A comparison of the prefect character in the original story and the English adaptations, including the game app, anime subtitles and dub, manga, and novels, documenting changes to the prefect’s dialogue and characterization.
- English-Language Game Changes
- English-Language Anime Changes
- English-Language Manga Changes
- English-Language Novel Changes
Changes to the Prefect on EN-Server
In the original dialogue, Grim is often referred to as a “tanuki,” an animal that is endemic to Japan and is something like a cross between a dog and a raccoon. This was changed to “weasel” for the EN release.
Original Option 1: Ehhhh!
EN Option 1: Please! I don’t have dental insurance!
Original Option 2: He’s going to punch me–!!
EN Option 2: I can’t afford to pay anything!
Original Option 1: He talks so loudly in his sleep!
EN Option 1: He’s even a jerk in his dreams.
Original Option 2: A yellow-green armband…what dorm is that?
EN Option 2: A yellow armband…which house is that?
Diasomnia’s armband is not yellow.
Original Prefect Option 1: Is it because you’ve had a master-servant relationship since you were little?
Mistaken Prefect (Before): Because you two have served him for so long?
Corrected Prefect (After): Because you have served him for so long?
Original Prefect: That doesn’t seem like a responsibility that a child should be burdened with…
EN Prefect: I guess you make a good point.
Original Grim: That guy, his legs are longer than yours by almost a meter, (prefect)!
EN Grim: I feel small just lookin’ at him!
Original Choice A: What a beautiful person.
EN Choice A: He’s definitely got an air about him.
Original Choice B: His legs aren’t that much longer than mine…I think
EN Choice B: Somebody get this guy a crown.
Original Rook: And here we have Ramshackle Dorm members (prefect)-kun, human, and Grim, monster, 70 centimeters tall.
EN Rook: And here we have Ramshackle Dorm members (prefect), human, height unverified and Grim, monster, 70 centimeters tall.
If you thought it was out of character for Rook to not have confirmed that information, you are correct: that is not something that he said.
In the original game both Ace and Deuce insult the prefect upon reuniting with them at the end of Book 6.
On EN Ace’s insult was retained (“YOU ABSOLUTE BLOCKHEAD”), but Deuce’s was changed to “Never do that again!”
Original Option 1: Sounds like Setsubun.
EN Option 1: We have a story like that back home.
Original Option 2: I guess every world has its own kind of tradition like that.
EN Option 2: I guess some fairy tales exist in more than one world.
Much like how the Japanese holiday “Tanabata” was removed from the prefect’s dialogue in the Wish Upon a Star event, “Setsubun” has also been removed from EN: a traditional Japanese holiday that marks the transition into spring.
The prefect’s original response option was a line of exclamation points, which was changed to “SWEET MERCIFUL SEVEN” on EN.
This might have been a call-back to Crowley saying the same thing during Fairy Gala (also changed from what was originally a line of exclamation points and question marks).
Original Choice A: I wonder if it’s like Tanabata…
EN Choice A: Wishing on stars isn’t uncommon.
Original Choice B: Isn’t that Tanabata…?
EN Choice B: We make wishes on certain special occasions back home, too.
The holiday “Tanabata” removed for the English-language audience.
Original Malleus: When we fell into the waterway, I tried to safeguard Prefect, who cannot use magic…
EN Malleus: When we fell into the waterway, I tried to safeguard Prefect, as my friend can’t use magic…
Malleus has only ever referred to one person in Twisted Wonderland as his friend: Lilia. More here ->
Changes to the Prefect in the Twisted Wonderland Anime Sub and Dub
※ Note: Screenshots below were publicly released by official Twisted Wonderland social media accounts and were not taken from Disney+. As a result, some do not reflect the scene in which the line was said and are being used as a visual placeholder.
Original Anime Yuuken: W-why…
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: W-why?
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: No. Am I dead?
Original Anime Yuuken: This place, you people—what is all this!
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: This place. These people. What exactly is all this?
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Who are you weirdos, and why did you bring me here?
Yuuken does not canonically insult or name-call anyone.
Original Anime Yuuken: Why am I here?
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Why am I here?
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: I want answers now!
