By: Jaliyah Fitch, Opinion Editor
“Disney Twisted Wonderland: The Animation”, premiered on October 29, 2025. With a total of 4 episodes released, and a season 2 teased, fans await the continued progression of the story as it unfolds.
Released as a Japanese mobile game in 2020–localized in 2022, “Disney Twisted Wonderland” is a visual novel telling the story of a regular high school student that gets transported into the world of Twisted Wonderland! Unable to return home, the protagonist must stay within Night Raven College, a school for young mages, and overcome peril as students endure violent episodes called “Overblots.” Each chapter is loosely based off of the stories of many beloved Disney villains: Queen of Hearts, Scar, Ursula, Jafar, Evil Queen, Hades, and Maleficent.
The anime is an adaptation of the manga, released in 2021. The first season follows the story of Enma Yuuken, a regular teenage boy who’s captain of his school’s kendo club. The day before his club’s big match, Enma is abducted by the black carriage and taken to Twisted Wonderland, where he must live amongst mages as a regular boy trying to find his way back home.
As a person who’s played the game since the English launch in 2022, collects the manga, and participates in other fan events, I’ve long awaited the release of the official anime. Episodes 1-3 cover the prologue portion of the game/manga, where Yuuken gets transported into Twisted Wonderland. Once there, he meets the mischievous fire-breathing cat, Grim– who nearly burns down the school during the entrance ceremony. Unfortunately, after the arson situation is resolved, Yuuken is left with no way to return to his homeworld. Yuuken must live at Night Raven College as a school janitor.
On his first day (after a night in a shabby, haunted dorm–Ramshackle), Yuuken meets first years Ace Trapolla and Deuce Spade. A little quarrel breaks out between Grim and Ace after the latter insulted the hot-headed cat, causing the queen of Hearts statue to be scorched, and for the trio to be threatened with immediate expulsion from the school. Desperate not to be expelled on their first day, Yuuken, Ace, and Deuce take up the proposition from Headmaster Crowley and venture into the deserted mines of the seven dwarves to retrieve a magestone.
At the mines, the trio runs into Grim again and in the midst of their search they encounter an inky monster. The three struggle to fight back, uncoordinated and bickering amongst themselves too much to focus. It’s with the effort of Yuuken coordinating the 3 that they managed to fight back the monster and retrieve the magestone!
Just before they departed, the monster arose for another attack, and the quartet were only saved by the swift hand of Riddle Rosehearts, a powerful tyrant of a dormhead who drags Ace and Deuce back to their dorm as punishment for breaking the rules. The third episode ends with the set up for the Heartslyabul story following Riddle as our season’s antagonist.
From my perspective, I’ve been absolutely taken with awe at the production. From the lovely artstyle, high animation quality, and even the details like using the game voice actors and sound track bring the anime to life as a longtime fan of the franchise. “Twisted Wonderland” attracts fans with its diverse cast of characters and the connection between loveable disney characters and stories.
If I were to make a small critique, I think the current pacing for the story is the series’ biggest issue so far. Episodes 1-2 end in very awkward spots, from the middle of the entrance ceremony disaster to just before the trio makes it to the mines, the awkward ending spots of episodes does a confusing job of setting up the next plot point, and makes it hard for newer fans to remember what happened prior since the spots they end on are not memorable! If the pacing were accurate to the manga, the prologue could’ve been broken down into episodes 1 and 2, leaving room for episodes 3 and 4 to actually develop and explore the main story.
Nonetheless, it’s still very easy to follow as a first-time watch, and I can’t recommend it enough for fans of fantasy and of course, disney magic! “Twisted Wonderland” doesn’t just play on the attachment to long standing villains, but attracts and keeps people intrigued with its complex cast of original characters and their stories. I await the progression of the story and recommend you tune into the next episode (or even better, play the game)!
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