Samurai Pizza Cats is an American animated television adaptation of the anime series Kyatto Ninden Teyandee (Cat Ninja Legend Teyandee), produced by Tatsunoko Productions and Sotsu Agency. Saban picked up the North American rights to the series, which originally aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from 1 February 1990 to 12 February 1991 for a total of 54 episodes, in 1991, and produced an English adaption for a total of 52 episodes. The English version of the series first aired on YTV in Canada (1993) and on first-run syndication in the United States (1996). The English version became a cult hit among anime fans due to its rapid-fire pop culture references and more farcical nature.