Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation

Episode 6

Of course a dude who idealizes the Queen of Hearts has mommy issues. This week on Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation, Riddle's backstory reveal was the least shocking discovery of all time. But this tortured soul's cliche trauma still manages to endear us when it's recollected by Riddle's two closest childhood friends. “An Army Of One” steadily marches the plot toward its inevitable conclusion, making it less fun than the previous two episodes that spent a lot of time letting the characters mess around. But it goes a long way toward developing Riddle's character and conveying why he might be more than just another Disney villain.

One thing that strikes me about the 1951 Alice in Wonderland film depicted twice in Yu's Disney IP dreams this week is how ugliness used to be shorthand for villainy. Both the Queen of Hearts and her toady playing cards are characterized by their bulbous noses and slack mouths. It stands out all the more in this pretty-boy reimagining of the film, where the characters do all the same things (including croquet with flamingos and hedgehogs) but look like pop idols. I half expected the dormouse asleep in the teapot to be a tiny hot guy as well. But as handsome as Heartslabyul House may be, there's a distinct lack of courage. When Riddle crashes out over the flavor of his apology tart, only Ace, Deuce, Grimm, and Yu are brave enough to say, “What the hell, man?”

It seems that Riddle has the same conflation of ego and lifestyle that you sometimes see in anime fandom. Have you ever said “I don't think [Insert Anime] is very good,” and some rando takes disproportionate offense to that voiced opinion? It's probably because that anime is so tied to that rando's self image that what they hear you say is “I don't think YOU are very good.” So when somebody, quite reasonably, suggests that having 850 rules governing mundane and harmless activities like offering certain tart flavors at tea parties might be idiotic, Riddle hears “YOU are idiotic.” And even if he didn't hear that the first time, he got another chance when Ace literally called Riddle an idiot to his face. Multiple times. Okay, so that part might not be courage, just excessive meanness. It's no surprise he gets kicked out of the party after that.

Searching for answers, the group comes across a figure from Riddle's past. The Cheshire Cat character is somehow gayer than all the other characters put together, and that is not an easy task to achieve. Daman Mills (Cherry from Sk8 the Infinity, Frieza from Dragon Ball Z) delivers an exceedingly campy performance in what was already a crowded category for this show. This Chenya, as he bids the crew to call him, spills the tea on Riddle's stringent personality—and the childhood discipline that fostered it. Armed with this new knowledge, Ace slams upperclassman Trey for being a bad friend to Riddle: “You really want to sit there and watch 'til he winds up friendless and alone?” It seems Ace has learned something from Yu's tough love just a few episodes ago, when Yu made him overcome his ego and admit he was in the wrong for taking a bite out of Riddle's tart—friends need to be honest with each other, even when the truth hurts. It's been great to see how Ace, Deuce, Grimm, and Yu have slowly transformed from students brought together by circumstance to a real team, as conveyed nicely through Yu lending his kendo helmet and cheering banner to his friends' standoff. This power of friendship plot is as standard as it is predictable, but it's still a good time.

Important note on the subtitles: last week, I expressed relief that the show aired with real subtitles translated by Annie Chen. This week, however, we are back to closed captioning only—and I no longer see the subtitles for Episode 5 available on Disney Plus, only the closed captions based on Madeline Morris's dub script. I'm enjoying the English dub performance, but I'd like to have both options available.

Rating:

Disney Twisted-Wonderland The Animation is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Lauren is a freelance journalist with a focus on anime fandom.