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Disney Manga: Descendants The Rotten to the Core Trilogy #1
Disney Manga: Descendants - Rotten to the Core, Book 1: The Rotten to the Core Trilogy
The children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the Isle of the Lost... until now. Invited to the pristine Auradon, to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos must carryout their villain parents evil plot to relieve once again. Will the rebel teens follow in their rotten parents' footsteps or will they choose to embrace the innate goodness and save the kingdom?
80 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 13, 2017
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544 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 41 reviews
August 20, 2017
This was an interesting read. I didn't know there was a movie, so I found the plot fresh and intriguing. The art was cool. The characters were interesting and I liked that they were all different. Looking forward to the next volumes.
Note: I received a free copy of the book. This has not influenced my rating and review in any way.
Note: I received a free copy of the book. This has not influenced my rating and review in any way.
January 29, 2024
This was super cute and the art captured the energy of the characters beautifully. It tells the story of the first third of the first movie in the series including small character details that are only really explored in the books so I love the nod to them in this. I think this world is perfect for manga and am so excited to read the original story that tokyopop released from the Descendants.
April 27, 2019
The art style is so cute.
July 8, 2017
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
As a disclaimer, I am a huge fan of the movie (and looking forward to the sequel), as well as the books by Melissa de la Cruz.
I was really excited when I saw this on Netgalley, because it was another story in the Descendants world, but when I was reading it, I was actually a little disappointed. This volume was the first of 3 in the story, so it only went through part of the story. I was expecting it to be longer and maybe expand on other things from the movie, but it was really just telling the exact same story in a different form. Which made me want to watch the movie, instead of read this manga.
It was a really quick read, and the art was beautiful, but unless you're a huge fan of Descendants, I'd probably skip this one and just stick to the movie and Melissa de la Cruz's books. I probably won't bother reading the other two in the trilogy.
As a disclaimer, I am a huge fan of the movie (and looking forward to the sequel), as well as the books by Melissa de la Cruz.
I was really excited when I saw this on Netgalley, because it was another story in the Descendants world, but when I was reading it, I was actually a little disappointed. This volume was the first of 3 in the story, so it only went through part of the story. I was expecting it to be longer and maybe expand on other things from the movie, but it was really just telling the exact same story in a different form. Which made me want to watch the movie, instead of read this manga.
It was a really quick read, and the art was beautiful, but unless you're a huge fan of Descendants, I'd probably skip this one and just stick to the movie and Melissa de la Cruz's books. I probably won't bother reading the other two in the trilogy.
June 2, 2017
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I saw this comic (Sorry, I wouldn't call it manga, it does use a style that somewhere resembles manga-style, but that is it.) on Netgalley and was curious. I had tried the book version of this series when it came out, and sadly didn't like it (still sad about it, as the idea and blurb sounded awesome and perfect for me). So I was curious if the comic would be better. Sometimes comics lend themselves better for this kind of thing than a normal book does.
Sadly, just like the book, I didn't particularly like it. I am giving it 2 stars because I like the colourful art, the idea is good, I like Evie (and sometimes Mal). But there is just too much that either didn't make sense (why suddenly allow children of villains after so many years of not allowing villains to come out of their prison) or the time just went weirdly (so they just arrive at this school and immediately go for the wand instead of just making a plan and thinking a bit further).
Plus add to that the fact I didn't like the male characters at all. Jay was just bleh, he was boring + he seemed like he couldn't do anything at all. Then we have Carlos who is apparently obsessed with lamps and genies (I guess it runs in the family, though how I don't want to know) and he is the biggest idiot ever. Oh hey, there is the wand, let me just jump right at it. *sighs and rolls her eyes*
The worldbuilding is also confusing. For some reason all the villains (and good guys) are together no matter their original story or time. How did that happen? I mean I can imagine Mal's mom and Evie's Mom being together, but also Jafar? And Cruella? And who knows who else?
Also it is just a tad bit boring that apparently no one is trying to break the mold. Unless that will still happen. But our villain kids are evil. The good kids are good. Really? Can't we have at least one who just wants to be evil, or just wants to be good?
