[Profile Meme]
[ Character ] Aino Minako
[ Canon ] Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
[ Canon Point ] Act 47
[ Gender ] Female
[ Age ] 15
[ Birthday ] October 22
[ Eyes ] Dark Brown
[ Hair ] Dark Brown (Blonde when transformed)
[ Height ] 5'2"
[ Weight ] 33-23-34
[ Blood Type ] B
[ Voice ] Komatsu Ayaka
[ Family ] Mother and Father (unnamed)
[ Other ] Can transform to Sailor V or Sailor Venus.
[ Background/History ]
Aino Minako, like most little girls, dreamt of becoming a star. She grew up an only child, living with her father (a company employee), and her mother (a dissatisfied housewife, who constantly ragged on her husband). When Minako was 13, her singing ability was discovered, and she became a pop idol. After becoming a pop idol, Minako’s home life is not known, but it is presumed she does at least live with someone else in her apartment.
Minako’s first album, “Imitation,” was released when she was 14, not long before Christmas, and skyrocketed to the top of the charts. Christmas Eve, she was laying on the patio of her apartment, when a cat plushie suddenly fell from the sky right onto her face! Minako was surprised when it started talking to her, first thinking that it was a talking plushie, then a robot, then a bird that could mimic human voice [ooc- no, it doesn’t make sense to me, either]. Before Artemis could explain who he was and why he’d been looking for Minako, the two could hear sirens, and Artemis saw a robber running on the street below Minako’s apartment building. He pulls out what appears to be a cell phone (actually a Teletia S), and uses it to transform her into Sailor V. Minako is confused, but agrees to follow Artemis’ lead, and confronts the running robber.
The robber pulls a knife on her, and Sailor V is forced to dodge him, severely lacking in fighting skills. Artemis tells her to use her weapon (which is in her pocket), and she throws the Crescent Moon Cutter at him… and misses completely. The robber laughs at her, and starts to come toward her, when a tree branch (cut by the Cutter) falls on him. Artemis congratulates her on her win (not bad for a first time), and tells her that she is a Guardian. Minako realizes that she now has a power, and thanks Artemis for the “best Christmas present ever.” Over the next many months, Minako honed her skills, and became popular as a crime fighter, as well as an idol, even if no one knew about her double life.
The next July, Minako’s single “C’est la Vie” was scheduled to come out, around the same time that a series of robberies at jewelry stores was occurring, that Sailor V had been able to thwart, although the culprit(s) hadn’t been caught. From a nearby rooftop, Sailor V and Artemis watched the front of the Jupiter jewelry store, and notice two women checking the place out, figuring they are part of the criminal group. However, before she could follow them to their hideout, a girl ran out of Jupiter yelling “Aino Minako!” Thinking she had been seen and discovered, Sailor V jumped back from the ledge, asking Artemis how the girl had known who she was. Unbeknownst to her, Tuxedo Kamen was on the higher roof of the building next to her, and overheard her admitting that Aino Minako was Sailor V.
Sailor V does make her way to the headquarters of the criminals, via a tracking device she (actually Artemis) had attached to one of the cases of jewelry. She fights against the henchwomen, partially assisted by the girl from earlier (who had been captured, and that Artemis realizes is a senshi as well). Right as Sailor V is about to be attacked, the bumbling police men show up. She uses her Cutter to stop the sound effects confusing the police, and kicks the knife out of the thief’s hands. While everyone is being arrested, however, she notices the case of jewelry being taken, and follows the culprit out of the hideout.
Cutting him off by throwing the Cutter, Sailor V confronts Tuxedo Kamen, demanding he return the case. The two fight, but as they clash, Minako’s memories of the past are awakened. Tuxedo Kamen also has a vision, and escapes, leaving the case of jewelry. Artemis asks if she is alright, and Sailor V tells him that she has remembered about her past life, the princess, and her true name. Artemis tells her that he has discovered something as well, that the girl whom had been captured was Sailor Moon.
