Not only do I agree that Takemiya Jin is a goddess, but she is also someone very important to me. Omoi no Kakera was something that, no way around it, saved me during very dark days. But it's true that she has never released anything long enough to fit the anime constraints, so that's why I think an anthology series could make up for that. And I would really be interested to see how her distinctive art style can be adapted to another medium. I know it's a bit of a divisive point for many of us, but I fell in love with her art even before I realized how great her stories were.
As for Arioto, well, it's not like I like it per se. Just like anything by Mikami Teren, it has a truckload of moments that don't sit right with me (Watanare is a pinnacle of that if you ask me, and I hear it gets an adaptation). I could discuss at length what I think is wrong with Mikami Teren's works, but to avoid another rant, I'll limit myself to saying that they are blatant yuri exploitation, pretty much like there was a "blaxploitation" movie scene in the 1970s. So, my point is not that it's good per se; it's that it can easily be adapted into anime and bring new people to the fandom, pretty much like Citrus did last decade (and, if I'm honest, I don't enjoy this series much).
As for the Witch, well, I see where you're coming from, but let me offer you a different perspective. I agree that she could have used this ability to become much more than what she actually became, but that would require her to have a completely different mindset—one where she doesn't spend much of her lifeblood and time on self-loathing. There are many extremely talented people who, despite not being literally stuck in a Groundhog Day situation, feel like they are, they feel their potential getting squandered, they feel that the lack of human connection is slowly killing them. It's true that their failure to reach something greater stems from this emotional background, and, in a sense, they are the cause of their own Groundhog Day. But, I don't know, that is why I find this all quite relatable. Or at least highly believable. And I also know all too well that true love, while hardly the only way to do so, is still something that can break the walls inside such a person and help them finally reach for the stars instead of wallowing in self-hatred and self-pity. And you know, even in the literal Groundhog Day, the protagonist ended up using all this endless time to improve himself because he really fell for that girl and understood he had to become truly worthy of her. |