History YMMV / StitchAndAi

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Some fans criticize this series for rehashing past elements of the original films and TV series, with most of the main human characters being very similar to those in the original continuity, especially Ai and Jiejie, as well as a bit of an overreliance on {{Mythology Gag}}s and {{Call Back}}s to try to invoke nostalgia for older fans.

* AmericansHateTingle: Although there was just enough American interest for most of the show to receive a free legal digital streaming release in the United States for about seven months, many Westerners were unhappy with getting another ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' series without Lilo, just like with the ''Anime/{{Stitch}}'' anime. Tellingly, this is the franchise's last major work that's in continuity with the original films and series to have been made (''Manga/StitchAndTheSamurai'', the franchise's last major work with Lilo to date, having taken place in an AlternateTimeline).

* AssPull: The fact that nobody bothers to mention Lilo in order to keep Stitch living with Ai, even though he's the only one to have suffered memory loss. Jumba and Pleakley never mention Lilo at all, and during the Galactic Council's AsYouKnow scene in "Gotcha!", the Grand Councilwoman mentions to Jumba and Pleakley at one point that after Stitch became good "they [the Grand Council] allowed [Jumba and Pleakley] to stay on Earth for many years", but at no point during does she even mention Lilo and Nani despite the Pelekai sisters appearing in a flashback.

** This show further deepened the divide within the ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' fandom that the ''Stitch!'' anime started. Some fans were grateful to see more of Stitch again in what seemed to be a much better show than the anime. Others rejected this show for keeping Lilo OutOfFocus, rehashing some aspects of the anime, such as [[ScienceFantasy the aliens getting involved with a culture's local mythology]], and having Stitch paired up with a new human girl again. Other people said that the show itself was fine, but it would have been better if it was a completely original series with its own complete cast of characters, instead of just shoehorning in the characters of an existing franchise and trying to establish this series as an "official" continuation of it.
** The plot and storytelling are either better fitting and more naturally emotional than what came before from Stitch's television escapades, feeling like it captures much of the old charm of ''Lilo & Stitch'', or it feels incredibly forced and [[{{Glurge}} tries too hard to sell its emotional moments with its characters]], thus failing to invoke the same kind of emotional responses fans had from the original Western works.

* ContestedSequel: Early on, fans of the franchise believed it was either good by having more of a focus on the two leads and for being a bit closer in tone to the original film (the latter which the past two TV entries usually lacked), or bad due to being mostly derivative of past entries, with whatever that was new not really working. Years later and without a second season having ever been made, fans who have seen the show long since its run ended now mostly agree that it wasn't a good show for that and other reasons such as the subpar animation and voice acting, seeing why Disney didn't greenlight another season, though it still has its supporters.

** Some fans did not buy [[WordOfGod the director's]] explanation that Jumba's recreated Myth/{{Chinese mytholog|y}}ical creatures are all genetic experiments that he made based on what he read on ancient Chinese scrolls, saying that Jumba still just recreated Chinese mythological creatures and are thus not exactly [[NoTrueScotsman "genuine"]] experiments, save for maybe Dim Long.
** Likewise, some fans didn't buy the director's claim that [[spoiler:Stitch's {{new|PowersAsThePlotDemands}} [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant]] [[OneWingedAngel destructive form]] was what he was supposed to become all this time, only that Lilo's and Ai's love towards him was a suppressant for it]]. This is especially considering that [[spoiler:Stitch is already dangerous and destructive enough as his normal pint-sized self]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRVko1w0bH8 a deleted version of the original film's opening]] shows that Creator/ChrisSanders (the character's actual creator) never envisioned [[spoiler:giving Stitch this kind of ability]], and [[spoiler:the giant form]] also contradicts ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'',[[note]]which this show's own director served as an executive producer of[[/note]] specifically the episode "[[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E29Shortstuff Short Stuff]]".

* AmericansHateTingle: Just like with the ''Anime/{{Stitch}}'' anime, many Westerners were unhappy with getting another ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' series without Lilo, although there was enough American interest for most of the show to receive a free legal digital streaming release in the U.S. for about seven months.

