A Death Note musical sounds like a bad idea at first but when you stop to think of the contents you start to realize it's actually a pretty good fit. Death Note is known for its corny internal monologues, complex characters and heavy use of symbolism, all things that can adapt well to and even be enhanced by a musical format.
It’s baffled me for years that they made Misa’s appearance a gospel number that went harder than it had any right to. Then when you mentioned it’s because Misa worships Kira, it was like a missing gear slid into place somewhere in my brain and got everything started up properly
One of my little theories is that L is at least vaguely aware he’s a character in a play. He makes multiple references to actors on a stage and says some theatre sayings. During his final song he talks about being in an endless loop. Almost as if he’s performed this show before.
I wrote a 40 page research paper discussing the difference in personality and characterization the Japanese and English songs gave L and Light for this musical. It's awesome to see other people analyzing this musical! Never noticed any of this musical theory stuff. Edit: So, the research paper was added to AO3. It's titled "Death Note: the Musical Subs vs. Dubs" and written by Okami_Seele
Something I found fascinating in that final refrain of “There Are Lines” is the way Light echos Soichiro’s words while still twisting the meaning. “You don’t kill a man / as a substitute” Soichiro has a slight emphasis on “kill,” because his issue is with the killing of another. Meanwhile, Light has a notable emphasis on “substitute,” because he doesn’t kill substitutes, he kills exactly who he intends to. Soichiro sings “you don’t load a gun, close your eyes, and shoot” to again condemn the entire process of murder. Yet Light leaves out part of the line in his echo: “You don’t close your eyes and shoot.” This changes the meaning by suggesting that the loading and firing of a gun isn’t the issue, but rather doing so recklessly. “Yes, Father, I agree! It is wrong to kill random people in service of a goal. That’s why I only kill SPECIFIC people in service of my goal!”
The fact he doesn't sing about loading a gun is also a reference to how, in hurricane, he says that he was given a loaded gun. So he doesn't have to load it to shoot!
I always felt that 'the way it ends' being almost boring felt right. It draws back the feeling of L or Light being special. In the end they're just humans still. Their life can end just as swiftly and unceremoniously as anybody else.
Another reason I think the musical works better than any live action adaptation is because of the inherent use of music. Death Note as a manga and anime heavily utilizes internal monologues to add tension, letting us see into Light's and L's intentions and plots. Songs in musicals help the audience properly understand a character.
I can’t believe you didn’t mention the line that Light doesn’t repeat after his father in *There are Lines* . Soichiro says “you don’t load a gun, close your eyes, and shoot!”. But light skips the first part of this verse, only saying “close your eyes and shoot!”. This alludes to both his being perfectly willing to kill criminals, and calls back to a line from *Hurricane* where light compares writing in the death note to loading a gun. He’s already done the loading. And because he knows that, he can’t bring himself to totally lie to his father and therefore just doesn’t repeat after him during that line. It’s my favorite little detail in the score!
I was one of the people who appeared in the musical Death Note in Japan. I am impressed with the high quality of research. And like you, I sincerely hope that this work will be performed overseas someday.
@@theautisticaacunderground8560 ngl,, I've only seen it on soundcloud where I originally stumbled upon it and recordings on youtube,, soundcloud has the korean version too, idk about the japanese
I have dedicated hours and years of my life to this musical, I'm so glad to see it finally getting recognition as more than just "the musical where Jeremy Jordan sings about justice"! I love seeing it get taken seriously! I remember being absolutely obsessed with it throughout middle school, enough to still have the proshot downloaded to my computer, to spend hours memorizing both the English and Japanese lyrics, and even bother working out the chords and melody to both Honor Bound and Mortals and Fools to sing at a recital. It's why I refuse to change my username or pfp on youtube lol
Over half-way through, got to Honor Bound and I have to say yes the scales do match traditional Japanese ones! I don't know which exactly, but it's entirely pentatonic. And Michael Lanning is a national treasure who's been aware and supportive of the tiny English Death Note musical fandom for years!
I remember you! I've been obsessed with Death Note since I was 13 and in highschool I was supposed to direct and perform in the musical with my school (a three-time scrapped project) and I used your videos to learn the lyrics
I really hope they're revising the lyrics for the coming UK production. The japanese lyrics are a bit more nuanced than the concept album. In Hurricane for example, Light first struggles with his newly gained power, while english version is more or less just an "Im gonna getcha" song.
So true! While the English speaking fans is understandably most familiar with Where is the Justice, it's actually "Death note" (Hurricane JP equivalent) that is the standout song in this musical. It's also curious to think if Where is the Justice lyrics will be rewritten for UK audiences as it was done for JP audiences.
Viiiibes! Same feelings about “There Are Lines”- in the Japanese version the lyrics Light and his father sing mirror and how how Light is twisting his father’s morality while in the English version Light’s just like… yeah!! Get ‘em dad! You tell ‘em!
@avidee4300 Really? Much as I adore the japanese version, I've always felt that There Are Lines does a far better job showing Light's selective morality than 一線を越えるな does. I know others in this comment section have already written a lot of the lyrics out for the former, so I won't rehash it here, but for me, I don't think Light's selective repetition of Soichiro works as well in 一線を越えるな
@@finnlewis1652 ugh I just typed out a whole comment and it got deleted haha. Here we go again. What I found that the English version does well is establish Light’s manipulative behavior. He repeats his father’s lines, however they are never sung in unison. As mentioned in the video, this represents how Light doesn’t truly see eye to eye with his father and how he’s just using this to try and convince his father to let him on the task force. I almost wish they used this chance to actually show how Light still has some morality intact like the manga and anime does, but the vibe of this song is very much a feeling that Light is being manipulative. In the Japanese version, or at least the translations I’ve read, Light mimics his father’s words, however the context and tone of which the songs are sung give them a different meaning than the original. For example, Soichiro says something along the lines of “hold on to that unwavering sense of Justice in your heart” as a way of saying stay true to who you are and what you know is right. Soichiro is a man of morals and he has a personal moral code which he stays true to. He would not want to ever give up what he values for the sake of “catching a killer”, which is why he makes sure to hold these above all else and close to his heart. Light mimics this line underneath his father saying basically that not only will he stay true to himself, but he will make sure no one stops him. He is technically following exactly what his father asked him to do. Stay true to your heart and never let go of what you know is just. He’s taking Soichiro’s message and completely changing it using the exact same words Again, Soichiro says something about “not being led astray” in the sense of letting others influence your morals and sticking to what you know is true and right. Light repeats this line and now we hear it as him saying he won’t be led astray *because he’ll get rid of those who oppose him*. Soichiro says “become a god” in the sense that you will be god-like and moral and holy and good… Line actually changes this line a little bit… he says “I’ll become a god”. It’s subtle but so so crazy cause he took nearly the same words and made it insane. Become moral and just changed to I’m going to take over the world. Unbelievable The main takeaway is that the way these songs contribute to the overall story changes with this. The English lyrics focus heavily on Soichiro’s values and what he believes right and how Light can use that ti his advantage. The Japanese version goes beyond that and not only establishes Light’s manipulative behavior, but also his twisted sense of morality. He genuinely sees himself as above others and as though the title of God is his to claim.
So, I would personally say that I think Light repeating the lines his dad sings after instead of along with him is more a statement of their morals. These are not Light's morals - he can only parrot them back to his dad. He doesn't sing them along with his dad because he doesn't feel them the same way that his dad does. His morals are very different from these that his dad sings, and so he can only ever follow his dad's lead in how he should perform for the outside world. He can lead in other songs that are actually true to his character, but in this song, all he can do is mirror back what his dad says. Edit: this sentiment is indirectly stated in the next couple of minutes in regards to L and Light's father sharing enough of a moral foundation to be able to share a melody.
As someone with little music knowledge, this was extremely interesting. As for your comment of “The Way it Ends” being anticlimactic- I actually loved this song so much. It’s not triumphant or victorious, but somber and confused. As a song from Ls perspective of the end of his life, this is perfect- L actually really likes light, and says in the anime that he sees Light almost like a friend, or at the very least an equal. So L being forced to shoot his friend in the back literally while he feels like Light has shot him in the back metaphorically is very poetic. You can sense the hurt, the confusion, while light chimes in as if to say “hurry up and die already.” There’s also a lot of lyrical genius in this song- light has always seen L as other than human, singing “does he see pixels not dreams” in an earlier song, then in this finale you see L saying that he’s just bad code repeating, which Light responds with later by saying “let the cold hard justice crash the system” also playing into the “where is the justice” song that started the whole thing. L then says “see it flicker hear it humming” like a computer slowly being shut down. If this song was from Lights perspective it would have been the climax you were hoping for, but being from Ls perspective it fits perfectly. And the storytelling was set up to really have it from Ls perspective at the end. We have heard what Light thinks and what he is like as a person, but we didn’t really KNOW L except from how he conflicts with light. But L is his own human person and this song shows that he wasn’t a computer but someone real. He seems to show his humanity right as he is dying. It also shows Lights loss of his humanity completely as he compares L once again to a computer or a pawn. It’s a wonderful song to end the show on, and I think wonderfully captures the relationship between light and L, and shows Ls underlying emotions that he’s tried to keep hidden all this time.
Completely agree with all this. And as someone who as his own fair share of acting experience in musical theater. I found it annoying when given a super complicated piece of music to sing when something emotional or something super important is happening in the narrative. I want to be focused on the emotions and story of the scene and not just the music itself. Something basic like this song has a lot of cool lyrics and it does tie the show together. But its basic enough to create a blank canvas. It gives the actors room to explore how the characters are feeling and portray that to the audience. Go take a look at the Japanese version on youtube. The actor who plays light in this scene does a master class of adding his own stamp on the song and how he uses his voice to clearly show Light has descended into madness. Hes allowed to do this because in of itself the song is easy to sing. Just my two cents.
