The Simpsons revealed their latest Halloween special will be a parody of the anime series, Death Note, and released a teaser clip.
Two worlds of animation are colliding this weekend! The Simpsons will be airing their Halloween special this weekend, as part of their staple segment, Treehouse of Horror. This year will be a little different as the animated comedy series will be doing a Death Note anime parody for this year’s spooky special. A first look teaser was already dropped this week, showing off the anime art style for the iconic Springfield family: Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart.
The Simpsons’ annual Treehouse of Horror segment was known for using classic horror film and TV references for their Halloween specials, and this year has got to be pulling some of its wildest reference material yet. The title for this episode will be The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXXIII, marking the occasion of its 33rd segment special and 33 seasons of the longest-running animated series.
The teaser clip went viral and circulating the internet when it was dropped, revealing Lisa as the one who will be receiving the mysterious notebook called “Death Tome.” It is a reference to the original anime’s name of the infamous book used in the show called a “Death Note.”
Many of these kinds of references and Easter eggs are expected to be scattered throughout the episode, as the episode was animated in collaboration with the original South Korean animation studio of the Death Note series, DR Movie. The teaser clip also showed that Bart will be playing the part as the devilish shinigami, Ryuk, perfectly fitting for the “cool-your-jets” delinquent.
Other image stills of The Simpsons parody were released, which highlighted anime versions of Disco Stu and the twins, Sherri and Terri. There were also some billboard stills of iconic Springfield locations shown in the background of Lisa walking the Tokyo streets, such as Krusty Burger and Duff Beer.
The animated special will not only be parodying Death Note, but other notable media such as the modern classic film, The Babadook, and HBO’s Westworld. But, it appeared that the Death Note references will be the key takeaway from this year’s Treehouse of Horror special.
For those who are unfamiliar with Death Note, it was a cult-hit manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata that debuted in 2006. The anime series of the same name also came out the same year, and has been one of the most recognized anime shows of the modern generation for its originality and almost perfect narrative.
The main plot was centred around a Japanese high school student named Light Yagami. One day, he found a mysterious notebook called “Death Note.” Using the notebook, Light can kill anyone in the world as long as he knew the person’s name and face. Light began killing well-known criminals around the world in the name of justice, but things escalated as more authorities and people got involved.
While Death Note was known for its supernatural and thriller vibes, I am confident The Simpsons will be able to add their own little spin to it. I was never really a fan of The Simpsons growing up, but anime shows have always been up my Milhouse…I mean, wheelhouse. This was not the first time Springfield paid homage in the anime realm, as there was the momentous episode that was a tribute to Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki.
So, this could be a great episode for those who appreciate the anime, or for die-hard Simpsons fans alike. The original voice actors for the Simpsons family were evident in the teaser clip, so the authenticity will still be there. As Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War was the first new anime show picked up by Disney+, it has shown that Disney+ has been willing to invest more resources into anime-centric content.
Be sure to catch The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXXIII and its Death Note parody on Monday, October 31 on Disney+.
