It is quite interesting the connection that Ogata & Usami have. While Tsurumi was trying to pull back Ogata from killing Yuusaku, we see that Usami pushes him to do it. As he pushes him to kill because he got Ogata to think he could be the symbol to replace Yuusaku, which is illogical because Ogata isn’t pure like Yuusaku.
Usami himself is quite odd because he is the only one who truly loves being Tsurumi’s pawn. Even when Tsurumi doesn’t want to admit it. Though Ogata hit him where it hurts because even if he is proud of being a pawn, he is the cheapest pawn. Which he isn’t wrong about, but that definitely hurt Usami where it hurts. It makes sense now how much Usami hates Ogata.
Asirpa finally learns all of Sugimoto’s backstory. All about Ume & Toraji why he is getting enough of the money for the gold for her sake. Still, Sugimoto still wants to be there for Asirpa. It isn’t quite the answer she wants, but she wasn’t lying; she was prepared for it. Asirpa has the fate of the Ainu to worry about, so she can’t worry about Sugimoto leaving or not too much. Granted, it is clear that she wishes he would stay as they become partners. Good on her to realize her father wouldn’t kill those Ainu because it would be illogical for him to be the one to do that.
One thing we quickly realize here is how clever Botaro is. He quickly pieces it together that Asirpa is Noppera-Bou’s daughter and the key to finding the gold. So much Shiraishi basically says, Ok, let’s just tell him; he already practically knows. Still, how much can they trust him? Also, good on Sugimoto & Asirpa to tell Shiraishi that she remembered what she needs regarding finding the Ainu Gold. As Shiraishi took a gamble, you can tell he is absolutely loyal to Asirpa at this point, much like Sugimoto.
This episode covered chapters 241-243 as well as half of chapter 244. They rearranged things a bit in this episode, but it still works. Funny enough, Sugimoto’s backstory was covered again in these chapters of the manga. A rare case of a repeated flashback being used well for the sake of anime watchers. This episode puts the series in a prime position to end with both the Sapporo and Final Train arcs with high amounts of action. Hopefully there is more budget this time to keep the action consistent.