Twisted Wonderland: Characters’ Name Etymology & Explanation

[@Invoguemaestro]

0:00 = Introduction and Warnings 0:52 = Heartlabyul 3:08 = Savanaclaw 4:17 = Octavinelle 5:23 = Scarabia 6:08 = Pomefiore 7:14 = Ignihyde 7:49 = Diasomnia 9:55 = Ramshackle 10:17 = Night Raven College Staff 13:09 = Special Event Characters 13:12 = Rollo Flamme 13:45 = Fellow Honest 14:16 = Gidel For anyone wondering about MC/Yuu's name etymology, here it is. Firstly, Yuu's name is a play on the word 'You.' Secondly, 'Yuu' is written as ユウ which is the katakana version of the name. However, the katakana version has no meaning whatsoever. However, Yuu can be written using different kanji characters and they all have different meanings ranging from "tenderness/superiority" ( 優, ), "evening" ( 夕 ), "friend" ( 友 ), "qualified" ( 有 ), "courage" ( 勇 ), "help" ( 祐 ), "abundant" ( 裕, ), "masculine" ( 雄 ), "permanence" ( 悠 ), "reason, eaves" ( 由宇 ), TO "assist" ( 侑 ). By all means, you are free to interpret this to your mind's content.

[@Neolia-le8xy]

I know it's been like 3 months, but it kinda bothers me you said 'hiragana' instead of 'katakana' To be clear hiragana is ゆう And katakana is ユウ! /nm

[@Invoguemaestro]

@@Neolia-le8xy I'm sorry about that. I'll edit that part. Thanks for letting me know :)

[@Internetcockroach1]

Fun fact: A shroud is something used to cover dead bodies too

[@Invoguemaestro]

Oh that’s fascinating. That really does link to the Hades’ theme there. Thank you for the fun fact 😊

[@SS-yt3fb]

⁠​⁠@@Invoguemaestroyeah.. fun.. totally..

[@Invoguemaestro]

@@SS-yt3fb Just realised that was not the appropriate word haha. Perhaps a better way to put it is 'thank you for the interesting fact'?

[@AnaxErik4ever]

This was the first meaning I thought of. The ancient Greeks were among many civilizations to use burial shrouds, so it fits Hades in this way too.

[@Techno-Danger2]

I think my favourite thing is that Leona Kingscholar is essentially just "Lion Kingstudent" lmaoooo

[@sorcerersapprentice]

For Kalim's surname, to be blunt, the game got this completely wrong. "Al" doesn't mean "son of" like the game claims. It either indicates the tribe name or just means "the" in Arabic. "Ibn" or "bin" means "son of". While him having the surname "Al-Asim" IS possible, when you apply that explanation, it would mean "Kalim the Asim", which makes no sense. Instead it should be "Kalim ibn al-Asim" for one of the abridged versions. This is not getting into the longer full version of it. With the full accurate version of his name, if it was translated out correctly, would mean, "Speaker, the son of the Protector". Considering my own headcanon that Kalim is an unreliable narrator and the rest of his family are more inline with the fucking Sohmas from Fruits Basket or the Lannisters from Game of Thrones, it's SUPER ironic.

[@CatherineDorneles]

It's not ironic, because their home is a desert city, aka standing in one of the most hostile environments to humans, and through the Asim influence it thrived into a modern oasis. Their surname is very appropriate, because via city administration they're literally protecting an entire population from the harshness of the desert.

[@sorcerersapprentice]

@catherinepasadorneles6925 Fair enough, I can see your point from that perspective. But I think when you consider some of their true potential characters into account, it's still ironic, because of how rotten they are and willing to backstab each other to gain more power.

[@CatherineDorneles]

@sorcerersapprentice ...not to be an Aladdin nerd on main, but while Sultan definitely didn't backstab anyone, the movie kinda implied that he was willing to use the death penalty on Jafar for betrayal. And yeah, Jafar is an evil betrayer and all that, but also, a ruler using the death penalty is abuse of power depending on who you ask. So, while the exact way in that the Asims are messed up is different, they've got the same thing going on that Sultan has that is "ridiculously powerful family does/believes in fucked up stuff that's commonly associated with corrupt royalty (backstabbing family and executing traitors". One of the best things about Twst is how it looks at Disney movies that say "it's not that deep", and then it decides that because it's got a shovel, things ~will~ be that deep lol.

[@The_ArchivistG]

I recently learned Grimalkin can sometimes be used to refer to like a witch's familiar, which is a cat. I think they're apparently something more like a cat fae, but that apparently those where the kinds of cats that some witches were accused of having? (It can also mean an old woman, though.)

[@Invoguemaestro]

Very interesting. Thank you for your comment.

