TV-Series
Description
Mirei Saegusa, known within the dream world as the Witch of Ordinariness, is introduced as a young woman whose real life stands in stark contrast to the peaceful existence she craves. In the waking world, she is a figure skater of the highest national caliber, driven by the intense pressures of rigorous training and an unwanted schedule of talent-related activities. The stress of maintaining this demanding life, coupled with the aftermath of a devastating loss in a major competition, leads her to develop Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, a condition that causes her to slip into extended periods of sleep and become trapped in the dream realm. Her fundamental motivation is the yearning for a normal, carefree existence, something she feels has been stolen from her by the demands of her career. In the dream world, she constructs a reality for herself where she can simply be an ordinary university student, enjoying the mundane routines and social interactions that her real life denies her. Her personality in this dreamscape is one of gentle contentment, as she fully indulges in the fantasy of ordinariness. She is receptive to guidance, as shown when the protagonist Haruto Tsukishiro enters her dream and helps her navigate the simple pleasures of college life, teaching her how regular students have fun. The role of Mirei in the narrative is that of a witch whose domain is the desire for the commonplace, and her episode explores the theme of whether a seemingly simple wish can ever truly satisfy a person fleeing from greatness. Her primary relationship within the story is with Haruto, who acts as a guide and a bridge between her idealized dream and the fragments of her real-world identity. The key development in her arc comes from the subtle undercurrent of doubt that permeates her perfect dream; while she outwardly enjoys her ordinary life, there is a suggestion that the fantasy itself is fragile and unsustainable. Notably, a deeper layer is added when it is revealed that, in reality, the figure skater Mirei is actually a hospitalized elderly woman, casting the entire episode as a possible recollection of past memories or a complex fantasy about a life that could have been different. As a witch, her notable ability is the power to maintain and control the stable, peaceful dreamscape of university life, a space of her own making that reflects her innermost longing for simplicity.