If it were a battle of just looks, I'd say Kim and Kat were about equal. But, if we dig deeper, Kim is a clear winner.
Kimberly had more personality, in my opinion. While originally written to be the "stereotypical Valley girl," Kim evolved to have so many more layers to her character. She was vain but still caring of others. She devoted herself to Tommy romantically but still maintained her own independence in every situation (sans the movie). She was certainly not the smartest of the team but was also not the total ditz people liked to perceive her. In "Wild West Rangers," we see she's totally capable of being a leader all her own, even with an untrained, bewildered team. Her interactions with her team (both the originals and replacements) were the most dynamic of any of the others. I like Kim because where we were originally meant to like her purely for her looks, we find ourselves loving and respecting her for her personality and growth.
Kat, on the other hand, had one defining character trait during her 2.5 seasons: Girl. Originally, in her premier story arc in Season 3, her character was sly, villainous but with a secret heart of gold (or pink, as we later discover). But, after turning good (rather abruptly, I might add), all she ever did after was...be the girl. She was kind, sweet, and Tommy's love interest. Sure, she was charitable but what ranger wasn't by then? While Aisha and Tanya had spunk, quirks, and strong personalities, Kat was....just Kat. No defining characteristics beyond "On Wednesdays we wear pink!!. Also, the other days that end in "Y." Ooh, and did I mention I'm Australian? That matters, right?"
I'm not saying I disliked Kat (she's my second favorite Pink Ranger, actually) but she managed to embody everything wrong with the perception of what a Pink Ranger is. Pretty but without much depth. A fighter but no where near as talented as her male counterparts, especially the Red Ranger. She never even gets her own story arc after her first, instead simply being a part of Tommy's. Even the WAY she and Tommy become a couple isn't about her! Tommy hooks up with Kat because Kimberly finally cuts the cord. There's no build-up. Not even an episode in between! Just the writers saying "Well, Tommy's gotta date someone, right? Why not Kat? She's not doing anything else..."
Basically, I love both but I'd choose Kimberly any day. Kim is a timeless character while Kat was a pretty face to hold us over until Cassie stepped on the scene to show us that a Pink Ranger doesn't have to be just "the pretty girl." I think I would have liked Kat if we stuck with her premier arc with her starting evil and having to learn how to be good. It would have given her depth and growth. Instead, all we get is "Well, she'd the girl. That's enough, right?"
Picture this: Imagine the two girls both get a spin-off where each is the main characters. Which show would YOU want watch?
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