Pizza Cats Review Newsletter

[Violet]

Introducing SPC
You love SPC, but how do you share your interest with a friend who has never seen it before.  Chances are, the average person either has no clue what SPC is, or has misconceptions about the show.  Some of the most common misconceptions are: 1- It's a rip off of Ninja Turtles.  2- It's a "kiddie" show.  Saban's own limited marketing of the show is partly to blame.  Ninja Turtles was popular at the time, and Saban did want to get some of that market, so they did try to appeal to TMNT fans by trying to make the shows seem similar.  But there is really very little in common, and Ninja Turtles was never popular in Japan.  Still, you're not going to convince your friends unless you can get them to actually watch SPC.  Saban's commercials did make SPC look like a "kiddie" show, so it's understandable why people would get that idea.  In fact, young kids can enjoy SPC just as much as anyone else can, so it's not entirely wrong.  But one of SPC's great strengths is that it can be enjoyed by all ages.  One thing SPC fans have found while trying to introduce the show to friends is the first episode isn't necessarily the best one to show someone for the first time.  While it introduces the characters, it doesn't really capture the spirit of the series.  The writers were just getting started, and it's not their best work.  Some episodes fans have suggested include:
Pizza Delivery of Doom
If You Knew Sushi
Youth is for Exploding
Terror of Prisoner Island
Cold and Crabby in Little Tokyo
But use your judgement (and the episodes you actually have available at the time).

International Names
My character guide at Samurai Savings Time http://www.angelfire.com/ca/savespc/characters/index.html has been updated to include a few more Hebrew character names.  However, I still need some help here, as I'm missing a lot of French and Italian names, along with a few others.  I need the French names for all of the Rescue Team, Al Dente, Fred, all of the Rude Noise, Fredia, Mom and Junior, Guru Lou, and Carla.  I need the Italian names for Spritz, the members of the Rude Noise, the Ninja Crows, Mom and Junior, and Fredia.  Still missing from the Hebrew names is the Rude Noise and Mom & Junior.  The Spanish names are only missing the members of "Los Mucho Ruido".  And, if anyone is familiar with any versions of Pizza Cats in languages other than Japanese, English, French, Greman, Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian which uses different character names, please get in touch with me so we can add those.

This Month's Pic
Is a girl in a Nyangoking costume.  No, not a real girl, she seems to be sort of like a mascot character.  This is from the back cover of a doujin book.

Thanks for Reading
Hope you enjoyed this month's issue.  Since February is short, I thought I might be late, but things worked out fine.  See you next month!
-Violet

[felineki]

Ah, I remember seeing that doujin when it was up for auction, great to see a better scan of the Nyagoking girl. Drawing mecha as cute girls seems to be something of a tradition in Japan, it's been done with Gundams and such for quite a while.

I noticed the update to the character names page, and thought the Hebrew version's name for Francine was pretty cute (and unique, since all of the other non-Japanese versions stick with "Francine" or a variant thereof)... "Parmesana". Goes rather nicely with the pizza theme.

[KageReneko]

Although the Mexican names of the Rude Noise... To tell the truth this translation had the custom of change the names of the characters that didn't appear really often and the names of these crows also had this...

I just remember their names that were said in certain chapter (I don't remember which); Cuervo Jefe, Mojo Rojo, Bala de Cañon Mojada and Arnold Swarzennegger ( )

To tell the truth one of my friends was very impressed with the japanese version of Bad Bird Uncaged 1; he said "Hey! That's a shonen Anime!!"; this episode could be a good one cause shows the action and humor of the series; but is too revealing... I think the best chapter for show to a friend can be Let the Cellar... I don't remember the rest of the name...

[Anonymous]

Vi, i'll get the names off the french DVD's when i have time.

and IF i can find the betamax tapes on with the russian version of SPC, i'll try and get someone to translate the names.

Neko

[Violet]

I know very little about the Russian version.  I thought it was just subtitled from one of the other versions.

[Violet]

Spiffy Diffy 10th Anniversary
My "Princess Vi's Spiffy Diffy Web Page", the center of my "Internet Empire", will turn 10 years old on April 17th.  Back when I started the page, SPC was in it's prime in the USA.  There were still plenty of episodes I hadn't seen.  How exciting it was to turn on the TV and see a new episode!  I still love SPC today, and I get excited when a new KNT fan sub comes out or Tsuneko releases another high quality episode for us.  Sadly, I don't have the free time I used to have when I started the page, 10 years ago with a poorly designed one page web site (made with a AOL web page maker designed for idiots), featuring about 10 low quality screen captures that had been given to me or swiped from other web pages.  It was my hope that when this day came, I could do some make over on a grand scale.  And, I still want to do that, but real life has forced me to stretch it out, and rather than do it all at once on the anniversary, I'll be redesigning things one section at a time for the whole year. 

