For many people, Black Butler was their first exposure to anime and manga. Yana Toboso's story seamlessly blended action, comedy and gothic elements and quickly became globally popular. In fact, by 2019, it was estimated that Black Butler had sold more than 28 million copies worldwide. So you would expect that a project featuring Yana Yoboso teaming up with Disney would be distributed internationally. However, Twisted-Wonderland has so far only been released in Japan.
Announced in 2019, Twisted-Wonderland was billed as an app game that took classic Disney characters and turned them into anime-inspired ikemen, or "cool-looking men." When the game was released in 2020, players found that the game was a fusion of a visual novel, RPG and a rhythm game. The game's story takes place at Night Raven College, a magical college where all of these Disney-inspired boys go to study the art of magic.
The player takes the role of a regular person who gets pulled into the Twisted-Wonderland by the Magic Mirror. The Magic Mirror informs them that they are needed for some unknown purpose. The player then wakes up in a coffin inside of the Twisted-Wonderland, only to be rescued by a character called Grim. When the player and Grim arrive at Night Raven College, people quickly realize that the player doesn't have magical powers. But thankfully, the headmaster, Dire Crowley, takes pity on the player and lets them stay at Night Raven college until they can find a way home. This means the player gets to socialize with the various boys and help them out in their endeavors.
The school is split into dorms, and each dorm is themed around a different Disney villain. Heartslabyul houses boys themed around the Queen Of Hearts from Alice In Wonderland, Savanaclaw is based around Scar from the Lion King, Octavinelle are inspired by Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Scarabia are inspired by Jafar from Aladdin, Pomefiore are based on the Evil Queen from Snow White and The Severn Dwarves, Ignihyde is inspired by Hades from Hercules, and finally, Diasomnia is based on Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent.
Yana Toboso handled the story and design for the game, and it shows -- her style radiates off every character. Many of the designs hark back to those seen in Black Butler, especially the boys inspired by the Queen Of Hearts. The traditional boarding school element also feels like something that could have been part of the Black Butler universe as it feels very Victorian and gothic.
The game proved an instant hit, with 1.5 million people downloading it on release. It was also the third most tweeted about a video game in 2020, which is no mean feat when put against the massive social media presence Animal Crossing: New Horizons had during its release window and the overwhelming popularity of Genshin Impact. A spin-off manga, Episode of Heartslabyu, launched in March 2021 and is currently being serialized in Monthly G Fantasy. The series has also received lots of tie-in merchandise, including the usual posters and statues along with more unusual items like jewelry and Tamagotchis.
While there is no news of an English release, it seems like one is inevitable. Disney is an international company and has previously made efforts to release its Japanese-focused manga offerings in English. On top of this, Descendants, Disney's other villain-focused series, has seen great success, so it seems only natural to build on this by localizing Twisted-Wonderland. It should be noted that Aniplex, the publishers behind the game, has localized its games in the past, including Fate/Grand Order and the now-closed Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story. So it has plenty of experience with international, multi-lingual releases.
Hopefully, Twisted-Wonderland makes its way to America eventually, as it is a fantastic example of Yana Toboso's skill for creating beautifully fascinating characters. Yana Toboso's art and direction mixed with the cultural relevance of Disney sounds like a perfect match and something that could easily see massive international success if given a chance. If it does arrive on American shores, we can only hope that Twisted-Wonderland gets more people to check out Yana Toboso's other works and opens the door for more ikemen series to get English localizations.