YMMV / Death Note: The Musical

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Many fans have put forth the interpretation that Light becoming quieter at the end of "The Way It Ends" is him coming to the slow realization that he doesn't want L to die, whether because he wants the game to continue or because he realizes that L was his only friend, with many viewing his final lyrics as almost mournful.
  "See how a minute spends now, when you wish you had a minute more! A minute... more..."
• Awesome Music:
  • Most of the songs, but "Where is the Justice?" takes the cake, in part due to its poignancy and relevance to today's world. And aside from the Overture (awesome in itself with the ticking clock and the chanting of "Kira!"), this is the very first song in the musical.
  • "Hurricane," whether in English, Korean, or Japanese.
  • "The Way Things Are", especially in the Korean production.
• Complete Monster: Light Yagami, aka Kira, may have a lower body count than his manga counterpart, but he is just as evil. Mere moments after getting the Death Note, he abandons his claims of justice in favor of his own interests, declaring himself God. He goes on a massive killing spree with the Death Note, killing countless, and when confronted by an FBI agent and L Lawliet's task force agent, uses the Death Note to cause them to commit Psychic-Assisted Suicide. Light manipulates his girlfriend Misa into killing for him, and, when he gets an opportunity, convinces Rem to write L's name in her Death Note, on threat of killing Misa, an act which kills both Rem and L. As L realizes that he is going to be forced to kill himself, Light continues to gloat over him, declaring that L was merely a pawn as L kills himself.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Light Yagami, as always, received a firm following which treated him as the true hero of the story, despite his countless murders and extreme cruelty. Light still has many argue that he is an Anti-Hero despite gloating as L shoots himself.
• Evil Is Cool: Light, of course. "Where is the Justice" and "Hurricane" truly cement his badassery as he gets to show off some serious charisma and thinking skill, and "Hurricane" makes it clear he will stop at nothing. Yet, many want him to win.
• Harsher in Hindsight: In the English version of "We All Need a Hero" (Released in 2014), Sayu describes her brother as a "light that's always burning bright". While ironic in the musical context, if one has seen the ending of the 2015 live-action drama, it's far worse. How does Light meet his end? Burning to death in a warehouse.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Light's Villain Song "Hurricane" shares a name with a song from another popular musical that came out a year after this one.
• Ho Yay: L and Light exchange some stunningly suggestive dialogue during their tennis match. The Japanese versions stands out especially, "Our bodies, and anything and everything, will be tied into one, This heart, as it is, is you."
• Magnificent Bastard: L Lawliet, despite having less resources and allies than the source material, is no less of a Worthy Opponent for Light Yagami. Introduced when he tricks Kira into revealing his location by using a body double, L proclaims that he will find and capture Kira no matter the cost. After quickly realizing that Light and Kira are one and the same, L introduces himself to his enemy to mentally shake him, manipulating him at any opportunity he has to gain more evidence of his guilt, evidence that eventually convinces even Light's own father. When Light attempts to use Misa to learn his name, L reveals that he had already deduced her identity as the second Kira and has her arrested, carting her away to a dark cell to isolate her and prevent her from aiding Light. Although he's ultimately beaten by Light and Rem, L remains calm, boldly telling Light that he still hasn't won before he dies.
• Memetic Mutation: Thanks to "Hurricane" sharing a title with a song from Hamilton, jokes about Light trying to "write his way out" are easy to come by.
• Narm: In the London concert, Misa is wheeled onto the stage strapped to a dolly, which is meant to represent the torture device for her interrogation. This simple prop can be forgiven since it's a smaller-scale production, but it could still illicit some chuckles from the audience.
• Rooting for the Empire: Thanks to the attractiveness of the actors and the awesomeness of "Where is the Justice?" and "Hurricane", many fans of the musical would rather have seen Light emerge victorious and conquer the world, with many even believing he would be a good ruler.
• Signature Song: "Hurricane" and "Playing His Game".
• Suspiciously Similar Song: Some have already been pointing out how similar Kira is to the title song for Rio, especially the chorus—"Kira" and "Rio" are said identically in the respective songs. Several have also commented on the similarity of the opening instrumental to "Poor Unfortunate Souls".
  • "Mortals and Fools" sounds similar to "Deliver Us" from The Prince of Egypt
  • "Stalemate" shares part of its melody with "This Is The End" from Xcalibur - another musical composed by Frank Wildhorn (who has been noted in the past to reuse similar or identical melodies in different shows)
• Tearjerker: Can be located here.

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