Editing Sailor Venus (section)

==Profile==

===Manga and anime===
Minako is first introduced in the ''[[Codename: Sailor V]]'' manga, of which she is the lead character. She is awakened as a Sailor Guardian by the white cat [[List of Sailor Moon characters#Artemis|Artemis]] when she is thirteen years old and instructed that she has a duty to become the beautiful warrior, Sailor V. Artemis explains that [[Venus]] and [[Earth]] are "twin planets" of about the same size and weight, that Venus is her "mother star," and that she must protect Earth from its enemies. He shows her Magellan Castle orbiting around Venus and says that it is hers, although the existence of these castles is not revealed to the other Sailor Guardians until late in the ''Sailor Moon'' series. Artemis later reveals that Minako is an [[avatar]] of the goddess, [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]. She first dons her red hair bow during the first chapter of the story, on the recommendation of a handsome villain character that she defeats, and is almost never seen without it again.<ref name="sailorv1">{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Codename: Sailor V vol. 1 |chapter= Vol. 1 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= August 1991 |isbn= 4-06-322801-0}}</ref>

Though Sailor Moon technically leads the team during the various incarnations of the franchise, she is actually not the [[team leader]] of Sailor Guardians; instead, that honor goes to Sailor Venus. Minako is depicted as athletic, friendly, romantic, resilient, and intelligent. She is also seen as graceful, clever, and refined at times. Minako is supernaturally strong, being able to wield a heavy sword with just one hand, and jumping from the ground to the top of a building in the ‘90s anime. Minako is as strong as [[Makoto Kino|Makoto]], possibly even more than her, and like Sailor Mars, Minako also has large experience in hand-to-hand combat as she took on members of the “Dark Agency” in her own series ''Codename: Sailor V''. When ''Codename: Sailor V'' was enough of a hit to earn its own anime adaptation, Takeuchi was asked to expand the concept to include more girls, and when she did, she placed [[Sailor Moon (character)|Usagi Tsukino]] as the protagonist, with Minako as a part of the team.<ref name="AfterwordPunch">{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon shinzōban vol. 3 |chapter= Afterword Punch |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= October 23, 2003 |isbn= 4-06-334783-4 }}</ref>

[[Image:MinakoManga.jpg|left|180px|thumbnail|Minako as depicted in manga, drawn by [[Naoko Takeuchi]].]]
In the anime only, Minako spends some of her time as Sailor V in [[London]], where she meets a young [[Interpol]] officer named Katarina who taught her English and acts as a big sister, and a young man called Alan, with whom she falls in love. One day Sailor V was the first to enter an abandoned warehouse but she was caught in an explosion after a criminal threw a grenade and assumed to be dead, Minako survives but she was injured she saw Alan and Katarina together and realizes that they had become a couple. She moves back to Japan shortly thereafter.<ref name="jnepisode42">{{cite episode |title=Sailor Venus' Past, Minako's Tragic Love |series= Sailor Moon |series-link=Sailor Moon (season 1) |network=Toei |station=Asahi |location=Tokyo |airdate=February 6, 1992 |series-no=1 |number=42}}</ref> She is also widely traveled in the manga, having visited [[Greece]] and [[China]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Codename: Sailor V vol. 2 |chapter=Vol. 7 Sailor V's vacation / The Hawaiian Plot! |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= September 22, 1994 |isbn= 4-06-322810-X}}</ref><ref name="A New Journey Begins">{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Codename: Sailor V vol. 3 |chapter= Vol. 15 - A New Journey Begins |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= November 6, 1997 |isbn= 4-06-322834-7}}</ref>

As a result of her past battles, when Minako meets the other Sailor Guardians she has a relatively serious personality and is very focused on their mission as a Sailor Guardian.<ref name="Act8">{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon volume |chapter= Act 8 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= September 6, 1992 |isbn= 4-06-178731-4}}</ref> In the manga, she even tells them she is the princess they have been searching for, although in fact she is merely serving as a decoy to protect the real princess, Usagi. Throughout the first story arc she has by far the strongest memories of their [[Reincarnation|past life]] during the time of Silver Millennium.<ref name="Act8"/>

