The Simpsonsis going all-out for one of its segments for its famous “Treehouse of Horror” this year. The series will feature animation done in the style ofDeath Note,and animated by the same studio that did the work on the beloved anime (Korean studio DR Movie). The segment, as a whole, will be a parody of the anime.
The Simpsonsis well known for its horror parodies by this point. The show has run for over thirty years by this point, and its"Treehouse of Horror" segments have been running since its second season, and used to feature legitimately scary premises. By now, however, the show has shifted more towards parodying horror than crafting original tales to chill the bones. Just last week, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Not It” was a full-length Halloween episode that parodied Stephen King’sIt,particularly the 2017 adaptation and its 2019 sequel.
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According toKotaku, the first images from the segment, titled “Death Tome, reveal a faithful recreation ofDeath Note’s look. Lisa will apparently play the role of Light Yagami in the parody, which also apparently features Bart as the shinigami Ryuk. The Simpsons themselves all appear with more realistic appearances; Lisa’s hairline is visible, Marge’s hairstyle is altered to be more of a bun-style, and the Simpsons all have realistic skin tones. Eagle-eyed fans can also spot Disco Stu in the background of one shot.
A clip from the segment was also reposted in the Kotaku report. Theclip frames Lisaas a misanthrope who believes humanity deserves to go extinct. As she reflects on this, the Death Tome falls from the sky; reading it, she discovers whoever’s name she writes in the tome will die. She dismisses it as a prank as the clip ends. The clip also features plenty of the series' characteristic puns and wordplay; background details reveal stores like “It’s a Wonderful Knife”, “I Can’t Believe It’s a Law Firm”, and an ad for “Gender Reveal Napalm”.
The clip and art were received warmly. Many were surprised to seeThe Simpsonsin such high form - for a long-running show, there has been a general consensus that the show long ago passed its heyday. Some just feel likethere’s a magical combination missing from modernSimpsonsepisodes.
This segment feels like a really promising look at Sunday’s episode. The episode will also feature “Simpsonsworld”, a parody ofWestworldin which the Simpsons realize they’re in a television show, and “The Pookadook”, a parody ofThe Babadook.
