The One with the Pizza Place

Welcome back to Ranger Ranker! We return with the penultimate Disney season, in the midst of a writers’ strike and constant budgetary cuts. The episode counts are down, but our spirits remain high! Our animal spirits, that is. That will make more sense once you’ve watched the season. Or just read my analysis, I guess. Let’s get into it!

Let’s Talk About Martial Arts

Martial arts has been at the core of Power Rangers since the beginning. Of the five original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Jason, Trini, and Zack are all martial artists, with Jason and Zack being teachers. Tommy is even introduced as a martial arts rival for Jason, fighting him to a draw in competition. The ethos of Power Rangers has been steeped in the same values that many martial arts schools teach: discipline, self-defence, honor, and respect for oneself and others. And now we have a season that is very much about martial arts again. We meet the three main characters (and the main villain) at a martial arts academy in the vein of Chinese wuxia. The mentor (and destroyed dead ex-mentor) is a master of said (fictional) martial art. Many of the villains follow the conventions of martial arts and wuxia fiction. It’s all very martial arts-y.

And it’s a welcome return for the series. There’s a focus on the martial arts training of the Rangers, with each of them learning various kung-fu fighting styles and weaponry. The fight scenes are noticeably more visually interesting. Casey becomes a martial arts instructor as part of his arc, and it works for him, harkening back to Jason in a good way. There are ancient masters and secret techniques and it’s all a lot of fun.

Power Rangers has always been at its best when it embraced the conventions and stylistic trappings of martial arts that lie at the heart of its source material. It’s not just a superhero show, it’s a showcase for martial arts in a way that no other American show really ever is. Sure, there are giant robots and transformation sequences and color-coordinated outfits, but there’s also a focus on stunts and physicality that make Power Rangers something truly unique and special, and martial arts is responsible for a huge portion of that. So with Jungle Fury, we get a real showcase of what makes Power Rangers a unique show, and I just think that’s something that’s been missing from the series for a little while. So let’s jump in and get wild for:

Power Rangers: Jungle Fury came out in 2008 on Toon Disney’s Jetix block. It would be the last season to air there, with the series moving to ABC Family next season. During production, the WGA strike would occur, causing shakeups to the show, but production of the show continued with scab writers, including Judd Lynn, who had previously worked on the series.

Adaptation

Jungle Fury is in many ways less ambitious and more focused than its predecessor, Operation Overdrive. It’s a return to form, but it manages to find the best parts of that form to emphasize. It centers on a single location – the city of Ocean Bluff, and is much more grounded than the huge operations of past seasons. Instead of government agencies and expensive tech, the Rangers operate out of a struggling pizza parlor run by stoner-y weirdo Robert “R.J.” James. Despite being 10,000 years old,¹ the Pai Zhua² academy is a far cry from even the well-organized and -outfitted Wind Academy of Ninja Storm. The Rangers of this season are essentially just a bunch of guys with little to no technology, resources, or connections. R.J. “knows a guy” who made the morphers and that’s enough to get us off the ground. He also does show himself to have some technical skills in making the Strike Rider and Claw Cannon, but he’s no billionaire industrialist.

Plot

10,000 years ago,³ the evil Dai Shi waged the Beast War against the humans of the time.⁴ With great sacrifice, the Order of the Claw defeated Dai Shi and imprisoned him in a box. The Order would establish the Pai Zhua academy to train warriors in the ways of the animal spirits, choosing a set of guardians every generation to defend the world if Dai Shi ever manages to escape. 

Casey, Lily, and Theo have been chosen as this generation’s protectors. However, their fellow student Jarrod, angry at being rejected, bursts into the Forbidden Room where Dai Shi’s box is kept and in the scuffle, accidentally opens the box and releases Dai Shi. In the process, the academy’s master, Master Mao, is fatally wounded. In his last moments, he sends the three guardians to Ocean Bluff to find a new master, while Jarrod runs away from the academy before being possessed by Dai Shi’s spirit, which needs a physical host to remain on this world.

The three reach Ocean Bluff to find their new master, R.J., who turns out to be more eccentric and less formal than they had hoped, but he does give them a set of Solar Morphers, which will use their animal spirits to turn them into Power Rangers.⁵ As Power Rangers, they oppose the forces of the newly returned Dai Shi, with both sides training and building power in a martial arts arms race as Dai Shi attempts to harvest the fear of the citizens of Ocean Bluff.

