#despera translation

[ain-and-lain]

Good afternoon.

Hiatus is over.

Translation of Lain's Diary resumed.

Thank you very much for your messages of condolences on 4chan and in my inbox. They were much appreciated.

The next installment of diaries will cover the first seven levels of Site B, and will terminate at Lda198. Presently, I am at Lda173. In addition, the entirety of the TaK library is completed and will be out around the same time as the next installment of the diaries.

Regarding the progress of Despera, most of the second-to-last chapter is complete, as is the first half of the second and third chapters. Thank you for your patience. I have a favor to ask of one of my followers.

I am not really that good at clean-up, unfortunately, and it would be much appreciated if somebody could wipe the pages clean.

Partial raw scans of some pages may be found here. I'll have a more complete set for whomever decides to help me. I am not going to be publicly hosting complete raws, though.

Please submit any clean pages to me and I will open discussion with you.

In addition, upon completion of Despera, I will be picking up Yoshitoshi ABe's monthly comic, Ryuushika Ryuushika （リューシカ・リューシカ）, seeing that /a/non-scanlations has dropped it. If anybody owns any of the tankobon, raws would be really great as it would save me some money, which I don't have a lot of.

It's good to be back. Above: Antlion larva capturing an ant in its mandibles after entrapping it in its sand pit nest.

-ain.

[ain-and-lain]

Despera screenplay translations.

As you may not know, included in Despera are three pages of screenplay from various parts of the story. I've translated that.

Above: INTERLUDE 1

Takeshita: So I was saying...I was asking if she could live with me.

Mistress, in a low and cold voice. Mistress: If you're that devoted to her, I can't not consider it...I suppose.

Takeshita takes out a handful of bankrolls and leaves them on the tatami mat. Money like that changes the mistress' expression. Takeshita: If this isn't enough, let me know later.

Mistress, to a girl crouching in a dark corner of the room Mistress: Ain-chan. You're going to this person's place.

The girl looks up at Takeshita anxiously. Page 46 Scene: Asakusa Juunikai, brothel halls, evening The girl walks behind Takeshita for several steps.

Above: INTERLUDE 2

Takeshita's shouts don't reach Ain. Opposite to the tank turning to face her at the squadron's vanguard, Ain breaks into a run. Takeshita: Stop! Ain!

Free from gravity's spell, Ain soars. She lands on the moving tank, looking crazy and laughing at her inescapable situation.

Takeshita: Ain...!

The tank behind the first faces Ain and points the barrels of its machine guns at her. Ain points her finger at that tank.

Takeshita, too dazzled by the brightness of the light, covers his eyes with his palms. Takeshita: That light...! It's Tesla-sensei's...!

An extraordinary photoelectric spark impulse accompanied by a thunderous roar surges out of Ain's entire body in violent torrent. The troops aboard the tanks are trapped by their hatches and open them in an attempt to escape, but they are paralyzed by the terrible ferocity of the photoelectric effect.

Above: INTERLUDE 3

Ain: (monologuing) When I become a grown woman, I think he'll talk to me more. That's right, isn't it...? (aside) But when the hell am I going to become a grown woman? ...you're my "father", aren't you?

Ain: (mono.) It's...it's time to complete you, Father, surely...so I'll set to work soon, Father.

Ain lies down and appears to be having a pleasant dream. The device she made, "Father", lacking exterior packaging, with its internal anatomy laid bare, waits for the moment it will be brought to life.

Page 23 Scene: Asakusa Park, Gourd Pond, Evening Standing before Takeshita is a young and tan-skinned woman. She is a waitress on Nantendou's second floor.

Takeshita: (shock) There's a bomb laid at the Juunikai.

That's all there is for now.

The first scene appears to be Takeshita buying Ain's freedom with his massive amounts of cash he won from predicting the stocks.

The second scene is obviously Electricity Girl vs the Tank Squadron

And the last two are rather nebulous in context at the time of writing, but Ain, similar to lain, is building a machine she has called "Father" (although the proper name of lain's machine was Progenitis), although for seemingly a different purpose. Meanwhile, Takeshita is speaking to a waitress he knows (probably Akira Honda, a character introduced later) after realizing there is a bomb under the Juunikai. This scene is probably cut into pieces and the earlier part of the conversation is at the time of writing lost.