As I said, I like the art. It is a fun style and the character look pretty much how I would expect them to look. :P I just want to know what happened to Jafar, he looks sooooo different.
But yeah, I won't be continuing this series. It just isn't for me. I have at least tried, twice at that.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I saw this comic (Sorry, I wouldn't call it manga, it does use a style that somewhere resembles manga-style, but that is it.) on Netgalley and was curious. I had tried the book version of this series when it came out, and sadly didn't like it (still sad about it, as the idea and blurb sounded awesome and perfect for me). So I was curious if the comic would be better. Sometimes comics lend themselves better for this kind of thing than a normal book does.
Sadly, just like the book, I didn't particularly like it. I am giving it 2 stars because I like the colourful art, the idea is good, I like Evie (and sometimes Mal). But there is just too much that either didn't make sense (why suddenly allow children of villains after so many years of not allowing villains to come out of their prison) or the time just went weirdly (so they just arrive at this school and immediately go for the wand instead of just making a plan and thinking a bit further).
Plus add to that the fact I didn't like the male characters at all. Jay was just bleh, he was boring + he seemed like he couldn't do anything at all. Then we have Carlos who is apparently obsessed with lamps and genies (I guess it runs in the family, though how I don't want to know) and he is the biggest idiot ever. Oh hey, there is the wand, let me just jump right at it. *sighs and rolls her eyes*
The worldbuilding is also confusing. For some reason all the villains (and good guys) are together no matter their original story or time. How did that happen? I mean I can imagine Mal's mom and Evie's Mom being together, but also Jafar? And Cruella? And who knows who else?
Also it is just a tad bit boring that apparently no one is trying to break the mold. Unless that will still happen. But our villain kids are evil. The good kids are good. Really? Can't we have at least one who just wants to be evil, or just wants to be good?
As I said, I like the art. It is a fun style and the character look pretty much how I would expect them to look. :P I just want to know what happened to Jafar, he looks sooooo different.
But yeah, I won't be continuing this series. It just isn't for me. I have at least tried, twice at that.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
June 13, 2017
sooooo cute - and Jane is SO anime.
July 22, 2025
Review being submitted to School Library Journal for an upcoming SMS article.
December 8, 2020
I'm going to start off by saying that I really love the story of Descendants, it is one of my favorite DCOMs of all time and it holds a special place in my heart. That being said, I will not hold back on my opinions about this adaptation of the movie.
First, I would just like to say that there is nothing wrong with a movie to book adaptation. Without musical numbers, it gave room for this manga to add a few more cute scenes into the storyline that I actually liked. It made it to where we saw more friendship moments between the characters that really speak to their relationships and their characters. I thought that was cute and it was very nice to see.
Unfortunately, that is where my praise ends. While I have no issue with the story and the way it is told in this short, fast paced manga, I struggled more with the art character designs.
In the movie, we have a diverse cast BIPOC character, but in this manga all of that feels wiped away. The only BIPOC characters we see in the manga are all side characters and there's only about three or four of them and I was disappointed to say the least. Of the main four main characters, only one of them is white. As a white person, I cannot speak to the experiences of a BIPOC person or persons, but this was something I noticed that I could not not make a point on.
On another note, I noticed that when looking at the character designs, a lot of the characters look similar. Yes, they stay true to clothing designs and colors and the style choices of these characters, but their faces are all the same. The art isn't bad, by no means at all, I thought that it was very nice and fluid. I just thought it was a little lazy. In my mind I could give Mal the hair style of Jane and it wouldn't matter. Or if all of their hair was removed, you would only tell them apart from their eyes (I'm only talking about heads and faces here). I've reminded myself of the South Park episode where all the boys had no hair and looked like each other and couldn't tell anyone apart (of course I know that was the bit and admittedly it was funny) but for a manga, you want your characters to stand out from one another and be different. No two characters should look the same in my opinion and it takes away that flair that these characters have.
