Twisted Wonderland: Episode of Heartslabyul – 07 + 08 [Final Impressions]

Episode 7

I know y’all probably thought I dropped this, but the holidays and work really did a number to me and I just did not have the time or energy to get this done in a timely manner. Not to mention I ended up just bed-ridden for a few weeks with brain fog so there was just no way I could concentrate on this. Big apologies for leaving this on hold for so long, but we’re back! …And I had to rewatch these episodes because it had been quite a while since I watched it the first time lol. In any case, it was the moment that was a long time coming with Riddle just snapping.

To the surprise of no one, Ace and Deuce are almost immediately put out of commission because what did they really expect? The two are freshmen who barely have any real experience in magic. While on the other hand, despite Riddle only being a year older than them, has more experience as he’s been honing his magic since a very young age. Though I do admit he crossed a line when bringing their upbringings into it so he definitely deserved that punch in the face for it. Especially since we know what Deuce has gone through and has a lot of guilt regarding what he put his mom through. One of Riddle’s biggest issues is having a lack of empathy no thanks to his own mother. He just doesn’t seem to understand others’ circumstances and how anyone could have different views or beliefs. Just because he believes all rules should be followed, doesn’t mean everyone shares or upholds those values. Nor should they considering how outrageous a lot of those rules are.

As much as I do not like Ace, I honestly can’t blame him for punching Riddle in that moment. Especially since we KNOW that Deuce has been trying so hard to change for the sake of his mom. What Riddle said basically made it sound like it was Deuce’s mom’s fault for his shortcomings, to which it an incredibly sore spot for him considering his past. And while Ace did not know this information (I think), Riddle did pretty much deserve it considering how cruel and insensitive he’s been for the entire season so far. Ace did have some very valid points to be made, however, he definitely took it too far and only escalated the situation. Both Ace and Riddle lacked empathy for the other side in this situation. While Riddle spoke down on the upbringings of the others, Ace also made light of Riddle’s. Both assumed the other should know “better”, but depending on how they are raised, even what could be assumed is “common sense” may not be common to them. Ace scolding him Riddle over not being able to think for himself felt so tone deaf because Riddle’s upbringing basically prevented him from thinking for himself. EVERYTHING was planned for him and he was expected to follow through with every little detail. There was no room for Riddle to even consider thinking for himself. Especially since the first time he did and ate a tart, he was punished to tears for it. While I understand Ace’s point, he was also wrong. It really rubbed me the wrong way when he just flippantly said he “knew enough” about Riddle. Like bro, you only know second-hand information. There is much more nuance to Riddle’s situation that requires a lot more delicacy and understanding. At this point, it felt like two brick walls crashing into each other. Nothing productive was going to be had in this argument.

And of course, it escalates even more when everyone else decides to chime in on their frustration with the rules. While their anger and frustration towards Riddle was justified, this only caused Riddle to spiral even deeper into madness. I appreciate Yuuken at least attempting to de-escalate the situation. Unfortunately it was already too late and Ace did nothing to help that. The guy was already exhibiting very concerning behavior by throwing around his spells left and right manically and then Ace just had to pour even more gasoline on the fire because the idiot just wasn’t bothering to read the room or keep his mouth shut. There is a time and place to be calling Riddle out on his crap, THIS IS NOT THE TIME. Especially not when he’s showing psychopathic tendencies with literal black ink running down his face. Also I got to hand it to Riddle’s english voice actor, he did an amazing job voicing his anger and screaming. His poor throat though lol. But gosh, when Ace goes “you gotta be kidding,” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Like bro, you are partially responsible for this reaction.

