Who is on your list?
Dominic Thomas
Post written: Aug 2026 • Published: Aug 2026
3 min read
Who is on your list?
I recently went to see a new(ish) musical of the Japanese manga story “Death Note” at the Barbican, Directed by Stephen Whitson. It’s an imaginative story and a decent new musical, with a high level of energy and a fairly incredible set and large ensemble cast.
The story was originally written by Tsugumi Obha and drawn for the anime manga series by Takeshi Obata. The premise is perhaps one of the oldest struggles that we mortals wrestle with – is there any justice? Since the dawn of time, life has been “unfair” and “unjust”. Myth, religion and story all tend to wrestle with and explain this very fundamental cry of woe in a world that frequently feels unfair. Even Jesus observes in the sermon on the mount:
“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45)
I’m not too familiar with Japanese myths or the faiths of Shinto, Buddhism or the general cultural mix, though I do find it intriguing. So quite how old the notion of other worldly gods and demons goes back is somewhat illusive. Obha introduces us to several “death demons” or Shinigami. They carry a book, into which they mercilessly play with humanity, the random writing of a name results in that persons death. Somewhat bored with his existence, one Shinigami called Ryuk, deliberately drops his book before a student with a clear sense of right and wrong called Light, who quickly learns that he can serve justice far faster than his father Soichiro, who is head of Japan’s National Police Agency. His “success” and liberal use leads to inevitable questions about the validity of his own version of “justice”.
It’s an enjoyable musical, with some good songs (music by Frank Wildhorn). I suspect that most of the audience quickly wonder whose name they might write down in the book, to be very candid, my list is very long and easy to produce, an evident flaw in my own character, which is probably the point.
We all want the world to be considerably better and much fairer, each day we are confronted with challenges to our sense of fairness, often in the small details, but invariably in big “news” stories of the day. However much you try, its inescapable, much like death. World culture is full of figures representing death, some are rather more palatable than others. Hades to Azreal. I was quite fond of “Death” in the Sandman, another “graphic novel”. Death was warm, welcoming, caring, compassionate and rather beautiful (played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste in the 2022 television series “The Sandman”).
Anyway, justice, as we know is often in short supply, illusive. As consumers we have the opportunity to exercise a moderate amount of consumer power against companies whose actions and behaviours we oppose. At a political level, we get to vote, as consumers we get to spend (or withhold spending) and perhaps vote at AGMs as many protestors attempt to do. Often the challenge feels enormous, perhaps overwhelming, but we are reminded from history that even small acts of resistance can bring about significant change.
Sadly I do not possess the ability to grant extended life and cure life threatening or life taking conditions. None of us escape death, as ever we are reminded and called to live well, on our own terms and to live justly, fairly – whatever that may mean for you. Your financial plan is best when designed around your values, so be aware that we expect this to be an ongoing discussion between us, without judgement about your views on life and death and the meaning ascribed to them. We can also discuss how your views on social issues like climate, sustainability, governance etc can be applied to your investments. Nothing will be “perfect” because you and I are not, neither is the world.
Here is the trailer for Death Note the Musical showing at The Barbican until 12 September 2026. I think it fair to say, audiences would typically be younger than “normal” which is a good thing to encourage people into theatres.
I’m sorry, but I simply cannot resist sharing this rather beautiful clip from the Netflix series “The Sandman”. Here are Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Death) and Tom Sturridge (Dream).
The Sandman (2022-2025), Created by David Goyer, Neil Gaiman and Allan Heinberg. Starring Tom Sturrige. Produced by Netflix
Your values for your financial plan. It’s your life.
References:
Death Note The Musical: https://deathnotethemusical.com/
Tickets at the Barbican: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2026/event/death-note-the-musical
The Sandman: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751634/
What we do: https://www.solomonsifa.co.uk/what-we-do/
