That One Factor From Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers That I Like Over Zyuranger: It's Amy Jo Johnson As Kimberly!

So it's no secret that I like Zyuranger over MMPR but I do have that one factor that I really consider as Zyuranger's positive edge against Zyuranger.  Now as said, there's no perfect show and I know Zyuranger has better writing and almost everything is better... now moving on.  It's all about Kimberly herself as that one positive edge that Zyuranger has over Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.  This is my OPINION only so feel free to disagree with me but I'm just trying to be as open-minded in the right way as I need to.

So where do I begin?  Again, I saw MMPR first before Zyuranger.  Again, beware of my extreme favoritism and all that can show up one way or another.  So let's begin shall we?


During the time I saw Zyuranger, I was at first filled with some biases towards Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.  I soon started to say blah blah stuff that a purist would say.  But I just had to be honest with myself when it came to Zyuranger.  True I find most of Zyuranger's acting to be superior, Bandora in her natural voice was better but I denied that I didn't find Mei all that appealing to me for personal reasons.  Now she's a better character in paper, she's more determined and a better fighter than Kimberly, no questions asked... I mean the Sentai rangers in most 80s to 90s season outscale most of the post-Timeranger characters.

What I didn't get particularly fond of was the acting behind Mei.  She was certainly more well-rounded and developed than Kimberly ever was.  I mean she did use a spring trap against Dora Boogaran, she had put her life at risk but I felt this is an unfair comparison.  After all, Mei is from a warrior tribe and Kimberly is well, a teenager with gymnast abilities.  For some reason, I wasn't able to easily get used to Reiko Chiba's squeaky, chipmunk voice which made Erina Nakayama (who also looks like her but has a more mature voice) more acceptable to be... strangely both were 17 years old when they were cast for their respective roles.  While I consider her passable overall and I think she deserves credit, but I really can't personally give her too much credit unlike... DRUM ROLL!

Yes, Kimberly Hart and this is really from someone who prefers Super Sentai over Power Rangers, that is I like both but most of my emotions are on liking Super Sentai!  Even if I have overcome my purist days, I still can't like Power Rangers as much due to the more superior writing.  Kimberly's not as well-rounded as Mei.  I simply can choose to bring up some focus episodes.  I felt like the episode where she flew a plane pretty dull, considering she drove a flying mecha and the writers refused to explain that.  I could name Calamity Kimberly wasn't that really well-written.  But I always thought about how she matured as a character in MMPR but on paper, she's never as great as Mei.

For me and again it's MY OPINION that Amy Jo Johnson can act better than Reiko Chiba ever can considering she had enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and the American Musical and Acting Academy.  Then I also respect this fan opinion saying, "Against all odds, though Kimberly is hands down one of the best and most beloved rangers ever. Kimberly was the heart of the show. She was the most likeable, most talented, and seemed to be trying more than everyone. Also, she is one half of something that could be considered as pivotal to the show’s success as anything else, Tommy and Kimberly’s relationship. It’s one of the most humanizing aspects of the show and probably explains why Tommy and Kimberly are two of the biggest fan favorites."  What I also thought was Reiko Chiba voiced the character of Kimberly in Japan.  For me, it didn't fit too well compared to if you actually let Natsuki Takahashi voice Kimberly instead of Reiko Chiba.

I can respect anybody who thinks Mei is prettier than Kimberly, my opinion however varies from them.  I still think Kimberly has better charm than Mei because of the actress.  Kimberly may not be as well-written but... she's definitely got a better actress.  Now I can be silly with how more often than not that I love to state, "Kimberly is hotter than Mei.  Way hotter than Mei."  Now that's just my opinion.  I felt like the actress had a better charm in how she carried herself.

Kimberly's approach is kind of different as she's not really afraid to speak her mind out.  She's sweet but she is laced with sarcasm and bluntness.  She wouldn't hesitate to tell you that you're annoying or that, she fires a sarcastic witty retort every time she feels she needs to do it but at the same time, she is more than willing to help anyone in need.  Again, it's just my extreme favoritism for her even if overall, I still prefer Zyuranger over MMPR.