We’ve made it to volume 5, boys! Please Put Them On, Takamine-san is a series that has continuously delivered some great moments of fanservice that always finds a way to be wholesome. When it comes to this new entry, I think the friendship between Shirota and Takamine makes a few significant leaps, but I also feel like Shirota sees real growth in this volume.
We begin with a dose of humor as Shirota and Takamine discuss Takamine’s coat outfit that allows her to hide breasts if she isn’t wearing a bra under her white shirt. This opening chapter is likely the lowest part of the volume, but it does act as a buffer for the more significant scenes. Shirota struggles with his part in the play, even though it’s a minor role. So Takamine steps out of her comfort zone to help him out.
The entire volume features Takamine’s backhanded way of “helping” Shirota by making him feel like a pervert or less than, but they actually have a lot in common. Their friendship goes to many new places throughout the volume, and Shirota is forced to engage his confidence or suffer the wrath of Takamine. There are not too many situations where Takamine uses her abilities, but there’s one hilarious scene where Shirota must navigate getting her underwear back on.
While fanservice can be found in nearly every chapter, this volume features the most significant steps in building the relationship between the two leads. There are several interactions where Takamine is slightly startled, but she covers it up as usual. On the other hand, Shirota tries to keep up with the constant teasing from her, but he finds the most character growth in this volume than I’ve seen in the series so far.
Mangaka Yuichi Hiiragi goes out of his way to put Takamine in something best outfits ever. There’s a range of high-class and fantasy outfits and even a maid bikini. The volume is packed with her just being the best-looking female lead in a manga, and it often made my chest hurt to witness some of the awkward situations the two characters found themselves in. It’s all a perverted mess, but similar to Takamine, I leaned into the genre as much as possible to normalize it.
Please Put Them On, Takamine-san Vol. 5 is one of the most significant volumes that highlights real character growth and situations to come. The relationship between the characters is moving fast, but I can only imagine the upcoming chapters will slow things down a bit. That means more fan service, but I enjoyed some of the more wholesome and insane moments these characters share here. Oh well, Takamine is best girl, so I’m down for whatever at this point.