In his efforts to build his power, Dai Shi resurrects first the three overlords of sky, sea, and land, then the Phantom Beast Generals.⁶ Meanwhile, the Rangers seek out the remaining living Pai Zhua masters, as well as the deceased Spirit Masters now residing in the Spirit World, to improve their martial arts. In the process, the Rangers eventually become Pai Zhua Masters themselves. They are also joined in the field by R.J., who acquires his own Wolf Morpher and becomes the Purple Wolf Ranger and by R.J.’s old friend Dominic, who left Pai Zhua to wander the world searching for purpose.⁷ Dominic is given the Rhino Morpher and becomes the White Rhino Ranger.

Ultimately, the Rangers are able to help Jarrod expel Dai Shi from his body, but by this point, Dai Shi has gathered enough power to manifest physically, so the Rangers must face down Dai Shi in an ultimate battle, using the highest level of their animal spirits to destroy him, once and for all.

+2583 pts

Music

The theme song this season is a return to the pop-punk style of the early Disney era, and a welcome return it is. The lyrics are a little bit on-the-nose, but it still all basically works. Maybe I’m just traumatized by the prior two seasons though. As for the series itself, there are a number of musical interludes where R.J. and Lily get fun little dance breaks to break the tension a little. Lily even teaches Casey and Theo to dance as part of a team-building episode.

+972 pts

Fights

As mentioned before, the fights this season are a little more kung-fu inspired than past seasons. This includes a variety of esoteric weapons, from nunchucks and tonfa to battle fans and a meteor hammer, which is pretty fun and interesting to watch. Between interesting weaponry and the wuxia-inspired stunt work, this season is pretty great in terms of its fight sequences. Even without the gimmicky civilian powers of prior seasons, the unmorphed fight scenes are as good as the morphed ones, and a large part of that is the focus on the physical abilities of the Rangers both in and out of costume. 

+2839 pts

Miscellany

As I mentioned, the scale of this season is much smaller than its predecessor, and that applies to the villains too. Sure, Dai Shi threatens to start a second Beast War and eliminate humanity and bring the world into a new age of beasts and everything, but does he really have the capability to do that? Not at first, that’s for sure. He needs to build up his power and army, which he does first by harvesting fear from the nearby small town, then by reviving the Three Overlords and getting them to train him. There really is a lot of training happening in this season between the Rangers and the villains, which kind of makes sense for the kung fu genre that this season takes so much from. There’s a real sense of escalation on both sides as the season goes on, with each faction finding new masters and training in new skills. The Rangers get Jungle Master power from the Spirit World, so Dai Shi learns the Zocato power from the Overlord Grizzaka, which dwarfs the Rangers’ Jungle Master powers, so the Rangers bring in R.J. and Dominic, whose powers are overshadowed by the Phantom Beast’s Rinzin powers, and so on. It’s a whole big back-and-forth.

Cumulative Score: 3044 pts!

The Good Guys

The Order of the Claw! Everyone this season comes from this one secret martial arts academy. How did they get there? What did they do before that? Don’t ask so many questions! This is the martial arts season!

The Rangers

Casey Rhodes (Jason Smith)  

The New Kid. Babyface. Still somehow the leader.

• Color: Red
• Zord: Tiger/Gorilla
• Signature Weapon: Jungle Chucks/Shark Sabers
• Strength: 7
• Smarts: 4
• Coolness factor: 3

Casey has only recently arrived at the Pai Zhua academy, when he is bullied by the arrogant Jarrod. He stands up to Jarrod reflexively, unleashing his animal spirit and cowing the older student. For this, Master Mao chooses Casey over Jarrod to be this generation’s protector, which Casey comes to feel immense guilt over. Despite his lack of experience, his position as Red Ranger makes him the leader of the team, which is a stressful position for him to be in, especially after R.J. becomes a Ranger too. His inner conflict and lack of confidence is a major part of his character arc over the season and it is genuinely enjoyable to watch him develop through those flaws, unlike other Red Rangers who have a tendency to take over the entire narrative.

Theo Martin (Aljin Abella)  

The Expert. Serious. Extremely high-strung.

