Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity

The main part of Tayutama takes place in a town called Ashihara-chō (葦原町), which houses various landmarks such as the Sosei Academy (創聖学院, Sōsei Gakuin), which the main characters attend, and the Yachimata Shrine (八衢神社, Yachimata Jinja), a local Shinto shrine managed by Yuri's family. Sosei Academy consists of two departments: a notorious all-girls department named Flawless (フローレス, Furōresu), which stems its roots from the Sosei Girls' Academy;[4] and a recently added coeducation department named Slightly (スライトリー, Suraitorii). The campus grounds are separated into two parts which houses the two separate departments. Students attending the Flawless department live in a dormitory across from the school building, which is separated from Slightly's school building and schoolyard by a small forest.

Supernatural phenomena are a recurring theme in Tayutama. The fictional, mythological race Tayutai (太転依) is worshiped by the Yachimata Shrine,[1] and its members are able to take shape in various forms, including humans. Various characters also possess supernatural abilities, such as Yuri who excels in Shinto studies and practices, and Mashiro, who is a Tayutai herself.[5] Yumina and Ameri both receive wings as a result of gaining the favor and allying respectively with Houou and Ouryu, two Tayutai. Mifuyu is befriended by Nue, another Tayutai, and is physically powerful enough to engage a Tayutai in battle.

The player assumes the role of Yuri Mito (泉戸 裕理, Mito Yūri, voiced by Satoshi Hino), the protagonist of Tayutama. Yuri comes from a family that presides over the Yachimata Shrine, and holds a vast knowledge in Shinto practices. He takes an interest in automobile maintenance, and also aspires to be an auto mechanic or designer.[1] Mashiro Mito (泉戸 ましろ, Mito Mashiro, voiced by Noriko Rikimaru), the main heroine of Tayutama, is a Tayutai girl with a high understanding of spiritual powers. She is the incarnation of the goddess Kikuramikami no Hime (綺久羅美守毘売, voiced by Haruka Nagami), and wishes for a mutual harmony between humans and Tayutai.[6] She falls in love with Yuri soon after being left in his care, to the extent that she claims to be his wife.[5][6]

Several characters also become involved in Yuri and Mashiro's attempt to create a world where both humans and Tayutai can coexist together. Ameri Kawai (河合 アメリ, Kawai Ameri, voiced by Asami Shimoda), another heroine, is Yuri's energetic and outgoing childhood friend.[7] She frequently carries around candies, which she often shares with others, and has a crush towards Yuri, but is unable to carry her feelings further. Yumina Takanashi (小鳥遊 ゆみな, Takanashi Yumina, voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi), also a heroine, is Yuri's stepsister who resided with his family until their mother's death.[8] She is often shy and quiet in front of others, and takes an interest in activities such as drawing and cooking. Yumina transfers into Flawless early in the story, and often voluntarily takes care of the household chores for Yuri's family. Mifuyu Kisaragi (如月 美冬, Kisaragi Mifuyu, voiced by Shizuka Itō), the last of Tayutama's heroines, is an honor student from Flawless. She is calm and intelligent, and tends to act as an elder sister figure to other Flawless students.[9] She is skilled in various martial arts, and is in particular proficient in kenjutsu.[10]

The story of Tayutama revolves around the male protagonist Yuri Mito, whose family manages the local Shinto shrine. One day during spring break, Yuri and his friends Ameri Kawai and Sankurou Kaname find in the school's woods a mysterious relic that was used in the past to seal the Tayutai, an ancient, mythological race.[1] Yuri discovers that the school board has determined that the relic is insignificant for preservation, and that it will be demolished to allow the school to expand.[1] After coming to the conclusion that destroying the relic may have adverse consequences, the trio attempts to relocate the relic's spirits. As Yuri performs the ritual, he summons Kikuramikami no Hime, a Tayutai goddess who explains to him the belligerent relationship between humans and Tayutai; Kikuramikami then incarnates as a young girl, Mashiro, in hopes of maintaining a mutual relationship with humans. Shortly afterwards, the relic is destroyed in an accident, releasing the entire race of Tayutai. Among them are Nue, Houou, and Ouryu, three influential Tayutai who hold humans in low regard and are referred to collectively as the "Three Mightiest" (三強, Sankyō). Following the incident, Yuri takes Mashiro to the Yachimata Shrine to live with his family, and later finds Mashiro as a teenager, who proclaims herself to be Yuri's wife.[6]

