Samurai Pizza Cats, known as Cat Ninja Legend Teyandee (キャッ党 忍伝 てやんでえ, Kyattō Ninden Teyandee?) in Japan, is an anime series produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Sotsu Agency.[2] The series was aired from February 1, 1990 to February 12, 1991, totaling up to 54 episodes. The anime was introduced to western audiences in 1991 by Saban. The stars of the show are three anthropomorphic cats who protect the city of Little Tokyo from crime while making a living running a pizzeria. The series combines action and humor, and is noteworthy for its tendency to poke fun at itself and others. It breaks the fourth wall often. A very loose translation of the Japanese title is Cat Ninja Legend Teyandee or Surprising Group Ninja Legend Teyandee. The word キャット pronounced kyatto is a transliteration of the English word cat, but the title uses the kanji 党 (tō—group) with the katakana キャ (kya—an onomatopoeia indicating surprise), so the title contains a pun. The slang word teyandee can be considered roughly equivalent to the phrase, "What the hell are you talking about?" The setting of the show is Little Tokyo (Edoropolis), a town where the traditional meets the futuristic. It is populated by many kinds of anthropomorphic animals, many of whom feature cybernetic body parts. The ruler of Little Tokyo is officially Emperor Fred. However, the Emperor is insane, because his wisdom teeth were removed. Thus, the city is actually ruled by the Emperor's daughter Princess Vi and a council. Heading the council is Prime Minister Seymour "Big" Cheese, who constantly tries to overthrow the government and become Emperor of Little Tokyo. Only Al Dente, commander of the Palace Guard, has learned of the Big Cheese's covert plans. Having insufficient proof to expose the Big Cheese, Al Dente's only choice is to prevent his efforts from succeeding. To that end, he recruits three young cat warriors, the Samurai Pizza Cats (Nyankī, a portmanteau of nyaa ("meow") and Yankee). Each one has unique skills and weapons that help them keep the citizens of Little Tokyo safe from Seymour Cheese's plots, which usually take the form of a giant robot. [edit] Characters [edit] The Samurai Pizza Cats - In Japan, the heroes are known as the Himitsu Ninja Tai Nyanki ("Secret Ninja Team Nyanki").
- Speedy Cerviche (pronounced "ser-vee-chay") (Yattarō ヤッ太郎): Speedy is the leader of the Samurai Pizza Cats. As his name implies, Speedy is nimble and fast on his toes, a trait which comes in handy both when delivering pizzas and when fighting crime. He wields the magical Ginzu sword, whose power is unleashed in almost every episode as Speedy's special attack, the Cat's Eye Slash. Speedy is very self-confident and loves to pose for the camera after each victory. He is sarcastic, often jokes, and gets easily irritated at times, but remains very committed to his duties. He has green eyes and wears white armor. There has been controversy over the spelling of his name. Initially it was thought that Speedy's surname was spelled "Service" ("service" pronounced with Italian phonics sounds like "ser-vee-chay," making the name "Speedy Service" a tidy pun). However, most official packaging (such as the VHS box for the movie) spells his name "Cerviche," making it the de facto spelling. Voice: Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese), Rick Jones (English)
- Polly Esther (Pururun プルルン): Polly is the only girl on the team. Although Speedy is the leader, Polly does her fair share of bossing her teammates around. She has a fiery temper and a dynamic, independent personality. Polly battles evil with the power of love: she plays a flute when going into battle, her projectile weapons are heart-shaped, and she can charm foes to make them move in the range of her razor-sharp claws. She has blue eyes and wears red and pink armour. While Guido and Speedy never remove most of their armour even at work (a parody of Superman hiding his identity only by wearing glasses), Polly removes her armour on two occasions, during which she is shown with short red hair and a hairband upon which her ears sit. Her name is a play on the word polyester. Voice: Ai Orikasa (Japanese), Sonja Ball (English)