It's honestly a phenomena song to end on for all of the reasons you said. The musical has plenty of big, showstopping numbers with big moments. The Way It Ends has all of these moments where L and Light sound like they're approaching a big climax but...they don't. It's like they're both trying to make this the big finale that we expect, but it just doesn't happen for them. It's really cool.
All the points you think may be a reach sound amazing and really plausible to me!! Ty for this amazing analysis! Ps. “Brave new world” originally came from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which I think is an intentional reference considering Light’s song is titled Hurricane.
My jaw was ON THE FLOOR for every song when listening to this musical for the first time. It goes... so hard... it's so good.... Wildehorn shocks me continually. Thank you for the phenomenal analysis!!
One of the lyrical touches I really like is the phrase “I am the God of the brave new world - Much better than the last.” You touched on the fist line, but I think the double meaning of the second is also really great. Because of the ambiguity of how it’s phrased, he could be saying that this world is much better than the last OR that he, as the new God, is much better than the last one. This double meaning succinctly demonstrates the duality of Light’s motivations: he want to make a better world and he wants to be the only one with the power to do it. Strong sense of Justice + God complex neatly tied into just two lines!
Tbh, I clicked on this video in absolute disbelief. Never knew there was a death note musical and my initial reaction was that there’s no way it can be good. However this video got me going down the rabbit hole and now, I really want to see this musical in person😭
“Dangerous game” in the song Kira also lowkey sounds like the song Dangerous Game in Jekyll and Hyde. If the composer created both of these, maybe it’s a reference?
What I find super interesting is that in the musical, "the ends justify the means" is used a couple separate times. The usage in "There are Lines" ("you don't justify the means/ in the service of an end") characterizes Soichiro Yagami as someone with strict morals and standards, and the later use of the phrase ("and feel the same thrill/ whenever my ends are served by his means") characterizes L and Light as people who don't have those limits. They're ok with whatever their opponent does if it means that they can get closer to winning the game, whether that be mass murder or ethically dubious interrogations. Also, when discussing "The Way it Ends" I feel like being slightly disappointing is the point. The anticlimax that song makes you feel really hammers in the point that the game itself was the interesting thing and the ending is meaningless now that it is won. The lyrics and performance just absolutely break me every time too. Throughout the song, both characters have some very interesting emotional duality going on. L is resigned to his death, but also desperate to cling onto life. I don't think you get that kind of raw emotion anywhere else in the musical from him. Light is triumphant, but also sad to see L go, seen through more sentimental lines like "I always stayed a step ahead/ but you were with me all the way" and "a minute more" at the end delivered in a softer way. I feel like a more intense, cool, climactic song would have made it harder to express that. Besides, we already have 3 whole banger confrontation songs. It's my personal favorite song in the show because it's so jarringly different from their other duets and just packs gut punch after gut punch!
what an incredible analysis on a show that has so much potential to grow. you’ve helped me appreciate and love the show so much more than i already have. also, one of my favorite little details is in “There Are Lines”, while Light sings with a delay from his father, the only line he sings in tandem with his father is “close your eyes, and shoot”, seemingly only agreeing with that part as that is what he is essentially doing as Kira. overall, this is just a great video. keep up the amazing work!
Man,,, I know there's no official english recording of it But I wish you could have touched upon "The Way Things Are" It's the L's solo song after he finds out Shinigami are real I know there are lyrics available for it online, but it wasn't put on the concept recording unfortunately. but anyways, I loved this video! The Death Note musical is one of my favourite things ever (especially the Korean productions) I'm so excited for the new London concert version, I rlly hope we eventually get a West End transfer/fully staged English production and finally have a complete, official cast album!
Yes, The Way Things Are is really a turning point for a character previously basing his world view on data and facts having to accept the impossible (supernatural powers). Also the song SLAPS
I really wanted to see Change the World (Reprise) and If Possible (Reprise) where the cops are talking about weather to put their lives on the line now that they know Kira will kill anyone, not just criminals. When Mogi begs his daughter to understand his decision to put his life on the line, and then gets killed by Kira. That killed me@@KosmiskRevolution
Yeah, The way things are is actually my favorite. I especially love the Japanese lyrics: "It is no god who judges life. The one who bestows meaning to living or dying is man himself"
This is a great video! I only wanted to point out something I think you may have missed with "There are Lines", and only because it's one of my personal favorites. When Light starts echoing his father's words, he's actually carefully only repeating parts he actually agrees with, a sort of lie by omission. Ie. "You don't kill someone as a substitute" Light was just recently caught by L's trap, and as such has this objection. Otherwise, he certainly would have no issues doing something similar on his own. When Soichiro says: "You don't load a gun, close your eyes and shoot" Light only repeats "You don't close your eyes and shoot" which is a callback to Hurricane, where he says: "Writing is the gun, I only have to aim". The only Issue Light actually has here is not aiming, as he believes his murders are righteous judgement. For the last line of: "That's no better than bad that good defines", once again Light obviously sees himself as Justice, so using using tricks to try and stop justice (as he views himself) would obviously be evil. I just really like how it's written to show how Light uses Soichiro's language and convictions to secretly push his own agenda.
This video is so jammed packed with hidden details and fun information dissecting the musical as a whole and I am so loving it! You are so calming to listen to and I have been obsessed with the musical for a while now and watching your video is such a treat!! Thanks so much for sharing your musical knowledge and analyzing the musical!! Definitely sticking around for more of your content!
Some fun things I've noticed about the lyrics/music, especially since seeing the first English Language performance of this show! The line "Perhaps it's time we drained the colour form it then? 'Til we're back to seeing black and white, and wrong and right again." Is also a nice nod to the roots of the Musical - the manga, which is indeed in black and white. Another cool effect about changing the second verse in "Hurricane" if it brings it more in line to Japanese song writing. If I recall correctly, a lot of songs within Japan tend to have choruses with difference lines, unlike more western conventions where choruses tend to stay consistent. This is common in TV openings and insert songs for shows, like anime. Something I prefer a little in the full stage version is the change of "Don't know he's Light Yagami" to "Don't know he's just a schoolboy" in "Kira". Really helps reinforce the themes of names, by Ryuk degrading Light from the God Kira he thinks he is, to the reality of him being an inexperienced schoolboy. I think I personally would like a version of Kira that has the first chorus use the "Light Yagami" line, then the next use "just a schoolboy", before finishing with the final chorus and Ryuk's wonderful disinterest with the specifics of Kira - as long as he get's his apples. I think that would show an interesting and moving through line. It's probably been mentioned before, but it's always been a nice touch that when Light starts echoing his father, the only line he doesn't echo is "Load a gun". So Light's line becomes "Close your eyes and shoot" which both allows him to catch up to the end of bar, but also slips his own morals into the songs. Light doesn't kill randomly - and you could perhaps take it further to mean "I have learnt from this mistake, I won't take such obvious bait again". Also I loved the staging of this in the UK production. Light was above his father the whole time, even in the bridge where he's agreeing to him. Really helped show how above all the discussion light thought he was. Height was a big thing in the staging, which was really neat. I noticed the fact L always has the higher melody in L/Light duets too, and in the staging of the production this was further empathised by L being one of the few characters that stand equal or above to Light (the only other characters that tend to be above Light are Ryuk and Rem, which makes sense as Shinigami). Years of drama studies makes seeing these little tidbits in staging so fascinating. Stalemate is such a good song, that's arguably even better when in-situ. In a performance the song is chopped up between spoken dialogue - Both L and Light's internal monologue verse's are directly after the "I'm L." line in the university scene, and each character steps away to give a mimed performance of their speech. Which both reinforces the poker faces of these characters and continues the uneasy feeling of the stalemate as characters move in and out of the song. To anyone reading: if you ever get the chance to listen to "Honour Bound" in the Japanese production used in the video DO IT. Seriously, it's a stunning rendition and always gives me chills. "Playing His Game" is another song elevated when in-situ. The tennis match being scored verbally between the characters singing further builds the tension of who will win. When sung in the show, it's arguably not as tight musically as recording sometimes - both the video in the background and the production I saw, the actors put a lot of effort into the swings, which added dramatic effort and reinforced the difficultly ramping up for both players but obviously makes maintaining breath control harder. And it's telling when they stop that and sing straight - in the bridge just before the final verse. That final moment to breath before all hell breaks loose. It's so damn powerful, and the chorus and Ryuk watching the ball go left-right-left-right adds to it. As a final note, I love how L breaks the 4th wall a bit in his lyrics, making references to actors on a stage. I like how this gives him a sort of 'pseudo-omnipotince' beyond even the Shinigami's - however in Stalemate it was an advantage, but here it's phrased much more in acceptance and resignation. In the end, only the Shinigami can escape all things and stay all-seeing. On Hurricane (Reprise), I love how Ryuk echoes a line from the first act "gamble, write names, sleep" (or something to that effect) after Light 'wins': "eat apples, write names, sleep" and how minor the difference is. Also the absolute DESPERATENESS of Light as his counter ticks down. He's given a straight Death Note kill, just like in the anime, so he has to wait though those arduous seconds for the heart attack to take affect. And what does he do in this time? Break down, cry and beg. Tries to go above it by singing the triumphant song of his godhood... only to die before he can finish it. Compared that to L's acceptance, his knowledge that, even if he dies, Light will pay for for crimes. just maybe not in the way he imagined. I really hope you got to see one of the performances in the UK! And I hope that a full Broadway run comes from its success.