** One of the few things that fans will agree on, even this show's detractors, is that the backgrounds look gorgeous; they really make you want to visit the beautiful Huangshan mountains.
** The animation of the episodes that use hand-drawn digital ink and paint is actually on par with the WesternAnimation era of the franchise. It shows WhatCouldHaveBeen if the whole show used them instead of mediocre computer-based motion-tweening.

** In "The Phoenix", while Stitch, Ai, and her cousin Bao are using a hang glider to reach the phoenix and the shrine after the alien hunters in the episode levitate the shrine's grounds, Stitch decides to climb on top of the glider and jump off like a BASE jumper, suddenly growing a membrane in freefall to allow him to glide through the air. Not only does this begs the question as to why he never used this ability before in the original Western continuity when he fell from great heights back then, he only does this just to have some fun.

* ContestedSequel: Early on, fans of the franchise believed it was either good by having more of a focus on the two leads and for being a bit closer in tone to the original film (the latter which the past two TV entries usually lacked), or bad due to being mostly derivative of past entries, with whatever that was new not really working. Years later and without a second season having ever been made, fans who have seen the show long since its run ended now mostly agree that it wasn't a good show for that and other reasons such as the subpar animation and voice acting, seeing why Disney didn't greenlight another season.

** Somewhat like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, others watched this show to see some new [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments experiments]], although the excitement was dampened by the experiments being new [[ExactWords in the truest sense of the word]]--they're all made within this series, after Stitch, without any of the first 625 experiments, seen or unseen, making an appearance. (Although the director stated that he would've liked to bring back some of the classic experiments in this series should Disney approve the production of a second season, this ultimately never happened.)

** While not the worst animation in the world, the episodes that use motion-tweened computer animation à la [[UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash Flash]] or [[UsefulNotes/ToonBoom Harmony]] are pretty evident and unnatural looking. Sadly, they make up the bulk of episodes.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Outside of the controversies of continuing the "Stitch without Lilo" trend that started with ''Stitch!'', this was pretty much the overall reception of this show. It's a decent enough, fun, inoffensive animated series in its own right, but it's not really original, has a number of unexplained {{Plot Hole}}s and additions to the franchise's lore, and copies too much from the franchise's past entries. Plus, whatever was new to the franchise itself in this show was seen as unnecessary by several fans, to the point that there is not much in this show to justify the involvement of the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise in what is ultimately an average modern-day children's fantasy series.
* TearJerker: Lilo and Stitch have separated again, only this time he was taken from her. Even worse, [[WistfulAmnesia he lost most of his memories of her]] when he fell back to Earth escaping the Jaboodies and the Woolagongs in the first episode.

Video games: [[YMMV/LiloAndStitchGameBoyAdvance First GBA game]] | ''YMMV/LiloAndStitchTroubleInParadise'' | ''YMMV/StitchExperiment626'' | ''YMMV/LiloAndStitch2HamstervielHavoc'' | ''YMMV/StitchJam'' [[YMMV/StitchJam games]]\\

** Likewise, some fans didn't buy the director's claim that [[spoiler:Stitch's {{new|PowersAsThePlotDemands}} [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant]] [[OneWingedAngel destructive form]] was what he was supposed to become all this time, only that Lilo's and Ai's love towards him was a suppressant for it]]. This is especially considering that [[spoiler:Stitch is already dangerous and destructive enough as his normal pint-sized self]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRVko1w0bH8 a deleted version of the original film's opening]] shows that Creator/ChrisSanders (the character's actual creator) never envisioned [[spoiler:giving Stitch this kind of ability]], and [[spoiler:the giant form]] also contradicts ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'',[[note]]which this show's own director served as an executive producer of[[/note]] specifically the episode "[[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E29Shortstuff Short Stuff]]". Read more under FridgeLogic below.

* ContestedSequel: Opinions of this series run the full gamut of opinions; either it's [[EvenBetterSequel the best]] ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' [[EvenBetterSequel TV series yet]], [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel it's better than one of the two earlier TV shows]] (usually better than the ''Stitch!'' anime, but not as good as ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'', although there are a few fans out there who think the opposite), or [[{{Sequelitis}} it's just as bad as the anime, the Western series, or both of them]].

