Ok, do not freak out when I explain the premise of this show. Its a world, that praises and reveres classic Disney villains, and most of the all male cast are essentially Bishonen takes on those villains. Still there? Ok then, we can continue.
The series is based on the Gacha video game that you can’t get over in the UK, thus making comparing it to that rather pointless for me, same with bringing up any element of how that game plays, never played it nor am I able to.
After the brief opening featuring a masked figure voiced by J. Michael Tatum we are soon introduced to our lead Yuuken Enma or Yuu (frankly you could have called him Hu Man for people who don’t get the joke) in Japan.. yep its Isekai time! Anyway rather than Truck-kun this time our lead is hit by a strange black coach and emerges out of a coffin surrounded by cloaked black figures in front of A mirror, that is just the magic mirror from Snow White wearing Mascara.
After all the “what the hell is going on?” stuff, and the mirror unable to find out what or where Japan is, a small mascot character jumps in demanding to join Night Ravens College and proceeds to start magically burning everything down, also giving us brief moments for the cast that won’t be playing a major role in this first season.
Since its adapting from the game, and the game takes the form of chapters each focusing on one of the major dorms.
This season focuses on Heartslabyul dormitory which reveres the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, viewing her as someone who strived for order in a world of madness. So our Bishonen cast are based on the card soldiers for that movie and the dorm head Riddle Rosehearts is based on the Queen herself. The season is about those characters and Riddle, going into their pasts, why they are the way they are now and so on. In fact it’s so focused on them, that the ending song of this season “Obedience” is sung by the Japanese voice actors. While our lead Yuu is told he has an unique ability… namely he’s able to get people to work together, and not just through use of the mascot character who he keeps around now.
The characters of the show were designed by Yana Toboso, known for being the artist of Black Butler, so well skilled in doing very Bishonen pretty boys.
While the other houses don’t yet feature too much in the episodes, the ending of each episode is followed by a Chibi mini animation and with the exception of the final episode starring the other houses casts, so you do see more of what might be past the first 3 seasons which are in production.
This first season is only 8 episodes long but has a full dub out so if you have access to watch it, it won’t take too much of your time, and not just my want to comfort hug Riddle Rosehearts. Now if only I could stop myself from calling it Twisted Neverland…. there isn’t even a dorm based on Captain Hook!
Rating: 📺📺📺📺