Nantendou is a bookshop in Asakusa.

Love, ain.

PS These are not my crappy scans. Someone else did them.

[ain-and-lain]

Despera Chapter Listings.

The work Despera has two sides: A and B. Each month that Despera was published in Animage, there were two pages apiece dedicated to it.

The fancy two-page images by ABe with the text printed over them are Despera Side A.

Above: Chapter Zero Side A: Prologue

The other pages with omake or cartoony looking material on them are Despera Side B.

Above: Chapter One Side B: The Girl Beneath the Juunikai

The Despera Roman Album segregates the two sides and consolidates them into different chapters.

The chapter names of the original work were as follows, retranslated for better accuracy:

'Chapter Zero: Prologue' 'Chapter One: The Girl Beneath the Juunikai' 'Chapter Two: The Russian Lady of the Mansion' 'Chapter Three: Asakusa Tales' 'Chapter Four: Electricity Girl Vs the Tank Squadron' 'Chapter Five: From Beyond the Silver Screen' 'Chapter Six: At the Corner of the Triangular Second Floor [?]' 'Chapter Seven: The Black Cat of the Twelve-Story Tower' 'Chapter Eight: The Devil King' 'Chapter Nine: Sky' 'Chapter Ten: Parting' 'Chapter Eleven: The Nightmare Discontinues' 'Chapter Twelve: A Chance Meeting'

These chapters are now consolidated into the following:

'Asakusa Juunikai' (0)

'The Surugadai Nobleman' (1-2)

'Electricity Girl Vs the Tank Squadron' (3-4)

'The Anarchists and the Superhuman' (5-7)

'High-Flying Ain' (8-9)

'The Day That Was Foretold' (10-11)

'Showa Era' (12)

Surugadai is another district in Tokyo and the Showa Era is the era that directly proceeded the Taisho Era (when most of this story takes place). The Showa Era began with the ascension of Hirohito. The "Triangular Second Floor" appears to be the name of a cafe.

Despera Side B is now broken into sixteen chapters numbered 'One' to 'Sixteen'.

Currently, 'Asakusa Juunikai' is now available for download. I am going out of order and am about 2/3 of the way through 'The Day That Was Foretold'. I am a bit busier recently, so I apologize for slowness.

-ain.

[ain-and-lain]

The omake that was found in Despera B's first chapter.

This is my first time typesetting anything, so if I screwed something up, let me know.

It's a bit tricky typesetting horizontal text into dialogue bubbles designed for vertical text.

It seems that whatever Ain and Takeshita are listening to is a J-pop song, but I'm unfamiliar with the lyrics and Google turned up nothing.

A "NAS" is a Network-Attached Storage device, which acts more or less as a file server; it's an accessory designed specifically to store files.

As always, Takeshita's face is hidden.

-ain.

Edit: On account of tumblr being pretty shitty at hosting my images for some reason, I uploaded it here so it was easier to read. I don't know why it was resized so small in hi-res view; the image itself is very large.

[ain-and-lain]

I'd like to inform you that I have acquired Despera, translation will resume after the Ldas are complete. Thank you for your patience.

-ain.

Oh, and as a present, a few scans of my favorite pages.

The bottom two are Takeshita's heretofore unseen face and an early design concept for Ain c. 2008.

[ain-and-lain]

Despera First Translation

I have translated the first chapter of Despera.

PDF ePub

Thank you for your support. The next translation will be the rest of Side A. Some things to note:

There are no honorifics in this book as of yet, hence why they do not appear.

The names of districts in Tokyo will be followed with whatever purpose they served at the time in place of having to do TL notes; eg Kabutochou Financial District.

This novel has been lightly localized to make it a more palatable read. Konaka is overly fond of fragments and appositives. There have been no major alterations to the work and all the content is still there; I have done my best to be as faithful to the text as I can; the only thing I could do to make it more faithful is to write it in 1920s English.

Wikipedia's article on Despera is erroneous and quotes Ain's age as 14; the book states she is on the verge of turning 12.

The protagonist's name is 竹下公毅; due to the lack of furigana, I have selected the name Hirotake Takeshita. His given name may also be read Ryutake or Kouki.

Thank you.

