What you are about to read is a review of the Tayutama manga, but before proceeding, it's necessary to make some things clear.
As you may already know, this manga is not the original material for Tayutama. Both manga and anime are based on a visual novel, a game genre that consists of little to no interaction from the player, but instead being a narrative where the player will be most part of the time reading text on the screen from beginning to end to understand the story.
It is important to state that I have NOT played the visual novel that originated the series (image above), since the product is only available in Japanese and Chinese. This warning is important so if you, avid Tayutama fan (that's completely impossible but let's assume this scenario), notice some relevant element of the visual novel that should have been mentioned and wasn't, please keep in mind this text was made by the perspective of an anime only fan.
Another aspect, despite not obligatory, but still pretty common of this genre of game is the ecchi. It is present in the original material, and both anime and manga, as adaptations, also contain it in various moments. Although this review already avoids the use of explicit images, the few ones considered suggestive that have been used will be marked as spoiler. That all being clear, let's begin!
Chapter 1 - Vows between husband and wife :
Since the manga only has one volume and six chapters, having a more detailed review about each one of them turns out to be more viable, and first things first, let's begin from chapter one. All characters that will last for the rest of the story, except for Ooryuu (I bet you don't even remember him by name), appear here : Yuuri, Mashiro, Ameri, Mifuyu, Nue and Yumina.
All of them appear in sequence, and none of them are properly introduced. This won't be a problem if you've already watched the anime or played the game, but if you didn't, things that don't make sense even with context will make even less.
It also serves as some kind of showcase of Yukiwo's art (Original creator of Jashin-chan Dropkick, series with anime adaptations airing to this day), which is pretty nice here! One of the most likeable aspects of the manga is the art.
The chapter is filled with wholesome moments, and when they end, the main problematic that will serve for the rest of the story is introduced : Mashiro, the protagonist's self proclaimed wife, has her body turned into a "younger" version of herself, her original form as a tayutai, which will be the key for the main problematic of the story that will be better elaborated in the following chapter.
And you may be already thinking that there are other reasons beyond lore for the choices of this design, and that is evidenced even more later with scenes I unfortunately cannot show here due to the guidelines.
Chapter 2 - Mashiro's troubles :
The problem showed in the previous chapter is given more detail here. Now Mashiro is sick, being treated by Nue, generating some scenes that are a blend of comedy and ecchi. Most importantly, it is in this chapter that the "main problematic" is truly given it's purpose.
Nue's medicine proves to be effective, as Mashiro really gets her body back to what it was before, but that came with a cost. In Mashiro's place, Yuuri's body has now suffered some changes : Just like Mashiro had turned into a child, he has now turned into... a woman.
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide
I mean this IS also an element present in the anime, but it works in a completely different way in there. In the anime, his body goes through the same changes with the use of an amulet, and that seems to make more sense, at least.
There is much less to talk over in this chapter since it goes in a very straightforward line, with some ecchi scenes to fill the space, but it will be possible to get more specific in the following ones.
Chapter 3 - It's not easy to be a girl? :
As the title implies, this chapter is focused on the protagonist, Mito Yuuri, adaptating and dealing with the fact that he is a girl now, with his friends often making fun out of him. He does, however, seem to be getting used to it pretty well.
I MEAN HE DOESN'T REALLY BOTHER BEING CALLED ONEE-SAN BY YUMINA I think we can all agree he was secretly enjoying this situation (Not judging him though).
Oh yeah they also submit him (or her?) to second or third degree burns because they somehow got to the conclusion that hot water would turn his body back to normal again.
In the end of this day at the pool, the group returns home. The next pages take place in the following day, with Yuuri waking up and... taking a nice look at his new body. (Again, that's not a judgement since that would be completely natural)
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide
He is caught by Ameri in the middle of this process and is made fun of again, but the most important part is to come : When no one expected, Ameri claims she came out with a solution for Yuuri's body change! And that miraculous antidote is...
