I spent a good chunk of the Christmas holidays just channel surfing, and that’s when I ran across this new series called “Stitch!” on The Disney Channel.
Although it is based off the Lilo & Stitch franchise, the new show has a lot of significant changes, such as: 1) the absence of Lilo, Nani, and the entire Hawaii cast; and 2) the appearance of a new line-up of characters that looked like stand-ins for a Miyazaki Hayao film.
Apparently, the new show features an AU storyline for Lilo & Stitch developed for Japanese audiences. After Stitch gets sucked into a black hole and goes flying into another dimension, he ends up in Okinawa off the southern tip of Japan. That’s where he meets Yuna, a little girl who runs a karate school and promises to help him get back home.
I’ve only seen one episode so far, and I have mixed feelings about it. First of all, I’m delighted that TV ASAHI and MADHOUSE are both involved in the project, which bodes well for the production values. However, I’m not too happy about replacing Lilo — who is adorable and funny and has great taste in music, with some cookie-cutter character who could’ve come from a million other shows like Pokemon or Beyblade or… something.
Stitch! is currently running on The Disney Channel Asia. Please check with your local cable operator for channel listings and the complete show schedule.
JPOP Manila 
I saw that while channel surfing too. I think it’s sad. Part of the appeal of Lilo and Stitch (at least for me) was its Hawaiian setting.
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And the relationships between the characters –particularly between Lilo and Nani.
(Sorry I hit the submit button prematurely, hence the two-part comment)
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lol no worries on the double post~ but yeah, part of the fun for the original series was LILO and her sister and their neighbors and you know — HAWAII
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I really cannot quite get into it. I miss Lilo much.
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I agree.
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it’s just sad that they had to replace Lilo…
i mean the whole “Ohana means family and family means NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND” concept just got thrown out the window…
hehehe…just saying…^^,
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well, STITCH is trying to get back home, but the fact that they had to “remove” LILO from the storyline in the first place just rubs me the wrong way
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