Title: Disney Twisted-Wonderland, Vol. 1 Book of Heartslabyul
Creators: Yana Toboso; Wakana Hazuki; Sumire Kowono
Publication Date: July 11, 2023

The main character, Yu, finds himself stranded at a magical school in a faraway world. He doesn’t have any magic of his own, but is allowed to stay on campus and work until he can find a way home. Yu and his new friends quickly land themselves in trouble and encounter a creature that forces them to work together while pushing their individual skills to the limit.

I haven’t played the Twisted Wonderland game that this manga is based on, so I can’t compare it to that, but I found the concept to be highly entertaining. I loved the nods to various Wonderland characters as well as the inclusion of Disney Villains. There are a lot of characters that appear rather quickly in the story, so that was a little difficult to keep track of as I was reading, however there is a bonus section in the back of the book with Character Model Sheets that could be helpful in keeping track of the characters.

I think this manga would appeal to a middle school and up audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and VIZ Media for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This long awaited manga is exactly what the teens in the Anima/Manga club at my library were waiting for. They have played the game and now they were able to read the manga.

As a huge fan of all Alice in Wonderland retellings, I leaped at the chance to read and review this manga. It's a strange mix original Disney and manga art which I found endearing.

Yu was just living his best life when suddenly he's zapped into another world entirely unprepared. He must be there for a reason... but he doesn't seem to have any magical abilities or talents. Rather than send him back to his old life, the powers that be decide to keep him at a magical school in a haunted house as a janitor. As if things couldn't get harder for Yu, he finds himself in between a spat with some freshman students who break a statue and are sent on a mission to atone for their crime. What would a quest be without a quirky Cheshire like cat who can breathe fire and causes mischief? Well, never fear, you'll never know because this quest has that cat.

Read on if you're a fan of manga, Alice in Wonderland retellings or the game this manga is based on! (I never even heard of the game before this novel and you can read this with no prior gaming).

Fun fact, this series is already published to volume 3 in Japan! (I saw it on the shelves while I was there!)

I am, quite possibly, the worst person to be reviewing this book. Is it because I haven't played the game? Maybe in part. But the true reason is that I have what I like to call an Alice Problem - an unreasonable fascination with Lewis Carroll's <i>Alice</i> duology. Add in a knowledge of folklore and I know too much about the things this book is playing with.

Credit where it's due, though, this so far doesn't seem to be confusing the two most famous queens, Queen of Hearts and Red Queen. So far all words attributed to Riddle (a presumptive descendant of the Queen of Hearts) are, in fact, Queen of Hearts things, as is his hot temper. The whole Disney-Villains-as-Progenitors thing is a little weird, as are the choices they've made (no Lady Tremaine?), but it isn't jarring...like, for example, when Ace, Deuce, Grim, and Enma end up at the Seven Dwarves cottage.

Look, I just don't know about this. Maybe I'd feel differently if I'd played the game or was less of an Alice fan. But this is just odd and occasionally awkward as is. I don't dislike it, but I'm also not fully comfortable with it.

Thank you to @VIZMEDIA for the ARC. I loved this tale. The graphics/drawings are beautiful. You is a great character and the story is awesome. I need more Manga like this.

This is such a fun graphic novel. I love the artwork very well done. I think that this is the perfect starting spot for this series, however you will leave this book wanting more as this volume is mostly introductory vs building on a story. I think people who enjoy the game are going to enjoy this novel though.

Thank you so much to Viz Media and Netgally for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This book hits the spot for any Manga lover. And in some pixie dust and add in a Disney fan and you have a fun filled book. This is my first of this type of Manga and it was very interesting. Fast paced, full of eye catching illustrations, and leaves you excited for the next book. Disney Lovers this is your book!

Thank you VIZ Media for the ARC!!