• Color: Blue
• Zord: Jaguar/Antelope
• Signature Weapon: Jungle Tonfa/Jungle Fans
• Strength: 10
• Smarts: 8
• Coolness factor: 1

Theo has always felt he had to be the best at everything he did. Some of this comes from conflict with his twin brother, who seemed to effortlessly float through life. But a lot of it just comes from being this gifted kid who had high expectations thrust upon him, a feeling that’s particularly understandable to me. He’s always trying to do everything at once and has trouble focusing on one thing at a time. Theo needs to learn to let go in order to master his martial arts, a lesson that takes a lot for him to internalize.

Lily Chilman (Anna Hutchison)  

The Big Sister. Compassionate. She’s really chill, man.⁸

• Color: Yellow
• Zord: Cheetah/Penguin
• Signature Weapon: Jungle Bo/Jungle Mace
• Strength: 10
• Smarts: 8
• Coolness factor: 8

Lily is the free-spirited, unburdened one of the group. She has a protective streak, leading her to always want to help those closest to her. She’s caring and generous to a fault, even seeing the best in the villainous Camille, though she didn’t know Camille was in disguise at the time. Despite this, Lily is also stubborn and impulsive, running headlong into danger and refusing to back down or give up. She’s the one in the group who is the most comfortable with her self, well-balanced and easy-going – the ego to Casey’s id and Theo’s superego. Also this one time a monster quill causes her to become Dark Lily and she wears leather and rides a motorcycle and that’s pretty great.

Robert “R.J.” James (David de Lautour)  

The Mentor. Eccentric. Really likes his armchair.

• Color: Purple
• Zord: Wolf
• Signature Weapon: Wolf Morpher
• Strength: 12
• Smarts: 9
• Coolness factor: 5

R.J. is a Pai Zhua master, though he doesn’t look it. He’s extremely laid back and casual, to the point of being overly passive at times. Despite his outward appearance though, he’s a fierce fighter, able to go toe-to-toe with monsters even before acquiring Ranger powers. He has a strained relationship with his father, another Pai Zhua master, Master Finn, due to wanting to be his own person rather than following in his father’s footsteps. He also has very strange taste in foods, which is not always the most beneficial trait for someone running a restaurant.

Dominic Hargan (Nikolai Nikolaeff)  

The Wanderer. Prankster. Likes To Kill a Mockingbird.

• Color: White
• Zord: Rhino
• Signature Weapon: Rhino Blade
• Strength: 10
• Smarts: 5
• Coolness factor: 3

Dominic once attended the Pai Zhua academy, but when it became clear that he was unsettled in his life there, Master Mao sent him away to find his own path. He wandered the world searching for meaning until he arrives in Ocean Bluff and learns of Dai Shi’s escape and the existence of the Jungle Fury Rangers. He realizes that this is what he’s meant to do and asks the Rangers to allow him on their team. Though they are initially unsure, especially Casey, he proves himself to them and becomes the White Rhino Ranger. He has a tendency to be unserious and a little bit of a screw-up, but his heart is always in the right place and he is at least a little bit more competent than he seems at first glance. Only a bit though.

The Team

This season’s suits are very athletic-inspired, which I’m not a huge fan of. Nor am I a fan of the black accents, though I do like how the three primary Rangers’ patterns are all based on their respective cats. It’s a nice touch. On the other hand, R.J.’s design is just too casual for my taste, and Dominic’s is very bland. Casey, Theo, and Lily do also get the Jungle Master Mode upgrades to their suits, which I like a whole lot better, with the white accents instead of black and the vents on the sides for maneuvering jets that aid in their mobility. Form and function!

The core three Rangers this season are all great, and they have excellent chemistry with each other and with R.J. R.J. himself is great, too, slotting into the mentor/team member role like Tommy did in Dino Thunder, but without needing to be taken out of commission midway through the season. If there’s a weak link in the team, it’s Dominic, who just isn’t really a team player and never really clicks with the group. Even then though, he’s a fun contrast and has just enough going on that he doesn’t drag things down when he gets the focus.