- Guido Anchovy (Sukashii スカシー): Guido is the resident cool dude of the group. Tall, dark-furred, and a smooth talker, he is often seen chasing after girls, although he has little success in romance. Guido's weapon of choice is the Samurai Sunspot Umbrella, which can fire rings, fire a heat beam, be spun to hypnotize enemies, and be used as a club (when closed) or a shield (when open). Its handle conceals Guido's sword. Guido has red eyes and wears blue armour. His name is a reference to the anchovy fish, and Guido is common Italian given name, and is also used as a slang term for a young, male Italian-American in New York. Voice: Juurouta Kosugi (Japanese), Terrence Scammell (English)
[edit] Other Good Guys - The Narrator: always unseen in the English version and only seen once in the Japanese version, the Narrator provides voiceover for the episodes and interacts with the characters. Like Speedy, he often makes witty or sarcastic comments, many of which spoof plot holes and clichés, and even reads the wrong narration in one episode of the US version. Occasionally, in the US version, some of his lines are changed, and a different, more "politically correct" Narrator takes over. For instance, the original Narrator's line, broadcast in Canada, was: "And so, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Samurai Pizza Cats, movie-goers around the world can thrill to yet another pointless display of senseless violence and meaningless destruction!" while the US version used the PC Narrator's voice and was changed to: "movie-goers around the world can thrill to yet another heroic display of untamed bravery and never-ending action!" Voice: Kenyuu Horiuchi (Japanese), Terrence Scammell (English)
- Francine (Otama おタマ): Francine is the feline owner of the Pizza Cat Restaurant. She does not actively participate in missions, but still plays a vital role. Wherever the Samurai Pizza Cats are needed, either to deliver a pizza or to battle evil, she operates the launching cannon (in a parody of the live-action Japanese film Cyber Ninja) which blasts the heroes in the air toward their destination. She also handles communications and finances, and is known in the English language version for speaking in rhyme. Various sources (including the IMDB) often list Francine's surname as being Manx, but her last name is never actually given in the show. Manx — referring to a breed of cat — was improvised by a fan, and has since been widely adopted as fanon. Voice: Satomi Koorogi (Japanese), Pauline Little (English)
- The Rescue Team (Otasuke Ninja): Whenever the Samurai Pizza Cats are in serious trouble, they ring the bell on their collars, alerting Francine to call part or all of the Rescue Team into action. Ironically, one lone member of the Rescue Team is usually able to accomplish what the three front-line heroes could not. The Rescue Team comprises four more cats, each with a different ability based on one of the classic four elements:
- General Catton (Rikinoshin リキノシン): a play on real life's General Patton, Catton has a pair of flamethrowing cannons on his back. He is the leader of the Rescue Team. He generally speaks in clichés ("I have not yet begun to fight! You ain't seen nothin' yet!"). Voice: Kiyoyuki Yanada (Japanese)
- Bat Cat (Mietoru ミエトル): this cat uses a wing and propeller device to become airborne. His English name is most likely a play on Batman, though he does not resemble the character. Voice: Tsutomu Kashiwakura (Japanese)
- Meowzma O' Tool (Gotton ゴットン): this member of the Rescue Team has drills on his gloves, helmet, and tail that allow him to burrow under the earth. Voice: Wataru Takagi (Japanese), Rick Jones (English)
- Spritz T. Cat (Nekkii ネッキー): unlike most cats, Spritz loves the water. He uses high pressure water jets. The "T." stands for "the." His name is a play on Fritz the Cat, a comic book character created by Robert Crumb. Voice: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese)
The Rescue Team demonstrates some Super Sentai-like abilities: the members can combine their powers by joining their backpacks into unlikely weapons. Spritz and the General create what appears to be an acid-shooting machine gun, and Bat Cat and Meowzma create what was referred to once in the English series as the "singing robot wrecking rotor," which fires an electrified vortex. Finally, all four members can combine their equipment into a larger energy cannon (the "Super-Duper Wonder Weapon") that must be supported by the whole team and fires a blast nearly equivalent to that of the Ginzu sword. - Lucille (Omitsu おミツ , Omi-chan おみっちゃん): a ram and owner of a tea house, Lucille is the main object of both Speedy's and Guido's affections, and a primary cause of conflict between them. Her hairstyle and shoulder pads conceal a number of homing missiles, which are launched in Itano Circus fashion whenever she gets overly-emotional. She has an older brother named Wally, who works as a sushi chef. Her Japanese name, Omitsu, may be a reference to the character Omitsu from Ganbare Goemon, with whom she shares many similarities, such as her occupation and relationship to the main characters. Voice: Yuko Mizutani (Japanese), Susan Glover (English)
