My First Crush: Go Go Pink Ranger

My First Crush: Go Go Pink Ranger

by Josh Rose

Power Rangers were the coolest thing I had ever seen as a kid. Bright coloured heroes fighting monsters, using giant robots to fight the even bigger monster! As an 8-year-old boy what more did you need to see on TV? It was superheroes, monsters, and robots rolled into one show! And these weren’t the spinoff Rangers I saw on TV. Not the Zeo Rangers, not the Lost Galaxy Rangers, or Lightspeed Rescue Rangers. They were the originals! The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

You had the cool-as-heck Zack the Black Ranger. Billy the genius Blue Ranger. Trini the kind and smart Yellow Ranger. The leader, Jason the Red Ranger. Tommy the bad boy outsider Green Ranger, who would go on to become the White and Red Ranger. (I lost my 8-year-old mind when I met someone who looked like the actor who played Tommy.) And *swoon* Kimberly the Pink Ranger.

Kimberly wasn’t the kind of girl that was always being kidnapped. All the Rangers at one point or another were kidnapped by Rita Repulsa or Lord Zedd. Nor was she constantly screaming when the Putties or other monsters showed up. She was a fighter who overcame a lot of hardships in the show. And she was very kind-hearted, unless there was mind control happening.

But alongside her part-time job as a superhero, the Pink Ranger was also very involved in her community. She was a gymnast who went on to compete in the Pan Am Games. She volunteered her time as a “Big Sister” to younger girls in Angel Grove. She taught dance and used American Sign Language! And she even played the guitar.

Unfortunately, Kimberly was always the one being teased as the romantic interest for one of the boys. First Jason then Tommy. It wasn’t until after Kimberly left the show and came back in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie that they settled (if only in the deleted scenes) that it was Kimberly and Jason. That’s fine, cause Tommy moved onto a new romance with the next Pink Ranger waaaay too fast. Kimberly deserved better anyway.

I spent a long time trying to remember who my first crush was. When I realized it was the first Pink Ranger, it only made perfect sense. In hindsight, I can see that she’s the one that’s influenced all of my relationships to date. She, like my exes, was witty, sarcastic, and a little sassy. They’ve also all been dark-haired and athletic like her. 8-year-old me could only say she was pretty, but I never said it out loud cause girls were icky and had cooties at that age.

I stopped watching Power Rangers because my mom wouldn’t let me anymore. I’d always get excited after watching an episode, pretend I was a Power Ranger and beat up my little brother. That’s probably why it took me so long to remember.

Amy Jo Johnson made a cameo appearance in the latest Power Rangers film, and I suddenly remembered my crush quite vividly. She’s done a lot of acting since her days as a Power Ranger, but I swear she hasn’t aged a day. I might still have a crush on her.