That fall, Minako’s second album, “Venus”, is released, and Minako sees that Sailor Moon has been awakened, although she retains no memories of her past life. As Sailor V, Minako continues to fight crime as a Guardian of Justice, as well as watch over Sailor Moon. She cautions her not to trust Tuxedo Kamen, that he’s an enemy, sentiments that are echoed to Sailor Moon by Luna and the other senshi (at least, that he could be an enemy). However, as Minako, she has to leave to travel to England, to do prep work for a new single.
In December, Minako returns to Japan, and again, as Sailor V, warns Sailor Moon to stay away from Tuxedo Kamen. Luna asks her if she is the princess, as they (and the enemy) have been suspecting, but V leaves before answering. However, the enemy knows that Aino Minako is Sailor V, and targets her. Zoicite uses his music to put a truck driver into a trance, in an attempt to kill her. Minako manages to escape with just some scratches, but is hospitalized anyway.
While in the hospital, Minako tries to sneak out, but her manager runs after her. Usagi (whom she knows to be Sailor Moon) and Makoto end up trapped in her hospital room with her and her manager (they were all shoved into the room while trying to avoid fans), and Usagi excitedly gets Minako’s autograph. Minako tries to ask her if there’s anything else more important, but Usagi, not realizing that Minako was referring to their roles as Senshi, says that Aino Minako is the most important thing to her. Minako’s manager kicks Usagi and Makoto out, and Minako is left wondering why they aren’t as serious as she is.
After everyone leaves, Minako realizes that Usagi left the notebook she’d had signed behind. Minako looks at it, and realizes that, even if she doesn’t pay attention to her life as a senshi, Usagi has one thing that Minako lacks: Friends. Artemis is worried about her, but Minako pushes that to the side, focusing instead on getting her work as “Minako” done.
The next day, Usagi comes back for her notebook, but Minako has realized that her manager is being possessed by a youma. Surprised that Usagi can’t sense it (and thinking that Sailor Moon is a real idiot), Minako accepts Usagi’s help in escaping from the hospital, although Usagi thinks it’s just to get away from the worries of a pop idol, not to escape from a youma. However, once the cab they’d taken got them far enough away, Minako tried separating herself from Usagi, wanting to investigate the enemy. However, she bumped into a freshly painted sign, getting her jacket covered in paint. Usagi accompanies her to a clothing shop to get new clothes, and when the two notice the crowds out front, Usagi takes Minako’s paint-covered jacket and her hat, and dashes out the front, pretending to be Minako. Minako shakes her head, knowing that they could’ve just used the back door.
Usagi meets up with Minako again, and the two go to ride a ferris wheel. While they’re up in it, Usagi thanks Minako for letting her see what being an idol is like. She pulls out the box with two strawberry shortcakes in it, and both girls laugh when they realize that they eat them the same way. Minako sings Usagi a bit of her new single, and tells Usagi that she doesn’t have to be so formal around her. They don’t exactly become friends, but Minako begins to see what draws people to Usagi. However, after they get off, Usagi gets a call from the others, who need her help fighting the youma. Usagi runs off, and Minako realizes that it’s time to reveal herself to the others in the group.
Minako transforms into Sailor V and helps them defeat the youma, then Sailor V reveals herself to be not only Sailor V, but the princess as well. She uses her Crescent Beam on Zoicite to defeat him, and tells the others that she cannot join them, because she has her own duty as princess. She orders them to simply continue protecting the Earth, and disappears.
Not much later, Minako’s house is broken into and some of her jewelry stolen, and she used that time to slip out from detection, so that she could work on her own without being caught by the enemy. She released a statement to the press that she was working on a new album, and hid with Artemis at a secret location. However, things were not right, as Minako passed out in front of Artemis.