I received a free ARC of this manga from Viz Media via NetGalley. While I have not played the mobile game I was intrigued by the combination of manga and the Disney Universe. “Yu” is transported into a magical world where everyone arrives to a school because of their magical prowess, but Yu has no magical powers. The school doesn’t know what to do with him so he is assigned janitorial duties and a living space until he can figure out a way back to Japan.

This got better as it went. The art was nice and the Disney references easy to understand. I found the tanuki character who also arrives at the magical orientation a bit annoying, but the action sequences were well done. I’m not sure I would personally seek this out to continue additional volumes, but I could see it as an easy recommendation for teens – especially those who like fantasy and Disney retellings which have been popular lately.

First off for those who have played the mobile game this is a great addition to the story and would highly recommend checking it out. That being said it has been a while since I have and at first the plot was a little confusing to follow and get a hold of, which is also something I felt while playing the game. But despite that it never stopped me from enjoying the book. It is pretty copy and paste from the games prologue but that is great if you haven't played or have taken a long break from it.

The art is beautiful done and I enjoyed just taking time to appreciate each panel. I also found each character introduced to be fun because who doesn't love a Disney villain? Overall an enjoyable read and can't wait to see more volumes.

Thank you NetGalley, Viz, and Disney for providing me with a copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook!

When I saw this available as an ARC, I jumped at the chance to read it. It was lovely to see some of my favourite characters in print! I play this game daily and looked forward to seeing how the story would play out with a different (male) main character. The art is lovely and this book is definitely for fans of the mobile app, though I wonder if there should be some incentive for readers who haven't played the game yet, like a code in the back that you input and it gives you a bonus item to start with or something of the like (or a reward for existing players in the same way).

That being said, I had an expectation that each volume would be an entire "Book" from the game, meaning 8 volumes-- whereas this volume is really just an introduction/prologue into the story-- so I wonder how many volumes the creators are planning? At this rate it would be 3-4 volumes per house, which would be quite a large amount in total. Likewise, in the app, the game will put out limited time stories (like the cooking quests, the NRC exams, the fairy gala stories) and I wonder if and how that would be incorporated into this kind of world? Bonus chapters? Entire bonus volumes? Digital Exclusives?

Either way, I am excited to see how this manga progresses!

Simply not my thing. I am sure there is a market out there for this exact book as its origins lie in both Disney and a mobile app but something about the narrative pacing was so rapid it felt disorienting. It didn’t establish rules early on enough for me to understand what I felt I should have. So maybe this book is for players as opposed to making readers want to play.

My Thoughts:
Manga, like comic books, are meant to be consumed, passed on, returned, exchanged, collected. But it is a series, so one can never stop at volume 1. The appeal for me of manga, then is the art first, and then the fantasy or over the top violence. This particular one is based on a video game from Disney, which is probably why I don't recognize the subhead, The Manga: Book of Heartslabyul. I am an outsider to what the video is actually about, so from my lens, this is a mix of Alice and Wonderland meets The School for Good and Evil. Nothing really gets resolved regarding the conflict, since this is only Vol. 1. What we do know is that for Yu, the androgynous main character, he is in the wrong place, Night Raven College, and unlike the other students, he has no magic. Or does he? Stay tuned.

As far as the art, it is reminiscent of the manga from the late 70s and early 80s in Japan. I used to read manga in Japanese as a way to retain my language, so my first manga was Candy Candy by Nagita Keiko and Yumiko Igarashi. The manga was colored like bubblegum rainbows. The young girl was an orphan with huge eyes, irises that sparkled, blonde wavy hair and a cute upturned nose. The males were also very western, with big eyes, long hair, slim faces and clothes with big collars, ruffles and/or bows, so again, androgynous. The other manga I liked was Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka with his skunk hair, heavy eyebrows and large scar going down his face. His adventures got me interested in medicine as he was an unlicensed medical practitioner.

The art in Wonderland by illustrator Yana Toboso has the same feel as these early manga. As I was reading it, the art just felt familiar and nostalgic like I was meeting an old friend, o-hisashiburi desu ne.

