Jun Maeda, the legendary writer and composer behind Kanon, Air, Clannad and Angel Beats!, has been diagnosed with pharyngeal cancer and has chosen to focus on palliative care, according to an announcement from Visual Arts/Key released on Monday. The announcement stated that Maeda is currently hospitalized but “remains strongly determined to devote himself to creative work through to the very end.”
Jun Maeda (Credits: Visual Arts/Key)
Fan Letters Welcome, Gifts Not Required
Key has opened an email and postal address for fans to send Maeda messages and letters of encouragement. The company asked supporters to send letters only, requesting that fans refrain from sending gifts or other get-well items. The response from the anime and visual novel community is expected to be enormous, given how deeply Maeda’s stories have shaped a generation of viewers.
Finishing Heaven Burns Red Before Time Runs Out
Despite his condition, Maeda has made sure his current work is in order. He has completed the scenario for the first six chapters of the Heaven Burns Red mobile game, including all major story elements that carry the story through the end of chapter six, along with lyrics and composition for the songs in the first half of chapter six. Whether he can continue further writing and songwriting duties will depend on how his illness progresses.
The announcement also revealed that Maeda had been preparing an original music project for YouTube with new songs planned “over the long term.” After the diagnosis, he decided to complete the songs currently in development as quickly as possible, and they will be released on YouTube sequentially at his request.
A History of Fighting Through Illness
This is not the first time Maeda has faced serious health battles. In 2016, he was hospitalized for five months with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that enlarges and weakens the heart’s left ventricle. He later revealed his heart condition requires a heart transplant, though he reassured fans at the time that he still had long to live and more stories to write.
The Writer Who Made a Generation Cry
Maeda’s career began with Tactics/NEXTON’s Moon (1997) and ONE (1998), before the core team broke away to found Key. There he wrote Kanon, Air, Clannad and Little Busters!, all adapted into anime, and his early works became known as “nakige” — crying games — beloved for stories about grief, loss and sacrifice. He composed the music for his own visual novels, wrote the story and themes for Angel Beats! and Charlotte, and is credited with the original work and script for The Day I Became a God. His Summer Pockets game received a TV anime adaptation in June 2025, and Heaven Burns Red, his first completely new game in 13 years, launched in February 2022 with its final main-story chapter starting in August of this year.
Fans everywhere are holding Maeda and his family in their thoughts as he faces this battle.
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Source: Anime News Network — read the full story there.