Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Welcome to the Jungle Part 1

Welcome friends, to the start of a brand new retrospective. As I said when we covered Power Rangers/TMNT, I have been wanting to cover Power Rangers in greater detail for some time now, and it’s been a while since I’ve done a full series retrospective. However, while I would love to cover the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the series that I grew up with, one day, everyone starts with Mighty Morphin and I wanted to kick things off with a series that was A. Shorter and B. More story driven. That in mind, welcome my friends to Power Rangers Jungle Fury, the sixteenth Power Rangers season from 2008. I did not grow up with this series nor did I watch it during its initial run. Instead, I discovered it while I was in college, right around the same time I rediscovered Gargoyles as it happens, and upon watching it, it very quickly became one of my favorites for its great characters, complex villains and incredible fight scenes. However, that’s all stuff we’ll be getting into over the course of the retrospective. Right now, let’s get into the show.

Despite the fact that our first episode is entitled Welcome to the Jungle, Guns N’ Roses is nowhere to be heard over the course of this show. That having been said, the theme song for Jungle Fury is so awesome I don’t even mind. Seriously, as Power Rangers theme songs go, this bad boy is second only to the epic and, in my opinion, untouchable, Ron Wasserman rock masterpiece that is the original Go Go Power Rangers. I love how the song starts off slow with these soft jungle rhythms and then BOOM, we’re hit right in the face with that sick opening guitar riff! We are off to a great start already.

The show opens properly with some really cool narration which introduces us to the Pai Zhuq Order of the Claw, a secret order of Kung Fu masters sworn to fight against evil and specialize in teaching their students to utilize the power of their animal spirits in combat. At the moment, six students are sat before their teacher, Master Mao. Among them are Lily, who is none too pleased about how long they’ve been sitting there, and Theo, who seems annoyed by Lily’s apparent lack of discipline. Anywho, the master says that these six are the best in their class, but he only needs three. So, to determine who will be assigned a special and as of yet unknown task, the six will each compete in one on one matches. Something that very quickly becomes apparent here is that the fight choreography here is some of the best in the franchise. This does not look like a typical Power Rangers fight scene but rather something out of a Jackie Chan movie, which I suppose is the point since this season has a heavy emphasis on martial arts and likely drew inspiration from such sources. In any case, both Theo and Lily win their matches, each unleashing their animal spirits during the match, a blue jaguar and a yellow cheetah respectively, which manifest as glowing apparitions. The last to win his match is Jarrod, who also unleashes his own animal spirit, a large black and gold Lion, but does so after his opponent is defeated and helpless, something Mao takes note of. As Mao tells the three victors to join him in the great hall of the dojo later that evening, Jarrod berates a younger student for not bringing him a towel. Jarrod is clearly a skilled fighter, but he’s got one hell of an attitude problem. Before Jarrod hurts the kid, one of the other trainees, Casey, brings Jarrod the towel he requested. Jarrod decides to start pushing Casey around, but Casey manages to unleash his own animal spirit, a tiger, and knock Jarrod on his ass. This also seems to catch the attention of Master Mao.

Later, in the great hall, the students meet up as instructed, though Theo and Lily are surprised to see Casey there instead of Jarrod. Mao leads the three to the forbidden room. As Mao explains, Jarrod has been booted out of the academy because he’s an arrogant prick. Mao has seen that Casey is willing to stand up for others and has noted his potential, and so has chosen him for this most important task. Mao further exposits that ten thousand years ago there was a great evil named Dai Shi who believed that animals should rule the planet and humans should be erased. Brave warriors who were able to master their animal spirits fought against the Dai Shi and sealed him away in a magic box, the same box that sits on an alter in this very room. Casey, Theo and Lily have been chosen to be the new guardians of Dai Shi. Well, that’s pretty heavy, especially since Casey has only been there for a week. However, before Mao can continue, a furious Jarrod barges in, saying that Mao can’t just kick him out for no reason. Mao agrees, but as established, he had a reason, Jarrod is an arrogant prick. Jarrod tries to attack Mao, but Mao isn’t called master because he likes to menace The Doctor and easily wipes the floor with Jarrod, all while holding what I’m certain is a very heavy box. Unfortunately, when the Master’s back is turned, Jarrod unleashes his Lion Spirit, catching the master off guard just enough for him to drop the box, unleashing Dai Shi. Well shit, it’s only their first day and already Theo, Lily and Casey’s new job has gotten a whole hell of a lot harder. Dai Shi is unleashed, appearing as an amorphous cloud of darkness. Dai Shi kills Mao and fucks off, declaring the others not to be worth his time. With his dying breath, Mao instructs his students to head to the nearby town of Ocean Bluff where they’ll meet their new master, and reminds them that they are now the world’s only chance before disappearing like Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope.