Ranger Ranker:

1. R.J. – R.J. is just a fun-loving guy who keeps things light, even in the worst of times. I can’t help but be charmed by someone who is able to come up with a faux-meaningful, pithy saying at the drop of a hat. +2871 pts
2. Lily – The sensible, put-together one among a bunch of high-strung weirdos. She’s the glue of the group and she knows it. +2732 pts
3. Theo – I empathize a lot with Theo and his overachieving lack of focus. He just tries so hard all the time and never ever gets what he wants and that’s kind of precious. +2589 pts
4. Casey – He’s just a baaaaaaaby. He’s so small and useless and out of his depth and his face is the face of a little baaaaaaaby. In a good way, I promise. +2337 pts
5. Dominic – He’s obnoxious and causes all sorts of friction, but never in a way that makes me hate him. He’s just that kind of guy. I rank him last, but that’s really just because everyone else is that good and he’s just kind of also there. +1984 pts

I genuinely like everyone on the team this season. Even Dom, the weakest character for me, has his moments. Everyone is fun, has great chemistry, and carries their weight, narratively and physically. There’s no one this season who I got sick of seeing getting screentime, and everyone got a fair bit of development and depth.

“Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!”

As the morph sequence starts, the Rangers put on their Cool Glasses and strike a pose. They manipulate some energy as their animal spirit forms around them, turning into their suits and helmets. Finally, a bunch of images of themselves in various poses appear behind them as the morph completes. I find this morph sequence to be a bit much. There’s just so much going on, the energy manipulation looks kind of silly and all the different posing versions of the Rangers going on behind them is just so, so extra. It’s high energy in a bad way. In a really strong season, the morph sequence might be the weakest element.

Overall Team Score: 4410 pts!

Gear

Solar Morpher

Cooooooooool shades. So cool. ‘Nuff said.

+1337 pts

Strike Rider

Instead of a battleizer, Casey’s American-only power-up is the Strike Rider, a cool bike that also comes with shoulder armor for some reason. Also the bike bites people.

-20 pts

Claw Cannon

The claw cannon must be charged by two animal spirits and fired by a third. Usually this is the Rangers’ three animal spirits, but one time Casey’s animal spirit is weakened and he needs a child with Tiger Spirit to help him.

+101 pts

Zords

Animal Spirits

According to Pai Zhua teachings, everyone has their own animal spirit inside them. By joining with their animal spirits, the Rangers can grow their spirits to “ginormous” proportions into Zords, which they can combine into a Megazord. When each Ranger trains with a Pai Zhua master, they also gain access to their master’s animal spirit, which can augment the Megazord and let them use their master’s technique and weaponry. Also, somehow R.J. can summon wolf versions of the Jaguar and Tiger, allowing him to form a Megazord all on its own. This isn’t really ever explained.

We’re back to a three-Zord Megazord, which is never my favorite, but the Master Spirits are at least an interesting take on the auxiliary Zord. They augment the Megazord rather than replacing parts of it,⁹ and the use of the Master’s weapons in each form is a nice throughline. 

Coolness of Animal

1. Elephant – Elephants are great, meteor hammers are great, two great tastes… +1000 pts
2. Cheetah – Cheetahs are the best Big Cat and I will hear no disagreement. +777 pts
3. Shark – Chomp chomp chomp chomp. I like the little shark pose the Megazord does every time it uses this spirit, too. +651 pts
4. Bat – Yes Father, I shall become a giant robot. +599 pts
5. Tiger – …Hey there sure are a lot of cats on this team, huh? +320 pts
6. Jaguar – Like, too many cats? Or the exact right amount of cats. The world may never know. +100 pts

Jungle Pride Megazord

Primary Weapon: Fists

Finishing Move: Savage Spin – The Megazord’s torso spins around like a tornado while the Megazord charges the enemy.

Wolf Pride Megazord

Primary Weapon: Shin Blade¹⁰

Finishing Move: Spin Fury – The Megazord shifts its blade to its foot, then kicks it at the enemy, where it cuts through them multiple times.

Total (group) score: +680 pts

Spirit Master Spirits

After traveling to the spirit world to train with the Spirit Masters, the Rangers gain access to their animal spirits as well. These three spirits can combine into the Jungle Master Megazord, which can also combine with each of the Masters’ spirits of the Bat, Shark, and Elephant in a similar fashion to the Jungle Pride Megazord.

Honestly, this Megazord feels extremely similar to the Jungle Pride Megazord. It’s a little bulkier and is stronger, but functions much the same, especially with R.J. often piloting the Wolf Pride Megazord right next to it. It does have the benefit of being composed of much more fun animals. And a gorilla I guess.

