Top 10 Blue Rangers

Ah yes, my favorite ranger color, the boys(and girls) in Blue, the second most ubiquitous color in Super Sentai/Power Rangers. Blue Rangers are most often the fan favorites outside of the Red Rangers. They’re personalities generally follow a theme of being the backbone of the team, the calm, and overall being the reliable ones, usually either the brains or the most disciplined of the team. There have been some variations, but overall the best Blue Rangers have been the ones that fill in this role the best. Blue’s also tend to work very well as foils for the Red Ranger, though this has only rarely happened before. Going back the foil thing, they are also the most likely to be second in command, able to lead the team if Red is absent. If I had to be a ranger color irl, Blue would definitely be it. Let’s start off with the honorable mentions

13. Lucas Kendall- Ah yes, Lucas, the least popular member of the Time Force team, and also the one that changed the absolute least. Well, I mainly put him up on 13 since Time Force is my favorite, and I did kind of like his focus episodes in Time Force, especially Bodyguard in Blue and Nadira’s Dream Date, where his cool exterior gets challenged and he has to put down his barriers. Lucas’ role on the team is, is, well, he can drive. Better than the rest of the team. He’s a womanizer, he’s obsessed with his appearance, and he kind acts like a big bro to Trip. Ok, there is one trait of Lucas that I like that puts him above the other Blues that I didn’t list. Lucas is the most blunt member of the team, which is shown in how he can be a bit of a jerk to Trip when his powers don’t work right, or in his best moment, when he’s the first one to confront and yell at Alex when he’s acting like a douchenozzle. It shows a strong, passionate side to him that I really wish was expanded on, since 95% of what we get with Lucas is him and his driving, womanizing, and grooming. Yeah he’s not Ayase, his japanese counterpart who is 10x more interesting than he is. Still worth the honorable mention though.

12. Madison Rocca- I feel bad for Madison really. She’s supposed to be the heart of the team, but she hardly ever gets the spotlight. Her actress is really cute and makes her likeable, but she’s barely allowed to be a presence in the season. She gets like 1 focus episode among the first 20 episodes, and her only other episode is when she’s wondering if she’s contributing to the team less than anyone else. She was sisters with the Pink Ranger, Vida, but since Vida got like no character development(or even characterization for that matter outside of Stranger Within), we really didn’t get to see the two do much as siblings, since outside of Madison’s only real episode, Rock Solid, the show barely ties back to them being siblings. It’s a shame too, Madison was the most like her Sentai Counterpart, Urara, who was my favorite member of the Magiranger team, and while I love Magiranger, Mystic Force is easily one of my least favorite seasons of PR, since it purposely went out of its way to toss aside every ranger that wasn’t Nick(and maybe Xander). Speaking of which, that sort-of not really romance between her and Nick either should have been dropped or explored more. I feel like in another season Madison become a top 10 blue, but sadly since she got almost nothing to work with, I have to leave her in honorable mentions.

11. Chad Lee- The resident martial artist and zen dude of the group, Chad is probably the most chilled ranger of all time, and sadly that leaves him the least developed of the five Lightspeed Rangers, which is honestly a shame. PR would later pull off a better version of this character with RJ, but I still think Chad has some merit. His friendship with Kelsey harkened back to Trini and Billy, and he was the only member of the Lightspeed team that was adept at hand to hand combat, since Carter and Joel almost always went in guns blazing. He had a romance with a mermaid, that didn’t really go anywhere and kind of just popped up out of nowhere, episodes 28 and 34 respectively. I still like you Chad. Onto the top 10

10. Rocky De Santos- Poor Rocky, after being the guy who had to follow up Jason, to him not even being leader due to Tommy, Rocky had no real opportunity to show his stuff in MMPR. Adam got a lot of characterization within his early episodes, and Aisha was Kims best friend, and Rocky was, well, Rocky. It wasn’t until Zeo where, when he doesn’t have the baggage of being Red, he’s allowed to branch off and show what he can do. He had girl troubles, he liked working on movies, and he was willing to try and trust a monster that wanted to reform and be good, only for it to be a trap and Rocky had egg on his face, though at least he got to use the Defender Wheel. He realistically had issues when Jason came back because here was the guy that Rocky replaced coming back and getting the spotlight, how is someone not going to feel jealous and need to prove himself? Rocky throughout his appearances always came off as the kind of guy who didn’t want to be a goody good and had more attitude to him than his other rangers. How often back in the pre In Space days did we get inter character conflict that wasn’t based on a spell or monster ability? He also served as the most adventurous member of the team, as he was always up to do fun stuff. I wish we would have gotten more of this Rocky in MMPR.

