Open Letters to Kazamatsuri

[Aloysius]

So, I registered here today. Less than two days before this website shuts down. Crazy, I know. The reason I did so is that I’d regret it if I didn’t at least come in to say “thank you.”

I discovered Key very late. As a matter of fact, my first experience with Key was reading Planetarian in January of this year. After that, I was hooked. I’ve read all of the translated Key VNs at the time of writing this post, with the exception of Summer Pockets (I’m waiting for the full release of that before reading). Something about them appealed to me, and they touched my heart deeply. In search of walkthroughs and discussions regarding what I’d read, I stumbled upon this place.

I’m something of a chronic lurker. No matter the website, I almost never post. I’ll read and appreciate, but I often feel too nervous or passive to post myself. That’s how it’s been with Kazamatsuri. Throughout this past year, I’ve been reading along, appreciating and digesting how others have approached these works that I truly love. Not only the analysis, but the fan works, positive community, and centralized way to find news about Key made me truly fall in love with Kaza, even from the outside.

When I saw that this place was shutting down, my heart sank. I couldn’t believe it. At the very least, the website would stay up, but there would be no new posts for me to read, nor would there be new podcasts for me to listen to. I have an unfortunate tendency to join communities right before they dissolve, and I guess it happened again. However, I couldn’t let this forum shut down without at least expressing my gratitude.

Thank you, Kazamatsuri. Thank you for the deep analysis. Thank you for the arguments. Thank you for the fan art and music. Thank you for the podcasts. Thank you for the news. Thank you for the guides. And most of all, thank you for providing so many hours of enjoyment to lurkers like me. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

[kyuketsukimiyu]

I’ve been unsure what to say here, but I wanted to be sure I said something before the doors close.

I joined Kaza to participate in the CLANNAD book club. I had been a fan of Key before then, but I didn’t seek out a community until I got an email from Sekai Project advertising Kazanatsuri. Joining and participating was amazing, and I’m certain it is a big part of how I was able to maintain momentum with CLANNAD. I loved reading and responding to everyone’s comments and insights. It made reading CLANNAD one of the most memorable reading experiences of my life.

I ended up working as a graphic designer for Kaza shortly after that. I had been dabbling in it before, but working on all of the different themes for the site over the years really pushed me to grow and polish my work in a way I wasn’t achieving when it was self driven. I’m very grateful for all I’ve learned along the way.

I’m also very thankful for the other book clubs I was able to participate in: Kanon, Planetarian, and especially the Love Song book clubs. The Love Song book clubs are especially dear to me. I had so much fun going through each song and considering both what it meant on its own and how it tied into the greater album. I had never tried music analysis like that, and those albums were perfect for it. I still switch into critical thinking mode when they come on, and find myself looking for clues. I learned so much by discussing it with everyone and participating in the podcasts. I’m definitely sad we never got to do one for Long Long Love Song.

Unfortunately I’ve had problems in my personal life that that aggravated my social anxiety and led me to withdraw rather than lean into the community. This is something I’m dealing with not just with my connections here, but kind of across the board. But I will cherish my time here and all of the awesome people and view points I was able to encounter. Thank you for everything Kaza. And especially thank you to @Aspirety, @liclac, and @Pepe for always being friendly as well as pushing me to be better, both creatively and cognitively.

[Renzo]

Although I don’t usually post on forums, I frequently pass by to read interesting topics about people sharing their amazing experience with Key works here. I absolutely love how much passion the community and Kaza staff have for all this.

Unfortunately, life goes on quick by hour, so I thought I should at least spend a few minutes of my holiday to thank you all you guys for this amazing community we made. Key changed my life and I know many people share my perspective. I’ll continue to support them as long as I can.

Once more, thank you, Kazamatsuri.
Let’s not be sad today! Let’s be glad and remember all the amazing memories we had here!
One big hug and a great new year to all!

[adeptArcanist]

Whoops… Looks like I messed up. I really need to stop putting things off, huh…

So, this place is really cool! I found it in my initial burst of enthusiasm after finishing Refrain, and seeing that there was a whole book club going on about the story was amazing! I was super into having a chance to chat about it, and I really enjoyed discussing bits and pieces! Making my posts about Kud, Saya, and Sasami routes… discussing Refrain in the pre-podcast voice chat… even getting to participate in the final two podcasts for the bookclub, it was all super fun! Heck, I was even energized enough to make a couple of silly memes, hehe! I was all pumped up and ready to go, I wanted to do a whole series of posts on my thoughts about each route…
and then I didn’t. I had a ton of things to say, but I just never got around to it - the bar of going back over the routes while notetaking and assembling it all into solid discussion posts was just high enough that I consistently put it off, and so, instead of participating and helping to revitalize discussion, I just fell back and didn’t post at all. Even now, I’ve been planning to do one last reread so I could get them in before the end, and I just can’t find the energy. Sorry.

Honestly, there was a ton I would have liked to do. I wanted to get those essays written, I wanted to participate in the next book club, to have another winter festival… I really wish I had found this place - gotten into Key - earlier. It must have been amazing when it was truly in full swing.

But that’s enough feeling sorry for myself, huh?