** The animation of the episodes that use hand-drawn digital ink and paint is actually on par with the WesternAnimation era of the franchise and shows WhatCouldHaveBeen if the whole show used them instead of mediocre computer-based motion-tweening.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: The new titular human lead Wang Ai Ling. Several fans believe that she makes for a much better friend for Stitch than [[Anime/{{Stitch}} Yuna Kamihara]] does, is more believable in the role, and is a worthy successor to Lilo Pelekai,[[note]]There are also some fans who like all three girls, including Yuna.[[/note]] while others see her as annoying, [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute way too similar]] to Lilo, and [[FlatCharacter lacking in depth]], calling Ai a bland carbon copy of her.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, a number of fans have rejected this series for separating Lilo and Stitch again and possibly for other reasons (such as [[spoiler:Stitch's [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands metamorphosis program]]]]).

** Somewhat like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, others watched this show to see some new [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments experiments]], although the excitement was dampened by the experiments being new [[ExactWords in the truest sense of the word]]--they're all made within this series, after Stitch, without any of the first 625 experiments, seen or unseen, making an appearance. (Although the director stated that he would've like to bring back some of the classic experiments in this series should Disney approve the production of a second season, this ultimately never happened.)
* {{Misblamed}}: While Tony Craig was ''Stitch & Ai''[='=]s director and the most familiar name to fans among the staff, the series was written by Marc Handler (who also did voice direction). Craig joined in late into the pre-production process, taking over the directing role from Victor Cook, who found himself busy with other obligations.

** Creator/LucienDodge's Pleakley voice has been mostly panned for sounding almost nothing like Creator/KevinMcDonald's Pleakley, having the Plorgonarian instead sounding like a very annoying (even for a character who's meant to ''be'' annoying) and generic nerdy student whose voice is cracking from puberty. This even lead to some fans better appreciating Ted Biaselli's Pleakley voice in the ''Stitch!'' anime, since he sounded a lot closer to the original Pleakley in his performance.

** The animation is either nice and fluid as a Disney show should be or noticeably stilted and too Flash-like or Toon Boom Harmony-like. (In fact, this show actually comes across as ''[[ArtShift both]]'', since three episodes were hand-drawn with digital ink and paint while the rest were computer-animated.)

** The overall quality of the show itself:
*** The plot and storytelling are either better fitting and more naturally emotional than what came before from Stitch's television escapades, feeling like it captures much of the old charm of ''Lilo & Stitch'', or it feels incredibly forced and [[{{Glurge}} tries too hard to sell its emotional moments with its characters]], thus failing to invoke the same kind of emotional responses fans had from the original Western works.
*** The animation is either nice and fluid as a Disney show should be or noticeably stilted and too Flash-like or Toon Boom Harmony-like. (In fact, this show actually comes across as ''[[ArtShift both]]'', since three episodes were hand-drawn with digital ink and paint while the rest were computer-animated.)
*** The new characters are either as charming and likable as the originals, or annoying and aping off the original characters too much.
*** The voice acting--in both English ''and'' Mandarin--is either good and fitting for the characters old and new, or irritating and ill-fitting, with the returning characters sounding almost nothing like the originals.
** The involvement of American animators, especially those who previously worked on ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. Supporters are happy that their involvement helps gives a sense of continuity that was sorely missing from the ''Stitch!'' anime and helps keeps the franchise alive, while detractors see their involvement as a betrayal to the ''ʻohana'' that only helps to keep the Lilo parts of the franchise dead.[[note]]The director's Facebook comments saying that he and [[Creator/JessWinfield Jumba's current voice actor]] wanted Lilo's story to stay finished but were OK with continuing Stitch's story did not help matters.[[/note]] As a result, fans became fully split over the franchise's direction.
** [[spoiler:Stitch's new abilities, especially the metamorphosis program and the giant destructive form. Either they fit for him due to the way he was programmed to be the ultimate monster, adding an interesting twist to his character and the show, or a badly clichéd gimmick that adds nothing meaningful to his character and ruins the series, disrespecting his legacy and how Chris Sanders originally envisioned him. It didn't help that it contradicts what was said and/or shown in past works. Additionally, the design of the destructive form itself is seen as either awesome or ugly.]]

