Thank You Power Rangers

I apologize in advance if this sounds a little sappy:

Today marks the 25th Anniversary of Power Rangers. For 25 years, the show has thrived, more often than not against the odds, and is only now really coming into the mainstream thanks to efforts by the likes of Boom Studios and HyperRPG. For those who aren't fans of the brand, it may seem like some silly little TV show (and let's face it, at times it is just that), but to people like me who've been watching it since its inception, it's a way of life; it's our true north. I think without Power Rangers, I might not be here right now, and that's not hyperbole.

I can only speak from my own experience- as a kid, I felt really alone. "Weird." I always had an interest in things other people did not (had a love for dinosaurs and frogs as a kid) and didn't really have any social skills to build friendships past the ones my parents decided for me. I was lonely, but as a kid, you really don't know how to put that into words. I was the outcast; the big-boned, let's just say overweight to save time, outcast. I think without this show, I would have very easily become a bully. I would have easily gone from "weirdo" to "dangerous."

My life changed the week of August 28th, 1993. I didn't catch Power Rangers from the beginning. I think I maybe saw episode 4 or 5 first. All I remember is Trini and Billy calling forth their zords. Here were teens (which at the tender age of 4, may as well have been 50-year-olds) with positive values, in multicolor costumes, riding around in giant dinosaur robots. It was everything 4-year-old me could have wanted. I think right off the bat I empathized with Billy. He was a nerd, like me. He liked science like me, and also like me, he didn't really fit in. But he had this group of friends. And there wasn't any judgment because he was "weird." They were friends, and that's all that mattered.

And it's didn't stop with Billy. When Tommy joined the show, I once again saw an outsider become an insider. Even Bulk and Skull, whom I relate to to this day, were accepted by the rangers. They were weird, they were goofs, and they were bullies, but they were still accepted as people. Diversity is the big movement now in entertainment. Power Rangers was there before everyone else, and it will continue to be diverse, to be accepting, no matter what anyone throws at it. I was reminded of this recently at Morphicon; where fans of all colors cheered when they realized the new team had more persons of color than not. What other fandom can you say that about across the board?

I've known plenty of people in my life who have gone down the wrong path, and it's thanks to Power Rangers I'm not one of them. It's thanks to this show that I was able to overcome my own fears and surround myself with a circle of friends I am proud to call part of my family. It's thanks to this show I have found my passion in life through acting and Japanese culture. In many ways, it has given everything to me. So thank you Power Rangers. Thank you for showing me it's okay to be weird, and still search for your place in the world. Here's to another 25 years!