The notices are in for Death Note: The Musical, the first fully staged English-language version of Frank Wildhorn's adaptation of the Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata manga, now at the Barbican Theatre until 12 September. Twelve reviews in, the critics agree on one thing above all: how it looks. Jon Bausor's set, Akhila Krishnan's video design and Jen Schriever's lighting draw praise in almost every notice, and Xander Pang, Colin Ryan and Telly Leung come out of it well. Where the critics part company is the book: several think squeezing twelve volumes of manga into two and a half hours has cost the story its psychological grip, and one national found nothing in it to like at all.
The verdict: twelve reviews so far — five four-star notices, one three-star, one two-star and one one-star, with four outlets publishing no rating at all. Among the eight that score it, the average is 3.25 out of five. Almost every critic, warm or hostile, singles out the design; the argument is over whether a twelve-volume manga can survive being compressed into two and a half hours.
What are critics saying about Death Note: The Musical?
The Guardian
"Wildly popular manga mystery is a killer night out"
Reviewer: Andrew Pulver
"Fortunately, the whole thing starts strong, with a floodlit opening scene that combines brilliantly athletic dance moves (by a supporting company that is excellent throughout) and a schoolroom debate about the ethics of justice, and just keeps going from there – with neat forced-perspective sets, flashy back projections and amusing sliding stage elements. Death Note purists might not be completely on board with the alterations, but I would challenge anyone not to have a good time with this."
WhatsOnStage
"A triumphant, fantastical manga thriller"
Reviewer: Alun Hood
"Death Note doesn’t look like any other musical we’ve seen, at least not in London. The slickly moving set pieces (designer: Jon Bausor), which include a revolve, whole rooms sliding into view, and a gigantic encircling frame descending from above for the gods to observe the flailing mortals below, in tandem with Akhila Krishnan’s video design, are one of the most strikingly successful examples of mixing up physical and virtual scenery I’ve yet encountered."
LondonTheatre.co.uk
"Frank Wildhorn's manga musical is a killer spectacle"
Reviewer: Olivia Rook
"The visuals, however, are knockout. Colin Ryan’s L most closely resembles his original manga character, with wide eyes as big as saucers, wild hair, and hunched posture, often crouching (he explains that he loses 40% of his deductive reasoning if he sits normally). He brings unsettling intensity to L from the very beginning, as Fabian Aloise’s tightly choreographed ensemble body pop in hoodies in the thrilling number “The Game Begins”, but stylistically his characterisation departs from the rest of the cast."
The Reviews Hub
"Frustrating, but still brilliant"
Reviewer: Sonny Waheed
"This is a dazzling piece of stagecraft, punchy in its score, a wonder in its design, a delight in its cast, and yet it is built on a saga simply too vast to survive the squeeze. The ruthless compression leaves the emotional heart of Light’s descent oddly muted, holding you at arm’s length at the very moment it ought to be pulling you in, and what is missing is the ache that should sit beneath all that spectacle. There is a great deal here to admire, and only that one thing to mourn. Reimagined, certainly. Reborn, not quite."
Everything Theatre
"An epic, big budget, polished production with a talented cast, lacking the psychological drama of the gripping source material"
Reviewer: Mary Pollard
"The lack of dramatic depth means Death Note never succeeds as a psychological drama, which the source material really is. The condensed plot and showtime dazzle don’t allow the characters to develop convincing conflict or interpersonal relationships so it’s hard to sympathise with or feel for them. That said, the production quality is flawless and the whole is an epic experience. It perhaps needs to make further baby steps away from the staged concert to achieve its true potential."
The Standard
"Childish manga adaptation"
Reviewer: Nick Curtis
"It’s taken 11 years for this childish musical manga adaptation to reach a full production at the Barbican – a tester for a wider commercial life - and it’s baffling that in all that time no one noticed its deficiencies in plot and score. The story of a Tokyo cop chasing a vigilante who is supernaturally killing criminals, it’s a mixture of mumbo-jumbo, crime-story cliche and anodyne teen wish-fulfilment."
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: Oli Burgin
"The pace required to cram enough plot from the original manga to be complete while also limiting it to a 2-hour stage show causes the musical in places to feel rushed, and sometimes a little confusing, so that by the final confrontation the audience may get a sense that they’ve missed something, especially since the stakes are life-and-death high. L and Light’s rivalry and Light and Misa’s relationship emotionally must take a backseat to plot detail. However it sticks a slightly-wobbly landing and ultimately satisfies, and you leave feeling like you’ve witnessed (most of) an epic, on a stage befitting a modern classic, all to the tune of some incredibly catchy songs, sung by a cast that knows they’re pitch-perfect."
BroadwayWorld
Reviewer: Mica Blackwell
"Putting aside the plot's occasional disjointedness, there is much to enjoy in Death Note. Diehard fans will love seeing the world brought to life with its stunning visuals and all-around formidable cast, while newcomers will quickly give themselves over to the thrilling melodrama. If there’s one thing Death Note won’t do this summer, it’s leave you dying of boredom."
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Tom Wicker, four stars, "magnetic"), The Times ("manga, murder and high camp"), The Telegraph (Tim Robey, one star, "This dire manga musical made me feel sorry for the performers") and the Financial Times, whose reviews sit behind paywalls.
For more of what the critics have been saying this summer, our roundups for As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe, Abigail's Party at the Harold Pinter Theatre and How the Other Half Loves at the Old Vic gather the notices for three more of the season's openings.
Death Note: The Musical is booking at the Barbican Theatre until 12 September 2026.
