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A review by cyanide_latte
Disney Twisted-Wonderland, Vol. 1: The Manga: Book of Heartslabyul by Yana Toboso, Wakana Hazuki
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Now that I've finally figured out what I want to say, here's my review.
Let me begin by saying that I have been playing the mobile game since late October 2023, and as such, I think that while someone who hasn't played the game or watched any playthroughs of it online can read this manga and enjoy it, I think a lot of the richness and nuance is going to be lost if you haven't played it.
The concept is as follows for the unfamiliar: the player character, called Yuu (yes it's a pun), awakes in a world not their own, at Night Raven College on the day of orientation for new students. Yuu woke in a coffin as a talking, cat-like monster called Grim attempts to steal the uniform Yuu is wearing, and you're both found by the school's headmaster, Headmage Dire Crowley, who assumes Grim is Yuu's familiar and ushers both to orientation to be sorted by an artifact called the Dark Mirror into one of seven dormitories. Each dormitory was founded in honor of one of the Great Seven, who are decorated leaders of the world of Twisted Wonderland, (but whom we recognize as seven iconic Disney villains.) When the Dark Mirror cannot place Yuu in a dorm because they have no magic but also cannot send them home because it cannot figure out where Yuu belongs, Grim wreaks havoc on the orientation ceremony, demanding to be accepted as a student instead of Yuu. Grim is apprehended and thrown off-campus and Crowley agrees to let Yuu stay the night and work out a plan for what to do the following day. The story progresses from there, for the duration of the prologue "book" called "Welcome to the Villains' World!" The prologue book however is very short and gives very little in the way of hints towards the game's overarching plotline; we get more of that in the first book, "The Rose-Red Tyrant".
For the manga, It would appear that they chose to throw the entirety of the prologue book into the first volume of this manga and go from there right into the details of the book "The Rose-Red Tyrant". In some ways I feel like this can come across as a little bit clumsy, but in all honesty it was probably the best move to take in terms of introducing you to the overall story without missing too many beats, especially since it appears they are doing that first book's story in multiple volumes and then going on afterwards per the "books" of the game, in corresponding order of how the dorms go.
One thing I would like to note is that the identity of "Yuu" in the manga may seem off here compared to anything you may have heard regarding the game. Yuu in the game is a blank slate: no details about them are confirmed, not even gender (Yuu is given they/them pronouns throughout the game) so each player can insert themselves as much as they prefer.
In the manga, to my understanding, the identity of "Yuu" changes between each dorm book. So the "Yuu" in the Heartslabyul book volumes isn't the same as the "Yuu" in the Savanaclaw book volumes isn't the same as the "Yuu" in the Octavinelle book volumes. I do enjoy this detail as I feel like it's only fitting given the nature of the way the character is handled within the game.
That being said I'm not overly fond of the Heartslabyul "Yuu", Yuken Enma. Call me picky, but I feel like there were some choices with the character that could have been done differently and done better.
Additionally, the opening details of this volume and the story beats are off to what is in the game, hence the way I chose to open this review. Personally I much prefer the way that the game approaches the beginning of the story and the flow of events; it's better paced and I think even people who haven't played the game/watched playthroughs will be able to tell how rushed and haphazard some of the events in this volume occur, particularly where Grim, Ace and Deuce (the three stooges) are concerned. The whole volume feels very forced along at a too-fast pace to get us right into the events of "The Rose-Red Tyrant".
That being said, I really do adore the art in this manga, it's absolutely stunning, and TWST has so rapidly become a hyperfixation and Special Interest for me that I intend to continue collecting and reading the manga as it's released. I really want to see how the rest of it is handled, and I do recommend the manga to any fans of the game. To anyone interested or curious, I do recommend at least watching playthroughs of the prologue book and first book of the game. I promise you it's good and you'll have a better appreciation for the manga after you've experienced how the story is handled in the game.
(If you want to try the game itself, be warned it isn't intuitive and doesn't really give you good tutorials. It throws you in the deep end and lets you sink or swim. And also, if you were only aware of the game due to the misinformation spread about it for years, no, it isn't an otome visual novel about dating "hot anime versions of Disney villains". It's got a fantastic and well-written story and the characters are wonderful, and as such, it deserves to have an equally stellar manga adaptation. This game blows Kingdom Hearts out of the water and it does what Disney Descendants wanted to do but never could. There. I said what I said. Give it a chance, seriously.)
