Pizza Cats Review Newsletter

[Daisensei]

This Month's Pic
Last month I got a little confused and sent the same picture I had sent the month before.  How embarrassing for me!  To make this up to you readers I give you 2 pages of translated comics.  Remember to read the panels from right to left.

Enjoy Your Summer
See you all next month!
-Vi

Actually it's winter here, in the southern side of the globe.

I'm glad to see you made this scanlation available for wider audience, since it has been published at Nihonbare board.

[Violet]

Except for the really bad joke, there's nothing "offensive" about it, so it doesn't need to be limited to Nihonbare.

[felineki]

Oh, I hadn't heard about those doujin downloads. I'll definitely have to look into them, thanks a lot for sharing this! Nice work on the comic editing.

EDIT: Ha, one of the doujins available for download is the same one I recently won on auction. 

[Violet]

SPC Web Comic
"Cold" is a new SPC fan web comic written by PsyGuy and drawn by Mr. OMA.  It's a story in the style of a classic SPC episode, complete with a comic book version of the theme song to get things started.  The story takes place about a year after the Comet Caper in a rebuilt Little Tokyo.  I won't go into the story much more than that, since you should read it yourself.  The comic has it's own home at http://www.fireball20xl.com/spcc/?id=001 , but it's also be uploaded to art gallery sites, Deviant Art and Fur Affinity (it's easiest to read it on the fireball20xl site, but on the other sites, you could leave comments or ask questions for the creators with the individual pages)

Doujin/Manga Translation Projects
There are 3 major doujin (fan made comic books) and manga (professional made comic books) translations making a lot of progress recently.  First of all, the Kyattou Ninden Teyande manga by T. Souma that is so well known by Pizza Cats fans that it's usually just called "The Manga".  This book, or at least the KNT half of it, since the other half is an unrelated story, is being translated at Edoropolis Emporium.  About 37 pages are done as of today (8/9/2007).  Similar to "Cold" and many other fan-fics and comics from all over the world, this story takes place after the end of the anime series, which just shows that people everywhere really wanted more KNT/SPC.  Elon Narai at EE tries to finish a page every week, with Pizza Cat fandom's #1 translator, Daisensei, providing a script. You can check on the progress over at http://www.edoropolis.org/forums/index.php?topic=1103
Next we have the doujin "Hash Hash", being translated at the Nihonbare board.  Nihonbare is normally reserved for more "adult" content, but aside from a couple of pictures, Hash Hash is mostly just normal fan comics, which are acceptable for all ages to enjoy.  So, after a comic from Hash Hash is finished being edited into English, it is moved to my manga page where anyone can read it.  Daisensei is doing the translating and I am doing the editing.  You can see some of the finished pages at http://www.edoropolis.org/violet/library/hashhash/index.html  or go to Nihonbare to check out the work in progress.
Finally, we have "The Secret of Pizza Cat".  Unfortunately, the person who scanned pages from this 300+ page doujin only scanned the "H" stuff, leaving out a lot of fine stories and artwork.  But if you like the naughty side of fandom, you'll enjoy the comics from Secret of Pizza Cat.  Hayama is working on this project, and posts the pages as they are worked on, so you can see the ones that are only partially finished, which is most of them right now.  But in most cases, the unfinished parts are sound effects, signs, and stuff that won't keep you from being able to follow the story.  Because of the adult content, you can only see these at Nihonbare http://sonofabit.ch/nihonbare/index.php?topic=17.0

Felineki's MIDIs
There are now over a dozen MIDIs of KNT music thanks to Felinki.  He says he plays to make MIDI versions of all of the music used in KNT, and he has a pretty good start.  He's even done 2 pieces that weren't included on any of the soundtrack CDs.  One of those is "Usa Hime's Theme", which I've been wanting for years.  Felineki has been sharing his work on the Edoropolis Emporiums at http://www.edoropolis.org/forums/index.php?topic=942.0

This Month's Pic
A not so happy looking Otama, from an animation cel.

Thanks for reading this month's issue.  All the articles in this issue show just how alive SPC fandom is.  Writing and drawing, translating and editing, and even music!  Keep up the good work everyone!
-Violet

[felineki]

Wow, I'm in the newsletter! I hope lots of other fans out there will enjoy those MIDIs as much as I enjoy making them. The Cold comic is looking very good so far, I'll definitely be following it. And, AFAIK, the rest of Secret of Pizza Cat is going to get scanned eventually.

[SteC]

I'm astounded to hear that PsyGuy wrote the fancomic. Does that mean that he's also a fan of the Pizza Cats too?  What a legend!

[Violet]

I don't even know who that is, I just read the name off the web page.  He's done a good job at making it SPC-like though.

