REVIEW: ‘Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation’ Episode 2 — “A Dismissive Ranking”

After the chaotic setup of the opening episode, Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 takes its time laying down Yuken’s (Youhei Azakami/Jonathon Ha) uphill battle towards finding his way back home. In the process, more insight is provided into the kind of world he has found himself in, while also introducing us to the characters Ace (Seiichirō Yamashita/Max Mittelman) and Deuce (Chiaki Kobayashi/Hunter McCoy) in more depth. This brings the chaos down to a more controllable level, giving things room to breathe.

Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 starts immediately where things left off, Riddle Rosehearts (Natsuki Hanae/Paul Castro, Jr) is about ready to make Yuken’s life a living hell before Yuken blurts out that he lacks magical ability. The disbelief in the room is deafening. No one is allowed to enter this magical academy without having magic. Yuken lacking magic should be impossible given the circumstances. But the Magic Mirror states in a most dismissive, brutal monologue that yes, in fact, Yuken is powerless in every way. 

Armed with this knowledge that a mistake has occurred in this special selection process, the mysterious masked headmaster (Mitsuru Miyamoto/J. Michael Tatum) is left trying to figure out how to rectify the situation. For unknown reasons, the Magic Mirror is unable to return Yuken to Japan. Unless Yuken can figure out how to get home, he will be stranded in this strange new universe. Because, despite the magic and knowledge literally at this academy’s fingertips, no one has ever faced this kind of dilemma before.

Magic is key in Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2. Without it, you don’t belong.

Without any magic ability and with the mirror unable to send him back to Japan, there are almost no options left for the high school student. He could try to go home himself, but the world he witnesses as soon as he steps outside the doors is dark and twisted, with the animators capturing the dark magic that thrives here. However, Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 presents a solution offered by the masked man, who gives Yuken a chance to stay in a practically abandoned and haunted dormitory.

The haunted character of the dormitory screams ‘Don’t be suspicious’ from the first pan shot, moving upward, in Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2. Inside, Yuken is greeted by silly ghosts that seem like an homage to the hitchhiking ghosts from The Haunted Mansion (though it seems unlikely that this is what they are). These ghosts spell a recipe for future hijinks, making Yuken’s free stay here more forboding. Yet, Yuken’s reaction to the ghosts is adorable, with him just happy that he can see them. 

The masked man points out how quickly Yuken adapts to the situation and immediately comes up with the idea to have the high school student manage the school grounds and do some odd jobs here and there. Given Yuken’s ability to adapt after overcoming the initial shock, Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 is quickly establishing a baseline for how he may handle each twist thrown at him in the future.

The masked man is quickly evolving into the administrator of exposition when it comes to this twisted world.

In the second half of Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2, we are introduced to the school’s Great Seven by two students, Ace and Deuce, while Yuken sets about cleaning the school grounds. Considered the greatest beings who have ever lived, avid Disney fans will be able to recognize these all-too-memorable classic Disney Villains. The animators here utilize archival footage from the villains’ respective films, allowing viewers to see these greats in action while giving the animators a break.

Still, after this bout of exposition, Grim (Noriaki Sugiyama/Ben Diskin) returns to cause more havoc. He seems determined to take Yuken’s spot but is quickly intimidated by Yuken’s demonstration of kendo. Subdued, Grim gives us some tragic backstory, highlighting his prowess but also how low-key discriminatory this magical academy is against non-humanoid magic-users. It’s clear Grim is skilled, but the academy selection process keeps passing him by.

Of course, this brief bout of sadness is quickly disbanded by Ace, showing how fiery he is—first, instigating a fight with the more levelheaded Deuce before switching his focus onto Grim. The subsequent battle between Grim and Ace results in the destruction of one of the Great Seven statues, which the masked headmaster conveniently arrives to witness. This is the first time we’ve seen the mysterious man lose his composure, offering a new look into the typically jovial, trickster character.

Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 sets up Riddle Rosehearts’ revenge.

Initially, he tries to ban all three students, though Yuken rightfully points out that he can’t be banned since he’s not a student at the academy. However, he comes up with a compromise for Ace, Deuce, and Yuken to go to a mysterious location to retrieve a precious artifact that will be used to replace the light source in a bulb. When the show pivots to the location, an ominous voice declaring that “It is mine” immediately lets you know that this won’t be an easy retrieval mission.

However, Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 ends with us back to Riddle Rosehearts, who, frankly, has been tossed to the wayside this episode. He declares that he is going to punish the problematic students, which seems to be his modus operandi in dealing with anything straying outside the bounds of the rules. That said, he’s quickly becoming an annoyingly one-note character. Hopefully, the next episode can flesh him out a bit more; otherwise, he’ll quickly evolve into a character to dread for all the wrong reasons.

As it stands, Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episode 2 leaves behind much of the chaos that made the inaugural episode a bit of a hard watch. Now that Yuken is starting to find his place in this twisted world, with goals to focus on to allow him a chance to find his way home, the series is finding a more grounded rhythm. We still don’t know who anyone really is yet, aside from Yuken, but there’s still time to learn everyone’s name and personalities.

Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation Episodes 1-2 is now streaming exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu.

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