For all that this was a much smaller part of my life than it was for a lot of you, it was still a great one. Participating in the podcasts was such an interesting and fun experience, and honestly, I think they were a huge part of helping me become a more outgoing person myself. I’m really glad to have been a part of them.

And the Winter Festival! It was so fun, I almost ghosted a couple of my other friendgroups while it was going on because it was just so lively and focused here. Working together on the events was super fun, and all of my teammates were amazing. @Echo @Madekuji_san @TomoyaOkazaki @Phlebas @kittytama @SuikaShoujo @grooven @WorldOfBooks, being on a team with all of you was really fun! I’m honestly sad I don’t have a record of the discussions we had - I guess I’ve never been all that good at letting go of things, ehehe.

I guess that’s about all I have to say here, huh. A few really good times, and a bit of regret that I didn’t push myself to help make more. Well, that’s just how it goes. Regardless of everything, what I got to see of this community was really cool. Thanks for having me.
And, one last time for good measure-

Team Happiness Saikou!

[Arete]

I’ve really put off writing this for long enough but its now or never I guess. I’ll spare you any long writings and just say a couple quick things.

Kazamatsuri was the first and only forum I was ever truly active on, and that is solely because of all the fantastic people that called this place home. It would be an understatement to say that my posting has been sporadic. I fell out of anime not too long after joining Kazamatsuri but the Winter Festival, the Movie Nights, the Off-Topic discussions, the games played, the New Years and Kazaversery parties, they were all truly fantastic and I’ll never forget them.

I’ll continue doing what I’ve been doing for the past 2 years or so–lurking on the discord and, maybe, occasionally, chiming in to a conversation. I’ll truly cherish the memories of my time on Kaza and I wish everyone the best in all of their endeavors present and future.

[Kami_chan]

So, it’s been a long while since I posted on Kazamatsuri, but I’ve often checked in over the past few years. I think I learnt that my own appreciation of Key’s works was a personal thing and realised I actually didn’t want to discuss it. But I will never forget the joy I felt when I first discovered this place and despite not wanting to discuss Key’s works in great depth I have an immense appreciation for you all that do so, and have done.

I’m sad that Kaza won’t be around but it’s been an absolute pleasure to be a part of, however small a time it was. Special thanks to @Pepe for being super welcoming and hanging out in Japan back in 2015.

Much everyone.

[grooven]

I discovered Kazamatsuri after years of lurking, despite being a Key fan nineteen years as of right now. I’ve mentioned in another post how I got into Key and how finding information in late 2001. Basically there was no information and translating was difficult. Finding anyone who knew what Key was, had been near impossible unless you could convert your family and friends into fans.

Kazamatsuri is the first place I felt fully welcome as a Key fan. It was a place where I never had to defend the stories of Key’s works (sometimes, mostly art haha). I mean, fans disagree, but I never had to convince someone to try and watch or play any of their works. Fans have their favourites and less liked stories. But everyone had a common bond of loving something from Key. It wasn’t, “Oh is that Sailor Moon?” I’d always get years ago. People knew what the hell I was actually talking about. Everyone just knew.

I came in pretty late to Kazamatsuri (as mentioned in my history bit above) after actually having the time to really look into what it was all about. I appreciated the dedication to only Key and the news that d since most sites overlooked the smaller bits of Key news or all together.

I decided to check out the community some more and when the book club came out for Little Busters, (I missed Clannad which I was more familiar with the story and routes and all the rest prior) I reached out to @Aspirety. He had put out a call for members to try out and then I realized I’d been missing out on a fun community by not starting earlier to network with all the fans. I gained so much from the book clubs and became familiar with @Pepe and @Naoki_Saten. I went onto posting more in the forums/discord and getting to know tons of other members. I wanted to thank Aspy for letting me help mod and write a few articles too. I also learned about many views of Key works I would never have known or ever thought about. Honestly, I was blown away with what I came out from the book clubs and forums. I just felt honoured to listen and read to what everyone had to say.

When Kazamatsuri announced the closure I felt saddened. This home I had only recently found would be lost. Though that wasn’t true. Nothing would be gone. I’d still be able to talk to people I’ve met, will continue to meet and find out the news (admittedly, I may have to dig more). But it isn’t the end of Key or the friendships I’ve formed, it’s only the site. For sure I’ll miss the book clubs, discussions, and I’ll be very saddened by no merch thread updates (I’m a merch junkie). I’ll also miss the beautiful fanart and thoughtful posts where people poured in their thoughts and feelings. I wanted to thank @liclac for also making a great website and forums. The best I’ve ever seen in all my time online, seriously.

I’ll miss the fun stuff the staff brought to us like the Winter Festival. I wish we could’ve done it again since I never had that experience before with a community before. I’d like to thank my team members from Team Happiness: @Echo @Madekuji_san @TomoyaOkazaki @Phlebas @kittytama @SuikaShoujo @adeptArcanist @WorldOfBooks for making the festival a blast and participating together. Thanks, guys for making it such a fun event and to all the mods who helped out too!

I feel like forums, in general, are fading over time and people tend to focus on the newer platforms to chat or express ideas. Many people move on or have little time to commit to hobbies and it is understandable why Kazamatsuri is closing, things like this eventually happen. At least others can look back on the posts and read up on theories, meanings, speculation and how the story affected them.

