<p>As a few people said in the comments, it appears to be artistic license.</p>

<p>I'll mention first that, like <a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/users/99/deidara-senpai">@Deidara-senpai</a> pointed out, there are some <a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/2643/274">general reasons</a> why an anime can differ from the manga. However, in the case of <em>Death Note</em>, there appear to be some unique specifics to their changes as well.</p>

<p>The anime director of <em>Death Note</em> partook in an interview in November 2007 for an issue of <em>Newtype USA</em>. (I don't have a link to an online version of this, I'm afraid.) He speaks a bit on why he made the creative decisions he did. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note#Anime_adaptation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">From Wikipedia</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Tetsuro Araki, the director, said that he wished to convey aspects that "made the series interesting" instead of simply "focusing on morals or the concept of justice." Toshiki Inoue, the series organizer, agreed with Araki and added that, in anime adaptations, there is a lot of importance in highlighting the aspects that are "interesting in the original."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>They go on to speak about a few specifics, such as Light's presence in the anime versus in the manga, but in general they also speak about the logistics of converting the manga into an anime, which is a challenge itself:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Inoue noted that, to best incorporate the manga's plot into the anime, he "tweak[ed] the chronology a bit" and incorporated flashbacks that appear after the openings of the episodes; he said this revealed the desired tensions. Araki said that, because in an anime the viewer cannot "turn back pages" in the manner that a manga reader can, the anime staff ensured that the show clarified details. Inoue added that the staff did not want to get involved with every single detail, so the staff selected elements to emphasize. Due to the complexity of the original manga, he described the process as "definitely delicate and a great challenge." Inoue admitted that he placed more instructions and notes in the script than usual. Araki added that because of the importance of otherwise trivial details, the notes became crucial to the development of the series.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>As you can see, the director and organizer of the series seemed to agree that a slightly different feel was needed in the anime, so artistic license was taken. Unfortunately, they don't go into huge detail over the specific changes (except for Light's own characteristics), and particularly not over the ending. I can only surmise that it was altered to achieve the feel they were generally looking for in the anime.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-04T22:12:44.617Z
2013-03-04T22:12:44.617Z
2017-04-13T12:54:49.117Z
Cattua
<p>Even though I haven't read the end of the manga very carefully, I did notice that a lot of the details were changed, or even omitted completely, in the end of the anime. </p>

<p>I don't understand why the end was changed in the anime. What is the reason behind the rather drastic differences?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-04T03:13:19.973Z
@HashiramaSenju Do you mean why the endings differ or why certain events play out differently between the anime and manga?
кяαzєя
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-04T12:02:09.157Z
@Krazer Both I guess...
Hashirama Senju
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-28T08:38:20.873Z
Related: [Why do many anime not follow the manga? Why are they usually made shorter?](http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/2643/99)
Masked Man
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-13T18:28:48.943Z
This is unanswerable without talking to the studio.  I believe the term is, "Artist's license".
fbueckert
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-14T09:36:37.553Z
The list of answers may include "artist's license", "corporate meddling" (!!!), "law reasons" (say, keeping given rating of the show, or licensing issues), "medium" (things that work on paper may be nontransferable into animation etc), "fixing continuity" (if the general consensus is the original ending was horrible), a few others, and in the end, "We Will Never Know."  In this particular case I suspect "Corporate Meddling" much more than just "Artistic License" but since I have no solid proofs, this goes as a comment, not as an answer.
SF.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-28T22:57:46.047Z
the title is a spoiler?
BCLC
<death-note>
Why is the ending of Death Note in the anime so different from the manga?
# Why is the ending of Death Note in the anime so different from the manga?
Posted by: username_0 on 2012-12-13
Even though I haven't read the end of the manga very carefully, I did notice that a lot of the details were changed, or even omitted completely, in the end of the anime.

I don't understand why the end was changed in the anime. What is the reason behind the rather drastic differences?
**Tags:** death-note
> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: This is unanswerable without talking to the studio.  I believe the term is, "Artist's license".  
> **username_4**: The list of answers may include "artist's license", "corporate meddling" (!!!), "law reasons" (say, keeping given rating of the show, or licensing issues), "medium" (things that work on paper may be nontransferable into animation etc), "fixing continuity" (if the general consensus is the original ending was horrible), a few others, and in the end, "We Will Never Know."  In this particular case I suspect "Corporate Meddling" much more than just "Artistic License" but since I have no solid proofs, this goes as a comment, not as an answer.  
> **username_1**: @HashiramaSenju Do you mean why the endings differ or why certain events play out differently between the anime and manga?  
> **username_0**: @Krazer Both I guess...  
> **username_2**: Related: [Why do many anime not follow the manga? Why are they usually made shorter?](http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/2643/99)  
> **username_5**: the title is a spoiler?  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_6 on 2013-03-04. Score: 8
As a few people said in the comments, it appears to be artistic license.

I'll mention first that, like [@Deidara-senpai](https://anime.stackexchange.com/users/99/deidara-senpai) pointed out, there are some [general reasons](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/2643/274) why an anime can differ from the manga. However, in the case of *Death Note*, there appear to be some unique specifics to their changes as well.

The anime director of *Death Note* partook in an interview in November 2007 for an issue of *Newtype USA*. (I don't have a link to an online version of this, I'm afraid.) He speaks a bit on why he made the creative decisions he did. [From Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note#Anime_adaptation):

> Tetsuro Araki, the director, said that he wished to convey aspects that "made the series interesting" instead of simply "focusing on morals or the concept of justice." Toshiki Inoue, the series organizer, agreed with Araki and added that, in anime adaptations, there is a lot of importance in highlighting the aspects that are "interesting in the original."

They go on to speak about a few specifics, such as Light's presence in the anime versus in the manga, but in general they also speak about the logistics of converting the manga into an anime, which is a challenge itself:

> Inoue noted that, to best incorporate the manga's plot into the anime, he "tweak[ed] the chronology a bit" and incorporated flashbacks that appear after the openings of the episodes; he said this revealed the desired tensions. Araki said that, because in an anime the viewer cannot "turn back pages" in the manner that a manga reader can, the anime staff ensured that the show clarified details. Inoue added that the staff did not want to get involved with every single detail, so the staff selected elements to emphasize. Due to the complexity of the original manga, he described the process as "definitely delicate and a great challenge." Inoue admitted that he placed more instructions and notes in the script than usual. Araki added that because of the importance of otherwise trivial details, the notes became crucial to the development of the series.

As you can see, the director and organizer of the series seemed to agree that a slightly different feel was needed in the anime, so artistic license was taken. Unfortunately, they don't go into huge detail over the specific changes (except for Light's own characteristics), and particularly not over the ending. I can only surmise that it was altered to achieve the feel they were generally looking for in the anime.
---