Later, in the woods, we see Jarrod running for his life when he hears a mysterious voice calling his name.

The address given to the students by Master Mao leads them to a pizza restaurant called Jungle Karma Pizza. After a cringeworthy and very racist scene in which the trio mistakes an elderly Asian man for their new master, our heroes meet the proprietor of this establishment, who is presently covered in pizza dough and talking like a hippie who just smoked a ton of weed. This is RJ, and RJ is my favorite character in the entire Power Rangers franchise. Yes, I know, just trust me, it will make sense very soon. Theo is ready to bail, but Casey and Lily are hungry and since they’re already in a pizza restaurant, they may as well grab a few slices while they’re waiting.

Meanwhile, in a creepy castle somewhere, Dai Shi, now having clearly possessed Jarrod but for some reason the show is keeping it a secret, (Seriously, he’s in the damn theme song, who do these people thinks they’re kidding) is seen summoning his foot soldiers, the Rinshi. I love these guys. As Power Rangers villain foot soldiers go, the Rinshi are definitely top tier and the Chinese vampire inspiration was a very nice touch. Dai Shi singles out one of the Rinshi and attaches a talisman shaped like a mantis to its forehead, allowing it to take on a more powerful form and granting it the ability to speak. We’re also introduced to Camille, Dai Shi’s second in command, a beautiful woman who is apparently part Chameleon. Dai Shi orders the Mantis Rinshi to lead a raid on the city and spread as much fear as possible.

Back at Jungle Karma Pizza, our heroes, even the grumpy and stubborn Theo, have to admit, RJ makes one hell of a pizza. RJ is grateful for the praise and randomly offers these three strange teenagers who wandered in off the streets wearing what most would assume to be pajamas job at his restaurant… trust me, it will all make sense in a minute, but Theo rather rudely refuses since they have more important things to do than wash dishes and wait tables. The more practical minded Lily reminds Theo that they’re living in the real world now, and they’re going to need money to survive, so maybe getting a job wouldn’t be such a bad idea. However, before the teens can accept RJ’s offer, a commotion is heard outside. The Rinshi army has reached the city.

Our heroes head out to fight the monsters, and while they are highly skilled, against an army of Chinese vampires they’re both outnumbered and overpowered, especially once the Mantis Rinshi reveals its true form, that of a monstrous humanoid Mantis creature that easily takes down our three heroes. However, before the monster can finish off the trio, RJ stands in its way, telling the teens that their first lesson is that you can’t judge a book by its cover. RJ then reveals a tattoo of the symbol of the Order of the Claw. RJ is the master, and he demonstrates his prowess by easily taking down the Rinshi battalion and even throwing some kind of Ki blast at the giant mantis. I’ll say again, RJ is my favorite character in the entire Power Rangers franchise, and yes, that includes Tommy Oliver.

The Mantis Beast is injured, but still alive as it returns to Dai Shi in shame. Camille suggests destroying the Mantis, but it appears Dai Shi believes in second chances and gives his monster another opportunity to attack the city, only this time, Camille will accompany it, Camille taking on a more reptilian armored form before departing.