The problem with Wildhorn's works is rarely ever his actual contribution to the project, it's cause he's constantly getting stuck with shitty scriptwriters.
great video! as someone with zero musical knowledge it's really great to have someone put into words how these songs work, especially in reference to the anime's soundtrack. really itches my little brain scratch to hear someone directly explain and appreciate all the little details and love they put into these songs. really enjoyed all the little notes about the double meanings and references within the lyrics themselves too! most of them i never even realised! personally as a light yagami enthusiast i find "where's the justice?" to be really odd for how it presents him as a character. i presume the song was written to help the audience understand why someone would think that killing people is the answer, and to sympathise with him, but manga/anime light yagami is, in my opinion, totally disinterested in critiquing power, even superficially, or understanding how social structures and other factors influence criminal behaviour. he starts from this place of boredom (paralleling ryuk) and ends up using the death note as a flawed way of gaining some purpose. i don't think the changes to light in the musical are bad per se, i think i just find it weird because i have such a specific vision of light's moral compass and as a person. maybe i'd feel better about this if we had a better indication of the kinds of people musical!light kills as opposed to canon!light? who knows, maybe musical!light is out here killing all the billionaires and predators in the musical and they just never mention it lmao anyway yay london show hypeee
I dislike musicals as theater but as a budding musician, I am very interested in the ways music is used to convey the internal feelings of the characters, motifs, etc. I'd watch more musical analysis from you this was very eye opening and entertaining to me
This musical is so underrated with little content for it on TH-cam, so I’m glad to see someone make a video about it. I really enjoyed watching this video, great analysis of the musical’s music!
I love the fact that every song of Lights always starts with a question. In Where is the Justice? It obviously starts off with the title question, in Hurricane it starts off saying “Did it really happen?” in Secrets & Lies he starts his verse with “Why give away half of my years to see somebody’s name?” But as he becomes Kira he answers every question he asks. As he sinks into becoming Kira, he questions himself less. In the beginning of him becoming Kira he wonders “Am I the justice?” but soon in the end he truly believes he is the justice.
As someone who cam barely make out the instruments on a song, I thank you a lot about all this insight on the music of Death Note!! Listening to these songs now feels a little more deep and infinitely cooler!
This was a great analysis! I've got tickets to see it in London later this year, and now I'm even more hyped! I know enough music theory to understand everything explained, but something I find so impressive is being able to understand the artistic decisions behind WHY the songs were written the way they were. Definitely look forward to any other musical analysis videos you make!
I also got to see it live in London! I only just had the video recommended to me, and it makes me even more appreciative of how amazing the musical was to watch.
❤ so much love! But have a different take on the "bends as Light reflects" line : ) Think you might like it too! The line really is so beautiful with all the ways it can be interpreted. So, the first time I heard it I read it as him qustioning whether or not the image he has of his son is bending to what Light wants to reflect. A.k.a him starting to question if his son is just manipulating him by reflecting what he knows his dad wants to see. The next line just adding to it for me as he wonders if the reflection Light is giving off has blinded him to all the things his son lacks.
the death note musical is so perfect i was never into the manga and countless adaptations but i stumbled across it years ago and absolutely fell in love with it
52:38 this is also the iconic mother marry pose after her son dies on the cross. the whole stage setup and this song is giving rebirth and full devotion
I know nothing about reading music. Sheet music basically means nothing to me because I am illiterate in it. But I still listened to every word you said in order to gain the insight I couldnt get myself. Thank you for making me appriciate this musical on an even deeper level than I already had. I really REALLY love this adaptation of death note and am obsessed with the songs. Yet I had no one to talk about it with because no one I know knows english enough to understand the songs :.) I am so happy to finally hear some talk of it so thank you for that again. This was a delightfull video and your narration was so nice. Also, lesbian Rem for the win HELL YEAH!!!
I was about to rewatch the musical, got this video ready for when I was done before finding out an English version is coming to London.. this video will have to wait another month
A very salient and thorough analysis. I LOVE the fact that you chose to go in depth about the small details and technical things that make this musical good, rather than just making a 10 minute video fangirling over the musical for some quick content. From one music major to another, keep up the great work! I’d love to see more videos like these.
oh my goddd I have no knowledge of music technicalities, I don’t play any instruments or sing or anything, so when I started watching this and you mentioned this video was strictly analyzing the music I was prepared to turn it off. but idk you have an amazing way of describing things that I sat through the entire thing happily, and was excited to hear your take on “the way it ends” because that’s my favorite song in the whole musical. great job, great and engaging video!!
It was only a few nights ago that I came home from an annoying day at work only for my sister to inform me some amazing news; "There is a musical for Death Note..." she said, "...AND it is written by the composer of the Jekyll a Hyde musical!" This news was too much for my poor tired mind to process. But I've come to love this musical since having finished listening to it. I think I would agree about L and Light's last song. As you said, it is hard to critique such a wonderfully done musical, but I think it might be really neat to include a chior as another part of the musical's instrumentation and who punctuate the acts singing ominous latin chants. That would add an intense and poignant sense of distance as the chior is some sort of extremely human, yet extraordinary extra-human force which sings of eternal justice after death. Then, at the musical's very end, during L and Light's last song and during Reqiuem, the chior finally joins alongside the stage performers, representing that all humans ultimately are made one with that terrifying and infinite reality of death and justice. I like that Wildhorn and Murphy decided to mirror most of Death Note's original soundtrack instrumentation. But the addition of a bit more high art chioral music - at least in these few isolated places - might add that signature Death Note touch of Gothic which juxposes so beautifully with the Anime atmosphere. Other than that one thought of mine, I love this musical! Mortals and Fools and Requiem are probably my two very favorites! The meticulous and artistic attention to detail is one superbly alongside the Jekyll and Hyde musical in terms of mastery. If either Wildhorn or Murphy are reading this, I want you to know that my sister and I are some of your new biggest fans. Also, you missed a reference to "I'll take a potatoe chip... AND EAT IT!" I hope to see that alongside my chior idea once this inevitably makes it to Broadway, hehehe. Blessings, everyone!
i watched the premiere in london and in "i'll always love you more", it was a bit comedic because the context was sayu showing light misa's new song and as light was listening to the lyrics you watched his face go "OH ???" especially when she said "about reading his name" loll same with ryuk and he kept looking over at him like we gotta do smth about this and then going back looking at sayu and bopping to the song loll. that was a little extra bit that i loved
Huge props to you. You clearly put masses of work into this video and it pays off - this was fantastic! I already loved the show, but now you've fully augmented it for me into brilliance 💛
so happy to watch this just as I got tickets to the english ver of the musical ! as someone studying for my final music theory exam too I found the analysis really interesting.
Every single Light and L duet is so good to me, even though Rem and Misa have my favourite individual songs in When Love Comes and Borrowed Time, there’s something electric about those duets that you explained so well in your analysis of harmony, motif and lyric!
Wow! Thank you for this excellent analysis! As someone who doesn’t know anything about music theory, I found your deep dive so interesting while being easy to follow for a dumb-dumb like me! 💖
Late but they did the show in a concert format in London this year, which was popular enough to get extended. Playbill is also presenting it at NYC Comic Con this week (October 14th to be specific). So I would expect an announcement of something then.
Thank you so much for your video, it was really (sorry in advance) enlightening! I've studied music, but I have a super hard time identifying these style references (as in "you use this kind of progression to symbolize that), so I love to watch serious analysis like yours, good job! And sorry in advance, this comment's gonna be a long one hahah On a different note, speaking as a huge fan, I'd like to share some of my impressions and theories ^^ also, I had no idea the English version came first (I watched the japanese performance before listening to the English album, tho I mostly prefer the English version), but as you said it makes sense because the lyrics are just TOO GOOD haha First of all, fun fact about the ending of the musical being different from the original source: actually the authors wanted to make the manga be 6 volumes (not 12 as it ended up), so it's pretty fair to say that it *should* end with L's death (or, alternatively, with Light's death, as in the "L Change The World" timeline)... putting that together with the fact that in the original ending Light does end up killed by Ryuk when the shinigami ceases to find him amusing, I personally believe that the musical is indeed Death Note's true ending. Speaking of Ryuk, by the way, a bit of a character study for the shinigamis! I have seen some people defend the theory that Ryuk didn't kill Light because "it wouldn't be fun without L facing him" and, instead, because "it's not fun anymore without Rem" and I believe the music actually supports the later. I loved that it's being pointed out how the shinigami sound more classical while the humans (appart from Soichiro lol) sound more pop/rock, but there's another thing about They're Only Human: the song, in addition to being a duet, is a waltz. It being a duet (much like Light and L's) serves to show the differences between the two characters, but my understanding is that, it being a waltz, it needs the two of them to "exist". I don't mean at all that they have romantical feelings towards each other, but they are represented, in a way, as partners. They never even aknowledge one another directly as "friends", but I believe Ryuk considers Rem an undisposable part of his "life" (though probably only unconsciously). Another sign for that would be that, after When Love Comes, Ryuk doesn't ever sing again. Okay, I know, that's super close to the end already, but Ryuk had always being super vocal about everything (his boredom, his love for apples, his disdain for humans... even how he enjoys Misa's song and is positively impressed by Soichiro), but at the end, when he literally kills the main character... he looks speechless. Not disdainful as in the beggining. More like when friends are jokingly exchanging insults, but then one of them actually says something hurtful and the other immediately drops the smile and says "not cool". It's not that think that he does it to "avenge Rem" or to punish Light for manipulating her... after all, Rem *was* in love with Misa and she would probably do something to save her (and get herself killed) eitherway. I believe not Ryuk himself ever really understands how important Rem was to him, not even at the end. Maybe it's because, in the end, there's a sense of security in being a shinigami... he could do whatever he wanted in the human world and then he would come back and everything would stay the same... but not anymore. Something in Ryuk's boring everyday shinigami life actually had changed, even though it made no difference for the humans (as seen in Requiem). Human lives and stories mean nothing to a shinigami, but, just the same are the shinigami affairs to the humans. Another example of this would be in Misa's Borrow Time, because even though she is living in borrow time because of Jealous, she doesn't really think about it. Instead, she considers Kira/Light the source of her gratitude (because she "died" the day she lost her parents but "gained a new life" because of him) and basically desregards the ones who actually extended her life in a literal sense (after all, in the end she doesn't even remember either Jealous or Rem). Well, this story is brilliant and full of paralels (not to mention L and Light's relationship 'cause if I start I won't be able to stop lol) Finally, I'd love to hear what you (or anyone, really, cause most my friends have yet to watch this masterpiece) think about the, let's say, less famous songs (which are not found in the concept album)~ Change The World, which is sang first by Light & co, then later by the cops, as they reminisce about their duties as either law enforcers or as family members... Well, both of then are actually related to the idea of "crossing lines", the first time seems to help us stay on Light's side, cause, tho it's actually a sort of introduction for Hurricane, it sounds... innocent and naive, so he doesn't look so evil on the next song (because, let's be honest, Hurricane is nothing but an I-am-song). The second time, however, is when the actual full song plays and, being sang after There Are Lines, makes a more obvious reference to that, but what's important is that it both shows us the fear that Kira has created over his enemies and also foreshadows Soichiro's Honor Bound (because both songs surprisingly end with brave honorable men ultimately putting their families above their pursuit for Kira). Another song that we unfortunately don't have officially released in English is L's AMAZING solo The Ways Things Are. Well, L is my favorite character in this show, so there's that ^^' But this song is super interesting because it's kind of a turning point for L's humanity. It follows I'll Only Love You More, which is when he sees the 2nd Kira referencing the shinigamis and that makes him reconsider all his previous ways of viewing things "logically" and accept the possibility that there are things out there completely unknown to him, such as the existence of gods of death. And, because he is reconsidering everything, he decides to act in a less robotical and cynical way to better connect with Light's modus operandi (which leads to Playing His Game), which is noticeable by the instruments, since his characteristical piano is replaced by guitar (and more "rockish tunes") around the first chorus... the funny part is that he reaches this conclusion by quoting Sherlock Holmes ("when all other explanations / really don't explain / no matter how insane / you are left with only / the cold, hard truth"), who is a detective famous for being robotical and cynical lol There is also a reprise to this song right before The Way It Ends, in which L states he has a last trick to pull off against Kira, but it's unsure how conscious he is by then, since Rem has already written his name. He might have been vaguely aware he was being controlled and thought this would prove Light is Kira... Or maybe everything he says in this reprise is just him playing the role that was written for him, I really don't know ^^' Well (finally), that's it hahah I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks!
