Pizza Cats Review Newsletter

[Violet]

That makes me think; has anyone drawn Big Cheese dressed like Japanese comedian "Hard Gay"?

[Violet]

Princess Vi's Spiffy Diffy Page to be Spiffy Diffy Someplace Else
Violet here.  Most of you know my web page, officially called "Princess Vi's Spiffy Diffy Web Page" (A parody of the episode title "Princess Vi's Hippy Dippy Mom") but also called "Violet's Internet Empire" or just "Vi's Page".  Since I first started it in 1997, it was hosted on AOL, where I first got internet access and still have my email.  However, AOL has gone from being the top ISP to just another free email service with a decent instant messenger.  Apparently, they have decided that they aren't making any money hosting web pages, and are discontinuing that service at the end of this month.  My page outgrew AOL a long time ago and has parts spread out over several web hosts.  Some, like the "The Pizza Cats Toy Box Page" could be their own web page.  However, the main page, started as a simple "Princess Vi Shrine" was on AOL and will be moved to Edoropolis.org, where some parts, like the gallery, are already hosted.  Some old parts will not be moved and I'll just let them go away with AOL, but all the important stuff will be moved.
The new URL will be http://www.edoropolis.org/violet/

Pizza Popularity Passes Pokemon?!
Because of poor marketing of SPC by Saban, people sometimes assume that Kyattou Ninden Teyandee was not a popular show in Japan.  While it's true there are and were animes much more popular than KNT, that doesn't mean KNT wasn't popular.  In the "Ask John" colum of AnimeNation.net, John was asked about this by a fan.  He had copies of "Newtype" an anime magazine from the period KNT was on the air (Newtype is still in print today).  One of the things Newtype reports on is ratings of anime currently airing.  KNT's ratings while it was broadcast in Japan from Feb. 1990 to Feb. 1991 ranged from 9-13%.  Classic long running shows like Doraemon and Chibi Maruko-chan get those kinds of ratings currently.  Unless you are an anime geek, you might not be familiar with those shows, but Doraemon has been running since the 70s and was declared Japan's "Anime Ambassador" by the Japanese Foreign Ministry in March 2008.  At the height of it's popularity in the 90s, Chibi Maruko-chan had a 39% rating, the highest ever for any anime show.  By comparison, shows that are currently considered popular by non-Japanese anime fans, like One Piece, Naruto, and Pocket Monsters Diamond and Pearl earn ratings of 7 to 8%.  While no where near Chibi Maruko-chan's record, those shows are considered successful, so, with it's 9-13% rating, you can certainly say that KNT was successful in it's day.

This Month's Pic
Karamaru by Kosuzu Yuuki

[Blackcat]

Princess Vi's Spiffy Diffy Page to be Spiffy Diffy Someplace Else
Ok, is good to know your page is still going, and moving... my page Gatos Samurai needs a new host and to be updated, I have all the info typed somewhere, but well... since the comunity, I dont see the point of my webpage anymore...

Pizza Popularity Passes Pokemon?!
Thats becausenowadays they make a lot more animes than back then, so the market share for each one is smaller.

This Month's Pic

I like Bad Bird...

[MitchZer0]

well, knt/spc is more popular, but since its been more then 10 years old., it's not the most well known, but it's still the awesomest anime, in my opinion
                                                                                                 ^ since the last time the anime was on TV

[Yakko Cerviche]

"The Queer Fox is Back."  I wonder how they would have translated that title for a Pizza Cats episode.

Something like "The Big Cheese is Back" or "The Return of Big Cheese" probably. Maybe something punnier...

Samurai Pizza Cats Episode LIII: Return of The Cheese.

Yeah, a Star Wars parody in the title could have been funny.

[Husky]

Pizza Popularity Passes Pokemon?!

I'm not suprised. Pizza Cats's goodness vs Pokemon's endless cycle of filler episodes used to wipe backsides with- No contest.

[Violet]

SPCPRP
Truro Web Studios has announced the third in the series of annual Samurai Pizza Cats Pantomime Radio Plays. The script is approaching completion, and auditions are set to begin in early November. Just as the 2006 radio play spoofed Cinderella and the 2007 play parodied Aladdin, this year's pantomime will follow a Jack and the Bean Stalk motif. Along with the core Pizza Cats and Big Cheese's henchmen (Jerry and Bad Bird) Lucille and Guru Lou are also set to appear. Auditions are to begin in early November, with the hopes of the finished radio play being released from early to mid-December.
 
A Message from Tenko
In reply to a question asking if he used reference for drawing KNT characters in his blog, character designer Tenko replied:  "Well, after all I'm the original “Teyandee” designer , who knows everything about how they are shaped and put together. (The huge enemy robots weren't my designs though.)  The mega-up-parts ("Extra Toppings Armor) which were designed by toy makers and only cleaned up by me haven't remained in my memory, so they won't be appearing in my blog drawn without reference.  Nevertheless, I have everything stored in files.  I had never made anything higher than magazine illustrations or being manga artist's assistant until then, when suddenly I became the character designer of a TV animation that would be aired weekly. So I drew with great tension, bewilderment and enthusiasm. I remember it all pretty well.  Except from the colors, since I only saw them on the finished animation.  However for drawing "Okara" I had to check the production's file and some video.
 