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The new titular human lead Wang Ai Ling. Several fans believe that she makes for a much better friend for Stitch than [[Anime/{{Stitch}} Yuna Kamihara]] does, is more believable in the role, and is a worthy successor to Lilo Pelekai,[[note]]There are also some fans who like all three girls, including Yuna.[[/note]] while others see her as annoying, [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute way too similar]] to Lilo, [[FlatCharacter lacking in depth]], calling Ai a bland carbon copy of her.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: The new titular human lead Wang Ai Ling. Several fans believe that she makes for a much better friend for Stitch than [[Anime/{{Stitch}} Yuna Kamihara]] does, is more believable in the role, and is a worthy successor to Lilo Pelekai,[[note]]There are also some fans who like all three girls, including Yuna.[[/note]] while others see her as annoying and [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute way too similar]] to Lilo and [[FlatCharacter lacking in depth]], calling Ai a bland carbon copy of her.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Outside of the controversies of continuing the "Stitch without Lilo" trend that started with ''Stitch!'', this was pretty much the overall reception of this show. It's a decent enough, fun, inoffensive animated series in its own right, but it's not really original and copies too much from past entries in the franchise it's a part of. Plus, whatever that was new to the franchise itself in this show was seen as unnecessary by several fans, to the point that there is not much in this show to justify the involvement of the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise in what is ultimately an average modern-day children's fantasy series.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The very first episode quickly went out of its way to point out that Lilo and Stitch's separation was forced upon them, not because of a misunderstanding. Whether or not it's OK to separate them again, on the other hand, is a matter of debate.
** After seeing certain comments from ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans, WordOfGod stated that those Myth/{{Chinese mytholog|y}}ical creatures that appear in the show are all experiments that Jumba made based on what he read on ancient Chinese scrolls. Some fans who saw the show didn't buy this, saying that Jumba still just recreated Chinese mythological creatures and are thus not exactly [[NoTrueScotsman "genuine"]] experiments, save for maybe Dim Long.
** When word about [[spoiler:Stitch's {{new|PowersAsThePlotDemands}} [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant]] [[OneWingedAngel destructive form]]]] got out among the fanbase, WordOfGod claimed that [[spoiler:this is what Stitch was supposed to become all this time, but Lilo's and later Ai's love suppressed it to the point where it seemed almost impossible for it to come out]]. Some fans didn't buy this either, though, considering that [[spoiler:Stitch is already dangerous and destructive enough as his normal pint-sized self]] and that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRVko1w0bH8 a deleted version of the original film's opening]] shows that Stitch's [[Creator/ChrisSanders real-life creator]] never envisioned [[spoiler:giving Stitch this kind of ability]]. Plus, [[spoiler:the giant form]] also contradicts ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'',[[note]]which this show's own director served as a executive producer of[[/note]] specifically the episode "[[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E29Shortstuff Short Stuff]]". Read more under FridgeLogic below.

*** The animation is either nice and fluid as a Disney show should be or noticeably stilted and too Flash-like. (In fact, this show actually comes across as ''[[ArtShift both]]'', since a few episodes were hand-drawn with digital ink and paint while the rest were computer-animated.)

** The involvement of American animators, especially those who previously worked on ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. Supporters are happy that their involvement helps gives a sense of continuity that was sorely missing from the ''Stitch!'' anime and helps keeps the franchise alive, while detractors see their involvement as a betrayal to the ''ʻohana'' that only helps to keep the Lilo parts of the franchise dead.[[note]]The director's Facebook comments saying that he and Jumba's voice actor Creator/JessWinfield wanted Lilo's story to stay finished but were OK with continuing Stitch's story did not help matters.[[/note]] As a result, fans became fully split over the franchise's direction.
** [[spoiler:Stitch's new abilities, especially the metamorphosis program and the giant destructive form. Either they fit for him due to the way he was programmed to be the ultimate monster, adding an interesting twist to his character and the show, or an awful clichéd gimmick that adds nothing meaningful to his character and ruins the series, disrespecting his legacy and how Chris Sanders originally envisioned him. It didn't help that it contradicts what was said and/or shown in past works. Additionally, the design of the destructive form itself is seen as either awesome or stupid.]]

