The Powerpuff Girls Season 1 Ranking and Review

The first episode of the 1998 series the Powerpuff Girls aired almost exactly 24 years ago. Recently it was announced that the Powerpuff Girls would be getting a new reboot overseen by original series creator Craig McCracken. In celebration, in the lead-up to the anniversary date I will be releasing daily blogs reviewing the seasons of the series, and ranking the episodes within. I hope you enjoy.

Season 1 Ranking:

24: Paste Makes Waste: The thing I dislike more than anything in media, the highest "negative value" of mine is grossness. It's the one thing that makes it legitimately hard for me to watch. I don't have a very good tolerance for it. This episode is pretty gross focused on a little kid eating glue and at one a mosquito. Even ignoring that it's a fairly unexceptional episode about Buttercup having to learn to say sorry.

23: Insect Inside: Also a pretty gross episode, however it has far more going on being the introduction of the better villain Roach Coach, whose even in the ending theme, having better jokes like Professor Utonium randomly going on a sci-fi doomsday rant about how cockroaches will inherit the Earth because not even radiation can kill them. It's also more thematically justified since much of the point of the ep is about the girls thinking cockroaches are gross. I also like the little bit of Buttercup trying to protect Bubbles from the cockroach whose scaring her. I still don't like the cockroaches.

22: Geshundfight: This episode has a little bit of grossness to it with it being about everyone being sick and sneezing on each other or items to spread the illness, but much less than the last two. I think the Amoeba Boys are pretty funny villains, how they so don't get the idea of being evil. Incompetent villains can be so endearing like how their plan to steal an orange was one Bossman took months to plan out.

21: Just Another Manic Mojo: There's a type of plotline in fiction you see where a character is bad and them being physically or emotionally pained is supposed to be the entire entertainment is seeing them suffer. I don't really get the appeal of this type of ep. I like Bubbles partially because I'm most like her. The Powerpuff Girls also wreck Mojo's lab even when as far as they know he hasn't done anything this ep, which to me might be more of an issue except the Powerpuff Girls are a lot more casually destructive this season, regularly causing random damage in their normal affairs such as destroying the museum in Monkey See, Doggie Doo with their flying or Buttercup smashing holes in the walls chasing the cockroach in Insect Inside. I did like the ending joke of Mojo being angry he saved the day, although I thought it was funnier in Mr. Mojo's Rising not 1/3rd of a season ago. 

20: Ice Sore: This episode's generally fine, though the progression kind of confuses me particularly one small part. Blossom promises not to use her new ice breath to the professor so as to not make her sisters jealous, but then she is shown randomly using it to fly to school making them jealous, then won't help the kids who are laying in the ground in agony over the blistering heat because she promised the professor. Why include the scene of her using it to fly to school? The moral of the episode is about not bragging but Blossom's attitude to her ice breath seemed somewhat inconsistent.

19: Tough Love: I really like HIM, he's my favorite villain in the Powerpuff Girls. I think HIM's great in this episode, and it's creepy seeing everyone in Townsville turn against girls. My only complaint is the solution they have to this problem. Blossom says "we can't hurt our loved ones" then Buttercup is like "these people aren't our loved ones" which, I get the point she's making but it doesn't really respond to Blossom's point, and then they beat up the brainwashed civilians. Also there's this odd bit where the PPG are helping an old woman get a cat out of a tree. Buttercup gets the tree, Bubbles get the cat, Blossom for some reason picks up the old woman and moves her a little bit forward to meet up with the cat. Why? Was it so she she wouldn't have to walk for 2 seconds?

18: Monkey See, Doggie Do: The first episode. It's a pretty good episode. Much like Bubbles I was quite happy with all the dogs this episode, and I thought some parts were pretty funny. It's not quite as fast paced as later seasons, or indeed even later this season will get, but it's a pretty solid start,

17: Cat Man Do: Pretty Good episode and an ep that really screams the Powerpuff Girls to me. The PPG is to me defined by the contrast of immensely powerful superheroes while also being little girls. Fighting a brainwashing supervillain that wants to build a death ray that's also a cute kitty feels very on point. I really like the joke when the Girls make breakfast for the Professor to convince him they can keep kitty yet when he says they can, they all act distraught for a moment expecting him to say no. 

16: Buttercrush: Introduction of the Gangreen Gang. Pretty classic episode for Buttercup and the way Ace manipulates her is a pretty good lesson for children about not trusting people that try to manipulate them like that. I thought it was kinda weird how Buttercup says almost nothing the entire episode. She says two words the entire ep and they're not even towards the Gangreen Gang. That said overall pretty good ep and moral.

