What Power Rangers Mean To Me
“Once a ranger, always a ranger”
Since I was little, I have always been obsessed with Power Rangers. I had a Mighty Morphin’ red ranger suit. I collected a bunch of toy Megazords. It was my “treasure” at that time, even my lil’ bro couldn’t get a hold of it cause I forbid it.
This year commemorates the 30th year of the show running, and they produced a Netflix 1-hour special: “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always”. I get to reminisce on my childhood superheroes and experience a great trip down memory lane. So in this story, I just wanna talk about everything related to Power Rangers from my personal perspective.
1. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always Review
Let’s start with the Netflix movie. I just watched it yesterday, and I’m gonna be honest… I like it. I watch a lot of Mighty Morphin when I was a kid, and seeing the suit in HD makes me a happy man. On top of that, I get to see my favorite character again. We got Billy, Rocky, and Kat.
I must admit, storywise… it’s a lil’ bit flat and predictable. But I guess I can tolerate it since it’s Power Ranger. You don’t need a complicated story. I respect the writers who wrote the story of the passing of the Yellow Ranger, Trini. The actor who played Trini actually passed away years ago. Death is such a heavy topic for a Power Rangers storyline, but the way the plotline goes, it is light enough for us to digest without diminishing the essence they’re trying to convey.
This movie is full-on nostalgia. We’ve got Rita, Alpha, a continuation of Zordon’s sacrifice, Bulk & Skull poster, Walter’s break dance fight, Adam and Aisha, and a bunch of name drops. It’s a solid 6/10 movie for me, just because it holds a very fond memory.
2. Tommy Oliver
Tommy is an iconic character in the Power Ranger franchise and is my favorite character of all time. My favorite series is Zeo, and he’s the red ranger. I used to run around shouting “I am Tommy! It’s Morphin time! Red Zeo Ranger!”. All Power Rangers fans must know Tommy, which makes all of us also know the actor, the famous Jason David Frank.
For the longest time, JDF has always been associated as THE ranger. Whatever the occasion is, I can’t portray him other than as a Power Ranger. All the more, after his retirement, he joins MMA. It just solidifies that he IS a real-life Power Ranger in my mind.
But sadly, he passed away last year. I believe many Power Ranger fans are heartbroken when they hear the news as much as I do. Even the greatest ranger of all time… can be broken. He is still human, not this strong man I’ve always portrayed him as. I pray that may he finds peace now in the afterlife. So Tommy… don’t forget to play the green dragon flute up there in heaven, will you?
3. The Search Of A Megazord
As I said earlier, I collected Megazord toys when I was a child. My most precious one is the Zeo Megazord. I also got the Ninja Megazord, White Tiger Zord, Turbo Megazord, and Astro Megazord. But… there’s one that I haven’t got my hand onto… and it’s been haunting me since my childhood. It’s the Mighty Morphin original Megazord.
It has been “duri dalam sukma” since then. I know that I MUST have it. It’s for lil’ Ferdi. Finally, the moment is here. Daizyujin is one click away in the online marketplace. But it’s so expensive, so I’m trying to save up money at the moment. It’s just a matter of time my friend… matter of time. One day, I promise you’d be ended up in my hand.
4. Tattoo
I’ve been thinking to get a tattoo recently, and a Power Rangers tattoo is one of the candidates to become one of the firsts. Yes… that’s how much I love Power Rangers. I’ve been thinking of the “Thunder” logo on my wrist, what do you think?
5. “We Only See The Color”
One thing that I realized is how differently we perceived the show when we were kids. No… I’m not talking about the cheesy lines or awkward stands, I’m talking about the “color”. Power Rangers is one of the, if not the only shows that include diversity and inclusivity in that era. For every set of Power Rangers, there’s always at least one Asian, African-American, or maybe other ethnicities. But the thing is… I only see from that point of view when I became an adult. Back when I was a kid, I’d never thought about such things. For me back then, they are just… people — who can transform into cool superheroes. Adam is just a “green ranger”. Now I can’t help but think that he is a “green ranger who is by chance an Asian”.
It really is fascinating for me to see how innocent a child’s mind is. Before it gets “corrupted” in a way as they are growing up, and ended up with the inability to go back to the way they used to see things. A child doesn’t the “color” on their skin, they just see the color on the suit.
So I guess that’s all I can share with you regarding my love for Power Rangers. Hope you’d be entertained by reading this story. Bye 👋 Go Go Power Rangers!
A proud Ranger fan,
Ferzos
