Last time on LVSP, the LupinRangers and PatRangers crossed paths untransformed. Since the phantom thieves are already transformed every time they face the GSPO Tactical Unit, only they know the other's identities, but they couldn't help but feel anxious whether the policemen know their real identities or not. Apparently, they really didn't know. They came to the bistro to have lunch.
The third episode recently aired last Sunday and as usual, I am here today to write up a review.
A word of warning, if you haven't seen this week's episode of LVSP, I suggest you stop reading further and watch the episode first as it will contain spoilers of the episode.
Episode Highlights
Sneaky Touma
Touma, LupinBlue, hands the lunch menu to the members of the GSPO Tactical Unit. While they were browsing through the menu, he seizes the opportunity to grab one of their VS Changers. Kairi, LupinRed, notices this and stops him. Since last week's episode, Touma was fixated on the thought of how the PatRangers have VS Changers, which are supposed to be items from the Lupin Collection.
Aggressive Touma
The PatRangers get a report on a Gangler finding somewhere in the city, so they set out from the bistro without ordering anything. This week's Gangler monster is Namero Bacho, a slug-themed monster whose artifact allows it to remodel any object it touches. The LupinRangers also set out after Kairi gets a hint from Kogure.
While the PatRangers were fighting Namero, the LupinRangers immediately arrives at the scene to make sure that the artifact was still intact. While Kairi and Umika, LupinYellow, fight 2 of the PatRangers, Touma goes to Sakuya, PatRan #2, in an attempt to steal his VS Changer.
Later in the encounter, Namero shoots out oozing slimes to trap both the phantom thieves and policemen, however, only Sakuya gets trapped. This opens up an opportunity for Touma to snatch his VS Changer, but Tsukasa, PatRan #3, immediately backs her teammate and takes back his VS Changer from him.
Impatient Touma
After successfully escaping from the fight, the LupinRangers regroup somewhere far from the scene. Kairi asks Touma what's with the rush. Touma, on the other hand, asks him back why are they not rushing. By his actions in the previous episode and during the last few fights, it was apparent that he was becoming impatient. Of the three of them, he feels that he's lost the most precious person.
Heart-broken Touma
Touma then looks back at his past where he was having the greatest time of his life alongside his fiance, Ohira Aya. Everything seemed to be going very well until he found out his fiance shattered into pieces from being frozen solid. Still devastated by that unfortunate event, he swears to retrieve all the artifacts from the Lupin Collection as fast as he can so he can revive Aya.
Disheartened Sakuya and Encouraging Commissioner
During their first encounter with Namero, Sakuya displayed a poor performance by getting trapped from one of the monster's attacks. This, of course, sets Keiichirou, PatRan #1, in a boiling rage. Jim Carter, the GSPO secretary, then receives a report from an old man about the whereabouts of the Gangler monster.
While Keiichirou and Tsukasa storm out to go the place mentioned, Commissioner Hilltop gives Sakuya some words of encouragement. The disheartened policeman seems to put the commissioner's words into his mind.
More Tactical Options
Just as Touma was about to dive into a situation where he will most likely get caught by the PatRangers, Kairi stops him and tells him that having the police bother with them has its own merits. Later on, the old man the called the PatRangers about Namero's location was actually Kairi's masked voice.
Having the police go the scene first and get trapped by Namero was Kairi's way of telling Touma that they can use the police as a mean of more tactical options. Touma then remembers Aya's words that resonate with his current situation, and he couldn't help but put a smile on his face and got back his calm self.
Sakuya's Redemption
While the LupinRangers fight against Namero, the PatRangers remain trapped inside the hideout. As everyone struggled to break free from the oozing slimes, Sakuya then reminds himself the words of the commissioner and attempts to break free from the trap.
After setting himself free, he then helps Keiichirou break free as well. The red raging policeman, known to be very harsh towards Sakuya, compliments him for the first time. This makes Sakuya happy, adding that he responds well to positive reinforcement.
