Pizza Cats Review Newsletter

[felineki]

Oh, that picture of Polly is so cute! It reminds me of the fish-patterened kimono she wears in "Samurai Charm School". And I'm honored that you included my MIDI in the newsletter.

[Violet]

More on the Dubious DVD Set
In our last issue, I warned people not to spend "too much" on these home made DVD sets being offered on eBay.  At that time, I had assumed that this guy had at least put together the set from his own recorded episodes, and maybe it would be something that people who have trouble downloading big files could watch until something better came along.  I am now taking a different opinion after learning more about these DVDs.  I now say, don't buy these, not even for $1.  Apparently, this guy's DVDs (and there might be more than one seller now, I think some people actually bought this DVD set, copied it, and are selling their own now) have actually ripped off our episodes that Tsuneko encodes for us to watch.  Something Tsuneko does at his own expense so fans can see the show they love.  Now these #%@& are trying to use the work of fans (to say nothing of the work of the creators of the show) to rip off other fans and make money for themselves.  This isn't unique to SPC either, they do this with a lot of shows.  They cut off the credits on some of Tsuneko's encodes to remove the watermark and the French titles.  I know people want to be able to watch SPC, but don't give these guys your money.  Save it for when some official DVDs come out, and in the mean time, you can download better episodes than this DVD set.  Normally, I'm not a strict copyright enforcement person.  I don't believe in ripping off the creators when an official version is available, but I'm usually willing to look the other way when there is no official version being sold (if nothing was being sold then there's no money to lose).  But doing it for profit rather than as a fan trying to help other fans see a show they otherwise couldn't see just isn't excusable.

SPC on YouTube
YouTube.com is a site where people can upload videos.  On the downside, the quality is poor, and you can't save the videos unless you use some special software (but even then, the quality won't be improved).  On the up side, you can find a lot of fun and interesting videos there, and its not beyond a dial-up connection's ability to download if you're patient.  A faster connection will download about as fast as you watch the video.  Just doing a quick search for "pizza cats" at youtube.com brings up some episodes, clips of the opening with the theme song, and fan made videos.

Nihonbare Board
Started as a small message board for a few SPC fans/friends, it fell out of use as the bigger Edoropolis Emporium grew.  It seemed Nihonbare's usefulness had come to an end.  One nice thing about Edoropolis Emporium compared to your average internet message board is that there are very rarely any arguments or bad feelings.  However, certain subjects that are either too controversial or that aren't suitable for an all ages message board are not allowed on EE since they would be bound to cause an argument or offend someone.  But some SPC fans still want to talk about things like who would make a fun same sex couple or about a hentai doujin.  Rather than try to keep these subjects forbidden, the Nihonbare board was revived as the SPC fandom's "alternative" message board, allowing adult fans to talk about what they want, and keeping EE free of flame wars and safe for all ages.  This new Nihonbare isn't for everyone of course, but if you're open to it and would like an invitation to join, please contact me (prncssvi(at)aol.com).  Nihonbare is at http://members5.boardhost.com/pizzacats/

This Month's Pic
Big Cheese and Company by Kit Fox Crimson (Not attached to the EE version of the newsletter, see it at http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/29982440/?qo=28&q=by%3Akitfox-crimson+sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps).  You can see more of his art at http://kitfox-crimson.deviantart.com/

Hope You had a Nice Summer
That's all for this issue.  Please stop by http://abcfamily.go.com/feedback/ and send them a note to request they show Samurai Pizza Cats (don't write "SPC" because they might not know what that stands for).
-Violet

[Methid Man]

Nice choice for this month's monthly pic. Kitfox has some of the best furry art I've ever seen. ;3

-- Sam the Methid Man

[NPC]

Heh, one of the people who posted a message there siad something along the lines of "Wasn't that show a rip-off of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"
 

[felineki]

I can see why people who aren't very familiar with the show might think that; ninjas, animals, and pizza... but that's really as far as the similarities go.

[NPC]

I can see why people who aren't very familiar with the show might think that; ninjas, animals, and pizza... but that's really as far as the similarities go.

I personally can't see any relation between the shows.

I'm probably just missing what other people consider "similarities."

(And the Pizza Cats don't live in a sewer, either.)

[Violet]

Pricey Polly Purchased
Pizza Cats animation cels have turned up fairly regularly in the last few months, but although there have been some good ones, many of them weren't so interesting.  However, last week a great Polly cel, full body, good pose, in her armor, showed that good cels of popular characters are still in very high demand.  Bidding started at a mere $4.99, but after 14 bids, this outstanding cel sold for $127.75!  The winning bidder was Little Bad Wolf, a member of the Edoropolis Emporium message boards.  This isn't the first time a Polly cel has sold for over $100, but it is rare, since most of the best cels are already in collections and aren't being sold.  I can only imagine how much a good cel of the Pointless Sisters/Lovely Mipple would sell for!