Over the years Key fans in the western world have grown and so has the accessibility of Key games. We can still have these talks in different places and in different forms. I can only hope that someone will let me know if they are planning on any more future podcasts or a place to put thoughts down in writing for others to read. What I will really miss is looking up opinions on future releases of Key’s works. I’d love to voice my opinions or write them out on future things like Rewrite, Summer Pockets and future Key works. I will also keep a sharp eye out for all the ongoing Key merchandise.

I wanted to thank all the mods and all the members (I know I’m forgetting to mention people). Thank you for creating a space where I could share and talk about some of the greatest works that have had a big impact and influence on my life, Key.

Thank you

[Lulu_Vi_Britannia]

There it is. The end of 2019, which means the end of this forum (well, maybe not today, but it’s coming). I haven’t been here for long, but I had a good time regardless, so it’s my turn to say farewell.

Launches Faraway in the background

Hum hum.

It’s our time to part, Kaza. Um… Kaza. It was awesome being part of this community. I’m happy I’ve spent all this time with you. I’m so glad I was able to be with you.

For sharing your time with an idiot like me… thanks a lot.

[Darken]

Even though I only started to post actively in the past couple months, I know Kazamatsuri forum and website for about five years. I’m also subscribed to the youtube channel, which used to upload podcasts about various Key visual novels.

I remember how much this team worked hard to cover all kinds of news regarding Key and Visual Arts. If today Jun Maeda’s works are more popular outside Japan then before, I’m sure you were a great part of it. I can only thank you for representing the international Key fans so well.

It’s not that I’m sad for the Kazamatsuri group to disband, but rather, I fear the community might get weaker after it. As lovely as this fanbase is, it’s still a small niche of a few thousands. So with the forum closing down, it’ll be harder to search for a discussion group of Kanon, Little Busters, Clannad, Rewrite, Summer Pockets, an so on.

I hope we find another way to spread the Key works, as well as to discuss about them together. It may be on a subreddit, on a Steam group, or even on the Kazamatsuri’s Discord server. The important thing is that our passion gathered over the years never fades away.

[LostConcept]

Thank you for bringing us all together Aspirety and the other admins (for me Pepemosu was a big help in staying with this community). The VNs I read alongside this community has helped strengthen myself and others. With 2020 coming, I hope we all can take a moment and be proud of the community we all worked hard to create and that we can maintain the bonds we created elsewhere in our lives and on the internet. I have big hopes myself and this tiny blue dot we call Earth for 2020. Let’s not let the Earth end in fire and pray to save this planet’s future and our people’s journey off to the stars. 2020 will be a great year!

Peace and love for all under the stars,
Lost Concept

[Aspirety]

I’ve putting off writing this letter for weeks, for months, maybe even years. It may have come as a sudden shock to many, but Kazamatsuri has passed on for me for a long time now, as I’m sure anyone close to me is aware. I’m not the same person I was when I started Kazamatsuri. In many ways, I feel like I’ve lost the qualifications to lead this community.

I’ve been… Afraid. After all the scars I’ve endured, it felt hard to turn back to this place sometimes. I was afraid of being attacked, that people wouldn’t accept me anymore, or that I’d be reminded of all the things I’ve lost. I’m a coward, and the scars I’ve endured are deep. But… I don’t want to forget. I don’t want to forget all the good memories we’ve had with this place, to let them be painted over by sad ones. Even now there’s a part of me telling myself that it’s too late for that, but I’m not going to let it win. I know this place had immeasurable value.

Kazamatsuri, is a step. A small step on our journey through life. For some it might be smaller than others, but for many of the people who’ve shared their hearts here, I’m sure Kazamatsuri was irreplaceable to them. It was a place we could call home, for many of us who had nowhere else to be. A place where we could experiment, learn to express ourselves, learn to understand ourselves and each other and grow.

Many will probably criticise me for closing this site, but for me, it’s because I know that Kazamatsuri was more than a website that I know I’ve made the right choice. It was something of immaterial value, more than the sum of it’s parts. Something you couldn’t replicate just by keeping the server running and letting people go about their time. In order to allow Kazamatsuri to remain as a good memory, and to serve as a valuable step in our journey, rather than something to weigh us down. I don’t expect everyone to understand my philosophy, but understand that I am happy. I’m happy to see Kazamatsuri reach such a beautiful end, with all of your wonderfully kind words and thoughts. I’d rather this than see Kazamatsuri in 10 years with people saying “That place still exists? It’s really kind of a shithole now, it used to be so much better.” Rather, I want people to think, “Kazamatsuri was pretty amazing, wasn’t it?” That’s the kind of feeling I want to leave behind.

So, enough sadness, enough remorse and anxiety. Time to clench my fist once more, and rise to the stage as the leader you all know, one last time.

Hold your head high, for you were a member of Kazamatsuri, the greatest forum in the world! A community built through our shared love and passion for all things Key, where everyone gave their all to make things for awesome for each other! A place where nobody was left as a shadowless pebble on the side of the road, where everyone had a chance to be somebody! A place full of love, where everyone was having fun and felt included, no matter where they came from or what kind of life they lead. A place of memes and shitposts, but also heartfelt proclamations of our love of art, where the two could co-exist in mutual harmony! A place filled with the highest quality discussion you could find anywhere, the number one source for Key news, and a thriving community of passionate artists that even made a giant book together! (Coming soon.)