Artemis lives in Minako's home and is one of her closest friends. Minako lives with both her parents, although references to her family life are few in the ''Sailor Moon'' series. Her family, like Usagi's, is based on Takeuchi's own family.<ref>{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vol. 4 |chapter= Act 15 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= July 6, 1993 |isbn= 4-06-178753-5 }}</ref> For the first several story arcs, Minako attends a different [[Middle school|junior high school]] from the others in [[Shiba Park|Shiba Kōen]].<ref name="materials">{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko |author-link=Naoko Takeuchi | title= Materials Collection |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= September 1999 |isbn= 4-06-324521-7 |page=12 }}</ref> When the characters enter [[Secondary education in Japan|high school]], she joins Usagi, [[Sailor Mercury|Ami]], and [[Sailor Jupiter|Makoto]] at [[Azabu-Jūban]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vol. 12 |chapter= Act 34 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= September 6, 1995 |isbn= 4-06-178814-0 }}</ref> One of her greatest talent is [[volleyball]], as shown from the beginning of the first ''Sailor V'' chapter{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}} and throughout the rest of the series — she even considers quitting the Sailor Guardians to become a professional,<ref name="jnepisode100">{{cite episode |title=Retire from the Sailor Soldier!? Minako's Concerns |series= Sailor Moon |series-link=Sailor Moon S |network=Toei |station=Asahi |location=Tokyo |airdate=June 25, 1994 |series-no=3 |number=100}}</ref> and in high school joins the Volleyball club.<ref>{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vol. 16 |chapter= Act 43 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date=September 6, 1996 |isbn= 4-06-178841-8 }}</ref> Her favorite class is [[Physical Education]],{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} while in the manga her least favorites are [[mathematics]] and the [[English language]].<ref name="vol 10">{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | author-link = Naoko Takeuchi | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vol. 10 |chapter= Back of volume |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= June 6, 1995 |isbn= 4-06-178806-X}}</ref> In the anime, having lived in England for some time,<ref name="jnepisode42"/> she is fluent in the language (in one episode it is shown her skills are more refined than Ami Mizuno's), and Usagi begs Minako to teach her.<ref name="jnepisode108">{{cite episode |title=Usagi's Dance, In Time to a Waltz |series= Sailor Moon |series-link=Sailor Moon S |network=Toei |station=Asahi |location=Tokyo |airdate=September 17, 1994 |series-no=3 |number=108}}</ref>

Minako's other greatest love is [[popular culture|pop culture]]. She desperately wants to be an [[teen idol|idol]], and so makes a hobby of chasing them and attending [[audition]]s in acting, dancing, and singing whenever possible.<ref name="idols">Manga: {{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vol. 13 |chapter= Act 43 |year= 1994 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |isbn= 4-06-178820-5 }} Anime: {{cite episode |title=Crazy for Celebrities! Mimet, in Doubt |series= Sailor Moon |series-link=Sailor Moon S |network=Toei |station=Asahi |location=Tokyo |airdate=November 19, 1994 |series-no=3 |number=114}}</ref> She takes her role as the "Guardian of Love" literally, and enjoys regaling friends and acquaintances with advice about [[romantic love|romance]].<ref>"Sailor Venus: Ai no Megami no How to Love." CD single. CODC-1086/1996.12.21</ref> Despite her declared expertise, Minako herself has little personal experience in relationships (aside from a brief and ill-fated love in the ''Sailor V'' manga),<ref name="A New Journey Begins"/> but is enthusiastic about romantic opportunities — even to the point of two-timing a pair of the series' villains.<ref name="jnepisode141">{{cite episode |title=Storm of Love! Minako's Grand Two-Timing Plan |series= Sailor Moon |series-link=Sailor Moon SuperS |network=Toei |station=Asahi |location=Tokyo |airdate=July 8, 1995 |series-no=4 |number=141}}</ref> She has a crush on [[Sailor Starlights#Sailor Star Healer|Yaten Kou]] throughout the ''[[Sailor Moon Sailor Stars|Sailor Stars]]'' anime storyline, and in one episode, the sinister idea of herself as a cat bathing with Yaten gives her a nosebleed<ref name="jnepisode178">{{cite episode |title=Luna Saw It!? Idol Yaten's True Face |series= Sailor Moon |series-link=Sailor Moon Sailor Stars |network=Toei |station=Asahi |location=Tokyo |airdate=June 22, 1996 |series-no=5 |number=178}}</ref> — a common symbol of [[sexual arousal]] in [[anime]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Brenner|first=Robin E.|title=Understanding Manga and Anime|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|year=2007|page=52|isbn=978-1-59158-332-5}}</ref> In the manga, by contrast, Minako suspects Yaten of being an enemy; while confronting the Starlights, she and Rei reaffirm that they do not need men because they have dedicated their lives to their duty of protecting Usagi.<ref>{{cite book |last= Takeuchi |first= Naoko | title= Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon vol. 16 |chapter= Act 45 |publisher= [[Kodansha]] |date= September 6, 1996 |isbn= 4-06-178841-8 }}</ref>

Although she may appear to flawless at first, their seems to be the fewest faults from her team. Like in many episodes, she keeps getting her quotes constantly wrong, forcing Artemis to correct it. The other in another episode in which the pandemic that the villains created, her skills in looking after her friends is messy, accident prone and bad at cooking. Lastly, she's worried that she is not in the loop when it comes to mission and love. Despite that, her friends returned the favor in helping her defeat the villain, resolving any hardships she usually needs to overcome in order to restore her happiness.

Last thing in her characteristics, she's almost similar to Usagi in terms of clumsiness, her love of boys and things that makes them look like twins. Like Usagi, she has a rivalry with Makoto.