[Andrew_Fireborn]

I don't even know who that is, I just read the name off the web page.  He's done a good job at making it SPC-like though.

He's one of the main people at Fireball20xl.  Owns the web space I believe.

And yeah, appearently he is, and he converted OMA.

[Violet]

Daisensei's FTP Service
For a few months now, the SPC community has been hindered by the lack of a FTP site to host our various files, such as episodes, soundtrack MP3s, and manga scans.  But now, Daisensei's FTP in Brazil is up and running.  This FTP has limited space, so not all of our episodes can be hosted here at once, but the selection is changed from time to time.  You can reach it at http://ftp://fmatsumo.quimica.ufpr.br or http://fmatsumo.quimica.ufpr.br/ftp .
Keep in mind this is a small, private FTP and it may be offline now and then, so if you aren't able to connect, try again later.

SPC Fan Art Archive Returns
The archive has been down for a few weeks due to server problems, but it is now back up.  Stop by and have a look, and if you have any artwork of your own to add, send it in.  To make things easy, I am assisting with submissions.  So, you can send your fan art to me by replying to this address, and I'll see to it that it gets added.

Things Have Always Been That Way
A new comic from the book "Hash Hash" has been translated into English by Daisensei, with myself editing in the English text.  In this comic, titled "Things Have Always Been That Way", the Pizza Cats shop is damaged and the cats have to find other jobs while it is repaired.  The artist managed to put just about every major and a few minor characters into the story, so your favorites are probably in there somewhere.
You can read this and see other translated and untranslated parts of Hash Hash at http://www.edoropolis.org/violet/library/hashhash/index.html
Also, check out the new look of my Gallery while you're visiting my web page: http://www.edoropolis.org/violet/gallery/

This Month's Picture
If you're a fan of Big Cheese/Koon no Kami, you can buy this original animation cel at Nichibei Anime.  The text says "Ai Love Koon-chan", which is probably a pun, since "Ai" is Japanese for "Love" and sounds like "I".  This and some other KNT cels are for sale at http://www.nichibeianime.com/cels/samurai_pizza_cats/index.html with prices from $30-$150.

September really delivers with a subbed KNT comic, and the return of the Fan Art Archive and one of our FTPs.  Enjoy!  See you next month, when I hope to have some more good news!
-Violet

[felineki]

"I Love Kon-chan", eh? I can see it now...

"Kooon-chaaan, you got some 'splainin' to do!"
"WAAAAAHH!!"

[Blackcat]

Interesting…

[Violet]

KNT 3 Sub
The long awaited subtitled version of KNT #3 is complete and ready for release.  This episode is Project Dream's best work yet, and includes such extra details as notes to explain Japanese puns.  As an example, when an old man stutters asking for water (mizu) and says "mi-mizu", Omitsu offers him a worm (mimizu).  Normally only fluent Japanese speakers would get the joke, but now you can too.  In the English version of SPC, the same pun was dubbed over to have the old man saying didn't have the "firm body" he used to, and Lucille thinking he said "worm body".  As a bonus, Project Dream organizer Tigriss is also releasing the translated version of the manga this episode was based on.  A few of the early KNT stories started off as comics and were later adapted to anime.  Although the plot is basically the same, the anime version made a lot of changes.  The manga has been uploaded to http://www.megaupload.com/?d=937PKFM3
Like most translated manga, remember to read the panels from right to left.
The subtitled episode, Hore Hore Ana Hore Motto Hore! ("Dig Dig a Hole and Dig More!", which became the SPC episode "Underground, Underwater, and Undercooked") is at
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7T1EEB93

Cat Attacks
We all know about Speedy's "Cat's Eye Slash", his special attack, and most fans probably even know that it has the same name in KNT, "Neko Mei Slash".  Even though the SPC writers didn't have KNT scripts to work from, it's plain to see from the cat's eye shape the attack produces that it should be called the "Cat's Eye Slash".  Polly and Guido's special attacks aren't used in every episode, and were never really given names in SPC, but in KNT, Pururun's attack already has an English name, "Heart Breaker".  She uses her sword and flute to make a heart shape, which splits down the middle as it is projected towards the bad guys.  Sukashii's attack is called "Ichimonji Fire".  Ichimonji doesn't translate well, but means "a straight line".  A fitting English name for it might be "Beam Fire".  Sukashii does this attack with the sword from inside the handle of his umbrella, and it produces a slash of blue flame.  When Yattarou's Neko Mei Slash fails to stop Karamaru's super armor, the cats come together for a combined attack, each using their special attacks together in the "Nyanki Sanmiittai Kougeki" or "Nyanki Trinity Attack".