SPC "Cold" Comic Gets a New Artist
Former artist "Mr.Oma" has left the "SPC: Cold" team, and new artist who seems to go by the name "Tay-To" will be taking over.  You can get a preview of her art style at her DA page
http://shadowsnack101times2.deviantart.com/
Which includes some practice Pizza Cats pictures.  "Psyguy" will conitinue as writer.  The comic's home page at http://www.fireball20xl.com/spcc/ is the best place to read it.  I'm not sure if Tay-To will also upload pages to DA as Mr. Oma used to do.  In any case, it will probably take a while for Tay-To to get ready to take over.  SPC: Cold has over 100 completed pages, making it the most successful non-Japanese Pizza Cats comic.
 
This Month's Pic
This animation cel of Omitsu/Lucille is currently up for auction on Yahoo! Japan.  http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d88902521
 

[Blackcat]

SPCPRP

I sugested "Cinderella Polly" as a name for the first one and as usual I was ignored

A Message from Tenko

Kinda interesting...

SPC "Cold" Comic Gets a New Artist

100 pages is a lot!

This Month's Pic

I like it a lot...

[Husky]

I sugested "Cinderella Polly" as a name for the first one and as usual I was ignored

Easy to see why, with a half- assed name like that.

[Cloud-Boy]

I sugested "Cinderella Polly" as a name for the first one and as usual I was ignored

Easy to see why, with a half- assed name like that.

Sounds like someone needs a hug and a kick in the rear.

[Violet]

SPC in the Blog World
I generally have no interest in places like MySpace and LiveJournal, but while doing a web search I happened upon
http://www.myspace.com/lovelymipple
Actually has some well researched Lovely Mipple info, which I shall share here.
"Lovely Mipple is a fictional band that appeared in the hit Japanese anime, Kyatto Ninden Teyandee. The band's name came from merging the names of the singers: Omitsu and Pururun (think of the "r"s as "l"s).
The band only appeared in two episodes, and only sang for a few short scenes, however, the voice actresses for the band got together and sang another song (Koi no Kikime which is proving difficult to locate). YASU Keku-nai is the whole version of the song that appeared in episode 7.
Lovely Mipple has an English counterpart, The Pointless Sisters, which appeared in Samurai Pizza Cats. Since Americans tend to not create English soundtracks for anime, and since the Pointless Sisters only sang for a few seconds in a scene, there are no whole songs made by them."
There's also
http://www.myspace.com/spizzacats
Hosts the SPC theme music, and not much else except for linking to Edoropolis Emporium for anyone interested in Pizza Cats.  Apparently there was a KNT page too, but it seems to be gone now. I noticed a lot of people have SPC videos linked into their MySpace pages.  These are probably all hosted on YouTube and can be found there, but if you have a "blog" page on MySpace or where ever, it's another way you can share your love of SPC/KNT.
 
Felineki Knows His Nimpou
Felineki wrote such a good response when on EE someone asked about the "Special Attacks" moves on KNT, that I wanted to share it with you.  Even though I did a similar article many issues ago, this gives a lot more information.  This doesn't cover Yattarou's already well known "Neko mei Slash" (Cat's Eye Slash) which we see in every episode and are already very familiar with.
He says:
"Sukashii's hypnotic attack is called "Nyanki Ninpou: Neko Damashi" ("Cat Deception", or "Cat Trickery"). According to my dictionary, this term refers to a sumo technique involving clapping ones hands in the opponent's face to confuse them. Pururun's scratching is called "Nyanki Ninpou: Kakimushiri no Jutsu" ("Scratching Technique", basically).
 
These and the ones you've already mentioned are the most commonly used, but there are a few others that are used only once or twice. Two of Sukashii's that come to mind are the umbrella-throwing technique used to take out a group of Ninja Crows in "No Talent Guido" (why do I use the SPC titles even when I'm discussing something KNT-specific...? Easier to remember and recognize, I suppose), and one that produced a series of rings that bound up another group of Ninja Crows. I can't remember which episode the latter was used in. Both of those have names, but I can't recall them offhand. Pururun has a bomb that looks like a heart-shaped cushion called "Tokimeki Poppun Bakudan" ("Throbbing ??? Bomb" (not sure what "poppun" means)) which she used in "Samurai Savings Time".
 
Karamaru's technique that he uses against Yattarou with the Neko Me Slash energy that he caught with the Komusoutector is called "Karakara Ninpou: Hi no Tori" ("Bird of Fire" (Phoenix?)). It's a pretty obvious reference to Gatchaman, one of Tatsunoko's most famous shows (despite Karamaru's insistence to the contrary... in one episode, when the Nyanki quote lines from Gatchaman, Karamaru replies that no one would understand a reference that old). His technique that he comes up with on his own in the finale is called "Majin Shinkuu Giri" (Demon Vacuum(?) Slash"). "Shinkuu" literally means "vacuum", but in the case of fantasy martial arts techniques and such, it seems to refer to an attack that magically hits the opponent from a distance through thin air.
 
