Stitch! / YMMV - TV Tropes

Americans Hate Tingle: Most Westerners swore off this show the moment that it was revealed that Stitch left Lilo, which in the international edit/English dub was at the very beginning of the first episode, and see the whole thing as a violation of ʻohana. It was so bad for the franchise's home country of the United States that it was taken off Disney XD after less than a week on the channel. In fact, this trope is so prevalent that Disney+ doesn't even have it anywhere outside Japan (save for the show's international version on Disney+ Hotstar).
Audience-Alienating Premise: A Lilo & Stitch anime isn't a hard sell in itself for Western fans. However, leaving Lilo out with no explanation as to why she, Stitch's ʻohana, would ever get separated from him in the first place until the third season is enough for them to not want any part of it. The dub arguably makes it worse by explaining it away in the first episode as Lilo getting bored with Stitch after getting a new boyfriend. Mind you, it was Jumba saying it, so that doesn't mean it was correct, as proven in the dub of the episode where Lilo comes back where it's revealed that she was supposed to reunite with Stitch after college but she went to see Nani first when she found out that Nani was expecting to give birth. Stitch was unaware of this due to having been on missions with the Galactic Armada during Lilo's absence and falsely assumed that Lilo forgot about him.
Base-Breaking Character: Thanks to Critical Backlash and the release of Stitch & Ai, Yuna Kamihara has been increasingly seen in a more positive light in recent years with fans appreciating her for her good qualities, such as her Ideal Hero traits. A few fans even prefer her over Lilo Pelekai, especially considering Lilo's portrayal in Lilo & Stitch: The Series. However, Yuna is still seen by many other fans as a Replacement Scrappy to Lilo whom they cannot sympathize or relate with.
Broken Base:
- Many fans of the franchise refuse to see this as canon due to it conflicting with the "nobody gets left behind" theme of the earlier entries. What re-enforces this for those people is the fact that Chris Sanders does not even voice Stitch in the English dub,^noteConsidering that Sanders still takes up nearly every other opportunity he gets to voice Stitch, this is saying something. making this anime (and the later Stitch & Ai) the only official animated media thus far where he does not provide his own creation's voice. The same thing goes for that almost no one else from the original cast reprise their characters, with only Rocky McMurray (the voice of X-150/Clyde) and a handful of crew members from Lilo & Stitch: The Series, including executive producer Jess Winfield (who took over the role of Jumba), being the only real-life connections to the original Western parts of the franchise.
  - In more recent years, some Western Lilo & Stitch fans have begun appreciating this anime for what it is. Its supporters accuse other Western Lilo & Stitch fans of being hypocritical to the franchise's message of inclusiveness by deliberately rejecting the show and having an elitist attitude towards it (as well as Stitch & Ai). However, that show's own controversial status along with this one's has caused a number of fans to swear off any further Lilo-free animated spin-offs.
- The English dub's voice acting, especially for two characters:
  - Ben Diskin as the new voice of Stitch. Some find him to be pretty good at replicating the experiment's distinct nasal voice, while others find him to sound just a bit off, with his pitch being too low and lacking in "cute" qualities. This also extends to Stitch & Ai since he reprises the role there, although there are some fans who prefer his anime performance over his Chinese one and vice versa. Additionally, several Anglophone fans don't like Stitch becoming more talkative and fluent in English in the English dub, believing that he lost much of his cute charms as a result, while other fans disagree with his increased speech being a detriment, believing that the idea of Stitch becoming a fluent English speaker makes logical sense (since the show takes place years after Leroy & Stitch) and can be entertaining in its own right, as proven by the Disney Theme Parks attraction Stitch Encounter/Stitch Live! (where he speaks mostly fluent English) and Chris Sanders himself in a TikTok video in which he unofficially reprises the role of Stitch (speaking fluent, though still illeistic, English). Some fans of the latter camp may agree though that Diskin's performance is iffy and that Stitch is too talkative and quippy in this series.
  - The same thing goes for Jess Winfield taking over as Jumba for both post-Lilo spin-offs, where he's seen as either a worthy successor to David Ogden Stiers who gets the Evil Genius's famous hamminess and passion for his line of work down pat, or a weak replacement who just cannot replicate Stiers' mellifluous baritone that gives the character his depth. In this case, however, it's further complicated by the fact that Winfield—who has a history with the franchise—has been a very approachable crew member to the fanbase (case in point, his since-deleted TV Tome/TV.com thread for Lilo & Stitch: The Series). It doesn't help that Stiers later passed away after the Chinese series' original English version finished its initial run in Southeast Asia.
Critical Backlash: As noted on the franchise's YMMV page, as a result of the negative reception the show received in the West, some Western fans of the franchise who actually enjoy the show have been pushing back against the fans who don't. There are even a few fan artists who are more focused on the anime than on the original Lilo & Stitch continuity. Plus, in the years since the show finished airing, more fans are now labeling the show as "overhated" and still entertaining despite some genuine issues it has.
Fan Nickname: The show is often called the "Stitch! anime" instead of its singular title Stitch! to avoid any confusion and ambiguity with Stitch! The Movie and the title character himself. Oddly enough, the show does have an official alternate name (Yuna & Stitch) that's used by the German dub, but it's not used by the English-speaking fandom at large.
Fanon Discontinuity: This series and its separation of Lilo and Stitch drove so many fans up the wall that even to this day, years after the show's end, many Lilo & Stitch fans continue to call it non-canonical and repeat unproven claims that either Disney or Chris Sanders declared it so. That being said, this has not stopped those who were previously unaware of this show from seeing things otherwise, such as DEATH BATTLE!, who used the anime as part of their research on Stitch.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The reason why the anime exists. As the franchise's YMMV page states, the Japanese love Stitch.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- While Lilo & Stitch already had an established TV series before this one, the fact that this is an anime adaptation that still focuses on the main characters discovering new experiments, it's hard not to be reminded of Pokémon.
  - Although, coincidentally enough, in the Japanese version Zuruko/Tigerlily is voiced by Rica Matsumoto, who is also the Japanese voice actor for Ash/Satoshi. But what makes this even funnier is that Ash has gone to Alola, which is a region based on Hawaii.
  - And the fact that the Alola arc of both the games and series had Type: Null, a Pokémon created as a genetically-enhanced living weapon, and is later adopted and reformed by an outcast human child: very similar to how Stitch was.
- Ben Diskin voicing Stitch has drawn a fair amount of humorous comparison from the fandoms of Codename: Kids Next Door and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, having also voiced Nigel Uno from the former and Joseph Joestar in the latter.
Ho Yay: The Ho Yay between Jumba and Pleakley is possibly even more ridiculous than it was in the original—when they're "reunited" in the first episode, they reunite with a tearful embrace and much sobbing from both parties about how much they missed one another. They even started to live together again after meeting up with Yuna and Stitch.