Our heroes return to Jungle Karma where we meet Fran, RJ’s best customer. I have a lot of opinions on this character, but they’re better left for later episodes. Right now, we see that Fran is a good natured, if not neurotic young woman who really likes pizza and talks very fast to the point where RJ needs to remind her to breath.

Anywho, RJ shows our heroes their new digs, a sweet loft apartment above the pizza place. RJ tells the teens that what’s his is theirs, except his chair. No one sits in RJ’s chair, it’s off limits. RJ presents our heroes with some new outfits, some sweet martial arts jackets that match their future ranger colors. RJ also has a series of televisions hooked up to monitor the city in case of trouble. Good God, this man is some kind of weird Kung fu stoner Batman and I am very much here for it. We see on those monitors that the Rinshi are back, but before the trio can spring into action, RJ has a gift for them to help even the odds, three pairs of sunglasses which he refers to as Solar Morphers. RJ informs our heroes that these will allow the trio to channel their animal spirits through the Morphin Grid in order to become Power Rangers. In a very cute moment, the ordinarily serious and stoic Theo reacts with uncharacteristic childlike excitement and admits that he’s wanted to be a Power Ranger since he was a little kid.

There’s a curious line of dialogue from RJ that I’d like to unpack here. RJ says that the Ranger Powers are not part of the Order of the Claw, and incorporating the powers into the order’s mission was RJ’s idea. We never get a concrete answer as to where RJ got his hands on Ranger tech beyond “I know a guy who knows a guy” but I have a few theories. First is that RJ got the tech from Tommy, who was working on developing new Ranger tech for the next generation during Dino Thunder. The second is that RJ knew someone who had connections with Operation Lightspeed, the government organization that the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers worked for. Either way, our heroes have Morphers now, so you all know what time it is.

IT’S MORPHIN TIME!!

Indeed as the theme song swells, our heroes run into battle and Theo and Lily morph. This morphing sequence is pretty dope. Our heroes strike some sick martial arts poses while yelling “JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASH” before seemingly merging with their animal spirits. With the Speed of a Cheetah, Lily is the Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger. With the Stealth of a Jaguar, Theo is the Jungle Fury Blue Ranger.

I don’t know if I’d necessarily call the Jungle Fury costumes my favorites, but they’re definitely have a much appreciated unique feel to them, appearing like track suits with helmets resembling their animal spirits. Casey tries to follow suit, but finds he is unable to morph like the others, likely due to his comparative lack of experience. Fortunately, Lily and Theo seem to be doing alright on their own, utilizing their new found strength, agility, and enhanced animal spirit powers to easily outfight the Rinshi horde. Casey spots Fran about to be attacked by the Mantis beast and tries to morph again, but unfortunately is overwhelmed by Rinshi before he can, leading to a To Be Continued.

I don’t want to say too much until after we’ve covered part 2, but so far, Welcome to the Jungle is a very strong start to the season that gives us a great sense of our characters and the threat they face. As I said, the fight choreography is a cut above other Power Rangers seasons, leading to some excellent action sequences. Our heroes are all likable, even if Theo’s overly serious and stubborn attitude can make him come across as a bit of a jerk, especially when he’s reminding Casey of his inexperience. But let's talk about the real star of the show, at least as far as I'm concerned. Remember way back when we covered Gargoyles and I took every opportunity to gush about Xanatos? Yeah, that's going to be RJ for this retrospective, get used to it. RJ makes a great first impression in this episode. Without foreknowledge of the show, one might initially think that he’s the designated comic relief character a la Bulk and Skull, but he quickly demonstrates that he is a very capable fighter and a total badass. In addition, it’s also hinted that RJ is very intelligent and skilled with technology since he was able to create the Solar Morphers and incorporate the spiritual power practiced by the Order of the Claw into them. I have other thoughts, but for the time being, think we should save them for part 2. I hoped you enjoyed our first look at Power Rangers Jungle Fury and until next time, May The Power Protect You.