I loved the direction of the scene when Asirpa is analyzing the skins. Where we get the blue clarifying it follows a pattern, and to her that means they are real. Not having a pattern and being red means they are fake.
However, given Hijikata’s intuition that the skins that Ariko found are what put Asirpa in doubt. As we have the blue mixed into the red. Man, this truly shows again how great an antagonist Tsurumi is because if they are all fake or real, Asirpa wouldn’t have doubts. As both she & Hijikata wouldn’t suspect him handing over real skins to them.
Still, despite that, this episode showcases how much Asirpa has grown since the end of the Abashiri Prison Arc. Growing into a leader that can stand up to these grown men and now can get both Hijikata & Sugimoto to cooperate. Especially considering how both Hijikata & Sugimoto merit not wanting to cooperate because they know the other would get in the other’s way.
Production-wise, the anime looks better than S3 & S4. Fight choreography is super solid too. Voice direction and sound direction are as good as always. I am beyond excited to see the ending animated.