The English dub goes out of its way to exacerbate it.

Pleakley: Hold me!

It Was His Sled: The series is a Stealth Sequel, and Lilo shows up with her identical daughter Ani.
Just Here for Godzilla:
- Many Western fans are only interested in "Lilo", the episode where she and Stitch reunite, if only briefly.
- Another group of fans are also interested in "The Return of 6 2 7" episode, considering the very few times that particular experiment appears.
- Even Lilo & Stitch fans who hate the anime (and there are plenty of them) do like seeing the brand-new experiments that this show introduced. In some regards, it's gotten to the point where these experiments are the only elements of the anime that are exempted from Fanon Discontinuity.
- To an even lesser extent, there is an episode where the cast spends the day at Tokyo Disneyland. Yes, really. The episode was even sponsored by Tokyo Disney Resort.^note There were quite a few meta moments in the episode, including one where Stitch crashes his ship in front of The Enchanted Tiki Room.
- Still other fans put up with the anime anyway since it gives more screentime to the experiments that were introduced in Lilo & Stitch: The Series and its films, especially Angel, who became an Ascended Extra through this series.
Macekre: The English dub, due to sloppy editing^note and the replacement of nearly the entire original voice cast from the films and Lilo & Stitch: The Series. Plus, the fact that its very first lines establish Stitch having left Lilo over her supposedly neglecting him over a boyfriend, which wasn't proven false until the third season, was arguably the worst decision the dub writers made as it permanently tarnished the show enough for fans to not even bother watching it past those lines.
Never Live It Down:
- Yuna is known by many Lilo & Stitch fans solely for replacing Lilo as Stitch's best friend.
- Stitch's portrayal in this show is known mainly for having left Lilo and her ʻohana, which many fans felt to be a huge violation of the franchise's core values.
Nightmare Fuel: The such page for Lilo & Stitch: The Series includes examples of experiments from this series.
Obscure Popularity: Being part of a popular Disney franchise, especially one that's big in Japan, this anime was quite popular in its own right within its home country. However, because Disney didn't give it much of a release in the West, and since it was released well after the franchise's heyday over there has passed, many fans of the original film or the first series don't even know that a Lilo & Stitch anime was ever made. Even the title and thumbnail of Saberspark's video on this show acknowledge how so many people don't know that Lilo & Stitch got an anime spin-off.
Overshadowed by Controversy: The fact that this Spin-Off Stealth Sequel Series separated one of Disney's most beloved duos and replaced one of them with a new character made fans swear off the anime and deem it as "terrible" and "non-canon", even years after the show ended. Jumba's explanation at the very beginning of the English dub, later proven false in the third season, did not help matters.
Popular with Furries: Even in America, it has a niche due to the fact it features Stitch and other animal-looking aliens.
The Problem with Licensed Games: Disney Stitch Jam; see that game's YMMV page for more.
Replacement Scrappy:
- Yuna. Compared to Lilo—a quirky and eccentric orphan who is not understood by most people, hated by her peers, and had a pretty miserable life before she adopted Stitch—several fans don't find Yuna—whose grandmother and father are still alive (although the latter is mostly absent from her life due to his work, and her mother is deceased), has actual friends before Stitch came along, and is so good at karate despite her young age that she runs a dojo—to be a relatable character, and also say that her friendship with Stitch feels forced. That being said, the majority of this reaction towards Yuna is solely due to her replacing Lilo as Stitch's new best friend.
- While not actually replacing Dr. Hämsterviel, who remains Stitch's main adversary, Delia from the third season is disliked for being a generic anime villain who looks nothing like the other aliens in the franchise, yet takes over Hämsterviel's position as the primary Big Bad, tortures him with Cool and Unusual Punishments whenever he fails to get her Stitch (which is all the time), and is established as having a history with him and Jumba. Tellingly, she is so unpopular that she does not show up or is even mentioned in either of the New Specials.