A few days later, Minako is praying at a church, when one of the priests asks for help. He’s found an ill dog outside the church, and Minako offers to help. Also offering to help is Rei, whom Minako recognizes as being Sailor Mars, although the latter doesn’t recognize her. However, after seeing a magazine cover, Rei does recognize her as being Aino Minako, and Minako smiles, since Rei’s the first girl who hasn’t known who she was instantly. When a youma attacks the priest, Rei runs off and fights as Sailor Mars, but when Minako would have followed her, Artemis cautions her that she can’t fight right now. However, when Mars was having trouble in the fight, Minako ignored Artemis and transformed right in front of Mars, revealing her identity. However, when Mars favors protecting Sailor Venus, as the princess, over chasing the youma, Venus tells her off, saying that she doesn’t need protecting, antagonizing Mars. The two of them bicker over the care of the dog, as well, competing with each other over ridiculous things, but Minako realizes that the reason the youma attacked at the church, was to steal everyone’s energy at mass. The four senshi fight Jaedite, Nephrite, and the youma and start to lose, but Venus shows up to distract the enemy. She and Mars separate the youma from the other two, and work together to defeat it. Venus then orders Mars to never leave Sailor Moon’s side.
That night, as Minako is packing her things to move again, she and Artemis talk about the real reason why she stays away from the other senshi… It’s because she only has about 6 months left to live…
Rei, wanting answers, tracks Minako down, and helps her to escape from Nephrite, who is after the Mystical Silver Crystal. Rei asks her why she seems like she’s trying to get caught, and Minako tells her that when she truly awakens as a senshi, she’d understand, and that Minako is waiting for that. As she leaves, Minako tells her that she should be able to be the leader of the senshi. Walking down the street, she has another attack from her illness. Artemis encourages her back, and puts her in bed, nursing her himself. Minako knows that she needs to rest, but she argues that she has to at least awaken Mars.
When Sailor Mercury was transformed into Darkury, Venus was the only one who was willing to fight against her. However, due to her illness, she can’t fight with her full strength. Venus tries to order Moon to fight, but she refuses, transforming back into Usagi. However, when Usagi’s tears hit her transformation broach, it began to awaken her, and Venus told them that they had to awaken to their power soon, and left.
Worried that Mars hasn’t awakened yet, Minako tells everyone that she’s a fellow talent under the name of Mars Reiko, and arranges for Rei to perform at the hospital to cheer up the children. When a youma attacks at the hospital, Mars comes to the rescue of Venus and Moon, and her powers awaken (but not her memories). However, Minako knows that the time when they’ll fully awaken is soon. Her feeling is accurate, as Sailor Moon awakens as the princess in the next battle, after Tuxedo Mask is struck down. Venus then reveals herself to be the leader of the senshi, who had been posing as the princess to protect Serenity.
After Mercury is rescued, though Minako comes to the aid of the other four, she still does not work with them, remaining separate, not because she doesn’t want to work with them, but because she didn’t want them to be sad when she died. She’s also worried when Kuroki Miyo, an up-and-coming new idol (who is considered her rival), suddenly switches schools to Usagi’s school. Minako tries asking Mio questions about herself, but the girl puts up a fake crying act to turn the others in the studio against Minako.
Minako continues to distrust Mio, especially as she keeps pulling stunts to try to hurt Usagi and make her lose all of her friends, although Minako is able to get there in time to help Usagi. Minako warns Mio not to pull any more stunts, because even if Usagi forgives her, she’s not so kind. However, Minako overworks herself, and has to rely on emergency IVs to keep up her strength.
Knowing that, if history repeats itself, the Princess and Endymion will destroy the planet, Venus decides to work together with Zoicite, trying to make Usagi forget about Mamoru. Minako plans on using a music box to do this, but she can’t bring herself to use it… Unfortunately, the music box falls from her lap, and starts to work. Zoicite tries to get Minako to help him rescue Endymion when Mio tries to take him back to the Dark Kingdom. However, Usagi’s love is stronger than Zoicite’s spell, and the music box breaks. Venus and Moon fight together to rescue Endymion, and Venus realizes that she can’t fight against the two of them, so she gives Moon two tickets to Minako’s live show (Moon doesn’t realize how she had them, but Endymion tells her that Venus IS Aino Minako). However, at the live performance, Minako passes out on stage.