- Big Al Dente (Inuyama Wanko-no-Kami 犬山ワンコー守): a dog, Big Al is chief of the Palace Guard. He is also the boss of the Samurai Pizza Cats and assigns their missions. His name is a reference to the al dente pasta cooking method. Voice: Kōzō Shioya (Japanese), A.J. Henderson (English)
- Emperor Fred (Shogun Tokugawa Iei Iei 徳川イエッイエッ): a panda and legal ruler of Little Tokyo, Emperor Fred does not hold any real power because he is insane and tends to act like a scat singer. His usual utterance is simply his name ("Fuh-RED!"), and on some occasions he takes to scat singing. However, he does speak coherently in at least four episodes. He is married, but his wife only appears in the episode "Princess Vi's Hippy Dippy Mom" when she comes home from traveling the world; she also has a cameo in the last episode "The Big Comet Caper". Voice: Kenyuu Horiuchi (Japanese), Terrence Scammell (English)
- Princess Vi (Tokugawa Usako 徳川ウサコ): full name Violet, Princess Vi is the young rabbit daughter of Emperor Fred, and unofficial ruler of Little Tokyo. She is rather spoiled, selfish, petty, and temperamental. She has a tendency to banish all who displease her to Prisoner Island (which is actually a tropical paradise) or, later, Extras Island. Princess Vi is devoted to her absent mother, and they have a very unusual family dynamic—they try to beat each other up when they first re-unite. Her name is a reference to Princess Di. Voice: Maria Kawamura (Japanese), Susan Glover (English)
- Guru Lou (Nekomata Reikainosuke 猫股霊界之介, Daisensei 大先生): an old cat, Guru Lou lives alone in the mountains outside Little Tokyo. Whenever the Samurai Pizza Cats are in great trouble, they seek his advice, however reluctant he may be to give it. Through his own ineptitude, he helped the Pizza Cats unlock the power of the Supreme Catatonic. Voice: Kenichi Ogata (Japanese), Walter Massey (English)
- Carla (Okara おカラ): a crow, and Bad Bird's childhood sweetheart; she loved him as a child, and still has feelings for him. She calls him Birdie. She looks like a crow, raven, or tengu creature; she has orange hair and wears red ribbons in it. She works as a clown in the local circus. Voice: Sonja Ball (English)
- Mother/Momma Mutt and Junior (Itsumono Oya and Itsumono Ko 伊津茂乃母, 伊津茂乃子): a small but constant part of the show, this canine mother and her son appear to make a silly comment every time the Samurai Pizza Cats blast off on a mission. They can be surprisingly sharp-tongued, making social criticism toward both their own world and the real world. In KNT, they may have been tanuki instead of dogs. When the group traveled to the past, Junior's grandmother was shown to be very similar to him. Voices: Momma Mutt: Yuko Mizutani (Japanese); Junior: Ai Orikasa (Satomi Koorogi in first episode)
- The New York Pizza Cats: Little Tokyo is not the only city under the protection of a Pizza Cat team. Episode 38, "A Mission in Manhattan", involved the Samurai Pizza Cats traveling to the city of New York and meeting their counterparts:
- The Sundance Kid (Michael). The shortest of the New York Cats, he uses twin six-shooters against his adversaries with pinpoint accuracy. Voice: Ryo Horikawa (Japanese), Rick Jones (English)
- Deedee (Madonna). A tall and curvaceous cat who uses a whip to punish the bad guys.Voice: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese)
- Cosmo (Prince). Like Deedee, he is taller than the Samurai Cats, and is suave and agile. He uses a rapier in combat. Voice: Show Hayami (Japanese)