More Downloads?
It has been a while since fans have been treated to any new high quality digital SPC episode downloads or new translated KNT episodes.  Don't worry though, these projects aren't dead.  They are however, labors of love, and they have to be worked on in between the duties and problems of the real world, including work, school, and family.  It isn't free either, these fans have spent their own money to cover some expenses related to these projects.  So be patient my friends.

The Pizza Cats' Only Humans
Despite the episode title, "The Pizza Cats are only Human", they are in fact cats.  Animalroid cats at that.  But did you know that humans have appeared on Pizza Cats?  Marilyn Monroe's face has been seen for a flash of a second in an explosion.  But aside from that, Santa Clause, in human form, appears near the end of "The Cheese who Stole Christmas".  The real-life narrator (in a animated form using a photo for the head) from KNT is seen being exiled by Usa Hime in KNT 47, but this scene was cut out of the English version.  It's possible that some other human characters may have been hidden in the backgrounds somewhere, but none have been reported as of yet.  Some characters, including Ninja-Crowbots, have been based on real life Japanese (or even foreign) celebrities, but they are drawn in animalroid form.  One of the more frequently seen examples of this is the constantly running ostrich, who's KNT name is "Choinaa Nana Gou" and is a caricature of Olympic gold medal track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

This Month's Pic
Otama delivers!  Hot and fresh, 30 minutes or it's free!

Hail to Thee, Oh Pizza Cats
OK, if anyone is wearing a Pizza Cat costume for Halloween, I want pictures!  See you next month!
-Violet

[Daisensei]

More Downloads?
It has been a while since fans have been treated to any new high quality digital SPC episode downloads or new translated KNT episodes.  Don't worry though, these projects aren't dead.  They are however, labors of love, and they have to be worked on in between the duties and problems of the real world, including work, school, and family.  It isn't free either, these fans have spent their own money to cover some expenses related to these projects.  So be patient my friends.

Yes, I still am translating KNT episodes, but the work doesn't go as fast as desired. Any progress will be reported eventually in the KNT Translation topic  topic.

This Month's Pic
Otama delivers!  Hot and fresh, 30 minutes or it's free!

Lovely picture drawn by Souma Takuya. Any idea about when did it was drawn?

[SteC]

You got that right on the gorgeous Polly cel, Vi! Plus it's an honour that the winner came from this very forum! 

[felineki]

Glad to hear the translation projects are still going well. I greatly appreciate the work all of you have put in, and I'm sure lots of other fans do, too.

Very cute picture this issue! Cats have wonderful balance, and this certainly seems comes in handy for their pizza business. It still amazes me how Polly is able to carry two orders of ice cream that are each taller than her, each on a separate tray, one in each hand.

[Violet]

This Month's Pic
Otama delivers!  Hot and fresh, 30 minutes or it's free!

Lovely picture drawn by Souma Takuya. Any idea about when did it was drawn?

Yes, the doujin it is in was printed August, 2000.

[Anonymous]

More Downloads?
It has been a while since fans have been treated to any new high quality digital SPC episode downloads or new translated KNT episodes.  Don't worry though, these projects aren't dead.  They are however, labors of love, and they have to be worked on in between the duties and problems of the real world, including work, school, and family.  It isn't free either, these fans have spent their own money to cover some expenses related to these projects.  So be patient my friends.

I've been delaying the release of the HQ episodes simply because of the sudden rush of dvd sets. i have seen people pestering fans who have my episodes asking when i'm releasing new ones. so i'm either going to have to release these low key (as 15 was) or stop the torrents altogether. i'm not one for having people rip off the original creators for a "quick buck". 16-20 are nearly complete, but i'm dubious on how to release these to be perfectly honest.

5 sellers of the 'dvd sets' have been banned from auction sites and referred to the relavent authorities. i won't tolerate it.

just an update.

Neko

[Supersonic]

More Downloads?
It has been a while since fans have been treated to any new high quality digital SPC episode downloads or new translated KNT episodes.  Don't worry though, these projects aren't dead.  They are however, labors of love, and they have to be worked on in between the duties and problems of the real world, including work, school, and family.  It isn't free either, these fans have spent their own money to cover some expenses related to these projects.  So be patient my friends.

I've been delaying the release of the HQ episodes simply because of the sudden rush of dvd sets. i have seen people pestering fans who have my episodes asking when i'm releasing new ones. so i'm either going to have to release these low key (as 15 was) or stop the torrents altogether. i'm not one for having people rip off the original creators for a "quick buck". 16-20 are nearly complete, but i'm dubious on how to release these to be perfectly honest.

5 sellers of the 'dvd sets' have been banned from auction sites and referred to the relavent authorities. i won't tolerate it.

just an update.

Neko

For some good news, we've added more storage space to shin-getter.net, so once I get it set up, we'll have a "webseed" ready for everyone to use! This will allow you to obtain a complete download even when other people aren't downloading!

