User:Crestfalling/Journal with Witch draftspace

Sylvia Jones of Anime News Network (ANN) opined that Asa's narrative centers around her acceptance of the loss of her parents. She felt that although Asa struggles to handle the situation, she nevertheless tries her best to navigate it with Makio, with the story focusing on their emotions along the way.

Several critics commented on the story's depiction of reactions to grief. Jones observed that after Asa has a "muted" response to the initial tragedy, Makio helps Asa understand that her feelings are for herself alone, rather than for others. Jones argued that Asa only expresses her emotions when she is "stripped of her agency to carry the sadness on her own" by her classmates. Similarly, Rebecca Silverman of ANN felt that Makio offers writing as a way for Asa to process her emotions without being forced to openly express them.

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Regarding Makio's portrayal, Richard Eisenbeis of ANN opined that the story shows her as an imperfect person who takes in Asa in a moment of "righteous indignation", yet ultimately characterizes her as "respect[ing] [Asa's] feelings and opinions even if she doesn't understand them." Silverman argued that Makio's initial ambivalence over caring for Asa is not "coldness", but rather a depiction of the privacy of her emotions and their divergence from social norms.

Tony Prickett of Anime Feminist contended that the story confronted the flaws of Japan's foster care system by contrasting its harmfulness with Makio's "duty and justice". In particular, Prickett highlighted a scene where Makio joins Asa in a lonely desert after Asa's relatives refuse to care for her. They continued that the narrative showed how foster children are often forced to prematurely assume the "responsibilities of adulthood", even when they are not ready for it.