Breaks my heart to see how many people have a negative opinion of Maya (Mai) after her transitional rewrite from ToT->AP. So, I'm going to do a little characterization breakdown!
Mai isn't just The Girl Who REALLY Likes Food, as much as Animal Parade would have people believe. Behind her "childish" personality lies a lot of second-guessing and feelings of worthlessness.
Mai's entire original character arc is how she's struggling with expectations and finding her own path.
In Tree of Tranquility, you first learn Mai is often in trouble for eating food in the kitchen that was made by other people (whether by Yuba or Chihaya or anyone else).
As you come to befriend Mai and Chihaya early on, their first rival heart event reveals that Mai can understand complex flavor profiles and strives to eat things in order to taste different kinds of profiles. She likes the way things taste, and how ingredients blend together to make different outcomes. She also mentions this in passing dialogue!
In such a small town, it's become a rather poorly kept secret that the innkeepers' only daughter has no penchant for the cooking the inn is known for. As you befriend her family, all they can do is talk about how they worry about her. It's even their main character trait on their profiles. But why?
Why should Mai's cooking be her downfall? Because Mai's expected to take over, to know the ins and outs of hospitality and cooking. The inn has been family owned on the women's side for generations.
In the face of her problems and anxiety, Mai has been struggling with what she wants to do and what her family wants. Coupled with the fact that the innkeepers give so much praise to Chihaya, it creates a cloud of worthlessness in Mai's mind.
And yet, despite all her worries, she still tries to approach things optimistically and with a smile on her face. This overexertion to be happy in the face of adversity can create an outward "childish" persona as she tries to play things off as fine. If you don't mature, you don't have to face the problems of adult responsibilities, right?
It's also likely that the pressure she's faced for years has contributed to her inability to cook. Her family, and Chihaya, who have a natural affinity for making things turn out well...It's no small wonder that she would be afraid to make mistakes. And that fear plays into her confidence; a vicious cycle for the poor girl.
That single road that she's been tirelessly railroaded into, overall has given Mai a poor self-image. To the point where she feels that she will never find love unless the person is absolutely okay with her being unable to cook.
And again, I'm asking why? What did she do to deserve such ire from the community populace?
Mai's complexity underneath her saccharine surface is why she's one of my favorite characters in this series, you know.
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