Sailor Moon was a hugely influential part of my anime and manga journey. It was one of the first series I watched and my sister got annoyed with how that was my show of choice for a while. This was the first shoujo I watched and it was my favorite anime until I discovered Fruits Basket. After reading the manga the first I ever completed Minako Aino Sailor Venus became my favorite Sailor Guardian. And Im happy to be able to read and review her origin story. Before Sailor Moon there was Sailor V and before Sailor V there was Minako Aino an ordinary 8th grade girl. Shes approached by Artemis a talking white cat who gifts her with a magical item and reveals that she can transform into the superhero Sailor V. With her magical pen that allows her to transform Mina must defend Earth from the nefarious Dark Agency but shed rather be doing other things. Sailor Vs plot isnt one that I would call a masterpiece but its fun to read and enjoyable in its own right. It follows a setup like the 90s Sailor Moon anime with a monster of the week formula. These antagonists are a bit sillier than the ones in Sailor Moon and Sailor V has a much more lighthearted tone until the final chapters. The villains go after peoples energy in increasingly creative ways from simple brainwashing to using cats to drain energy. Its absolutely off the walls and I love it. I appreciate the intentional insanity this series has and how the final chapter eases you into the darker more mature story of Sailor Moon as Minako realizes what her true role as a Sailor Guardian is. As Ive said before Minako is my favorite Sailor Guardian. The Minako we meet in Sailor V is a younger and less mature version of her character in Sailor Moon and she doesnt yet have any of her leadership qualities. Shes actually remarkably similar to Usagi but there are clear differences. Minako is no crybaby instead shes shorttempered and chaotic. She excels in gaming and athletics but lacks any academic skills falls in love at the drop of a hat and she has a strong passion for showbiz and idols. Mina feels very natural and realistic. She feels like a very real selfish middle schooler. What 7th grader wouldnt want to play games or go to concerts instead of fulfilling their intense obligations that they dont even fully understand? Unlike Usagi whos a bit scared to go headfirst into danger Minakos problem is that she lacks the attention span and motivation. Shes too easily distracted to focus on heroing for long. And I love looking into her life. I personally think the later chapters in the Sailor Moon manga which focus on characters other than Usagi were some of the most compelling. Usagis a fine character but I wished the screentime for the girls was more balanced. Thats why Im glad this manga exists and why I loved the Exam Wars side stories in the original manga so much. In magical girl series with teams its easy for many of the girls to be overshadowed. This allows us to see more of what kind of person Mina is outside of fighting for Usagi and what Minas life was like before the Guardians were assembled. There are also tons of cameos and nods to other guardians. All of the Inner Guardians appear at some point in Sailor V for a brief appearance with a few lines. The art is super gorgeous. Naoko Takeuchi has a very sparkly flowy and elegant style. Its very whimsical and reminds me of fairy tale illustrations. The color pages are stunning. While the black and white illustrations are nice the color ones are beautiful and make nice use of the primary colors. I will comment that in the earlier chapters Artemis looks very strange. I literally laughed so hard I started crying because he was just that weird looking. If you like the lighthearted feel of the 90s adaptation of Sailor Moon are fond of Minako as a character or want to get to know her a bit better I wholeheartedly recommend reading this. This is the origin of a hugely influential series and we wouldnt have Sailor Moon if we didnt have Sailor V first.