Summary:

Yu has somehow become stranded in the world of Twisted Wonderland - and as one might imagine, getting home is no simple feat! Not when a magical school, ghosts, monsters, and more are getting in the way.

As a student-age child, it seemed logical for Yu to spend his days at the academy, at least until he figured out a way home. But that doesn’t mean he’s doing a great job of staying out of trouble.

Review:

Okay, so before I get into this review, let me start by saying I didn’t play the video game Disney Twisted Wonderland. So I went into Disney Twisted-Wonderland, Vol. 1, very blind about everything that was about to happen.

But still, I enjoy Alice in Wonderland retellings and adore Disney stories, so I figured this would be a good read. Overall, I found the story intriguing, the artwork endearing, and the characters unique.

This book (and presumably video game?) had a lot of fun flipping the common Disney message (be good princes and princesses) and wreaking playful havoc with it. There isn’t a lot of depth, but there doesn’t really need to be.

I have a feeling that fans of the games would probably appreciate this adaptation more, so please don’t let anything I’ve said discourage you from trying it!

Highlights:
Fantasy Retelling
Alice in Wonderland
Adventure and Drama
Adapted from a video game

An accomplished fencer, Yu finds himself swept away to Night Raven College, a school for people with magical abilities. Unable to get home and with no magical abilities showing, Yu takes up residence as the school’s janitor. Watching over the headmage’s two children, Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade, Yu finds himself in trouble along with them. To prevent themselves from getting expelled, the trio must team up with Grim, a fire-breathing argumentative cat, to locate a Magestone to fix the magical chandelier. Meanwhile, Yu has angered Riddle Roseharts, the housewarden known as the Red Tyrant. Determined to get the trio kicked out, Riddle seeks out the Magestone for himself. Can Yu, Ace, and Deuce find the Magestone or will they be expelled?

The illustrations are black and white detailed sketches. The plot is engaging, well developed, and easy to follow. The characters are a little under developed, but will likely be fleshed out in later volumes. Readers who like manga, Alice in Wonderland, books similar to Harry Potter, and fantasy adventure will want to pick this one up. Recommended for library collections where manga is popular.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.

An interesting look at the gacha mobile game, Twisted-Wonderland Book of Heartslabyul follows the adventures of Yuken Enma (known as Yuu, like in the main game) as he is whisked away to Night Raven College, a magical school inspired by the villains of Disney lore. As he can't use magic, Yuu is forced to stay enrolled as Professor Crowley tries to find a way to return him back to his world.

In the meantime, he creates an unwitting companion in Grim, a cat who wishes to enroll in the Night Raven College as well. Partnering with Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade to retrieve a Magestone in order to fix a magical chandelier, the group is ambushed by a daunting foe. Thankfully, Yuu's skill as Kendo assistant captain helps him immensely, as he survives the supernatural creatures through brute strength. However, even if Yuu and his buddies survive this task, they have to face off against an equally dismal threat: The housewarden Riddle Rosehearts, the Rose-Red Tyrant!

As this is based off a gacha game, this first volume does a good job introducing readers to the cast. It might not do much for those who aren't interested in the source material, but the art style is nice enough for those picking up the manga. Yuu isn't that appealing of a main character (which makes sense, as he's supposed to be an avatar of the player), but I did enjoy the references to the Disney villain lore (reminiscent of something like The Descendants). As the whole first arc is now available in the west, fans of the mobile Twisted-Wonderland should definitely pick this up! Everyone else might be better waiting on something else, however.

This one was not for me. I did overall enjoy the art style and had heard a lot about it because of the mobile game. It does sell well for my store!

I feel bad that I've been in such a reading slump because I haven't been able to care about a lot of these anticipated releases like this one. I really wanted this one to be the one to break the slump, but unfortunately, this wasn't it for me.

I really loved reading this volume. I've heard about this series and have been wanting to look into it, so it was nice to be able to read it. I like how it is a twist on the world we know through Disney and adds so much new details to it. I love the characters and art, I can't wait to read more

This was fantastic! I loved how everything was "twisted"--villains become heroes. Love the art too!!!!!

