Death Note is one of the most popular anime series of all time. The show which first premiered in 2006 has become a classic that generations of anime fans have grown to love.
Recommended VideosLike any anime, newcomers to the series want the most authentic and true experience of the story and a big part of that is weeding out any filler episodes. Longrunning anime series are often plagued with filler to buff their runtime and provide content while creators work on new manga stories to be adapted.
Death Note like most anime doesn’t adapt from its manga source material perfectly, however, it is close.
All Death Note filler episodes
Fortunately, skipping out on filler episodes for Death Note is very easy as there are none.
There are only a few episodes in the entire run that can be classified as containing filler, however, they are all split between manga canon and filler so you’ll want to watch them anyways. Here is a look at the episodes which fall in this category.
What sections of Death Note are filler?
Episode 1: “Rebirth”
Technically the first episode of Death Note contains filler, however, much of the episode is still considered canon and important to the show’s plot.
During the episode, Light initially leaves the Death Note before returning to pick it up due to curiosity. This does not happen in the manga, instead, he picks it up straight away. Also, there is no montage of Light learning how to kill criminals in the manga.
It is worth noting also that the introduction to Ryuk is more detailed in the Manga than what we were provided within the series, though it is still canon.
Episode 25: “Silence”
In the Death Note season one finale fans get the ultimate payoff of the events leading up to this point as the game of chess between Kira and L reached its climax.
While this episode is integral to the show’s story, there is one big change from the manga source material that has landed Silence on the partial canon episode list.
When finally being beaten and collapsing to his death L stares at Light without saying a word before dying. In the manga, this scene sees L let out one last whisper before his death acknowledging that Light had been Kira.
Episode 26: “Renewal”
Episode 26 includes many scenes that retell the events from the first 25 episodes of the series and as one would expect, these were not a part of the manga chapter.
The episode gets to its canonical portion once we jump forward in time to meet L’s successors Near and Mello.
Episode 37: “New World”
Death Note’s final episode strays the furthest from the manga be it only with slight changes, but as such is it considered a mixed filler and canon episode. The biggest changes are made to the fates of Light and Misa.
Light in the anime is shot and killed, however, in the manga, he begs Ryuk to help him kill Near and Matsuda but is ultimately betrayed as the Shinigami writes his name inside the notebook. Ryuk tells Light that he decided to take things into his own hands so that Light would not rot in prison.
The other big change is in Misa’s fate. In the show, she is alive and well at the end of the series while in the manga source material she dies by committing suicide.
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