The Otasuke Members have a few different "Gattai Ninpou" ("Combination Ninja Techniques") in which they combine their equipment to form various weapons. The most commonly-used and most powerful is the "Otasuke Bomber", which involves all four of them. Rikinoshin and Nekki can perform "Mizu Machine Gun" ("Mizu" = "Water"), while Gotton and Mietoru can perform "Kamikaze Rotor". The latter was powerful enough to destroy the torso of the separating/recombining robot in "Terror of Prisoner Island".
 
Usahime and Usanotsubone have their own special attacks, which they like to use on each other.  Tongue Usanotsubone's is "Flying Body Attack: Tsubone Special", and Usahime's is "Usahime Superior Rolling Shimanagashi" ("Shimanagashi" = "Exile/banishment to an island", one of Usahime's favorite pastimes, of course). Unfortunately, this scene is pretty sparsely animated, so we don't get a very good look at what these attacks actually entail.
 
The Yami no Yoninshuu have a few combination techniques of their own. Their ability to summon their giant robot Makkurou seemingly out of thin air was called "Makkurou no Justsu" ("Makkurou Technique", basically). "Yami Karasu" ("Dark Crow") allows the group to fly together, surrounded by a giant bird of black flames. Another technique, used in a different episode involves a formation that fires a beam, along with an apparition of the Karakara "Flying Skull" emblem. According to the Teyandee Daijiten site, this technique is also called "Yami Karasu", but to my ears it sounds a bit different, although I can't be sure what it might actually be. This site had Sukashii's sword named incorrectly when compared to the official script, so it's possible they made a mistake with the name of this technique as well.
 
On the subject of weapon names, Yattarou's sword is, of course, "Youtou Masamasa" ("Legendary Sword Masamasa"). Karamaru's copy of it is called "Youtou Muramura". The "Masamasa" and "Muramura" names are in reference to Masamune and Muramasa respectively, two legendary Japanese swordsmiths. In mythology, Masamune's swords are considered righteous and calm while Muramasa's are considered evil and violent. Sukashii's sword is "Koutou Pikapika" ("Luminous Sword Pikapika" ("Pikapika" = "glitter", or "sparkle")). Pururun's sword is "Bitou Kirakira" ("Beautiful Sword Kirakira" ("Kirakira" = "glitter", or "sparkle"... again))."
 
This Month's Pic
The Cats from a "shitajiki".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitajiki
 
Happy Holidays everyone!
-Violet

[Violet]

Emporium Readers-
This month's newsletter had a big article based on a EE post, so I apologize if some of you have read it already, but the newsletter is still mainly based on email and reaches a lot of fans who don't have time for forums, so I felt this very informative post by Felineki was worth sharing.

[felineki]

I've been wanting to hear Koi no Kikime since I first read about it. It's on the Red disk of the "Aburami Brothers" series, which was produced by Satoru Akahori, who was also one of the main writers for KNT. Apparently there's also an alternate version of YASU-kekunai on Yuko Mizutani's "Appale" album.

I'm honored to have my writeup featured in the newsletter. I hope other fans will find the info interesting.

The artwork on that shitajiki is great. Very nice brushwork, particularly in the shine on their armor.

BTW, I'm planning on submitting an article for the newsletter about some of the musical hardware that was used in the creation of KNT's soundtrack, but it's currently still in progress.

[SteC]

That Shitajaki's the larger image than the one I downloaded from Violet's site years ago. Pretty good find!

[Violet]

That Shitajaki's the larger image than the one I downloaded from Violet's site years ago. Pretty good find!

I am that Violet and I own the shitajaki.  Pizzacat asked me for a larger scan, and since I was getting ready to mail the newsletter at the time, I just used it as this month's picture.

[PowerOnyx]

I'd like to extend a special thanks to all of you on Edoropolis. Thank's to your tiresome efforts SPC will live on forever. We have been working hard to get SPC ready to join our site. We will launch this new series for the  New Year. SPC will always have a permanent home at PRP. SPC can finally join with the other great Saban series. This is truly a great day indeed.

Thank you. One and all.

Here's the link:

http://www.freewebs.com/powerrangerplanet/

Click on Other Specials.

[Tigriss]

Um, PowerOnyx, you have the same problem that the watch seller on ebay did, i.e. using fanart without permission. (And no offense to the artist, but it's not the coolest piece of work either.) So, how about using some official art from the show instead?

[felineki]

(And no offense to the artist, but it's not the coolest piece of work either.)

It does seem to be pretty popular, at any rate. I even came across some pictures of someone apparently getting it tattooed on their leg.

[Gabya]

Actually PO... i think this pic might work a bit better... might just be me though
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/SPCintro80.jpg

[Tigriss]

It does seem to be pretty popular, at any rate. I even came across some pictures of someone apparently getting it tattooed on their leg.

Wow, guess I'm in the minority on that one. ^^; But hey, more exposure for SPC!

Actually PO... i think this pic might work a bit better... might just be me though
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/SPCintro80.jpg

Agreed, you can't go wrong with the ol' pose.