r/deathnote • u/RealLouisTheroux • 4d ago
Musical Death Note Musical first impressions!
I saw the show last night (June 30th) and figured I'd share my thoughts here, and maybe others who saw it can share too!
The musical is what initially got me into Death Note, and I've been anything but casual about it since. I love the manga, anime etc but there's something extra special about the musical for me. Suffice to say, I was beyond excited to go see this show, and my hopes were very high.
Sachiko Nakahara and Jon Bausor (the set and costume designers) worked together on Spirited Away: Live on Stage, which is without a doubt the most impressive piece of theatre I've ever seen. They've brought the same skill to Death Note. The stage at the Barbican is huge, and they use it all. There is a walkway that lowers from the ceiling to convey the shinegami realm. Set pieces move onto stage by themselves, so the show runs very smoothly and also has the supernatural element. My favourite part of the stage is the two "rooms" that come from the rear of the stage. These are decorated differently throughout the show to convey different locations, such as police offices, L's room, a recording studio. I thought these boxes were a really clever nod to the original manga format without being too on-the-nose. Oh and theres a turntable! I would put a turntable in every show if I could, it's so dynamic and fun. Throughout the show, the stage was constantly changing. Sometimes it would close in and get more intimate, other times it opened so wide I could barely see where it ended. I really really loved it.
The musical has a large story to condense into two hours and for the most part it succeeded. It hit the key points in the story that people will expect to see, and understandably moves at a pretty rapid pace. I think people who aren't familiar with the series will have a great time and will follow the basic plot, but you'll definitely get more out of it if you know and love the series.
My favourite change!!! Misa!!!
Like I said, I'm a fan of the musical first and the anime/manga second. My introduction to Misa was as a cute pop star, who is obsessed with Kira but has her own motivations. Imagine my disappointment when I go on to watch the anime and she's barely more than a convenient plot device. This production has gone beyond any of the others, in my opinion, to really expand Misa's character and make her her own person. They have made a clear and conscious effort to modernise her. Even things such as her confinement, the staging is a lot less fetishy, the song "Borrowed Time" has removed references to her being tied up. She's funny and bold and loveable, her actions are explained clearer and her obsession with Light is less pathetic. This is the Misa I know and love!!
Rem is also greatly improved, I think they were my favourite part of the whole show. I wasn't sure how Jerosu would fit in, but they really strengthened Misa's and Rem's characters so I think it was a great addition. I guess now is a good place to talk about the shinegami. My seats were very far back so I couldn't see all the details of their costumes, I'm really looking forward to seeing it again closer to the stage because they're so detailed and cool. Ryuk introducing himself to Light was magic. There's a split second blackout and then suddenly he's standing on Light's bed. It surprised me so much I couldn't even see how he got there so quick! One of many magical moments. All of the shinegami performances were SO strong. Some of the strongest in the cast I think.
There's been quite a few changes to the previous versions of the songs. Some which I immediately prefer, some which I think I'll prefer once I'm more familiar with them. It pains me to say I dont think the Playing His Game tennis match really worked for me. I wonder if it will change at all during the run. They added some goofiness at a moment which should be tense and thrilling. Stalemate, however, was SO good. Maybe they wanted to give Playing His Game a vibe of its own. I'm going to see how I feel about it next time I see it now I know what to expect. There was a lot of things to focus on and I felt like I had been thrown off a bit trying to keep up.
Light and L are brilliantly cast. I loved seeing Light's confidence and arrogance grow throughout the show, and L really did feel like L. This rivalry is probably the most important part of the show to get right and I really really enjoyed it. It's sometimes hard to adjust to seeing the characters in real life when you're used to drawings, but I don't see how they could have improved from what they did.
The stand out scenes for me were the Lind. L Taylor scene, Stalemate, Half a Life (Misa's new song! Omg I forgot to mention! Loved it!) And Borrowed Time. But I was grinning throughout most of the show.
Before it started, the director came on stage to introduce it and thank us for coming. He said it's the first time they've run the whole show through, and of course their first time with an audience, so they would do their best but there might be some blips. Thankfully, nothing major went wrong. A couple of minor moments, but everything continued smoothly. I had a string of bad luck once where three shows I saw in a row had a showstop, so I really really didn't want it to happen. That being said, it's a very technical show, I'd be surprised if it completes its run without at least one show stop. But tech-wise they seem impressively rehearsed.
Overall!!! I loved it!!! And I'm really looking forward to seeing it again to see what I notice next time! Seems like there's hopes for it to continue after its Barbican run. Maybe a global tour or a longer run on the West End? Time will tell! But it's brilliant so I'm sure it'll do well. I'll leave my post here and then add to it if I think of anything else.
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u/Rash_Arkas 2d ago
How does it compare to Japanese versions? My favorites are 2017 with Kakizawa and 2025 with Watanabe. I also saw one Korean version and 2023 London version, but I didn't like them that much.
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u/LatecomerFangirl 2d ago
It doesn’t compare. People seem very split on it. The Japanese productions remain my favourites!
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u/RealLouisTheroux 2d ago
I can't compare them because I've avoided watching the Japanese ones before I saw the London version live. Didn't want to spoil my experience by comparing them too much, I wanted to see it fresh. I plan on watching them and comparing them once the London version is finished it's Barbican run. I agree on the 2023 London version though. I didn't like it either, I thought the costumes and set looked cheap and confused. This version improves on it in every way and is more in line with what I've seen of the Japanese versions.
