Neon Television, Production Bureau, Television Department.
"Department Head, the ratings for episode 24 of the Death Note animation are out. They've increased again compared to the previous episodes."
"Really? That's quite impressive."
"More than impressive. It seems to have set the highest ratings for a late-night animation in nearly two years."
"So strong! What a shame. If we'd known this animation would be so successful, we should have found a way to air it on our station earlier."
"Who could have predicted such a dark horse would emerge? But the series is ending in two more episodes. Didn't you mention it might be suitable for a live-action drama adaptation? Even though we don't know the plot of the final two episodes yet, I think it's time to start discussing a drama adaptation with them. We don't want another station to snatch it up."
"Good point. All the rights to this animation are with L.S Production, aren't they? Contact them and see what their terms are."
"Understood."
A film production company.
"This animation is really good. At first, I thought it was a battle between Death Note and Death Note, or Death Note and superpowers. But beyond the Death Note and the Shinigami, it's all serious deduction."
"The Shinigami are the only real challenge. Otherwise, it's perfectly suited for a live-action adaptation. The key is its immense popularity right now. If we can make it into a movie, as long as we don't mess up the adaptation, box office success should be guaranteed."
"Have they sold the live-action rights yet?"
"I don't know, haven't heard anything."
"Then why don't we ask? The animation hasn't even finished yet. If we try to negotiate now, there might be less competition."
"Good idea, I'll have someone look into it."
Since it was an original animation, the plot had been somewhat unclear at first. Even though Death Note was perfectly suited for adaptation into a live-action drama or film, major television networks and film companies had remained cautious, preferring to wait and see.
Now that the animation had reached its twenty-fourth episode, all the earlier foreshadowing suddenly came to fruition, leaving only two episodes remaining. With the plot nearly resolved and the animation's popularity soaring, it was natural for someone to start considering a live-action adaptation.
Of course, for the average viewer, the animation itself remained the primary focus.
Online, Death Note fans were abuzz with discussion:
"That twenty-fourth episode of Death Note was absolutely incredible—a true masterpiece!"
"Ryuk writing fake rules in the Death Note? I never saw that coming!"
"Only two episodes left! I can't wait to see how it ends—so excited!"
"Given L's suspicious nature, he probably wouldn't have trusted Ryuk's words 100%, even if they came from a Shinigami, right? I think he just had no other choice but to temporarily let Light and Misa go."
"I agree. He'll probably try to test the rules on someone, to see if the Death Note holder really dies if they don't kill within 13 days."
"Exactly! If they just test it, they'll know those two rules are fake. How could Light have overlooked such a crucial point? It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe he overestimated L's faith in the gods. But he probably also didn't expect Misa to forget L's real name. If she hadn't, he could have just killed L and easily fooled everyone else—no one would have doubted the Shinigami's words."
Offline, students at many schools spent their breaks discussing the plot of the Death Note animation.
Discussions about the anime could also be overheard occasionally on the subway and along the streets.
People in the animation industry and at specialized animation schools engaged in even more heated debates. Some of Lin Zhiyan's acquaintances even called him specifically to ask what the plot of the final two episodes would be.
Unfortunately, both Lin Zhiyan and the L.S Production team kept their lips sealed. No one was willing to reveal anything, insisting that viewers should simply wait for the final two episodes to air on television.
The Big Three Anime Magazines, being monthly publications with fixed release dates on the 10th of each month, had nothing to say, as the twenty-fourth episode of Death Note aired on March 14th.
However, other animation-related publications didn't miss out on the natural buzz, publishing articles, reviews, and enthusiastic endorsements of the Death Note animation.
Of course, some publications took the opposite approach, not praising but criticizing the anime. They acknowledged the strength of the mid-to-late-stage plot but slammed the beginning, particularly the second episode, arguing that it was too forced for the Male Lead to be instantly provoked by L.
Some publications expressed concern about the final two episodes of the animation, worried about whether it could wrap up perfectly.
Whether the discussion was praise or criticism, it all translated to traffic—a testament to Death Note's immense popularity.
At this point, Lin Zhiyan and his L.S Production had already completed the final two episodes. However, as planned, each of the last two DVD volumes would include a short bonus episode. These still needed to be produced.
Moreover, Lin Zhiyan felt it was necessary to further refine L's character design and plan a side story detailing his past, to be included in the final DVD volume. After all, that volume would have one fewer episode than the previous eight.
The completion of Death Note didn't mean their company would stop producing animation. On the contrary, thanks to its massive success, they needed to strike while the iron was hot and quickly launch their next project. While audiences and media debated the plot of the twenty-fourth episode and speculated about the final two episodes, Lin Zhiyan was already planning their new animation.
He had neither the time nor the inclination to pay attention to what audiences or media were saying. After all, the overall reception would be positive anyway.
The only thing Lin Zhiyan was focused on was the sales of [ Death Note ] merchandise and DVDs.
Several months had passed, and the animation-exclusive Death Note replicas continued to sell well. While no other merchandise had particularly outstanding sales, the variety of items steadily increased over time.
Each new item added a small licensing fee, and the more variety there was, the more money he made.
As for the DVDs, the third volume had already been released, and the fourth was scheduled to come out in late March, just before the final episode of the animation aired.
The first volume sold 13,000 copies in its first week, and over the next two months, it gradually sold more. By early March, sales had risen to over 18,000, nearing 19,000.
Sales had been slowing down, but after the broadcast of the 24th episode, the animation's popularity surged, driving DVD sales up. In just one week, over a thousand copies were sold, pushing total sales past 20,000.
While the cumulative sales of the second and third volumes hadn't yet reached 20,000, they were still selling well, and breaking that mark was only a matter of time.
At this rate, the [ Death Note ] DVDs in this timeline would undoubtedly achieve average sales of 20,000 per volume.
Whether they could reach 25,000 would depend on the impact of the final two episodes.
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