15: Major Competition: This is a type of plot you sometimes see in especially superhero shows, where a new hero comes along that is the hot new thing that everyone loves and is seemingly perfect, but has to be unveiled as not what they seem. I do think the way the girls find him out is a bit...convenient but otherwise think it's a pretty good episode. Major Man is very humorously over the top. I also really like Bubbles comment "Did you guys know the professor can fly" when he's pretending to dart around the room making a "whoosh" sound effect highlighting Bubbles' imagination.

14: Fuzzy Logic: The introduction of Fuzzy Lumpkins. Fuzzy's a pretty fun villain with his angry hillbilly declarations of "MUH PROPERTEH!" to the point of not even wanting animals on there. I also think Buttercup smacking Mojo with Joe was well-set up with the gag with Bubbles earlier. I also really like Bubbles this ep, this being the first time her omnilingualism is shown talking to a squirrel, and her cutely trying to warn Fuzzy of what Buttercup is going to do.

13: Impeach Fuzz: The other Fuzzy Lumpkins episode and it was a pretty good mixture. First part is a pretty funny political satire with Fuzzy Lumpkins winning the Mayoral election completely by accident just by yelling at the Mayor to shut up and then sleeping through the rest of the campaign while the Mayor tries way too hard with his ineptness, an unironically good political lesson to learn; that people will vote for nothing over something they don't like. And the latter half is a shining moment for the Mayor where he gets Hatlusted and somehow beats down Fuzzy Lumpkins in a wrestling match. I also thought it was funny when Fuzzy brings in three of his relatives to wrestle with him leading you to think the Mayor is gonna bring in the Powerpuff Girls but he ineptly picks the Professor to help wrestle for no reason.

12: Mr. Mojo's Rising: A pretty big episode for the series in terms of continuity. This is the episode that establishes Mojo used to be the Professor's assistant. It's pretty sweet seeing the Professor try and care for Mojo and him getting the girls' powers is a good way to raise the stakes. I do think it's kind weird the professor just didn't remember he had a monkey assistant named Jojo, or the fact that the girls don't remember since apparently he was briefly there while after they were created. That said the ending where Mojo is made completely distraught and defeated by realizing he accidentally made the Powerpuff Girls is pretty funny.

11: Mommy Fearest: A really good early episode, the second in the series. It's a pretty understandable conflict from the girls and the professor's position and moreover I think it was really sweet the girls wanted to set the professor up, to the point that when he was just stuttering they personally set up the date for him. Sedusa's also a pretty cool villainess.

10: Uh Oh Dynamo: A love letter to classic mecha and kaiju films with the Powerpuff Girls using a Mech to fight a giant monster. I think it's pretty well paced for one of the first 22 minute episodes and does serve as a pretty good finale. I do think it was kinda strange that the conflict that made the Professor scared for the girls was thwarted so relatively easily, but his conflict in general of wanting to protect them is sensical and sweet.

9: Bubblevicious: Pretty classic, iconic episode for my favorite Powerpuff Girl. Wanting to show she's as tough and strong as the others is a very compelling motivation and seeing her go over the top vicious in her struggle is pretty entertaining. I do think it's weird that she's not punished or reprimanded for how she acts earlier in the episode, but I really like Bubbles' episodes.

8: Telephones: A pretty funny episode involving the majority of the major characters as of season 1 which is a rarity. The key to this episode really is in the escalation, how the Gangreen Gang get more and more daring overtime to the point of prankcalling the Devil himself, how the Girls get more and more fed up with "the mayor's" calls leading to the Gangreen Gang getting beaten up by the strongest villains in Townsville without the Powerpuff Girls to save them. Also the Girls nonchalant chat with HIM, the Devil, is funny.

7: Boogie Frights: Another Bubbles ep. This is an ep about the Boogie Man blocking out the Sun with a disco ball and causing the monsters from under the beds to take over the city. The ep is mostly darkly atmospheric and has a great atmosphere. It also ends on a Star Wars parody where Bubbles has to learn to be courageous despite her feats, which is pretty classic Bubbles. Just generally a really fun episode.

6: The Bare Facts: I really like Rashomon style stories, where different characters tell the same events from their point of view and I thought PPG did it pretty well. All the girls give their own explanation on the events of them rescuing the Mayor from Mojo, each drawn in a distinctive style for the girl. It's visually interesting and funny and leads to a pretty funny pun. I do think the beginning could have been a bit shorter and allowed for more Rashomon stuff after the Girls save the Mayor but that's just me.

