While watching TV (and procrastinating on social studies homework), the Rangers discover something truly shocking: a Japanese television show dubbed into English eerily similar to their own adventures!
They then proceed to riff the heck out of it.
Tropes
- Accidentally-Correct Writing: In-Universe. The show got the morphing call exactly right, much to Ethan's surprise.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Ethan and Kira think so about the show at least. Conner doesn't like it at first, thinking they are making fun of them, but he begins to like it when the Red Ranger character asks "How much money are we talking?" when tempted by Ka-Ching.
- Adaptation Decay: Conner initially has this complaint and says they get everything about them wrong.
- Affectionate Parody: The episode is one to both itself, Sentai, and how fans react to the differences between the two versions. In-Universe, Ethan and Kira see the show as one to their adventures.
- An Aesop: For the Show Within a Show, Whacker Wilson learns there's more to life than money. For the actual show, give an adaptation a fair chance even if it's a different interpretation.
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: "What would they know about Power Rangers in Japan?"
- Casting Gag: In the dubbed episode, the Blue Ranger is voiced by Jorgito Vargas Jr, who played a Blue Ranger last season.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Rather than adapting an Abaranger episode, this is an Abaranger episode, with the U.S. Rangers as a framing device (they even use snippets of the Abaranger theme in the background!).
- Here We Go Again!: As the trio leave for school, others at Cyberspace settle in to watch the show.
- Hypocritical Humor: Conner criticizes Ka-Ching's design as looking too obviously as a guy in a rubber suit, Kira lampshades that the monsters they've faced aren't any less goofy or strange themselves.
- Large Ham: While the Gag Dub is already a World of Ham, Ka-Ching in particular outhams them all.
- Monster of the Week: Ka-Ching is one for the Show Within a Show.
- Mythology Gag: The Japanese Blue Ranger is named Kenny Yukito; the actual Abare Blue is named Yukito Sanjyou.
- Narm Charm: This is the In-Universe conclusion the Rangers come to after watching a dubbed episode of Abaranger, despite Conner initially believing it was making them out to be a complete joke.
- No Name Given: The Red and Yellow Rangers in the show. Averted with Blue and Black (named Kenny and Mikey, respectively).
- Reflexive Response: Kenny pitches his piggy bank at Whacker Wilson while he's under Ka-Ching's influence, telling him he's up to bat. Whacker instinctively takes out his baseball bat and sends the piggy bank flying into Ka-Ching, showing that Wilson's love for baseball was able to break the monster's greed spell.
- Self-Deprecation: Conner calls the featured monster fake and ridiculous looking. Kira points out it's not any weirder than the monsters they've fought.
- Serious Business: Conner will not let a Japanese TV show get away depicting America like this. Ethan and Kira tell him to calm down.
- Skewed Priorities: Conner accuses the Japanese of making fun of them and the entire country. Ethan says he wouldn't care even if that were true; he just wants to see if the Power Rangers teach Whacker Wilson the error of his ways.
- Thief Bag: The bag of cash with a dollar sign version shows up in the Abaranger episode. When Whacker Wilson, falling under Ka-Ching's spell, becomes greedy and obsessed with money, returning in the next scene with big dollar-sign-emblazoned burlap sacks full of American C-notes he got by cheating at a baseball exhibition game.
- World of Ham: Everyone in the Abaranger dub makes sure to ham it up as much as they can.