Coolness of Animal

1. Penguin – It’s got a little hoverboard! Why does it have a hoverboard? Why is it so dang cute? So many questions for which the answer doesn’t matter because this Zord is just that amazing. +2000 pts
2. Antelope – Sure, antelopes are great and all, graceful and whatever, but do they ride hoverboards? I think not. +527 pts
3. Gorilla – This is like, the third gorilla Zord of the series. It’s not all that special, is what I’m saying. +333 pts

Jungle Master Megazord

Primary Weapon: FISTS!

Finishing Move: Fury Fists – The Megazord windmills its arms around while charging the enemy, smashing them multiple times.

Total (group) score: +721 pts

Rhino Steel Zord

The Rhino Steel Zord is an ancient Zord, sealed away 10,000 years ago at the Rhino Nexus, a massive tree in the Jungle of Spirits. It’s encased in stone, only to be released by the Control Dagger, which conveniently enough, Dom was given by Master Mao prior to his going a-wandering. It doesn’t combine with the other Zords, though it is able to carry the other Zords on its back when in Stampede formation. It can transition to Warrior Mode, where it uses a sword and shield and also ice powers for some reason.

Coolness of Animal

The rhino is pretty cool. I like how the horn can grow and shrink as necessary. How many opinions do I really need to have on animals? It’s not like they’re something important, like dinosaurs.

Rhino Warrior Mode

In Warrior Mode, the Rhino Steel Zord is an armored knight. It’s big and hulking and slow, but powerful. Also its helmet can open and close, which is kind of fun. 

Score: +450 pts

Mentors/Allies

Robert “R.J.” James

Like Tommy before him, R.J. serves as mentor in addition to being a Ranger. As a mentor, he is unconventional, but creative, coming up with offbeat or even confusing methods to teach his students the lessons they need to learn. Plus, he owns the pizza place where they all work/live/hang out, so he’s their boss in civilian clothes, too. Although he is a pretty forgiving boss, especially since they have to run out and abandon their jobs so often to go, you know, save the world. He’s very offbeat and unusual, pretty much embodying the idea that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Which is good, because the cover is really, really weird.

+3285 pts

Fran

Fran starts out as one of R.J.’s regular customers, but is quickly¹¹ hired to mind the shop when the Rangers have to run off to do Ranger Business. Later, she discovers the Ranger’s secret and is brought in as R.J.’s assistant and the Rangers’ confidante. She’s got a lot of heart and is unafraid to give the Rangers a talking to when they’re getting too in their own heads about things. She also has more than a little of a crush on Dominic.

+1029 pts

Pai Zhua Masters/Spirit Rangers

To advance in their martial arts, the Rangers must seek out the three remaining living Pai Zhua masters, Master Phant, Master Swoop, and Master Finn. Each Ranger pairs off with one of the masters and learns their techniques – Lily from Master Phant, Theo from Master Swoop, and Casey from Master Finn. Dai Shi later captures the masters and uses the Crystal Eyes to turn their animal spirits into evil Rangers – the Spirit Rangers.¹² Once the Rangers rescue their masters though, they gain the ability to summon the Spirit Rangers in battle from their masters’ spirits. Also, the Masters can use their animal spirits to transform into animal/human hybrids, but maybe it’s best not to look to deeply into that.

+896 pts

Random Citizens Lightning Round!

Dr. Jennings

Dr. Jennings is an archaeologist with a research center named after her. Casey has to convince her to give up her life’s work, the Crystal Eyes because they’re incredibly dangerous artifacts containing the Phantom Beasts. She’s fun and perky!

+1000 pts

Maryl

Maryl is a totally different lady scientist who Dominic has to convince to give up her life’s work, some kind of monkey cloning serum. She doesn’t trust easily and is not impressed by Dom’s crush on her.

+999 pts

Jimmy

Jimmy is one of Casey’s students who gets bullied, but he’s got the spirit of the tiger inside of him. He’s very special and has to help bolster Casey’s tiger spirit when it gets damaged or something by the Phantom Beast Whiger.

-12 pts

Luen

Theo has a twin! Who is his thematic foil and opposite in every way! I don’t know, I just like twin plots.

+222 pts

The Baddies

The baddies of this season all fought in the great Beast War of 10,000 years ago in various fashions – Dai Shi was the leader, but the Overlords and the Phantom Beasts fought alongside him and several of them blame Dai Shi for their ultimate failure in the War.

