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, at least.
- 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.
