This is yet another CGDCT show that features ice hockey and idol segments, written by the abominable writer Touko Machida, because she is THIS bad, legit. More power to you, but wow have you managed to one-up your efforts at being so lazy as to just literally copy-paste existing entities that did the formula that you wanted to feature. And God bless the cringe that PuraOre! tries to be an ice hockey show for one, then subvert to being a CGDCT, and yet again into an idol clusterfish of a mindless monkey-leaping rhetoric. Like come on, make up your mind, don't "Monkey see, Monkey do".
I'm not surprised to say that I don't really care for the large cast of girls which exhibit the same wash, rinse, repeat happy-go-lucky, "don't mind!" subpar "feelings" teamwork that's a work in progress to only then etch out a W at the last critical spot, especially for one rooted in a sport-centric setting. I've seen too much CGDCT anime do the same thing, and more times than most, affix the setting and environment to eke out a decent execution. PuraOre! just knows that well, and proceeds to treat the audience like we're all brain-dead dimwits to be easily lured into the charming and female-centric munificence of happiness and laughs combined. It's not wrong to like a CGDCT show for what it is, but the execution is what matters, and in PuraOre!'s case, unless you don't really care about the wishy-washy story plot then you'll find enjoyment. Which in my case, is a definite thumbs down.
But what matters is the production side of things, which in this case, after the relative success of Idoly Pride, CyberAgent's CAAnimation is back to produce yet another show with the help of C2C, and it really shows that at the very least, it honours the art of ice hockey and its frenetic play. Any Western fan can immediately tell that there is heart in the overall animation when it comes to the actual ice hockey matches, but the sin is that these matches are too far few in-between that's put aside to curry favour for more of the CGDCT-cum-idol action. Even for a glance, I'd thought that this would improve, but nope, it's clear where the priority's at.
To nail the idol segment in the coffin, the OP which was sung by the Newcomer Set of the Nikko Dream Monkeys under their group name "Smile Princess", that should immediately clue in that the idol segment will somehow overshadow the actual ice hockey game, and it's just as decent as expected. And I don't know why, but May'n's songs are getting more and more average-sounding in quality, it's a far cry from her early days where most of her songs sound better than we actually think it is.
Call this a fumbling "promotion" if you wish, but I'd think we all know what we came here for and expecting the most out of it: the actual ice hockey segments (which definitely look pristine overall). Sadly and most frustratingly, the CGDCT has to take precedence and with Touko Machida's haphazard writing calibre, PuraOre! could've been so much more with making a name for themselves with the one unique sport establishment that would have defined its place in anime history. So another call again, go open-minded if you're thinking of watching this show to enjoy the downtime moments, but otherwise, not being Pura and definitely not Ore!, this show is wilfully misconducted in its Pride that's not orangey-orange at all.