Here’s to the Bookclubs, the ultimate culmination of our love of discussion and impassioned celebration, where everyone was encouraged to analyse, to reflect on WHY they loved something, what it was that made evoked feelings of beauty in themselves. To the lengthy discussions about what we’re eating for dinner before and after each podcast. Here’s to the kfes, the sushi drops, the MasaKaga, and to the Saito Characters that were also confirmed! Here’s to the Movie and Game nights that brought our community together in new and fun ways! Here’s to the spontaneous Tankas, the voice calls listening to Bonecuss on the train to work, and to all the people who had to endure the same tired opions of the Charlotte finale every week on the Discord and not be annoyed about it! Here’s to the Suginami army, and to everyone who fought on the frontlines of the H-scene debate topic! Here’s to the Little Busters Minecraft Build, to the planetarian Dramas we translated, to the Key Chorus that saw expert and amateur singers alike grab a mic and sing their heart out together! And importantly, here’s to the Winter Festival, one of the most fun and heartfelt group activities I’ve ever had the joy of hosting! Y’all really hit it out of the park with that one.

And here’s to everyone who made Kazamatsuri amazing.

I take a deep breath to meditate and focus my life force.

Here’s to nekotea for her hours of work keeping the Blog running in the shadows! To rpgcaster for his amazing Little Busters covers! To LostConcept for appearing from the shadows at the last second to spam the Kaza discord! To Dizzyworld2 for her amazing art! To thonglinh90 for providing the very first Kazamatsuri logo! To kittytama for joining the fun of the winter festival! To On_TheBounce for making that one really good planetarian fanart and post and disappearing! To nemeios for their awesome discussion! To Kluck for being patron meme ghost of Kazamatsuri! To prototypeOEZ, a migrant from Rokkenjima! To Brigadoon for being an awesome friend! To epika for, well, being an awesome friend and my valued colleague at Rokkenjima! Here’s to Golden_Tranquility, to HandMC2, to Karu-Sama, Hovlane and Inohara just for being part of this all! To balance for his amazing Little Busters analysis! Here’s to ArdWar, JDC, Leale, Ost, Hustler_One, Joe_Bagadoe_Nautz, Who_ci, POTATO, nemoma, joeross75, wha2les, CLANNAD_Rewrite, DaniHernandezxD, Mecynogea! Here’s to JimRaynor_2001, my fellow MIo fan! Here’s to kiraboshi for being a guiding light in my time of need an awesome person! Here’s to Japesland for his Sexy Saxophone Covers and his religious analysis! Here’s to Armando-Rl, here’s to ArtiFedEx for all the amazing art! Here’s to Iotheria for being an OG Moeboy with a sexy voice! Here’s to Nuo, to Kierva, to TomoyaOkazaki, to Misuzu. Here’s to minatahatsune for keeping the Vietnamese Key fandom alive! Here’s to Beancurd for being one of the final Busters! Here’s to Exenorate for some really silly and really deep posts. Here’s to ChickenWingz, I met you at KSL Live! Here’s to mechgamer123, to Pike3rob! Here’s to the wonderful cloud668 who achieved what many of us could only dream of, working side by side with Key! Here’s to nathanielevan, to magicflier, to to JmTrad, to Wizzerd! Here’s to Rippleshadow for having good taste, to Madekuji for shining in the Winter Festival, to Eivver, to ukulelembo, to daysofsummer for being there for me when I needed yout he most and giving Kazamatsuri some much-needed direction! Here’s to octoberpumpkin for reading CLANNAD really fast! Here’s to Draconyan (Draconian or Draco-nyan?), to AustinDoujin for his amazing NAZE DAAAA, to TRBO_188 for the early memories! To Nin for helping me build the Little Busters school in Minecraft! To Tamamo-no-Bae for keeping the Discord alive! To 42megabytings for some great planetarian discussion! To Mitsuna for being one of our megafans and a valued friend. To SymphoniaXX for all the random times she jumped in on our Discord calls to talk really fast about something nobody understood! To ghagler! To Phlebas for all his work on Little Busters! To Celeskastel for becoming someone very precious to me and supporting Kazamatsuri in our final stretch! To Tidulimar, to s0ewhat and Necem! To waravim for being our token 日本人 and making a special effort to partipate despite the language barrier, and making some pretty great posts along the way! To Idiology for some phenomenal discussion! TO Nav, DMB, Realta! To Odinbeard_McSparkles for his wonderful LB Analysis! To ThePlasticSpork, to soggysadboi’s memes and feelposts, to Maebatame’s amazing art and giving designs to the Jerusalem cast! To JDAM_Cid for being with us for a looong time, to KaiMiang, to Bowiie, my Moeboy brother with a sexy southern accent! To Shizuru-chan, to Mow, to Rincchi for being one of the oldest and biggest Little Busters fans I know! To Purple for redeeming himself from being a loser, to Rabla for being there since the beginning, being an awesome friend to have fun with, and for that one time he repped Rewrite Ignis Memoria pretty hard! To Kirara3500, EndOfRefrain! To grooven for being awesome fun to chat with and being a wonderful person to work beside! To NotKyon, for continuing to remain a positive presence in my life! To Echo, one member who went through enormous character development and ended up becoming someone I’m indebted to. To DangoDaikazoku! To chesca, for her amazing art and amazing tweets! To the rationalpi, the high level encounter that always brings smiles when he stops by! To ZakM, Kotomi795, to Ekalina for all her art and shipping! And to Akito, the art bro! It feels like you two always came as a pair! To shiro021, another amazing artist who I finally got to meet recently! To Sonic112003, long name but a super nice dude! To kyuketsukimiyu, someone I’ve worked with more than most people on this site. It’s always a joy to work with you, and I hope we can continue to be friends long after this! To IkaCZ, invincible meme man who always struck a nerve with his earnest passion for what he loves! Good shooting! To Gnashes, the other moeboy with a sexy southern accent who’s supported Kazamatsuri from beginning to end! To Totoro_Futaki, another success story of ours! To VyseGolbez, someone I’ve been proud to see grow so much in the time I’ve known her! To bionic, always there, always bringing the high quality posts. To liclac, server mom and technowitch. One of my closest friends and most valued colleagues. It’s been an honour working aside you! To MagusVerborum for his awesome analysis in the latter half of Kazamatsuri’s life! To LinkThinks, for embodying the strange harmony of ridiculous shitposting and heartfelt sincerity! To RyuuTamotsu, my brother, who’s supported Kazamatsuri from behind the scenes more than anyone! See you in the next life! To Karifean, I know we’ve been through a lot, but I still love and respect you and wish you all the best, keep shining! To SuikaShoujo, Kazamatsuri’s idol! Sorry boys, she’s taken by Komari! To Hardscope, I don’t think anyone on Kazamatsuri had such a dramatic character arc as you, from troll to moderator! Thanks for everything. To Bonecuss, my dear friend, for all the memes and heartfelt posts. It wouldn’t BE Kazamatsuri without you! To Mogaoscar, and his achievement of Tomoyo After Bookclub MVP! I still remember your Dungeons and Takafumis stream! To StarfishBender, token old man who’s kept Kazamatsuri alive all this time! To cjlim2007, fellow mod and impassioned Key fan, thank you for everything! To Bizkitdoh, the driving heart of Kazamatsuri for so long. I really love you man, and I wish for your happiness! To BlackHayate02, a comerade who understands the value of words more than anyone, thank you for supporting me and Kazamatsuri all this time! To Yerian, thanks for all you did for Kazamatsuri! To Kanon, I know we’ve had some arguments, and you’ve caused me no end of trouble, but you still managed to be one of the best damn posters on this site, always bringing in a different kind of quality that everyone admired. Despite everything, I still consider you a great friend. Thank you for everything! To Naoki_Saten, our resident Kengo! someone who started out the straight man, and developed into one of the most fun guys on the forum! Your discussion posts are unrivalled! To HeliosAlpha, asshole to some, beloved mascot to many more. You’ve always continued keeping the spirit of Kazamatsuri alive, striving for quality and encouraging others to do the same. I owe you so much, but all I can say is, thank you, and I wish you all the best in the future! And to Takafumi, most divisive member on the site who seems to have really weird and contrarion opinions most of the time… I love you man, thank you for making Kazamatsuri such an interesting place to be! And to Pepe, my dear brother who’s stood at my side as co-admin of Kazamatsuri all this time, shared in all my joys and frustrations, and kept me from losing sight of what’s important. I can’t begin to tell you how much you saved me, but more than anything, I’m just thankful to have such an awesome friend like you. I’m sure we’ll remain in each other’s lives long into the future!