i just want to say a huge, huuuge THANK YOU! the lection is majestic!! you're sooo inspired by what you're telling and that just adds even more power to the brilliant analysis. the timing is perfects and easy to perceive and heeyyyy how can this video be soooo underrated?? there should be more content like this
I watched this years ago, in middle school, and I was BLOWN away. I need to rewatch it again now that I'm in college with a much better understanding and appreciation towards musicals.
this video is everything to me. as a music student who’s loved this musical for a few years, i am having the time of my life! this is everything my musical theory nerd heart has ever dreamed of. thank you for this beautiful analysis!
1:03:19 there’s actually a third meaning I noticed, idk if you didn’t think of it or just chose not to mention it, but the song is all about death and endings, so the word “goodbye” is also saying that as long as these stories have been around, they’ve ended
Hey Izzy! First off, this video was AMAZING! I'm about to finish a video about the musical myself and I'm giving a direct shout-out and link to this because your analysis of music theory is fantastic and it's something I'm not covering because 1, I'm not trained in it and 2, Nobody could do as good as this. I just wanted to apologize in advance because we seemed to have some parallel thinking in our scripting for a couple of lines, especially with me having more or less the exact same opening sentence and I sincerely hope that you and your audience don't think I plagiarized your brilliant work.
I first heard Playing His Game two years ago and it got me liking musicals alot more but I forgot about it because I don’t feel too strongly abt musicals so when I reheard it again this month after slowly getting into musicals I had such a massive appreciation for it ! Especially They’re only human, I didn’t like it on my first watch because it was so different from what I usually listen to but now it is my absaloute favourite song
i watched opening night of this musical in london on monday and booked to see it again in september; i'm so excited to see it again with all of the little nuances you've pointed out in this video! it's so cool to hear someone who really knows about music theory talk about it!
It's so good to find I'm not so alone in being obcessed with this musical. I know some people that like Light and L's duets I'd never seen someone value Soichiro's songs like this. The musical feels like was made with a lot more understanding of the source material than most adaptations of anything to be honest. The way music being used to create narratives and elaborate characters absolutely hits differently. Thank you so much for the amazing video
GIRL you killed this analysis! Amazing stuff…. I’ve never studied music nor did I fully understand most of the technical bits in the scores you talked about here but it was still so interesting and insightful that I watched till the end.
FANTASTIC! I always knew there was something special about this musical but I can never quite describe it! You did such an incredible job of detailing everything from the music lyrics to the characterization! Flawless my dear!
Any song and musical with Jeremy Jordan I will IMMEDIATELY watch it. I honestly loved watching/ listening to the musical and definitely saved some of the songs.
I've been deep diving this musical lately and it's so satisfying to see all my nebulous thoughts on its fabulous execution spelled out like this. Amazing work!
Just finished Act 1, so I thought I'd pause and comment. Loving the analysis so far, even if the music theory goes over my head. I can't help but chuckle at the pitch changes. I know it was for the sake of dodging copyright strikes, but I can't help but imagine it's a Nightcore remix. Anyways, on to Act 2... EDIT: And I'm back! Not much to add, but I'll note about the contrasting endings each adaptation has. As you said, they had to cut down the ending, even more so than the Japanese live action films. A 3rd act where an amnesiac Light and L work together would have been interesting, but it would have taken too much time and introduced too many characters with the Yotsuba Group and another Death Note user. The main contrast I'll point out that Kira clearly won the battle here, only to be tripped up by Ryuk. In the film, L won, but only through sacrificing himself. He wrote his own name down in the Note so he couldn't be killed or manipulated before his time was up. ENough time for a spin-off film, but a destined time none the less.
I really love the musical, and while I enjoy the song secret and lies, I really feel this is the one song they got L pretty wrong, because L while willing to do some sketchy stuff did care who got hurt, he just always took very calculated mores for each situation, L was litterally shaking when Ukita died, and he carried the deaths of the FBI agents with him the whole time. L cared about people getting hurt and it actually bothered him when it happened, that said this musical is amazing and I love it, though I can’t watch the end
This is the coolest thing ever! I have zero knowledge about music and notes but they way you describe it makes it seem understandable to someone like me. I love the Korean version of this musical, your description of the English lyrics makes me want to listen to them. Thank you for making this! Also, yay for the new London version 🎉
A Death Note musical sounds like a bad idea at first but when you stop to think of the contents you start to realize it's actually a pretty good fit.
Death Note is known for its corny internal monologues, complex characters and heavy use of symbolism, all things that can adapt well to and even be enhanced by a musical format.
Exactly, it’s camp af so it’s perfect for a musical
exactly, it's perfect
It’s baffled me for years that they made Misa’s appearance a gospel number that went harder than it had any right to. Then when you mentioned it’s because Misa worships Kira, it was like a missing gear slid into place somewhere in my brain and got everything started up properly
One of my little theories is that L is at least vaguely aware he’s a character in a play. He makes multiple references to actors on a stage and says some theatre sayings. During his final song he talks about being in an endless loop. Almost as if he’s performed this show before.
It's called leaning on the fourth wall.
I better make an hour and 12 minute theory video about it
if he basically exists to entertain these gods, maybe he’s experiencing like, reruns
@@ninam5975oooh interesting! Maybe his spirit has taken different forms as well
I do really enjoy when characrers lean on or break the fourth wall but dont rely on it too heavily. Its a good balance
I wrote a 40 page research paper discussing the difference in personality and characterization the Japanese and English songs gave L and Light for this musical. It's awesome to see other people analyzing this musical! Never noticed any of this musical theory stuff.
Edit: So, the research paper was added to AO3. It's titled "Death Note: the Musical Subs vs. Dubs" and written by Okami_Seele
Can I have a look? Sounds interesting
@@eva9980 totally! I’ll give you the google doc link tomorrow when I get back from a trip!
@@eva9980 docs.google.com/document/d/1qDc3k06h3y3rqIoMWxNyuBOR_XESJkdlwoW3_8l6IBY/edit?usp=sharing
very interesting!
@@okamiseele8614hi, any updates? 😮
Something I found fascinating in that final refrain of “There Are Lines” is the way Light echos Soichiro’s words while still twisting the meaning.
“You don’t kill a man / as a substitute”
Soichiro has a slight emphasis on “kill,” because his issue is with the killing of another. Meanwhile, Light has a notable emphasis on “substitute,” because he doesn’t kill substitutes, he kills exactly who he intends to.
Soichiro sings “you don’t load a gun, close your eyes, and shoot” to again condemn the entire process of murder. Yet Light leaves out part of the line in his echo: “You don’t close your eyes and shoot.” This changes the meaning by suggesting that the loading and firing of a gun isn’t the issue, but rather doing so recklessly.
“Yes, Father, I agree! It is wrong to kill random people in service of a goal. That’s why I only kill SPECIFIC people in service of my goal!”
Fucking BEAUTIFUL detail, thank you
The fact he doesn't sing about loading a gun is also a reference to how, in hurricane, he says that he was given a loaded gun. So he doesn't have to load it to shoot!
I was looking for this comment lest I wrote it myself but you put it brilliantly! Agreed!!
@@elinquisidorperseverante6835 Not only that, but he mentions “I only have to aim”! His only concern is using it recklessly!