9. Theo Martin- As Jungle Fury Blue, Theo was the brains of the team, or at the very least the disciplined member of the team. Theo had major ego and control issues, which RJ and Master Swoop taught him a way out of, since while he was obsessed with his accomplishments, it wasn’t those that were his problems, it was his inability to accept failure as option that always clouded his judgement, and he was shown to have a fear of looking like a fool to others. Theo clearly cared a lot about his image, and wanted to be an overachiever because his twin brother Luen, was extremely adventurous and got people’s attention very easily, so Theo pushed himself to be the best at everything he did. This in turn made him an egotistical jerk, especially to Casey, which Lily often called him out on. He had to learn patience, since Casey was a beginner, but overall made him a better man. His romance with Lily was also pretty decent, they didn’t kiss or anything but their interactions and Theo finally mustering the courage to ask Lily out on a date in the last episode was a hallmark moment of Jungle Fury.

8. Koda- Ah yes, the best character from Dino Charge bar none, Koda is one of the most likeable rangers of all time, its almost a shame that Yoshi Sudarso had to be on a crappy season like Dino Super Charge. Koda could have easily been a very annoying comic relief character like Dax with his caveman gimmick, and while they dont always give him the best material, Koda is actually pretty funny. Koda is the innocent member of the team, as he always strives to do the right thing, even for people that don’t treat him well like Prince Phillip, who looked down on Koda, but then Koda saved to try and convince the Prince that they’re heroes and maybe get him on their side. Koda’s bond with the others is heartfelt as well, since he’s completely displaced in time, the rangers are the closest thing he has to a family. In Caveman times he was thrown off a Cliff trying to save his younger brother, where he received the Dino Gems energy before being frozen in Ice. This informs a lot about how he treats the world around him. He doesn’t change that much, like all the characters in Dino Charge, but his base personality is very noble and innocent to begin with, and make him easily the most likeable member of the team, aside from Shelby.

7. Kai Chen- My favorite of five LG rangers, second only to the original Magna Defender, Kai Chen is easily the most fleshed out and interesting ranger of the bunch. He’s shown to be a stickler for protocol and a bit of a stubborn jerk, but certainly smart enough to realize just when following the rules can be harmful. We see this mentality get tested throughout the season, as more often than not Kai had to take charge of situations, especially on Terra Ventures bridge, when things were going amiss. It was very refreshing also to have a Blue Ranger who was at odds with the Red Ranger, it gave a cool lancer/leader dynamic that added something to what was otherwise a pretty run of the mill red ranger. Kai kind of reminds me of Sky, except not quite as fleshed out as him but still a really good character in his own right.

6. Flynn McAllister- Ah yes, the badass Scotsman, Flynn is one of my favorite Blue Rangers of all time, with his dedication to heroism, and in general just being a real badass. Also, the first power rangers character to utter the word crap on TV. First episode of RPM if you want to find it. But seriously, Flynn is the kind of guy that believes that doing the right thing is always top priority over anything else, and Dr. K said that Justice is untangible and unrealistic, and as shown in his backstory, his good intentions almost always got him into trouble(Give the guy credit though, he did try to arm a bunch of natives being pushed off their land Braveheart style, that takes big balls). Its when he got a chance to save a bunch of people outside the wall with his bus that both Flynn and his father found the way to heroism that Flynn had always wanted to prove he can be. His father finally respected him and realized his son wasn’t just trying to live a fantasy, he was a true hero. Flynn also learned mechanics from his father and eventually developed a weapon for the rangers in the form of the Wheel zord, with the help of Gemma, who knew he had a lot of talent, and had to tone down her excitement to be at his level, as Flynn gets very serious when he’s in his element. I wish he wasn’t the most underdeveloped character in RPM(him and Summer were kind of pushed to the side a lot unfortunately), he still left one hell of an impression as the 6th best Blue Ranger

5. Ethan James- Ethan, the closest the show got to capturing the spirit of Billy. Don’t get it twisted though, even though Ethan was undoubtedly a nerd, and proud of it, he wasn’t a mousey, shy nerd like Billy. While introverted, our first impression of him is of someone whose not afraid to mouth off others, like when Connor was mocking him for being a nerd, Ethan didn’t take his crap and barked back. How often do nerd characters ever have the backbone to stand up to jerks, especially at the start of the story? Likewise, Ethan’s initial characterization can be seen as Smart, Cocky and obsessive, and he made friends quickly with fellow outsiders Kira and Trent. Connor and him eventually became friends, but not without lots of banter between the two. During the stock bully episode, Ethan gets right in the guys face from the start and seems like he’s ready to fight him, its Connor that has to push them both away from each other(Btw, the bully in this episode would later go on to play Tyzonn in Overdrive). While the whole episode seems lined up to have them fight, Ethan instead finds a peaceful solution, since the assholes Kick is what damaged Ethans laptop, Ethan uses his computer to show the guy what he could do to improve his game. It’s a pretty clever idea for a solution, and it isn’t the standard “fight violence with love” bs that the show would otherwise portray. He also ended up on a date with the vapid and equally obsessive reporter Cassidy, and the date was a total disaster, both realizing that they aren’t really for each other, and this is part of the arc where Cassidy and her assistant Devin start becoming closer with the rangers. While Ethan was supposed to be the callback to Billy, it was obvious through his actions that he was much more of the team Smartass than the teams nerd, which made him awesome. He wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty, his jokes were usually hilarious, especially the ones about falling out from the sky, and he helped liven up the otherwise very serious season of Dino Thunder.