So while Riddle is sinking more and more into madness, the final straw was Trey finally stepping in to oppose Riddle. It’s unfortunate, but Trey had also played a part with how far gone Riddle had become. Despite him claiming he should have helped Riddle as a kid, I really don’t see a way HOW he could have. That was beyond his control and even if he had tried to step in, Riddle’s mom probably would have caused even more trouble for his parents in retaliation. The only thing he could have done was stand up to him before things spiraled out of control. I can’t say for sure Riddle would have listened to him at all, but I do think that Riddle does have a soft spot for Trey. And even if they had gotten into an argument, I do believe that Riddle would hold what Trey had to say with a little more weight than others. Especially since Trey was the one who gave him a semblance of happiness in his very dull and controlling every day life despite it having repercussions. It’s obvious that Riddle still holds those childhood memories very fondly even if it did end rather sadly. Also can I just say that I am SO GLAD they used actual child actors to voice them as kids and they did a fantastic job to boot. I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief in those scenes and it made it feel a lot more natural than what normally happens in anime dubs.

In the state that he was in, Riddle was beyond reasoning with so of course he’d see Trey standing up to him as a betrayal. Especially in his very “black and white, I am right and you are wrong” mindset. It essentially became a culmination of pent up anger, resentment, sadness, hurt and stubbornness that boiled over into an unfortunate condition known as “overblotting.” To which, comes with a very cool edgy design lol. We’ve been seeing Riddle’s magic wand be slowly tainted by black drops and we are now seeing the outcome of the wand becoming completely “blotted out.” Despite Crowely explaining that this occurs only when using one’s magic too much, it definitely seemed like it also had to do with his emotional/mental state. Considering we’ve been seeing the drops happen when he wasn’t using magic. Maybe the dark emotions are what starts it and then using a lot of their magic accelerates the process. Hard to say at this point, but I feel like there has to be more to it than what was told.

Episode 8

The final battle against Riddle commences and man, I am so glad that this fight was not what I had feared it to be. In the first episode, I was a bit worried all of the fights would end up as energy beams with little to no interesting combat or choreography like a certain other game adaptation that I shall not name.  *CoughPersona5Cough*. Thankfully, episode 3 showed that they CAN make a fight interesting even if a lot of the attacks are elemental shots and not just devolve into energy beams. And there is actual movement where characters actually have to dodge out of the way. While Riddle is stationary for the most part, I do like that the projectiles he fires off doesn’t just go in one direction but actually act more like homing missiles and will zig-zag to try and hit their target. And the scene where Trey and Cater are jumping around combating the attacks is just really fun to watch and really well done. I’m so glad that they actually put in a little more effort to make the fight interesting and give it actual choreography where they could have just as easy gone the super lazy route and have it just an energy beam show. While I do wish they gave Ace and Deuce more animation for their part in the fight, but considering this adaptation has always felt a little more on the lower budget side, I’ll have to let it slide.

Now, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Yuken being the one to deal the finishing blow on a rampaging Riddle since since he’s just a normal person without any magic. I can believe he can knock out a normal person with his kendo skills, but to completely smash the head of a magical monster? I’m not sure about that lol. Even if it was glass, I find it hard to suspend my sense of disbelief in that situation. Especially when it seemed like everyone else was having such a hard time dealing with Riddle’s attacks. To which, I’m also not sure how I feel about Yuken even being able to fend off those attack projectiles as well. Bro is allowed to be strong, but I’m not sure if he’s THAT strong. So that’s like the one part I’m pretty iffy about.

It’s hard to not feel bad for Riddle despite what he’s done and I think that’s what makes him a really good character. Once you’ve been beaten over the head to believe a certain way, it’s really hard to break out of that mindset. Poor guy just wanted to have a LIFE and not be dictated by so many rules and restrictions. He truly just wanted to have fun with Trey and Chenya and those memories seemed to have been the best time of his life, which is honestly really sad when you look at it from that perspective. That small moment was the only time that brought him actual joy in his 16-17 years of life. But because that’s all he knew, he believed everyone should abide by those same rules. Unfortunately that’s what lead Riddle to essentially become his mother. He literally became a monster that tried to beat everyone into submission to the rules just as his mother did to him. It’s so tragic how a lot of abuse victims end up becoming abusers themselves because that’s all they’ve been accustomed to. So I’m glad that Trey has picked up the mantle to try and help him break these habits and be more upfront about his wrongdoings.