Original Anime Yuuken: I…I can’t use magic!!
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: I…I can’t use any magic at all!
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: I don’t know how to do magic.
Original Anime Yuuken: I’m supposed to be calm!?
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: As if I could in this situation.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: I’m done listening to you.
Original Anime Yuuken: Looks like this isn’t a dream world after all.
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Looks like this isn’t a dream after all.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Okay then, I’m definitely not dreaming up how much that hurts.
Original Anime Yuuken: Magic…I can’t believe it really exists…
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Magic…so it really does exist.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Surely I’d have woken up by now if it wasn’t real.
Original Anime Dark Mirror: This person has no place where they belong.
EN Anime Sub Dark Mirror: This young man…has no place to which he belongs.
EN Anime Dub Dark Mirror: Searched far, have I, through fog and mist. The young man’s home does not exist.
Original Anime Yuuken: Chores?
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Chores?
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Sure. Okay.
(EN-dub Yuuken agrees to become a janitor immediately, but originally Yuuken does not agree until the end of the conversation.)
Original Anime Yuuken: Trust Ace.
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Trust Ace.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Just give him another minute.
Original Anime Yuuken: It’s because we all worked together.
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: It’s thanks to you all working together.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Give yourselves a little credit for swallowing your pride.
Original Anime Crowley: Yuu-kun
EN Anime Sub Crowley: Mr. Enma
EN Anime Dub Crowley: Mr. Enma
In the original manga/anime, Crowley refers to all of the prefects as the same name without differentiating between them: “Yuu-kun.”
Original Anime Yuuken: You did it, Grim. Let’s become great mages!
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Congratulations, Grim. You’re on your way to being a great magician.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: You’re realizing your dream. Congrats. You’re one step closer.
This is a reference to Koito that all English-language adaptations are missing: back in the opening when Kaito is bemoaning being the weakest member of the kendo team Yuuken does not say “You will be a great athlete” or “We’ll get you there,” like he does in the English adaptations, he says, “Let’s become great athletes,” as though Koito is on equal footing with the rest of the team and they all need to work together to improve as a team. In the same way he is including himself in the “great mages” line here in his encouragement of Grim, as if they are in this situation together rather than just Grim getting closer to his dream alone.
Original Anime Yuuken: Then I’ll apologize again.
EN Anime Sub Yuuken: Then I’ll apologize again.
EN Anime Dub Yuuken: Well, it was an accident.
Changes to the Prefect in the Twisted Wonderland Manga
Crowley refers to the original-game Prefect as “Prefect-kun” and to every reincarnation of the prefect in the manga (and there have been four prefects as of this writing) as the same name, “Yuu-kun,” never differentiating between them.
This is also true of Hirasaka Yuuka, the prefect of the Savanaclaw arc, who is also called “Yu” in all English-language panels in all EN manga except one, where Crowley refers to her as “Ms. Hirasaka” just once in the EN manga.
Changes to the Prefect the English-language Novels
Original Novel (Yuuya): “An incessant rumbling, like something hard rolling along the ground.”
EN Novel (Yuuya): (removed)
This line from Yuuya’s recollection of what happened just before he appeared at NRC was removed from the English-language novel.
Original Novel (Ace): “Do your best cleaning up with that monster.”
EN Novel (Ace): “I’ll let you get back to picking up trash with your little monster friend.”
Directly after this Yuuya confesses he has has no friends and is shocked when the ghosts comment he and Grim seem like friends.
Original Novel: “The stone is ours!”
EN Novel: “The stone is mine!”
When calling out to the mine monster to distract it, Yuuya originally says that the magestone belongs to all of them. In the English localization he says that the stone belongs to him alone.
Original Novel (Ace): “Yuu, before you rely on this guy and get into trouble, come to me if something happens.”
EN Novel (Ace): “Yu, pal, you come to me if you need anything. Don’t ask this knucklehead, or you’ll end up to your neck in trouble.”
Ace never calls Yuuya “pal.”
Removed from the EN novel (Yuuya): “‘I think you know already, but we don’t have that much money.'”
A line about Savanaclaw students being used to fighting positions was misattributed to Yuuya.