5. Tori Hanson- Ah yes, Tori, one of the cutest rangers of all time, Tori was the brains that kept Ninja Storm together alongside Cam. She often chides her teammates Shane and Dustin for being stupid, and Tori is often called by them the reliable one. It fits her. Throughout the series, Tori proved herself to maintain her cool under pressure, and almost never let her feelings get in the way of the goal, but the one time she did, it almost cost the team dearly. In the Thunder Strangers 3 parter, in Part 2, after she developed a crush on Mellow Thunder Ranger Blake, Blake used it to his advantage, getting injured in a battle with one of Lothors monsters, especially saving Tori, and she took him to Ninja Ops to get Cam to heal him. As the rangers dealt with the monster, the Thunder Rangers showed up and saved their hides, and then, knowing the location of Ninja Ops, capture Cam and Sensei. Tori is mortified that Blake would use her like that, and threatens him if he hurts Cam, “If you hurt him, I will hunt you down.” They let Cam go but take Sensei, and part 3 is about getting him back. Sally Martin’s performance really sold the scene, it felt like she was about to cry, her and Dustin fell for their lies and deception. Tori afterwards puts aside trusting Hunter and Blake, especially after Lothor once again brainwashes them. Its only when Hunter is driven insane and starts attacking Blake that Blake and the Wind Rangers have to start working together. After Blake gets through to Hunter the pair join the team. Tori and Blake, well, it’s not that much of a romance, especially since it only really gets talked about in one more episode, but I can definitely see the appeal(even if I’m a bit more in the Cam and Tori camp, since I find their exchanges to be way more interesting than Tori/Blake, especially since the Thunders kind of become flat characters after their introduction arc, Hunter more so than Blake). So yeah, I wish there was more to her, but for what we got, Tori was an exceptional character, and my second favorite ranger from Ninja Storm, behind Cam.

3. TJ- Not gonna spell his whole name again, if you saw my previous list. TJ made one hell of a Red Ranger, easily the most underrated of the bunch, but what if I told you he went from being the third best Red to the third best Blue? Yeah, it seems like no matter what color he dons, TJ will always be an awesome ranger, because he’s such a strong, likeable character. TJ, throughout In Space, showed himself to be the most intelligent and capable second in command of PR, sometimes you wondered if Andros was really a leader. TJ was a skilled tactician, his plans usually leading to the defeat of the enemy, especially during his crowning moment of badass, Five of a Kind, where he at first comes up with a fairly clever plan of fighting a different color for each Psycho, a good idea on Paper, especially given what they knew about the Psychos, but couldn’t factor in that the Psychos would be able to outmuscle them enough to get back to their colors, and the resulting battle gets TJ injured, Astronema machinations saving the rangers once again from being killed. TJ, getting up from passing out, is just as ready to come up with a new plan, much to the other rangers, especially Cassies chagrin. With Cassies help, they watched footage from the fight, and when TJ saw the color go out, he realized an amazing plan- get the suits to all be Blue and force the Psychos to fight with each other to find out which ranger is which. It goes off without a hitch, as Red and Black try to get into the fray and TJ, from a distance, blasts them all back. The next phase of the plan, Psycho Silver, drives Blue so insane that he attacks Black and Red, isolating him, as Psycho Silver reveals his allegiance and TJ is able to land a strong shot at Blue’s face, destroying his energy shield. Him and Psycho Silver(Zane in disguise) make short work of Psycho Blue. Then, in the megazord battle, when the Voyager gets frozen, TJ suggests raising the temp of the Megazord, and then instead of turning the heat down, channeling all the excess heat into the lazers, and then they destroy Psycho Blue with the Winged Mega Voyager. That was such an awesome episode, and an amazing plan by TJ. If Sentai/PR had made the Psycho Ranger arc today, the arc would be solved by Deus Ex Machina and a new megazord configuration, but in this arc, it forced the rangers to use their heads and work with what they had, they weren’t just going to be handed things every other episode like a certain other PR show.

