
    • Zamigo's freezing shots extend to teleporting the victims away to a distant location. This means that the Lupinrangers' loved ones may have suffered the same.
    • Kairi's mental problems suddenly getting worse because he was so close in beating Zamigo, something even Keichirou notices.
    • The fact that Noël checked on Zamigo through the computer files of the Global Police indicate they might have been tracking him down long ago...and the fact that Noël just found out about this indicates that there was someone else responsible from taking Noël's loved one away, if true.
  • Episode 43 is even more colossal because it reveals 2 things regarding Noël if true. Not only he's not Human, he's probably a Gangler spy as well.
  • Episode 44 has major whams one after the other. First Noël's secrets are completely revealed. He's actually a descendant of the beings who lived alongside the Gangler in the Gangler world centuries ago. When he was an orphan, he was found and raised by Arsene Lupin himself, who is the one Noël wants to get back as he was killed when the Ganglers attacked and stole the Collection. Also, the info leaker is revealed to be the Gangler Narizma disguised as Satoru, the GSPO officer who was Patren 2gou before Sakuya who was transferred to GSPO's France HQ. In addition, all of the disguises the Ganglers use were real people.
  • Episode 45, while fairly light-hearted for the Christmas season, drops two major plot points that follows the above. The humans who were taken for disguises are from a string of disappearances that happened on February, one year before the events of the show, meaning that Zamigo had a clear objective back then. And last but not least, when Keiichiro checks some of the names of the disappeared people, he stumbles upon Shori Yano, the brother of Kairi. He then connects the pieces and hints together from Tsukasa's initial suspicions and realizes that the Bistro's staff are indeed the Lupinrangers.
  • Episode 47. The Ganglers make their move and take down the Lupinrangers and Patrangers separately - it ends with Noël being captured, and inadvertently getting a good look at Dogranio Yabun's safe for the first time.
• Wham Line: Delivered by Gauche in Episode 43:
  Gauche: Oh dear, you didn't know? X isn't Human.
• Wham Shot: An admittedly chilling look at what lengths the Patrangers will go through in the last episode. Dogranio Yabun has all the Lupinrangers trapped in his own safe, knowing that the Patrangers don't have the nerve to risk killing them along with him - so instead they subject him to And I Must Scream by keeping him wrapped in his own chains in solitary confinement for over a year.
• Wild Card:
  • Good Striker, or "Goodie" for short, this season's Mecha. He can combine with the Dial Fighters or the Trigger Machines to form either Lupin Kaiser or Pat Kaiser, but he has no real loyalty to either team so which one he becomes generally depends on his whims. Or if the threat becomes really bad, he'll just combine everyone together.
  • To the Ganglers, both the Lupinrangers and the Patrangers themselves count as this. They're both equally as likely to attack each other over attacking the monster, though sometimes the monsters get caught in the crossfire or momentary Enemy Mine attacks. That being said, once the collection piece has been removed from the Gangler, the focus is all on said monster.
  • Lupin X/Patren X, the Sixth Ranger to both teams. Within his first appearance, he does nothing to hide his identity, announcing he's Lupin X in public only to get arrested by Keiichiro only for Patranger to be informed he's a cop by Hilltop. Before being taken away he leaves Kairi with a card revealing he knows the Lupins identities. He then shows off both forms, in front of both teams, freely changing between either team depending on what style he needs to have at the time, at the same time announcing himself as a comrade to both sides. (In a similar note, he can pass his VS Vehicles to the current Kaiser formation.) This leads to NEITHER team trusting him fully due to his associations with the opposing team.

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Kairi: Forevermore...
Touma, Umika and Kairi: Adieu~. [fires grappling hooks to escape to their planes]
Keiichiro: WE WON'T LET YOU ESCAAAPE!!!