Yuya Kuroki and the creature known as Grim are the newest students at the magical school known as Night Raven College. When a series of accidents plague the participants in the upcoming interdormitory Spelldrive tournament, Yuya, Grim, and their friends from the Heartslabyul dorm take it upon themselves to investigate!

Disney Twisted-Wonderland: Usurper from the Wilds: The Novel has story by Jun Hioki and art by Yana Toboso. English translation is done by Jocelyne Allen. Published by Viz Media (January 27, 2026).

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

If you're not going to play the game (and I'm probably not, but no promises), I maintain that the best way to get into the Disney Twisted-Wonderland franchise is through the light novels. I really enjoyed Rose Red Tyrant, and while I didn't care for Usurper from the Wilds quite as much, that probably boils down to The Lion King being towards the bottom of my personal list of Disney films I enjoy, whereas Alice in Wonderland is near the top. That means that if Scar and the hyenas are characters you care about more, or are at least from a movie you love, you can probably add at least half a star to this rating.

Covering the second arc of the overarching story, Usurper from the Wilds, this volume puts the focus on Savanaclaw, the dorm for jocks. The impetus for this is the upcoming Spelldrive Tournament, a major intraschool event where dorms play against each other in a sport that sounds like a combination of ultimate frisbee and quidditch. Since the game requires magic and seven-player teams, Ramshackle Dorm won't be able to participate, much to Grim's dismay. (And by dismay, I mean temper tantrum.) But more to the point of the plot, someone is taking out the best players on the other dorms' teams, and the headmage wants Yu and Grim to solve the mystery, because who better to ask than the guy who can't say no if he wants to keep getting room and board?

Like the manga version of the series, this novel features a different “Yu” than the one who dealt with Riddle in the first arc. This time we have Yuya, an anxious pacifist who is much less happy in Twisted Wonderland than the easygoing Yuken. To say that this decision is somewhat baffling may be to understate the matter; the plot and writing acts like it was Yuya who was present for and involved in the Heartslabyul debacle and it's very disconcerting to try to match up his personality with Yuken's actions. It really would have made more sense to just pick a player character and stick with them for the entirety of the series, because then there wouldn't be these continuity issues – and given that the entire world is based on a (deliberate) misunderstanding of Disney villains, continuity is important.

Still, Leona's actions as a mirror of Scar's are interesting. His jealousy of his older brother and nephew, both of whom clearly love him, is painted as not a moral failing, but something that could be helped with some good therapy, and that goes for his hyena henchman as well. No one is actually evil (well, none of the Savanaclaw guys; I'm not sure about the headmage); they're just trying to work through trauma. Characters like Jack Howl and the four card suit boys function as parallels to the more disturbed characters, showing what it means to have issues but also to deal with them. It's a format that largely works, even if the resolution here feels a little too easy. Still, being a 340 page book gives the plot the space it needs, and whether you're looking to get into the franchise or are already a fan, this is a fun read.

Lauren Orsini
Rating:

I have come to expect a consistent level of quality from Disney Twisted-Wonderland, the Mouse's Dark Academia vehicle for reviving interest in classic properties with a 100% hot guy cast. For the unfamiliar (and this defines fewer and fewer people these days), each of these handsome faces is inspired by a Disney villain from the 1950s through '90s—think Jafar from Aladdin or the eels from The Little Mermaid. Disney Twisted-Wonderland: Usurper from the Wilds is a variation on this theme starring Leona Kingscholar, a student inspired by The Lion King's Scar. Though fans of the franchise won't find anything unexpected here, it's a well-edited book with a premium feel that offers a new way to ingest the Twisted Wonderland universe.

There has historically been no shortage of people horny for Scar, so it should be no surprise that haughty, commanding Leona is one of the most popular characters in the franchise. With this novel, fans can get to know him a little better in advance of the second season of the anime, which will also be all about him and his dorm, Savanaclaw. It's similar to the second chapter of the phone game, with a key difference. In the game, you assume the role of Yu (get it?), a tabula rasa player character with no specific characteristics. This book is told in third person from the perspective of Yuya, a timid, conflict-adverse hero who dislikes sports (setting him apart from the judo-adept manga heroine Yuuka and the kendo captain anime hero Yuuken). The book assumes some familiarity with the first chapter of the story which features characters of Heartslabyul House—inspired by The Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. These returning characters lead a passive Yuya through the plot: an easily telegraphed mystery about a bad actor inflicting injuries on students right before the school-wide “Spelldrive” athletic tournament.

There's no grand twist here; readers will guess the culprit almost as quickly as the mystery begins. Instead, the entertainment value comes from the character studies along the way. As Yuya, the franchise's cat monster mascot Grim, and the Heartslabyul students investigate, they familiarize readers with more of this school's attractive denizens, and in particular the three key members of Savanaclaw. You'll learn their backstories and what makes them tick, revealing that the tortured Leona is more than just a pretty face. It's all too familiar if you're at all familiar with The Lion King, but it is endearing. The book also features impeccable typesetting and beautiful black-and-white illustrations that accentuate the characters' charms. There's nothing groundbreaking here, simply the kind of comforting escapist fantasy that fits the Disney brand.