When you think of musicals, many Western titles will likely come to mind. Broadway is the home to plenty of stage hits, like Wicked or Hamilton. But it’s not just the West that is home to a dedicated musical fanbase.
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There are many original musicals that the East has produced, but one popular genre in Japan has taken its inspiration straight from their TVs. 2.5d musicals, better known as anime musicals, are modern Japanese musical theater productions based on popular anime, manga, or video games from the region. Here are just some of the best anime stage adaptations that have been produced.
10
Attack On Titan
- Production Run: January 2023 – Present
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 2
Attack On Titan, a monster-action manga about humanity fighting for survival against gigantic titans which threaten them, received worldwide acclaim for its original story and world building. The anime has three seasons, a live-action movie adaption, and a recap movie. However, the series also took over the stage with its musical, Attack On Titan: The Musical.
With a cast of 35 actors, the stage play retells the story of the anime’s first season through state-of-the-art projections, puppets, and its fly system alongside cast performances. The stage play is all in Japanese but when it premiered in New York for the first time in 2024, English subtitles were added for American audiences to enjoy the show.
9
Haikyuu!!
- Production Run: July 2015 – Present
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 10
Haikyuu!! is a beloved sports manga and anime focused on Shoyo Hinata’s journey joining the famous Karasuno High School volleyball team. It follows his emotional development with the team, as well as his rivalry with Tobio Kageyama. Following the popularity of the anime, a stage play was adapted focusing on the plot from the beginning of the series, opening with Hinata’s match against Kageyama in junior high.
Other productions of the play have followed various plotlines from the anime, including the Interhigh quarter finals, a summer training camp arc, and various other Nationals that the cast compete in.
8
Death Note: The Musical
- Production Run: April 2015 – Present
- Languages: Japanese, Korean, Chinese Subtitles, Russian, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 6
Death Note changed the world of manga and anime with its supernatural story of how high schooler Light Yagami acts as a god with his Death Note, a book that compels people to end their lives after their name is written down.
This stage adaptation actually has some Broadway legends tied to it. Frank Wildhorn, an American composer, wrote the music while Ivan Menchell, a popular producer and writer, wrote the book for this musical.
Popular characters are in the show, like L and Ryuk. While the show originally premiered in Japan, it has since gained a new following after its premieres in the U.K., Korea, Moscow, and is rumored to have a limited run in New York City.
7
Your Lie In April
- Production Run: May 2022 – Present
- Languages: Japanese, Korean, English
- Number Of Productions: 3
Your Lie In April is a beautiful story of Kousei Arima, a prodigious pianist who suddenly loses the ability to play after a death. But after meeting a violinist named Kaori Miyazono, the two ultimately go on an emotional journey of love and discover the power of music.
The anime finally got a stage adaption in May 2022 in Tokyo, later receiving West End and Korean productions in 2024. Wildhorn came back to compose the songs, and YouTube personality MatPat co-produced the musical.
It gained traction after sharing some of its songs, like One Hundred Thousand Million Stars. Unlike the other productions, this show was fully translated to English when it premiered overseas.
6
The Prince Of Tennis
- Production Run: 2003 – 2020
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 37
In The Prince Of Tennis, Ryoma Echizen, a young tennis prodigy who enrolls at Seishun Academy, quickly establishes himself as a key player and pushes the team to its full potential.
More commonly known as TeniMyu, these stage play adaptations of the popular anime are some of the longest running. There are three “seasons” for the stage plays.
The first season focused on various matches that the cast had to compete in, ending in 2010 with a total of 22 different shows. The second season premiered in 2011 with a brand-new cast and storyline, ending in 2014 with 11 shows. Finally, the third season premiered in 2015 with another new cast and storyline, concluding in 2020. Each season ends with the characters essentially graduating from school.
5
Bungo Stray Dogs
- Production Run: December 2017 – June 2023
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 8
If you loved Bungo Stray Dogs, you’re going to love the stage adaptations. They’re pretty faithful to the material, following the story of Atsushi Nakajima, an orphan who discovers he has supernatural powers after rescuing Osamu Dazai, a detective from the Armed Detective Agency, an organization that deals with cases involving people with supernatural abilities.
These stage plays have expanded to eight different versions, all with different storylines from the manga and brand-new casts.
The first production had three different runs from December 22 to 24, 2017 at Kanagawa Arts Theater Hall, January 12 to 13, 2018 at Morinomiya Piloti Hall, and January 31 to February 4, 2018 at Tokyo AiiA 2.5 Theater. Each show has debuted in Japan.
4
Danganronpa
- Production Run: 2014 – 2018
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 5
What began as a video game slowly blossomed to a hit anime, focusing on various groups of high-school students who are forced to fight to the death by a robotic teddy bear named Monokuma. Just like the other entries on this list, Danganronpa has had multiple stage adaptations.
Each adaption focuses on the various plot lines from the different video games and anime. The 2014 and 2016 productions focused on the first game’s plot, while 2015 and 2017 focused on the second game. Finally, the 2018 production focused on the third game. The original production is pretty faithful to the source material, but just like the anime, some changes have been made to round out its three-hour run time.
3
Bleach
- Production Run: April 2015 – Present
- Languages: Japanese, Korean, Chinese Subtitles, Russian, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 6
Under the name Rock Musical Bleach, or BuriMyu, multiple shows have been produced following the manga plotline from the Soul Society arc and original storylines made to fit the stage. The first iteration of these shows premiered in 2005, following the story of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains Soul Reaper powers from Rukia Kuchiki.
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However, due to transferring her Soul Reaper powers to a human, Rukia is sent back to the Soul Society and sentenced to death. Ichigo, along with his friends, go into the enemy territory to save Rukia and fight the members of Gotei 13, the main military force in the Soul Society. Other productions of the show have focused on Rukia’s execution and other original storylines made for the stage.
2
Black Butler
- Production Run: April 2009 – 2021
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 6
In 2009, the first of these stage plays debuted in Tokyo under the name That Butler, Friendship. While Black Butler focuses on the story of how Ciel Phantomhive comes into a contract with the demon butler Sebastian, the first stage play focuses on Ciel’s preparations for a ball when three new guests appear from Japan. After an unwelcome intrusion occurs, the duo must uncover the secrets of their Japanese guests.
Each version of the play has different titles and various plots. The second version, premiering in 2008, focused on Ciel helping the Queen solve a string of murders. The other adaptations include titles like Kuroshitsuji: Lycoris that Blazes the Earth, Kuroshitsuji: Noah’s Ark Circus and Kuroshitsuji: Tango on the Campania.
1
Persona
- Production Run: January 2014 – Present
- Languages: Japanese, English Subtitles
- Number Of Productions: 12
While they first began as video games, Persona has since boomed into a successful anime and manga series. Each Persona stage adaption has multiple versions focused on each game, retelling how suddenly a protagonist’s Persona shows up, the physical manifestations of a person’s psyche and subconscious that are used for combat.
Under the name Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade, the first iteration of these adaptations premiered in 2014. Since then, twelve productions have been released focusing on various plots from different games. Persona 4 was adapted into two stage plays in 2012, called Visualive and Visualive The Evolution. Persona 4 Arena and Ultimax each received one stage play and Persona 5 currently has four stage plays.
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