* AmericansHateTingle: Just like with the ''Anime/{{Stitch}}'' anime, many Westerners (especially Americans) were unhappy with getting another ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' series without Lilo, although there was enough American interest for most of the show to receive a free legal digital streaming release in the U.S. for about seven months.

** After seeing comments from ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans who saw the Myth/{{Chinese mytholog|y}}ical creatures, [[WordOfGod Tony Craig]] clarified that those are all experiments that Jumba made based on what he read on ancient Chinese scrolls. However, some fans who saw the show say that Jumba still just recreated Chinese mythological creatures and are thus not exactly [[NoTrueScotsman "genuine"]] experiments, save for maybe Dim Long.
** Likewise, when word about [[spoiler:Stitch's {{new|PowersAsThePlotDemands}} [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant]] [[OneWingedAngel destructive form]]]] got out among the fanbase, Craig tried to justify it by claiming that [[spoiler:this is what Stitch was supposed to become all this time, but Lilo's and later Ai's love suppressed it to the point where it seemed almost impossible for it to come out]]. Some fans didn't buy it, however, considering that [[spoiler:Stitch is already dangerous and destructive enough as his normal pint-sized self]] and that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRVko1w0bH8 a deleted version of the original film's opening]] shows that Stitch's real-life creator Creator/ChrisSanders never envisioned [[spoiler:giving Stitch this kind of ability]]. Plus, [[spoiler:the giant form]] also contradicts ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' (which Craig himself served as a executive producer of), specifically the episode "[[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E29Shortstuff Short Stuff]]". Read more under FridgeLogic below.

** In "The Phoenix", while Stitch, Ai, and her cousin Bao are using a hang glider to reach the phoenix and the shrine after the alien hunters in the episode levitate the shrine's grounds, Stitch decides to climb on top of the glider and jump off like a BASE jumper, suddenly growing a membrane in freefall to allow him to glide through the air. There's no rhyme or reason for this ability either other than he simply wanted to have some fun, and it also begs the question as to why he never used this ability before in the original Western continuity when he fell from great heights back then.

** This show further deepened the divide within the ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' fandom that the ''Stitch!'' anime started. Some fans were grateful to see more of Stitch again in what seemed to be a much better show than the anime. Others rejected this show for keeping Lilo OutOfFocus and rehashing some elements of the anime, such as the ScienceFantasy aspects involving a culture's local mythology, and Stitch being paired up with a new human girl again. Other people said that the show itself was fine, but it would have been better if it was a completely original series with its own complete cast of characters, instead of just shoehorning in the characters of an existing franchise and trying to establish this series as an "official" continuation of it.

** The involvement of American animators, especially those who previously worked on ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. Supporters are happy that their involvement helps gives a sense of continuity that was sorely missing from the ''Stitch!'' anime and helps keeps the franchise alive, while detractors see their involvement as a betrayal to the ''ʻohana'' that only helps to keep the Lilo parts of the franchise dead.[[note]]Tony Craig's Facebook comments saying that he and Jess Winfield wanted Lilo's story to stay finished but were OK with continuing Stitch's story did not help matters.[[/note]] As a result, fans became fully split over the franchise's direction.

* ContestedSequel: Practically a tradition with the franchise now, opinions of this series run the full gamut of opinions; either it's [[EvenBetterSequel the best]] ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' [[EvenBetterSequel TV series yet]], [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel it's better than one of the two earlier TV shows]] (usually better than the ''Stitch!'' anime, but not as good as ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'', although there are a few fans out there who think the opposite), or [[{{Sequelitis}} it's just as bad as the anime, the Western series, or both of them]].
* FanonDiscontinuity: Like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, a number of fans have rejected this series for separating Lilo and Stitch again and possibly for a number of other reasons (such as [[spoiler:Stitch's [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands metamorphosis program]]]]). A few fans were even angered by Tony Craig's comments where he said that he and Creator/JessWinfield wanted the franchise to continue putting Stitch into new families in every new work because they wanted Lilo's story to remain finished with ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch''.

