Before I start, I'd like to thank NinjaJack for welcoming me into the G.K.A. family.
I'll admit that before I watched the premiere of Jungle Fury, I did not have high expectations. Like a lot of people, I was pretty disappointed with the previous season, Operation Overdrive, and wasn't sure whether or not this season would be more of the same thing. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised with how the first two episodes went. I will admit that it while it wasn't the best season of Power Rangers I've ever seen, it definitely wasn't the worst.
Here were what I thought were the strong points of Jungle Fury:
- Decent Storyline: Even if the idea of a secret martial arts organization purposed in training young warriors (in this case, the Order of the Claw) to fight evil may sound pretty cliche, it really seemed to work here.
- Cool Mentor: The JF Rangers' mentor, RJ, is simultaneously wise, powerful, and extremely funny.
- Awesome Villain: For the first time in a very long time, I feel that Dai Shi is truly a worthy villain for the show. He's not goofy, he's not a pushover, and he has this very Lord Zedd-esque scariness about him.
- A Likeable Team of Rangers: This year's defenders of Earth are a pretty fun bunch. So far, it seems like they know what they are doing, but at the same time aren't taking themselves too seriously. I really hope this doesn't change.
Like everything else in this world, JF also has its negative points:
- The Theme Song: I am an obsessive Rock 'n Roll fan, so, naturally, I was very happy when I had heard that Disney was ditching the Rap direction. When I heard the new opening song, however, I almost lost it. It reminded me of a lot of bands that I really can't stand, such as Fall Out Boy and Story of the Year.
- Flit the Fly: As much as I liked the Super Sentai show that JF is based on, Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger, I could not get over how utterly annoying Bae was. His American counterpart, Flit, is not much better, but he at least doesn't make those irritating 'buzz' noises.
So far, Power Rangers Jungle Fury is shaping up to be a pretty decent season. I guess we'll just have to see where 2008's adventure is gonna take us.