Since he's cute and mischievous, the Disney character Stitch, introduced in the 2002 animated feature "Lilo and Stitch," is perfect for the Japanese market, and the locally produced TV series "Stitch" (TV Asahi, Tues., 7 p.m.) transplants the little blue extraterrestrial from Hawaii to the fictional Japanese island of Izayoi, where his companion is a little girl named Yuna.
Stitch's handlers, who initially dispatched him to earth as a fighting machine, are always trying to neutralize their creation, and this time they send Amnesio, who has the power to take away memories. After another argument with Yuna, Stitch runs away and encounters Amnesio. Then he goes on a destructive rampage. Yuna is forced to work with another bunch of adorable creatures, the Hamstervilles, to capture Stitch and restore his memory. O kubo is one of Tokyo's most diverse districts, with residents from many different countries. Its identity as a foreign mecca started some years ago when many Koreans called it home, but its history is even richer.
This week on the neighborhood exploration show, "Buratamori" (Tamori's Stroll; NHK-G, Thurs., 10 p.m.), our peripatetic host, Tamori, still finds signs of Okubo's beginnings as a residential area for the samurai classes. The neighborhood called Hyakunincho was originally the home of the Hyakunintai, a "100-member army" that acted as the guards for the ruling Tokugawa family during the Edo period (1603-1868).