Original script supervisor for series such as Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, and Hellsing, Chiaki J. Konaka, posted an update on Yoshitoshi ABe's (Serial Experiments Lain character creator and character designer) upcoming animation project, Despera. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has been suspended for one year and several months. Konaka added that the production financing scheme was 80% complete and that the core staff had worked hard until last year. He also mentioned that he does not plan to give an official announcement until 2022, with the restart of the project, and confirmed that the staff is still working on it, asking fans for patience.
In a separate announcement, Amsterdam-based animation studios Studio [notes.] Revealed that Konaka and ABe will be working on creating additional content for the horror role-playing video game, Kowloon’s Curse. The company launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for this project, with Konaka writing the story and ABe handling the character design.
Finally, the Despera animation project was put on hiatus after the death of director Ryutaro Nakamura in 2013. Subsequently, ABe mentioned in October 2014 that the project would continue its production with a new director.
Despera Synopsis
The title is derived from a poem by the Dada poet Jun Tsuji (1884-1944). The story centers on Ain, a 14-year-old girl who builds devices despite the lack of the necessary scientific basis for them. The science fiction story is set in the Taisho Era of Japan in 1922, a year before the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 in the Tokyo area.
Sources: Chiaki J. Konaka's Twitter account, press release