SPC AMV
You know what SPC stands for.  AMV stands for Anime Music Video, and they're nothing new.  For years, anime fans have been making their own music videos by combining their favorite music with clips of their favorite anime and editing them to go together.  Like anything done by fans, the quality can range from amateur to professional.  SPC AMVs have been around for a while too, but to see them you had to find some web page hosting them or have someone send a copy to you.  Youtube isn't know for it's high quality video resolution, but since many of the AMV were made using less than DVD quality video (Tsuneko's encodes weren't always around, and some episodes still aren't out yet), the Youtube versions are quite watch able, and more importantly, very easy to find.  If you see one you really like and must have the original, at least you'll have some idea what to look for.  My favorite is "Cat-Toon Heroes" by Tigriss (Teyande Studios), based on the Aqua song "Cartoon Heroes" (Aqua is most infamous for the "Barbie Girl" song).  You can watch it here http://youtube.com/watch?v=ATd952uW2g8&mode=related&search=
After you're done, just start checking some of the links to the right and you'll find a lot more SPC AMVs.

What's Shaking?
A few of our web resources are being shaken up.  Nyanki Fanatics is gone due to hosting problems.  It's not known if or when it might ever be back, but it won't be any time soon.  Our FTP at shin-getter.net was shut down for having anime episodes, but SuperSonic isn't going to let that slide and plans to relocate the FTP.  However, it's likely the new one won't have as much room.  Nihonbare, the SPC/KNT alternative discussion board, is losing it's host round the end of the month.  Nihonbare will relocate before the deadline.  Several choices are being looked into, but I can't say for sure where we'll move.  More news on all of these forthcoming.

This Month's Pic
Well, it's Easter.  And Easter might not really be about bunnies, but it's the nearest thing to a bunny holiday I can think of.  So here are some happy bunnies playing.

The Bunny Princess wishes you all a happy Easter.  Did you find those eggs I hid?  They'll start to smell after a while, so you'd better find them!
-Violet

[Daisensei]

Spiffy Diffy 10th Anniversary

Happy anniversary to the Violet's web page!!!  Long life to your Internet Empire!!!

What's Shaking?
A few of our web resources are being shaken up.  Nyanki Fanatics is gone due to hosting problems.  It's not known if or when it might ever be back, but it won't be any time soon.  Our FTP at shin-getter.net was shut down for having anime episodes, but SuperSonic isn't going to let that slide and plans to relocate the FTP.  However, it's likely the new one won't have as much room.  Nihonbare, the SPC/KNT alternative discussion board, is losing it's host round the end of the month.  Nihonbare will relocate before the deadline.  Several choices are being looked into, but I can't say for sure where we'll move.  More news on all of these forthcoming.

More things that make us worried!  Perhaps I need to set up my server more properly. I have not taken care of my server since the last hardware crash, because I trusted that Supersonic's server made my server less important than it used to. That is no longer the case, it looks.

This Month's Pic
Well, it's Easter.  And Easter might not really be about bunnies, but it's the nearest thing to a bunny holiday I can think of.  So here are some happy bunnies playing.

The Bunny Princess wishes you all a happy Easter.  Did you find those eggs I hid?  They'll start to smell after a while, so you'd better find them!
-Violet

Here in Brazil we gave chocolate eggs to kids in Easter. Like Santa brings presents in the Christmas, the kids believes that rabbits brings the choco eggs to them. Yummy!  Well, my son can't eat lactose, so we gave him a lactose free chocolate (with soy replacing cow milk).

[adam808]

Always good to have a backup FTP, in case the usual one has a problem.

[Blackcat]

Although the Mexican names of the Rude Noise... To tell the truth this translation had the custom of change the names of the characters that didn't appear really often and the names of these crows also had this...

I just remember their names that were said in certain chapter (I don't remember which); Cuervo Jefe, Mojo Rojo, Bala de Cañon Mojada and Arnold Swarzennegger ( )

To tell the truth one of my friends was very impressed with the japanese version of Bad Bird Uncaged 1; he said "Hey! That's a shonen Anime!!"; this episode could be a good one cause shows the action and humor of the series; but is too revealing... I think the best chapter for show to a friend can be Let the Cellar... I don't remember the rest of the name...