LupinRangers' Finisher and Union?
Similar to what happened last episode, the LupinRangers now have the Good Striker in their hands to perform the finisher. However, Umika didn't like the thought of the three of them combining into one like the PatRangers' PatRan Union.
Kairi, nonetheless, performs the finisher set up but instead of fusing together, two duplicates of him add up to their count from 3 to 5. Even the Good Striker couldn't explain why this was the case for the LupinRangers.
PatKaiser Debut
After performing the finisher, the LupinRangers mentioned Kogure when they were talking to the Good Striker. This causes it to flee from them and gets caught by Keiichirou. Goche then appears once again to revive the fallen Namero. The LupinRangers get blown away from the stomping of the large monster.
The PatRangers use this opportunity to summon their Trigger Machines and utilize the Good Striker to combine into the PatKaiser. Although it was forced to combine with the Police Squad, the little rascal was impressed with their fighting spirit.
The Good Striker's Mystery
When the giant battle draws to a close, the Good Striker detaches itself from the combination and flies away from the scene. This makes the LupinRangers wonder if it was on their side or not. Kogure tells them that it was an artifact that was hard to handle and he even suggested that it might be part of the reason why the police have their own VS Changers.
First Ship Sailing?
Before the episode ends, the GSPO Tactical Unit comes back to the bistro to finally have something to eat. Sakuya then notices Umika, who wasn't present last time, and approaches her with a beaming smile telling her that she's cute. Could this be a pair we can ship in the series? We might not get an answer anytime soon, but I do hope this ship sails! Tune in next week for another episode of Kaitou Sentai LupinRanger VS Keisatsu Sentai PatRanger.
Character Impressions
Ohira Aya is Touma's fiance who encouraged him to learn cooking. She also taught him an important lesson where there are things that seem pointless, but they actually pave a way to something better. Her death was the very reason why Touma became a member of the LupinRangers. Her way of talking and her charm may be the sole factors why she won the heart of the calm and collected Touma.
Goody, also known as the Good Striker, has this police officer look whenever it is used to combine into PatKaiser. It seems to be uncooperative towards the PatRangers at first but after fighting along with them using the PatKaiser, it was not the case. However, that doesn't mean that it's on their side.
As mentioned in the previous episode, it is a sentient being despite being an artifact of the Lupin Collection. I do wonder about Kogure's words about him being part of the reason why the GSPO got their hands to the VS Changers.
Namero Bacho is this week's Gangler monster. He was first seen in the first episode during the celebration of Dogranio's 999th birthday. His design was inspired by a species of snail and his artificact lets him mold things into something he likes. This was apparent in the episode where he turned a building into a statue of the Gangler boss.
He seems to be obsessed with art and cautious around his surroundings. He even gave the LupinRangers and PatRangers a hint that if they follow him, they will be trapped for sure.
Final Thoughts
Touma's Impatience
In this episode, we see Touma desperately working on his own to get rid of the PatRanger's VS Changers as he sees them as a nuisance to their cause. I couldn't blame him given his situation because having other people gather items from the Lupin Collection delays them from completing it, thus taking a long time to revive their loved ones.
Sakuya's Lax Attitude
He gives off this relaxed impression towards his co-workers, making Keiichirou frequently reprimand him for his attitude. This was evident in the first two episodes. For me, instead of feeling that he's lacking in determination, I'm more inclined to the possibility that he's lacking praise and compliments.
This was the case in this episode. Sakuya probably felt that he was scolded too much that he's unconsciously not showing his potential as a policeman. Thanks to the commissioner's words of wisdom, he's back into gear!
PatKaiser's Insert Song
While I'm more of a LupinRanger person, hearing the insert song(music played) during PatKaiser's appearance seemed amazing. It really fits the first appearance of the PatRanger's giant robo. The LupinKaiser didn't have an insert song last week, but I'm hoping to hear one from them next week.
That's all for this week's review of LVSP episode 3. See you next time!
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