The Simpsons' Emmy Award-winning Death Note Parody Episode

The winners of the 2023 Creative Arts Emmy Awards were announced on Sunday, January 7, 2024. An episode of The Simpsons, featuring a parody of Death Note, won the Outstanding Animated Program category. This episode, titled Treehouse of Horror XXXIII, has been a seasonal tradition for the series since its second season. The series has now won the category a total of 12 times since the 1990 award season, including this latest victory.

The Simpsons' latest Treehouse of Horror episode featuring Death Note parody wins an Emmy

In the most recent Treehouse of Horror episode, the Death Note parody was only a small part, but it was considered one of the highlights by the audience.

The Simpsons put a hilarious spin on Death Note in the 33rd Treehouse of Horror episode, with Lisa Simpson taking on the role of Light Yagami. Instead of the Death Note, she stumbles upon a mysterious book called the Death Tome, complete with its own set of rules and instructions on how to use it.

While the parody does not stick closely to the original anime's story, Lisa gains her own shinigami named Steve Johnson and faces off against L, portrayed by her brother Bart. The decision to cast Bart as L was influenced by Bart's graffiti-tagging alter-ego, El Barto, whose signature can be seen throughout the fictional town of Springfield in various other episodes of the series. The parody section of Treehouse of Horror XXXIII was animated by DR Movie, the South Korean studio that assisted Madhouse in producing the original anime series. This isn't the first time The Simpsons has spoofed anime, having previously parodied Attack on Titan, Bleach, Naruto, Spirited Away, and Pokémon in a 2014 episode of Treehouse of Horror.

The Death Note anime series was an adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's original manga. It first aired in 2006 and ended in 2007 after 37 episodes. Netflix is currently working on a new live-action series as a part of the franchise.

Ohba and Obata's manga, first published from 2003 to 2006 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, comprised 108 chapters and 12 compilation book volumes. Stay updated on all anime, manga, film, and live-action news throughout 2024.

Editor's P/S

As a passionate fan of both The Simpsons and Death Note, I was thrilled to hear about the Treehouse of Horror episode that parodied the iconic anime series. The Simpsons has a long history of creating hilarious and clever parodies of popular culture, and this episode was no exception. The writers did an excellent job of capturing the essence of Death Note while adding their own unique comedic spin.

The casting of Lisa Simpson as Light Yagami and Bart Simpson as L was inspired, and the voice actors perfectly captured the characters' personalities. The animation was also top-notch, with DR Movie doing an incredible job of recreating the look and feel of the original anime. Overall, this episode was a true delight for fans of both The Simpsons and Death Note, and I can't wait to see what other parodies the show comes up with in the future.