Disney’s ‘Twisted-Wonderland’ Animated Series Puts Villains in Spotlight: New Show Features School Inspired by Classic Disney Films

By Yayoi KawatokoYomiuri / Shimbun Staff Writer

11:00 JST, November 28, 2025

“Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation” is a new series inspired by villains and villainesses from various past Disney works. Its first season is now available for viewing exclusively on the Disney+ streaming service. The story is set mainly at a school to cultivate mages in a distorted world where villains are admired.

In Twisted Wonderland, where magic exists, legends about a group of iconic figures known as The Great Seven have been passed down for generations. The Seven comprise the Queen of Hearts, the King of Beasts, the Sea Witch, the Sorcerer of the Sands, the Fairest Queen, the King of the Underworld and the Thorn Fairy.

Night Raven College is an elite academy where students learn magic. The institute has seven dorms, each inspired by one of The Great Seven. On the day of the college’s entrance ceremony, Yuken Enma, a Japanese high school student from the real world, mistakenly wanders into the Twisted Wonderland. The head of Night Raven College arranges for him to look after a little monster named Grim, who dreams of becoming a mage, as he seeks a way to return to the real world. However, while this is going on, Yuken becomes entangled in various problems within the college.

The series was inspired by the mobile game “Disney Twisted-Wonderland,” which was released in March 2020. The original story for the game was created by Yana Toboso, who is famous as the creator of the manga series “Kuroshitsuji” (“Black Butler”). She developed the main scenario and designed the characters.

Nana Gadd, Director of Games at The Walt Disney Company Japan, revealed how the project began.

“It all started when we and Aniplex Inc., which is in charge of planning and distribution for the game, agreed to create a villains’ game together,” Gadd said. “I remember feeling thrilled and getting goosebumps when I looked at the first sketches Yana Toboso drew, which showed [characters] Ace and Jamil.”

The animation’s plot follows the story of “Episode of Heartslabyul,” the first part of the game. Riddle Rosehearts, the house warden of Heartslabyul Dorm, reigns over and torments the students who live there, such as Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Trey Clover and Cater Diamond, in accordance with “The Rules.” Yuken joins forces with other characters to confront Riddle and end his reign of terror.

The game has been made widely approachable and enjoyable to everyone while maintaining its Disney-esque style. Gadd said painstaking efforts were poured into crafting scenes and lines of dialogue which evoke the Disney works that serve as the foundation of the game, including “Alice in Wonderland,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Sleeping Beauty.”

“We do so subtly, never in your face. It also counts a lot that Ms. Toboso, who really loves Disney, is good at finding the things that please fans most,” Gadd said.

“Twisted-Wonderland” is the first original animation that Disney+ has distributed from Japan. Currently, it is streaming in more than 150 countries in about 30 languages.

“Japanese animation is highly acclaimed around the world,” said Gaku Narita, Executive Director of Local Contents. “I hope this series, which offers superb storytelling, will be an enticing feature of Disney+.”

Narita hopes that the new series will also spark viewers’ interest in the Disney classics that served as the origin of the series. A second and third season have already been green-lighted.

Yuken, a very Japanese character

The protagonist, Yuken, was the assistant captain of the kendo club at his Tokyo high school before coming to the Twisted Wonderland. Voice actor Yohei Azakami, who provides Yuken’s voice, sat for an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Yomiuri: What kind of person is Yuken?

Azakami: He doesn’t flinch when ordinary people would panic. He coolly looks at the big picture and speaks up if there’s something wrong. He’s well-balanced and has great inner fortitude. He can read a room and is very logical. As a Japanese character, he’s unusual for a Disney work … I like it because it makes him different from other characters. I watched videos to learn how to sound like a kendo athlete.

Yomiuri: It’s a world where villains are celebrated.

Azakami: The setting [of the series] is deep and interesting, and it’s very exciting. I’ve been watching movies like “The Lion King” since my childhood, and I’ve always found villainous characters fascinating. I’m the kind of person who tends to sympathize with them. After I became an adult, I started thinking about whether they were all evil from the start. I wondered if even Scar might have become a great king had he lived in a different environment, or if maybe he should have been saved.

When my career was just starting, I was a little aggressive. Maybe everyone has the capacity to become a villain. I feel I now have a deeper understanding of villains.

Yomiuri: Your exchanges with other characters are a highlight of the series.

Azakami: The characters are all people he [Yuken] can’t leave alone. I made sure not to be too assertive, because interfering with [the other characters] too much is not the right way to deal with them. [The voice actors playing] Riddle, Ace and Deuce and I all recorded our lines together, so I was able to do my part without getting tense.

Yomiuri: What are the best parts?

Azakami: I feel that [the production team] takes great care in crafting the action scenes. I’m also excited about the energy that Disney has and the words used in the series. With villains as the subject matter, the story does a good job depicting both the light and the dark, and it’s a lot of fun for children and grown-ups alike.