Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation: Episode of Heartslabyul

Twisted Wonderland is a world of magic with mages, monsters, and a handful of mysteries. The story takes places at Night Raven College, an all-male learning academy for mages, following the MC Yuu who is transported to this strange world after being hit by a carriage. …It’s your classic Isekai trope, but with it’s own special twist. The black carriage fits nicely with the overall vibe of Twisted Wonderland and makes a lot more sense than a bus would. As someone who first played the Twisted Wonderland game when it was made available in the US back in 2022, I’m sure you can imagine that I was quite excited when I found out an anime adaptation had been announced! However, I’ve been disappointed to see that a lot of people who have no prior knowledge of the series have been very harsh on their reviews towards this adaptation. I can understand some concerns new fans have, but they all have straightforward explanations! The story, art, and design were all done by Yana Toboso, known for being the creator of Black Butler. They are also known for creating a decent handful of BL and other male-centric manga. It is no surprise that TWST also happens to have an all-male cast— it’s just the kind of writing Yana is known for. A lot of people who don’t get into TWST because it’s a Disney work tend to get into it for Yana’s writing, especially those familiar with their stories. There is also some concern from new fans about the ending, but it’s done the way it is because this is just the first of three confirmed anime adaptations. There’s seven, soon to be eight, total books for the TWST story in full. Whether all of these books will eventually be adapted in anime form is unclear, but keep in mind that this is only the beginning! As for my personal opinions on it: I was really worried about the pacing while watching it, but the finale wraps it up really well and I was satisfied with it in the end. Not only did they keep the original Japanese cast from the game, but the English dub also has a very impressive lineup. The animation itself is absolutely stunning— I especially enjoy the use of 3D animation for the blot monsters— and I imagine that they had a pretty high budget considering this is being done in collaboration with Disney. I hope they continue with this quality throughout the rest of the planned adaptations. Overall, if you’re a fan of Twisted Wonderland then I highly recommend watching this adaptation. It follows the story nicely and is great to see it animated. However if you’re someone who has no experience with the TWST game or manga, I wouldn’t really recommend this for you unless you have some prior knowledge with what it is or genuinely do want to get into it. It can be odd to get into blindly.

I decided to remake my review since I have oficially finished watching all 8 episodes and I wanted to also clarify some stuff aswell As said on my original review I been a fan of twst for years and I make this review as someone that is fan of the game. Before we start! This is a message for the people that are completely new to Twisted Wonderland: As you may know Twisted Wonderland is a anime made by Disney Japan, but I will also like to make it very clear that if you are planning to watch this fully blind that you are aware that the Twisted Wonderland anime is not just a series on it´s own, it´s a adaptation of a already stablished franchise, meaning that this anime is a adaptation of a already stablished game and manga, I am making this clear since the anime does have references and extra stuff that caters to people that are already fans of twst (like some extra scenes and the post credit shorts) This season is also the prologue and book 1 of the games story meaning that this season only focuses on heartslabyul, future seasons will be the ones that focus on the other houses and characters, so this season is more of a introduction more than anything. That being said I would like to divide this review into two parts, one for people that are already fans of the game and another for wether I would recommend this to anime watchers only For people that are already fans of Twisted Wonderland: First of all if you are planning to watch the anime take in mind that this is more of a adaptation of the manga than of the game, meaning that the anime shares the same protagonist of the manga and that some parts of the story happen different and faster (mainly just the begining), that being said this anime is something that is worth a watch if you are already fan of twisted wonderland, overall it´s pretty good as a adaptation and the animation is actually more consistent than I expected. For anime watchers only: Twisted Wonderland is not a anime that has a super well thought plot or that has any extraodinary action (it does have some fights, but they are not the focus), the plot is quite simple and this anime is more of a isekai in a way, for reference the world is more similar to harry potter than anything disney since it´s set in a magical school, Twisted Wonderland is more of character focus story, meaning what you will be mainly seeing in this anime is just the characters interacting with eachother, their personalities and backstories, that being said this anime may not be of interest of you if you don´t really like or take interest in any of the characters, all of this should be taken in mind if you do plan to watch this anime. Conclusion: Twisted Wonderland The Animation is a anime that caters more to already stablished fans and people that were already interested in the game, it´s a anime that at the end of the day has a specific target audience meaning that on it´s on it is not really something that can be enjoyable for most people, that being said as a adaptation it works perfectly and it´s a anime that is certainly enjoyable for people that are fans of the game and if you are already a fan of Twisted Wonderland it´s worth the watch.