This Month's Pic
Something for you Bad Bird/Karamaru fans.  An original animation cel scanned with a black background.

I hope this special edition of the Pizza Cats Review has made your day a little better.  If you would like to comment on or talk about the new subbed episode or the manga, please join us on Edoropolis Emporium, http://www.edoropolis.org/forums/
-Violet

[Blackcat]

Great, a new KNt SUB episode was released!

[TGLucario475]

so THATS how to read magna...like arabic...from right to left O_O

[Daisensei]

so THATS how to read magna...like arabic...from right to left O_O

Not really like arabic, traditional Japanese writing goes from top to bottom (i.e. the lines are vertical), and the first line is the rightmost one.

[Violet]

The newsletter may be delayed this month due to computer problems and my busy schedule.  If anyone wants to write an article, I could really use the help this month.  Send them to me by private message or email. Even if you don't think you can write a good article, I can help you fix it.

[LadyFlame]

No prob, Vi; I know how frustrating it can be when your computer's not working right.  Check your email: I just sent you a little something for your site (if you want to post it there, that is).

[Violet]

Arthur Grosser- The voice of Bad Max
by Truro
In all the episodes where the Rude Noise appeared, their voices tended to vary between episodes. The only exception of the four, was Bad Max, who had a consistent voice throughout the series , except for the episode 'The Case of the Bogus Billionaire', where he had a standard Ninja Crow voice. For a long time, we the fan base believed that Bad Max was voiced by Walter Massey, who also voiced Guru Lou. While it is true that most of the actors 'Doubled up' voicing several character, it has been discovered that Bad Max was actually voiced by Arthur Grosser; professor of Physical Chemistry at Mc Gill University. It was discovered after Truro had found Dr Grosser's voice demo. See URL below-
http://klbtalent.com/Grosser%20Arthur.html
Upon checking his IMDb profile, it seems that Dr Grosser is still acting,his latest project being the TV Movie 'Abducted: Fugitive for Love'

More Cold
I know that sounds like improper English, but I mean that there is now more of the SPC fan comic "Cold" .  Normally, I really don't care for fan stories that have new fan made characters taking over the starring roles.  After all, I'm a fan of SPC, not a fan of this new character the writer just made up.  The first several pages of Cold were just like watching a SPC episode, but then suddenly it's "Hey! Here's some new characters!", and I started to think this comic was on the way down and was going to turn out just like all those fan-fics I don't like where the fan made characters become the center of attention.  But I've decided to keep reading.  Now at 40 pages, this is one of the most successful Pizza Cats fan comics to have been made outside of Japan, and it is still going.  I'm hoping that now that the fan characters have had their introduction, the focus of the comic will go back to the original SPC characters, but we'll have to wait and see.  Cold is uploaded to Deviant Art and Fur Affinity, but the most convenient place to read it is at it's home page at http://www.fireball20xl.com/spcc/?id=040

How Tall?
Fans always want to debate about how old the characters are.  That information isn't really provided in KNT, but we do know how tall many of the characters are.  Here are a few that were mentioned in the show and are "official" (inches rounded off):
Yattarou: 133cm 4'4"
Pururun: 130cm 4'3"
Sukashii: 150cm 4'9"
Karamaru: 140cm 4'6"
Koon no Kami: 145cm 4'8"
Genarisai: 144cm 4'7"
Usa Hime: 120cm 3'11" (150cm if you include ears)
Omitsu: 125cm  4'
Now, many fans are going to notice this says Yattarou is taller than Pururun, but when they are standing together, Pururun is clearly slightly taller.  There are a couple possible explanations for this.  The most likely is that Yattarou, who is very sensitive about being short, includes his ears in the measurement, while Pururun does not.  The other possibility is that Pururun's height is measured without her helmet.  And as most fans know, Yattarou and Sukashii never take off their helmets.

This Month's Pic
Night time Pizza Cats.

Sorry for the delay
My desktop computer died and was out being fixed for a few weeks, leaving me with an unreliable laptop that likes to crash randomly.  So, I fell behind on the newsletter as well as all of my other online activities.  But it's back now, so I'll be catching up on my projects.
-Violet

[felineki]

Nice find on Bad Max's VA, Truro. I thought it was cute how they gave Usahime two official heights, one with ears and one without. Gennarisai's taller than you would think. I suppose that makes sense, since he rarely ever stands up straight, he's usually hunched over a bit with his knees bent.

[Blackcat]

I need some "test" readers for an old(2002/, 2003,2004?) SPC fanfic in English that I am trying to fix, if any of you are interested send me a pm, and yeah "Cold" is good...