...to go on a date with her. No comments.
Chapter 4 - Sweetheart :
AND THAT FOR SOME REASON WORKS SINCE YUURI ACTUALLY GOES DESPITE BEING MARRIED.
Also, thinking about this right after looking at this panel again, but Yuuri is wearing feminine clothes. Obviously, but what if he got transformed back into a man in the middle of the street? In that scenario, he would end up wearing women's clothes that probably don't suit the size of his original body and that also seems to be at least a bit embarrassing. But that's not relevant.
But there's something strange. Even though she was the one who proposed the date, Ameri is late, and the reason for that, at least for me, was the funniest gag in these 6 chapters.
Ameri doesn't appear because she has caught a cold. She gave such importance to this date to the point she took a THREE HOUR bath, and also fell unconscious in the hot water shortly after.
That's also the first appearance of our boy Ooryuu.
He doesn't really do much and it does not make logical sense for him to be here at this moment, but that's fine. One of the things he does, however, is to tell the protagonist that the only way he can get his original body back is putting an end to the Kikurami no Kami Hime's – to Mashiro's – life.
This chapter suffers a very blunt change of tone from the previous, with some scenes showing the regrets Ameri has over not being able to tell Yuuri she loves him, which is an element present in the anime and one of the most interesting things around her character, but that's not explored at all here. Remember that we're short in time, there are only two chapters left for this narrative.
Chapter 5 - Mashiro's decision :
The things Ooryuu said do not leave Yuuri's mind, and he starts having dreams of him killing Mashiro. That's a very interesting part despite lasting only two pages, since it's rare to see scenes with this thematic in Tayutama in general.
After waking up from the nightmare, Yuuri sees his body is, strangely, back to normal. The reason behind this is explained along with the relation between Mashiro's child form and Yuuri's girl form.
What Ooryuu said proves to be somewhat correct : At the same time of Yuuri's recovery, Mashiro disappeared, and went back to her child form. They are affecting each other's bodies by being close, and, knowing that Yuuri won't be able to live his normal life again with her around, Mashiro is driven to a sad conclusion.
Chapter 6 - The road we have travelled together :
Still looking for Mashiro, Yuuri runs through the streets (even though he has a motorcycle) in the search. Full of guilty for thinking he does not retribute her feelings for him enough, he finally stops on a bench. After a while, Mashiro finally appears.
Yuuri opens himself about how important she is for him, and in a farewell tone, they kiss.
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide
It's wholesome, but I stopped to think just now that this scene happens while she's still in her child form, so I'll put a spoiler tag just to be safe.
They don't show this at the end of the adaptation for TV, which gets a point for the manga over the anime in this part, but as a whole this ending feels pretty incomplete. The two endings are similar, but, in the anime, the ending as a whole still so much deeper and better in general, so go watch it if you didn't.
Conclusion and afterword :
As said in the summary and in the introduction, viewing the anime as an adaptation of the manga, or the manga as an adaptation of the anime isn't fair. They both come from the same material : The visual novel. But more than that, even not taking the VN (which I didn't read) in consideration, they follow storylines different enough for not being able to be called the same.
The anime follows a more logical and chronological order of the events for a new watcher, giving more time for recognizing and getting used to the characters, to the environment, and everything the manga doesn't do about it's own world. But that does not make the manga necessarily bad, they just were meant to be consumed in different ways. So, in short, yes, this read is recommended for those who have already watched the anime so that the reader can at least know who the characters are and know the reason behind the actions of some of them.
Having an open mind and reading the manga just as something that adds a bit more to the series and not as a serious and important work, it turns out as a really fun and enjoyable experience for a fan of Tayutama.
Thanks for taking your time on this reading! I had fun writing this as much as I had reading these six chapters. Did you have a different interpretation than me about some point, or just some random thing to add? Please let me know! I'm all ears (in this case "eyes" but you get it).
Let's keep this up so we, Tayutama fans, can prove to the world we still exist.