The Big Bad: Dai Shi – Master of Beasts

Dai Shi begins the season heavily weakened from 10,000 years of being sealed away, followed by being stuck inside a lowly human body. He requires harvested fear to become more powerful and training in the martial arts to bring his strength back to what it once was. So it is that over the course of the season, we bring in the Overlords and then the Phantom Beasts to train and bolster his forces. It’s an interesting angle on a villain, to have other villains as his “master” and it’s a dynamic that leads to a lot of interesting inter-villain conflict. Dai Shi’s camp is often fraught with tension and power struggles, with factions forming and breaking and backstabbing and doubt. Dai Shi must prove himself again and again to stay in power, and he can’t trust anyone, save the ever loyal Camille.

Dai Shi works really well as a villain. He’s not all-powerful, he’s not terrifying to his generals, he’s just a guy, often struggling to maintain power among those who doubt him. As much as the forces of good need to stop him, he’s often on the back foot when it comes to the forces of evil. The Overlords start out more powerful than he is, and it’s never quite clear whether he can truly trust the Phantom Beasts. He constantly needs to maneuver and grow stronger just to keep what’s his, and it often seems like nobody is truly on his side apart from Camille, who he can’t or won’t show any regard for, lest it be seen as weakness. He’s ultimately a very human villain, which is appropriate since he’s possessing the very human Jarrod. It’s a unique take on villainy and I think it’s one that goes over quite positively.

Score: +6837 pts

Henches

Camille

Camille is Dai Shi’s most loyal servant, and also has been around for 10,000 years? Just chilling I guess? She has the spirit of the chameleon and is able to invisibly camouflage herself, and later gains the spirit of the phoenix from the Phantom Beasts. She cares deeply about Dai Shi and his well being, a feeling that is not reciprocated. Ultimately, she ends up siding with Jarrod against Dai Shi, as Jarrod is the only one who ever actually cared for her.

+1000 pts

Flit

Not technically a villain, he just is stuck to Camille due to some kind of vore curse. Flit used to be a human, but was turned into a fly monster by ancient larva dust. He’s a Megazord fanboy, often coming out to commentate on the Megazord fights.

+299 pts

The Three Overlords

Carnisoar, the Sky Overlord, Jellica, the Sea Overlord, and Grizzaka, the Land Overlord, are three deceased beast spirits, brought back to life by Dai Shi and Camille to serve as teachers for Dai Shi. They do this reluctantly, as they blame Dai Shi for failing in the Beast War 10,000 years ago, and now are concerned that Dai Shi inhabits the body of a lowly human.

+510 pts

Phantom Beasts

Powerful beasts trapped for eons in the crystal eyes, the Phantom Beasts are led by Whiger, the white tiger, Snapper, the turtle, and Scorch, the dragon. They are fickle, turning on Jellica, who freed them in favor of Dai Shi, but then later betray him when it becomes clear that Jarrod’s humanity is taking hold in Dai Shi.

+998 pts

Fodder

Rinshi

The Rinshi are based on Chinese Jiangshi hopping vampires and move around by hopping. Various Rinshi will be granted animal spirits, which turns them into monsters and gives them a personality. They’re also just kind of fun to watch hopping around.

+592 pts

Monsters

The monsters this season are all animal-themed, often with the face of the animal that they are based on on their chests. Many of them are transformed Rinshi, and have a Rinshi form and a monster form.

Monsters That Are Good (According to Me)

Gakko

Gakko is fun because he walks on the sides of buildings, Batman-style and makes fun of Theo for not being able to do the same. That’s pretty much his whole evil deal. Standing around on the side of buildings being catty. I love it.

Pangolin

He doesn’t even have a pun name, it’s just the literal name of an animal. That’s great. Also he has impenetrable armor and can use his tongue to sense the fault lines of the earth and cause earthquakes.

Barakouzza

Barakouzza is based on the archerfish and he’s a cowboy fish with giant waterguns. That’s it, enough said.

Badrat and Rammer

Badrat and Rammer are a pair of villains who use magic dust to steal people and trap them in tiny rat traps. Also they do rhymes at each other, so that’s fun.

THE FINAL SCORE

We now begin the completely transparent scoring system, where I give a value (in Pts) to each of the major elements, and I also get to decide what those are. And also how much they have accrued in Bonus Points(pts) up to now.