From the Publisher:
Manga based on the hit mobile video game from Disney, Twisted Wonderland!

Stranded in the world of Twisted Wonderland, Yu must brave a magical school filled with ghosts, monsters, and uncooperative students!

Yu is whisked away to Night Raven College, an arcane academy in the world of Twisted Wonderland. Stranded until he can find a way home, Yu is allowed to stay on campus despite having no magic of his own. But when his new friends land him in trouble with the headmage, his future at the school looks bleak. Now Yu’s only hope of avoiding consequences hinges on bringing together a pair of argumentative first-years and a fire-breathing monster cat…

Publication Information:
Authors, illustrators: Yana Toboso, Wakana Hazuki, Sumire Kowono

Publisher: VIZ Media (July 11, 2023)

After being obsessed with the mobile game, I was so excited to see that we were getting a manga! If you played the game, this story will be very familiar to you. I hope we get some color pages of the characters when it releases. I can't wait for more and to see Idia and Ortho on the page!

As someone who plays this mobile game, I can say this manga adaption does a decent job of telling the prologue and first chapter of the game's story for anyone who might be curious about this pretty-boy Disney crossover. Our main character is not that deep, a straight man to the chaos around him, but I'll take whatever personality I can get out of him, since he was always meant to be a player insert.. Most readers are going to be here as an entry point or for their favorite characters, and that's perfectly fine!

Everything I know about Twisted Wonderland is through friends who have played the mobile game that spawned this adaptation, so I can't give a fair comparison to said game, but I can say this is about what I expected when I learned there was going to be a Twisted Wonderland manga. From what I can tell, it's also a pretty close adaption.

Yuken "Yu" Enma is the kind, big brother-type leader of his high school's kendo club (that was struggling before he brought it to life) and is waiting for the bus when by all appearances gets run over by a horse-drawn carriage, whisking him away into the world of Twisted Wonderland--much to his chagrin because they have a tournament coming up. This world is basically the amalgamation of Disney movies (specifically Alice in Wonderland, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White) and in it exists an "arcane academy" called Night Raven College, dedicated to training mages. This academy has dorms crested by each main villain of the aforementioned Disney stories and those villains are considered the academy's great forebears. Basically, if you didn't know beforehand about anything related to the IP, Twisted Wonderland is straight-up a celebration of Disney villains.

There's one problem with Yu being summoned to this academy, though: he has no magic and therefore cannot be allowed to enroll in this academy. He's fine with this but he can't find a way home just yet, so the headmaster of the academy allows him to stay and work as their janitor until he does (and honestly, I'm happy to see such calmness and nonchalance in an issekai manga by our main character and that it's not a typical "let's enroll him immediately anyway because he's probably some great hero" trope--the Dark Mirror legitimately tells him that he doesn't belong here). Cue several other characters designed specifically to stir up trouble and get him into shenanigans that threaten to expel them all from the academy. It's very straightforward with its plot and I appreciate that it plays its tropes straight.

The art is beautiful and while the characters could use a bit of diversity, they're interesting enough so far that I didn't feel they were in the way of the story (though Riddle is annoying with his arrogance, a trait he clearly inherited from his house's forebear, the Queen of Hearts). I'm more curious about the history of the academy, why the villains are so celebrated, and how Yu is going to get back home more than any one character's story.

I would say if you love Disney villains, magic, and drama, and/or are a fan of manga like Black Butler (whose creator worked on it), Alice in the Country of Hearts, or Vampire Knight, you'll probably love this series. Of course, if you're a fan of the original game, rest assured you'll likely be pleased.

I feel like this book was trying too hard to do too much, to appeal to too many different audiences, without really finding a niche. I do in fact enjoy manga. But this felt cringy from the start. Like someone had watched a bit too much YuGiOh as a kid. And Wonderland is one of my favorite Disney properties; I have enjoyed many different and unique takes on the story and characters. But I struggled to find any of those here. I vaguely remember there was a game of this same name, but if this is supposed to be that, it definitely doesn't work.