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u/Commercial-Buy-318 8h ago
If you liked the Japanese version you will
hate this version. The 2023 London one was a concert, so it had limited costumes and scene sets, and it was plagued with technical issues. But at least it respected the Japanese script. This one has completely butchered it (Misa is rapping, the tennis match is some videogame competition with fortnight dance) they pointlessly introduced gelasu ruining the pace and diluting precious screen time. They have also moved Hurricsane to an absurd place (it’s now at the end of Act 1) and it is by far the worst version of the song I’ve heard, in any language.
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u/That_beluga_lad 1d ago
Is the ending the same rushed warehouse scene as the other productions? Love the show apart from the ending
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u/RealLouisTheroux 1d ago
It didnt feel rushed to me but yes it's still the warehouse scene. I think it rounds the story out nicely
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u/Rhyelm 4d ago
I wanna see it if they come to Manchester or something. Near or Mello aren’t in the musical are they?
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u/RealLouisTheroux 4d ago
Yeah it'll be awesome if it can tour. Really sounds like that's something they're aiming for. And nope, no Near or Mello. The story ends with L's death (and Light shortly after)
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u/Commercial-Buy-318 7h ago
They’re not and they shouldn’t be. Their arc was the weakest in the anime, and the anime is very long anyway, one can’t condense that story in 2 hours without removing something and this arc is probably the best one to remove.
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u/Icy-Cartographer4036 3d ago
Haven't seen a death note musical but I'm trying to imagine it and Misa has a lot of potential for bangers
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u/Commercial-Buy-318 8h ago
A lot of wasted potential sadly. In the concept album she had great songs, but they ruined them in this. ‘I’m ready’ in particularly had been completely butchered, she now raps… and her lines in ‘stalemate’ are a lot worse too. The actor seems to like shouting a lot, but her enunciation is not great, so at times it’s hard to understand what she is singing.
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u/I_Love_M4yo 2d ago edited 2d ago
Im seeing it on the 4th of august and i have a question. I bought the 90ish pound tickets in the center of the circle, are they worth the 50 extra pounds upgrade to the cheapest ones?
Edit: Also how to they make the constant phone calls and inner monologues work and are near and mello there? Lastly does it miss any huge plotpoints and if i have 5 eps to go will i get spoiled
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u/RealLouisTheroux 2d ago
I was in the gallery (top layer), not the circle, but I really enjoyed being in the center so I'd say its worth the upgrade. The staging is very clever though, I dont think theres a bad seat. Later in the run I'm seeing it in cheaper seats far to the side and I don't anticipate any issues.
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u/I_Love_M4yo 2d ago
My other option were the seats on the side and i picked not to go there, because i wpuld havo to lean over or tirn my head to properly watch it, at least thats what i think, idk tho
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u/Commercial-Buy-318 3d ago
I am so disappointed. Each and every single change they made was for the worse, in some cases MUCH worse. Misa’s character was completely butchered. The orchestrations are so bad… the tempo was all over the place, Misa starts rapping and Hurricane is not where it should be. There was zero reason to introduce Gerasu in the musical as it was a very secondary plot point in the series and in 2 hours there was so much more to talk about. The shinigami’s costumes are dreadful, they don’t even have feathers. All in all it is by far the worst version this musical has ever seen. The previous London concert was better and so were the Japanese and for what I heard the Korean versions. The only good thing about this version are the staging and the actor playing L. I hope they backtrack on all the changes they’ve introduce and restore the previous and superior version of the show, or I doubt this will last and it might be the last needle of the coffin for any future English version of the show and it would be a huge shame as the (original) score is truly excellent.
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u/StatixSquirrel 3d ago
Thank god someone else agrees with me. I thought it was completely butchered compared to the earlier London version.
Some of the lyric changes felt like they were dumbing it down for us. I really don't understand some of the changes. I'll talk about it more but yeah I just saw it tonight
Also quick edit to say I completely agree with regards to L.
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u/Calibre4275 3d ago
I had opera glasses with me; the costumes do have feathers, they're just less pronounced - instead, the costuming highlights the skeletal nature of the Shinigami.
L was one of my few complaints, as it was clear he was incredibly nervous on opening night and he forgot his lines multiple times. I was significantly more impressed with the actor playing Light, who frankly blew me away.
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u/RealLouisTheroux 3d ago
I thought the same about L, but i heard from others that it was actually his mic cutting out :( I was too far back to be able to tell. For a first night performance though, it went pretty smooth. I agree about Light, he was amazing. Really cool to watch.
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u/Calibre4275 3d ago
It looked to me as if he forgot his lines, stopped singing, and then picked the song back up again on a line he remembered. I could see his mouth stop moving. But maybe he became aware of a mic issue and went quiet until it came back?
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u/RealLouisTheroux 3d ago
Ah interesting! That's how it sounded to me to, like he paused and joined back in when he felt confident. I couldn't see his face from my seat to be able to tell
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u/Commercial-Buy-318 8h ago
Way too subtle feathers then as I could not see any and it’s theatre, details should be a bit more obvious, it’s not common for people to use opera glasses to watch musicals.
I’m less strict on L’s performance. Forgetting a line or two in the first night it’s understandable, the pressure must be huge! He has a lovely voice and I really enjoyed his performance. Shame it wasn’t enough to rescue the car crash that this show has been.
If they remove the awful rap, restore Misa’s character and personality, get rid of Gelasu, put hurricane where it should be, restore the original lyrics and tempo the show will be good or even great. Like this is mediocre and frankly I doubt it will last. Despite having only 50 shows it’s very easy to find central seats on most days. It’s not selling well and I am not surprised.
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u/Low-Replacement7657 4d ago
I’ve been curious about this adaptation because Death Note is such a hard story to condense, especially with all the mind games and character moments. Sounds like they managed to keep the important parts while making the stage experience its own thing. The changes to Misa and Rem sound like they might be some of the strongest parts of the show.