And thank you, to everyone else I neglected to mention, who helped make Kazamatsuri the amazing experience it was for all of us. This place, was really kind of awesome, wasn’t it? Let’s all miss it, let’s cherish it, and let’s take everything we’ve gained with us into the future, as we all blaze our own trails into the night sky.

Thank you, everyone!!

[42Megabytings]

People before me in this thread have said more things a lot better than I could, and I think, with more merit to them than I could lend. I don’t like to big myself up when I don’t deserve it. But I will say this.

I’m reminded with the announcement that Snow Globe got funded and stretched, as of the time of this letter, that this journey we’ve all taken together isn’t done, and we don’t have to scatter if we don’t want to. Home is what you take with you, and whatever happens, wherever you set it down and whoever you set it down with, if it feels like home, that’s just because it is.

The conversation continues, so does the journey. Nothing’s done as long as there are still things to say. And I don’t know where, when or how, but this journey is going to continue in some way or another, and if I ever get to be a part of that, I will. It’s the least I can do for a community related to something that indirectly saved my life once upon a time.

So this isn’t goodbye, just…see you out there.

And see you again.

[Madekuji_san]

This is also something I’ve been putting off, and I don’t think I can make a letter that’s as well-written as the ones above me (especially yours, Aspy), but I’ll sneak this one in.

I know that communities come and go; not everything lasts forever. But the closure was a surprise to me. Ever since the announcement of the closure, I think I share the same sentiment with some people, asking questions like “Was there anything I could’ve done to ‘save’ Kazamatsuri?” or “If me and a few other people tried a little harder, maybe the site wouldn’t close down like this.” It’s as if I got the bad ending of some school idol anime where the school does shut down.

