I’ve been largely silent on this matter for quite a while, but for whatever it’s worth, I’d figure that I would give my thoughts on the current Ninja Storm run of Power Rangers; the first whole season to be released under the Disney era – though some would make a case for Wild Force actually being the first, but I’d consider that a transitional season of sorts; a passing of the guard, if you will.
So I saw about a dozen or so episodes of Ninja Storm… I think up until the Thunder Ranger guys joined the team. It feels like a regression of what came before. The last few seasons before this really kicked their storytelling into high gear; Time Force is often considered one of the best Power Rangers seasons due to its tight storytelling, well-rounded characters, and even its tease of mature content about as far as it could push on what is still considered to be kids stuff. And even Wild Force had its moments.
Ninja Storm dumps all of that and goes back to the simple, campy storytelling style of the early Power Rangers seasons. Granted, you have teenagers talking and acting like teenagers. That’s to be expected. You have a delightfully hammy villain in Lothor. A strange mentor figure – a talking gerbil – fills your Zordon quota… I don’t want to call it bad or anything… but it feels like when Doug Sloan came back to Power Rangers – he had been involved in the early MMPR stuff, which kinda explains a lot – he basically jettisoned the last several years of narrative progress and went back to basics. You know, the stuff that made Power Rangers a household name in the first place.
Bare in mind this is coming from someone who is a year away from hitting his twenties. I am probably the farthest thing from the target audience that this series that I’ve followed since (almost) the very beginning is largely aimed towards. I’m sure that whatever Doug Sloan does here and in subsequent series going forward, he’s doing what he feels is best to try and maintain that young audience. For the older fans, however, who have seen the series evolve past those early days of camp and simplicity, Ninja Storm may very well feel like ten steps back and while some can easily accept the new paradigm and even grow to love it, it might be a hard sell for others.
Right now, Ninja Storm does feel a bit juvenile, but maybe it’s less a series issue and more a matter of I’m getting older and maybe this stuff isn’t for me anymore. That’s when it hits you.
This was something I wanted to get on written word. Who knows? I may feel differently down the road, but for now, those are my thoughts on Ninja Storm. Wish everyone there nothing but the best and hope I can give this show another chance when it’s over.
dtm666 