english is not my first lenguage blabla So, I watched this anime because my tl on twitter was really hyped. I wanted to love it, I love Yana Toboso, and I even downloaded the game. But sadly, the adaptation (and I want to believe that's the issue) was really bad. I loved the dynamic between Yuu and Riddle in the first episode. They are opposites. I also ABSOLUTELY LOVED Riddle's personality switch when Yuu tries to save him. I understand very well what they tried to do, and it's masterful to see how a person who grew up having to be absolutely certain about everything he did reacts to seeing a pathetic attempt to be saved. The first episode was definitely very promising and entertaining. The main problem is what happens after. I didn't play the game beyond the first episode, so I don't know how canonical the anime's events are, but it truly had a lot of potential. I expected a clash of personalities between Yuu and Riddle that would lead to mutual understanding and personal growth. But I feel the anime wasn't able to focus on a single thing. It tried to cover the stories of the other two boys (Ace and Deuce?), which were frankly boring and uninteresting. At the same time, the anime itself gave way too much relevance to Riddle while giving him little to no actual protagonism. By the end of the day, you didn't know what to focus on, and they built characters who were VERY uncharismatic. I wanted a malevolent twink with Riddle, but we got a broken child with a story that seemed to have no rhyme or reason. As I said, the main problem was trying to focus on too much and losing sight of what they really wanted to tell. The art is beautiful, the animation was fine, but we started with a Yuu who wants to return to his world and ended with...? Nothing, really. There's no deeper reflection behind it. They left us with a cardboard protagonist whose relevance is truly incomprehensible. If you ask me, as an anime consumer, if this anime is good, I tell you it is not. It is an objectively bad adaptation. I will watch the upcoming productions and I will play the game because it has potential, the raw stories are attention-grabbing. But sadly, they failed to translate that into the anime. And to wrap it up, it just doesn't make sense. All those school rules are nonsense, but Riddle didn't make them up they were already there. He's just the one enforcing them. So really, the problem is with the system, it comes from the top. But in the end, everyone gangs up on Riddle. Honestly, it was super frustrating. There was no logical reason for all that hate toward him. That scene made me side with him way more than with any of the other students. Oh and i also hated the orange guy, he was so unbearable, like leave our evil twink alone.

In 2002, Disney asked "what if an anime boy met The Queen of Hearts?" In 2020, Disney asked "what if an anime boy WAS the queen of hearts?" The existence of Twisted Wonderland is a little bit hilarious. A Disney gacha game that's teetering on the edge of being an otome game where classic Disney villains are redesigned into beautiful but troubled teenage boys. Amazing. No notes. It's hard to judge Twisted Wonderland because at the end of the day, the ridiculousness of it all is just something you either like or you don't. As such this review is going to be a little more casual than my usual ones, more of a dialogue than an essay. I'll start off by saying I hate gacha games and I think they are evil and should be illegal. Twisted Wonderland is not an exception. The fact that it's made by the mega corporation that owns everything and tries to control art is not lost on me. However, Disney(tm) is not a person, and the writers and artists who made the game are. They care about it and they put effort into making it good. And I want to be fair to them. Futhermore, most classic Disney movies are just great movies, which similarly were made not by an evil, intangible god of capitalism but by artists who care about it. There's an unfortunate nuance here that prevents judgment from being easy. So, while the whole Disney gacha game thing will automatically deduct points in its favor, I also want to judge the work of these artists by its own merit. And. Well. Firstly let's look at the art. As expected of a Disney project, the animation is really nice, and they even get really creative with it in terms of monster animation. However, if I'm going to be frank, these characters look better when they're not in motion because their designs are all absolutely cluttered with tiny details and accessories. This is very much a gacha game design convention but I don't like it and I think it's bad. My best friend was watching it with me and it was giving him motion sickness. But that's not as important. Let's look at the most important part, which is what the story is actually about. So. Again, the ridiculousness is either something you get or you don't, and considering I enjoy Kingdom Hearts I can't really make a fuss, but some of this just makes me laugh. Redesigning Disney villains as female gaze bishounens is just silly and so is the teen angst and the Harry Potter dormitories. I know that when a character loses control of their emotions and magic and goes on a violent rampage it's very serious for them, but like. Lol. All that being said, I do love camp, so I can't help but find it charming, if stupid. The real heart of Twisted Wonderland is the characters, and the characters in this first arc are kind of hit or miss for me. The main focus of the arc is one Riddle Rosehearts, the Queen of Hearts. He is, frankly, extremely obnoxious for most of his screentime. Granted, that's kind of the point, but I found it more grating than anything. I've also read the manga for