Minako Aino (愛野 美奈子, Aino Minako) is the present-day incarnation of Sailor Venus (セーラーヴィーナス, Sērā Vīnasu) and the civilian identity of Sailor V (セーラーV, Sērā V). Minako is the original Sailor Guardian, protagonist of Codename: Sailor V, and leader of the Inner Sailor Guardians in the Sailor Moon manga.
Quick Answers
Who is the civilian identity of Sailor V in the Sailor Moon manga?
What is the correct pronunciation of Sailor Venus's name in Japanese?
What is the relationship between Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus?
What is the background story of Sailor Venus in the Sailor Moon manga?
Who is the leader of the Inner Sailor Guardians in the Sailor Moon manga?
Nomenclature & Etymology[]
Etymology[]
Her family name begins with the character meaning "love" (愛, ai), which still indirectly represents the planet of Venus, as Venus is the goddess of love in Roman mythology.
Her first name, Minako (美奈子), contains the kanji for "beautiful" (美, mi) and "child" (子, ko), along with 奈 (na), a phonetic character.
Minako's full name means "Beautiful Child of Love" in Japanese.
Due to being the first created, Minako is the only Solar System Sailor Guardian whose surname does not begin with the Japanese kanji directly denoting her celestial body, Venus. Her surname is a pun on a phrase meaning "of love," making her name sound like "Venus of Love". Minako is the fifth Sailor Guardian to join the team in the Sailor Moon Manga; creating an additional pun for Sailor V: V is the Roman numeral for 5.
Nomenclature[]
Naoko Takeuchi provided many additional details on Minako which include:
- Blood Type: B[1][2]
- Zodiac Sign: Libra[1][2] - Ruled by Venus
Appearance[]
Civilian[]
Minako Aino has light blue eyes and blonde hair, preferring to wear her long hair down with a simple big red bow in it. When she is in junior high, she wears a sailor-style school uniform like the other Sailor Guardians in their civilian forms, but with a few differences. The uniform is the most classic or orthodox among those of the Sailor Team.
Her middle school uniform has a dark blue sailor collar with one white stripe, She wears a white blouse with a breast pocket and a dark pink scarf, blue sleeve-cuffs that have one white stripe, just like the collar. A blue pleated skirt with a matching dark blue ribbon on the back, and she wears white socks and black cross-strap Mary Jane shoes. In the summer, she wears a white top with short puffy sleeves.
In Act 38, she now wears a standard Juban High School uniform (due to her now being in high school) Her high school uniform has a dark blue sailor collar with two dark red stripes, a dark blue ribbon on the front of her uniform that she ties her magical brooch to. She wears a white blouse with a breast pocket and dark blue sleeve-cuffs that have three dark red stripes, just like the collar. A dark blue pleated skirt which is all a bit shorter now, and she wears white socks and black cross-strap Mary Jane shoes.
Sailor V[]
This is the first Guardian form that Minako has ever had which first appears in Codename: Sailor V. She wears a top revealing her belly button, shoulder protectors (revealing the sleeves of her shirt), a blue skirt with red at the bottom, an orange broach, red bows, a white choker with a golden crescent moon on it, blue heels, a red mask, and a crescent moon on her forehead.
Sailor Venus[]
Sailor Venus' sailor uniform consists of a white, chest-armored leotard, a dark orange sailor collar with one white stripe, a dark orange choker, a dark orange skirt with a white puffy belt sat above it, and a light blue bow at the chest and a light yellow bow at the back. She has a reddish-orange chain around her waist which she uses as a weapon. She wears a pair of dark orange high heels white gloves with three dark orange arm fittings at the ends that reach just below her elbows, and a dark orange circular gem at the center of her chest bow. Her leotard has three golden shoulder pads. A golden tiara with a light orange, oval-shaped gem is located on her forehead, and she wears orange stud earrings.
Super Sailor Venus[]
As Super Sailor Venus, she wears an upgraded version of the Sailor Venus sailor uniform. The only things that change are the length of her back bow, a yellow heart on her front bow, the sailor collar now features one white stripe, the shoulder pads last pad is more wing-like and translucent, and her orange gem is embedded in a yellow star.
Eternal Sailor Venus[]
As Eternal Sailor Venus, her outfit is almost completely altered. The gem on her tiara is now star-shaped. Her earrings have a dark orange star dangling from a single gold stud. Her choker is now v-shaped with a yellow star in the center. Her sailor collar has a single gold stripe on it. Her brooch is now star shaped. Replacing her shoulder pads are short solid light orange bubble-like sleeves with dark orange fittings at the end. Her gloves now have dark orange, v-shaped wristbands and are extended to reach her upper arms. And her skirt is attached to her leotard by a dark orange and light yellow belt. A yellow star is connecting both belts in the center. Her skirt now consists of two layers; dark orange on the top and light yellow on the bottom. Her belt is now made up of two ribbons, the bottom one being light yellow and the top one being dark orange, the top one being very lengthy and extending past her skirt. Her back bow is now back to its original size but this time it’s a light yellow with narrow, long, orange ribbons extending from it down to her knees, and she now has white knee-length boots; they have larger heels and dark orange v-shaped borders at the top that have a yellow stars in the center.
