Playing His Game

"Playing His Game" is a song in Death Note: The Musical.

Overview
While L and Light Yagami play their tennis match at Todai university, they sing this song about defeating each other.

Misa Amane runs into them after their match, but she's soon chased away by fans. After L leaves, Light tries to call Misa to get L's name. The song is briefly reprised as Light makes the phone call.

The studio recording versions for both the English demo and the Korean music video feature vocals for only L and Light. The productions include an ensemble of university students calling out the score and cheering, as well as sound effects for the tennis ball.

English version
The song was originally written in English. The English demo was recorded in December 2014 with Jeremy Jordan performing as Light and Jarrod Spector performing as L. The demo track was released online in 2015 by HoriPro as part of the advertisement for the Musical's Tokyo production. Below are the lyrics for the original English version.

English lyrics
[Light] Time to rethink And begin With a brand new game plan Margin for error is slim

[L] He's on the brink He could win I can't use the same plan Time to start thinking like him

[Light] What would I do if I got inside his head? [L] Thought like him instead? [Light] Could it be [L] Possibly [Light & L] I'll catch him when

[Light & L] I look through his eyes See what he sees And then improvise Until I can learn what puts him at ease

I'll walk in his shoes As long as it takes 'Til deep in my bones I'm sure he is One and the same as the me who is playing his game

[Light] What does he do Late at night When the world is sleeping? Does he see pixels, not dreams?

[L] Hard to be true Always right All that promise keeping Harder I'm sure than it seems

[Light] How would it be if I saw the world like him? [L] Like a synonym? [Light] Bit by bit [L] Wit by wit [Light & L] Catch him I win

[Light & L] I'll mimic his will And learn his routines And feel the same thrill Whenever my end is served by his means

I'll walk in his shoes As long as it takes 'Til deep in my bones I'm sure he is One and the same as the me who is playing his game

[L] Steady I must be ever so careful Don't move until you are ready He will be careful too

[Light] Know it Always stay calm and collected Don't lose your cool or you'll blow it Then he will unravel you

[Light & L] Get into his head And under his skin The things that he said The food that he likes, the places he's been

I'll look through his eyes And see what he sees 'Til I see the forest, not just the trees

I'll mimic his will And learn his routines And feel the same thrill and know what it means

I'll walk in his shoes As long as it takes 'Til deep in my bones I'm sure I am Winning my game while I'm saying I'm playing his game

Japanese version
The Japanese version of the song is titled "Yatsu no Naka he" (ヤツの中へ), which translates as "Into Him" or "Inside of Him".

Two versions of the song from the 2015 Tokyo production were released on the Death Note: The Musical original soundtracks. One version has Kenji Urai performing as Light, the other version Hayato Kakizawa performing as Light, and both versions have Teppei Koike performing as L.

Japanese lyrics
違うもっと深く踏み込んでこい　さあ何が欲しい キラが二人組めば殺せるんだろ　さあ顔を見れば

どこまで見抜いているんだ 見せてみろ 焦り　怒り さらけ出せ

打ち返すその力　この腕に伝わる膨れ上がる 肉体も何もかも　一つに繋がれて この心はそのままお前だ

もうミサの事は勘付いてるか　さあ全て吐けよ そうキラの武器は死神なんだろ さあボロを出せよ

攻める様に見せかけて　守ってる わかる　見える その心

ついてこいどこまでも燃え上がれひとつの炎になれ 他の事どうでもいい、お前しか見えない まるで今世界に二人だ

待て自分取り戻せあり得ないこれは私じゃない 何故奴はこんなにも僕を駆り立てる本気にさせる

受け止めて打ち返す　気がつけばお前は意識の中 皮膚の下潜り込み　同じ目で物を見る 混ざり合い絡み合い叫びだした意識が 求めてる狂おしくお前だけを強く 止めてやるこの手で　息の根を

Reprise Japanese lyrics
見たはずだ　ミサの目が　奴の名を　ついに勝利が

Korean version
In the 2015 Seoul production, Kim Junsu performed as L and Hong Kwang-Ho performed as Light, but an official recording was not released.

In 2016, for the new 2017 Seoul production, a music video of the song was released featuring Kim Junsu performing as L and Han Ji-Sang performing as Light.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese production, L uses a blue tennis racket and Light uses a red one. This corresponds with the colors used to show the characters' inner thoughts in the Death Note anime series.