RangerWiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
RangerWiki
RangerWiki
24,956
pages
in: Season, Ninja Storm, Disney Era
English

Power Rangers Ninja Storm

Revision as of 01:36, 18 January 2016 by Aldo The Fox (Message Wall | contribs) (→‎Allies)
View source
PR2020 logo This article is about a/an series entry (the 11th) in the Power Rangers franchise.


Power Rangers: Ninja Storm (often abbreviated as "PRNS") was the eleventh incarnation of the Power Rangers TV series, based on the Super Sentai series Ninpū Sentai Hurricaneger (English: Covert Wind Squadron Hurricaneger)

Production

After acquiring Power Rangers in 2002 as part of their purchase of the Fox Kids franchise, Disney decided to cancel the show at the conclusion of Power Rangers Wild Force, but were convinced to continue with the show when informed they could produce it for a fraction of the previous cost by moving production to New Zealand. As well as this, Disney chose to make the show non-union, which resulted in much of the crew (including long-time producer Jonathan Tzachor) being let go. Ninja Storm was based on the Super Sentai series Ninpū Sentai Hurricanger. A subsidiary of Disney named Buena Vista Entertainment managed the Power Rangers property after Disney took over, and MMPR Productions was dissolved. Doug Sloan, the production manager from the show's inception until the midway mark of Turbo, and Ann Austen (another past production team member) returned to Power Rangers for the first time in years as the head of the show for Disney. A few past writers were also brought back into the fold. Jackie Marchand returned to be the story editor. Koichi Sakamoto (the leader of Alpha Stunts team and producer) remained on the show. Ninja Storm brought a lot of lightheartedness to Power Rangers. This was met with mixed reception from fans. Nevertheless, Ninja Storm aired on ABC and ABC Family like Wild Force before it. Due to union and cost issues, Ninja Storm was the first season to not feature a teamup with the previous year's team since the trend began in Lost Galaxy. Due to the new ownership and its lighthearted story, the series brought new interest to the franchise as ratings and toy sales went up.

Doug Sloan would interact heavily with fans at this point, posting on Rangerboard and the Newsgroup. Sally Martin and Jason Chan (Tori and Cam on Ninja Storm) would also make appearances at Rangerboard. Doug would interact with fans for the rest of his run until the end of Dino Thunder.

An early episode in Ninja Storm's run was cut by the censors. It was later reedited and shown out of production order. Originally it dealt with a peace conference to avoid a war, however was held back due to the outbreak of the Iraq War  as it was felt an anti-war message would not be appropriate. The episode, 'Snip It, Snip It Good' aired later in the run, with the peace conference substituted with an environmental conference.

Synopsis

"Deep in the mountains, secret ninja academies train our future protectors. Ancient scrolls told of three who would be chosen above the others. Three who would become..."
―Narrator[src]

A skateboarder (Shane Clarke), a surfer (Tori Hanson) and a dirtbiker (Dustin Brooks), are students of the Wind Ninja Academy, under the tutelage of Sensei Kanoi Watanabe and his son Cam. Although it seems as if they will never be good enough to be full-fledged ninja, they are the only three left when the evil ninja master, Lothor arrives on Earth and captures all the other students. Their sensei, who was transformed into a guinea pig by Lothor, decided that they would become Wind Power Rangers and gave them Wind Morphers to allow them to transform. As the Wind Rangers, they fought to save the world from Lothor and his space minions, using Zords created by Cam for emergencies.

Over time, they were joined by the Thunder Rangers, Hunter and Blake, as well as Cam, who gained Green Samurai powers in a trip to the past.

The show marked a turning point for the franchise with a willingness to make fun of itself and its history (a theme that would return in "Dino Thunder".) Of special note is that Lothor, instead of the standard melodramatic evil emperor, had a sense of humor and often got lines that sent up the show. After making a monster grow, he seems to turn to the camera and say "What'd you expect? It wasn't going to get smaller." In the final episode, when piloting a robot against the Zords, he yells "This is the most fun I've had all season!"

Eventually, the Rangers managed to defeat all of Lothor's minions, unwittingly overloading the Abyss of Evil (to which they were all sent upon their demise). The Wind Rangers were able to stop evil from spreading across the Earth, and sealed Lothor away in the Abyss of Evil...along with their own powers.

Now powerless, Shane, Tori and Dustin became teachers at the rebuilt Wind Ninja Academy, aided by Cam and a newly human Sensei. Hunter took a job as the head teacher at the Thunder Ninja Academy while his brother Blake continued his racing career. And they lived happily ever after...

Thunder Storm

...that is until the following year, when the Ninja Storm Rangers were forced back into action after Lothor arose from the Abyss of Evil.

The former Rangers are shown settled into their new careers. Blake goes to Reefside (the location of the Dino Thunder series) to compete in a motocross tournament, and meets Conner, Ethan and Kira when he's there. They go to watch him compete, but are perplexed when he is suddenly called away after the race.

Meanwhile, Lothor claws his way out of the Abyss of Evil. He forms an alliance with Mesogog and, posing as Sensei Watanabe, brainwashes Shane, Tori and Dustin into taking corrupted power disks, which turns them to Lothor's side. They recapture the students of the Wind Ninja Academy, and beat back the three primary Dino Thunder Rangers.

Hunter, Blake and Cam enter the Abyss of Evil, and fight off Zurgane to rescue their lost powers. As the Wind Ninja and Dino Thunder Rangers duel unmorphed, Hunter, Blake and Cam appear and cure the Wind Rangers of their mind control by using the true Wind power discs. The two teams of Rangers - including Trent Mercer and Tommy Oliver - meet with Mesogog and Lothor's combined force, obliterating it and causing Elsa to flee.

Mesogog and Lothor duel for supremacy. They seem to be evenly matched until Mesogog uses his mind powers to shrink Lothor to the size of an action figure ("Very collectible") and traps him a jar.

At the end, it is discovered that when the Ninja Storm Rangers' Powers were extracted from the Abyss of Evil, they only had enough energy for one last battle so they return to their normal lives, leaving the Dino Thunder Rangers to protect the world. Both teams watch Blake win the Motocross Tournament.

Characters

Rangers

Main articles: Ninja Rangers, Wind Rangers, and Thunder Rangers
1190711 640px

The 6 Ninja Storm Rangers

Color Role Actor
Red Wind Ranger Shane Clarke Pua Magasiva
Blue Wind Ranger Tori Hanson Sally Martin
Yellow Wind Ranger Dustin Brooks Glenn McMillan
Crimson Thunder Ranger Hunter Bradley Adam Tuominen
Navy Thunder Ranger Blake Bradley Jorgito Vargas Jr.
Green Samurai Ranger Cameron Watanabe Jason Chan


Allies

Villains

  • Lothor - the evil general who was once Kiya Watanabe, the brother of Sensei Watanabe
  • Marah and Kapri - Lothor's nieces and Cam's cousins.
  • Zurgane - the main general of Lothor's army.
  • Choobo - the lieutenant, promoted general.
  • Vexacus - a renegade bounty hunter.
  • Motodrone - Once fused with a human named Perry, Motodrone was rebuilt and reprogrammed under Lothor's command.
  • Shimazu - the incarnation of a Japanese legend.
  • Beevil - Marah's old friend and temporary replacement. Beevil created the Kelzak Furies.
  • Kelzaks - the footsoldiers.
  • Evil Ninja Rangers
  • List of Ninja Storm Monsters

Arsenal

Morphers

  • Wind Morphers - Morphers of the Wind Rangers, powered by Ninja discs.
  • Thunder Morphers - Morphers of the Thunder Rangers.
  • Samurai Amulet - Morpher of the Green Samurai Ranger, originally the Samurai Amulet.
  • Battlizer Morpher (Lightning Morpher) - Device that allows the Red Ranger access to the Battlizer Armor, a power granted to him by the Karmanion Skyla.

Lightning Morpher was name given to the toy released by Bandai in the US, however this name was not used on screen.

Weapons

Vehicles

  • Ninja Gliders - Aerial transports for the 3 Wind Rangers; summoned by pressing their belt buckles.
  • Tsunami Cycles - Motorcycles used by the Wind and Thunder Rangers.
  • Mobile Command Center - 18-Wheeled truck that carries the Tsunami Cycles.
  • Ninja Glider Cycle - Personal transport of the Crimson Thunder Ranger (appears to combine the Tsunami Cycle and Ninja Glider).
  • Dragon Force Vehicle - Transport used by the Green Ranger; can be serpentine or compact.