However, the art is fabulous. I got to digging, and discovered this is the team of artists behind Black Butler! Definitely recommended!

Thank you Disney, Viz, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc of this manga.

I heard about the Twisted Disney mobile game last year, I believe. It has an interesting premise of a magic school that has houses based off of villains instead of the heroes. It’s like the villains won.

This manga brings Yu into the world from modern Japan. He’s not happy and wants to go back. More chaos ensues when Grim, a cat like creature, breaks in. The adventure continues as we have more people are introduced. If I remember correctly, there might be some characters from the game that appear. But I’m not sure. It’s been a while since I’ve played the game.

The characters represent their houses. This book involves the Queen of Hearts’ house. So many of the characters are temperamental and easy to offend and anger. Add the nonsensical theme of Wonderland, and it’s an interesting read.

Grim and Yu are my favorite characters. They are the underdogs of the story despite being the main characters.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a bonus that the manga-ka is the author of Black Butler. I will read the next volume of the manga.

I recommend this for anyone that likes the mobile game or Disney.

Thank you again NetGalley, Viz, and Disney for the arc copy of this book.

The best book I have every read that confused me. When I started this manga I was so lost on the storyline. Why is this book about Wonderland taking place in a dojo where students are practicing Kendo. Huh? What does this have to do with Disney? I was worried for a little bit that the wrong book was inside. Then the magic happened!
Enma sees a coach, and then is knocked out to find he wakes up in a coffin...in a weird place with people all dressed the same and talking about magic. As it happens, the coaches pick the new members of a special school of magic. The only problem: Enma does not have magic. So, why did the coach bring him? And now that is stuck, what does he do and how can he get home? The adventures in this land of Twisted Wonderland begin in this first volume of a surely exciting manga.
The manga is well-reflective of the mobile game, and builds upon it and the characters to create short and fun stories. At first the landscape is a little confusing and hard to tall what things are (done purposefully) as more gets revealed and background given to Enma, the reader discovers it too.. This helps give the sense of wonder and immersion to the world that Enma must be feeling. The character of Enma is excellent, sometimes strong, sometimes confused, and sometimes just a kid (what he truly is). The tropes of manga are strong (over-excited reactions - talking animals - etc.) and fit the book well into the genre.
Overall, the first volume was a fast, fun read (especially if you enjoy the mobile game) and made me look forward to the rest of the manga.

As an avid fan of the mobile game, it was a no-brainer for me to pick up this title and give it a read. I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I was hesitant at first; the introduction of Yuu as the Narrator (instead of the Player, like in the mobile game) felt a bit stunted. He isn't the same sort of "every person" that the reader can explore the world through as they can in the game, however this gives a different spin on the Twisted Wonderland world, and makes it a slightly different experience.

This volume doesn't cover as much as I would have liked to have seen, though it does introduce our Narrator (Yuu) as well as Grim, the maybe-cat-maybe-something-else that Yuu is paired up with (half against his will), and the characters of Deuce Spade and Ace Trappola. These two are absolutely amazing and so funny together, and a lot of their dynamic is really captured in the manga (especially the different facial expressions - I laughed aloud more than once).

I thought the artwork was really great. It have TW a darkness that the game doesn't always get across. Instead of bright, sometimes harsh colors, we get a stark contrast between Yuu's "real world" and the world of Twisted Wonderland. I think this is a really great introduction to the world, especially for those who might not be familiar with it. I'm really looking forward to subsequent issues, because I *know* things get so much more interesting.

As somebody who is unfamiliar with the game but a very big fan of Disney, this entire world was very intriguing to me! I enjoyed experiencing it along with Yu, and I loved seeing the familiar aspects of the dwarves' cottage and the 'great 7'.

However, I will say I did not find the story as entertaining as I hoped. I found it slightly slow in some places and a little bit uninteresting in others.

While I may read the next volume when it comes out, this one is, unfortunately, only a 3-star read for me.