this arc and it's a lot less annoying, so I think the constant shouting is what makes it kind of a hard watch. All that being said, I did warm up to Riddle in the end, because I could sympathize with his backstory, and after he crashes hard he chills the fuck out and he's a lot more endearing afterward. "Kawaiidorable," as my best friend put it. The protagonist of this arc is mildly charming, as far as isekai protagonists go, but nothing to write home about. Interestingly, the manga includes a new protagonist for each arc and the other three so far all look way more interesting than this guy. The protagonist's mascot friend is annoying as fuck. Once again this is very much because of the voice acting, although I also am not particularly fond of his personality. Ace is fine, if not particularly deep. Cater and Chenya are only in the story out of obligation and do not need to be here. The actual best character is Deuce. Deuce has a really sympathetic backstory and motivation that acts as a good parallel to Riddle. He's a good boy. That leaves Trey who is in a really odd position. Generally, the point of his character is as such: "if you see your friend lashing out and treating people poorly, you need to call them out on their behavior instead of just letting them terrorize people because you feel bad for them." This is a good message. However the narrative framing is extremely weird and makes it seem like Riddle turning out this way is Trey's fault for not telling him off. Trey is 17. All that being said Riddle eventually sobers up from his rampage by holding Trey's hand, which was adorable. It wouldn't be a cast full of bishounens without BL subtext. Actually, the fact that this story very intentionally uses gay subtext and character archetypes without actually including explicit queer content could be an entire conversation of its own, but man. This is Disney Twisted Wonderland. It's not even worth it. Honestly you're probably better off reading the manga because it comes off less annoying and the storytelling is a little cleaner. But overall I didn't think Twisted Wonderland was very good, but it has its charm and I enjoyed watching it. I'll watch the next arc when it comes out too.

The story is fine, but not the best; they could have used their freedom to make it more interesting. The art style is fine, but it can feel out of place at times. The characters also come across as unrelatable in certain moments. Maybe someone who likes the game might watch this with enthusiasm, but I doubt that people will fall in love with the story or character personalities unless they’re only watching to see cute boys. Anyways, I really liked how the Disney villains were portrayed as role models, flipping the coin, and I enjoyed the references to old animations.

Okay, this was giving 2000s-anime vibes in the best way possible??? I had a ton of fun with this. As someone who was only mildly familiar with the IP of “Twisted Wonderland” (i.e., not having played the game or read any of the manga but having been on Tumblr while this was at its peak popularity), I went in not really knowing what to expect, but I found the world to be really fun and interesting. Admittedly, it was a little distracting when the scenes would pivot to actual clips from the Disney Animated Movies being riffed on here (and also kind of jarring given how fiercely protected these movies typically are), but the designs in this were really fun, and I found the story really (short and) sweet. I think, going into this, you’re going to know immediately whether it is for you or not, and it was for sure for me. I’m looking forward to the next part!

This anime is interesting for what it is. Based on a Japanese gacha mobile game called Disney Twisted-Wonderland that I never knew about until this show was announced. I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to gacha games, especially when they can be on brand with a popular franchise or what a company wants to add in. This one is of course what you would think of this as a Disney kind of gacha game that I, as a casual fan of the arts by Disney, don't really have much of a desire for. As far as seeing this show, it's got some things I liked, yet it does fall short at times when it comes to its flaws. Also, this is all about one specific dorm as it's been greenlit for a second season coming soon. The story is pretty thin, if I have to be honest, when it's about an ordinary young man named Yuu, voiced by Jonathon Ha, who is living the best with his school life. However, a mysterious magic mirror drags him into an unknown world. Yup. This is also an Isekai anime. As Yuu arrives, he discovers Night Raven College, an enigmatic magical school run by an eccentric and enigmatic director named Dire Crowley, voiced by J. Michael Tatum, who explains to Yuu about the world itself, is run by Disney villains of the past. Not to mention, there are seven dorms that are inspired by those same villains. Yuu adjusted himself in this surreal school life until he could find a way back home to his world while making new allies and facing various trials. Therefore, one of Yuu's first trials consists of living in an abandoned dorm that's haunted by three playful ghosts who are voiced by Danny Kramer, Jacob Carlson, and Khoi Dao. His second trial involves getting used to one of the House Wardens who runs the Heartslabyul Dorm named Riddle Rosehearts, voiced by Paul Castro Jr. The friends Yuu makes consist of this little cat-like critter named Grim, voiced by Benjamin Diskin; Ace Trappola, voiced by Max Mittelman; Deuce Spade, voiced by Hunter McCoy; Cater Diamond, voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas; and Trey Clover, voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. It's