My final note on the character designs were the lack of facial expressions. Compared to the movie, there wasn't a lot between the scenes that were jovial and happy as compared to the tense moments. Mal it sort of one of those characters that is a little stoic and doesn't let people know what she's feeling, but when watching the movie you can tell from her facial expressions that there's conflict within her about certain things in her life. I felt like the manga was lacking that aspect of not only her character but many other characters as well.
Overall, this manga was made for fans of the movie franchise, and sadly I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Having already known the story (and this manga is only one of three that I believe only covers the first movie) I was hoping to go into a manga and see a lot more liberty taken in the art and story. While I only got half of that pie, I wasn't entirely disappointed. There were some dialogue points and cute little extra crumbles that I appreciated. Unfortunately, the character designs made this just average to me, and in all honesty had I not known the story and loved it beforehand, this might have been a 2-star.
First, I would just like to say that there is nothing wrong with a movie to book adaptation. Without musical numbers, it gave room for this manga to add a few more cute scenes into the storyline that I actually liked. It made it to where we saw more friendship moments between the characters that really speak to their relationships and their characters. I thought that was cute and it was very nice to see.
Unfortunately, that is where my praise ends. While I have no issue with the story and the way it is told in this short, fast paced manga, I struggled more with the art character designs.
In the movie, we have a diverse cast BIPOC character, but in this manga all of that feels wiped away. The only BIPOC characters we see in the manga are all side characters and there's only about three or four of them and I was disappointed to say the least. Of the main four main characters, only one of them is white. As a white person, I cannot speak to the experiences of a BIPOC person or persons, but this was something I noticed that I could not not make a point on.
On another note, I noticed that when looking at the character designs, a lot of the characters look similar. Yes, they stay true to clothing designs and colors and the style choices of these characters, but their faces are all the same. The art isn't bad, by no means at all, I thought that it was very nice and fluid. I just thought it was a little lazy. In my mind I could give Mal the hair style of Jane and it wouldn't matter. Or if all of their hair was removed, you would only tell them apart from their eyes (I'm only talking about heads and faces here). I've reminded myself of the South Park episode where all the boys had no hair and looked like each other and couldn't tell anyone apart (of course I know that was the bit and admittedly it was funny) but for a manga, you want your characters to stand out from one another and be different. No two characters should look the same in my opinion and it takes away that flair that these characters have.
My final note on the character designs were the lack of facial expressions. Compared to the movie, there wasn't a lot between the scenes that were jovial and happy as compared to the tense moments. Mal it sort of one of those characters that is a little stoic and doesn't let people know what she's feeling, but when watching the movie you can tell from her facial expressions that there's conflict within her about certain things in her life. I felt like the manga was lacking that aspect of not only her character but many other characters as well.
Overall, this manga was made for fans of the movie franchise, and sadly I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Having already known the story (and this manga is only one of three that I believe only covers the first movie) I was hoping to go into a manga and see a lot more liberty taken in the art and story. While I only got half of that pie, I wasn't entirely disappointed. There were some dialogue points and cute little extra crumbles that I appreciated. Unfortunately, the character designs made this just average to me, and in all honesty had I not known the story and loved it beforehand, this might have been a 2-star.
July 22, 2017
3,5 / 5
Tempo fa guardai il film della Disney Descendants, lo trovai carino e divertente, volutamente kitsch nei costumi e nelle ambientazioni, probabilmente realizzato con un basso budget. Ciò che me lo rese simpatico fu proprio il fatto che non si prendesse sul serio e che tutto fosse intenzionalmente sopra le righe: dalla Regina malvagia in sovrappeso e, come gli altri cattivi, caricaturale; a Belle non proprio bellissima; alla presa in giro generale, ma con affetto, di tutti i classici Disney.
Naturalmente non mancavano i buoni sentimenti, le canzoni orecchiabili e gli insegnamenti morali (molto significativa la scoperta di Carlos e Jay del gioco di squadra e della condivisione, e la scelta finale di Mal), che ne fanno un prodotto adattissimo ai più giovani, target principale.
La TokyoPop, già editrice dei due bei manga de La Bella e la Bestia, si è proposta di realizzare una trilogia narrante la storia del film, di cui il primo capitolo è già stato pubblicato.