Seasonal Rot: Even among people who liked this series, the third season gets a lot more heat due to switching the setting from Izayoi Island to the urban setting of Okinawa New Town, switching from the focus on yokai and urban legends to Slice of Life but Denser and Wackier, changes in Yuna's characterization reflecting said wackier tone, and Dr. Hämsterviel being reduced to a supporting antagonist in favor of the new, unfitting, generic anime villain Delia. There's also that one episode in this season that officially made this show a Sequel Series. (Though on the flip side, it does introduce more experiments made before Stitch, including Bragg/Flute, who is arguably the most popular experiment that was introduced in this series.)
So Okay, It's Average: Some view this anime as mediocre in comparison to the original film, as this show is more of a Gag Series. There were also complaints about how Stitch's cuteness isn't so subtle anymore, although that's par for the course in nearly every Stitch-related endeavor in Japan.
Squick: Stitch farts in this show, complete with gas clouds. Mercifully, this only happens in a couple episodes, and the worst of them—in "Sprout 2.0", where he fills up Jumba's spaceship with his gas twice, with the second one having him fart directly in Yuna's face—are completely cut from the international edit.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
- That being said, outside of Stitch, Reuben, and Angel, most of the experiments that appear still get limited appearances. For example, Felix, who did appear in more episodes of this show compared to Lilo & Stitch: The Series, only appeared in a whopping four episodes of this show,^note all of them during the Madhouse seasons, with two of them being the two halves of the season one finale, and his debut episode being one of the episodes shortened to a half-length segment in the international version.
- Some people took issue with Stitch's huge loss of prior Character Development and sudden tendencies to lose a lot of fights on his own (without heavy assistance from others), with some fans labeling him a "weakling" in this series.
- The anime also gets rid of any character development Reuben had, turning him from a decently (compared to before) proactive good guy back into a lazy villain again. Outside of one episode where he helps Taro get some nutrition, he never grows as a character or takes a more active role. The series ends with him still on the side of bad guys, and the last we ever see of Reuben, he's incarcerated—for the fourth time, in fact.^note This makes his redemption in Leroy & Stitch completely pointless.
- Many Western fans feel the same way about Gantu. The fact that he was, in the English dub, dishonorably discharged for the dumbest reason ever (bad karaoke singing) and went back to working for Hämsterviel completely demolished his redemption arc as well.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- Some were expecting an anime based on Lilo & Stitch to be more action-packed and full of adventure. Some were expecting something closer to the actual movie in tone. While this show does have somewhat more action, as well as some intimate moments of its own, it ultimately proved to be a Gag Series.
- The anime itself had a pretty interesting setting, being in the Okinawan islands of the Ryukyus (in the first two seasons). We could've learned something in here along the way like how The Series, at times, highlighted their own culture (dances, beliefs, language, etc.), then sneak in some genius bonuses along the way. It might have made the show feel too similar to the former but it'd have still worked as an interesting counterpart. Well, there was the Yōkai and karate, but it should've done more.
Vindicated by History: While it still remains a hotly contested entry in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Stitch! is now getting some appreciation from the fanbase for at least trying to expand the franchise's fictional universe, continuing Stitch's story, showing viewers the lives and cultures of another region on Earth, and of course, introducing more experiments while giving more characterizations to several of the ones we've seen before (Angel being the most notable, for better or for worse). In fact, many fans are now saying that the show isn't as bad as others have made it out to be and it's actually entertaining in its own right.

YMMV / Stitch!

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