When I was young, I absolutely hated Minmei and found her voice grating while Lisa was like my model of an 'ideal' woman. Then I grew up and watched Macross tv series. Carl Macek admitted to have changed Minmei's character so she would be annoying.
In SDF Macross, Minmay is a child growing up and with huge aspirin dreams and has a terrible mature call She's not selfish, just naive and sheltered; HELL /SHE/ saved HUMANITY and is the real heroic figure in the saga. Misa, while still a great character, mopes like Rick Hunter (Hikaru, on the other hand, is a bit genki type). The triangle isn't much a triangle but Misa-> Hikaru -> Minmay -> Singing/career. Minmay wasn't 'into' Hikaru at all, except by the end when she was more cynical, but she got over it, quickly gave her blessings to the happy couple (with whom she remained a great friends with, the three were aboard in the same ship that got lost in the infinity). She thought of him as a friend, it was him who obsessed over her and lied about his relationship with Misa at the drop of hat just to get a chance to get close to Minmay. So all the slack she gets is unfair.
Basically, Hikaru wants a good wife who would take care of his house (like Misa did on occasion) and Minmay is an independent career woman with huge dreams (and didn't put up more of her cousin's abuse: go girl!). When she offers him a chance to drop her career to settle down BUT asks for him to do the same? He didn't. There's a novelization that says Hikaru loves both of them, but he settled with Misa because Minmay belonged to the world. Like she's this mythic heroine that couldn't stay with him.
This doesn't mean she isn't a flawed human being, the three of them are. But I'm happy she didn't end up with Hikaru. I don't think he's a great catch at all.
The movie portrays Minmay actually loving him since the beginning, I think. Which makes the triangle a REAL triangle, not a woman pinning over a man pinning over a woman who has a heart set in her singing career. I agree that there triangle progression is *beep* up because... Minmay not only never 'ignored' Hikaru, but returned his feelings and SWEPT IN TO SAVE THE DAY just before their reunion. The Misa/Hikaru chemistry was forced when it was natural in the TV series, it seemed tackled on and mostly assumed off screen. There are unfortunate implications for Hikaru's choice. Like for instance he IS chauvinism in the beginning and the first thing that he suggests Minmay in their date is a motel (which she turned him down) while Misa is implied to have slept with him in Earth.
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