In case you missed it, this is your reminder that Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation is now streaming on Disney+. The highly anticipated anime series, which is based on the popular mobile game by Anilex and Walt Disney Japan, premiered this week.
Conceptualized and created by Yana Toboso, the manga artist best known for Black Butler, the Disney Twisted-Wonderland game summons players to an enchanted world where they become enrolled in Night Raven College, a magical school with dorms inspired by villains from classic Disney movies. Toboso also served as the main script writer and character designer for the game, which won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize in the Creative category at the Japanese Google Play Best of 2020 awards and in the Game category at the #TwitterTrendAward (now #XTrendAward) 2020 in Japan.
Based on this popular mobile game, Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation recreates this magical game world with stunning animation from Yumeta Company and Graphinica. The anime’s core creative team is led by Chief Director and Showrunner Takahiro Natori, with Shin Katagai serving as Director and Yoichi Kato as the Main Writer. Character designs are handled by Hanaka Nakano and Akane Sato, with Aki Tsunaki contributing as Sub Character Designer. The visual and technical departments include Nagisa Abe as Color Designer, Hiroki Matsumoto as Art Director, Kazuya Oya as 3D Director, Takao Saito as Director of Photography, and Michi Takigawa as Editor. On the audio side, Miho Sugawara serves as Sound Director, while Takumi Ozawa, who has handled the game's music since launch, composes the music.
Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation kicked off with the release of the first episode of Season 1, which is subtitled "Episode of Heartslabyul." This first season centers around the Heartslabyul dorm, which is inspired by Disney's Alice in Wonderland. The synopsis reads:
In this dark fantasy animation, inspired by Disney villains, high school student Yuken (Yu) is suddenly transported to Night Raven College, a prestigious magic school with seven dorms. Suddenly finding himself in another world, Yu visits the Heartslabyul dorm with Grim, a monster he meets, and finds it controlled by a strict dorm leader, Riddle (nicknamed the Crimson Tyrant), who strictly abides by the rules of the Queen of Hearts. What made Riddle so obsessed with the rules? After meeting Yu and Grim, the fates of the students at this rule-bound dorm begin to shift.
The original Japanese voice cast from the game returns for the anime, including Natsuki Hanae as Riddle Rosehearts, leader of the Heartslabyul dorm; Seiichiro Yamashita as Ace Trappola; Chiaki Kobayashi as Deuce Spade; Ryota Suzuki as Trey Clover, the vice dorm leader of Heartslabyul; Tatsuyuki Kobayashi as Cater Diamond; Noriaki Sugiyama as Grim, a monster who dreams of becoming a great mage; and Mitsuru Miyamoto as Dire Crowley, Headmage of Night Raven College. The episode is also available with English dubs for those who prefer it.
Season 1: Episode Of Heartslabyul will consist of eight episodes, the first of which is already streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. New episodes will drop each Wednesday.
Two additional seasons of the anime have already been announced, each based on a different "Book"/Chapter from the game. Season 2, Episode of Savanaclaw (based on The Lion King), and Episode 3, Episode of Octavinelle (based on The Little Mermaid), are already in production and will be released at later dates.
For those who have already seen the first episode, what are your initial thoughts on Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation? I felt the animation quality was top-notch, but it threw a lot at us in the first episode. It wasn't the story that moved particularly fast, but rather the sheer number of characters we were introduced to. Those who are unfamiliar with the source material may feel a little overwhelmed at first, but hopefully the pacing slows down a bit. I will say, as a Disney fan, I appreciated the subtle dialogue nods to the original Disney source material.