Its 25 years from when Power Rangers first hit our screens. Using footage from Japan’s legendary Super Sentai series. Inter-cut with a group of plucky teenagers surviving high school life, it was an instant hit.
Power Rangers has spawned 20 versions, a few movies, videogames, a web-series, conventions and more plastic toys than the eyes can see.
To celebrate this momentous occasion Power Rangers super fan Kallen Daynes rates his series of choice from worst to best.
In Part 1 we’ll go from 20 to 11.
The Rules:
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Ninja Steel/Super Ninja Steel will not be included as there’s still approximately 20 episodes to air as at time of publication.
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Mighty Morphin’ Alien Rangers will also not be included as it’s 10 episodes, and not a full Season. If I had to rate it, it would be very low on this list. If I were to include it in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Season 3 it would just drag it down.
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The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers original 3 seasons will also be counted as separate entities, due to the significant changes each season.
20 – Power Rangers Megaforce / Power Rangers Super Megaforce
Terrible acting, one dimensional characters, and lack of character development make this the worst Power Rangers season by far. Ridiculous fan service in Super Megaforce just about makes it watchable, though the 20th anniversary special is a complete let down for fans and a missed opportunity.
Verdict: This is not worth watching unless as a drinking game.
19 – Power Rangers Samurai / Power Rangers Super Samurai
Much like what made Megaforce bad but Deker is a fantastic character and probably the best villain in the last ten years (although the less said about the actor the better). This season was adapted from a far superior Sentai season “Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.” It’s a also a great place to start if you never watched Super Sentai and find Power Rangers too light hearted.
Verdict: Watch the Sentai, skip the Rangers.
18 – Power Rangers Operation Overdrive
Time to stop ripping on the “Neo-Saban era” and rip on some Disney era, it was a hard choice which was better out of this and Samurai, weak characters and a badly handled ‘Indiana Jones’ style plot make this series worth a skip for the most point. Fearcats are awesome villains though sadly lacking in screen time in favour of more bland villains. “Once a Ranger” is an alright anniversary episode and far superior to Megaforce’s attempt.
Verdict: A solid pass on this one, except for “Once a Ranger”
17 – Power Rangers Turbo
The first of the original “Saban era” Power Rangers shows to feature. The villain of the week format gets stale and repetitive as Rangers attempt to track down various bombs left around town by bland forgettable villains. It gets better as it goes along but new characters get a rocky start and Justin and Divatrox are two of the worst Power Rangers characters of all time. The season finale is only reason this is as high as it is.
Verdict: Skip everything else and just watch “Chase into space”.
16 – Power Rangers Mystic Force
Magic is an interesting concept and adds a light refreshing idea to the season, though it copies a lot of what made S.P.D a really good season. It is let down from a very unlike-able and a contender for the worst red ranger of all time, who receives way too much screen time and back story to no avail or actual character development “Dark wish” is an amazing standout episode though and “Broken Spell” is one of the better season openers though.
Verdict: Passable
15 – Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Ninja storm is the first of the Disney Era’ of Power Rangers, distancing itself from the previous series and taking on a light-hearted tone. Characters are generally likeable. Although the Thunder Rangers are at first badass, they lack meaningful backstory and Cam’s surprise family reveal falls flat and doesn’t add any value to the season.
Verdict: Meh
14 – Power Rangers Zeo
Original red ranger Jason makes a fantastic return as the gold ranger and we see a brilliant back and forth between him and Tommy in the fantastic “King for a Day”. We also get the sad departure of Billy and the heart-breaking break up between Tommy and Kimberly in “There’s No Business Like Snow Business Part 1”. The Machine Empire are a fantastic refresh to the line up of villains, and add a fantastic blend of humour and darkness, for villain mix that’s not too silly.
Verdict: Worth a watch for fans of the Mighty Morphin’ era
13 – Power Rangers Dino Charge
The most recent entry on this list and the largest team so far with ten Rangers. All Rangers are very entertaining and well thought out, though some like James, Zenowing and Keeper could have been more developed. Despite this, the villains are an interesting mix of serious and lighter hearted adding up to a nice fun season, also it’s great to see Sledge return in Super Ninja Steel.
Verdict: A fun season but don’t expect anything more!
12 – Mighty Morphin Season 3
Not quite as strong as the first two seasons, although there was a significant improvement in production quality. Rito and Master Vile make fantastic additions to the villain line up. Ninja quest is a fantastic arc and features one of the saddest Power Ranger scenes of all time. It’s sad to see Kimberley leave but Kat makes a brilliant new pink ranger even if her introduction as an actual cat is a bit too cringe even for my taste.
Verdict: Cringe, but enjoyably so.
11 – Power Rangers Wild Force
Whilst not the darkest series of Power Rangers, Wild Force has some fantastic emotional moments including the season finale. Cole and Master Org’s backstory being one of the more touching moments in the franchise. The Zen-Aku arc also plays a brilliant tribute to Tommy’s introduction in Mighty Morphin’. “Reinforcements from the Future” and “Forever Red” are fantastic episodes playing tribute to the franchise as a whole.
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