When Rei comes to visit Minako in the hospital, Minako tells her the truth, that she only has a couple months left to live. There is a surgery option she could take, but the chances of success are very slim, so Minako’s decided to use the rest of her time dedicated to her duty as a senshi, even if it means leaving behind her life as Aino Minako. The decision is hard for her, but she decides to quit singing, so that she can try to stop the princess’ feelings from causing the Mystical Silver Crystal to go out of control and destroy the Earth.
However, when she tries to tell this to her manager, he lists off a bunch of things they have scheduled, and she can’t bring herself to tell him she’s quitting. However, Artemis has a plan, and soon Mars Reiko is resurrected, as a new rival for Minako, even being given the song that was to be Minako’s next single. Minako won’t stand for this, and a competition program is started, with Ami and Makoto backing up Rei(ko), and Usagi and Luna backing up Minako. Minako is very serious throughout the whole competition, until the end when everyone gets involved, and she actually relaxes and has fun with her friends. Because of this, Minako realizes what her life as Minako means to her, and decides to fight, both as a senshi, and as Minako.
Mars tells Venus not to fight, but she ignores her and fights anyway. However, after the battle, Mars tells her that she refuses to fight with Venus, because Venus, while having her memories of the past life, has not awakened to her powers as a senshi. Mars tells her not to come fight until she’s awakened, and that she has other things to do. Mercury and Jupiter try to argue with her that she’s being harsh, but Mars points out that if they truly are comrades, Venus wouldn’t be lying to them.
Minako, however, has no plans on taking this sitting down, and challenges Rei at the Crown Karaoke, telling her that if she won’t follow the mission from the past life, then she has no place on their team. Unfortunately, during the next battle, Minako’s illness affects her, and she passes out. While she’s in the hospital, Artemis encourages her to take the surgery, because he doesn’t want to lose her. Minako teases him that he’s declaring his love to her, but he says that he wants her to cherish her remaining time. However, when Artemis tells her to give up the past life’s mission, she tells him to go away, just like Mars. She tells him that Aino Minako disappeared the day before, but that Venus wouldn’t. Minako and Makoto run from the hospital to fight a youma, but when Minako goes to transform, she finds that she can’t. As she watches Jupiter, Mercury, and Luna fight and lose against the youma, she wants to fight, but Jupiter tells her to stay back. Jupiter uses Minako’s own words (that if she dies, but the past mission is completed, it’s alright) back against her, and tries a suicide attack against the youma. Jupiter survives, and Minako is shocked to hear her talking so casually about being willing to die, but Makoto tells her that it’s the same as what she’s been saying. Talking with Makoto, though, Minako realizes what Rei had been trying to tell her.
Artemis comes and tells Minako to come with him, and he takes her to the temple Rei lives at, where she sees two children singing “C’est la Vie”. Artemis tells her that when they were crying and he asked what they wanted to do, they wanted to sing Minako’s song. He tells her that even if she disappears, “Minako” won’t, because she’s meant a lot to so many people. He reminds her that Aino Minako is not a weak part of herself, and that he, along with so many others, love her, which is what made her keep singing when she was about to quit.
Minako goes to the aid of Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, even though she hadn’t been able to transform, and when Jupiter tells her to run, she refuses. She begins to glow with a golden light, and they realize that her power as a senshi has finally awoken. She transforms into Sailor Venus, and, when Moon shows up, the five combine their powers to defeat the youma, and return the energy to everyone all over town who it had been stolen from.
Minako decides, as Aino Minako, that she’s going to take the surgery, even though there’s very little chance of success. She heads off for an examination leading up to the surgery, and…
[ Personality ]
Unlike the manga and anime, Minako’s personality in PGSM is quite complex.
