Jun Maeda made quite a proper name for himself in the anime manufacture. Between his astonishing musical scores and his emotional writing, Maeda is a household proper name for many anime fans beyond the globe, and his works take become classics that are recommended time and time again. Pairing with Kyoto Animation for many of his productions, Maeda is a chief of pulling on heartstrings.

Maeda crafts his characters with bang-up depth, and creates plots that are both heartbreaking and hopeful all at in one case. His early work is regarded as amazing for its time, and as he has grown as a writer and composer, his works have grown and evolved with him. The depth of emotion evoked from each of his series is impressive, and his creations have maintained their loftier rankings for decades. Please be warned: the following entries contain major spoilers.

8 The Day I Became A God: A Boy Learns That The Globe Volition End In 30 Days

Maeda'due south most recent anime,The Day I Became A God, was arguably his least successful creation. The concept had significant potential: A god descends and informs the man boy she meets that the world will stop in 30 days. However, the anime's timing was off, with comedic moments that lasted far too long and emotional reveals that just didn't land. The unfortunate result is that the characters lacked their usual depth, and many of the emotional revelations throughout the series fell apartment as a event. While this series is certain to have its fans, it just does non shine in the style many of his other works accept. Not every series tin be a masterpiece, and Maeda has created many of them. This series may exist a rare miss, but perhaps information technology is just making style for something astonishing.

7 Air: A Boy Meets A Daughter Who Suffers From A Curse

Air is an older series but is nonetheless well-regarded. This tragedy was one of Maeda'south beginning notable works. The story mainly follows a boy named Yukito and a girl named Misuzu. Yukito meets Misuzu who is suffering from a curse, and the serial quickly takes a more dramatic turn.Air has many wonderful things going for it, from its beautiful art and music to an intriguing storyline. It certainly evokes emotion, particularly the ending of the series. The struggle with this anime is that as it develops its story, it jumps around. While the viewer must understand the total story, the manner it jumps betwixt episodes comes across as a bit jarring and pulls the viewer out of the moment. Regardless,Air is all the same a fantastic anime, and definitely deserves the attention information technology gets.

6 Little Busters!/Fiddling Busters! Refrain: An Bogus Earth Helps Two Characters Face The Reality Of A Deadly Bus Crash

Little Busters! is some other series with more happening than meets the eye. While the anime begins with a lot of silliness and carefree attitudes, it quickly becomes apparent that something else is at play. That something is an artificial globe, aimed at making Rin and Riki strong enough to face up the truth of the real world: they are the only survivors of a motorbus crash that killed all of their friends.

While both anime have very distressing moments, Refrain is the more emotional of the 2 seasons. This anime certainly has its own share of heartache and a good helping of emotion, but it besides has a much more hopeful undertone that eventually spills into the chief plot, leading to a much better ending for the characters.

5 Kanon (2006): A Boy Returns To His Town & Reconnects With The Girls Of His By

Kanon is an older anime series based on a popular visual novel that deserves its reputation. This series follows Yuuichi who has returned to town after seven years and the girls he shares a past with that he doesn't withal remember.Kanon deals with some heavy themes, such as suicide, cocky-harm, and depression. Anyone who watches this series tin can expect a rollercoaster of emotion every bit they discover out Mai's hole-and-corner, say goodbye to Makoto, and watch Shiori'due south struggles.Kanontells a story that is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Viewers can expect to shed more than than a few tears earlier the terminate.

4 Angel Beats!: Starts Out Lighthearted Before Taking An Emotional Plough In The Second Half

Angel Beats! is ane of Maeda's most pop and well-known anime, and there is a skillful reason for that. The showtime part of the series is lighthearted and silly, featuring a war between Yurippe'south team and Tenshi. In the 2nd half of the anime, the emotions hit hard. Each of the main characters has a story that will tug on the viewer's heartstrings, only it is when they brainstorm to disappear that will really hit the viewer difficult. For many fans, the moment Kanade says goodbye to Otonashi while he begs her to stay is the moment that actually broke their hearts. If there was one way to improve this anime, it would be to scale dorsum the humor in the early on episodes to allow for more graphic symbol growth exterior of the main cast. Several characters were never really explored and disappeared of a sudden without ever really getting to know them. However, despite this, Maeda can notwithstanding hold his caput loftier over a series that evokes beautiful emotion, and that is so well-loved.

3 Charlotte: Yuu's Constant Boxing With His Mind Is Heartbreaking

Charlotte is a highly emotional anime about power users through the perspective of Yuu Otosaka.  It is filled with many twists along the style, such as the true nature of Yuu's power and what an power actually is, too as the reveal of Yuu and Ayumi's brother, Shunsuke, who jumped back in time with his power to save them all from being experimented on and killed.

To stop Yuu's ultimate power, the enemy captures power user Tomori, and Kumagami, an power user who works closely with Shunsuke. Yuu goes to save them, but immediately loses an eye and collapses the entire edifice as he is overwhelmed by emotion, killing Kumagami. Ultimately, Yuu winds up wandering the Earth alone, taking abilities away from users to salve everyone. Past the time he returns to Tomori, he has no retentiveness of her or anything else. Yuu's constant boxing with his mind every bit he journeys and tries non to lose himself is heartbreaking. Fans can expect to shed several tears over this emotional anime.

2 Clannad: Includes A Tragic Arc About A Hospitalized Girl Who Slowly Fades Away

There is a practiced reason whyClannad is held so highly in regard. It is based on a visual novel and is well-paced, emotional, and deals with many mature themes sensitively. It is not uncommon for viewers to cry while watching this series, sometimes multiple times. One of the saddest arcs of the anime is that of Fuko, a quirky daughter who gives strange gifts to people she meets. However, Fuko is, in reality, a projection of a young daughter in the hospital with footling hope of recovering. Fuko'southward sister briefly sees her at her wedding ceremony, resulting in one of the saddest moments as Fuko wishes her well and disappears. While initially many people can communicate with Fuko, they soon begin to forget her, and eventually, she is forgotten by every character and cannot exist seen anymore. Fuko's story is spring to make viewers cry as she slowly fades from everyone's minds. Nonetheless, as the viewer knows, she is never really gone, only forgotten.

1 Clannad: Later Story: Tomoya Struggles With The Death Of His Loved Ones

A sequel toClannad, this series follows Nagisa and Tomoya equally they graduate and grow upwardly. They are ecstatic as they expect their first child. However, Nagisa's wellness deteriorates, and she ends up dying afterward giving birth to their daughter Ushio. Tomoya becomes stuck, unable to be a begetter to his daughter or to motility on from Nagisa. Somewhen, Ushio falls ill with the same disease that afflicted her mother, and she dies equally well. Viewers will need several tissues on hand to become through this story. This anime consistently ranks highest out of all of Maeda's works for expert reason. It will break the viewer time and time again, until finally, Nagisa, Tomoya, and Ushio reach their happy catastrophe. This serial is the near emotional of Maeda's works and deserves all of the accolades it gets. It is a must-see for any fan of Jun Maeda.

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About The Author

Shanna Rie (42 Articles Published)

Shanna Rie is a writer based in Canada. Her familiarity with anime and manga comes from growing up watching series such as Digimon Adventure, Pokémon, and Cardcaptor Sakura. In her spare time, she loves listening to anime music. She worked every bit a cashier, teacher, and martial arts instructor, and now enjoys pursuing her passion for anime every bit a author for Valnet and CBR. She loves reading, writing, drawing, and, of course, anime.

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