** The reason why Lilo and Stitch are separated this time? He was kidnapped, which is understandable. But the series showing him suddenly liking this new girl Ai more and deciding to stay with her instead of returning to his original home of Hawaii had some fans questioning these things.
*** Craig attempted to appease these concerns in an interview with a ''Lilo & Stitch'' [[https://web.archive.org/web/20180209064528/https://www.joshuacroyle.com/lilo-stitch/interview-with-tony-craig-director-of-stitch-ai/ fan after the English version debuted;]] Stitch ''does'' remember Lilo, but his memory of her is foggy, hence why he doesn't try to return to her right away. However, some fans claimed it not fully justify Stitch's decision to stay with Ai (or even the existence of the show itself) and opened up the question of why Stitch--a hypercognitive creature with a mind that can think "faster than a supercomputer" who took ''[[TrueCompanions ʻohana]]'' to heart--can't fully remember ''his very first and closest friend''.
*** The show itself has Ai inexplicably explain in a [[TheTeaser cold open]] that Stitch lost his memories [[spoiler:when he re-entered Earth's atmosphere in the first episode because "special ''qi'' energy" surrounded him to protect him]]... which itself is seen as an AssPull since it undermines one of Stitch's [[spoiler:previously-known abilities; his fireproofing, which presumably includes [[RequiredSecondaryPowers heat resistance]], and ''that'' was already displayed moments before his fall to Earth with him doing his famous plasma CatchAndReturn in his fight against the Jaboodies and Woolagongs]]. Even then, why would [[spoiler:a spiritual force choose to protect an alien from being hurt yet also take away his memories]]? (Although that question would have been answered in the never-greenlit second season, during which Stitch would have found the shrine he was looking for.

* GatewaySeries:
** This show can be this for Chinese animation since it's a Disney-produced show using characters that Westerners are familiar with.
** In an inversion to this trope, Disney produced this series to enter the Chinese animation market.

** Somewhat like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, others watched this show to see some new [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments experiments]], although the excitement was dampened by the experiments being new [[ExactWords in the truest sense of the word]]--they're all made within this series, after Stitch, without any of the first 625 experiments, seen or unseen, making an appearance. (Although Craig stated that he would've like to bring back some of the classic experiments in this series should Disney approve the production of a second season, this ultimately never happened.)
* {{Misblamed}}: While Tony Craig was ''Stitch & Ai''[='=]s director and the most familiar name to fans among the staff, the series was actually written by Marc Handler (who also did voice direction). Craig actually joined in late into the pre-production process, taking over the directing role from Victor Cook, who found himself busy with other obligations.
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Presumably why the involvement of American animators, including those from ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'', were brought on board was to make sure the show would have visual consistency with the original continuity, something that a number of fans agree the ''Stitch!'' anime lacked (even among some of those who like that series). This is more apparent in the episodes made with digital ink and paint, as they look like they could've been lost episodes of ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series''.

** While not the worst animation in the world, the episodes that use motion-tweened computer animation à la [[UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash Flash]] or [[UsefulNotes/ToonBoom Harmony]] are... pretty obvious and unnatural looking. Sadly, they make up the bulk of episodes.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Both involving Stitch's new powers [[spoiler:''separate from'' the metamorphosis program]]; he's never shown these abilities before and they never show up again after that they're used, making their sudden introductions completely pointless {{padding}}:

*** The plot and storytelling is either better fitting and more naturally emotional than what came before from Stitch's television escapades, feeling like it captures much of the old charm of ''Lilo & Stitch'', or it feels incredibly forced and [[{{Glurge}} tries too hard to sell its emotional moments with its characters]], thus failing to invoke the same kind of emotional responses fans had from the original Western works.

*** The voice acting--in both English ''and'' Mandarin--are either good and fitting for the characters old and new, or irritating and ill-fitting, with the returning characters sounding almost nothing like the originals.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, a number of fans have rejected this series for separating Lilo and Stitch again and possibly for a number of other reasons (such as [[spoiler:Stitch's [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemandsmetamorphosis program]]]]). A few fans were even angered by Tony Craig's comments where he said that he and Creator/JessWinfield wanted the franchise to continue putting Stitch into new families in every new work because they decided that "Lilo's story is done".

