Robotech (TV series) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
First Officer Lisa Hayes
Lynn Minmei
Watching ROBOTECH on Netflix. I avoided watching this on TV when it first aired because although I loved Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets, by the time ROBOTECH rolled around, I felt like I was “getting to old” to be watching something like ROBOTECH.
I’m now getting caught up with what I missed by this early adolescent decision to focus on other things, like Star Trek, etc.
Just finished the episode with the Enemy ambush at Sara Base, Mars. Possible set up of love triangle, e.g. competing love interests Minmei and Lisa Hayes (pictured above).
It took me a sec to realize Lisa *wanted* to commit suicide after she accepted her fiancé was dead…and not that she was unaware of the danger….not sure young American audiences would’ve picked up on this very Japanese outlook and reaction….
Rick saved her, on orders from The Captain and his squadron commander, but if anything, Lisa would be feeling bitterness and resentment towards Rick for stopping her from rejoining her beloved in death….on top of the haughty contempt she already feels toward
Rick as a former stunt pilot lacking in proper military discipline….
Though the fact that he genuinely risked his life to save her life will weigh on her, so she’ll probably feel genuinely conflicted for awhile…plus she’s an older woman and more emotionally mature than Rick…
I know next to nothing about the world of Macross so I’m accepting what Robotech tells me at face value.
I’ve seen Macross Plus (OVAs and movie) and one of the longer Macross movies, but they are of limited value in understanding Robotech.
Of course, I encountered what are probably spoilers doing the image search to obtain the above character images. Lisa seems an improbable fit for Rick, but “opposites attract” is a popular literary trope. Plus there’s the psychological phenomenon of misattribution
of arousal because of a life-threatening situation (being violently rescued from the base’s impending self-destruction)…
Lisa seems like a complicated woman and kind of a tsundere archetype. Bit of a military hard-ass on the outside, but a sweet, sophisticated and sensitive woman underneath. She’s older, more mature, but she’s still very attractive and comparatively young.
I look forward to seeing where this is going. Technically the military would frown on a pilot dating his superior officer, but extenuating circumstances, yada yada, etc.
She’s quite a contrast to Minmei, who is very girly and immature and fickle, and incredibly popular with all the men on the space fortress, not just Rick.
At this stage, I’d say Minmei is the easier catch, but probably harder to hold on to, since the competition is so fierce for her affections. If Rick wants Lisa, he has a lot of emotional resistance on her part to overcome, plus Lisa needs time to properly
grieve the loss of her fiance before she’s ready for a new relationship. Lisa would be much more difficult to pursue, but the payoff in loyalty and quality of relationship that could result could well be worth it. These are gut impressions without ANY foreknowledge
of ROBOTECH and how it all turns out.
