I'd argue that it's generally pretty hard to wrap ones head around why anime fans like a lot of the things they do. The biggest anime shows like Naruto Shippuden, DBS, or One Piece are, or were, absolutely terrible when it came to big things like the writing and story, pacing, or animation. But that hasn't stopped anime fans from being dedicated watchers for years and years
As for this specific character. Look at it this way - Sakura spends the entire series thirsting for Sasuke, even after he's tried to literally murder her and has gone full on villain mode. Hinata on the other hand at least has the good sense to fall for good guy Naruto, even though he's someone that everyone else treats like crap out of pure fear and ignorance.
Clearly both characters are terrible. But Hinata at least wasn't the absolute worst female character in the series
As for this specific character. Look at it this way - Sakura spends the entire series thirsting for Sasuke, even after he's tried to literally murder her and has gone full on villain mode. Hinata on the other hand at least has the good sense to fall for good guy Naruto, even though he's someone that everyone else treats like crap out of pure fear and ignorance.
Clearly both characters are terrible. But Hinata at least wasn't the absolute worst female character in the series