1 9 9 0 – 1 9 9 1 (USA/Japan)
54 x 30 minute episodes
Speedy Cerviche (voiced by Rick Jones), Polly Esther (Sonja Ball) and Guido Anchovy (Terrence Scammel) are the Samurai Pizza Cats, three crime fighters who live in the town of Little Tokyo where their headquarters are above a pizza shop owned and operated by Francine (Pauline Little).
The object of Speedy and Guido’s affections is Lucille (Susan Glover), an animatronic sheep who owns a tea house. Her hairstyle and shoulder pads conceal a number of homing missiles which are launched whenever she gets overly emotional.
Guru Lou (Walter Massey) is the Pizza Cat’s spiritual advisor. Their missions are assigned to them by Big Al Dente (A.J. Henderson), a dog who is the chief of the Palace Guard.
Little Tokyo is nominally led by Emperor Fred (Terrence Scammell), a doddering eccentric. The city’s actual leadership lies in the hands of the city council and the emperor’s rabbit daughter, Princess Violet (Liz MacRae).
The council is headed by ambitious Prime Minister Seymour “The Big” Cheese (Dean Hagopian), a rat who is plotting to overthrow the Emperor. Big Cheese is aided by his inept minions: trusted adviser Jerry Atric (Mark Camacho) and Bad Bird (Michael O’Reilly), the leader of an army of ninja crows.
The series was originally made by Tatsunoko Studios in Japan as Kyattō Ninden Teyandē. The English dubbed version was produced by Andy Thomas who had new stories and dialogue written to match the animation rather than translating the original Japanese scripts.
The English-language version became a cult hit among anime fans due to its rapid-fire pop culture references and farcical nature.
Speedy Cerviche
Rick Jones
Polly Esther
Sonja Ball
Guido Anchovy
Terrence Scammel
Guru Lou
Walter Massey
Seymour ‘Big’ Cheese
Dean Hagopian
Francine
Pauline Little
Big Al Dente
A.J. Henderson
Lucille
Susan Glover
Princess Violet
Liz MacRae
Jerry Atric
Mark Camacho
Bad Bird
Michael O’Reilly
Emperor Fred
Terrence Scammell
Narrator
Terrence Scammell
