Trivia / Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger

• Acclaimed Flop: The show had a noticeable improvement in ratings and social media buzz, including being nominated for a Galaxy Award compared to its immediate predecessor. Despite this, however, Lupinranger VS Patranger ended up being a financial disaster despite its ratings, producing record low sales numbers of merchandise and further increasing the risk of Sentai's imminent end. There are many potential reasons, and should Ryusoulger fail to pick up the slack, then the franchise could very well be at a high risk (and on the verge) of potentially permanent cancellation or in the worst case scenario, that Sentai might be the last, which Toei should take as a warning sign; the loss of one of their big cash cows could seriously impact Toei's stocks and lead to further financial troubles.
  • That being said, the "Sentai cancellation risk" claim came from a 4chan user who posted almost accurate content leaks about Tokusatsu, but besides the Lupinranger VS Patranger toyline, there are other reasons Sentai is "dying" rapidly. ^note The following other reasons are: 1) Kyoryuger became a financial smash hit since Gaoranger to the point where it had a Korean-exclusive sequel, 2) Ninninger suffered from Seasonal Rot, 3) Zyuohger had budget issues, and 4) Kyuranger was 9 million yen away from reaching the expected yen mark.
• Acting for Two: In episode 33, Kazusa Okuyama not only portrays Tsukasa, she also portrays kid-Kairi, Touma and Umika's "mother". Actually Kogure in disguise.
• Actor-Inspired Element: Tsukasa throwing a rock in #41 is inspired by Kazusa Okuyama’s past as a softball player and her habit of throwing and catching things in-between breaks.
• Actor-Shared Background: In episode 9, Ema Goldini (Ota Midori Laurence). speaks French and Japanese. It helps that her father is French.
  • Inverted with Kazusa Okuyama (Tsukasa), who was named Police Chief for a day a few months after the show was over.
• Bonus Episode: Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger ~GIRLFRIENDS ARMY~ was released with an issue of Terebi-Kun Magazine rather than TV Magazine, making this the first Sentai Hyper Battle DVD, a term usually associated with Kamen Rider.
• The Cast Showoff: Seiya Motoki gets several chances to show off his acrobatics skills which was actually lampshaded in episode 46 when his character tried to show it of as his "hidden" talent only for it to get rejected since it's not really hidden since that's how he always fights in and out of suit.
• Creator Backlash: In an interview Junko Komura stated she wanted Touma to remain the most distant from the Patrangers, and lamented that he could have had more time with them aside from #27 and #41. The latter episode was actually written so that Tsukasa could have a notable moment with Touma before the endgame arc.
• Creator Killer: Following this show's bombing in both viewer ratings and toy sales, chief producer Takaaki Utsunomiya has been transferred out of Toei's TV Planning and Sales Department. He hasn't been seen in any entry's staff since then.
• No Export for You:
  • This show was originally not dubbed in Korea and was skipped in favour of Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger instead called Power Rangers Dino Soul following after Uchu Sentai Kyuranger. It might be odd since this is the first time Korea skipped a Toei series that doesn't have a Japanese forklore motif ^note  They skipped Power Rangers Ninja Storm/Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger, going from Power Rangers Wild Force to Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, and then skipped Samurai Sentai Shinkenger and Kamen Rider Gaim, all because of their overtly Japanese motifs of ninja and samurai. Shuriken Sentai Ninninger is the only series that is averted despite having said ninja theme motif. Still, the the last Dinosaur Sentai was a smash hit in Korea, which may have made it more desirable. Though it would later be dubbed after Ryusoulger as Power Rangers: Lupin Force VS Patrol Force.
  • Bandai announced a Memorial Set release of the VS Changer toy, featuring extra voice lines programmed into the toy, postcard stills from the show, and much more exclusive content. It was set for release in all Premium Bandai's internationally covered territories, except Singapore, where the item could not clear license restrictions.
  • In a QnA on Twitter, Power Rangers showrunner Simon Bennett explained that the show would not receive an adaptation, as he describes today's political climate towards police and police brutality and the idea of presenting a Ranger team as criminals being "problematic".
• Promoted Fanboy: Haruka Kudo (Umika) admitted to growing up on Kamen Rider 555 and Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger as a child.
