Sailor Venus

"Protected by Venus, the planet of beauty, Guardian of Love, Sailor Venus! Allow me to punish you with the power of love!"

- Sailor Venus's stock introduction

Minako (Mina In The English Dub) Aino is the alter ego of Sailor Venus and one of the main protagonists in the Sailor Moon series.

Anime and Manga
In both the anime and manga, Minako was shown to have both silly and serious sides. In the manga, Minako's serious side manifested more often when she was Sailor Venus (as was true for many of the Sailor Senshi), but she was still strongly devoted to her friends and her duties as a Senshi. Similar to Usagi, she was an academic underachiever, and would refer to Usagi at times as her "make-up tests partner." She was, however, much more athletic than Usagi, especially when it came to volleyball.

In the anime only, Minako was shown to be competent in speaking English (or at least more so than Rei, Makoto, and Usagi). This was best demonstrated in episode 108, in which she was able to converse with relative fluency in English at the party. It was possibly because of the time she spent as Sailor V in London in the anime.

In the anime, Minako was a very silly character at times, but she could be more serious; this was especially true in the first season in general, and specifically in episodes 42, 100, and 109 (wherein she worried that she did not have a Pure Heart and tried to prove she was pure hearted in some very bizzare ways). She was also infamous for using mixed up proverbs in the anime, and sometimes referred to herself as "The Goddess of Love," a title which she used to try to solve others' love woes.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
In the live action series, Minako was notably more serious than her anime and manga counterparts. This was not surprising, because even though she presented a cheerful image for the public, Minako was constantly living a demanding double life, first as Sailor V, then as Sailor Venus. Her life as an idol meant that she was isolated from the general public, and she seemed to have no parents; the only constant people in her life were Artemis and her manager. As a result, she was more mature than most girls of her own age, and found Usagi rather irritating upon first meeting her (a complete contrast from their easy relationship in the manga and anime). However, on further contact, Minako warmed to Usagi's friendliness and open nature (and often protected Usagi from Mio Kuroki in later episodes).

She had most contact with Rei Hino, since she trained her to be the leader in her absence. Minako had high standards and was constantly challenging Rei and giving her unusual tasks. At first, Rei was both irritated and puzzled by Minako's behavior. Gradually, however, they developed respect and friendship for each other. Minako was completely dedicated to her mission and was determined to accomplish her goals. This led to her making some desperate measures, such as working with Zoisite to erase Usagi's memory of Mamoru, and often using herself as bait. Rei and Artemis were often critical of this tendency, but when Minako made her mind up, she did not listen to anybody.

Minako's illness meant that she only had a certain amount of time in which to accomplish her goals and stop the past from repeating itself, which added more pressure to her already heavy burden. Later in the series, she began to have blackouts and her powers started to fade because of her physical condition. Despite all this, she occasionally showed flashes of a mischievous humor with Artemis, Rei, and Usagi that was familiar from her manga and anime incarnations. This, together with her more girlish behaviors shown in Act Zero when she first met Artemis and became Sailor V, indicated that her original personality would have been more in line with the other incarnations, had her double burdens of special duties and fatal illness not been inflicted upon her. When the world was restored after her death, she was revived thanks to the power of the Silver Crystal. In the Special Act, she continued with her idol career and even won international awards for her work; despite this, she remained friends with the other girls.

Musicals
In the musicals, Minako's character was not explored in as much depth as in the other versions, but her personality generally matched that of her anime counterpart: overly loud at times, a little obsessive, and slightly perverted. She was always true to her mission as a Senshi, however, and would do what was necessary to protect her friends.

Sailor V
This was the first Senshi form that Minako had ever had. This form first appeared in Codename: Sailor V. She would fight against the Dark Agency with Artemis at her aid. This form appeared in many continuations of the series.

Sailor Venus
In this form, Sailor Venus can perform many attacks including "Cresent Beam", "Crescent Beam Shower" which she gets in episode 52 (46 in the dub) in the R series. Her sailor suit has a orange collar, orange skirt, blue front bow, yellow back bow, orange ballet flats and an orange-stoned tiara. In the manga and the live action, there is a chain around her waist which she uses to perform her attacks. She can also fly.

Super Sailor Venus
In this form, there are no very apparent changes to her uniform, but her yellow back bow grows longer.

Princess Venus
In the past during the Silver Millennium, she was Princess Venus. As Sailor Venus, she is one of the guardians of Princess Serenity. She dwelt in Magellan castle and wore a yellow and orange gown.