‘Whatever notes we had were pretty minor’: Consulting producer of ‘The Simpsons’ on that ‘Death Note’ ‘Treehouse of Horror’ special

The Simpsons have been on the air since 1989, and they’ve covered a lot of ground over the last 34 years. One of the great things about the show is that we get a new “Treehouse of Horror” episode every year. The show’s creators recently broke down the legendary “anime” episode.

The 34th “Treehouse” episode took Westworld, The Babadook, and Death Note, making them Simpsons-like versions called Simpsonworld, the Pookadook, and Death Tome.

“Death Tome” was exceptional because it was styled just like an anime. In it, Lisa finds a book that lets her kill people by writing their names and deaths in it. Animation Director Rob Oliver talked about how that came about.

“I was extremely nervous. People had wanted it for so long that it could’ve easily been a swing and a miss.” Oliver said they hired the animation studio that worked on the original Death Note to get that authentic anime look.

That studio did “all the animation, all the design for that story.” According to consulting producer David Silverman, any notes they got from the studio were extremely minor.

“We were all very excited to do something like this,” Silverman said. “It was really a smart idea, I think, to engage a studio in Korea that actually worked on the very thing we were parodying.”

Oliver said he immensely enjoyed “seeing all the characters designed in anime.” Even Jailbird and Mr. Burns got the anime treatment. There are even some “blink and you miss it” moments like The Leftorium, Ned Flanders, the Captain (Horatio McCallister), and more. Silverman said he couldn’t get enough of it.

“I loved it. I thought they were beautiful, and it was so perfect, like, ‘yeah, that’s how I’d want to see them as animated characters.'”

Oliver revealed that Hank Azaria (who voices Chief Wiggum, Moe, and others) voiced the Shinigami monster, who’s hilariously named Steve in the episode. Despite his fears of a flop, Oliver said, “I think it really, really worked on so many levels. It really rang true to the original.”

You can check out the whole exchange below.

The Simpsons is currently streaming on Disney Plus for those interested.