• The Team:  900 Pts 
  • Individual: As I’ve said, everyone is great this season. They are all fun people to watch and they fit their niches really well. 755 tPts 
  • Together: Everyone has great chemistry too. The main three work really well as a trio and the extra Rangers fit into that dynamic nicely. 900 tPts 
  • Leader: Casey struggles with being the leader as the newest of the group, but that’s part of his charm, I think. 450 tPts 
• The Zords: 600 Pts
  • Individual: Despite starting out with mainly three indistinguishable cats, the Zords end up differentiating themselves well, and there’s a penguin on a hoverboard, so how bad can things be? 500 zPts
  • Megazords: On the other hand, the Megazords are a bit same-y, especially with the auxiliary Zords being interchangeable between the two Megazords. 350 zPts
• The Villains: 2000 Pts
  • Leader: I love that Dai Shi has his own training arc going on at the same time as the Rangers. It really makes the momentum of the season into something tangible. 5000 vPts
  • Henchmen: While I hesitate to call any of them truly henchmen, other than Camille, the side villains of the season are all great and the theming is top notch. 3000 vPts
  • Fodder: *hop hop hop hop hop* 500 vPts 
• The Monsters: You would think that a purely animal-based theming would get old, but it actually doesn’t. The monsters remain interesting all the way through to the end. 3000 Pts 
• Story: Between the Jarrod/Dai Shi conflict and the Rangers’ path to masterhood, the story really hums the whole way through, with no real lulls or false starts. 2000 Pts 

After totalling all the scores for each section and normalizing the results according to the secret formulae that definitely exist and are not a screen to get me out of having to think about scores ever at all:

Power Rangers Jungle Fury: 17,874 Power Points

Let’s see the rankings!

Power Rangers Seasons, Ranked

1. Power Rangers in Space – 25,000 PPs
2. Power Rangers Dino Thunder – 24,952 PPs
3. Power Rangers Time Force – 24,859 PPs
4. Power Rangers Zeo – 19,096 PPs
5. Power Rangers S.P.D. – 17,999 PPs
6. Power Rangers Jungle Fury – 17,874 PPs
7. Power Rangers Mystic Force – 17,512 PPs
8. Power Rangers Ninja Storm – 17,207 PPs
9. Power Rangers Lost Galaxy – 14,212 PPs
10. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Season 3 – 13,097 PPs
11. Mighty Morphin’ Alien Rangers – 13,001 PPs
12. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Season 2 – 12,198 PPs
13. Power Rangers Turbo – 10,519 PPs
14. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Season 1 – 10,518 PPs
15. Power Rangers Wild Force – 10,377 PPs
16. Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue – 10,248 PPs
17. Power Rangers Operation Overdrive – 8,410 PPs

A really solid showing from a season I had always kind of seen as an underdog. But like I said, it’s consistently good, just never quite as great as some of the higher ranked seasons. Nothing to be ashamed of though, and I would definitely call this a season worth watching.

That’s it from me for now! No news in the greater Power Rangers sphere other than the constant hanging threat promise of a new MMPR series on the horizon. Come back next time for more Ranger Ranker with The One with the Post-Apocalypse!

1. This timeline makes… not a ton of sense, as 10,000 years ago is basically prehistoric in terms of human development, falling squarely in the neolithic era. At least when Mighty Morphin did 10,000 years for its backstory, aliens were involved. ↩︎
2. The name is spelled as both “Pai Zhua” and “Pai Zhuq” in official materials, but many believe the “Zhuq” spelling to be the result of a typo, since it has no real etymological basis in the Chinese that the school is based on. I’m choosing to use the “Zhua” spelling because it doesn’t look dang stupid and matches what the characters actually say. ↩︎
3. Which I remind you, makes little to no historical sense ↩︎
4. Who were, again, neolithic hunter-gatherers ↩︎
5. This is not a part of the Pai Zhua tradition, it’s just a cool separate thing that R.J. had made, just in case. ↩︎
6. Based off of the Four Auspicious Beasts of Chinese mythology ↩︎
7. Remember how Purpose was important last installment? Still important. ↩︎
8. Get it? ↩︎
9. Although R.J.’s Wolf does replace Lily’s Cheetah as the right leg ↩︎
10. Like literally a blade on its shin, not like “shin” the Japanese word for “new” ↩︎
11. and unceremoniously ↩︎
12. The Spirit Rangers are a rare occurrence of American-only Rangers, last seen with Lightspeed Rescue’s Titanium Ranger ↩︎