I always felt that 'the way it ends' being almost boring felt right. It draws back the feeling of L or Light being special. In the end they're just humans still. Their life can end just as swiftly and unceremoniously as anybody else.
"You planned to become a god, you got caught up in killing people, but... In the end, the way you kicked it was all too human" - Ryuk
Another reason I think the musical works better than any live action adaptation is because of the inherent use of music. Death Note as a manga and anime heavily utilizes internal monologues to add tension, letting us see into Light's and L's intentions and plots. Songs in musicals help the audience properly understand a character.
I can’t believe you didn’t mention the line that Light doesn’t repeat after his father in *There are Lines* . Soichiro says “you don’t load a gun, close your eyes, and shoot!”. But light skips the first part of this verse, only saying “close your eyes and shoot!”. This alludes to both his being perfectly willing to kill criminals, and calls back to a line from *Hurricane* where light compares writing in the death note to loading a gun. He’s already done the loading. And because he knows that, he can’t bring himself to totally lie to his father and therefore just doesn’t repeat after him during that line. It’s my favorite little detail in the score!
I was one of the people who appeared in the musical Death Note in Japan. I am impressed with the high quality of research. And like you, I sincerely hope that this work will be performed overseas someday.
Wouldn't you look at that! They preformed in the UK! Awesome performance btw. ❤
That's amazing! Who did you play?
WHO WERE U
Checking his profile, it looks like he was Ryuk
thank you aizawa!!
Soichiro: Don't cross that line!
Light, approximatly 7 miles over the line(TM): Yes, absolutely
this musical is so good and people don’t appreciate it enough. when i tell you that album ASCENDS me to a higher dimension
Ok do you know where we can buy the album, I’m just listening to the English version non stop on sound cloud,
@@theautisticaacunderground8560 i don't think it's purchasable. i listen to it on youtube
fr!
@@theautisticaacunderground8560 ngl,, I've only seen it on soundcloud where I originally stumbled upon it and recordings on youtube,, soundcloud has the korean version too, idk about the japanese
I have dedicated hours and years of my life to this musical, I'm so glad to see it finally getting recognition as more than just "the musical where Jeremy Jordan sings about justice"! I love seeing it get taken seriously! I remember being absolutely obsessed with it throughout middle school, enough to still have the proshot downloaded to my computer, to spend hours memorizing both the English and Japanese lyrics, and even bother working out the chords and melody to both Honor Bound and Mortals and Fools to sing at a recital. It's why I refuse to change my username or pfp on youtube lol
Over half-way through, got to Honor Bound and I have to say yes the scales do match traditional Japanese ones! I don't know which exactly, but it's entirely pentatonic. And Michael Lanning is a national treasure who's been aware and supportive of the tiny English Death Note musical fandom for years!
LYRIC NEAR OMG YOU CARRIED THE FANDOM
@@kinn0401 omg ty. im still around! still obsessed with this show
Your chanel is single-handedly at fault for my obssesion over this masterpiece. I could never thank you enough
I remember you! I've been obsessed with Death Note since I was 13 and in highschool I was supposed to direct and perform in the musical with my school (a three-time scrapped project) and I used your videos to learn the lyrics
I really hope they're revising the lyrics for the coming UK production. The japanese lyrics are a bit more nuanced than the concept album. In Hurricane for example, Light first struggles with his newly gained power, while english version is more or less just an "Im gonna getcha" song.
So true! While the English speaking fans is understandably most familiar with Where is the Justice, it's actually "Death note" (Hurricane JP equivalent) that is the standout song in this musical.
It's also curious to think if Where is the Justice lyrics will be rewritten for UK audiences as it was done for JP audiences.
Viiiibes! Same feelings about “There Are Lines”- in the Japanese version the lyrics Light and his father sing mirror and how how Light is twisting his father’s morality while in the English version Light’s just like… yeah!! Get ‘em dad! You tell ‘em!
@avidee4300 Really? Much as I adore the japanese version, I've always felt that There Are Lines does a far better job showing Light's selective morality than 一線を越えるな does. I know others in this comment section have already written a lot of the lyrics out for the former, so I won't rehash it here, but for me, I don't think Light's selective repetition of Soichiro works as well in 一線を越えるな
@@finnlewis1652 ugh I just typed out a whole comment and it got deleted haha. Here we go again.
What I found that the English version does well is establish Light’s manipulative behavior. He repeats his father’s lines, however they are never sung in unison. As mentioned in the video, this represents how Light doesn’t truly see eye to eye with his father and how he’s just using this to try and convince his father to let him on the task force. I almost wish they used this chance to actually show how Light still has some morality intact like the manga and anime does, but the vibe of this song is very much a feeling that Light is being manipulative.
In the Japanese version, or at least the translations I’ve read, Light mimics his father’s words, however the context and tone of which the songs are sung give them a different meaning than the original.
For example, Soichiro says something along the lines of “hold on to that unwavering sense of Justice in your heart” as a way of saying stay true to who you are and what you know is right. Soichiro is a man of morals and he has a personal moral code which he stays true to. He would not want to ever give up what he values for the sake of “catching a killer”, which is why he makes sure to hold these above all else and close to his heart.
Light mimics this line underneath his father saying basically that not only will he stay true to himself, but he will make sure no one stops him. He is technically following exactly what his father asked him to do. Stay true to your heart and never let go of what you know is just. He’s taking Soichiro’s message and completely changing it using the exact same words
Again, Soichiro says something about “not being led astray” in the sense of letting others influence your morals and sticking to what you know is true and right. Light repeats this line and now we hear it as him saying he won’t be led astray *because he’ll get rid of those who oppose him*.
Soichiro says “become a god” in the sense that you will be god-like and moral and holy and good… Line actually changes this line a little bit… he says “I’ll become a god”. It’s subtle but so so crazy cause he took nearly the same words and made it insane. Become moral and just changed to I’m going to take over the world. Unbelievable
The main takeaway is that the way these songs contribute to the overall story changes with this. The English lyrics focus heavily on Soichiro’s values and what he believes right and how Light can use that ti his advantage. The Japanese version goes beyond that and not only establishes Light’s manipulative behavior, but also his twisted sense of morality. He genuinely sees himself as above others and as though the title of God is his to claim.
I also hope they keep the extremely homoerotic lyrics from the japanese version of playing his game
So, I would personally say that I think Light repeating the lines his dad sings after instead of along with him is more a statement of their morals. These are not Light's morals - he can only parrot them back to his dad. He doesn't sing them along with his dad because he doesn't feel them the same way that his dad does. His morals are very different from these that his dad sings, and so he can only ever follow his dad's lead in how he should perform for the outside world. He can lead in other songs that are actually true to his character, but in this song, all he can do is mirror back what his dad says.
Edit: this sentiment is indirectly stated in the next couple of minutes in regards to L and Light's father sharing enough of a moral foundation to be able to share a melody.
As someone with little music knowledge, this was extremely interesting.
As for your comment of “The Way it Ends” being anticlimactic- I actually loved this song so much. It’s not triumphant or victorious, but somber and confused. As a song from Ls perspective of the end of his life, this is perfect- L actually really likes light, and says in the anime that he sees Light almost like a friend, or at the very least an equal. So L being forced to shoot his friend in the back literally while he feels like Light has shot him in the back metaphorically is very poetic. You can sense the hurt, the confusion, while light chimes in as if to say “hurry up and die already.”
There’s also a lot of lyrical genius in this song- light has always seen L as other than human, singing “does he see pixels not dreams” in an earlier song, then in this finale you see L saying that he’s just bad code repeating, which Light responds with later by saying “let the cold hard justice crash the system” also playing into the “where is the justice” song that started the whole thing. L then says “see it flicker hear it humming” like a computer slowly being shut down. If this song was from Lights perspective it would have been the climax you were hoping for, but being from Ls perspective it fits perfectly. And the storytelling was set up to really have it from Ls perspective at the end. We have heard what Light thinks and what he is like as a person, but we didn’t really KNOW L except from how he conflicts with light. But L is his own human person and this song shows that he wasn’t a computer but someone real. He seems to show his humanity right as he is dying. It also shows Lights loss of his humanity completely as he compares L once again to a computer or a pawn.
It’s a wonderful song to end the show on, and I think wonderfully captures the relationship between light and L, and shows Ls underlying emotions that he’s tried to keep hidden all this time.
Completely agree with all this. And as someone who as his own fair share of acting experience in musical theater. I found it annoying when given a super complicated piece of music to sing when something emotional or something super important is happening in the narrative. I want to be focused on the emotions and story of the scene and not just the music itself. Something basic like this song has a lot of cool lyrics and it does tie the show together. But its basic enough to create a blank canvas. It gives the actors room to explore how the characters are feeling and portray that to the audience. Go take a look at the Japanese version on youtube. The actor who plays light in this scene does a master class of adding his own stamp on the song and how he uses his voice to clearly show Light has descended into madness. Hes allowed to do this because in of itself the song is easy to sing. Just my two cents.
It's honestly a phenomena song to end on for all of the reasons you said. The musical has plenty of big, showstopping numbers with big moments. The Way It Ends has all of these moments where L and Light sound like they're approaching a big climax but...they don't. It's like they're both trying to make this the big finale that we expect, but it just doesn't happen for them. It's really cool.
All the points you think may be a reach sound amazing and really plausible to me!! Ty for this amazing analysis!
Ps. “Brave new world” originally came from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which I think is an intentional reference considering Light’s song is titled Hurricane.
