These guides were sent to manufacturers and licensees so they knew how the characters and logos were supposed to appear on merchandise. The manual contains things like:

• Official character turnaround sheets.

• Color references (PMS swatches).

• Character pose guidelines.

• Prop sheets (weapons, umbrella, etc.).

• Typography and approved fonts.

• Logo usage rules.

• Packaging references.

• Branding rules for the Saban logo.

That means it wasn’t meant for fans or retail — it was basically a rulebook for companies making SPC merchandise.

Things like this are rare because they were distributed in very small numbers. They weren’t made with collectors or preservation in mind, and most were thrown away by licensees.

This proves Saban planned merch.

Even though North America never got a big toy line, this manual shows that Saban prepared for licensing. That means at some point they expected things like toys, stationery, apparel, and promotional items. The fact that the guide exists means merchandising discussions were happening, even if most of it never materialized.

This shows how Saban interpreted the characters

That’s the localization layer applied on top of the original characters from Kyatto Ninden Teyandee. You can see the English dub naming used throughout.

The color references aren’t perfectly accurate

The PMS colors sometimes don’t match the anime exactly. This happened a lot with Western licensing guides because the reference material came from limited animation stills, color correction wasn’t perfect and some sheets were redrawn by Western artists

Before the North American release ever hit shelves, the UK quietly got there first. In 1991, the UK received its own VHS release of Samurai Pizza Cats, arriving roughly a year ahead of the North American VHS rollout.

This tape contains the first four episodes of the series and was sold and distributed by Entertainment UK Ltd. It’s also one of the earliest appearances of Saban-era branding in physical form, making it a fascinating snapshot of the franchise in its infancy—before the localization fully settled into the version most fans know today.

A small release with big historical weight, and a reminder that Samurai Pizza Cats has always had a delightfully international footprint. 🍕🐱⚔