デスパレイト (romanized as "Desperate" in Asian English releases) is an original maimai song by owl＊tree, a pseudonym of composer Kennosuke Ono (known in the rhythm-game scene as onoken). It debuted in maimai MURASAKi PLUS on October 3, 2017, marking the composer's first original contribution to the maimai series under this alias, and notably, the first owl＊tree track to feature vocals. Unlike most of the alias's other songs, which tend to carry cryptic, seemingly made-up titles, デスパレイト is a recognizable Japanese borrowing of the English word "desperate." The track runs at 145 BPM with a driving rock arrangement. Vocals are handled by yu＊tree (Cherose) and guitar by sa＊tree (Masaaki Sasaki), giving the song its energetic, slightly abrasive edge. The lyrics, credited to o*tree, dwell on themes of deception, crumbling ideals, and mutual ruin, a cynical, almost nihilistic tone that matches the title. An extended version of the song, along with a remix by Nhato, appears on owl＊tree's album pvq. For years after its debut, the identity behind the owl＊tree alias was one of the maimai community's most persistent mysteries. Though onoken had contributed music to other rhythm-game series under his real name, the connection to owl＊tree remained unconfirmed. The official response to fan inquiries during a 2017 Twitter Q&A was simply "A. Secret (Hint: Great Torii)", a reference to the gate at onoken's namesake, Ono Shrine in Shiga Prefecture. The alias was finally confirmed in late 2023 via tweets from a live performance at Amusement Expo in Tokyo Big Sight, nearly nine years after owl＊tree's debut in CHUNITHM with Maqrite. Earlier multi-platform tracks, felys -final remix- and Jörqer, had already appeared in maimai, CHUNITHM, and other SEGA rhythm games, serving as breadcrumbs for observant players. In maimai, the song is classified under the "maimai" genre category (moved from "ORIGINAL" during でらっくす PLUS). The Expert chart was designed by ぴちネコ and the Master chart by Jack. The Master chart in particular saw multiple level adjustments across game versions, settling at 13+ (constant 13.9), reflecting its demanding slide-heavy patterns and dense note count of 685 total notes.