My jaw was ON THE FLOOR for every song when listening to this musical for the first time. It goes... so hard... it's so good.... Wildehorn shocks me continually. Thank you for the phenomenal analysis!!
death note musical is narratively the best iteration of the franchise and i will die on this hill
i see what you see
"They hated Jesus because he told them the truth"
One of the lyrical touches I really like is the phrase “I am the God of the brave new world - Much better than the last.” You touched on the fist line, but I think the double meaning of the second is also really great. Because of the ambiguity of how it’s phrased, he could be saying that this world is much better than the last OR that he, as the new God, is much better than the last one.
This double meaning succinctly demonstrates the duality of Light’s motivations: he want to make a better world and he wants to be the only one with the power to do it. Strong sense of Justice + God complex neatly tied into just two lines!
The croc earrings are iconic
Tbh, I clicked on this video in absolute disbelief. Never knew there was a death note musical and my initial reaction was that there’s no way it can be good. However this video got me going down the rabbit hole and now, I really want to see this musical in person😭
“Dangerous game” in the song Kira also lowkey sounds like the song Dangerous Game in Jekyll and Hyde. If the composer created both of these, maybe it’s a reference?
What I find super interesting is that in the musical, "the ends justify the means" is used a couple separate times. The usage in "There are Lines" ("you don't justify the means/ in the service of an end") characterizes Soichiro Yagami as someone with strict morals and standards, and the later use of the phrase ("and feel the same thrill/ whenever my ends are served by his means") characterizes L and Light as people who don't have those limits. They're ok with whatever their opponent does if it means that they can get closer to winning the game, whether that be mass murder or ethically dubious interrogations.
Also, when discussing "The Way it Ends" I feel like being slightly disappointing is the point. The anticlimax that song makes you feel really hammers in the point that the game itself was the interesting thing and the ending is meaningless now that it is won. The lyrics and performance just absolutely break me every time too. Throughout the song, both characters have some very interesting emotional duality going on. L is resigned to his death, but also desperate to cling onto life. I don't think you get that kind of raw emotion anywhere else in the musical from him. Light is triumphant, but also sad to see L go, seen through more sentimental lines like "I always stayed a step ahead/ but you were with me all the way" and "a minute more" at the end delivered in a softer way. I feel like a more intense, cool, climactic song would have made it harder to express that. Besides, we already have 3 whole banger confrontation songs. It's my personal favorite song in the show because it's so jarringly different from their other duets and just packs gut punch after gut punch!
what an incredible analysis on a show that has so much potential to grow. you’ve helped me appreciate and love the show so much more than i already have.
also, one of my favorite little details is in “There Are Lines”, while Light sings with a delay from his father, the only line he sings in tandem with his father is “close your eyes, and shoot”, seemingly only agreeing with that part as that is what he is essentially doing as Kira.
overall, this is just a great video. keep up the amazing work!
Thank you so much:) Great point about the "close your eyes, and shoot" line too!
Man,,, I know there's no official english recording of it But I wish you could have touched upon "The Way Things Are" It's the L's solo song after he finds out Shinigami are real I know there are lyrics available for it online, but it wasn't put on the concept recording unfortunately.
but anyways, I loved this video! The Death Note musical is one of my favourite things ever (especially the Korean productions) I'm so excited for the new London concert version, I rlly hope we eventually get a West End transfer/fully staged English production and finally have a complete, official cast album!
Yes, The Way Things Are is really a turning point for a character previously basing his world view on data and facts having to accept the impossible (supernatural powers). Also the song SLAPS
I really wanted to see Change the World (Reprise) and If Possible (Reprise) where the cops are talking about weather to put their lives on the line now that they know Kira will kill anyone, not just criminals. When Mogi begs his daughter to understand his decision to put his life on the line, and then gets killed by Kira. That killed me@@KosmiskRevolution
Yeah, The way things are is actually my favorite. I especially love the Japanese lyrics: "It is no god who judges life. The one who bestows meaning to living or dying is man himself"
BEST song in the musical in my opinion
there is going to be an english cast album and the way things are will be on it!!
This is a great video!
I only wanted to point out something I think you may have missed with "There are Lines", and only because it's one of my personal favorites.
When Light starts echoing his father's words, he's actually carefully only repeating parts he actually agrees with, a sort of lie by omission.
Ie.
"You don't kill someone as a substitute" Light was just recently caught by L's trap, and as such has this objection. Otherwise, he certainly would have no issues doing something similar on his own.
When Soichiro says: "You don't load a gun, close your eyes and shoot" Light only repeats "You don't close your eyes and shoot" which is a callback to Hurricane, where he says: "Writing is the gun, I only have to aim". The only Issue Light actually has here is not aiming, as he believes his murders are righteous judgement. For the last line of: "That's no better than bad that good defines", once again Light obviously sees himself as Justice, so using using tricks to try and stop justice (as he views himself) would obviously be evil.
I just really like how it's written to show how Light uses Soichiro's language and convictions to secretly push his own agenda.
This video is so jammed packed with hidden details and fun information dissecting the musical as a whole and I am so loving it! You are so calming to listen to and I have been obsessed with the musical for a while now and watching your video is such a treat!! Thanks so much for sharing your musical knowledge and analyzing the musical!! Definitely sticking around for more of your content!
Some fun things I've noticed about the lyrics/music, especially since seeing the first English Language performance of this show!
The line "Perhaps it's time we drained the colour form it then? 'Til we're back to seeing black and white, and wrong and right again." Is also a nice nod to the roots of the Musical - the manga, which is indeed in black and white.
Another cool effect about changing the second verse in "Hurricane" if it brings it more in line to Japanese song writing. If I recall correctly, a lot of songs within Japan tend to have choruses with difference lines, unlike more western conventions where choruses tend to stay consistent. This is common in TV openings and insert songs for shows, like anime.
Something I prefer a little in the full stage version is the change of "Don't know he's Light Yagami" to "Don't know he's just a schoolboy" in "Kira". Really helps reinforce the themes of names, by Ryuk degrading Light from the God Kira he thinks he is, to the reality of him being an inexperienced schoolboy. I think I personally would like a version of Kira that has the first chorus use the "Light Yagami" line, then the next use "just a schoolboy", before finishing with the final chorus and Ryuk's wonderful disinterest with the specifics of Kira - as long as he get's his apples. I think that would show an interesting and moving through line.
It's probably been mentioned before, but it's always been a nice touch that when Light starts echoing his father, the only line he doesn't echo is "Load a gun". So Light's line becomes "Close your eyes and shoot" which both allows him to catch up to the end of bar, but also slips his own morals into the songs. Light doesn't kill randomly - and you could perhaps take it further to mean "I have learnt from this mistake, I won't take such obvious bait again". Also I loved the staging of this in the UK production. Light was above his father the whole time, even in the bridge where he's agreeing to him. Really helped show how above all the discussion light thought he was. Height was a big thing in the staging, which was really neat.
I noticed the fact L always has the higher melody in L/Light duets too, and in the staging of the production this was further empathised by L being one of the few characters that stand equal or above to Light (the only other characters that tend to be above Light are Ryuk and Rem, which makes sense as Shinigami). Years of drama studies makes seeing these little tidbits in staging so fascinating.
Stalemate is such a good song, that's arguably even better when in-situ. In a performance the song is chopped up between spoken dialogue - Both L and Light's internal monologue verse's are directly after the "I'm L." line in the university scene, and each character steps away to give a mimed performance of their speech. Which both reinforces the poker faces of these characters and continues the uneasy feeling of the stalemate as characters move in and out of the song.
To anyone reading: if you ever get the chance to listen to "Honour Bound" in the Japanese production used in the video DO IT. Seriously, it's a stunning rendition and always gives me chills.
"Playing His Game" is another song elevated when in-situ. The tennis match being scored verbally between the characters singing further builds the tension of who will win. When sung in the show, it's arguably not as tight musically as recording sometimes - both the video in the background and the production I saw, the actors put a lot of effort into the swings, which added dramatic effort and reinforced the difficultly ramping up for both players but obviously makes maintaining breath control harder. And it's telling when they stop that and sing straight - in the bridge just before the final verse. That final moment to breath before all hell breaks loose. It's so damn powerful, and the chorus and Ryuk watching the ball go left-right-left-right adds to it.
As a final note, I love how L breaks the 4th wall a bit in his lyrics, making references to actors on a stage. I like how this gives him a sort of 'pseudo-omnipotince' beyond even the Shinigami's - however in Stalemate it was an advantage, but here it's phrased much more in acceptance and resignation. In the end, only the Shinigami can escape all things and stay all-seeing.
On Hurricane (Reprise), I love how Ryuk echoes a line from the first act "gamble, write names, sleep" (or something to that effect) after Light 'wins': "eat apples, write names, sleep" and how minor the difference is. Also the absolute DESPERATENESS of Light as his counter ticks down. He's given a straight Death Note kill, just like in the anime, so he has to wait though those arduous seconds for the heart attack to take affect. And what does he do in this time? Break down, cry and beg. Tries to go above it by singing the triumphant song of his godhood... only to die before he can finish it. Compared that to L's acceptance, his knowledge that, even if he dies, Light will pay for for crimes. just maybe not in the way he imagined.
I really hope you got to see one of the performances in the UK! And I hope that a full Broadway run comes from its success.
I think that Frank Wildhorn really hit it out of the ball park with this score, This is one his success’s. In terms of music
The problem with Wildhorn's works is rarely ever his actual contribution to the project, it's cause he's constantly getting stuck with shitty scriptwriters.