* ContestedSequel:
** Practically a tradition with the franchise now, opinions of this series run the full gamut of opinions; either it's [[EvenBetterSequel the best]] ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' [[EvenBetterSequel TV series yet]], [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel it's better than one of the two earlier TV shows]] (usually better than the ''Stitch!'' anime, but not as good as ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'', although there are a few fans out there who think the opposite), or [[{{Sequelitis}} it's just as bad as the anime, the Western series, or both of them]].
** As of January 25, 2022, the show currently holds a weighted average rating of 5.0/10 (based on 42 user ratings) on Website/IMDb ([[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7664318 See here.]]), which is higher than the ''Stitch!'' [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409066 anime,]][[labelnote:average rating]]4.6/10 based on 259 ratings[[/labelnote]] but lower than ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364774 Lilo & Stitch: The Series]]''.[[labelnote:average rating]]6.8/10 based on over 9,600 user ratings[[/labelnote]] (Granted, the user rating count for ''Stitch & Ai'' is low, but still.)
** The reception appears to be more mixed on Website/MyAnimeList; as of January 25, 2022, ''[[https://myanimelist.net/anime/36666/An_Ling_Yu_Shi_Di_Qi Stitch & Ai]]'' holds an weighted average rating of 5.89/10 based on 148 user ratings, compared to 6.07/10[[note]]based on 1,901 user ratings[[/note]] for the ''Stitch!'' [[https://myanimelist.net/anime/5027/Stitch anime's first season,]][[note]]although this can also be interpreted as being for the anime series overall[[/note]] 6.13/10[[note]]based on 660 user ratings[[/note]] for ''[[https://myanimelist.net/anime/6899/Stitch__Itazura_Alien_no_Daibouken Stitch! ~The Mischievous Alien's Great Adventure~]]'' (season 2), and 6.02/10[[note]]based on 580 user ratings[[/note]] for ''[[https://myanimelist.net/anime/8964/Stitch__Zutto_Saikou_no_Tomodachi Stitch! ~Best Friends Forever~]]'' (season 3). (Again, the user rating count for ''Stitch & Ai'' is also low here, and ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' is not on that site for obvious reasons, but still.)
* FanonDiscontinuity:
** Like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, a number of fans have rejected this series for separating Lilo and Stitch again and possibly for a number of other reasons as stated above. A few fans were even angry at Tony Craig and Creator/JessWinfield for deciding that the franchise should continue putting Stitch into new families in every new animated work because they decided that "Lilo's story is done".
** A few fans say that they would have begrudgingly accepted ''Stitch & Ai'' into the canon... had it not been for the introduction of [[spoiler:Stitch's metamorphosis program]].

*** The show itself has Ai inexplicably explain in a [[TheTeaser cold open]] that Stitch lost his memories [[spoiler:when he re-entered Earth's atmosphere in the first episode because "special ''qi'' energy" surrounded him to protect him]]... which itself is seen as a bit of an AssPull since it undermines one of Stitch's [[spoiler:previously-known abilities; his fireproofing, which presumably includes [[RequiredSecondaryPowers heat resistance]], and ''that'' was already displayed moments before his fall to Earth with him doing his famous plasma CatchAndReturn in his fight against the Jaboodies and Woolagongs]]. Even then, why would [[spoiler:a spiritual force choose to protect an alien from being hurt yet also take away his memories]]? (Although that question would have been answered had Stitch found the shrine he was looking for, which [[WhatCouldHaveBeen would have happened had a second season been greenlit and made]].)

** This show can be this for Chinese animation since it's a Disney-produced show using characters that the West are familiar with.

** Ai's breakdown in "The Scroll" when Jumba and Pleakley were about to take away Stitch to bring him back to the UGF comes across as this. When Jiejie angrily and passionately argues using an [[UsefulNotes/LogicalFallacies appeal to pity]] for Jumba and Pleakley to let Stitch stay with Ai because her little sister "''never'' forgets those she loves ''ever''". Although this is followed by her explaining that Ai was basically an emotional wreck in the year after the loss of their parents until Stitch came into her life, it still comes across more as her and Ai being selfish than heartbroken; Stitch may have been the best thing to happen in the Wang sisters' lives in a long while, but they do not suddenly ''own'' him just because of that. Never mind the fact that Jumba and Pleakley were trying to take Stitch to the UGF to ''save'' him from the space criminals, even if they used misguided and manipulative methods in doing so.