Zords

Main article: Zords (Ninja Storm)
Legend:◆ piloted zord, ❖ aux zord, ➲ carrier zord, ◇ combo-assist zord; colors are in reference to the Rangers who pilot them, not the physical color of the Zords

Ninja Zord System

Main article: Power Spheres

Additional Formations

Storm Megazord
Thunder Megazord
Samurai Star Megazord
Thunderstorm Megazord
Toy-Exclusive

Alternate Formations


Episode List

  1. Prelude to a Storm
  2. There's No “I” In Team
  3. Beauty and the Beach
  4. Looming Thunder
  5. Thunder Strangers, Part I
  6. Thunder Strangers, Part II
  7. Thunder Strangers, Part III
  8. Nowhere to Grow
  9. Snip It, Snip It Good
  10. Return of Thunder, Part I
  11. Return of Thunder, Part II
  12. Return of Thunder, Part III
  13. Return of Thunder, Part IV
  14. Boxing Bopp-a-Roo
  15. Pork Chopped
  16. The Samurai's Journey, Part I
  17. The Samurai's Journey, Part II
  18. The Samurai's Journey, Part III
  19. Scent of a Ranger
  20. I Love Lothor
  21. Good Will Hunter
  22. All About Beevil
  23. Sensei Switcheroo
  24. Tongue and Cheek
  25. Brothers In Arms
  26. Shane's Karma, Part I
  27. Shane's Karma, Part II
  28. Shimazu Returns, Part I
  29. Shimazu Returns, Part II
  30. The Wild Wipeout
  31. Double-Edged Blake
  32. Eye of the Storm
  33. General Deception, Part I
  34. General Deception, Part II
  35. A Gem of a Day
  36. Down and Dirty
  37. Storm Before the Calm, Part I
  38. Storm Before the Calm, Part II

VHS/DVD Releases

DVD

  • Power Rangers Ninja Storm (Complete Season) [RC2]
  • Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 (Lightspeed Rescue to Dino Thunder)

