I love the Twisted Wonderland series. This story is told from the point of view of Yuta Mito age 16. He was delivering an order from his father's restaurant when he found himself in the world of the Twisted Wonderland. The art is amazing as always and in the book of Octavinelle the students sign a twisted contract. They become servants indebted to Octavinelle. It's up to Yuta and classmate Jack Howl to help their fellow classmates out. This book is beautiful to look at the story is interesting and I can't wait to see where it goes.

A fantastical twist on classic lore, Twisted Wonderland brings Disney’s villain-y side to life with a new set of characters and story.

I know that these manga are based on the mobile game of the same name and want to preface this review by saying that I know next to nothing about the game. This also led me to realizing that despite the numbering, this is not the first book in the series, so I didn’t (and still don’t) have any previous context when delving into this volume.

Yu has been transported to the fantastical world of Twisted Wonderland where he’s enrolled at Night Raven College. Exam season has arrived, and Yu’s friends have signed a deal with the mysterious prefect of the Octavinelle dorm in order to get good scores on their exams. Now that the exams are over, the Octavinelle prefect has called in his part of the deal, forcing Yu’s friends to serve him for the rest of their time at Night Raven College. Now Yu must figure out how to free his friends from their deals.

Even though I had no previous experience with Twisted Wonderland, I found myself able to pick up most of the context within the first dozen pages or so. I liked the premise of this volume and the series as a whole even if I found the characters to be rather unlikable. I thought the twist on classic Disney lore was fun and wholly different from other Disney franchises like Descendants. It’s also nice in that it doesn’t rely heavily on previous Disney knowledge. Someone with no prior knowledge could easily step into this manga without a problem (although, I would recommend starting at the beginning!).

I loved the art style. While it definitely has the traditional manga-style, the detailing in each of the panels was fantastic! The illustrations were beautiful, and it’s clear the artist spent a lot of time bringing the world to life. I also liked that Yu didn’t look like the usual manga protagonist. It set him apart as a character and also stood as a reminder that he’s different, that he’s been whisked away to a world that isn’t his own.

Overall, while this book wasn’t something I might normally pick up, I think that it’s something that young teen readers will love. It’s a step more mature than traditional Disney without being overly violent for older teen and adult readers. It also has that edge of dark villainy to it that a lot of teens like in their fiction.

VIZ Media provided an early galley for review.

I am all in for more Twisted-Wonderland adventures. I really like the colors on this one's cover too; the purples and blacks really pop.

As this one opens, we're introduced to the newest incarnation of Yu. As with previous arcs, the main character changes appearance, background and personality. Given that the manga is based on a video game, Yu changes each story as this is a stand-in for the game player (Yu is meant to be "you", the player).

We are also diving further into the Octavinelle house with its house-warden Azul and his two enforcers Jade and Floyd. This house, like its matriarch Ursula, comes from a very dark place. I always liked her as a newer Disney villainess, so her house is especially interesting to me. The power and threat that Azul provides is a strong one and very different too from those the crew has encountered in other storylines in the series.

Of course, there are always Disney Easter eggs in this manga. I had to smile at one in particular - the name of the lounge that Azul's house runs as a business. I am all for bringing in aspects of Disney classics that are not specifically covered by the seven houses in the school.

The artwork, as always, is amazing. I'd rank that manga art from this series right up there with art I've seen over the years from some of my favorite American comic book artists.