English Dub Review: Disney Twisted-Wonderland the Animation “A Dismissive Ranking”

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Overview (Spoilers Below):

As Yu adjusts to his new life, he befriends two students: Ace and Deuce.

Our Take:   

They say that the first day is always the toughest, especially when it’s a school filled with students inspired by Disney villains.  However, the only exception seemed to be the Dark Mirror, which resembles the magic mirror from “Snow White” to a tee, according to this episode.  This first day, in particular, is no different, as Yu already confronted someone destined to make his new life a living hell, Queen of Hearts style.  Even worse, Yu is now stuck in the new realm after hearing that Japan “doesn’t exist”.  It also doesn’t help that he possesses no magical talent whatsoever, so he might have to make do with what he’s got to survive by performing odd jobs.  However, that’s easier said than done when he and his new friends, Ace and Deuce, wind up in hot water when a confrontation with Grim results in the Queen of Hearts’ statue being burned.

“A Dismissive Ranking” further establishes that the anime seeks to remain faithful to the source material’s narrative, notably through Yu’s role as an errand boy and his stay at a haunted dormitory.  However, it does extract specific plot elements from similar magic school series, particularly Yu’s lack of magic, akin to projects like Little Witch Academia and Wistoria.  Fortunately, it retains a hint of Disney magic in its world-building, making its seemingly familiar narrative refreshing for Disney fanatics and even anime lovers.  The most notable example is when the episode featured clips from specific Disney films, such as “Snow White” and “The Lion King”, to highlight the Disney villains, known in this world as “The Great Seven”.  However, the Queen of Hearts seemed to be the only exception to the case for some reason, relying on still images to showcase the short-tempered queen instead.  It would be interesting to see what these villains would actually look like in anime form, but this direction respectfully pays tribute to Disney’s iconic villains amid the series’s isekai/magic school structure. 

About Marcus Gibson

I'm a recent writer for BubbleBlabber who has an extraordinary passion for films and television, especially from the animation genre. I also spent plenty of hours playing video games, most notably from the Kingdom Hearts franchise. My goal is to provide the most friendly and entertaining reviews on the planet. Whenever something might be good or not, I always remain optimistic and curious about a specific concept from a film or television show.