Despera manga reunites Lain creators for stunning 2027 debut
Chiaki J. Konaka and Yoshitoshi ABe, the writer and character designer behind the 1998 cult anime Serial Experiments Lain, are finally bringing their long-delayed project Despera to readers. The Despera manga was announced Sept. 26 at Japan Weekend Madrid and is set to launch in 2027, CBR reported.
Despera’s lead, a girl named Ain, looks a lot like Lain Iwakura. Konaka, however, has drawn a firm line between the two. “This has no relation to Serial Experiments Lain,” he said in the announcement, as quoted by CBR.
The Despera manga heads to Taisho-era Tokyo
The story takes place in Tokyo in the 1920s, and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 plays a key role in the plot. Ain is a technical prodigy who builds scientific devices even though she has no formal engineering training.
According to CBR, the Despera manga works as a prequel to the story planned for a Despera anime. Konaka has also said it will “differ from the 2007 version in story and setting,” a reference to an earlier light novel set in the same world.
An anime idea that has waited nearly 2 decades
ABe first revealed Despera at Sakura-Con in April 2009, with Konaka supervising scripts and Lain director Ryutaro Nakamura set to direct, Anime News Network reported at the time.
Nakamura died in 2013, and the project stalled. ABe said in 2015 that a new director had signed on, but progress stayed slow. In 2018, Konaka told fans the hurdle was not just funding but upheaval in Japan’s animation business, Otaku USA Magazine noted.
For now, the Despera manga has no announced publisher or exact release date, and CBR’s report names neither.
Lain’s busy fall in Tokyo and on store shelves
The news lands during a lively stretch for the original series. Ikebukuro HUMAX Cinemas in Tokyo screened all 13 episodes Sept. 2-9, an event tied to fashion brand SEVESKIG’s Lain collaboration and promoted with a newly drawn key visual by ABe, Have a Good Holiday reported.
The Despera manga is not the only 2027 item for Lain fans. Collectors have something to watch for, too. Good Smile Company’s U.S. arm is bringing back its large Pop Up Parade figure of Lain Iwakura, CBR said. The figure ships next year, and preorders are already open.
Serial Experiments Lain won an Excellence Prize at the 1998 Japan Media Arts Festival and still turns up on lists like our roundup of disturbing anime that mess with your head. For more announcements like this one, follow our anime and manga news and books and comics coverage.