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Disney’s Unusual Blend: Stitch Meets Samurai in New Crossover Film Set in Ancient Japan

Ka wai is this comic

Disney’s Unusual Blend: Stitch Meets Samurai in New Crossover Film Set in Ancient Japan
Randy Meeks

Randy Meeks

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One already had a feeling that something was changing in Disney when ‘Kingdom Hearts’ appeared. The most classic characters in the company’s history fighting alongside those from ‘Final Fantasy’ and doing crossovers? It sounded, certainly, risky, more than what the company is usually willing to be. But it worked. And afterwards, following its success, the treasure trove of franchises was opened: if Square’s game is worth it, why not make a sequel series of ‘Up’? And what about a ‘Lilo and Stitch’ manga, what do you think?

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Stitch samurai

Succeeding in Japan for an American company is not always easy, and that’s why when they achieve it, they always try to squeeze the product to the maximum until it’s completely dry. After the 2002 film, Stitch became an overnight sensation in Japan, so important that it soon got licensed in all kinds of merchandise, from lunch boxes and plush toys with a design that emphasized his cuteness (or “kawaii” in Japanese) to specific products tailored for the Japanese market.

‘Stitch and the Samurai’ is not the first manga that Disney has released in Japan. In addition to adaptations of ‘Wall-E’ or ‘Finding Nemo’, they have made forays into the craziest crossovers. For example, in 2015, ‘Miriya & Marie’ was born, featuring a Japanese girl transported to 1910 Paris who meets the cat from ‘The Aristocats’ (yes, you read that right). A decade earlier, in 2005, ‘Kilala Princess’ introduced characters from ‘Snow White,’ ‘Aladdin,’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ teaching a girl what it means to be a Disney Princess in a shojo (girls’ manga) style, akin to ‘Kingdom Hearts,’ for better understanding.

But none as wonderfully crazy as ‘Stitch and the Samurai’ (‘Tono & Stitch’ in its original version), in which the creature, years before meeting Lilo, escapes from the base and, due to a critical error in his spaceship, crash-lands in… the Sengoku era of Japan, which took place in the 15th and 16th centuries. There, the creature encounters a group of warlords who are captivated by its beauty.

Interestingly, the manga starts off with brutality, not unlike ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ (with some differences, of course): Stitch feels like he’s truly breaking into a completely different story, and boy, does he succeed. By the end of volume 2, the warlords find themselves in a futuristic city, encountering vending machines without understanding what the heck is going on.

Surprisingly, all three volumes were published in Spain by Planeta, but the author, Hiroto Wada, wasn’t there to celebrate: he passed away shortly after completing the final episode at the age of 46 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He leaves behind a crossover as strange as it is truly fabulous. Aren’t you intrigued? Come on, it can’t be worse than ‘Leroy & Stitch’ after all.

Randy Meeks

Randy Meeks

Editor specializing in pop culture who writes for websites, magazines, books, social networks, scripts, notebooks and napkins if there are no other places to write for you.

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