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Codename: Sailor V is a manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It follows the young Minako Aino who uses her newfound magical powers to fight injustice guided by her feline companion Artemis. The positive reception of its first chapter spawned the entire Sailor Moon franchise.

Sailor V (MANGA IMAGE)

Sailor V with Artemis.

Development[]

In 1991, Takeuchi, known for her previous manga The Cherry Project, was offered the opportunity to write a short story about anything she wished. Being a fan of both the Magical Girl and Tokusatsu genres, she decided to combine the two. The result was a one-shot title, Codename: Sailor V, featuring a young girl who could transform into a hero to fight the forces of evil.

Toei Animation caught wind of the story and saw the potential it could have. They contacted Takeuchi with the intent to create an anime from this dual concept, except there would be more than just one character who could transform. That idea would later turn into Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.

Due to Takeuchi writing both Codename: Sailor V and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon simultaneously, the chapters of Codename: Sailor V were released more sporadically and ended up being much shorter than Sailor Moon. It concluded in 1997 with a total of fifteen chapters.

Plot[]

Codename: Sailor V tells the story of Minako Aino, a 13-year-old middle school student who is outspoken, absentminded, and dreams about finding her true love one day. Her calm and normal life changes after she encounters a white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead. The cat introduces himself as Artemis and claims that Minako is a girl with the power to transform into a guardian more powerful and beautiful than anyone else. He bestows upon her a mission to protect the Earth in the name of her guardian planet, Venus.

To help her with this mission, Artemis grants her two items, a crescent moon shaped compact and a magical pen. The pen allows her to transform into her alter-ego, the sailor-suited and beautiful Guardian of Justice, Sailor V. Sailor V fights against the agents of the Dark Agency, headed by the mysterious Danburite.

At the end of the series, Minako remembers her previous life with the other Sailor Senshi and realizes that her duty to protect the moon princess is more important than romance. Shedding her identity as Sailor V, she begins her true mission as Sailor Venus.

Releases[]

The first chapter of the Codename: Sailor V manga originally released in RunRun magazine in Japan on August 1991. After this it continued to be published in RunRun at the same time Sailor Moon was published in Nakayoshi and released its final chapter after the final chapter of Sailor Moon in two parts: in the July 1997 and November 1997 issues.

The chapters were not released in the same order they are presented in today. What's now known as Vol.3 was the original "one-shot" released in August 1991 and was followed in order to Vol.6. Vol.1 and Vol.2 were then released showing Minako's origins before the series continued in order from Vol.7 to its completion.

Since the original magazine publication, the chapters of this manga have been collected and re-released multiple times; though, the original magazine print and original volumes were never released in English. When Codename: Sailor V gets re-released it is always alongside and in the same format as the Sailor Moon manga and a detailed discussion of these editions can be found on the Sailor Moon manga page and they are listed below. A major difference between them is the 3rd Edition (Eternal Edition) of the Sailor Moon manga was eventually released digitally making it the first official digital version of that manga. Codename: Sailor V's; however, was not and does not have any digital release making it only available to purchase in physical formats.

Volume List[]

Volume Chapters Pages Release Date
1 Japanese (Original Release) - Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 192 December 18, 1993
Japanese (Shinsouban) - Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 276 October 29, 2004
Japanese (Kanzenban) - Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 274 May 29, 2014
Japanese (Bunkoban) - Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 270 March 1, 2019
English (Original Release) -Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 272 September 13, 2011
English (Eternal Edition) -Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 274 September 28, 2021
English (Naoko Takeuchi Collection) - Act 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 ? TBA
2 Japanese (Original Release) - Act 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 193 October 22, 1994
Japanese (Shinsouban) - Act 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 290 November 22, 2004
Japanese (Kanzenban) - Act 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 288 May 29, 2014
Japanese (Bunkoban) - Act 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 261 March 1, 2019
English (Original Release) - Act 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 296 November 15, 2011
English (Eternal Edition) - Act 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 288 November 9, 2021
English (Naoko Takeuchi Collection) - Act 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 ? TBA
3 Japanese (Original Release) - Act 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 188 November 6, 1997

Chapter List[]

Connections to Other Series[]

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon[]

Sailor V had a special episode dedicated to her in the live-action series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Act 0 - The Birth of Sailor V!. Her awakening, weapons, and attacks were different, but this depiction of Sailor V looked similar to her original manga counterpart. She awakened by Artemis and worked to protect the city but the storyline was completely unique. She had a small following of young girls who wished to be like her, including Sailor K, Sailor N, and Sailor M. Usagi, or Sailor Rabbit, was a big fan of Sailor V and Minako saved her from a villain.

Sailor V to Sailor Moon Characters[]

Minako had a best friend named Hikaru Sorano and a classmate named Gurikazu Amano. These two character's appearances were later used for Ami Mizuno and Gurio Umino, respectively.

Manga Covers[]

Trivia[]

  • The original manga release had 15 acts, while the shinsouban releases had 16. This is due to Takeuchi deciding to take the final act, "A New Journey Begins" and call its two parts different chapters for the re-release. The actual content remains unchanged as the large final chapter was released in two parts in RunRun and it still retains the "Part 1" and "Part 2" naming scheme.
  • The other initial Senshi from Sailor Moon make cameos:

References[]

External Links[]

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