And then we have another “He has a point, but Ace is still obnoxious” moment. I get still being angry at Riddle for what he’s done, but the fact that Ace can never freaking read the mood or have tact makes me want to throw my computer out the window. I think it’s more or less the tone he uses that aggravates me where it feels like he HAS to complain about everything and be a brat about it. However, I can appreciate him wanting to redo the Unbirthday party since the last one was ruined by Riddle’s tantrum. And I do think it was a good notion to have Riddle make him a tart in return for the one that he destroyed. But gosh, I still cannot stand his tone. Despite that, I do hope that Riddle and Ace can actually become friends because I feel like they’d be good influences on each other with Riddle teaching Ace about being more disciplined and Ace teaching Riddle to relax a bit more.

Outside of his tyrant side, Riddle is a cutie. Especially with how he’s trying really hard to not abide by every single rule and it still pains him a little. But he’s trying to change for the better, so gotta give him props in that respect. He’s learning to be more flexible and not lash out if there is a mistake, making him a lot more likeable to his peers. Though it was hilarious that he fell for Trey’s trick of putting oyster sauce into the recipe. This is his first time, he at the very least needed supervision lol. I also really like that we got a little cameo of Riddle’s chef outfit XD. Another part that I really appreciate is that while Trey is still really soft with Riddle, it doesn’t seem like he’s tiptoeing around him anymore. He’s actually teasing and joking with him like an actual friend would. From this point on, it seems like their friendship will be a lot more balanced and healthy rather than Trey constantly enabling Riddle’s bad behaviors. Even Chenya makes an appearance and I’m glad to see him and Riddle interact since it’s probably been a while. The after credit scene was especially hilarious seeing him try and not abide by as many rules as possible… Only for him to drink tea all night and not having slept lol. What a silly bean~

We then end things out with a build up to the next season by introducing Night Raven’s rival school, Royal Sword Academy…. Which is literally just the Disney Castle lol. And thus we are also introduced to the school game of Spell Drive, which will be a main point in the next season that focuses on Savannah Claw. I do have to wonder if Yuken will continue being the main protagonist or they’ll continue going along with what the manga did and change the MC every season.

Final Impressions:

Was this a good adaptation? Mmmm… debatable. I’ve seen mixed views on this first season from people who have not played the game. As someone who has played the game, I think this was an alright adaptation. Is it the best? No, but I’ve seen worse. A LOT worse… glances at Persona 5 and Ensemble Stars anime adaptations. I don’t think it’s on the same level of greatness that is the Idolish7 adaptation, but I think it did well with the amount of time they had. I feel like they could have done some things better like integrate Riddle’s inclusion a little more in the earlier episodes while hinting that there is more to him than the image he is portraying. However, with 8 episodes to work with and also needing to set up the world, I can’t fault them for laying out the groundwork first before diving into the Riddle stuff. I for one still enjoyed the anime even if it did just scratch the surface of the arc, it still was able to get the major points across.

I think my favorite part had to be where they showed Riddle’s backstory. We didn’t get much visuals in the game, just some silhouettes and voice acting. So the fact that we actually got to see baby Riddle and Trey (even Trey’s parents), it did help me be a lot more visually invested in what happened to them in the past. I feel like that had to be the best part of the adaptation so far.

Overall, I think this was an okay adaptation. Not the best, but definitely not the worst. It definitely felt it was more geared towards people who are already familiar with the game, especially with those after credit scenes. Those were definitely fanservice for the people who know these characters already. Despite a lot of my critiques, I still enjoyed and had a lot of fun seeing all of these characters in animated form. Also shout out to the English dub, they did a fantastic job with it and I may actually like the dub more than the original. Also wanted to give respects to Riddle’s english VA because I feel like he went above and beyond with his performance. He honestly felt like the perfect voice casting for him and hopefully his voice was okay after all that yelling lol. Definitely the best performance in the dub so far.

Not sure when the next season will be out, but I will most likely cover it when it does air. I’ll give this adaptation a 6.8/10. Until next time!