Checking
This blog post may contain minimal spoilers. Please read this only if you had seen this Episode.
OVERVIEW (STORY)
The time for Nikko Dream Monkeys has come, and the road to All-Japan Ice Hockey Championships is just a month away. And their practice sessions and games are over. Other than Naomi Takagi, the girls seemed to be improving their ice hockey skills, in preparation for the upcoming championships. Riko Saginuma is the only one who can help Naomi in keeping her agility and velocity up. Naomi just wanted to do a defensive play without even getting hit by someone. Things are getting good for Riko and Naomi during their first championship matchup, but…
REVIEW
We can able to revisit the characters of Riko Saginuma and Naomi Takagi again, as seen and read in my Episode 2 Review!
Also, mentioning and describing those again from that said Episode, Riko and Naomi are opposites of each other. As Riko is defined for being a sporty and bubbly girl, Naomi is just the opposite from her! Noticed the color of their hairs? Riko has a hair color that is like a sun, and Naomi is having a black hair which is similar to nighttime. And they do have symbolisms, though.
Basically, Naomi used in doing more figure skating than playing in a ice hockey game. Her calm self is just she wanted to do it and play it straight without even getting hurt. She is more of a defensive-type of character (She plays as the defensive player), just almost the same as Kaoruko Yanagida who plays as the goalkeeper of Nikko Dream Monkeys. Think of her as a mage character in an RPG game, where she casts spells to attack an enemy without even going near to attack it.
And for Riko, she takes the position of Nikko Dream Monkeys as the offense forward. Riko is basically like a swordsman, who could go forward, and attack an enemy in a close combat (melee).
And that’s it for the character reviewing for the girls of Nikko Dream Monkeys! I know that there would be more, other than the ones that I had already written before in the previous Episodes. This is where on what we call the character development shall ensue, just after these characters were introduced very well.
For this Episode, it is something like you should know your advantages and limitations. Basically, your own weakness can sometimes be turned into your own strength to overcome challenges! Vice-versa as well, if you are just being too arrogant enough.
ICE HOCKEY HISTORY!
Do you still remember the part of my Ice Hockey History! Corner, in my 4th Episode Review of this Series? It talks previously on how this ice hockey sport is being played by its rules.
Today, we are going to talk about the common tactics in which players are using to devise their own strategies in order to steal the puck from an opponent in a team to score a goal, by means of using your ice hockey sticks or your bodies! We shall be talking about the term, Checking in ice hockey (As seen on this Episode Review header).
Checking in ice hockey is a form of tactical strategy in order to intercept an opponent from scoring a goal, by means of stealing the puck. There are many types of checking, in which the players can use during the game. While some of them can lead the players in a team into a Penalty, let us talk about the common type of checking in which it was used in most ice hockey games. It is none other than the Body Checking.
Body checking in ice hockey is commonly used, and its goal was to steal the puck from an opponent by means of using their parts of their bodies, such as their shoulders, hips, and upper arms. In men’s ice hockey, this was a legal move or tactic, but not if used in a reckless way. And this body checking tactic was considered as an ‘illegal checking tactic’, and is subjected to a Minor Penalty, if it is on a women’s ice hockey game.
Body Checking in any type of ice hockey games can be considered as legal or illegal (in women’s ice hockey). But then, if not used properly in a game, then it is already falling under the Illegal Checking moves (which involves illegal charging and boarding against an opposing player in a team).
The Checking tactics in every ice hockey games can be considered as ‘turning the tables around’, meaning it can be used to further distract your opponents from scoring a goal. And also, Checking can lead your team to either a victory or a defeat, so be careful!
SERIES INFO
Pride of Orange (2021, dubbed: PURAORE! (プラオレ!) -Pride of Orange-) is a Japanese Anime series about ice hockey sport. This Anime series was produced by CyberAgent/EXNOA, and character designs were done by Craft Egg (known for BanG Dream! Girls Band Party smartphone video game). Animation style was done by C2C. This Anime series has been aired and streamed since October 6, 2021, with its first Episode.
In Tochigi Prefecture in Japan, at Nikko City, an ice hockey sport season has opened for girls who wanted to aim for the ice hockey world championships.
A female junior high schooler, named Manaka Mizusawa, has become interested in playing the ice hockey sport. While she invited her girls who were her friends, they entered and tried for this sport game.
Their journey for aiming their first win, indeed, begins when they had experienced the world of ice hockey sport!
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