Notes

  • The Green Samurai Ranger (Cam) is the first Green Samurai Ranger, but Mike is also known as the Green Samurai Ranger.
  • This is the first Power Rangers series to neither include a Pink Ranger nor a White Ranger. All prior incarnations have either included a Pink Ranger or a female White Ranger took the place of the teams Pink Ranger.
  • Ninja Storm is the first incarnation that does not have any interaction with any Rangers or characters from a previous incarnation, as Ninja Storm both occurs after the Zordon era and does not have a crossover with Wild Force. All previous incarnations have had interaction with at least one character of a preceding incarnation, by either crossover or in the case of Zordon era incarnations, had characters carryover from one incarnation to another. The next incarnations to not have interaction with or feature characters from a preceding incarnation in any form are Jungle Fury and RPM
    • However, this is later retconned by the Dino Thunder crossover episode Thunder Storm in which the Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder Rangers teamed up during which Tommy Oliver of Mighty Morphin, Zeo and Turbo fame was the Black Dino Ranger. Also in the 15th anniversary crossover Once a Ranger, Tori Hanson appeared alongside 4 other "Retro Rangers" including Adam Park
  • This is the first incarnation of the series since Zeo to not include the "Next time" segment after each episode.
  • This is the first time that a series starts with only three Rangers (although the standard six are in place by the series finale), followed by Dino Thunder and Jungle Fury
  • It is the first series since Turbo to have an ending which features the Rangers losing their powers. The other series before this involved either the Rangers getting to keep their powers, or instead giving them up. The Ninja Storm Rangers briefly regained their powers in the Dino Thunder team-up, only to lose them again, but Tori would regain hers four years later in Once a Ranger.
  • This is the first series where all the Power Rangers actually had powers when unmorphed to use in everyday life. Though Andros from In Space is the first Ranger to have been born naturally with powers.
  • This is the first series to be aired on Jetix and Toon Disney. Thus, it is considered by many fans to be the official start of the "Disney Era" of Power Rangers.
  • During the "Shimazu Returns" storyarc, the Rangers are forced to pilot their zords in their unmorphed civilian form, a Power Rangers first. This is especially notable as the cockpit scenes are usually from the Sentai counterpart and the fact the Power Rangers piloted the zords unmorphed required the US production to build sets not normally required and for the sets to match the Japanese sets.
  • While the Green Samurai Ranger has an identity in Ninja Storm (that identity being Cam), his original Japanese counterpart, Shurikenger from Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger's true identity was his permanently costumed form. Also, Cam's Sentai counterpart is actually a ninja, not a samurai.
  • This is the first team to be assembled from three different factions of Rangers (Wind Rangers, Thunder Rangers, and Samurai Ranger) rather than one group from the same power source. However, there are noticeable similarities in their suits.
  • It is the first (and currently only) season to have exactly three morphing calls. These morphing calls were "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form," "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form," and "Samurai Storm, Ranger Form."
  • Early in Ninja Storm it is suggested that all previous series were just comic books, thereby retconning them out of the series canon and making Ninja Storm the first "Real" Power Rangers series, however this proved highly controversial and the concept was abandoned. Though the comic book line doesn't necessarily invalidate the continuity as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles assumed that the Rangers were just comic book characters in Shell Shocked.
  • Jorgito Vargas Jr. is three years older than his TV brother Adam Tuominen, despite his character Blake being the younger brother in the series.
  • In an episode, Marah and Kapri mention that "The boys from Triforia are three times as cute as Earth." This is an obvious throwback to Trey, the original Gold Ranger who split into three.
  • This was the first series to only have one female Ranger. This would be repeated in Dino Thunder, and again Jungle Fury. Alien Rangers' Delphine is the only female on her team, but Alien Rangers is not a full season.
  • An early concept for adapting Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger, called Hexagon, was drafted by Forever Red writer Amit Bhaumik. It would keep the core three Rangers, but would deviate heavily from Hurricanger. Bhaumik's plot involved the return of Tommy Oliver joining forces with different previous Rangers to form a larger organization called the Hexagon. However, the Beetle Rangers (Gouraigers) would oppose this, starting a civil war of sorts between the two Ranger factions. This idea was discarded in production due to the unforeseen complications and expenses of using the American actors, as well as producing all new non-Sentai footage.[1]
  • This is the first Power Rangers series to have a female Blue Ranger, and the first since the Alien Rangers mini-series to have a male Yellow Ranger.
  • This is the first Power Rangers series not to use the phrase "power down" to morph back to normal, instead using "ninja form" (though this happens only once).
    • The rangers use the phrase "power down" only in the Dino Thunder episode Thunder Storm.
  • Ninja Storm starts a trend where actors in the season at one point or another appeared on the New Zealand TV series, "The Tribe."  Sally Martin had a guest role in the show's fourth season. James Napier, who played Eric McKnight in the Ninja Storm finale, and would go on to play Conner McKnight in the next season, played the role of Jay in seasons 4 and 5. Other actors include Tom Hern, Miriama Smith, Kelson Henderson, Dwayne Cameron, Antonia Prebble, Beth Allen, Vicky Rodewyk, and Ari Boyland. This trend would continue through Power Rangers RPM.
  • This is the first season where the rangers have an ending call after their morphs. This would later be followed by Dino Thunder, S.P.D., Mystic Force and Samurai.
  • Ninja Storm ran from February 15, 2003 to November 15, 2003 and coincidentally Super Megaforce runs from February 15, 2014 to November 15, 2014
  • This is the first season in which every ranger had a special power.

Reception and Ratings

To be added...

See Also

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://amitbhaumik.tumblr.com/post/38658236644/hexagon

Footnotes


PR2020 logo
Mighty Morphin (s01) • Mighty Morphin (s02) • Mighty Morphin (s03) • Alien Rangers (mini-series) • Zeo • Turbo
• In Space • Lost Galaxy • Lightspeed Rescue • Time Force • Wild Force • Ninja Storm • Dino Thunder • S.P.D. •
Mystic Force • Operation Overdrive • Jungle Fury • RPM • Samurai • Super Samurai • Megaforce • Super Megaforce • Dino Charge • Dino Super Charge • Ninja Steel • Super Ninja Steel • Beast Morphers • Dino Fury • Cosmic Fury

Power Rangers: The Movie (alternate continuity) • Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie • 2017 movie (alternate continuity)

View • Talk • Edit
Deutsch Français
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More RangerWiki