Death Note is being seen as one of two big Japanese anime testing the ground internationally in a potentially lucrative revenue stream for entertainment groups. The other is Naruto.
Both have been recently adapted for live performances - or 2.5-D, as its known in Japan - which might just as easily be transferred across borders, changed to suit audiences in various nations.
Both have been recently adapted for live performances - or 2.5-D, as its known in Japan - which might just as easily be transferred across borders, changed to suit audiences in various nations.
 Death Note Musical Japan |  Death Note Musical Korea |
Death Note the Musical has already been staged in South Korea, picking up there before the inaugural Japanese performance had even completed its theatrical run. Its producers - particularly HoriPro, which owns the rights to the Death Note stage-show - hope that other countries will be swift to purchase the script and score, in order to translate both for their own productions.
HoriPro deliberately hired a well-known American Broadway composer - Frank Wildhorn - so that eventual sales to the US might be smoothed. Versions of the show's keynote songs were available on-line in English before they'd even been recorded in Japanese.
HoriPro is part of the 2.5 Dimensional Musical Association - a Japanese entertainment industry conglomerate, formed in 2014 specifically to lead global exportation of anime related live events or stage adaptations.
Another founding member of the group, Nelke, has already seen its theatrical production of Naruto staged in Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Both have their eye on the West, where securing Death Note or Naruto 2.5-D deals could prove extremely profitable for the companies involved.
HoriPro deliberately hired a well-known American Broadway composer - Frank Wildhorn - so that eventual sales to the US might be smoothed. Versions of the show's keynote songs were available on-line in English before they'd even been recorded in Japanese.
HoriPro is part of the 2.5 Dimensional Musical Association - a Japanese entertainment industry conglomerate, formed in 2014 specifically to lead global exportation of anime related live events or stage adaptations.
Another founding member of the group, Nelke, has already seen its theatrical production of Naruto staged in Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Both have their eye on the West, where securing Death Note or Naruto 2.5-D deals could prove extremely profitable for the companies involved.
Poster for Naruto the Musical
Though we haven't yet been made privy to the takings from those stagings, an idea of the bottom line can be gleaned from reports that Tenimyu (also owned by Nelke) recently sold its 2 millionth ticket for a run of successful 2.5 dimensional performances in Japan alone. This in a country which doesn't promote longevity in theatrical productions, as occurs in London's West End or New York's Broadway.
Promoting interest in either of those locations could ensure riches for the companies involved for years to come.
And to ensure at least some consideration from foreign theatre-goers, Tenimyu productions offered spectacles which provided sub-titles in four different languages - English, French, Chinese and Korean - that the buzz around the show might be conveyed home on the lips of those who watched it.
In addition to the huge bank balances primed to be boosted on the global entertainment market, there's another powerful incentive for Japanese exporters - unlike anime, manga and other material formats, it's difficult for live performances to be conveyed wholesale into the homes of potential customers free of charge.
You can't download on-line a stage production like you could anime episodes, nor scantilate copies of it, as so many do with manga. For the entertainment moguls of Japan, rights to their musicals feels almost pirate proof.
Promoting interest in either of those locations could ensure riches for the companies involved for years to come.
And to ensure at least some consideration from foreign theatre-goers, Tenimyu productions offered spectacles which provided sub-titles in four different languages - English, French, Chinese and Korean - that the buzz around the show might be conveyed home on the lips of those who watched it.
In addition to the huge bank balances primed to be boosted on the global entertainment market, there's another powerful incentive for Japanese exporters - unlike anime, manga and other material formats, it's difficult for live performances to be conveyed wholesale into the homes of potential customers free of charge.
You can't download on-line a stage production like you could anime episodes, nor scantilate copies of it, as so many do with manga. For the entertainment moguls of Japan, rights to their musicals feels almost pirate proof.