Princess Venus[]
As Princess Venus she wears a yellow gown with frills running down it. In her hair she wears a yellow bow and a rose, a choker that is tied in a ribbon at the back and also wears yellow high heels.
Personality[]
Minako is athletic and hyperactive. She regularly states idioms incorrectly and spends her time finding new idols to chase, and new "first loves" to gush over. This lack of commitment extends to most of her life. She is an academic underachiever, like Usagi, despite the cleverness she displays in battle and puts little effort into her studies and requires Artemis's nagging to remain Sailor V as she quickly loses interest in being a "Guardian of Justice" for Justice's sake. Everything in her life is secondary to the one thing she is committed to: protecting her Princess. This is true even before regaining her memories and she becomes focused on locating her fellow Sailor Guardian when she remembers. She begins to open up to them once the Dark Kingdom is defeated. Minako continues to challenge herself to prove she is worthy of being the leader of the Inner Sailor Guardians as she neglects her other responsibilities and devotes herself to temporary distractions.
Information[]
Background[]
Minako Aino is an only child who lives in a house with her Mother and Father. She is a first year student at Shiba Koen Public Middle School and regularly spends time with her long time friend Hikaru Sorano.
Codename: Sailor V[]
Dark Kingdom arc[]
Black Moon arc[]
Infinity arc[]
Dream arc[]
Stars arc[]
Sailor Guardian Info[]
Minako Aino can transform info Sailor V by saying Moon Power, Transform. Later as Sailor Venus, she utters the words Venus Power, Make Up! She can disguise herself as anyone she desires to be, like Usagi, with her compact, by saying Crescent Moon Power, Transform! Her attacks are centered around metal (gold) and light element attributes.
Phrases[]
- Moon Power, Transform
- Crescent Moon Power, Transform
- Venus Power, Make Up
- Venus Star Power, Make Up
- Venus Planet Power, Make Up
- Venus Crystal Power, Make Up
Attacks[]
- Venus Love-Me Chain
- Rolling Heart Vibration
- Venus Wink Chain Sword
- Venus Love and Beauty Shock
- Venus Love and Galactica Shock
- Akuryo Taisan
- Sailor Planet Attack
- Sailor Planet Power Meditation
- Galactica Gale
- Galactica Planet Attack
- Crescent Beam
- Crescent Super Beam
- Crescent Slender Beam
- Venus Power, Love Crescent Shower
- Venus Love, Megaton Shower
- Crescent Boomerang
- Sailor V Kick
- Double Sailor Kick
- Sailor V Chop
- Venus Iron Muscle Punch
- Rolling Screw Sailor V Punch
- Venus Sulphur Smoke
- Venus Brand: Mosquito Incense Typhoon
- Venus Ten Billion Volt Rock N' Rouge
Items[]
Weapons[]
Development[]
Naoko Takeuchi revealed Minako's design and personality came to her quickly ever since she first thought of her for the Codename: Sailor V one-shot and barely changed afterwards.[5] In working on a follow up to that one-shot, Takeuchi originally planned to have Minako as the primary protagonist of a team of Sailor Guardians. As shown in Artbook Infinity, she lead her friend Hikaru Sorano and prototype versions of Rei and Makoto. Afterward, Usagi was created to be the primary protagonist and Minako became the leader of her protectors instead in the "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon" manga and anime.
A few years later, Run-Run, the magazine that serialized Codename: Sailor V, had intended to produce an OVA based on Minako's manga, but it went bankrupt before it could happen, so Minako was relegated to the sidelines as one of Sailor Moon's co-stars, to Takeuchi's regret.[5]
Gallery[]
Codename Sailor V[]
.jpg "Sailor V (MANGA IMAGE).jpg (89 KB)")
Dark Kingdom[]
Black Moon[]
Infinity[]
Dream[]
Stars[]
Manga Covers[]
Artwork[]
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Official Sailor Moon website; Sailor Venus' Profile
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (Volume 10)/Tankoubon - Minako's Profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 At the start of the first several chapters of Codename: Sailor V, including Vol.1, Minako says she just started middle school. Japanese schools start in April and children in first year middle school are 12 and turn 13. In the later chapters starting with Vol.6, including Vol.9 which takes place near Valentines day, she also says she is 13, so these chapters are after her birthday. In the first two arcs of Sailor Moon, she is in her second year of middle school. In Act 19, Usagi says Mamoru's August 3rd birthday has not yet passed implying the Dark Kingdom and Black Moon arcs are before Minako's October birthday. The Infinity arc takes place over her third year of middle school with Rei's April 17th birthday in Act 28 and Minako's birthday celebrated in The Lover of Princess Kaguya. The Dream arc starts with the beginning of High school on April 1st and the Stars arc ends a few months later. It is unclear if enough time passes for her to have her 16th birthday before the end of the story.
- ↑ Codename: Sailor V - Vol.2 Minako in "Game Center Crown"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shinsouban Vol. 3 - Naoko Takeuchi's comic on Minako
