Class: Anime/Manga Character (Codename: Sailor V, Pretty Solider Sailor Moon)
Hair colour: Blonde
Hair style: Long. with a (usually red) ribbon
Eye colour: Blue

Minako thought she was an average everyday seen until she met a white talking cat called Artemis who told her she was once the princess of the planet Venus in her past life. He also tells her how to transform into the superheroine Sailor V! After a year as Sailor V Minako awakened her past life memories and she became Sailor Venus one of the personal bodyguards of Princess Serenity - who was also reincarnated as Usagi Tsukino, also known as Sailor Moon.

Minako in both the anime and the manga versions of Minako are very happy-go-lucky, however in the manga she was somewhat more serious as Sailor Venus. In fact when Minako first appeared in the anime she was quite the bit more serious and got perkier and sillier as the series went on.

She is often rather goofy and is prone to malaprops and is rather clumsy - never dance with her, let her near a hi-fi or let her prepare food for you! She is also a dreamer, wanting to be an idol and having many crushes throughout the series.

However in the live action version of Sailor Moon, Minako is already an idol and is not silly at all. Instead she is a serious, rather cold warrior, who is dedicated to her mission of protecting Princess Serenity. She is probably so serious because she is short on time as she is living with a terminal illness.

I tend to prefer the silly, nutty Minako of the anime and manga to the cold Minako of the live action serious. While I love the dedicated Sailor Venus of the manga the coldness of live action Minako is too harsh. I love how silly Minako can be at times but she is not a one-joke woman, if you stratch the surface you'll find a lot more.

Minako is the leader of the "Inner" Sailor Soliders - the bodyguards of Princess Serenity, and while this dynamic changed when Usagi was awoken as Sailor Moon meaning her bodyguard became her comrades Sailor Venus was still charged with being the one in command of the "Inners". As the leader she tends to emit an air of coolness at times that the others (except maybe Sailor Mars in the manga) don't have. She also seems to be lonely to some extent, several episodes that focus on Minako are rather melancholy.

I think she is a very interesting character and I really like her, both when she's silly and when she is being shown in a more serious or pensive light. I really like Minako, and as Valentines Day was coming up I thought she as the Sailor of Love and Beauty I thought she would make a great character for a Valentines Day layout!

Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon, Bishojo Senshi Sailormoon and all related characters and licences are © Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, TOEI, et al. No infringement intended.