Before watching this anime, you should be familiar with the history of Shinsengumi and its figures. Otherwise the plot might be a bit confusing and fast. I don't know much about Hijikata's life, but I could follow the OVA quite well. The plot progressed fast, but not too fast. The info texts between the events were very useful, especially with time skips. The art style was okay, when considering the length (and probably short budget). The animation worked, though I think the overall style is a bit too simplistic. I did like the fact that the characters were clearly distinguishable, and especially Souji's facial expressions worked well. Iwould have liked to see this in more detail, with more time, and with more emphasis on the characters and their thoughts. As a sketch of Hijikata's life this works, but it could have had more time to let us know the characters.