It took a few letters from other people to make me realize that the saying is really true: “All good stories must come to an end.” Though, like our beloved visual novels and anime, we may want these stories to last longer than they did. But in the end, every story has to end somewhere, especially good ones. Good stories don’t usually drag on way longer than they should, after all. There are honestly things that I’ve wanted to do here that I couldn’t do anymore. I’ve wanted to join another Winter Festival, or meet new Kaza members, but y’know what? That’s okay. I don’t want to have any regrets; I’m sure these things that we wanted to do but couldn’t do; we will be able to do them, just in a different way than we expected.

Kazamatsuri gave me more than I could ever ask for. I only stumbled upon here because ever since becoming interested in Little Busters!, I’ve gone onto a rabbit hole of websites and communities, eventually finding the slightly-hidden gems, the projects that this community has made. I still brag about the Little Busters! Minecraft map and I still laugh whenever I watch the classic ‘Charlotte in about 6 minutes’ video (which I share to just about anyone who had just finished Charlotte). But to be part of this community? I don’t know of any higher honor. From the day I was welcomed here until to this very day, I have always felt accepted, and that means a lot to me. I must thank the people who have made my stay memorable.

To @DMB @Hustler_One @andrewcee @NotKyon for being the first people who have let me known that Kazamatsuri was different; that Kazamatsuri was a place I could call home, despite my status of being a newcomer. Whether it be through my introductions, learning Japanese, or playing osu!, I truly felt the warmest of welcomes.

To my friends from the Sharing Circle, thank you for allowing me to be personal, to be myself, in a way that I usually never could online. Thank you as well for sharing yourselves too. I appreciate the opportunity for us to get together and just share stories, ask questions, and be personal. It was comfortable to hang out with you guys!

To my dearest Winter Festival Team Happiness, @Echo @grooven @TomoyaOkazaki @Phlebas @kittytama @SuikaShoujo @adeptArcanist @WorldOfBooks, I will gladly pour everything I’ve got for this team if we ever get the chance again! FOR KOMARI! Haha, but in all seriousness, it has been a blessing to be with you guys. I have never seen as much dedication and drive to achieve goals as much as this team. If y’all planning to make another cover, another podcast, or make some Key food, or take pictures of birds, count me in! Thank you so much for giving life to my otherwise bleak holidays. Team Happiness Saikou!

To my Kaza PH squad, @BlackHayate02 @chesca @Pepe, I hope that this won’t be the last that we meet for conventions or hangouts, you guys make them a gazillion times more fun and less lonely! I’m so lucky to know that the same wonderful people I’ve met online are the same people who are close to home. Also, thank you so much Pepe for being an extremely patient and interesting person to talk to. The mere concept that the first time I met you was because I won a prize from Kaza and that I would physically accept it from one of the site’s admins who just happened to live in the same country and region as I do still baffles me. I hope to get as good as you in rhythm games and computer science. ;w;

Speaking of meetups, to my Kaza JP friends, @Celeskastel @RyuuTamotsu, I hope that the next time I get to Japan, we could finally have the time to properly have a meetup! Thank you for being patient with me despite the scheduling issues and for being fun to talk to. Preferably it would be nice if I can get to meet with other Kaza members who sometimes go to Japan. Like an actual full-on Kazamatsuri meetup! I still dream of that day.

Thank you as well @liclac, I have never heard of Discourse at all before coming into Kazamatsuri, usually, I just discover forums that keep using XenForo. I’ll be looking into experimenting with that in the future. I don’t see how this site would’ve gone the lengths that it did without your help, so thank you for keeping this site alive (in a sysadmin server management way lol).

Lastly, thank you so much @Aspirety for building this community. I don’t usually believe in magic, but if someone were to ask me to define it, I would cite this place as an example. Because what had happened here has been magical. And I want to remember Kazamatsuri for those good times and good moments. Thank you for carrying the weight and the burden that managing a community had unintendedly brought on you; you have done us a favor that I honestly think I never even deserved in the first place. I still remember when you talked about managing the Winter Festival last year on a Monthly Terra podcast about how all the managing of that kept you busy even during family interactions on Christmas. I hope that this time around you’ll be able to catch more well-deserved breaks. Thank you for your hard work.

This is why I’ll miss Kazamatsuri. The memes, the hangouts, the events, the people, the projects, or the discussions, I’ll truly miss all of them. We have made so much happen for this community, yet at the same time, we have also made a difference in our own lives. I would be a liar if I didn’t say that it hurts me that this site is closing, and I know I’m gonna tear up in the last few minutes of this site.

But what about us, the people who made it happen? We’re still around! The spark that made these things happen isn’t going anywhere; it’s still with us. May we carry what we’ve lived and learned from Kazamatsuri into where ever we may go and whatever we may do. The true home for Key fans wasn’t just Kazamatsuri the site, it was Kazamatsuri the people, the very Key fans who sought to build a community in the first place. And if this miracle has happened once, maybe another miracle like this is possible. As the gates close, so does this chapter in our lives, and that’s okay. This isn’t the end. As Aspy said, this is a step; so let’s step forward.