not easy for everyone as Riddle has so many rules, including some of the most obtuse, as well as getting out of whatever trouble they got themselves into. Again, the story is pretty thin as it may sound. However, this show is more focused on seeing Yuu getting used to his new life in this twisted wonderland until he can find his way home. Plus, we do get some backstory about Riddle when he was a child and had friends of his own until his mother, voiced by Julie Nathanson, pushed him too hard that he became as much as his mother was. Strict, discipline, and always obeying the rules. More of it was explained by this colorful character named Che'nya, voiced by Daman Mills. The exploration of the world building is what keeps the show going as we see the boys go through trial and tribulation. If I were to share my thoughts, the world building is really creative as it also pays homage to past Disney properties. We see some scenes from the 1951 Alice in Wonderland movie. I love Alice in Wonderland no matter the adaptation from books, movies, and games. And yes, even the Tim Burton live-action movie, though I do admit that it and its sequel have problems of their own. Same goes for American McGee's Alice and its sequel video games. They would also give Alice and the Queen of Hearts voices such as Hynden Walch as Alice and April Winchell as the Queen of Hearts. Which makes sense as to why this season is more focused on Heartslabyul. Which leads to one of the cons of the show. They show several other characters from different dorms such as Jack Howl and Ruggie Bucchi, voiced by Kamran Nikhad and Zeno Robinson, who reside in the Savanaclaw Dorm. Jade and Floyd Leech, voiced by Jonah Scott and Kellen Goff, who reside in the Octavinelle Dorm. Jamil Viper, voiced by Nazeeh Tarsha, who resides in the Scarabia Dorm. Ortho Shroud, voiced by Greg Vinciguerra, who reside in the Ignihyde Dorm. Epel Felmier and Rook Hunt, voiced by Jesse Nowack and Matthew Mercer, who reside in the Pomefiore Dorm. Silver, Sebek Zigvolt, and Lillia Vanrogue, voiced by Aleks Le, Danny Kramer, and Crispin Freeman, who reside in the Diasomnia Dorm. There are also the teachers who are references to other villains like Sam, voiced by Corey Wilder, who resembles Dr. Facilier from the Princess and the Frog. Ashton Vargas, voiced by Jonah Scott, who is a reference to Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. And finally, Mozus Trein, voiced by Kellen Goff, who is a reference to Lady Tremaine from Cinderealla, who has a cat of his own named Lucious, who is a reference to Tremaine's cat, Lucifer. Yes, you are free to say that I am a Disney nerd because I grew up with Disney properties. But don't expect me to back them up due to several practices that I'm not a fan of. I don't defend companies. But you'll never see me defending bad faith "critics," including grifters. So, what is the con that I'd mentioned with all that I've said from this long list of characters I've said? Most of these characters are mostly there as a brief hello, especially other students of each dorm they reside in. There are these shorts that are featured at the end of each episode that you would see these characters spend time on their own. You could get a laugh or two from them. I chuckled a couple of times. Most of the development is very little. Well, I guess the ones who have more of a development would have to be Yuu, Grim, Trey, and Riddle. Yes, the story is more focused on Riddle with his backstory, but you have to admit that there is a majesty to how the animation and backgrounds look. Yes, it's flawed, except the concept and designs of the world building are amazing. I love the look of the Heartslabyul Dorm as it is a living homage to Alice in Wonderland. The designs of each character are unique, whether it's to pay homage to whatever Disney IP they came from or just being a standard student. I don't see much of the same body or same face syndrome that goes through the characters. Grim is, as one of the characters would say, cute. I would like a plushie of it. The animation is done by Yumeta Company as well as their parent company Graphinica. The animation style was pretty good for how creative it can be. There was also a use of CG animation, and they're pretty fine on their own. One of the most noticeable that I've seen was when Yuu and his friends went to he mines for an assignment, they ran into this creature that is a reference to one of the dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. There is magic involved, as you would expect from a magical school. Though how they're said is silly like "Off with his head" or "Painting the roses red" since they came from Alice in Wonderland. Still, whatever floats your boat. The dialogue at times is also a reference to such at times like how Jack Howl says, "Be prepared," in his sentence as he is a living homage to Scar from the Lion King. You might either be happy or get tired at the references as this show is purely fanservice for Disney animated flicks. Don't worry. They don't shove it all in your face. Meanwhile, the voice cast is pretty good. Just that there are so many names that I'm curious if they've been paid well. Otherwise, it could lead to an issue that involves too many voice actors playing as characters who don't get much screen time. Still, give them credit for playing their best as the script goes. What's funny is that this is an all-boys kind of school, and I couldn't help but think that it might be pretty queer coded at times. However, there aren't any canon love relations in this show. I don't think that would go the same for the manga series as each fraction of the franchise has their own episode. Except it wouldn't stop pro-shippers from having a little fun here and there. For me, I'm not bothered if it's canonical or not because I'm not all that way invested into the Twisted-Wonderland because I'm not into gacha games as a whole. I've tried a cou…

