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Spotlight Character: Minmay Lynn (Macross)



MAL Character Information Page: Minmay Lynn


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For the next week I would like to have everyone familiar with this character discuss what they think makes her an exceptional character. What attributes make her stand out in the ocean of interesting characters that exist in the realms of anime and manga.

Unlike the other two subjects I will not force this conversation to fall into any set structure. Characters that are nominated typically get here because they are adept at breaking the existing character moulds and defying definition.

Because of this freedom I encourage everyone to do their very best to stay on topic and keep any and all debate civil. Have fun and I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about this character.



RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL

Minmay Lynn was NOT inducted into the club Character list:
6 Yes - 31.5%
13 No - 68.4%

50 Don't know this character - 72.4% of the total number polled
0 Abstained - 0.0% of the total number polled

She's a cute, but also has an annoying and despicable attitude and she is very thoughtless of those around her.

Trying to answer the question of why Lynn Minmay is a note worthy character is not the easiest of tasks since it's been at least three years since I've seen the original series but I'm going to attempt it since I nominated her. She is one of those phenomenon in Japanese pop culture that I think defined and helped popularize what would soon take over the industry with "Budding" Moe characters. Some might say that for this reason she deserves to be loathed and I certainly won't say they are wrong but that the fact that she elicits such hatred from, lets just call them Naysayers, seems to point toward an interesting aspect of human psychology and societal mental colonization.

The hardest aspect to attempt to prove in defense of Lynn, is whether or not we can consider her a dynamic character. I think that in episode four (Lynn Minmay), her character begins a transformation in which she understands that she doesn't want to be a normal girl and just settle down with Hikaru, but wants to peruse her dreams of becoming a singer and isn't yet sure of where love/patronage fits into that goal. Although her feelings for him are still very real, they are second to her ambition. I think this is part of what makes her so disliked by many fans of the series, who I will point out are mostly male. She shrugs off love for fame and ego building, without fully taking Hikaru's feelings into account. She is self interested and yet still very human in wanting to maintain the illusion of the possibility for a normal life, but wants a man that would pay "matronage" to her and place her goals first. Her later fame only exacerbates this conflict within her and also tortures Hikaru who is unable to let go of his own patriarchal mindset. Lisa who grows to love him and is willing to fit into the standard ideas of how a society should be structured adds to conflict between these two ideas.

Since I've recently been schooled in my ignorance to the amount of Mecha anime out there, I can't say that Macross is the first example where a female is cast as an idealistic feminist centerpiece, standing against patriarchal society. But what I can say is that she certainly cast a spotlight light on it. The Zentradi are the perfect example of extreme masculinity and patriarchy and their role as the Antagonists in this space opera seems to highlight my point about how Minmay's character is more dynamic and a feminist than meats the eye. Rather than give into societal pressure to settle down and be a good wife, she chooses to follow her own dreams to become a singer and ultimately the savior of the human race. Her singing but more so her femininity, is the power that Zentradi have no weapon against. Minmay stands as an example of the modern feminist philosophy of which traditional patriarchal ideas are under scrutiny and waning. Her character represents ideas that have more face value than most other characters and the success of the franchise can be seen as a reflection of how modern Japan was changing itself. For reasons already stated, she is a historically noteworthy character in the genre of shounen anime. Her addition to our list would say that we recognize her importance and the significance she played in the modern feminist movement to change stereotypical patriarchal society.

Okay so she is famous, but by no means should we induct her based solely on this



Yeah and she made it very clear by constantly ignoring him and giving him false hopes that she likes him. She's clearly only using him for attention when that Kaifun asshole left her.

Confusius, Your comments have absolutely nothing to do with the quality of Lynn's character and everything to do with personal preference. Disregarding the significance of the equality of sexes and gender roles in modern society lacks insight. Offer a coherent counter argument please.

Other than that last line (and the other ones which I Have crossed out), I don't see how that is "personal preference"

I don't really feel like a good character is mutually exclusive with an annoying and despicable attitude. A total villain can still be an awesome character, for example. Saying she's a bad character because she is hurting poor Hikaru is very much a personal preference.