Stitch & the Samurai, also known by its Japanese name Tono & Stitch (殿さまとスティッチ, Tono-sama to Stitch, lit. The Lord and Stitch), is a manga Spin-Off of Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise written and illustrated by Hiroto Wada. It was published on Kodansha's website Comic Days for twenty-six chapters from January 13 to December 28, 2020.note An English translation was published by Tokyopop throughout 2021; the first translated volume was digitally published on April 1 and physicallynote on April 27, the second digitally on May 2 and physically on July 13, and the third and final volume digitally on October 15 and physically on December 21. A "complete collection" English release containing all three volumes compiled into one book was published in 2023, in both hardcover and paperback releases. Unlike the past Asian spin-offs Stitch! and Stitch & Ai, this deviates from past entries in the franchise by taking place in Earth's past instead of The Present Day, with Stitch befriending a male adult instead of a young girl.
The manga begins similarly to the original film, where Experiment 626, better known as Stitch, escapes the United Galactic Federation in a stolen police cruiser spaceship by using its hyperdrive to make a Blind Jump that ends up on Earth. However, instead of traveling through just space, he also travels through time; he crash-lands in Japan during the Sengoku Period, in which he meets battle-weary samurai warlord Meison Yamato.note After a brief struggle, Yamato is not only impressed by Stitch's strength, but the sight of the little blue "tanuki" causes him to have a thought that he's never had before: "cute". And so the warlord takes in the alien, making Stitch part of his army and developing an unlikely bond.
The comic was digitally published over here.
Note that only the first four chapters are permanently available; all other chapters were only available for a limited time after publishing.
There was also a two-part side story released for free in June 2020 via the Japanese version of the mobile game Disney Tsum Tsum that features appearances by Dr. Hämsterviel and, in his second-ever in-franchise appearance, Leroy; the side story can be found in Japanese archived over here. The first part of the side story was translated into English and can be found in Volume 2 of the English release.
This manga provides examples of:
- Adaptational Personality Change: In all continuities, Stitch is a bioweapon "designed to destroy everything he touches". As a result, he was originally depicted as having an innate destructive desire, especially before he's reformed, though even afterwards he's still prone to mischief and destruction to a lesser degree. Stitch & the Samurai takes place in an alternate continuity where Stitch landed in Sengoku-era Japan instead of modern Hawaii. Despite the fact that Stitch should be at his most wild and destructive, he's actually very tame, not even engaging in harmless mischief. The few occasions where he does actually cause damage are more a result of him being a Fish out of Water. This makes a fair amount of sense—Stitch's popularity in Japan is likely a consequence of Kawaisa, so the manga focuses on his cuteness, making him more childlike and innocent as a result. This is also reflected in the manga's basic premise: a ruthless samurai lord finding Stitch so adorable that he halts his military campaign just to fawn over him.
- Aliens Speaking English: As to be expected from a Lilo & Stitch spin-off. This time all the aliens somehow speak fluent Japanese.
- Alternate Universe: While the aliens' society is still as evolved as it was in previous works, the time is shifted to be further into the past, when human civilization hasn't even discovered how to control electricity yet.
- Art Shift: More like "Animation Shift", as some panels in the digital version are given brief animation loops to make them come to life.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: Prior to the introduction of Yamato, Stitch's human companions were young elementary-school aged girls. His companion in this story is an adult man, and a violent militarist warlord to boot—a far cry from the endearing and harmless little girls Stitch had previously befriended.
- The Bus Came Back: The Disney Tsum Tsum side story does this for Dr. Hämsterviel (who last appeared in the 2015 anime special Stitch! Perfect Memory and only made a distant cameo in Stitch & Ai) and Leroy (in his second-ever appearance in the franchise after his 2006 debut in Leroy & Stitch). Averted for the English language releases, however, since Disney and Tokyopop elected not to translate it.
- Badass Adorable: Stitch, naturally. It turns out being an unstoppable fighting machine while also looking cute and fluffy will easily get you a spot in a warlord's army.
- Cuteness Proximity: Stitch being a small, adorable little furball is part of what draws Yamato to him.
- Jidaigeki: WITH ALIENS!
- Oddball in the Series: The series is a markedly different from the franchise's usual formula. Stitch is now stuck in the past instead of the modern day, his new companion is an adult man rather than a little girl, and the art style has cutesy Stitch interacting with realistically drawn humans and animals.
- Name and Name: Continuing the franchise's tradition, the manga's title in English ("Stitch and the Samurai") puts Stitch's name first, but the manga's title in its native Japanese has Stitch mentioned second after the ampersand, following a trend from Stitch & Ai
- Nonstandard Character Design: The Lilo & Stitch characters, especially Stitch, maintain their plump art styles (although the UGF troopers on the very first page are given more humanoid builds than before), but all the humans and Earth animals are drawn more realistically.
- Not So Above It All: There are several moments of Yamato loosening up and having actual fun with the childish Stitch, such as when they ride rocking horses together.
- Science Fantasy: Despite the change in the time period, Disney continues to add fantasy elements in Stitch's Asian adventures, with him and Yamato meeting a ghost.
- Shōnen Demographic: The manga is targeted towards this demographic, though the presence of Stitch makes this one cuter than most examples.
- You No Take Candle: Stitch speaks in this manner throughout the story, even in the English translation.