[@memyself7667]

Also king"scholar" in japanese スカラー is phonetically similar to "scar" スカー

[@AnaxErik4ever]

My interpretation of the last name was how Scar got "the lion's share" of brains between himself and Mufasa. Great find with this meaning.

[@hariraistudios1036]

Actually in spanish Leona and Vil has a translation!!! Leona means female lion, or lioness, something funny btw bc if you see like that Leona has so much respect to the females in his homeland Vil means evil but more in the way of being cruel. So also match!!! 🎉

[@Invoguemaestro]

Thanks for informing me.

[@iintankavel]

In Portuguese it’s the same way! But female lion is "leoa" :3

[@hariraistudios1036]

@@Invoguemaestro welcome!!!

[@hariraistudios1036]

@@iintankavel LEOA??? JQHSJAHDHHW que bonito se oye

[@valentinaperezguerrero5995]

Ortho también tiene traducción pero mejor no hablemos de eso ajsjajsksk

[@xXGloomuraiXx]

This is just my own nerding out but it’s also pretty reasonable to believe Ortho’s name is derived from the Greek underworld dog “Orthrus” who’s like the little brother of Cerberus and has two heads (which checks out because there are two ortho’s the humanoid and the phantom)

[@Invoguemaestro]

That’s cool info. Thanks.

[@palomaarenillas8194]

3:10 Leona is mean "lioness" in female Spanish

[@rainbowrosepeace]

I also like the think that Grim is a reference to “grim grinning ghosts” the song from the haunted mansion ride since Ramshackle also has grinning ghosts

[@justkara3495]

Small fact, "Flamme" is also the german word for "Flame!

[@AnaxErik4ever]

Cool. My German isn’t as good as my French, so thanks for catching this.

[@sariasutcliff1420]

for vargas i remember seeing somewhere that the name was chosen so vargas ends with "gas" and ashton ends with "ton", referring to Gaston, who he is based off of. I can't remember where I read that, though

[@Invoguemaestro]

That's a possibility, yes.

[@francespt8809]

I low key wish Yuu was in this list, like I know they're technically not a character but come on! the name could have some background

[@sorcerersapprentice]

It does, but it depends on the Kanji, so it would be hard to tell unless you speak and read Japanese. I can understand why OP left it out.

[@Invoguemaestro]

@@sorcerersapprentice You hit the nail there. But also because the player can change Yuu’s name too. But I am happy to add Yuu’s name etymology in the comment section, if you would like?

[@Invoguemaestro]

@sorcercersapprentice’s comment is correct. But also because the player can change Yuu’s name too thus, why I excluded it. But I am happy to add Yuu’s name etymology in the comment section, if you would like?

[@sorcerersapprentice]

@@Invoguemaestro Sure, go for it. That could be interesting.

[@Invoguemaestro]

@@sorcerersapprentice Great! I've updated my original comment (the one with the timestamps) and you can find it there. Thank you very much for your response.

[@memyself7667]

"Al" is also could be used for "from/of" just like in Al Tighnari's name wich means from Tighnar (his hometown) , it's make more sense if "Asim" were an ancient place rather than "son of the Asim" it woud be "Kalim from Asim"

[@izanamii90]

As far as I know, the names of the dorm leaders are based on what the villains' names sound like phonetically in Japanese.

[@xxreyrppuppetmasxx2595]

0:53 Am really hoping that the creators of Twisted Wonderland will feature the other characters inspired by the other Alice in Wonderland Characters, we do get to see Che'nya as Cheshire Cat however am looking forward to see inspiration of the Mad Hatter, Dormouse, March Hare, The Duchess, Mock Turtle, Jabberwocky and more.

[@cherriesz]

Kalim is pronounced as Karim in japanese and Karim means generous in arabic which makes a ton of sense for his personality!

[@Your_Local_WeirdWeeb]

You are a gift from divinity, I can't thank you enough

[@tylercoep0588]

Thanks for covering this. It was done well

[@Invoguemaestro]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@caitlinabeln8659]

Amazing work

[@Invoguemaestro]

Thank you thank you!

[@blackcat13.30]

Good work. This video is very good.

[@Invoguemaestro]

Merci! Thank you thank you!

[@azulovebot]

malleus is also a bone in ur ear lmao

[@Invoguemaestro]

Yes! I just discovered that and I found that to be quite amusing.

