My Mixed Emotions on Power Rangers Wild Force

Power Rangers Wild Force was one season I saw before Gaoranger. I had no idea it was a weaker season, it was criticized for bad acting compared to critics including good acting in their criticism of Time Force. Now what's with the season that got me mixed? So I'll do my review on Wild Force and what I thought was good or bad. I'm now writing this after I saw Gaoranger and wanted to do some criticism myself.

As much as I don't think highly about Power Rangers -- I thought that Wild Force could've been a cool season. Here are some of the stuff that I thought Gaoranger was able to do better...

I think Cole Evans is more badass than his counterpart Kakeru Shishi

I know Cole's been a subject to Internet jokes, Rick Medina's had a rather bad reception but I could talk about some positive aspects of said character. Just IGNORE the actor and focus on the character himself since the fictional character isn't the same character. SO how does it play? I would say that while Medina's not the best actor but I think he's been more interesting and better played than his Gaoranger counterpart.

Okay, Kakeru's not a terrible person. He's a good leader but I thought the whole veterinarian becoming Gao Red can be very unfitting. Cole's role as a jungle boy or Tarzan entering into civilization fits more with the growl theme than Kakeru's veterinarian status. Cole managed to gain some unusual abilities such as his ability to talk to animals and read through other people's intentions. Whether or it it was because he was raised by natives or it was inborn isn't really explained. Then he joins into civilization while searching for his roots which gives him more development than Kakeru?

What made him better than Kakeru isn't anything to do with his strength or being more "manly looking". I think his best moment was when he tried to struggle in his battle with the second Master Org. He refused to finish the de-powered Master Org because he had some honor as a character. He would only later not hesitate to destroy the final Master Org for this reason -- to save the greater good. He would still be seen forgiving his old enemy even after the Wild Force Rangers finished their jobs. 

The main villain does have some potential

Gaoranger was a fun show but I thought the idea of having no real main villain was a minus. First, we had Shuten, Ura, and then Rasetsu each taking their roles as the true Master Org -- until they were fused into Senki the ultimate Master Org. Wild Force did add another villain. Rather than have one composite final Org in the past (which never showed up in the present) and in the present -- they decided to make a contrast between two Master Orgs. But who knew the second Master Org was actually and fully human before the show started?

Enter Viktor Adler as a villain who I thought was too dark and gritty for the average Power Rangers show. He started out as a friend of Cole's parents and he would later grow bitter. It wasn't only because he lost to Cole's father to get the woman he genuinely liked -- it was also because of his greed. He ended up eating the remains of the first Master Org and became the second Master Org. It was interesting to see this guy being able to control all that power even if he was human. I guess all the hatred and jealousy put him into so much harmony.

There are some fans who believe that Dr. Viktor Adler finally died and the true Master Org was reborn as a result. The problem with this theory is that he returns with full memories of said treachery. He was overthrown by both Jindrax and Toxica. However, he awakened with an Org horn on his head -- still with memories of how his subordinates betrayed him because he was originally human. Whether or not some Orgs were once human isn't explained. I love how Dr. Adler himself not only owns Mandilok but also shows the deepest, darkest secrets of humanity. Cole even laments at how Master Org was once a human who had a heart during his return with a real horn. He even promised to forgive Jindrax though it was a lie. He showed he overstepped the boundaries of evil easily making him the most evil villain in the show.

When the dynamic villain duo does something more interesting

I think another interesting part of Wild Force over Gaoranger is the way Toxica and Jindrax were carried out. I thought it was WTF when Tsuetsue returned still renewing her loyalties to the Highnesses even after Yabaiba mentioned about the incident with Rasetsu. But these guys had some interesting development in Wild Force -- they both started to see things more positively after Jindrax fished Toxica out of the Org Hell.

What I did like about their development was just how Jindrax felt so discouraged and showed more humanity even when he was an Org. At first, both characters were disgusted to know that the new Master Org was actually a human being. They were both temporarily brainwashed. Later, they broke of said brainwashing and set free Mandilok who was the most vicious Org general. Both were still treated like trash though they discover that Viktor Adler exceeds all the evil of everyone in the show whether Org or human alike.

I did like the whole heel face turn they had unlike Tsuetsue returning with absolute blind loyalty. Toxica starts seeing things differently and both villains walk the path of repentance. They even help the Wild Force Rangers find the Nexus to rescue Princess Shayla. They both wandered the Earth searching for the path of redemption which made it more interesting than how Yabaiba and Tsuetsue were dealt with in Gaoranger.

The weakness of the show is...

On the other hand, I still think Forever Red has to be really THAT WEAK. Sure, it had a lot of past visitors who were involved from Mighty Morphin' up to Wild Force yet I can't deny how weak the special is. It should have been a two-parter and two -- I thought tying to bring back the Machine Empire was kind of weird. The crossover only movie Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai IMHO had more interesting execution with how the Gaorangers were taught by past Super Sentai alumni on lessons that they can learn in fighting the Orgs. Less past guests but at least it was carried on better.

Other issues that fans may have with Wild Force is the weak acting. I heard that Wild Force's acting is considered weak for its main cast (though it's not overacting either) or how Cole is a subject to Internet jokes. Gaoranger's cast may be somewhat wimpy looking (and Kakeru looks like that Cole could easily rip him apart) but they have at least better acting. I guess that's why Gaoranger still managed to push through in spite of all its weaknesses while Wild Force wasted its potential with bad writing and I'd also include Forever Red in said equation.