>SPC/KNT Article

        In the high-tech streets of Edoropolis (Little Tokyo), a fox (a rat in the English-language version) who has found his perfect role in life, cross-dressing politician Ko'on-no Kami (Big Cheese), and his avian sidekicks, Kara-maru and Gennari-sai (Bad Bird and Jerry Atric), plot against Shogun Iei-Iei Tokugawa (Emperor Fred) and his ditzy, romance-obsessed rabbit daughter, Usa-hime (Princess Vi). To save the city from their evil plans, loyal dog retainer Wanko-no-kami (Big Al Dentei) calls for help from the Ninja Team Nyanki (Samurai Pizza Cats) who moonlight as superheroes while making and delivering the best pizza in town. Yattaro (Speedy Cerviche) is the leader of the team and fights with the unbeatable Magical Ginzu Sword. Sukoshii (Guido Anchovy), his smooth-talking comcomrade in arms and rival for the love of the beautiful Miss Omitsu (Lucille), fights with Samurai Sunspot Umbrella. Pururun (Polly Esther), the hothead sex-kitten of the trio, uses the Cat's Paw Attraction technique, raising her paw like the "beckoning cat" statues in Japanese shops, while electromagnetic waves (represented by streams of fluttering hearts) pull her victims to her. She also throws heart shaped shiruken. In a sly reference to the live-action show Cyber Ninja, for most of their missions, the Pizza Cats are launched from a giant revolver from the roof of the Pizza Parlor by their loyal (and frequently sarcastic) assistant, Otama (Francine.) When they need extra clout they can use their own magnificent armored vehicle, Nyago-sphinx (Golden Sphinx); it can even transform into a giant robot, Nyago-king (The Great Catatonic.)

        With pizza-loving martial artists inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, early writing credits for Satoru "Mr. Zany" Akahori, and even music from GHOST IN THE SHELL's Kenji Kawai in the original version, SPC simply shrugged off the change of language and stayed insanely itself-in one memorable scene in the English version, the characters panic because they have been sent a note in Japanese. Brought to the West by Saban soon after its release, SPC was perhaps one of the last "translations" in the old 1970s let's-just-make-it-up stlye (see ROBOTECH).The improvised nature of the English-language version is,a very bad translation, but, luckily, one that succeeds in retaining the madcap spirit of the original. Saban International, execrated in many quarters for its editing jobs on Asian material, brought together a team that not only understood what the show needed but actually seeme to have enjoyed itself-an object lesson for the bored crews of many English anime dubs with grander pretensions. Edited episodes of the TV series were released on video in the U.S. as SPC The Movie (1991). The series made it into U.S. syndication in 1996; it had already been screened in Canada and Britain with some success and remains a fan favorite. Subsequent French, Spanish, and German editions were based on the English version, which means that a true translation of SPC has yet to be attempted in any Western language.

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