Definitely wouldn't have worked, I compared it and it just wouldn't look right, her ass was the most important part lol. And yes, as mentioned in my blog her hands are originally that large, for some odd reason. Take that up with Shibano Kaito lol.
Also note when in ?Ninja mode, her hair changes and it gets larger, not to mention the mask totally throwing off everyone's sight. Trust me, I wouldn't have come out with the end product you see above had I not already tested it. (simply lowering opacity of the top layer and resize the Ayano scan below the top layer, remember that preserving aspect ratio is highly important)
Overall I'd say the sacrifices made weren't because of my lack of skill, but rather in comparison to the ?Ninja image had I made her lower half of her body smaller it would've destroyed Shibano's Kaito template. (Remember the body can't be resized any larger than that. Try hi-res'ing DS pixel's and you'll know what I mean.)
Maybe someday I'll upload a redrawn version. Like, professional style. Which would take a hell of a lot of time due to work. But I have this personal feeling that altering it, instead of repairing it, isn't doing Shibano Kaito justice. I clearly did the best possible chop 'shop job with the images that are available of her, in a short time no less...