Of course a lot is lost when adapting a series into a 2.5 hour long stage production, butDeath Note: The Musicalis still great fun. Though I do not have any specific interest in the genre, I do feel this is a very good medium to adapt Death Note into, particularly because the original's humour and constant parallel internal monologues lend themselves very well to this format. For this reason, I most looking forward to seeing the tennis scene adapted for the stage, it being so integral to characterising L and Light, as well as establishing their cat and mouse dynamic. Unfortunately, the musical’s version does not deliver the same effect, with the two players not even directly hitting the ball at each other. The musical also squanders the goldmine of unintentional homoeroticism the original is so rich with, which contributes to this version of L and Light not feeling as much like intellectual soulmates who are the only people in the world that can understand each other. As such, L’s line about Light being his only friend lacks the complicated emotional reaction it evokes in the source material, just feeling silly. Again, a lot of this can be attributed to time constraints. A significant portion of the runtime is also devoted to Rem falling in love with Misa, which is fine, but means that neither they nor L and Light’s relationship ever feels fully developed, leaving both difficult to connect with.
Misa is definitely the most unrecognisable from her original version. The musical rectifies a lot of Ohba’s misogynistic writing, giving Misa more personal motivations and sense of justice, as well as sanitising the bondagey elements of her imprisonment, but dare I say makes her a little more boring in the process? I like the idea of a Misa who is manipulative and evil with her own agenda and yet still well written, but have yet to see that realised. All the gothic and visual kei influences are done away with, and instead she is a “baddie” popstar in the vein of Ariana Grande or Sabrina Carpenter. Aesthetics aside, I think making Misa a more overt celebrity is a very interesting choice, a young woman with significant influence and a message to spread, with her image being curated entirely by her management has so much potential in terms of storytelling, but unfortunately not very much is made of this beyond songs dedicated to Kira, making the changes to her character feel a little pointless.
Having bought the cheapest available tickets, I am initially a little concerned by the restricted view from my seat at the front of the stalls, but it is not too bad. I cannot see the entire stage or sets, which does break my immersion somewhat, but the trade-off is I am only a few feet away from the actors and have an exceptional view of their performances. I even make eye contact with Ryuk a couple of times, and L once. And when L finally reveals himself, I am electrified. He looks almost like a zombie, making me feel equal parts intrigued and repulsed, which is exactly what L Death Note should evoke. And especially from this close, under the glint of all these stage lights, his eyes are HAUNTING. I later learn the actor for L, Colin Ryan, also played Lorenzo de Medici onLeonardo, a CBBC series I enjoyed as a child. I would never have thought to connect the two. Regardless, he is the perfect, literal, embodiment of L.
NOTE FROM A LATER DIARY ENTRY: It is so interesting the way everything in my life is connected. I was watching Leonardo on CBBC in 2011, the same year I was introduced to Death Note. Little did I know the actor in one of my favourite shows would become the star of the other, 10 years later. All of life is a web spun from red string converging within me.
Light is decent too, and it is fun watching him turn more and more into a smug little shit as the plot progresses, but I miss the 2009 Justin Bieber hair and God complex. More importantly I miss the conflict between Light’s public persona and Kira. The musical plays with this a little bit using Soichiro, who is proud of who he thinks Light is, and has stringent expectations from his son regarding honour. When Soichiro singsHonour Bound, contemplating whether he can do the right thing if his son really is Kira, I am at the edge of my seat the entire time, anticipating him to have a heart attack, either incidentally as in the source material or directly caused by Kira, showing just how irrevocably Light has been corrupted. The fallout from that would have been incredible, with Light having to face and comfort Sayu. But Soichiro is unscathed and I am just writing fanfiction at this point.
Not being a musical aficionado, I cannot speak to that aspect of the production that well. Everyone has a strong voice, though Misa’s enunciation could use a little work, but none of the songs arethatmemorable to me. There is, of course,Where is the Justice, though it feels less… strong and impactful? than the version I had heard online prior, andHurricane, but nothing else sticks in my mind. I wish Misa, being a popstar, was given something better to work with, and that there were fewer ballads overall, but what do I know?
I know I am definitely nitpicking a lot for someone who claims to enjoy this performance, but I think that is just because I loveDeath Noteso much, even for all its flaws. It was my first anime after all, when I was 7 or 8 years old, watched at 240p resolution in 3 part-per-episode videos on YouTube. As an adaptation and homage, it is pretty good, and a damn masterpiece compared toDeath Note (2017).