Si tratta di un volume di poco più di 80 pagine, veloce da leggere, e anche abbastanza piacevole. Le tavole sono molto belle, e il fatto che in realtà strizzino poco l'occhio al genere manga non è un difetto.
I colori sono brillanti, il personaggio di Carlos è somigliantissimo alla sua controparte in carne ed ossa, e spesso Evie risulta esteticamente molto più graziosa di Mal.
Il concept è carino: i figli dei "cattivi" delle storie Disney (Mal, figlia dei Malefica; Carlos, di Crudelia De Mon; Evie, della Evil Queen, e Jay, di Jafar), nati su un'isola priva di magia - e di wifi - in cui erano stati esiliati i propri genitori, vengono riammessi nel mondo dei "buoni" su iniziativa di Ben, il figlio della Bella e della Bestia. I nuovi ragazzi, cresciuti nel degrado, non sono abituati ai giochi, alla cioccolata o agli studi, ed arrivano ad Auradon con l'intento di rubare la bacchetta magica della fata Smemorina, e liberare così i propri genitori affinché il male possa regnare sovrano...
La storia segue fedelmente il film anche se, trattandosi solo del primo capitolo, questo volume potrebbe sembrare più che altro una presentazione dei personaggi e dell'ambientazione, e, come tale, risultare poco soddisfacente.
Credo inoltre che in alcuni punti la vicenda potrebbe rivelarsi confusa a chi non avesse guardato il film,a causa di repentini cambi di scena.
La trasposizione di storie dal grande schermo al fumetto è comunque un'idea che mi piace molto, e sono propensa a continuare a seguire la trilogia, e con essa a rivivere le avventure di Mal e compagni.
https://iltesorodicarta.blogspot.it/2...
Tempo fa guardai il film della Disney Descendants, lo trovai carino e divertente, volutamente kitsch nei costumi e nelle ambientazioni, probabilmente realizzato con un basso budget. Ciò che me lo rese simpatico fu proprio il fatto che non si prendesse sul serio e che tutto fosse intenzionalmente sopra le righe: dalla Regina malvagia in sovrappeso e, come gli altri cattivi, caricaturale; a Belle non proprio bellissima; alla presa in giro generale, ma con affetto, di tutti i classici Disney.
Naturalmente non mancavano i buoni sentimenti, le canzoni orecchiabili e gli insegnamenti morali (molto significativa la scoperta di Carlos e Jay del gioco di squadra e della condivisione, e la scelta finale di Mal), che ne fanno un prodotto adattissimo ai più giovani, target principale.
La TokyoPop, già editrice dei due bei manga de La Bella e la Bestia, si è proposta di realizzare una trilogia narrante la storia del film, di cui il primo capitolo è già stato pubblicato.
Si tratta di un volume di poco più di 80 pagine, veloce da leggere, e anche abbastanza piacevole. Le tavole sono molto belle, e il fatto che in realtà strizzino poco l'occhio al genere manga non è un difetto.
I colori sono brillanti, il personaggio di Carlos è somigliantissimo alla sua controparte in carne ed ossa, e spesso Evie risulta esteticamente molto più graziosa di Mal.
Il concept è carino: i figli dei "cattivi" delle storie Disney (Mal, figlia dei Malefica; Carlos, di Crudelia De Mon; Evie, della Evil Queen, e Jay, di Jafar), nati su un'isola priva di magia - e di wifi - in cui erano stati esiliati i propri genitori, vengono riammessi nel mondo dei "buoni" su iniziativa di Ben, il figlio della Bella e della Bestia. I nuovi ragazzi, cresciuti nel degrado, non sono abituati ai giochi, alla cioccolata o agli studi, ed arrivano ad Auradon con l'intento di rubare la bacchetta magica della fata Smemorina, e liberare così i propri genitori affinché il male possa regnare sovrano...
La storia segue fedelmente il film anche se, trattandosi solo del primo capitolo, questo volume potrebbe sembrare più che altro una presentazione dei personaggi e dell'ambientazione, e, come tale, risultare poco soddisfacente.
