Chichibu de Buchichi

I went into this not knowing it was a vacation promo short (at first anyway, it becomes increasingly obvious as it progresses), and for what it was, I was fairly entertained. The animation off the bat looks very clean, and the background environments look gorgeous - considering the whole point is to sell you on taking your next holiday here, I suppose that makes sense.

As for the story: our main girl is presented with a variety of suitors, each with their own comedic flaw, as she searches for the boy from her dreams twelve years ago. Of all the flawed candidates, I definitely vibe with ... her reaction to the one she dubbed the “macho man of Chichibu”: every other she thought to herself, “Could this be the fated boy of my dreams? Has the red string of destiny tied us together at last?!” But for Randy Savage over here, the aspect she's most struck by is: “Wow, look at those muscles! He’s ripped! I don't even have to unwrap this eye candy, his shirt’s barely on to begin with!” I respect the barely-restrained lust of her inner monologue there: after all, what’s the matter with the man of her dreams also having a body she immediately salivates over? (Of course, until his humorous flaw is revealed, but you get the picture.)

She’s the heir to this transportation mega-conglomerate, and the arranged marriage candidate her father presents her with is also a mega-rich heir (who is very very obviously the same boy grown up, it is not even a spoiler with how clear they make it), and I’m just…confused by that premise. Specifically: why do they need to both be über-wealthy? Aside from her butler sharing some encouraging words in one scene, her wealth (and his, for that matter) doesn’t really play into the story at all, and nor does having him introduced at the beginning as a marriage candidate and his skill at kabaddi (really thought that would have been more of a factor, since they really make sure you know what it is and that he’s good at it). Also…is he, like, a wizard or something? He teleports her around during the flashback (which may or may not have happened exactly?), just so happens to know exactly where she is and can maybe read her mind…and makes the train fly? Is that what a vacation to Chichibu entails? Can *I* meet the maybe-wizard of my dreams in Chichibu? If so…this ad worked, then!