In 2020, Walt Disney Japan and Aniplex mixed the former’s brand of international villains from its hit animated musical films, make a “dark academy” plot out of it in a new kind of universe with nostalgic nods to the films they’re referencing, then add in pretty boys and the concept of “cute guys doing cute things” schtick that’s common in female demographic-targeting games like Touken Ranbou. The game is called Disney Twisted-Wonderland and it became a huge hit in Japan (and still is, based on the heavy advertising this game gets when you’re taking the Tokyo station train to Disneyland there).

Part of the reason why the Twisted Wonderland mobile game did so well, apart from the pretty boys with Disney villain traits and simple gacha gameplay, is due to the character design work from Yana Toboso, better known as the mangaka who created the popular Black Butler series. Not quite popular to males, but definitely for female readers who yearn for pretty boys to do cool and awesome things with the job vocation they’re saddled with. Fast forward to 2025, and it’s clear as day that Disney Twisted-Wonderland’s story shouldn’t be contained in mobile form; hence the Disney+ streaming service and the anime episodic format. And it’s what you would expect from an adaptation of a game’s plotline.

Pretty Evil

The Twisted Wonderland anime retells the story in the mobile games while taking bits from the manga adaptation: our hero is Yuuken Enma (or just “Yuu”; see what they did there) as he ends up trapped in an alternate world where magic exists. While figuring out how to escape back to present-day Tokyo, he ends up working at the Night Raven College while also bonding with some of the students there, while also solving their problems (usually with other students) while getting them to work together against common adversaries in the twisted world full of Disney references.

The first few episodes adapt the Heartslabyul arc, meaning you’ll be seeing the eccentric tyrant Riddle dominating his students while sane-of-mind cohorts Ace and Deuce do their best to sort this out while also not getting expelled from shenanigans. In the midst of it all is Grim the talking cat who wants to hone his spellcasting and craft, and a ton of cameos and appearances of other students with Disney villain traits and quirks. Riddle is clearly the Queen of Hearts, while the bespectacled Azul is based on Ursula from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. The talking iPad Idia is Hades from Disney’s Hercules while Leona is based on Scar from The Lion King. You’ll spot a pretty boy you’ll like as you watch more of the show. Even if the show is just focused on the Alice in Wonderland-inspired Heartslabyul, the post-credit scenes focus on the other houses with each character mentioned on this paragraph getting their own cute vignette.

Again, the adaptation is what you would expect from these sort of game-to-anime transitions; decent animation work with some action spellcasting scenes here and there, lovely voicework from the Japanese and English dub side (I’m fond over the latter’s over-the-topness for the eccentric students & leads), and the pacing is on-par with your typical shonen. But more guys and the cute bonding/antagonistic stuff they do, which is just a few shy steps below yaoi.

Toil & Trouble

Fans of the mobile game will find a lot to love here in the adaptation, from some of the extra scenes and additions not found in the cutscenes of the game to the stellar voice work and animated magic scenes. It may not be every anime fan’s cup of tea, but those who prefer a pretty male-centric cast in their “yassified” Disney universe mixed in with Harry Potter magic school shenanigans could do worse.

Final Score: 70/100

Japanese or English dub?

The English dub of Disney’s Twisted Wonderland anime does justice to its big roster of pretty male spellcasters. Go check out the first episode’s comparisons in all its glory, from the mischievous Grim to the rules-adhering despot Riddle: