"No matter what hardship you face, you can rise back up as long as there's someone supporting you."
— Shima Tamahiko
Tamahiko Shima, the second son of a wealthy family, survives the traffic accident that killed his mother but is left with a crippled right arm. Deemed useless as an heir by his father, he is banished to the family's estate in Chiba and becomes suicidal until a bride "bought" by his father shows up at his front door. She is Yuzuki Tachibana, a countryside girl whose family is in debt to his. In her, he slowly finds reasons to live and persevere, and in turn she finds in him a gentle and thoughtful partner who she slowly but surely falls for.
Taisho Otome Fairy Tale (Taisho Otome Otoigibanashi, or Taisho-era Maiden's Fairytale) is a Romance manga that falls into the category of Iyashikei as well. It is written and illustrated by Sana Kirioka. It was serialized in Shueisha's Jump Square from July 2015 to September 2017, with its chapters collected in five tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Synergy SP aired from October to December 2021.
The sequel, Showa Otome Otogibanashi, have been serialized in Shounen Jump+ from August 2018 to May 2020, following another Shima and maiden pair.
Taisho Otome Fairy Tale contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Tamayoshi is an absolutely terrible father to Tamahiko, writing him off as dead at the beginning of the story just so his older siblings have better chances at inheriting the family business.
- Ryo and her brothers also live under one such father. He makes her steal money from others to pay for his alcohol and his physically violent with his children. If one of his son hadn't gone to Tokyo to earn money, he was willing to sell Ryo.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Tamako initially looked down on Yuzuki, but came to warm up to her when she not only offers to take her to the restroom during a thunder storm, but treated her kindly when she accidentally wets herself by bathing her and cleaning her up.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Shima Conglomerate is one of the richest families in Japan, who, aside Tamahiko, only think of themselves, and are shown to be dismissive or manipulative to others, even towards each other.
- Bring My Brown Pants: Tamako has a Fear of Thunder, and a thunderstorm makes her wet herself. Partially justified, since she had already been holding it beforehand.
- Brother–Sister Team: Hakaru and Kotori, who are siblings, become a singing duet after the former grows more confident.
- Changing Yourself for Love: Tamahiko postpones Yuzuki's offer to marry once she gets old enough, to study and better himself to be more worthy as a husband.
- Character Development: After living in self-loathing due to his father's dismissal, Tamahiko discovers his talent for teaching and becomes a tutor for village kids.
- Darkest Hour: The real-world 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake occurs while Yuzuki is visiting a friend. Besides Tamahiko seeing countless families in Tokyo that have lost their homes or lives, Yuzuki is missing and is a possible victim. Fortunately, she's only unconscious.
- D-Cup Distress: Yuzu has a serious case of Hidden Buxom, her breasts already twice as big as her hands at 14 years of age. She complains at length about all the problems they cause, not the least of which is how they've grown while the rest of her hasn't.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Played with. The story kicks off with Tamahiko surviving a car crash, but at the expense that he not only lost usage of his right hand, but also his mother. On one hand, it's implied that she was just as neglectful towards Tamahiko as her husband. On the other hand, Tamahiko has a fond memory of when she would sing a tender lullaby to Tamako when they were children.
- Defrosting Ice King: Yuzuki's kindness makes Tamahiko stop treating her like a nuisance, and he grows more affectionate to her over time.
- The Dreaded: The Shima Conglomerate are infamous as a "Rakshasa (demon) family" with the reputation of filthy rich and cold-hearted sociopaths.
- Easily Forgiven: Played with. Although Ryo takes the steps to be nicer to Tamahiko and Yuzuki after she respectively stole his wallet and bookmark and put a wedge between them, the couple come to befriend her rather quickly.
- Empty Shell: Tamahiko's state of mind in the beginning of the story is near the sinking bottom, he's so depressed he can hardly get out of bed and considers dying the only way he can be useful to the family. Yuzuki fixes him.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Tamayoshi is dumbstruck that Tamahiko would prefer living with Yuzuki over his rich family.
- Family Theme Naming: Every member of the Shima family has "Tama" in their name.
- Fear of Thunder: Tamako is scared of thunderstorms, and accidentally wets herself in front of Yuzuki. Yuzuki quickly helping her out makes the two friends.
- Forgot the Disability: Tamahiko carries Yuzuki from the earthquake site despite his right arm almost not working.
- Happily Married: Tamahiko and Yuzuki eventually get married and have kids.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Tamahiko has the terrible Shima reputation preceding him, for example a village doctor treating a sick Yuzuki believes her being abused like a slave.
- Heal the Cutie: Over the course of the manga, thanks to Yuzuki, Tamahiko goes from being so broken he wishes to be more dead than "in his father's eyes" to a loving and energetic man with many friends.
- Hidden Buxom: As Tamahiko discovers, due to it causing a chest injury, Yuzuki wears a Sarashi that's far too tight on her.
