SPC Mysteries

[oonai2000]

Thanks guys for your replies. It's clearly a word play, but I always thought it was spelled Polly Esther. On the other hand I've seen it spelled like Ester many other times. Maybe I'll find out later!

[Omitsu]

Something I think I'd heard once, but I'm not 100% sure on, is that "Esther" was the official spelling, but in scripts it was written as "Ester" to ensure the voice actors pronounced it properly. So either way could be considered correct.

Violet'll likely know more about this than I do.

I've heard the theory above, too. And while I may not do the answer as much justice as Vi, I thought I'd pitch in my two cents... 

I seem to recall that, back when the Samurai Pizza Cats were broadcast, the Closed Captioning option read Polly's name as "Polly Esther." However, I also believe (And on this I may be mistaken; I'm positive on the CC 'Esther') that the European re-packaging of Japanese KNT toys read, "Polly Ester." 

In the end, it probably just boils down to personal preference!

[SCerviche]

i think its spelt Polly Wester  of course the " w " is silent.

[oonai2000]

Is it OK if I just leave it at Polly Ester?

There's still another mystery, for me at least. Is Big Cheese a rat or a fox? He looks like a fox, but I believe they say he's a rat (I don't really remember when or how.) My sister and I always wondered about that. So what's the deal?

[adam808]

In SPC he is officially a rat, but in the Japanese version he was a fox. Look at his fox tail. Being a rat in SPC fit with the name Big Cheese and maybe there were no good fox name jokes like that. The writers went with what they felt was better for the SPC show I guess.

Yeah leave it at Polly Ester, it will be fine.

[Daisensei]

As Adam said, he is a fox. In KNT his name is Koon-no-kami, and in Japanese koon is a representation (onomatopoeia) of a sound that a fox makes (well, actually I never saw a fox, what kind of sound it makes?  ). Koon-no-kami ends most of his speaking with 'o-koon'.
Besides, Al Dent in KNT is Wankoo-no-kami, and wan wan is the Japanese version of bow-wow.

[oonai2000]

As Adam said, he is a fox. In KNT his name is Koon-no-kami, and in Japanese koon is a representation (onomatopoeia) of a sound that a fox makes (well, actually I never saw a fox, what kind of sound it makes?  ). Koon-no-kami ends most of his speaking with 'o-koon'.
Besides, Al Dent in KNT is Wankoo-no-kami, and wan wan is the Japanese version of bow-wow.

Haha, I really didn't know that! Thanks so much for your explanation. I still don't understand why they made him a rat though, while he's clearly a fox.

[ApacheMan2K]

i think they considered him a rat because 1) cats and rats are natural enemies, and 2) Big Cheese seems to be as dirty as one.

[oonai2000]

i think they considered him a rat because 1) cats and rats are natural enemies, and 2) Big Cheese seems to be as dirty as one.

LOL, you're probably right.

[cartoonking10749]

I know I once mentioned this, how do you vision Guido's finisher with the Supreme Catatonic?
Anyone can describe a suitable or most likely finisher.

I tend to imagine it as a large version of his flaming sword.

[Violet]

Ester or Esther?  You're not wrong to use either one, but "Ester" seems to be the preffered spelling.  I've always gone with "Ester" because of the toy packaging, but "Esther" is used in the Saban Powerhouse comic.  So, use which ever one you like.

Big Cheese is a fox not only in the Japanese version, but in every version except the English one.  It's my theroy that the English writers automatically assumed he was a rat without getting a good look at his tail in the first episode, and by the time they figured it out, it was too late to change it, so they just went with it. 

For fan-fic writers who want to explain it away, you can say he's a fox but was adopted and raised by rats (I just made that part up of course).

[KageReneko]

I always though that this series was an opposotion to the eternal theme cats=bad, birds and mice=good... Here they had the cats as the good guys and also had birds as the bad guys< I guess they just wanted back this concept turning Koon a rat...

About the finish move of Guido in the Catatonic would be the same that he uses jumping and striking with the fish spear filled with blue flames...

[Methid Man]

I always thought Big Cheese was a fox/rat hybrid. I think that fits him best.

-- Sam the Methid Man

[cartoonking10749]

Here's something interesting.
Hemets on, All 3 pizza cats have the same ear size as Francine's (who does not wear a helmet).

Helmets off, All 3 cats (but we see Polly's mostly) have smaller ears.

Perplexing or what?

[Marurun]

Ear protectors maybe?

[SCerviche]

not really becuase the helmets are not there heads. I think the ears act like a microphone or are used as special gadgets, like how Speedy used his as bug to here what the Big Cheese's plan was in one episode or somthing like that 

[Daisensei]

Here's something interesting.
Hemets on, All 3 pizza cats have the same ear size as Francine's (who does not wear a helmet).

Helmets off, All 3 cats (but we see Polly's mostly) have smaller ears.

Perplexing or what?

Until now I have seem only Polly without the helmet.  In what episode I can see other cats   with helmet-less faces?

By the way, I have this theory: by using helmets during long time, the 3 cats haven't their ears grown properly. Hey, kids, don't use your helmet too long, or you will end with small ears! 

[cartoonking10749]

You don't really see episodes with Speedy & Guido helmetless.
But I have seen model sheets of SPC without armour (that includes helmets).
I admit I was surprised of the sheets of the two tomcats.

[Sinder]

The helmet ears are primarily for the aesthetic look of the characters--in fact, they're canonically artificial (in one episode, Speedy removes one of his ears and plants it as a listening device).  Francine's probably look similar because the other Cats are virtually never seen without their helmets, so a change on her part would throw off the overall design.

While the Cats are seen without their armor in "Wet, Wild Weekend", the model sheets present a very different view of them: in the production models, the characters are completely devoid of both armor and skin, granting them a creepy, semi-skeletal look.  The sheets focus around the fact that the Cats (and everyone else in Little Tokyo) are cybernetic, something that the show tends to ignore.

[Daisensei]

Look at "Usa-Tama-Mitsu-Puru" doujin in the Violet's sites in this link. In the "Phone Call" page one wonders  how    can hear the fone conversation, since the handset doesn't reach her ear.  Yeah, good question. 
In the same page one asks if Omitsu is female, why she has horns. It concludes that this show is careless (iikagen na bangumi).