Well, you can help me a bit with the “Lista of personages” I fell that the “B team” and Rude Noise parts could be better, for example I don’t know the Spanish name of the especial attack the rude noise used to defeat the rescue team, and the Spanish name of the “combined weapons” of the Rescue team.

[Anonymous]

the russian version has its own dub up until episode 19. It then was subtitled using english episodes after. so unless they ran out of money or something who knows.

i'll get some info on the russian version for you at some point. but the name of the series in russian is:

Коты Пиццы Самурая (hopefully the forum will display it)


(Translated means: Cats of the Pizza of the Samurai)

[Violet]

A correction:  My web page's 10th anniversary is actually the 19th.  I started working on it on the 17th, but it wasn't online until the 19th.  So I guess either day could be right, but the 19th is "official".

[Violet]

SPC Radio Play
If you haven't already, you really should check out Truro's SPC radio play at http://truro359.tripod.com/id7.html !  This is entirely a fan made production, but you'll enjoy an experience that rivals seeing a new SPC episode for the first time.  The story is well written, the production is professional level, and you'll be amazed at the talent some of our fellow fans have as voice actors. 
Narrator/Speedy/Guido- D-Mac
Polly- Kate669
Francine- Rina-Chan
Princess Vi- Zee-Chan
Mama/Junior/Badbird/Prince/Aladin- Truro
Al Dente- Aramek
Guru Lou/Catton- emcgo
Big Cheese/Spritz- Andy
Jerry- Jarrah White
Lucille- Envy
Meowsma- Kawttus
Bat Cat- reptileguard
While you're at Truro's page, be sure to check out his SPC music videos too.

All Ages Appeal
One of the great things about SPC is that it really does have the ability to appeal to people of all ages.  Everyone from young kids to mature adults can enjoy SPC.  Sure, a 5 year old might not get a joke about O.J. Simpson running through an airport, but seeing a girl shoot missiles from her hair is fun no matter how old you are.  One fan told me that both her mother and her daughter enjoy watching SPC with her.  Even without the benefit of being on TV, SPC is gaining fans as we share it with our friends and family.

Developments
As mentioned in our last issue, there have been some problems with some of our web resources.  Here's an update.  Shin-getter FTP is getting it's own dedicated server, and Threaux has offered the use of some extra space, but this is still in progress.  In the meantime, Daisensei's FTP in Brazil still offers some episodes and other SPC/KNT related files.  The old Nihonbare board is now just a memory, but the new one is even better thanks to SuperSonic's hosting and assistance.

This Month's Pic
Is an animation cel with Guido and Polly.

Thanks for reading this issue.  We'll do it again next month.
-Violet

[Methid Man]

Awesome, I just checked out the radio plays, and I must say I'm truly amazed at all the voice work. ^_^

Hey Truro, still taking any VA's for future projects? :3

-- Sam the Methid Man

[Truro]

Well, I'm hoping to start on another Pizza Cats radio play somtime in the near future. You can audition, once I get the script sorted  (Currently working on the scripts for an 11 episode ninja-based audio series at the moment, but I'll get to the new Pizza Cats script as soon as I can.)

I'm glad the play went down so well. It was a great project to work on.

BTW, loving that cell of Guido & Polly 

[Violet]

Legend of the Starving Cats
Daisensei Matsumoto has translated a short comic from the Hash doujin, and I have edited the scanned pages to make an English version.  Keep in mind while reading it (and most other Japanese comics) that you follow the panels from right to left, not left to right as in Western comics.  Felineki has pointed out that the title "Ueneko densetsu - Shukumei no Takuhai" (Legend of the Starving Cats - Destined to Deliver) is a parody of "Garou Densetsu - Shukumei no Tatakai" ("Legend of the Hungry Wolf - Battle of Destiny"), a video game by SNK. Yattarou's Neo Geoshirt supports this since "Neo Geo" is the arcade hardware system that this game ran on.  You can read this comic and a few other scans from Hash Hash at Nihonbare or just by going to  http://www.edoropolis.org/violet/library/hashhash/index.html
More translations are being worked on now.

