Blooper: Some of the jerseys in Smile Princess simply have "Player" listed on the nameplate instead of the actual character's name.
Defictionalization: The Nikko Ice Bucks and Kushiro-based East Hokkaido Cranes played an actual game on February 19, 2022 while donning Nikko Dream Monkeys and Kushiro Snow White jerseys, bringing their involvement in PuraOre full circle.
Follow the Leader: The basic premise of a game/anime combination that takes a sport and fuses it with cute girls and the trappings of idol culture is quite similar to the basic premise of Uma Musume. It should be noted that, while Uma Musume's oft-delayed mobile game was announced years before PuraOre, by the time it released and put that franchise on the mapPuraOre was well into development.
Reality Subtext: Yoko's plan to raise hockey's profile in Japan is to expose people to hockey through idol culture. Guess what the goal of the entire PuraOre! project was, down to having the main voice actresses form an idol group?
Release Date Change: The game was slated to release in late 2021, but was delayed to March 2022, which makes a couple of references to playing the game in Pride of Orange feel awkward.
.