[edit] Villains - Seymour Cheese (Kitsunezuka Ko'on-no-Kami 狐塚コーン守): the prime minister of Little Tokyo; more often referred to as the Big Cheese. In the Japanese version he is a fox, but in the English version he identifies himself as a rat, a modification to reinforce his position as an enemy to the cats. He is the prime antagonist of Little Tokyo, and the Supreme Commander of the Ninja Crow Clan. He tries to seize control of the city, but is invariably thwarted by the heroes or his own incompetence. He has the bad habit of literally exploding with anger every time he is disappointed at his failure, which usually happens near the end of every episode. He has a large extended family of many nationalities all over the world, all who are involved in crime and mayhem, and also have his quirk of exploding when angered. The Big Cheese is a flamboyant and openly gay showoff, prone to overacting, crossdressing (usually a cheerleader outfit), and flirting with male subordinates. His voice is strongly reminiscent of comedian Paul Lynde. His English name is a pun on "See more cheese". Voice: Ikuya Sawaki (Japanese), Dean Hagopian (English)
- Jerry Atric (Karasu Gennarisai カラス幻ナリ斉): a bald, elderly crow, Jerry Atric is the Big Cheese's trusted advisor and boss of the Ninja Crows. His voice of reason counterbalances the Big Cheese's impulsive nature. He is second in command of the Ninja Crows. His name is a play on the word geriatric, which refers to the elderly or the branch of medicine dealing with treating the elderly. Voice: Naoki Tatsuta (Japanese), Terrence Scammell (English)
- Bad Bird (Karamaru カラ丸): a crow, Bad Bird is the leader and the first among the Big Cheese's army of ninja crows. He is the arch-nemesis of the Samurai Pizza Cats and rival of Speedy. He executes most of the Big Cheese's plans. Bad Bird and his henchmen follow the age-old archetype of raven ninja, or Tengu. Voice: Koichi Yamadera (Japanese), Rick Jones (English)
- Ninja Crows (Karasu Ninja): Jerry Atric and the Big Cheese's personal army of henchmen, these crows are led by Bad Bird. There are both males and females in the group. They are often the first to face the Pizza Cats in battle, and, with a few exceptions, are defeated easily because of their lack of training. When they are not doing any evil schemes for the Big Cheese, they serve as his bodyguards, chauffeurs, deliverymen, machine builders, laundromats, housekeepers, maids, baby sitters, errand boys/girls, and other odd jobs. Voice: Rick Jones (English)
- Yard Bird (Choinaa Nana Gou): a hyperactive and very fast flightless bird that appeared in only a few episodes, mainly as the Big Cheese's delivery boy. He has a design defect that causes him to explode if he stops moving for more than two seconds. In KNT, the character was modeled after Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Japanese reading Jakkii Joinaa-Kaashii, Choinaa rhymes with Joinaa), the Olympic gold medalist, while his English name is derived from the famous 1960s English rock band The Yardbirds (which is itself derived from the nickname of jazz legend Charlie Parker).
- The Rude Noise (Yami no Yon Nin Shu): a heavy metal band of four crows that is sometimes hired by the Big Cheese, the Rude Noise are the villains' equivalent of the Rescue Team. The Rude Noise is composed of:
The Rude Noise also have a Sentai-like ability that has been demonstrated in at least two versions. Both of these group attacks are preceded by some sort of formation flight of the crows which is followed by an emission of thick, black smoke. The first group technique conjures a giant indestructible robot. The other technique was called "Operation: Smogberry, Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" (in the English version), where the Rude Noise become a giant crow made of a murderous miasma of smoke that makes dive bombing attacks. Each episode features at least one Mecha, usually as part of the villains' plot to take over Little Tokyo. However, the Samurai Pizza Cats also have some technology at their disposal. - The Supreme Catatonic (Nyago King ニャゴーキング): a giant robot that aids the Pizza cats whenever they get into a tight spot. The Catatonic is summoned by a signal sent out by Speedy's Ginzu sword. It has two forms: Sphinx mode, which is the form it assumes when not being used, and a giant robot form for battling. The Supreme Catatonic is also what launches the Goonie Birds. The robot is armed with fish-themed weapons, such as a fish spear and fish blaster. Polly and Guido normally operate the robot in battle. When not being used, the Supreme Catatonic is stored in a statue in Mt. Coochie. The name is a reference to the catatonic state.