In their attempt to create a world where humans and Tayutai can peacefully coexist, Yuri and Mashiro battle the members of the Three Mightiest in a successive, nonlinear order determined by the player's decisions. In one scenario, Nue, a young female Tayutai, begins to steal undergarments from the Flawless dormitories due to her curiosity in them. She is defeated by Mashiro and Mifuyu Kisaragi, and finds herself befriended by Mifuyu, who later begins to take care of her as a guardian. Yumina Takanashi, Yuri's stepsister, also begins to take care of Hou, an exhausted bird Tayutai who begins to nest on Yumina's head. Yumina is later attacked by Ou, another Tayutai who makes up the Houou couple with Hou, before the couple reconciles with the help of Yuri and Mashiro. Lastly, Ameri allies herself with Ouryu, the last of the Three Mightiest, out of jealousy from the amount of attention Mashiro receives from Yuri. After Ameri reconciles with Yuri, Ouryu agrees to stop attacking humans, and acknowledges Mashiro's goal.

A manga adaptation based on Tayutama was serialized between the January and July 2009 issues of the manga magazine Comp Ace.[19] The manga series was drawn by illustrator Yukiwo and written by Yūya, and features an original story in which Yuri becomes a girl.[20] The individual chapters were later compiled into a single bound volume published by Kadokawa Shoten on June 26, 2009.[20] Enterbrain published a series of four-panel comic strip anthologies, titled Magi-Cu 4-koma Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity. The anthology series spanned four volumes, and it was released under Enterbrain's Magi-Cu Comics imprint between April 25 and October 26, 2009.[21][22] The contents of the anthologies were drawn by numerous artists, and eighteen different illustrators contributed to the first volume.[23]

An art book titled Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity Official Book was released with the game's limited edition release on July 11, 2008.[11] The book included content such as sketches of the characters and staff comments.[24] A 112-page visual fan book for the fan disc, Tayutama: It's Happy Days, was first released with the game's limited edition release on May 29, 2009;[14] it was also released separately on January 22, 2010.[23] The book contains content such as illustrations and computer graphic artwork from the game, development materials, and staff interviews.[23]

A Tayutama anime adaptation was first announced in Enterbrain's Tech Gian magazine on December 20, 2008.[25] The anime series was produced by Silver Link, directed by Keitaro Motonaga and written by Makoto Uezu.[26] The anime was first exhibited as a video at Media Factory's Spring Anime Festival in the Ryōgoku KFC Hall in Tokyo, on March 29, 2009. The exhibition featured a public showing of the anime's first episode along with Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom and Queen's Blade's respective episodes, and also talk shows featuring voice actors from the three series.[27][28] The anime was first broadcast in Japan between April 5 and June 21, 2009 on the Chiba TV broadcasting network,[29][30][31] and was later broadcast on other independent stations and the AT-X network.[29][32] The series was released in Japan as six separate Blu-ray Disc and DVD volumes between June 25 and November 25, 2009; each volume also contains an animated extra titled Tayutayu: Pure my Heart (たゆたゆ -Pure my heart-).[33] Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime for distribution by Section23 Films in North America, and the series was released as a volume of two DVDs on March 16, 2010.[34]

An Internet radio talk show titled Tayutama Radio: Hirusagari no Yometachi (タユタマらじお -昼下がりの嫁たち-) was hosted by Noriko Rikimaru and Asami Shimoda, who voiced Mashiro and Ameri respectively in the anime.[35] The radio show was first streamed on the Japanese Internet radio network Onsen on March 9, 2009, and continued to do so every Monday until its tenth episode on July 13, 2009.[36]