===Live-action series===
While Minako dreams of being an [[teen idol|idol]] in the manga and anime adaptations,<ref name="idols"/> the live-action series ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (live-action series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' depicts her as a famous singer whose fanbase includes [[Sailor Moon (character)|Usagi Tsukino]] in particular as an enormous fan.<ref>[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]. She is shown on a poster in Act 1 and on a television news program recording a new song in Act 9.</ref> Her second album, newly released at the start of the series, is called ''Venus'' and her most popular song is C'est La Vie, which is a Japanese [[pun]]: in Japanese (and, to some extent, in English as well), the French phrase and the name of her [[alter ego|alter-ego]], Sailor V, is pronounced almost identically (as ''sērāvī''). Her first album, ''Imitation'', was released prior to her meeting Artemis and becoming a Sailor Guardian, but its track listing, shown onscreen, foreshadows later plot developments: Origin of the Legend, Imitation, Don't Lose! Christmas Girl, Love Versus Dream, Happily, Secret!, Orange Heart, White Rendezvous, and Make Up! Power!!.<ref>''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'', Act Zero. The track listing in English can be seen 35 seconds into the Act.</ref>

In the live-action series, Minako secretly leads a double life as idol and heroine—famous as a singer, and equally well-known as Sailor V. She remains entirely separate from the other girls, but is aware of each of their civilian identities.<ref>''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'', Episode 11. Revealed in Minako's thoughts during the hospital visit by Usagi and Makoto.</ref> As in the other series, she eventually discards the guise of Sailor V in favor of her true form, Sailor Venus;<ref name="PGSM12">[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]], Act 12.</ref> nevertheless, she becomes only slightly involved with the others, and frequently expresses disapproval of their effectiveness as Guardians. She is frustrated by their lack of focus and distances herself both for that reason and because, as revealed later, she has a [[terminal illness]] and does not want them to become close to her and then be saddened by her probable death.<ref>[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]], Act 18.</ref>

When the other Guardians learn that Minako and Sailor V are the same person, they hide it from the irresponsible Usagi for some time. The character Minako is closest to being friends with is [[Sailor Mars|Rei Hino]], with whom she has a conflicted relationship. Rei is supposed to be the secondary leader, but she is initially both less skilled than Minako and resentful of her advice.<ref>[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]] Acts 17 and 18.</ref> Although they often disagree and compete, they develop great respect for each other, to the point where Minako sometimes lets her guard down, and eventually confides to Rei about both her illness and what she feels is her destiny as a Sailor Soldier.<ref>[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]], Act 36.</ref>

In terms of personality, the live-action Minako is deeply solemn and rarely smiles. Besides the complications from her unnamed illness (the doctors in one episode give her six months to live), her obsession with the collective past life makes her feel detached from the world, thinking of her current life as less important. However, she does seem to genuinely love singing, and shows a small mischievous side, especially in her relationship with Artemis.<ref>She gives prank gifts in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' Acts 19 and 47, with [[stuffed animal]]s jumping out of boxes.</ref>

As in the manga, she serves as a decoy Moon Princess for part of the series. She seems to be aware of her true position, often endangering herself to protect the real princess, Sailor Moon.<ref name=PGSMAF>{{cite web|url=http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2004/05/feature/02.php|title=Sailor Soldiers, Saban Style|last=Font|first=Dillon|date=May 2004|work=Animefringe|access-date=2009-07-20|archive-date=2011-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911040937/http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2004/05/feature/02.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>In Act 12, Luna proclaims her to be the Princess in front of the enemy. In Act 18, Princess Sailor Venus orders Sailor Mars to protect Sailor Moon instead of trying to protect her. In Act 19, Sailor Mars thinks Princess Sailor Venus is acting recklessly by fighting alone, and Minako posts a picture of herself to her website to get the enemy's attention away from Sailor Moon.</ref> In a twist, Usagi serves as a decoy of Minako, chasing away a group of autograph hounds. She does this because she figures Minako needed to be away from the trappings of stardom for a while.<ref name="PGSM12"/> Minako is touched by this and cares about Usagi as a friend to the point of trying to protect her from Mio (whom she suspected is working with the Dark Kingdom to hurt Usagi).

Near the end of the series, it is revealed that there is a surgery that might either correct Minako's condition or kill her early.<ref>[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]], Act 40.</ref> She refuses to undergo the procedure, preferring to last as long as she can without it, but the other girls convince her to take any chance at life she can get. She is shown leaving for the hospital, and later that day, Artemis arrives at Rei's temple to tell the girls that Minako has died. She did, however, leave each of them a note giving her goodbyes.<ref>''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'', Act 47.</ref>  Rei uses Minako's weapon, Venus Dagger, in conjunction with her own Mars Dagger in the final battle. Though Minako dies before the final battle, Usagi's use of the [[Silver Crystal]] in the finale gives her a second chance at life.<ref>''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 TV series)|Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'', Act 49.</ref> This allows her to take part in the battle in the direct-to-DVD special, in which she uses her own weapon as well as Rei's (who is in the hospital) in combat.<ref>Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, "Special Act - We're Getting Married!"</ref>