- Goonie Birds: Pterodactyl-like robot suits. They are ejected from the Sphinx's mouth before it changes into its robot form. They transform the Cats into their Extra Topping Pizza Cats mode, thus giving them the ability of flight.
Mecha used by the villains included a "double-decker" robot based on the father and son from "Lone Wolf and Cub", a giant hot-tub robot (used to scare people into joining health spas), Long Tall Sally (a play on the song lyric of the same name), the Samurai Sun-Spot 16 Robot (an orbital fan-dancing robot that blocked the sun from Little Tokyo, preventing the Pizza Cats from recharging their solar powers), and others. [edit] Character and plot developments Throughout the series, various character attributes are defined or expanded upon through the progression of the plot. For instance, in the series finale "The Big Comet Caper", Polly realizes her love for Speedy, and is heartbroken when she believes he dies while destroying the comet that was about to impact the earth. When he returns unharmed, they officially become a couple. In the Japanese version, their relationship is developed more gradually along the entire course of the series. Lucille and Polly were briefly, unknowingly recruited by an agent of the Big Cheese to form a girl group called the Pointless Sisters (Lovely Mipple in Japan; also, Mipple is a portmanteau of Omitsu and Pururun), a reference to the Pointer Sisters. In the episode "Singing Samurai Sensation!", the Big Cheese uses their concert as a way to hypnotize and take control of the citizens of Little Tokyo. In "No Talent Guido", Lucille and Polly attempt a comeback and head to the recording studio to make an album. While working at the Pizza Cats restaurant in the episode "Pizza Bird Delivers", Bad Bird enjoys his job and sees the benefit of doing good, planting a seed which would lead to his eventual reform. This also leads the Pizza Cats to bond with him. He eventually learns that being evil has gotten him nowhere but being good does. Later, occasionally he secretly helps the Pizza Cats; for example, he deflects the dart Jerry Atric shoots at Speedy during a Kung Fu tournament, because of the lack of honor in cheating. However, in the later episode "Bad Bird Uncaged", a magical helmet gives him extra powers; he humiliates the Pizza Cats and nearly defeats them. Finally, in the last episode, while Bad Bird has the upper hand against Speedy, he convinces him to reform and spare his life. Bad Bird then helps Speedy use the Supreme Catatonic to save the world from an incoming comet. He reforms and abandons the Big Cheese and the Ninja Crows and begins working with the Pizza Cats, becoming Speedy's friendly rival. Princess Vi eventually becomes aware of the Big Cheese's cross-dressing and tells him to stop, but she isn't always bothered by it. In the episode "Field of Screwballs", she becomes jealous of everyone in Little Tokyo becoming a couple, and starts looking for a boyfriend. She notices Bad Bird during the baseball game and falls in love with him. Despite her continued attempts in this and later episodes to marry him by force, he always manages to escape. She doesn't realize that Bad Bird abhors her and is in love with Carla. Princess Vi never finds a satisfactory suitor. In addition to avoiding Princess Vi, Bad Bird also becomes reacquainted with his childhood sweetheart Carla. After not seeing each other for years, they have a chance meeting in the episode "All You Need Is Love". Bad Bird deeply regrets abandoning her and still has feelings for her; he almost reunites with her, and even asks the Pizza Cats for help, and they agree to let them live together in peace. But at the end of the episode, Bad Bird decides to avoids further contact with Carla because of his commitment to the Ninja Crows: he does not want her to see the criminal side of what he does, and love is forbidden in the Ninja Crow clan. Later, in the episode "Samurai Savings Time", he witnesses a younger version of himself and Carla playing together in a field, which brings back memories and longing for her. The younger couple talks about getting married and having children of their own. Although he has a chance to change his past, he does not. Finally, in "The Big Comet Caper", Carla tells Bad Bird that she forgives him despite all he had done, and that he has a heart but didn't realize it. At the conclusion of the episode, they reunite, marry, and open their own Pizza Cat-affiliated restaurant (Pizza Karasuyama branch) together. The episode "Samurai Savings Time" also explains how Jerry Atric and the Ninja Crows became loyal to Seymour Cheese fifteen years earlier. While on