- Idol Singer: Shiratori Kotori is a travelling guitarist and a singer with a huge fan following, which includes Yuzuki and Tamako.
- Ignored Aesop: After his eldest son Tamaki dies, Tamayoshi apologizes to Tamahiko for his abusive, neglectful behavior, and offers him to return to the family. As it turns out, Tamayoshi couldn't care less about his dead son, he only needs an heir.
- I Have No Son!: Shima Tamayoshi, upon his son losing the use of his arm in an accident, declares him as good as dead and sends him off to a remote village, and later makes it semi-legal for him to not even count as family.
- Inciting Incident: The car accident that killed Tamahiko's mother and left him disabled in his arm.
- It's All About Me: When Tamayoshi comes to Tamasuke to ask him to help an ailing Tamaki, the latter has to point out that even if he wanted to go help his nephew, he has an entire ward of injured patients who need him more.
- Kick the Dog:
- When she visits the two, Tamako not only mocks Yuzuki, but rubs it in Tamahiko's face that he's been declared legally dead by the Shima family, even bringing up that their siblings and father put up a façade of mourning him to garner sympathy.
- Later, Ryo does this to Yuzuki by proxy by claiming she and Tamahiko had an affair, temporarily putting a wedge between the two. She did it for no other reason that she resented Yuzuki for her happiness.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Tamayoshi's dismissal towards his family strikes back when his first son dies in the earthquake and his second son rejects his offer to return (who also notes that if not for Yuzuki whom Tamayoshi has hired, Tamahiko would have taken the offer), then Tamao and Tamako also leave to pursue their own paths, leaving him with no heir. He dies at some point before Showa Otome Otogibanashi, with Tamayo taking over the family after it took a lot of economic damage due to the Great Depression.
- Missing Mom: Tamahiko's mother dies in a car accident in the backstory.
- Older Than They Look: Yuzuki is noted to look like an elementary schooler despite being 14, due to her height.
- Parental Neglect: The Shima patriarch decides his business is more important than taking care of own son, who just lost an arm and the mother, and lets an outsider girl he just met to take care of him.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: By her own request to cover her uncle's debts, Yuzuki was bought by Shima family to be Tamahiko's caretaker and future wife. As it turns out, she's the best person in the world he could ever possibly live with and they do get married by the end of the manga. By the time of Showa Otome Otogibanashi they have children.
- Pet the Dog: While going to school, Tamahiko comes to steadily win over his fellow students when he offers his own pencil to another student, planting the idea that he's kindlier than the other members of the cruel Shima family.
- The Pollyanna: Yuzuki almost never breaks a smile and is cheerful regardless of any hardships.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Tamayo murders Tamaki by poison so that she can inherit her father's position as head of the Shima family. However, by the time she finally gets it, all of her surviving siblings have left the Shima household and abandoned the Shima family name, and the family's fortune has taken a turn for the worse due to the Great Depression. The sequel sees her sowing the seeds of her ultimate destruction by mistreating distant relation Jintarō, whom she had intended to groom as her own successor.
- Rich Bitch:
- Tamahiko's sister Tamako isn't above throwing money away for her convenience and acts absolutely insulting to him and Yuzuki. She gets better after staying with them for a while.
- On the other hand, Tamayo is worse than Tamako in that regard, using her power to make Jintaro's life hell even after he escapes, and does NOT get any better.
- Rule of Symbolism: Invoked. Even whilst smiling, Yuzuki reacts to Ryo's implication that she and Tamahiko were having an affair by ripping apart the bookmark she gifted him, the one containing the flower that represents unchanging love. Later, Tamako explains over the phone that the act of ripping the bookmark, and Tamahiko comes to realize the act of destroying the bookmark signifies Yuzuki's heart breaking. Aptly enough, Tamahiko spends the night repairing the bookmark as a gesture of actively mending their relationship.
- The Tease: Ryo likes to flirt with Tamahiko, even in front of Yuzuki at times.
- Tranquil Fury: After Ryo gives Yuzuki the bookmark she made and gave Tamahiko on his birthday, accusing the latter of infidelity when she actually stole it, Yuzuki rips it to shreds in front of Tamahiko, then ignores the issue without breaking a smile. Later both Yuzuki and Tamahiko have a My God, What Have I Done? moment and reconcile.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Tamaki Shima dies from the injuries received during the Kanto Earthquake shortly after his introduction. It's later revealed that Tamayo poisoned Tamaki so she could be the heir rather than anyone else.
- White Sheep: Tamahiko and Tamao are the only members of the Shima family with no sociopathic tendencies.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When he notices Tamahiko at the ward, Tamayoshi coldly wonders why Tamasuke is bothering to acknowledge him, despite the boy was legally declared dead. In response, Tamasuke argues that Tamahiko is far stronger than the entire Shima family gives credit. He sees that he's grown as a person, and his traveling to Tokyo on foot in the midst of the Great Kanto Earthquake just to find Yuzuki is a testament of his inner strength.
