You might be wondering, how did the rest of the game go? Will Dream Monkeys win so that they can do their victory dance?
With Maya managing to score a point, Manaka and her friends regroup. It’s obvious that Snow White wants to prevent Yu from shooting a goal. This moment gives Dream Monkeys an opportunity to up their game. After all, Yoko basically tells them the strategy Snow White is using so that they can win the game. With that, Kaoruko manages to stop every shot Maya made.
Of course, Eri gets caught off guard thinking that Yu will make the shot. Instead, Yu passes the puck to Manaka, and she scored a point. As expected, Maya eventually messes up and slams into Ayaka and received a two-minute penalty. Eri’s nightmare becomes true as her teammates rely on Maya. Without their ace, they are vulnerable. The funny thing is that despite having an opportunity to score points without Maya in the way, Dream Monkeys were unable to score a point.
Before the third round, Yu got to talk with Eri. Eri finally admits how Yu understand given that scary moment without Maya and the importance of teamwork. Of course, Yu says it’s not her fault as she was running away from ice hockey. It’s not until she played with Dream Monkeys that she still loves playing hockey.
In the last round, with Dream Monkey’s teamwork, Manaka was able to score at the last moment after her first attempt failed. Either way, Dream Monkeys won the tournament and of course, the Under-18 GM was at the game. It’s obvious that they recruited the members from Dream Monkeys for the Japan ice hockey youth team we saw in the first episode. Either way, Yoko’s dream becomes true as her team did a victory dance. Yep, she was really waiting for this moment.
Final Impressions
Sure, some viewers will dismiss this show as another idol anime or not having enough ice hockey sports action. However, it was interesting to see Manaka and her friends become interested in Ice Hockey when they did embroidery in the past. Sure, they struggled at first, but with their bonds and making new friends with Riko and Naomi. Thanks to Manaka, she showed Yu the other side of hockey and teamwork and rekindle her love for the sport.
While the characters are enjoyable, Yoko is of course an enjoyable coach. Sure, she is very enthusiastic to make her dream of growing the popularity of girl’s ice hockey and having them perform idol dances. I have a feeling that she got this idea from Uma Musume. Of course, Manaka reminds me of Chika since she almost looks like her, except for the side ponytail. Also, Riko and Naomi is a good pairing for obvious reasons since they are childhood friends.
Overall, Puraore! Pride of Orange is a fairy enjoyable show about cute girls playing ice hockey. Sure, it’s not for those who are expecting only sports action will feel disappointed. Still seeing the girls build up their bonds and managing to win the tournament was interesting. The idol performances, while the premise is silly looked good. Either way, if you like sports anime involving schoolgirls and idols, give this one a try.
Solid sports girls show with each game getting increasingly better. Riko and Naomi were my favorites.
Agreed. Yes, Riko and Naomi is a nice pairing, but of course, I hoped that there were more pairings that received similar development.