A WHOLE HOUR OF MUSICAL ANALYSIS OF THIS MUSICAL LETS GOOO
This analysis has no right being as good as it is- just like the musical. Thank you for this; you have fueled my hyperfixation on this musical
great video! as someone with zero musical knowledge it's really great to have someone put into words how these songs work, especially in reference to the anime's soundtrack. really itches my little brain scratch to hear someone directly explain and appreciate all the little details and love they put into these songs. really enjoyed all the little notes about the double meanings and references within the lyrics themselves too! most of them i never even realised!
personally as a light yagami enthusiast i find "where's the justice?" to be really odd for how it presents him as a character. i presume the song was written to help the audience understand why someone would think that killing people is the answer, and to sympathise with him, but manga/anime light yagami is, in my opinion, totally disinterested in critiquing power, even superficially, or understanding how social structures and other factors influence criminal behaviour. he starts from this place of boredom (paralleling ryuk) and ends up using the death note as a flawed way of gaining some purpose.
i don't think the changes to light in the musical are bad per se, i think i just find it weird because i have such a specific vision of light's moral compass and as a person. maybe i'd feel better about this if we had a better indication of the kinds of people musical!light kills as opposed to canon!light? who knows, maybe musical!light is out here killing all the billionaires and predators in the musical and they just never mention it lmao
anyway yay london show hypeee
I dislike musicals as theater but as a budding musician, I am very interested in the ways music is used to convey the internal feelings of the characters, motifs, etc.
I'd watch more musical analysis from you this was very eye opening and entertaining to me
This musical is so underrated with little content for it on TH-cam, so I’m glad to see someone make a video about it. I really enjoyed watching this video, great analysis of the musical’s music!
I love the fact that every song of Lights always starts with a question. In Where is the Justice? It obviously starts off with the title question, in Hurricane it starts off saying “Did it really happen?” in Secrets & Lies he starts his verse with “Why give away half of my years to see somebody’s name?” But as he becomes Kira he answers every question he asks. As he sinks into becoming Kira, he questions himself less. In the beginning of him becoming Kira he wonders “Am I the justice?” but soon in the end he truly believes he is the justice.
As well as L being Lights opposite, he starts every song off with a statement. Showing he believes in his theories and himself.
As someone who cam barely make out the instruments on a song, I thank you a lot about all this insight on the music of Death Note!! Listening to these songs now feels a little more deep and infinitely cooler!
This video truly brought my death note musical phase back. It’s SO FREAKING GOOD
This was a great analysis! I've got tickets to see it in London later this year, and now I'm even more hyped!
I know enough music theory to understand everything explained, but something I find so impressive is being able to understand the artistic decisions behind WHY the songs were written the way they were.
Definitely look forward to any other musical analysis videos you make!
Lucky! I’ll be lucky if my mom finds a live Recording for me to watch.
I also got to see it live in London! I only just had the video recommended to me, and it makes me even more appreciative of how amazing the musical was to watch.
❤ so much love! But have a different take on the "bends as Light reflects" line : ) Think you might like it too! The line really is so beautiful with all the ways it can be interpreted.
So, the first time I heard it I read it as him qustioning whether or not the image he has of his son is bending to what Light wants to reflect.
A.k.a him starting to question if his son is just manipulating him by reflecting what he knows his dad wants to see.
The next line just adding to it for me as he wonders if the reflection Light is giving off has blinded him to all the things his son lacks.
the death note musical is so perfect i was never into the manga and countless adaptations but i stumbled across it years ago and absolutely fell in love with it
I hope the performance in the West End creates that hype to make it a real production!
Criminally underrated channel with really good points! I’m legitimately upset we never got to see J Jordan belt out on stage 😢
52:38 this is also the iconic mother marry pose after her son dies on the cross. the whole stage setup and this song is giving rebirth and full devotion
I know nothing about reading music. Sheet music basically means nothing to me because I am illiterate in it. But I still listened to every word you said in order to gain the insight I couldnt get myself. Thank you for making me appriciate this musical on an even deeper level than I already had. I really REALLY love this adaptation of death note and am obsessed with the songs. Yet I had no one to talk about it with because no one I know knows english enough to understand the songs :.) I am so happy to finally hear some talk of it so thank you for that again. This was a delightfull video and your narration was so nice.
Also, lesbian Rem for the win HELL YEAH!!!
I’m very glad the londan version gave us a English version of the way things are
I was about to rewatch the musical, got this video ready for when I was done before finding out an English version is coming to London.. this video will have to wait another month
A very salient and thorough analysis. I LOVE the fact that you chose to go in depth about the small details and technical things that make this musical good, rather than just making a 10 minute video fangirling over the musical for some quick content. From one music major to another, keep up the great work! I’d love to see more videos like these.
Honor bound is honestly one of the saddest songs
Just ran across your tiktok, when I seen one saying "one hour TH-cam video" I ran right over and... here I am. LoL
[Solo]
oh my goddd I have no knowledge of music technicalities, I don’t play any instruments or sing or anything, so when I started watching this and you mentioned this video was strictly analyzing the music I was prepared to turn it off. but idk you have an amazing way of describing things that I sat through the entire thing happily, and was excited to hear your take on “the way it ends” because that’s my favorite song in the whole musical.
great job, great and engaging video!!
It was only a few nights ago that I came home from an annoying day at work only for my sister to inform me some amazing news; "There is a musical for Death Note..." she said, "...AND it is written by the composer of the Jekyll a Hyde musical!" This news was too much for my poor tired mind to process. But I've come to love this musical since having finished listening to it.
I think I would agree about L and Light's last song. As you said, it is hard to critique such a wonderfully done musical, but I think it might be really neat to include a chior as another part of the musical's instrumentation and who punctuate the acts singing ominous latin chants. That would add an intense and poignant sense of distance as the chior is some sort of extremely human, yet extraordinary extra-human force which sings of eternal justice after death. Then, at the musical's very end, during L and Light's last song and during Reqiuem, the chior finally joins alongside the stage performers, representing that all humans ultimately are made one with that terrifying and infinite reality of death and justice.
I like that Wildhorn and Murphy decided to mirror most of Death Note's original soundtrack instrumentation. But the addition of a bit more high art chioral music - at least in these few isolated places - might add that signature Death Note touch of Gothic which juxposes so beautifully with the Anime atmosphere. Other than that one thought of mine, I love this musical! Mortals and Fools and Requiem are probably my two very favorites! The meticulous and artistic attention to detail is one superbly alongside the Jekyll and Hyde musical in terms of mastery. If either Wildhorn or Murphy are reading this, I want you to know that my sister and I are some of your new biggest fans. Also, you missed a reference to "I'll take a potatoe chip... AND EAT IT!" I hope to see that alongside my chior idea once this inevitably makes it to Broadway, hehehe. Blessings, everyone!
i watched the premiere in london and in "i'll always love you more", it was a bit comedic because the context was sayu showing light misa's new song and as light was listening to the lyrics you watched his face go "OH ???" especially when she said "about reading his name" loll same with ryuk and he kept looking over at him like we gotta do smth about this and then going back looking at sayu and bopping to the song loll. that was a little extra bit that i loved
Huge props to you. You clearly put masses of work into this video and it pays off - this was fantastic!
I already loved the show, but now you've fully augmented it for me into brilliance 💛
so happy to watch this just as I got tickets to the english ver of the musical ! as someone studying for my final music theory exam too I found the analysis really interesting.
Every single Light and L duet is so good to me, even though Rem and Misa have my favourite individual songs in When Love Comes and Borrowed Time, there’s something electric about those duets that you explained so well in your analysis of harmony, motif and lyric!
Fuck. You got me. This is absolutely preposterous…it’s fire 😭
Wow! Thank you for this excellent analysis! As someone who doesn’t know anything about music theory, I found your deep dive so interesting while being easy to follow for a dumb-dumb like me! 💖
Late but they did the show in a concert format in London this year, which was popular enough to get extended. Playbill is also presenting it at NYC Comic Con this week (October 14th to be specific). So I would expect an announcement of something then.
Literally am in love with this musical and my friends are shaming me
Thank you so much for your video, it was really (sorry in advance) enlightening! I've studied music, but I have a super hard time identifying these style references (as in "you use this kind of progression to symbolize that), so I love to watch serious analysis like yours, good job! And sorry in advance, this comment's gonna be a long one hahah
On a different note, speaking as a huge fan, I'd like to share some of my impressions and theories ^^ also, I had no idea the English version came first (I watched the japanese performance before listening to the English album, tho I mostly prefer the English version), but as you said it makes sense because the lyrics are just TOO GOOD haha
First of all, fun fact about the ending of the musical being different from the original source: actually the authors wanted to make the manga be 6 volumes (not 12 as it ended up), so it's pretty fair to say that it *should* end with L's death (or, alternatively, with Light's death, as in the "L Change The World" timeline)... putting that together with the fact that in the original ending Light does end up killed by Ryuk when the shinigami ceases to find him amusing, I personally believe that the musical is indeed Death Note's true ending.
Speaking of Ryuk, by the way, a bit of a character study for the shinigamis! I have seen some people defend the theory that Ryuk didn't kill Light because "it wouldn't be fun without L facing him" and, instead, because "it's not fun anymore without Rem" and I believe the music actually supports the later. I loved that it's being pointed out how the shinigami sound more classical while the humans (appart from Soichiro lol) sound more pop/rock, but there's another thing about They're Only Human: the song, in addition to being a duet, is a waltz. It being a duet (much like Light and L's) serves to show the differences between the two characters, but my understanding is that, it being a waltz, it needs the two of them to "exist". I don't mean at all that they have romantical feelings towards each other, but they are represented, in a way, as partners. They never even aknowledge one another directly as "friends", but I believe Ryuk considers Rem an undisposable part of his "life" (though probably only unconsciously). Another sign for that would be that, after When Love Comes, Ryuk doesn't ever sing again. Okay, I know, that's super close to the end already, but Ryuk had always being super vocal about everything (his boredom, his love for apples, his disdain for humans... even how he enjoys Misa's song and is positively impressed by Soichiro), but at the end, when he literally kills the main character... he looks speechless. Not disdainful as in the beggining. More like when friends are jokingly exchanging insults, but then one of them actually says something hurtful and the other immediately drops the smile and says "not cool". It's not that think that he does it to "avenge Rem" or to punish Light for manipulating her... after all, Rem *was* in love with Misa and she would probably do something to save her (and get herself killed) eitherway. I believe not Ryuk himself ever really understands how important Rem was to him, not even at the end. Maybe it's because, in the end, there's a sense of security in being a shinigami... he could do whatever he wanted in the human world and then he would come back and everything would stay the same... but not anymore. Something in Ryuk's boring everyday shinigami life actually had changed, even though it made no difference for the humans (as seen in Requiem). Human lives and stories mean nothing to a shinigami, but, just the same are the shinigami affairs to the humans. Another example of this would be in Misa's Borrow Time, because even though she is living in borrow time because of Jealous, she doesn't really think about it. Instead, she considers Kira/Light the source of her gratitude (because she "died" the day she lost her parents but "gained a new life" because of him) and basically desregards the ones who actually extended her life in a literal sense (after all, in the end she doesn't even remember either Jealous or Rem).
