Despera was a planned anime series, directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura, written by Chiaki J. Konaka and featuring character designs by Yoshitoshi ABe. This is the second time all the three main creators of psychological thriller anime Serial Experiments Lain will be collaborating once again for the new project, and it is Nakamura and Konaka's third collaboration after their work on Ghost Hound. The title Despera derives from a poem of the same title by Japanese Dadaist poet Jun Tsuji. Though the title of Tsuji's poem comes from the word "despair" or "desperation", the official blog states that it can also imply the Spanish word desperado. A graphic novel serialization relating to the anime is being published in Japanese magazine Animage, beginning from its July 2009 issue.

In 2011, it was announced that the anime adaption has been put on indefinite hold, due to Nakamura having fallen ill. On June 29th, 2013 Ryūtarō Nakamura died due to pancreatic cancer.