2. Billy Cranston- The OG Blue Ranger, my favorite of the original five and easily the most well developed Ranger character for a long time, Billy made one hell of an impression on PR. Out of the original five, his personality was easily the most distinguishable- a socially awkward, almost completely socially paralyzed, nerd with a lot of technical know-how. I often compare him to Izzy from Digimon, especially in the fact that, as MMPR went on, Billy’s devices would often be the difference between victory and defeat for the rangers, at least until S3 where Rita and Lord Zedd finally found ways to counter Billy’s tech. Early on though, Billy was very reliant on Trini to translate for him, and its implied(especially in the comics) that Trini was the main way that Billy got to know Jason and Zach, and the four became good friends before Kim came along. The Boom Comics are fucking amazing. Anyway, Billy had a lot of self confidence issues to overcome, and he got through it by joining martial arts. As the only ranger on the team with no real fighting prowess, local bullies Bulk and Skull bullied him more than anyone, and it motivated him to join Jason’s Karate Class. He doesn’t show a lot of prowess early on, but its clear throughout the season, in small doses, we see Billy be able to fight off the putty squadrons he had trouble fighting one of back when he first started. He didn’t need Trini as much to protect him, and he eventually started coming out of his shell. Him and Trini were also the main brains of the team, Trini obviously being more balanced, but as the Boom Comics show, her respect and admiration for Billy’s intellect often causes her doubt when he’s not around. By the later part of Season 2, Billy stopped wearing as baggy and heavy clothes, and he started looking like a male model with his bod. Seriously, David Yost was ripped. While he gained strength, he never lost his intellect, and it can be implied that, as he got stronger, his increase in confidence made him think more clearly and he also got more girls of the week than any other character. While he wasn’t the leader or the second in command, every ranger on the team greatly respected Billy, and even when in Zeo he chose not to be a ranger, he was still a clear member of the team and one of their closest friends. Many criticize Zeo for Billy not taking the Zeo powers, but Billy worked really well in the technical field, and he did build the teams entire arsenal(except the Super Zeo Zords and Pyramidas). The only weakness of his performance in Zeo was David Yost not being available for the characters final two episodes, A Ranger of Two Worlds. It wasn’t the worst sendoff(Passing the Torch and Aisha’s in Hogday Afternoon were far worse), the way that Billy just randomly fell in love with one of the Aquitians and didn’t want to come back because of that, well, it’s kind of anti climactic(kind of like the end of Zeo as a whole, thanks a lot Turbo movie), though the ending clipshow of the episode showing off Billy’s moments throughout the show was really nice. Billy is a very successful character in PR, with only Tommy and Adam having a longer tenure than him in terms of being a ranger. He was a mainstay for four straight seasons, from MMPR Episode 1, and I’m sure the impression he made on lots of kids growing up(as someone who mainly watched MMPR-In Space in reruns, I still found myself endeared to Billy) has lead Billy to being one of PR’s most enduring characters. David Yost did a hell of a job bringing Billy to life, from his awkwardness, to his improvement of fighting prowess, to being a great side character, we’ll always remember Billy Cranston.

1- Sky Tate- You knew this was coming, I had a whole blogpost about why Sky was the best Blue Ranger, and I won’t reiterate much here. He went through arguably the best character arc of any blue ranger, managed to pull off the jerkass lancer character really well while being nuanced, and was very well acted by Chris Violette. His crowning moment of awesome in Reflections really solidified his position at number one, as well as the final piece of his character arc, where he proudly tells Cruger that he would follow anyone into battle he thought worthy of wearing the color red. Thats a whole character arc of having to keep his ego in check and learn to respect other people’s point of view coming to fruition, and his reward is finally getting to be Red Ranger, but not just Red, but the kind of Red his own father, a Red Ranger who died in battle, would be proud of. SPD had many shortfalls, but Sky’s character growth throughout the season was definitely its highlight. As the best lancer in PR history, I have to give Sky the #1 spot for best Blue Ranger.

That was my list of the best in blue, I think that it’s hard to be a bad Blue, while it’s easy to be a bad Red, even some of the worst Blues, I feel bad for more than anything, since they have likeable elements that just don’t get expanded upon, or they get pushed way into the background by the Red Ranger focus(though Dax is still an awful Blue Ranger). Blue Rangers are almost always the guys you can rely on in a pinch, and they tend to bring a certain skill set that they excel in, whether its intel, technical know-how, or leadership capabilities for when Red is indisposed. They’re more often than not the smart or genius character. Next time, I will be covering the best Green/Black Rangers(since the colors are often interchangeable and signify the third ranked male member of the team, even if the characterization tends to be different across the colors themselves). Who’s your favorite Blue Ranger? Anyway, see you guys next time, and remember, stay awesome.