• Prop Recycling:
  • A large amount of the objects seen when the Lupin Collection is introduced are repainted or modified items from past Sentai (in one case, it was literally just set upside down), however, some are entirely new props, but are still designed based on specific themes from past Sentai.
  • Some Gangler monsters seen in banquet scene using repainted old suits of villains/MOTWs/mooks in older Super Sentai seasons. One keen-eyed fan even successfully identified some of them. Here's the extensive list of what he found.
    • As the series goes, it becomes obvious that most of the MOTWs Ganglers are repainted and remodeled into different MOTWs Ganglers. For example, Jenko Copamino is a modified and repainted version of Ruretta Gerou, while Ryugu Tamatebacco's lower half, is a repainted version of Namero Baccho's lower half.
    • A monster with the Domidol suit from Zyuohger's summer movie and Gillmardahead Zyuohger vs. Ninninger.
    • A monster with the Mavro suit from Ninninger vs. Toqger and unknown monster head also from Toqger.
    • The mooks from Toqger, Kuros, also used.
    • Two monsters seen together beside Namero Baccho, one monster using the D suit from Kyoryuger and an unknown monster head from Hurricaneger; another one using the Bacchus Gil head from Go-Busters vs Gokaiger with the previously stated unknown Hurricaneger monster suit.
  • The Crane Keisatsu Boost is the same bulky crane arm used for PatKaiser Strong formations.
• Recycled Set: The set used for Bistro Jurer was recycled from Bistro La Salle from Kamen Rider Kabuto.
• Star-Making Role:
  • Kousei Yuki (Keiichiro Asaka/Patren 1gou) promptly blew up after the series ended, getting many TV show and movie offers due to his strong performance and overall popularity (both character and actor-wise). Prior to this, he was primarily known for being Akaashi's first stage actor in the Haikyuu!! stage plays before having to graduate when he landed the role of Keiichiro.
  • Asahi Ito (Kairi Yano/Lupin Red) got fairly popular after the show ended as well, getting many TV shows and movies under his belt well after the show ended.
• Throw It In!: Good Cool Kaizer VSX was heavily implied to have been conceptualised midway through the series, as not only was there not an actual suit made for it (rendering all its fight scenes completely in Stock Footage CGI), but early leaks of the X Emperor toy's design shown it initially lacked the parts to combine it with the Good Striker, while the Good Striker toy lacks feet joints specifically made to fit and hold onto the Fire and Thunder X Trains, instead having Kibbles and Bits from the X Trains made to clip onto the Good Striker's pre-existing joints so poorly they fall off quite easily.
• What Could Have Been:
  • In an interview with Toku Nation on April 2018 after leaving Bandai America (who had a hand in developing the toyline for Uchu Sentai Kyuranger and developed the toyline for Power Rangers from 1993 to 2018), Gregory Mitchell revealed that the original concept for the 2018 Sentai series was going to be flight-based, which would've been a Spiritual Successor to Choujin Sentai Jetman and that Bandai America would develop it after the success of Kyuranger. The plan changed when the Power Rangers franchise was sold to Bandai's toy industry rival Hasbro, but elements of it did made it to the final version, most notably being the motif for the Lupinrangers' mecha.
  • Hacking the VS Changer reveals a sound for Kamen Rider Build in addition to the general Kamen Rider sound effect, meaning it's possible that at one point, a crossover between the two was planned. However, likely due to the decision to stop making Spring crossover movies, said crossover was never made.
  • Additionally, VS Changer sounds exist for three extra rangers and their Trigger Machines/Dial Fighters, specifically Patren 0gou, Patren -1gou, and Lupin Black; as of writing, any plans to implement them seem to have fizzled out. While it's unknown what Lupin Black would've been like, the Trigger Machine sounds for 0gou^note "Ten-Chi-Mu-You", lit. "Do not turn upside down" and -1gou^note "Goku-Aku-Hi-Dou", lit. "Atrocious and inhuman" offer some insight into their nature, with 0gou seemingly involving a mechanism prone to malfunction and -1gou being an Obviously Evil ranger.
  • Toy catalogs show images for a PatKaiser Splash and Keiichiro using the Keisatsu Boost for that Trigger Machine.
  • Kousei Yuuki originally auditioned for Touma. He ended up playing Keiichiro, and Shougo Hama was casted for the role.