I love Disney but I have not played this game which may have been my mistake here.

This is a great introduction into this world and the characters are interesting. The manga is action packed and the art is fabulous.

I recommend this to anyone into Disney or its game!

I found this to be a really fun manga. Sort of a mix between Harry potter and Alice in wonderland, with a little late-teen disney. I cant wait to read the rest, I was annoyed with how quick the first volume ended up being.

An intriguing "Dark Disney" series for fans of Descendants and Kingdom Hearts. Volume 1 sets up many compelling Alice in Wonderland-themed characters and even has an adorably fiesty animal mascot!

Apparently, it is also (originally?) a mobile app game as well!

I read this because it sounded like fun, and it was! I haven't played the game, so I can't say how good the adaption was or wasn't, but the story is a fun one and I don't think having played the game is necessary to enjoy this. We follow MC Yu, who has been transported to another world, ostensibly because he has magic powers and is meant to attend a prestigious magical academy there; the problem is, he has no magic (at least, none that he or we are aware of yet). After some kerfuffle at the entrance ceremony during which Yu refused to enroll in the school, the Head Mage offers to let him stay in an old haunted dorm while a way to get him back to his world is investigated, and in exchange Yu will work as a school janitor to earn his keep, and given permission to use the school library to do his own research. We meet several of the students and faculty, as well as Grim, a fire-wielding tanuki/cat creature who aims to attend the academy as well. This is very much an introductory volume; things move quickly, we meet characters but don't really get to know them yet, and we get a feel for the world, which I'm digging so far, but don't learn a whole lot about it. It's enough to intrigue me and get me interested and reading more though! The art is pretty as well, magical and lovely but not afraid to get dark. Looking forward to the next volume!

#DisneyTwistedWonderlandVol1 #NetGalley

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I played the game this manga is based on. It was a lot of fun to see the transition from game to manga. I did not expect it to be as good as it was. I have see things like this before and some times they don't match up too well, but was like playing the game only I was reading it. Which was a lot of fun and the characters and plot were just as enjoyable.

This was fantastic! I loved how everything was "twisted"--villains become heroes. I liked the inclusion of a human character and his subplot continuing alongside the storyline of the school students.

Even though this is the first volume I felt like I missed something. I don't really know very much about the Twisted Wonderland world, but I believe there is a game or something so people already know about the characters? I just felt like when I started this story I was missing something, and maybe that's the way you are meant to feel, or maybe it was just me personally - I'm really not sure. I will probably pick this manga up for my library if the first 2 volumes circ well, but I don't think it's a series that I will continue reading.

I went into this manga without any knowledge of the Twisted-Wonderland video game, but it didn’t matter as you are quickly transported into the world of Wonderland, along with the main character Yu. His appearance in this world seems to be a mistake, but it is up to him to get home which leads to action and unlikely friendships.

It's not bad. But there's not much of a hook to keep me going? The world building is fairly vague, but perhaps if I had played the game this is based on...

The artwork is lovely.

Twisted Wonderland is a great and a wild read. It begins with our Main Character being whisked away by being hit with a carriage (instead of Truck-Kun for once). From there the world is flipped on its head. One of the interesting things about this upcoming series is the idea of Disney Villains being misunderstood heroes of their respective places. I can't wait till we see how all of the Villains are understood by the mages under their crests. Definitely a read for any Disney Fan or Manga lover who wants to see a new side of a villain.

I don’t have the attention span to play the game so I was so excited when I heard they were making this into a manga. I was not disappointed!

I love the characters so much already! The art is beautiful and the writing is so well done. I can’t wait to read more from this series!

Well done art work and is faithful to the original video game to my knowledge. Will be ordering for the graphic novel and manga section of the library

The artwork was really nice and the story seemed entertaining, but was a little confusing. I read that this was based on a game, so there is probably some background info that I missed out on since I never played it. Other than that, it’s a nice introduction to manag and I feel like true Disney fans would enjoy it.