Ask John: Is Hatsune Miku a Descendant of Lynn Minmei?

Question:
Is Hatsune Miku really Lynn Minmay’s offspring? Minmay’s role of savior was inverted by her own creators into Eve in Megazone 23, which returned as a canon-obliterating revival in Macross Plus by way of Sharon and turned against humanity. Fast forward a decade and Eve now belongs to “The People.”

Answer:
I would say that Hatsune Miku is a descendant of Lynn Minmei only in the loosest sense. In a figurative linearity, Hatsune Miku owes far more Eve Tokimatsuri than Lynn Minmei. Megazone 23’s digital idol based on a real human being was created by the original Superdimensional Fortress Macross staff and is the natural evolution of Lynn Minmei from a self-absorbed teen idol to a more mature and considerate digital avatar. From a certain perspective, Eve could be called the mother of humanity because her function was to safeguard human life and safely transpose humans from spacefaring exile back to Earth. In Megazone 23 Part III, Eve made the ultimate sacrifice in order to finally free humanity from an ever present threat of destruction. The Eve of Megazone 23 Part III is particularly comparable to Hatsune Miku because unlike the Eve of Megazone 23 Parts I or II, in Part III she’s widely and openly recognized and beloved as an artificial digital celebrity, just like today’s Hatsune Miku and her sibling Vocaloids.

If any inversion has occurred, it’s not a transition like Lynn Minmei’s ascension from obscurity to becoming the elevated savior of mankind; it’s closer to Eve Tokimatsuri’s journey from being a distant observer and overseer of humankind to becoming a possession manipulated by and for “the people.” Examinging strictly within series, Lynn Minmei’s successor, Sharon Apple, becomes a jaded, cynical, and vindictive being seeking to enslave and destroy the human race rather than guide humanity onto a peaceful path of existence in Macross Plus. Eve Tokimatsuri, in contrast, sacrifices more of herself in each progressive Megazone 23 film in order to assist mankind. While Lynn Minmei did become a savior to mankind, she did so out of obligation, because she came to recognize and accept that the role was her duty, especially depicted in the Macross: Do You Remember Love motion picture. Eve, however, willingly chooses to protect mankind even when persecuted by humans, and even when allowing the ADAM program to destroy the remnants of humanity would have been easier for her. As a result, Hatsune Miku seems descended from Eve Tokimatsuri far more than she seems to be a direct descendent of Lynn Minmei. Hatsune Miku’s personality suggests a more eager and willing adoption of her role as servant to mankind, like Eve Tokimatsuri’s personality, rather than Lynn Minmei’s hesitant ascension to her role as servant and savior.

Hatsune Miku seems furthermore more akin to Eve Tokimatsuri than Lynn Minmei because of Miku’s affiliation with youth. Lynn Minmei was a popular idol among a demographic that included even aliens. While Eve Tokimatsuri was similarly heard by all, she only spoke to teenagers, consciously rejecting contact with adults. Moreover, in Megazone 23 Part II, Eve saved only teenagers from apocalyptic destruction, leaving the adults to fend for themselves. Today’s Hatsune Miku is widely known, but it’s primarily only young people that interact with her. In effect, the association of a digital avatar with her youthful following is much more pronounced in the case of Eve Tokimatsuri and Hatsune Miku than in the case of Lynn Minmei.