5: Powerpuff Bluff: I don't like this episode for any really complicated reason, I just thought it was really funny. Especially how absurd it gets. Like the three criminals are like how are we gonna disguise ourselves as the Powerpuff Girls and the camera pans over their jail cell and there are three powerpuff girls disguises in their size for no reason. I really hate in stories like this when people hate the original for something the imposter did, but this episode goes to the opposite even to absurdity where everyone constantly thinks everything the criminals do disguised as the Powerpuff Girls is cute and wholesome. It's also really funny in that fight how BOTH sides get mixed up on who is on whose side. There's also this weird funny part where one of the criminals calls Mrs. Bellum "Sweet Cheeks" and it's treated like the most demeaning horrible thing you could say, which I guess is a funny adult reference to the fact that they aren't allowed to say anything super harsh on a children's cartoon.

4: Abracadaver: Probably the darkest episode of season 1, this episode involves the girls going up against the Magician Zombie Abracadaver and his evil magic tricks. If you can't tell by my love of Zatanna, I love stage magic themed powers, and it's really cool seeing the girls fight him. The ending, while it comes out of nowhere, works extremely well because it is structured like a magic trick where something disappears from one place and appears in another without you being able to tell how.

3: The Rowdyruff Boys: The first 22-minute episode of the series and the introduction of the Rowdyruff Boys. I'm not as big a fan of the RRB as some, but this is a fantastic intro, mirroring them and their relationship with their "father" Mojo to the PPG with the Professor. It's got arguably the best action in the first season as the girls battle their evil counterparts and a really fun ending. They are too equally matched to the Boys to beat them in a physical fight when the RRB are immoral and underhanded, so instead they play "nice" and kiss them, which is of course a really funny stereotype of little boys being mortified at romance and mushiness. 

2: Octi Evil: The introduction of HIM, my favorite villain and the first episode for my favorite Powerpuff Bubbles, how am I NOT gonna love this ep? This episode shows just why HIM is such a uniquely dangerous force in the series, not for his power but as a spirit of dissent sowing hatred, while Bubbles is the exact opposite, a force of love and harmony. HIM manages to make Blossom and Buttercup fight each other due to their strong wills but something that will always unite them is helping their earnest sensitive sister. The episode is just as simple and complex as it needs to be, feeling fairly archetypal which is a big plus to me. Seasons 2-4 have the best episodes in the series, but this is an episode that can easily stand along the great episodes from those seasons.

1: Mime for a Change: While this is not the least flawed episode of the Season 1 (the ending is a deus ex machina, and the clown is infamously punished for no real reason), it is definitely my favorite. This episode features the appearance of an evil mime who drains the color from Townsville and with it symbolically it's life. Bubbles who starts the episode showing her coloring is symbolically the opposite. She is "the joy and the laughter." She represents life and spirit in her childish energy and optimism. The sequence of her channeling her love through music to restore her first sisters then everyone in the town including ultimately the mime himself is a fantastic beautiful sequence and one of my favorite in the entire show. 

Season 1 Review:

The Powerpuff Girls Season 1 is a pretty good season overall I'd say. It's not as fast paced as later seasons which is a big draw of  the series to me, but it still has a lot of the other draws such as the central contrast of these Kryptonian Tier superheroes being three elementary school age girls and both the comedy and wholesomeness that comes from that. Going over it again, I was surprised at how randomly destructive the girls are this season, which I don't know if that will persist into later seasons. In general the girls feel appropriately less experienced this season. Likewise a significant portion of the season is spent setting up various various and character dynamics. While this is an unfortunately slow part of any series, I do like how PPG handles it, by making most of these background elements in episodes with other plots. This causes it to extend over an arguably long period but also makes it far more entertaining and more natural for us to slowly learn things like the girls individual strengths and weaknesses, the dynamics between people like the Mayor and Mrs. Bellum, the Professor and the Girls, or the villains have with each other. I will say basically every episode to my knowledge had at least one joke I really liked and most had at least one character moment I thought was great, and given that I'm a fairly neutral person overall, that's really saying something showing a level of consistent quality. I also like that compared to its contemporaries the PPG seemed a bit more on the moralistic side, its episodes are more focused on giving positive messages than strictly entertainment, which is something I especially like for children's television.