[ain-and-lain]

The Taisho=Heisei Map is now translated.

However, tumblr's image specifications are unreasonable and therefore, it needed to be hosted here.

All the scrolls with red backs indicate structures that exist in modern-day Asakusa (Heisei Period), while all the scrolls with blue backs indicate structures that were around in Ain's Asakusa (Taisho Period).

Notes:

The Denkikan was the first cinema in Japan, which closed in 1976, and opened in 1903. It was very popular and many later cinemas used the Denkikan's name.

The Sixth Ward, also known as Rokku, was a theater district, which made Asakusa a very popular entertainment district in its day. After the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the later firebombing of Tokyo heavily damaging Asakusa, it was soon surpassed by other districts like Shibuya and Shinjuku.

The Tsukuba Express, TX for short, is a train line that connects Tokyo to Tsukuba, a planned city where several scientific researchers live. Today, lots of government spending still goes to accelerating scientific discovery in Tsukuba.

ROX is a popular department store in Asakusa.

Asakusa Temple is the oldest temple in Tokyo. Asakusa today is known for this temple, which is dedicated to Kannon. The temple was built in roughly 645 AD.

Hanayashiki is allegedly the oldest amusement park in Japan. It opened as a botanical garden in 1853. In the 1870s, a zoo also opened there. in the 30s, it became an amusement park. During WWII, the park was demolished and relocated to a slightly different location, reopening in 1947. The park is owned by Namco, Ltd. In Ain's time, it was probably still a zoo; however, before it became officially known as an amusement park, there were also several performances inside the park during Asakusa's peak before the Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed most of the animals there.

Sake Dealer, when written like that, was also an old-fashioned slang for brothel, many of which were hidden inside liquor stores.

For information on the Asakusa Juunikai, see here.

This is a map of modern-day Asakusa for comparison:

[ain-and-lain]

Translation Notes Re: Despera Table of Contents

Taisho is the name of an era lasting from July 30, 1912 until December 25, 1926. During this period, power shifted to the Diet of Japan, a more democratic ruling body. Despera takes place in 1922, one year before the Great Kanto Earthquake. It's likely that Ain was born during this period. This period ended with the death of Taisho and the ascension of Hirohito. Read more here.

Heisei is the name of the current period in Japan, which started January 8, 1989, after the death of Emperor Showa. The beginning of the bubble economy burst roughly coincides with the beginning of this era.

Asakusa is the name of the district in Tokyo that Despera takes place in. Today, it is known for the temple to Kannon. During the first half of the twentieth century, it was a major entertainment district. The first cinema in Japan was located here, as well as several theaters in its Sixth Ward. The area was heavily damaged by the Great Kanto Earthquake and the firebombing of Tokyo in WWII. Since then, other districts of Tokyo have surpassed it in popularity.

[Asakusa] Juunikai is a slang name for the name of the first modern skyscraper in Japan, the Ryounkaku. Juunikai means "twelve stories". Ain lives in the basement of this building. Interestingly, the number of chapters coincides with the floor numbers, 12 floors, and a basement (0). The building's upper floors were destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake and it was subsequently demolished. This building appears in a number of the pieces drawn by ABe for this project. The building was known for having the first electric elevator in Japan.

Contribution is rendered 寄稿, and in this sense means a contribution to a written body of work.

Nikola Tesla and the Beautiful Woman of the Age of Electricity's Power of Imagination and Its Subtleties, The Dolls and The Girl is arguably one of the more difficult titles to render. I rendered it as best I could. Here:

ニコラ・テスラと Nikola Tesla and 電気時代の想像美女と Age of Electricity's Power of Imagination Beautiful Woman and 機微、 Subtleties 人形と Doll and 少女 Girl I assume the "girl" refers to Ain.

September 1, 1923 was the date of the Great Kanto Earthquake, which destroyed most of Asakusa and Tokyo on a Saturday morning. The earthquake was a magnitude 7.9 and up until the Tohoku earthquake of 2011 was the most powerful earthquake recorded in that region. After the earthquake a typhoon also struck Tokyo Bay. Scientists suggest correlation between the drop in atmospheric pressure that occurred with the hurricane and the earthqauke's cause.

March 11, 2011 was the date of Despera's release.