Well, this story is brilliant and full of paralels (not to mention L and Light's relationship 'cause if I start I won't be able to stop lol)
Finally, I'd love to hear what you (or anyone, really, cause most my friends have yet to watch this masterpiece) think about the, let's say, less famous songs (which are not found in the concept album)~ Change The World, which is sang first by Light & co, then later by the cops, as they reminisce about their duties as either law enforcers or as family members... Well, both of then are actually related to the idea of "crossing lines", the first time seems to help us stay on Light's side, cause, tho it's actually a sort of introduction for Hurricane, it sounds... innocent and naive, so he doesn't look so evil on the next song (because, let's be honest, Hurricane is nothing but an I-am-song). The second time, however, is when the actual full song plays and, being sang after There Are Lines, makes a more obvious reference to that, but what's important is that it both shows us the fear that Kira has created over his enemies and also foreshadows Soichiro's Honor Bound (because both songs surprisingly end with brave honorable men ultimately putting their families above their pursuit for Kira).
Another song that we unfortunately don't have officially released in English is L's AMAZING solo The Ways Things Are. Well, L is my favorite character in this show, so there's that ^^' But this song is super interesting because it's kind of a turning point for L's humanity. It follows I'll Only Love You More, which is when he sees the 2nd Kira referencing the shinigamis and that makes him reconsider all his previous ways of viewing things "logically" and accept the possibility that there are things out there completely unknown to him, such as the existence of gods of death. And, because he is reconsidering everything, he decides to act in a less robotical and cynical way to better connect with Light's modus operandi (which leads to Playing His Game), which is noticeable by the instruments, since his characteristical piano is replaced by guitar (and more "rockish tunes") around the first chorus... the funny part is that he reaches this conclusion by quoting Sherlock Holmes ("when all other explanations / really don't explain / no matter how insane / you are left with only / the cold, hard truth"), who is a detective famous for being robotical and cynical lol There is also a reprise to this song right before The Way It Ends, in which L states he has a last trick to pull off against Kira, but it's unsure how conscious he is by then, since Rem has already written his name. He might have been vaguely aware he was being controlled and thought this would prove Light is Kira... Or maybe everything he says in this reprise is just him playing the role that was written for him, I really don't know ^^'
Well (finally), that's it hahah I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks!
i just want to say a huge, huuuge THANK YOU! the lection is majestic!! you're sooo inspired by what you're telling and that just adds even more power to the brilliant analysis. the timing is perfects and easy to perceive and heeyyyy how can this video be soooo underrated?? there should be more content like this
I watched this years ago, in middle school, and I was BLOWN away. I need to rewatch it again now that I'm in college with a much better understanding and appreciation towards musicals.
I’m so excited to be going to see it in London! An opportunity I couldn’t afford to miss in more ways than one 😅
This analysis was simply amazing. There were so many things I didn't notice while hearing the songs and now I see them in a different "Light" (haha)
I love musical breakdowns so thank you! Also lemme gush for a second OH MY GOD Rem’s character costume and makeup is SOO beautiful
The musical is in the work in the uk right now!!!
The actor for Ryuk is my favorite (laugh so many times).... played a bit over the top at times, but that's just how the characters is
Really enjoyed this video! Would love to see more videos like this where you take out your music degree to use for analysis of musicals.
this video is everything to me. as a music student who’s loved this musical for a few years, i am having the time of my life! this is everything my musical theory nerd heart has ever dreamed of. thank you for this beautiful analysis!
1:03:19 there’s actually a third meaning I noticed, idk if you didn’t think of it or just chose not to mention it, but the song is all about death and endings, so the word “goodbye” is also saying that as long as these stories have been around, they’ve ended
Hey Izzy! First off, this video was AMAZING! I'm about to finish a video about the musical myself and I'm giving a direct shout-out and link to this because your analysis of music theory is fantastic and it's something I'm not covering because 1, I'm not trained in it and 2, Nobody could do as good as this.
I just wanted to apologize in advance because we seemed to have some parallel thinking in our scripting for a couple of lines, especially with me having more or less the exact same opening sentence and I sincerely hope that you and your audience don't think I plagiarized your brilliant work.
I first heard Playing His Game two years ago and it got me liking musicals alot more but I forgot about it because I don’t feel too strongly abt musicals so when I reheard it again this month after slowly getting into musicals I had such a massive appreciation for it ! Especially They’re only human, I didn’t like it on my first watch because it was so different from what I usually listen to but now it is my absaloute favourite song
Can I just say that I was not prepared for Jeremy Jordan’s voice to be pitched up 😂 “Where is the Justice” pitched up was a vibe ❤
i watched opening night of this musical in london on monday and booked to see it again in september; i'm so excited to see it again with all of the little nuances you've pointed out in this video! it's so cool to hear someone who really knows about music theory talk about it!
Death Note the musical is one of the best musicals I ever found and I'm so glad I did and so happy it gets more appriciation!!!!
after the english concert, i really hope they open a full-scale musical - i would do so much to see it !!
It's so good to find I'm not so alone in being obcessed with this musical. I know some people that like Light and L's duets I'd never seen someone value Soichiro's songs like this. The musical feels like was made with a lot more understanding of the source material than most adaptations of anything to be honest. The way music being used to create narratives and elaborate characters absolutely hits differently. Thank you so much for the amazing video
GIRL you killed this analysis! Amazing stuff…. I’ve never studied music nor did I fully understand most of the technical bits in the scores you talked about here but it was still so interesting and insightful that I watched till the end.
This play is on two weeks AFTER I leave Europe 😭 so upset I just miss out.
This video needs more attention! Thank you very much, I learned a lot from it.
I’ve been obsessed with Death note the musical for a while and I’m so happy to see people talk about it
this is an amazingly done analysis, I'd love to see what more you're going to do in the future. Subscribed.
good news, we're getting an english production
Omg this was announced literally hours after I scheduled this video, I can't believe it! So happy:')
OMG YES
This was so informative! And amazing video production!!! Love this video
I am here, and one day youll get one milllion subs and i hope you remember me
Aww you're kind, thank you💛
Such a great analysis of a show I never hard of. I am grateful to you for this gift.
really well done job. Frankly it is shocking how few people have subscribed to you
Such a great video! I'm surprised it doesn't have more views, you killed it! :)
FANTASTIC! I always knew there was something special about this musical but I can never quite describe it! You did such an incredible job of detailing everything from the music lyrics to the characterization! Flawless my dear!
Any song and musical with Jeremy Jordan I will IMMEDIATELY watch it. I honestly loved watching/ listening to the musical and definitely saved some of the songs.
I've been deep diving this musical lately and it's so satisfying to see all my nebulous thoughts on its fabulous execution spelled out like this. Amazing work!
I loved the Video and It was responsible for me finding this Great musical. Can we please get a Video like this for Heathers?
Thanks for making this video!! I only listened to "they're only human" before watching it, but now I think I'll listen to the rest
Just finished Act 1, so I thought I'd pause and comment. Loving the analysis so far, even if the music theory goes over my head.
I can't help but chuckle at the pitch changes. I know it was for the sake of dodging copyright strikes, but I can't help but imagine it's a Nightcore remix.
Anyways, on to Act 2...
EDIT: And I'm back! Not much to add, but I'll note about the contrasting endings each adaptation has. As you said, they had to cut down the ending, even more so than the Japanese live action films. A 3rd act where an amnesiac Light and L work together would have been interesting, but it would have taken too much time and introduced too many characters with the Yotsuba Group and another Death Note user.
The main contrast I'll point out that Kira clearly won the battle here, only to be tripped up by Ryuk. In the film, L won, but only through sacrificing himself. He wrote his own name down in the Note so he couldn't be killed or manipulated before his time was up. ENough time for a spin-off film, but a destined time none the less.
This is such an under rated video. Really furthered my appreciation for something I was embarrassed for liking. Ty so much for this!
What a great breakdown! :) I love this show so much, can't wait to see it in London next month
love when a thoroughly well-written video essay from a fellow sub-1k account shows up on my feed! subbing :D
I really love the musical, and while I enjoy the song secret and lies, I really feel this is the one song they got L pretty wrong, because L while willing to do some sketchy stuff did care who got hurt, he just always took very calculated mores for each situation, L was litterally shaking when Ukita died, and he carried the deaths of the FBI agents with him the whole time. L cared about people getting hurt and it actually bothered him when it happened, that said this musical is amazing and I love it, though I can’t watch the end
I’m so glad to see love for death note the musical coming back. Thank you for the video
This is the coolest thing ever!
I have zero knowledge about music and notes but they way you describe it makes it seem understandable to someone like me. I love the Korean version of this musical, your description of the English lyrics makes me want to listen to them.
Thank you for making this! Also, yay for the new London version 🎉