It was actually said by Deuce, who would know about brawls due to his past while Yuuya would not, as he has always actively avoided them, which is a major part of his character.
A conversation between Ace and Deuce was rewritten for EN, with a line by Deuce misattributed to Yuuya:
Original Novel: “Deuce furrows his brow. ‘But last year, the dorm that won was……'”
EN Novel: “‘Yeah,’ Deuce said, ‘but the winning dorm the last two years was—'”
Original Novel: “If you’d watched the broadcast of the tournament last year, you’d know that.'”
EN Novel: (removed)
Original novel: “‘Ah.’ Deuce blinks.”
EN: “‘Ohhh,’ Yuya said.”
Removed from EN Novel: Suspecting that Crowley himself has been spreading the rumors about him around the school, there is the line, “Yuuya’s shoulders droop,” removed from the English-language translation.
Yuuya smiling at Jade was added to the English-language novel. Originally, he does not.
Original Yuuya: “I’m sorry! It was a misunderstanding!”
EN Yuuya: “I’m sorry! You’re totally misunderstanding everything!”
Original Novel: “As he moves towards the exit…”
EN Novel: “Yuya shook off the hand on his shoulder and started to walk away.”
Original Novel: “After hearing Riddle’s plan for the first time during lunch, Yuuya had become extremely nervous. Seeing this, Riddle had acknowledged him with a nod.”
EN Novel: “In the cafeteria earlier, right before the group left to go to their afternoon classes, Yuya had asked Riddle about the ethical dilemmas his plan had raised.”
Original Novel: “Stubborn and inflexible, but a fundamentally straight-forward person who will take your word at face value to a surprisingly naive degree. Yuuya wonders if this is a result of Riddle’s limited experience with interpersonal relationships.”
EN Novel: “Stubborn and inflexible, but straightforward by nature. He was surprisingly simple in a way. He took people at their word.”
Original Novel: “Ace and Deuce bite their lips and mutter about Leona’s mockery. There they’d been, on high alert, and yet they had done nothing to prevent that horrible panic. They regret it extremely—as does Yuuya.”
EN Novel: “Ace and Deuce bit their lips in frustration. ‘Who’s he callin’ an idiot?’ Ace grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the lion boy. Yuya knew exactly how his friends felt.”
Original Novel: “Even with his magic, the small Grim will be easily crushed in this human avalanche of a stampede. Of course, Yuuya is also powerless against it. With no options, anyone would be trampled here.”
EN Novel: “The monster would be helplessly mowed down if he got caught up in this avalanche of people. The crush of people was trampling anyone and anything in its path.”
Original Novel: “Now it is Yuuya who is on the receiving end of disapproving stares. He tries to push back, but he is outnumbered, and in the end finds himself having been made a member of the team.”
EN Novel: “They needed him, and so he agreed to be the seventh member of the team.”
Added to the EN Novel: “Ace said, throwing an arm around his shoulder.”
Canonically, Ace has never had such familiar physical contact with Yuuya.
Original Novel: “The thought that Deuce is being sincere makes Yuuya happy. If Ace is being sincere, all Yuuya can do is laugh, because it is so much like the two of them. Sincere or not, their reasoning does not matter much to Yuuya. What matters is that they are offering their help, and Grim is going to be able to join the tournament. There is nothing that could make Yuuya happier than the the members of the group that is always together being able to play together as well.Watching Ace and Deuce chat soexcitedly with Grim makes Yuuya’s heart feel light. He hopes, from the bottom of his heart, that the match will be fun not just for Grim, but for the two of them as well.”
EN Novel: “Yuya was glad, whatever their motivations, that Ace and Deuce wanted to help Grim so he could play in the tournament. Yuya knew Ace and Deuce were also dying to play, and he couldn’t think of anything better than all his friends taking to the field together. As Ace and Deuce talked excitedly with Grim, Yuya felt his own spirits lift. A swell of gratitude rose from the bottom of his heart to have such wonderful friends.”
When Yuuya thanks Jack for his help in the original novel Jack responds, “I didn’t do anything for you.” This was removed from the English-language adaptation.