Nekosupi and Zumi Fox
Although Japanese KNT fans have produced thousands of pages of fan art and comics in doujin books, there's not much to see as far as web pages or online galleries.  One rare exception is "Ten".  He has made some doujin books, but he also has a web page called "Nekosupi" with some art on it, including KNT fan art.  His web page is at http://nekosupi.kemono.cc/
It's Japanese only, so if you need some help to find your way around, the KNT art is here http://nekosupi.kemono.cc/ill_KNT.html
Also of interest are some KNT and ETO Rangers icons at
http://nekosupi.kemono.cc/sonota/icon/icon.html
His link section includes a link to another Japanese web page of interest, which is Zumi Fox's Teyande page at http://www.pluto.dti.ne.jp/~zumi-fox/teyande/
This page's main feature is a Teyande Encyclopedia (which was also published as a doujin book).  This is entirely in Japanese of course.  There is also a small gallery with some of her art and gift art from other KNT fans.  Zumi's page hasn't been updated, but since it's main purpose was to put the Teyande Encyclopedia online, it probably is as updated as it was intended to be.  The Nekosupi page isn't updated often, but does seem to still be active.

This Month's Pic
A recently sold cel of Guido and Polly.  Does Polly have a pointy nose?  People have noticed some wide variations of art style depending on which artists were working on an episode.

Is it Summer Yet?
My web page's 10 year anniversary celebration continues with an update to my Princess Vi information page.  See you next month with another newsletter and update.
-Vi

[Mechadon]

  Odd. I just noticed right now; if it weren't for her ears and her tail, I would never guess that Polly's supposed to be a cat. She has no cat like features on her face. No wiskers. Nothing!

Strange.

[felineki]

Well, lots of times she's drawn with a triangular, cat-like nose (although it's hard to notice unless it's a close-up, because the girls' noses are usually drawn very small). But in this case, you're right. That early design drawing on Violet's page had her with whiskers. In fact, in that drawing all 3 of them were sporting much longer, more pronounced whiskers that the little ones Guido and Speedy ended up with.

I didn't know that the Teyandee Encyclopedia was published as a doujin. Very interesting! I visit that site frequently, it's reall a great source of info.

I had seen the KNT art section at Nekosupi, but hadn't come across the icons yet. They're cute! I like the Felicia and Vic Viper ones.

Same pic two months in a row? 

[Violet]

Same pic two months in a row? 

How embarrassing!
This newsletter was never meant to be a one bunny job.  I thought when I started that people would send me articles and I'd just put things together, write an article myself here and there, and send it out.  But with a few rare exceptions, I ended up doing the whole thing myself   This month I've had a lot of other things to do, so the newsletter is late and I screwed up the picture.  I had a different one ready, but I got the 2 mixed up.  I guess I'll have to do something to make it up next month.

[Violet]

New Episodes Encoded
Tsuneko has informed me that Episodes 18 & 19 will be released soon.  Thanks to Tsuneko, fans have access to high quality copies of SPC that we can watch while we wait for somebody to get around to making some real DVDs (not the cheap bootlegs people have tried to sell on eBay!).

5 Years of Los Gatos Samurai
Congratulations to Blackcat for the 5th anniversary of his Los Gatos Samurai web site.  This web page may be unfamiliar to some of you because it's not an English web page, but it is the #1 SPC fan page of the Spanish speaking parts of the world.  Blackcat plans on making some upgrades this year to give the site a fresh look.
http://www.gatossamurai.galeon.com/

Buy KNT Doujin Online?
Yes, you can, sort of.  Not the actual paper books, but a digital form.  But why would you pay for this?  These are the digital versions of the books being sold by the actual artists.  They aren't scans of old books made by fans (with that shadowy area where the binding keeps the pages from being flat).  Plus buying KNT doujin from the artists will encourage artists to make more KNT doujin!  First, a warning: MOST doujin are "adults only"/"hentai".  Quite often not the whole thing, but usually at least some.  However, DLsite.com, a Japanese doujin download site does have one very good doujin that is "general" rated.  Many doujin are coming out in digital form now days, so there are several sites like this in the Japanese online market.  DLsite has decided to take advantage of the international appeal of anime and manga to make an English version.  Prices are in yen, but with the US dollar value listed.  You will need a credit card (most debit/ATM cards with a Visa or Master Card logo should work.  Ordering is safe and secure.  All of the KNT doujin are less that $10 US.  You can see what is available at http://eng.dlsite.com/search/result/=/product_state/3/limitation_age/0/keyword/teyand/_search/1/.html
The listings have ratings (general or adult), a short description in English, and samples.  If you only get one, I recommend the "Tomorrow will be Clear", which is 200 pages, general rated, and has some good comics.  Although you can order from the site in English, the doujin are in Japanese.  But you'll still enjoy them.

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

[Violet]

here's the other page