** Some fans are interested in this show just to see Stitch again in another new series. [[spoiler:Humorously, Stitch's new [[OneWingedAngel ability]] makes him [[{{Kaiju}} like]] the King of the Monsters himself.]]
** Somewhat like with the ''Stitch!'' anime, others watched this show to see some new [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments experiments]], although the excitement was dampered by the experiments being new [[ExactWords in the truest sense of the word]]--they're all made within this series, after Stitch, without any of the first 625 experiments, seen or unseen, making an appearance. (Although Craig stated that he would've like to bring back some of the classic experiments in this series should Disney approve the production of a second season, this ultimately never happened.)
* {{Misblamed}}: While Tony Craig was the show's director, ''Stitch & Ai'' was actually written by Marc Handler (who also did voice direction); Craig actually joined in late into the pre-production process. Craig took over the directing role from Victor Cook, who found himself busy with other obligations. Still, Craig was the more familiar name among the crew members due to his prior involvement in the franchise, so he got more of the attention.
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Presumably why the involvement of American animators, including those from ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'', were brought on board was to make sure the show would have visual consistency with the original continuity, something that a number of fans agree the ''Stitch!'' anime lacked (even among some of those who like that series). This is more apparent in the episodes made with digital ink and paint, as they look like they could've been lost episodes of ''L&S:TS''.
* PanderingToTheBase: Thanks to the involvement of American animators, including those from ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'', the show uses a lot of {{Call Back}}s, {{Mythology Gag}}s, {{flashback}}s of past works, and even a notable instance of TheBusCameBack (i.e. the return of [[spoiler:Cobra Bubbles]]) to try to win over the franchise's long-time fans. However, some fans believe they went too far with the call backs and found them more annoying than amusing.

* SoOkayItsAverage: Outside of the controversies of continuing the "Stitch without Lilo" trend that started with ''Stitch!'', this is pretty much the overall reception of this show. It's a decent enough, fun, inoffensive animated series in its own right, but it's not really original and copies too much from past entries in the franchise it's a part of. Plus, whatever that was new to the franchise itself in this show were seen by a number of fans as unnecessary, to the point that there is not much in this show to justify the involvement of the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise in what is ultimately an average modern-day children's fantasy series.
* TearJerker:
** Lilo and Stitch have separated again, only this time he was taken from her. Granted, he managed to escape captivity, but he's still not returning to Hawaii anytime soon.
** The idea of another ''Lilo & Stitch'' TV series without our little Hawaiian girl again has caused some fans to go on another emotional roller coaster ride.

See also the [[YMMV/LiloAndStitch YMMV page]] for the whole franchise and the original film.

** In one scene in "Tell the World", Ai "interviews" the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions shishi]] for her video. When she admonishes Stitch for standing on top of one of the lion statues by saying that there are only two lions, not three, he suddenly sprouts quills (that look much like his back spines) on top of his head and below his chin pretending to be a scary lion. He then retracts the quills after Ai simply tells him that he's not scary.

** The involvement of American animators, especially those who previously worked on ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. Supporters are happy that their involvement helps gives a sense of continuity that was sorely missing from the ''Stitch!'' anime and helps keeps the franchise alive, while detractors see their involvement as a betrayal to the ''ʻohana'' that only helps to keep the Lilo parts of the franchise dead.[[note]]Tony Craig's Facebook comments saying that he and Jess Winfield wanted Lilo's story to stay finished did not help matters.[[/note]] As a result, fans became fully split over the franchise's direction.

** Creator/LuicenDodge's Pleakley voice has been mostly panned for sounding almost nothing like Creator/KevinMcDonald's Pleakley, having the Plorgonarian instead sounding like a very annoying (even for a character who's meant to ''be'' annoying) and generic nerdy student whose voice is cracking from puberty. This even lead to some fans better appreciating Ted Biaselli's Pleakley voice in the ''Stitch!'' anime, since he sounded a lot closer to the original Pleakley in his performance.