“We’ve spent a lot of time together. So I’ll be with you in the end too.”
–Hideki Hinata

“Even if we forget the faces of our friends, We will never forget the bonds that were carved into our souls.”
–Otonashi Yuzuru

Thank you all so much. Kazamatsuri really is eternal.

[TomoyaOkazaki]

I’ve seen many people, myself included, mention that they’ve put off writing these open letters. It can be difficult to know what to say, and how to react in the first place, when something that is such a big part of your life is over. I’m quite a shy person myself, and while I didn’t say very much, what was more important for me was what others said and did.

I joined Kazamatsuri at a time when I was looking for a community, for somewhere to belong. Key works made me realize just how moving and personal a story can become, and I truly believe Kazamatsuri echoed the same values as the works discussed here. Despite being so quiet, reading the thoughts of everyone else, many of whom were going through the same experiences as myself, allowed me to find a sense of belonging and helped me to understand my own thoughts and experiences in a way no other community could. To me, Kazamatsuri is a reflection of Key and of our own lives. We’ve all changed and grown, laughed, loved, lost, and returned here time and time again. Kazamatsuri is a Key work for our own lives, one that’s shaped us and taught us so much about community and the bonds we share; it’s a connection that spans continents, crosses oceans, and transcends our individual selves in a way that makes us stronger even when we’re alone as it says, no, we’re always together. Kazamatsuri may disappear, but these connections will always remain.

To the people that have made this journey a life-changing one:

@Hardscope, for welcoming me when I was so new to Kaza and had trouble even talking to other members. You give off such a relaxing aura that I always feel I can chat with you about practically anything, anytime.

@Aspirety, for trying your hardest to manage Kaza even when things were bumpy, and remain a role model for everyone, you did a great job. For all of those random discussions that ended up being more about 07th Expansion works than Key (whoops), thank you. You’re someone I’m always happy to discuss theories with for Key, 07th Expansion, or anything else.

@Celeskastel, for becoming such a good friend and always looking out for me. You taught me to see the world differently, and I’m eternally grateful for that.

@epika, for freaking out with me about all sorts of Key/07th Expansion news; your excitement is contagious and I look forward to being sooooo excited with you for the next big announcement.

To everyone who I’ve forgotten to mention that’s had an impact on me, thank you for making Kazamatsuri such a special place. I’ll always cherish the memories I’ve made here.

Let us never forget, the closing of Kazamatsuri is, in many ways, a beginning. Let all of the memories we’ve made and the bonds we share blossom into something even greater, even better than Kaza.

“No matter how cold and distant people may become, on the inside something warm and precious always remains, something that never changes. To me, that’s what family is like.” – Tomoyo Sakagami

To me, that’s what Kazamatsuri is like.
Thank you everyone,
TomoyaOkazaki

[cjlim2007]

Kazamatsuri has been incredibly special to me. After joining, it didn’t take very long to say that I really would love to do something for the community. One of the first memories I have was just going into discord and talking to people and after like a week, @Gnashes gifted me 100% OJ and planetarian on steam. I also loved listening to the podcasts, and at the time, the Charlotte bookclub was happening. The 30 second recaps were always awesome, especially for that bookclub. After hanging around for a while the general air of Kaza led me to open up more, both on discord and in writing posts on the forum itself. Something about being on Kaza always motivated me to try my best. Because of Kaza I could write things I could truly be proud of, especially these five.

The first post I was ever proud of was probably the Harmonia one. Then of course the second one was what got me the title of smol mod. Then the third was this essay that I wrote for my first year college class. I originally posted it in the guild but since the site will be archived, those posts will be unaccessible so I just moved it. Anyways, it answers the question of what Kaza means to me. The fourth one was incredibly satisfying because I got to do it in collaboration with my peeps in Vitamin C. Then finally the fifth and most recent post I loved to write was my conclusion on planetarian and the identity I discovered here.

Shoutouts to the people who made Kaza so good and influenced me a lot along the way. Shoutouts to @Aspirety for making the whole thing and teaching me how to manage the community in an empathic way. To @Pepe for being an overall bro and encouraging me to sing. To @Bizkitdoh for teaching me how to mod and being very, very cool. To @HeliosAlpha for not being an asshole to me even though he describes himself as one. He inspired me in some ways to attempt some translation, and maybe one day it’ll be coherent like his. To @RyuuTamotsu for always sending me extra stuff. I’m grateful for these five especially because I got to interview them for my essay.

Then, shoutouts to Vitamin C: @BeanCurd, @KaiMiang, @Naoki_Saten, @Celeskastel, @Mogaoscar, @Meyvol, @ArtiFedEx, and @AustinDoujin. Especially when it came to the crossover fic. I really, really love the art done by BeanCurd and the avatar I have from ArtiFedEx.

Finally outside of that, shoutouts to @liclac for being really helpful back when I was still into compsci and maintaining the forum. To @Hardscope for all kinds of random crap like dotabata. To @Bonecuss for memes and namirin. To @Kanon because Five. To @Idiology and @stupid for planetarian and stuff. To @soggysadboi, @NotKyon and @LinkThinks for uh… To @ghagler for civ 5. To @IkaCZ for good shooting. To @daysofsummer, @BlackHayate02, and @grooven for being fellow moderators and chanops here. Finally, to my bro @bionic who I don’t actually need to shoutout here. I’m sure us two took the record for longest Kaza DM from Link. To everyone else I forgot to mention, thank you for being here and I hope to see you around!