Credo inoltre che in alcuni punti la vicenda potrebbe rivelarsi confusa a chi non avesse guardato il film,a causa di repentini cambi di scena.
La trasposizione di storie dal grande schermo al fumetto è comunque un'idea che mi piace molto, e sono propensa a continuare a seguire la trilogia, e con essa a rivivere le avventure di Mal e compagni.
https://iltesorodicarta.blogspot.it/2...
July 5, 2017
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
When I first saw this manga on NetGalley. It looked promising to me due to the, in my opinion, cover design. However, I was disappointed by it. There are things that fell flat for me. I mean the idea and the concept are great but it was poorly executed. Here are some issues
The artwork: My main issue with the artwork was that it did not offer me much detail. Only the four main characters had tiny little details on their hair, clothes, face etc. Everything and everyone else was dull and boring. The surroundings are mostly ignored. For example, if a main character is talking, you will see only a blank background.
The characters: Personally, I did not connect to the characters. They had personality but they lacked depth. Their only motivation was to strive for evil because that is what their parents told them to do. And for me that is not enough to properly coonect to a character.
The plot: The whole plot revolves around stealing the fairy godmother's wand and that's it. I wanted more depth and subplots. They blindly go on this quest without thinking it trough. I understand that they are evil but why not make explore additional options? They do not have to be "good" but they could, for example, try to rebel against their own parents.
Some other issues I had with this Volume is that everything happened so easily. These "evil" children immediately got accepted into this school that previously only housed "good" characters and the staff does not even suspect that they might do something bad like steal a wand. Then the same teenagers easily break into a museum and the day after nobody notices. How?
I think that a younger audience would enjoy this more than I did because this short adventure might be fun to them but older readers will certaily notice some flaws which might diminish the reading experience.
When I first saw this manga on NetGalley. It looked promising to me due to the, in my opinion, cover design. However, I was disappointed by it. There are things that fell flat for me. I mean the idea and the concept are great but it was poorly executed. Here are some issues
The artwork: My main issue with the artwork was that it did not offer me much detail. Only the four main characters had tiny little details on their hair, clothes, face etc. Everything and everyone else was dull and boring. The surroundings are mostly ignored. For example, if a main character is talking, you will see only a blank background.
The characters: Personally, I did not connect to the characters. They had personality but they lacked depth. Their only motivation was to strive for evil because that is what their parents told them to do. And for me that is not enough to properly coonect to a character.
The plot: The whole plot revolves around stealing the fairy godmother's wand and that's it. I wanted more depth and subplots. They blindly go on this quest without thinking it trough. I understand that they are evil but why not make explore additional options? They do not have to be "good" but they could, for example, try to rebel against their own parents.
Some other issues I had with this Volume is that everything happened so easily. These "evil" children immediately got accepted into this school that previously only housed "good" characters and the staff does not even suspect that they might do something bad like steal a wand. Then the same teenagers easily break into a museum and the day after nobody notices. How?
I think that a younger audience would enjoy this more than I did because this short adventure might be fun to them but older readers will certaily notice some flaws which might diminish the reading experience.
November 3, 2020
It was...shallow. The artwork isn't bad, but the writing isn't good, and the characters are cardboard cutouts. They don't seem to have minds of their own, they're just bad because...their parents were? All four are basically carbon copies of their respective villain parent (who knows who the second parent was) and they're trying to prove...something. None of them seem clever, as they throw themselves into a very straightforward plot with little planning. They all seem to have the same idea toward the end of ingratiating themselves with the various "good" kids, so I suppose that will be the second book. Maybe there will be a twist in the series later, but so far I feel it's setting up this idea that you're doomed to be bad or good purely by birth.
Overall disappointing. I don't know what I was expecting since I picked it up purely by chance (I'm on a manga kick atm and it looked cute), but I wouldn't recommend it.