a journey, Seymour stumbles upon the house where the crows are taking care of Jerry on his deathbed. Desperately hungry, he dashes for the food he sees in the hut, but accidentally trips on the threshold and falls on Jerry, kissing him and shocking the Ninja Crows. The kiss revitalizes Jerry, and he and his clan pledge their allegiance to Seymour. The reason the Pizza Cats went back in time in the first place was to stop this event, but they end up causing no real change in the timeline. Finally, at the end of "The Big Comet Caper", Seymour and Jerry are shown paddling a small raft out to sea in order to escape Little Tokyo. They may not know or care that Bad Bird abandoned them. [edit] Theme songs [edit] English Version The theme song for the English dub naturally differs from the original, a common practice for dubbing at the time. In keeping with the parodic nature of the show, the lyrics of the new theme song make a number of references to American pop culture. For example, the lyrics "they've got more fur than any turtle ever had" subtly imply that the Samurai Pizza Cats are superior to the similarly themed cartoon series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while the lyrics "they're stronger than old cheese, tougher than dirt" refer to an advertising slogan once used for the industrial cleaner Ajax. The theme song also contains the line "As soon as someone finds the script, we might begin the show", which can be interpreted as a reference to the lack of transcripts. Michael Airington, one of the show's writers, also sang the theme song. According to Andy Thomas, Airington had a few drinks before the recording session for the song started, and as a result, accidentally repeated some of the lyrics (i.e., "this cat gets down down with a love hang over"). Airington recorded this doing his Paul Lynde voice. [edit] Japanese Version - A Time for Beautiful Days (おっとどっこい日本晴れ) by Rena Yazawa (opening)
- To Be Yourself by Rena Yazawa (ending)
- Battle In Flash by Ami Itabashi (insert 1)
- Teyandee Special Express by Ami Itabashi (insert 2)
Both the opening and ending songs were composed by Etsuko Yamakawa, Takeshi Ike and Anju Mana and sung by Rena Yazawa. Ami Itabashi, the singer of the ending song of Izumo OAV, sang the insert songs. [edit] Releases [edit] Broadcasts Samurai Pizza Cats has been broadcast in Australia and New Zealand, as well as various countries in Africa, Eurasia and the Americas, most notably the United Kingdom, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Chile, Peru, Panama, Hong Kong, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Israel, Kenya, South Africa, Sweden, Armenia, and the United States, from 1991 onwards. [edit] Episodes Of the 54 episodes that were originally produced in Japan, 52 were translated into English. The two untranslated episodes were clip shows that did little to further the series' plot. [edit] Video/DVD The series has a video release in Japan, though it only spans up to 20 episodes. A French language version is also available.[3][dead link] An English DVD appeared on Amazon.com back in 2004, containing five episodes of the series.[4] A three-DVD release claiming to be the first box set appeared on Amazon.com in 2007.[5] Both sets are believed to be bootlegs. [edit] Video game In 1991, Tecmo published a video game based on the original Japanese version, Kyattou Ninden Teyandee, for the Famicom. It was released as a Japanese-only release, but was bootlegged outside Japan under the title Ninja Cat. Players take the role of the three main cats and otasuke (Rescue Team) members, of whom can be switched to at any time and have their own special abilities to progress through the game. The game features most of the characters in the series as well as an additional villain, a mysterious scientist who shows up later on in the game and "appears" to team up with Ko'on-no-kami (the Big Cheese). A standalone, handheld LSI game (similar to Nintendo's Game&Watch) was also made.[6] [edit] Merchandise All manner of toys and model kits were released in both Japan and Europe, the latter usually being reboxed versions of the prior. Known toys include the following:[7] - Action figures for the Samurai Pizza Cats and the Rescue Team. The Japanese originals came as model kits comparable to today's Gundam toys, while the European figures came pre-assembled.
- Both large and small (Gachapon-sized), rubber-like figures.
- Playsets for the smaller figures, including the Great Catatonic and the pizza parlor.
Aside from two official books, a number of doujinshi was also made in the early nineties. [edit] See also [edit] References [edit] External links |