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot @Yerian. We never forget the dream. Long live the rebellion!

[cloud668]

Writing long, well-written posts is something that I never really excelled at, but seeing that this might be the last chance I’ll get, I suppose I will just write down whatever that comes to mind with no regard to quality.

I am sure this goes for basically every member here, but Key and their work has always had a very special place in my heart ever since I was first introduced to Kanon and Air around 2007 or so. For a very long time, there basically wasn’t really anywhere that Key fans could have meaningful conversations or, really, embrace their mutual enthusiasm for Key’s works. Sure, there was IRC, but back then I always had the impession that Key was somewhat shunned by much of the anime community. Later on, the fandom started to grow with the Clannad and Angel Beats! anime, and Key began to be more accepted all around (that’s the way I saw it, at the very least), but there still wasn’t really much of a place that Key fans could really call home.

Some may remember that back in 2009 or so, most of the Japanese VN industry was very much against the idea of having their works seen outside Japan (thanks to a certain eroge). This unfortunately also included Visual Arts and Key, and I just couldn’t fathom why, given Little Busters! was just released in Japan and I thought it was fantastic despite my limited Japanese reading ability back then (at least relative to now). Hoping to somehow change this view and to let Key know that there is a global audience all around the world that appreicates their stories, I tried to put together two very short-lived fan letter projects, Key10th and Key15th (the latter with fellow Key VN fan translation groups), that simply didn’t pan out for various reasons. It was during the planning phase for this second project that I first met Aspirety online through his Kinniku Project, and even though Key15th didn’t fulfill its intended mission, it is because of this that I discovered Kazamatsuri later on, when Aspirety achieved what I was hoping Key15th would become.

Even though I very rarely posted on the forum (preferring to keep to Discord most of the time), Kazamatsuri is really the first community where I thought I belonged to a community of likeminded people who are passionate about Key. While I haven’t met most of Kazamatsuri’s members in person, I do think I am among friends every time I talk about Key games and animes (and other random topics) with everyone on Discord and when we all participate in the many events over the years.

Many major Key events have happened since the community started. New Key works like AB! 1st Beat, Charlotte, and Summer Pockets were released over the years; a good amount of Key games are now officially available in English (and I’ve had the privilege to work on a lot of them in various capacities); and Key and Visual Arts now recognizes that there is an active fanbase outside Japan. I think most of this couldn’t have been achieved without a community like Kazamatsuri around.

Even though I don’t really post much and the Discord server will still be around, this still feels like I am losing a place where I hang out and am among friends. This is a place that I will truly miss, but I look forward to seeing you guys around. All of us will, of course, still be a part of the larger Key community, and I look forward to seeing you guys enjoy Summer Pockets and hearing what you guys think about it!

Shoutout to all the Kaza peeps who have been a pleasure to hang out with both here and on Discord: @Aspirety, @Pepe, @cjlim2007, @grooven, @Kanon, @HeliosAlpha, @Hardscope, and everyone else!

[Meyvol]

Hi Kaza.

I can’t pretend I’ve been around. I’m very bad at being social, and my job got in the way of participating in most Kaza events. I struggled deciding if should write anything for this, as the deep seated feelings of fondness for you all almost seems like something I’ve made up to fool myself.

I joined Kaza and then did nothing on the forum for like a year before even attempting to join the Discord, and I feel my interactions were just as sparse this whole time afterwards. But the interactions I have had over the years are indeed precious to me, even as sparse as they are.

As odd as it might sound, just supporting Kaza on Patreon always made me feel connected to everyone’s fun, even if I wasn’t directly participating. Just knowing there was that connection always made it feel like I was doing my part to keep everything fun for you all, even if that was just something I told myself.

The few times that I felt like I had something to say, you all were always there to talk back, and I’ll miss that feeling. I know the Discord is still there, and I have no plans on leaving it, but I doubt my old habits will die easily. I’m always interested in doing things, but I’m never available or social enough to do them.

I love you Kaza.

[bionic]

I’m sure us two took the record for longest Kaza DM from Link.

I want to make it clear that it wasn’t a conversation we had, but a 250+ line shitpost.

[Celeskastel]

Hatsumode is just finishing up at my shrine today. I wanted to join the party and write a letter sooner but alas my schedule wouldn’t allow it! But I wanted to take this time to say thank you so much. I met really wonderful friends here at Kazamatsuri…to say that is an understatement but it’s what comes to mind at first.

I really made and got to meet wonderful friends that are so kind and thoughtful and caring. I’m so thankful for that. I loved participating in the fun events at Kaza too, the rare voice chats, and more…

Thanks to Kaza, I had so many fun adventures here in Japan too with all the wonderful people I met…if it weren’t for this community, I would have never got to experience those treasured times. They’ll stay in my memory forever.

I wish I could have met this community sooner, but I think I came at the right time overall. Ultimately I’m glad that I could even be a part of it!

Thank you so much everyone…this letter is a bit fragmented and vague, writing after a long day of greeting worshippers. But I hope my feelings can be understood. Thank you so much!!!