Let me begin by saying that I have been playing the mobile game since late October 2023, and as such, I think that while someone who hasn't played the game or watched any playthroughs of it online can read this manga and enjoy it, I think a lot of the richness and nuance is going to be lost if you haven't played it.
The concept is as follows for the unfamiliar: the player character, called Yuu (yes it's a pun), awakes in a world not their own, at Night Raven College on the day of orientation for new students. Yuu woke in a coffin as a talking, cat-like monster called Grim attempts to steal the uniform Yuu is wearing, and you're both found by the school's headmaster, Headmage Dire Crowley, who assumes Grim is Yuu's familiar and ushers both to orientation to be sorted by an artifact called the Dark Mirror into one of seven dormitories. Each dormitory was founded in honor of one of the Great Seven, who are decorated leaders of the world of Twisted Wonderland, (but whom we recognize as seven iconic Disney villains.) When the Dark Mirror cannot place Yuu in a dorm because they have no magic but also cannot send them home because it cannot figure out where Yuu belongs, Grim wreaks havoc on the orientation ceremony, demanding to be accepted as a student instead of Yuu. Grim is apprehended and thrown off-campus and Crowley agrees to let Yuu stay the night and work out a plan for what to do the following day. The story progresses from there, for the duration of the prologue "book" called "Welcome to the Villains' World!" The prologue book however is very short and gives very little in the way of hints towards the game's overarching plotline; we get more of that in the first book, "The Rose-Red Tyrant".
For the manga, It would appear that they chose to throw the entirety of the prologue book into the first volume of this manga and go from there right into the details of the book "The Rose-Red Tyrant". In some ways I feel like this can come across as a little bit clumsy, but in all honesty it was probably the best move to take in terms of introducing you to the overall story without missing too many beats, especially since it appears they are doing that first book's story in multiple volumes and then going on afterwards per the "books" of the game, in corresponding order of how the dorms go.
One thing I would like to note is that the identity of "Yuu" in the manga may seem off here compared to anything you may have heard regarding the game. Yuu in the game is a blank slate: no details about them are confirmed, not even gender (Yuu is given they/them pronouns throughout the game) so each player can insert themselves as much as they prefer.
In the manga, to my understanding, the identity of "Yuu" changes between each dorm book. So the "Yuu" in the Heartslabyul book volumes isn't the same as the "Yuu" in the Savanaclaw book volumes isn't the same as the "Yuu" in the Octavinelle book volumes. I do enjoy this detail as I feel like it's only fitting given the nature of the way the character is handled within the game.
That being said I'm not overly fond of the Heartslabyul "Yuu", Yuken Enma. Call me picky, but I feel like there were some choices with the character that could have been done differently and done better.
Additionally, the opening details of this volume and the story beats are off to what is in the game, hence the way I chose to open this review. Personally I much prefer the way that the game approaches the beginning of the story and the flow of events; it's better paced and I think even people who haven't played the game/watched playthroughs will be able to tell how rushed and haphazard some of the events in this volume occur, particularly where Grim, Ace and Deuce (the three stooges) are concerned. The whole volume feels very forced along at a too-fast pace to get us right into the events of "The Rose-Red Tyrant".
That being said, I really do adore the art in this manga, it's absolutely stunning, and TWST has so rapidly become a hyperfixation and Special Interest for me that I intend to continue collecting and reading the manga as it's released. I really want to see how the rest of it is handled, and I do recommend the manga to any fans of the game. To anyone interested or curious, I do recommend at least watching playthroughs of the prologue book and first book of the game. I promise you it's good and you'll have a better appreciation for the manga after you've experienced how the story is handled in the game.
(If you want to try the game itself, be warned it isn't intuitive and doesn't really give you good tutorials. It throws you in the deep end and lets you sink or swim. And also, if you were only aware of the game due to the misinformation spread about it for years, no, it isn't an otome visual novel about dating "hot anime versions of Disney villains". It's got a fantastic and well-written story and the characters are wonderful, and as such, it deserves to have an equally stellar manga adaptation. This game blows Kingdom Hearts out of the water and it does what Disney Descendants wanted to do but never could. There. I said what I said. Give it a chance, seriously.)