[Violet]

Do the Cats have Jetpacks?
Yes they do.  We've seen them being used now and then.  The real question is; why aren't they being used more often?  Fight the Ninja Crows in the air.  Avoid crashing into buildings.  Save time getting to the top of Ruby's building.  There maybe be some clue in a yet to be translated KNT episode as to why the cats use their jetpacks so seldomly, but for now, all fans can do is speculate.  Perhaps they don't hold much fuel.  Maybe they aren't very powerful and don't actually the cats to "fly" but just to give them more "air time" in a jump.  Or maybe the writers just only bother to remember the jetpacks when it suits them.  Violet and her Mom, Freida are seen flying around with jetpacks in "Princess Vi's Hippy Dippy Mom", but never again.  Violet's is built into the bows of her obi (the belt or sash part of a kimono), and Freida's is part of her backpack.  And Big Cheese is seen flying in the "Great Comet Caper", in a method very similar to that used by Tails from Sonic, by spinning his tail.  Being "Animalroids" and very connected to their mechanical attachments, maybe these characters just need to be in the right mood to be able to fly?  The crows don't need any of that of course, they have wings.

The Age Thing
It's something fans never get tired of guessing at; How old are the characters?  There are lots of opinions, but very few facts.  Only Violet's age is ever mentioned in the English version, when she yells "I'm tired of being an 18 year old burn out!".  But this was just a line thrown in by one of the American writers, not based on any fact from the Japanese version.  While Violet/Usa Hime can act mature at times, she can also be very childish.  Daisensei, a fan who is currently working on translating KNT, has found another character's age is mentioned in Meka meka ninpou hidenchou, which gives Reikainosuke Nekomata's (Guru Lou) age as 350 years old!  This could be some supernatural or mad scientist thing, but maybe in their guessing, fans are overlooking that these animalroid characters might age completely differently.  In any case, our Japanese counterparts don't seem to speculate about it as much as we do.  As one Japanese fan told me when I asked about the ages of Teyande characters, "They have no age.  They are forever."

This Month's Pic
Bad Bird's girlfriend, Carla.  Known as Okara in KNT.  This page from the Manjyu doujin says "Welcome to Pizza Cats, Karasuyama Branch".  "Karasuyama" means "Crow Mountain".

Until December
Next month will be our last issue for 2006 (but we'll be back in 2007 of course!).  In the December issue, we'll be digging up some old, forgotten SPC web pages that are still lurking around on the web.
-Vi

[RSJ]

Perhaps flying is luxury reserved for members of the royal house?
Being a covert crow-fighting operatives of the government working for Big Al perhaps is why the Pizza Cats are equipped with them? But, they don't use them because it would reveal their connection to the palace??

Of course, ninja crows are already outlaws, so they fly regardless???

˜\(o_°)/˜

[Daisensei]

Do the Cats have Jetpacks?
I almost watched all Japanese episodes and didn't find anything about this subject. So remains only fans speculations, I'm afraid.

The Age Thing
"They have no age.  They are forever." is a good answer . In my view this represents a desire to keep the KNT world immutable, then the time doesn't concern. This conflicts with the ending of the series, since the latest episodes made the situations hardly reversible ( could not return with high rank in the court, for example) Tatsuya Souma manifested insatisfaction with how the the series ended, and his manga reflects such position.
I respect the opinion of them, but don't like a static KNT universe. In my thoughts the animaloids must born, grow, love, have children, age and die. I'm writting a fanfic with this conception, but am afraid it's not suitable to be published here for two reasons: it's entirely in Japanese, and doesn't fit for all kind of readers (specially the part 'they must love', if you can understand me). I started the topic Ages of KNT chars? just because it's necessary to my fanfic.

Until December
Thanks, Violet, for writting the newsletters. [language=japanese]Dou mo gokurou sama.[/language]

[felineki]

Violet, you bring up a good point that Animaloids might age differently from humans. I actually had considered discussing something along these lines in Daisensei's ages topic, but couldn't quite find the right words for it at the time. For example, in our world many animals grow into full adults in just a couple years, yet it takes a couple decades for a human to do the same! If it's possible for Animaloids to live 350 years or more, they might age and develop and an even slower rate.

[SteC]

I've enjoyed reading that newsletter, Violet, and the age thing is one topic that will stand around for the test of time.  I'd also like to find out more about Tatsuya Souma's philosophy of the KNT.

[KageReneko]

OkaraChan is so cute but... Why does she say KaramaruSaa instead Karamaru San??

[robinoz]

OkaraChan is so cute but... Why does she say KaramaruSaa instead Karamaru San??

maybe that fits in the same category as couples calling each other be pet names?
there's a girl i know that used to call me d-chan (my real name starts with a d), even though i'm 2 years older than she is, could be something like that..