Overall disappointing. I don't know what I was expecting since I picked it up purely by chance (I'm on a manga kick atm and it looked cute), but I wouldn't recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2017
I had not seen Disney Descendants prior to reading this. I love the concept of villan's kids though and will be checking out more of Disney Descendants. There are so many characters and relationships that can be explored. This story was fast paced with lots of action. Basically, it reads like a series of adventures. I felt the writing flowed well and was sometimes comical. The art is outstanding. Manga is so diverse...the panel layout and speech bubble placement worked well. I found I wanted to cheer for the 4 vks because I could see by their expressions... they care for one another. They are adjusting to life in Auradon and have met new acquaintances, are involved with building relationships, but haven't given up on the wand. I would recommend. I received this from Net Galley for an honest review.
June 17, 2017
The book is very very thin, we cover the opening of Descendants to right after they can't capture the wand. So you're a good ways into the movie so to speak, but this book just runs right past a lot of the extra parts of the movie, like who's who, more of the school, etc.
The artwork is colorful and pops. I do like that. I just wish they'd have given us more of a manga book instead of what feels like a comic book. I do believe the characters stay true to their movie counter parts so there's nothing extra added to manga. The character styles are also true and are nicely converted to the manga format for their clothing etc.
The artwork is colorful and pops. I do like that. I just wish they'd have given us more of a manga book instead of what feels like a comic book. I do believe the characters stay true to their movie counter parts so there's nothing extra added to manga. The character styles are also true and are nicely converted to the manga format for their clothing etc.
November 16, 2017
I saw this book on NetGalley and thought I would give it a try. I have honestly not seen the movie so I am a bit behind on Disney movies at the moment. But I really enjoyed this book and story line! It was very interesting to see the artwork and how they made each character different and gave such personality even through the drawings. I loved it and now thinking I should watch the movie to see if it as good as this book.
June 22, 2017
Wow, Loved this, Really enjoyed the 1st volume of the Manga adaptation of Disney's Descendants Movie, even some extra scenes / dialogue not featured in the movie too! : ) looking forward to volume 2 in September!! : ) definitely recommend this book, if you love descendants & have seen the movie : )
February 3, 2018
This was a great read! A colorful manga/comic adaptation of Disney's Descendants following four villains who've been chosen to go to a school in Auradon and retrieve the fairy godmother's wand. The characters are funny, sassy, quirky, and villainous, & the art is beautiful!
March 14, 2018
It was okay for what it was. Seemed to jump around in the story a lot and didn't give enough time for the reader to build a relationship with the characters. Seemed rushed and flat. A one time passing reading of enjoyment.
January 2, 2021
2021 Read #4
There’s nothing bad about this; I just wish it told a story different from the first Descendants film. And, for being manga-style, the chance to make characters like Ben and Chad really handsome was totally missed.
There’s nothing bad about this; I just wish it told a story different from the first Descendants film. And, for being manga-style, the chance to make characters like Ben and Chad really handsome was totally missed.
February 4, 2021
The concept was fun and this is the first time I'm consuming my first descendants .. And I'm not a fan. The plot was predictable and not my thing. I might revisit this sometime.
I Don't really recommend
I Don't really recommend
August 10, 2022
The new generation of evil.
Good color graphics. Zoom panel displays well. A good story for people who know the Disney fairytales well. Thought the new villains can be easily learned.
Good color graphics. Zoom panel displays well. A good story for people who know the Disney fairytales well. Thought the new villains can be easily learned.
June 6, 2017
A very simple, but interesting rendition of Disney tales. Nice and colorful would be nice for the young fans.
September 6, 2017
Great job by the TOKYOPOP team here - proud of the artist (Natsuki), writer and translator (Jason), editor (Janae) especially. If you have kids, get it for them!
December 1, 2017
Awesome art style. Good movie to manga turned out pretty good.check it out.
December 30, 2017
Extremely similar to the movie, I was kind-of expecting more of a prequel than following along with the movie. I really liked the art style though
January 28, 2019
Enjoyable manga version of the Descendants novels in three parts.
February 26, 2021
Love the artwork but the story is pretty much the same to the movie so nothing new unfortunately. I would have probably enjoyed it more had I not seen the film first.
February 28, 2021
I wonder how much money Disney made off of five of the same book.
June 9, 2023
Need more Mal and Ben scenes 🥺
Displaying 1 - 29 of 41 reviews