[@luna_frost7717]

Its also a type of disease (for horses, donkey but it's also transmissible to feline carnivores and humans), my teacher startled me when she suddenly said Malleus in class.😅

[@luna_frost7717]

And you forgot that Neige LeBlanche means snow white in French.😊

[@Invoguemaestro]

@@luna_frost7717 I did not include Neige in this video and I am aware that it means snow white (as French is one of my main languages). Maybe another time I will do a video on supporting characters' name etymology. We'll see. 😉

[@AnaxErik4ever]

I was able to deduce most of the main cast, and the teachers', names on my own. I am a polyglot when it comes to foreign languages I can understand, sing in, and intuit etymology from. Names of prominent NPCs, and some main cast names, were lazier than others, i.e. too easy to interpret for those with original fairytales/Disney villain knowledge or else too hard for non Disney villain fans. Rollo Flamme (very lazy), Azul Ashengrotto (lazy, if you know Ursula and names for her gender bent variations), Malleus Draconia (kind of lazy if you know Maleficent and dragons), Divus Crewel (very lazy), Jamil Viper, (last name lazy) and Rook Hunt (last name very lazy) are among the lazy naming schemes I have found. Here are some of my interpretations of the names (upon initial readings and knowledge of Disney villains/foreign languages): Riddle Rosehearts - last name is direct association to Queen of Hearts and "painting the roses red"; first name is reference to Lewis Carroll including several 'riddles' within Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Ace Trappola - first name is direct reference to one/Ace in card suits; I didn't get Trappola, although I did get the subtext reference to Jack Heart (might be the seven years older brother) of Disney Villains Recruiters, a Tokyo Disneyland show instrumental for developing TWST Deuce Spade - last name is easy; Deuce takes a while if you don't know it can refer to the number two (I thought of tennis deuces, a 40=40 tie, at first). Face markings are good for non-dorm head characters from Heartslabyul, not to mention their signature cards appear as pins on their Dorm Uniforms. Cater Diamond - last name is easy; four sided shape association means Cater likely refers to the number four, never cared to follow up as I'm neutral on Cater as a whole. I'm like Idia with this character, wanting to stay away from the "trend chasing, too extroverted for his own good" kid. Trey Clover - last name is easy; Trey means the number three in several languages, including Italian (one of the languages I speak) Leona Kingscholar - last name is alluding to Scar having "the lion's share" of brains and his subverting his brother as king; first name is meant to directly reference lions, although I'm surprised they chose a name given to GIRLS (Lionesses having numbers and proficiency superiority in a lion pride? I'm not sure.) Ruggie Bucchi - first name sounds like "rugged", rough around the edges, referring to his lack of manners and low class standing, like the hyenas in The Lion King; last name I didn't know the origins for Jack Howl- last name refers to the sound wolves make to communicate (kind of lazy here); first name is meant to be a "every man" sort of name that people can relate to; despite his being a bit of a bodybuilding meathead, Jack is one of the more heroic/relatable students at NRC Vil Schoenheit: last name is German, just from looking at it; I typed the word into Google Translate and it gave me a term akin to "the state of loveliness", surface level translation could be "the height of beauty"; Vil reminded me of the French "la ville" meaning "town or village". Vil also has meaning in German, although I forget what it is. Epel Felmier - first name made me think of "shoulders" (les epaules) rather than "apples", although the spelling similarity is there; last name is close to French fermier (farmer, direct allusion to Epel's "country bumpkin" origins), which took some bio reading on the TWST wiki for me to get Idia and Ortho Shroud: last name refers to "burial shrouds", often wrapped around the deceased of Ancient Greece and several other ancient cultures; Idia is similar to the Latin "Ideo" (in God's name) and the Romance language forms of "idea" (hinting his mad genius); Ortho has a lighter meaning from Greek I found on Google translate Sebek Zigvolt: last name is a cross between German "Zigmund" "Zigfried" other "zig-" starting names and a measuring unit of electrical energy (hints at how Sebek only respects martial power and his electrical magic specialty; Grimm fairytale of Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose is said to be German too); first name alludes to the Egyptian god Sobek, crocodile headed god of the Nile, in line with Floyd calling him wani/croc as his particular "fishy nickname". As for Gidel and Fellow Honest, the untrustworthy "fox and cat" inspirations were obvious. Fellow Honest's name is a fusion between the two names for Disney's dishonest fox character, Foul Fellow and Honest John. In addition to Gideon, Gidel's name could be based on "guignol", a French word for a fancy kind of doll or puppet, fitting with his muteness and sometimes 'wooden and uncontrolled' movements. I did some video research into their characters in other countries, not just Carlo Collodi's native Italy; "the fox and the cat" are quite popular villain walk around characters in Tokyo Disneyland as it turns out; I have seen them in Halloween centric parades and they even have a statue in a "public gardens" section of the park.

[@SuperFanFiction]

What about the protag? Yuu.

[@Invoguemaestro]

You can find that in the pinned comment.