There are two reviews here; the first one is my friend's, and the second is mine, the account owner. -- Twisted Wonderland, much like other joseimuke gacha game adaptations, is going through the motions. They have disney money, but not enough money to make a cast of 5 (and 20 cameos) characters not feel cramped in a short run. I have no knowledge of twisted wonderland besides whatever comes up on my twitter timeline, so I went into this blind. I think the premise of a magical (high?) school based on disney villains is a bit silly but i can jive with it. However, the fact that all of the characters are bishies will forever throw me off and treat the show with a little less respect. The plot is an isekai that follows the class of characters based on the queen of hearts. They are all pretty tope-y, but are saved by the pretty funny script and voice direction. Still, most of them are boring and go through the motions of what you expect to see in anime. It honestly felt like the story only started when the show focused on the Housewarden, Riddle, who is more dimensional than everyone else and has a very interesting crashout by the end. Again, I feel like there wasn’t enough time to develop all of these guys, but if there WAS enough time for everybody, I’m not sure they would have been all that interesting anyways. The visuals are also nothing to write home about. While I am happy that the colors are saturated and there’s not that much of a bloom filter, it is very clear that these designs are hard to animate and everyone is mostly stilted and the shots are usually very boring with lots of empty space. This show is clearly made for fans in mind, and as someone who is not a fan, I can’t say I enjoyed it or would recommend it to others. Maybe just play the game yourself. ---- Episode of Heartslybul is an interesting piece of Josei culture, what with it being a slightly above average adaptation of a beloved Josei franchise, but the bar is in hell. The animation is okay. It is definitely stilted at times, and looks odd at others, which is par for course for josei material, though the action scenes aren’t terrible, I guess. The character designs do not work for anime, but it’s a gacha game, so no surprises there. What stands out are the colors---everything is wonderfully vibrant and I think without the bloom filter my watching partner hates so much. On that note, characters of color are colored competently; something that might be attributed to this being an international production. THe english dub is also fantastic, and the way to watch the show, unless you’re a mega fan of the game and have a certain seiyuu oshi you love. The cast did a splendid job, with shoutouts to Paul Castro Jr. as Riddle, Matthew Mercer as Crowley, and Max Mittleman as Ace. Castro Jr. is an absolutely terrific Riddle, bringing so much to the character with his maniacal evil laughter and mental breakdowns. Special attention to the mini episodes at the end of each ED; voice direction there is top notch, and it’s wonderful to hear actors operating at ful capacity without the chains of lip flaps. Also special special shoutout to Major Attaway as Leona, who was wonderful, and I hope we get to see more of him in season 2. Special Special Special shoutout to Liam Karlsson, Johnny Haemmerle, and Ryan young as young Riddle, Trey, and Chenya respectively; they did a lovely job and it is such a breath of fresh air to hear child voice actors playing children in an anime. Kudos to everyone in the dub cast, really, because they did a terrific job. Everything else is… well…. Look, any adaptation of a gacha game has an uphill battle; the wide, expansive cast and the allergy for progression does not make the medium suitable for animated adaptations. Episode of Heartslybul suffers from the former; 75% of the cast is cut; but things still feel bloated and weird. Yuuken, as a protagonist, is basically irrelevant after episode 2 or 3, when the world has been established and we no longer need his fish out of water perspective. No one is particularly engaging without the crutch of character cards or event stories for them to lean on, something we see particular with Cater, who IMO, is saved from being irrelevant by his dub actor Micheal Sinterniklass---who I believed also did the dub script, if I’m reading the MAL credits right. Grimm is very annoying. Ace and Deuce, while likeable in a vacuum, also simply feel like they’re there--this season belongs to Riddle, and while he is a compelling character in his own right, everyone else just kinda pales in comparison and the world feels rather empty. The main story doesn’t have enough for Ace, Deuce, and the rest of them to do, because they were supposed to be fleshed out by card and affection stories that cannot be adapted. Episode of Heartslabyul is a josei anime given more care than most, but it’s still not enough for this to be a strong recommendation outside of its established or target audience. If you’re a fan of the game, you’ll enjoy it, if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll get some laughs in, but this is hard to recommend to anyone else. The Disney villain gimmick just doesn’t go far enough, and the worldbuilding isn’t developed enough to make me really care about the mystery of this Disney Villain-ified world. Like most gacha games, the world and characters have potential, but the nature of their source medium makes it so that it's impossible for anything in this story to live up to its full potential.