Jun Maeda (前田純) is a writer, lyricist, composer, designer, and entrepreneur. He is mostly known in the Visual Novel business, especially at Key Studios. He is the co-founder of Key, as such, he is considered a pioneer for the advancement of modern Visual Novels, having also influenced their anime adaptations.
He owns famous and popular titles in Japan and the rest of the world who love VN and anime. Before Key was formed he had worked with a few titles, working as a tactics agent, titles like Moon and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu. After Key was formed he had his chance to show everything he is capable of and all his dedication was deposited in some titles, such as: Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters!, Angel Beats! and Charlotte.
It is worth remembering that he did not do all the work alone. But Jun is also one of the greatest composers and writers in the world of Visual Novels today.
Since high school he already had the gift to be a composer, so he was determined to try a career in this area in games. But he was rejected every time. Then he saw that he needed to try something else, in this case, a scenario writer. He first threw himself into Eroge games (+18), with that he came up with the idea of selling his 300-page feature to a developer, having great potential. After this phase of his life, he joined the Scoop company in 1997. He contributed as lead scenario writer for the company's first game, Chaos Queen Ryōko. But disappointed with the work environment, he gave his letter of resignation upon completion of his role in the work.
In most of his works for Key, he delves into family relationships, always putting the Mother figure in front of him. He tries to show everything that a relationship between friends and family can provide, from happy moments to moments of pure crying. He also explores the different ways of loving, in its “platonic” form, where pure love, without the idealization of carnal desire and interest, is formed, a love that escapes current standards. Another theme explored by him is “magical realism” or the addition of fantastical elements to his stories.
Jun is also known for his “crying stories”. In his works the characters have sad pasts, with the development of a melancholy story. The development could be classified in 4 ways: Hidden Pasts, Sad Moments, Climax and Melancholy Conclusion. It has to be very cold not to fill your eyes with tears, haha.
There's a lot to be said about him, but maybe we'll leave it for another article!?
Índice de Conteúdo
Angel Beats [Contains Spoilers]
Angel Beats is not a Visual Novel, however, it had its anime version. The story that was created and directed by Jun Maeda. The story that would become real at some point in his life. The synopsis of Angel Beats, below:
Synopsis: The drama takes place in a place after death. Where angels fight to complete destiny and the future. Yuri, nickname Yurippe, is the leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen (SSS, World After Death, front), who are on the opposite side of God, who gave him the fate of a purposeless life. Angel (Tenshi), is the student council president of this world and she fights the SSS members. Members of the SSS use weapons of battle to face the angels, taking advantage of their supernatural powers.
The anime is really very sad, there are many reports of crying after a 12 episode session. The main drama develops between the main character, Otonashi and Angel, thus creating a romance story, which from the beginning goes to a dramatic side.
The relationship created between them is divided between the SSS and Angel herself, but Otonashi didn't want to abandon either one or the other. That's why he tries to get Angel and the SSS together, at first it would only get in trouble. But she finds herself necessary to everyone in the end. She is a pure girl, who doesn't want harm to anyone, who simply fights back the attacks received. She is a girl to be discovered creating fun and joyful moments. With all this, we proceed to a series of facts.
The appearance of Ayato Naoi is what defines the end of the anime. He is a human who thought he was a non-player character. After dying he develops hypnotic powers, which allow him to control others and take them to a "dream" state. He just wanted to be recognized for his own existence, so he becomes the Student Council President and also self-proclaimed God! Angel and Otonashi manage to get him out of this false kingdom. Later, Ayato becomes a member of the SSS, and also a friend of Otonashi, being the only one he treats in a "affectionate" way. Yuri asks him to lead Otonashi to his dream of his death.
In his dream, Otonhashi finds out that he was in a train accident with the other passengers and in the end, he marks on his donor card the organs he wanted to donate to someone after his death, also convincing the other passengers. Before being saved, he ends up dying.
After learning the cause of his death, he has a new goal. Help the other characters to discover the cause of their death, so that they can disappear from that world, in order to reach "heaven" or "nirvana".
Until the end it was like this, people disappearing... Until Angel and Otonashi were left. He discovers something about Angel that has left a mark on all of them. Angel reveals that when she was alive, she received a heart transplant from a donor named Yuzuru Otonashi. It's not possible to convey the feeling of this scene to you, but whoever hasn't seen it, watch this anime at least once!
Past history to real life
On March 1, 2016, it was announced that writer Jun Maeda had been hospitalized. No information about his condition was revealed, but he was receiving medication and constant care. It was a shock to many lovers of VN and his works for anime, everyone was rooting for his recovery.
On July 2, 2016, we received good news about Jun. He had left the hospital! The news came via his official Twitter, making some comments, thanks and revelations. The revelation is that he was treated for Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy (unexplained enlargement and weakening of the left ventricle of the heart). He thanked everyone who cheered for his recovery, and also left a comment for his recovery.
This illness has taken many pleasures away from me, but I will continue to live and do my best. It's a miracle, I was saved.
And ironically, in a funny and sad way, on the 28th of July he made another revelation about his health. He said he needed a heart transplant.
He commented:
“I went for a checkup. It feels like I can't continue to live with my heart and I still need a heart transplant.”.
And he added:
"It's going to cost a lot, and for the surgery I'm going to need to be hospitalized, which is something I'm so tired of right now.".
However, he reassured fans that he still has a long time to write more stories. And he even talked about the announcement of a new PlayStation Vita Game.
Through social networks, it was possible to see comments, such as: "It seems that the game has turned, isn't it?"
So it seems that his life has turned out like in his stories. Where some characters go through hospital problems, only to have to die in the end. But we hope he can recover.
Any updates will be posted here!
We had great influence from the source: AnimeX