Minako has two sides that she shows. The first is the persona of Aino Minako. Aino Minako is, publicly, always helping people and being energetic for the camera. She’s also stubborn and a bit of a prankster, teasing Artemis and pulling pranks on him. She also hates losing, and is very competitive, when it comes to rivals.
As Sailor V/Venus, first as the decoy princess, and then as the leader of the princess’ guardians, she was very serious and strict, knowing from her memories of the past life that if they did not prevent the tragedy, it would repeat, and the world would be destroyed. Her knowledge of the past lead her to try to throw away her life as Minako, because she knew she had a limited time left.
However, hidden below is the “true” Minako. Underneath everything, even though Minako had said that fulfilling the past life’s mission was more important than her own life, she was really afraid. Minako didn’t want to die just as much as anyone else, but she was so obsessed with fulfilling her mission that she suppresses her feelings. She felt that if she could change the inevitable outcome of the Prince and Princess falling in love, perhaps her own fate of death would be adverted as well. When she finally accepts both sides of her, she is freed to be herself.
At her core, Minako wants friends and to have fun, the same as any other girl. As an idol, she’d had to grow up very quickly, but once she accepts herself, she becomes much more like the teenager she really is. She smiles and laughs with everyone else, and relaxes, accepting friends for the first time since she’d become an idol.
[ Specialties and Abilities ]
As Aino Minako, she is a talented singer and model, as well as being very athletic. As Sailor V/Venus, she has many attacks at her disposal, as well as the Crescent Moon Cutter and the Venus Love-Me Chain whip as weapons.
[ Canon ] Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
[ Canon Point ] Act 47
[ Gender ] Female
[ Age ] 15
[ Birthday ] October 22
[ Eyes ] Dark Brown
[ Hair ] Dark Brown (Blonde when transformed)
[ Height ] 5'2"
[ Weight ] 33-23-34
[ Blood Type ] B
[ Voice ] Komatsu Ayaka
[ Family ] Mother and Father (unnamed)
[ Other ] Can transform to Sailor V or Sailor Venus.
[ Background/History ]
Aino Minako, like most little girls, dreamt of becoming a star. She grew up an only child, living with her father (a company employee), and her mother (a dissatisfied housewife, who constantly ragged on her husband). When Minako was 13, her singing ability was discovered, and she became a pop idol. After becoming a pop idol, Minako’s home life is not known, but it is presumed she does at least live with someone else in her apartment.
Minako’s first album, “Imitation,” was released when she was 14, not long before Christmas, and skyrocketed to the top of the charts. Christmas Eve, she was laying on the patio of her apartment, when a cat plushie suddenly fell from the sky right onto her face! Minako was surprised when it started talking to her, first thinking that it was a talking plushie, then a robot, then a bird that could mimic human voice [ooc- no, it doesn’t make sense to me, either]. Before Artemis could explain who he was and why he’d been looking for Minako, the two could hear sirens, and Artemis saw a robber running on the street below Minako’s apartment building. He pulls out what appears to be a cell phone (actually a Teletia S), and uses it to transform her into Sailor V. Minako is confused, but agrees to follow Artemis’ lead, and confronts the running robber.
The robber pulls a knife on her, and Sailor V is forced to dodge him, severely lacking in fighting skills. Artemis tells her to use her weapon (which is in her pocket), and she throws the Crescent Moon Cutter at him… and misses completely. The robber laughs at her, and starts to come toward her, when a tree branch (cut by the Cutter) falls on him. Artemis congratulates her on her win (not bad for a first time), and tells her that she is a Guardian. Minako realizes that she now has a power, and thanks Artemis for the “best Christmas present ever.” Over the next many months, Minako honed her skills, and became popular as a crime fighter, as well as an idol, even if no one knew about her double life.
The next July, Minako’s single “C’est la Vie” was scheduled to come out, around the same time that a series of robberies at jewelry stores was occurring, that Sailor V had been able to thwart, although the culprit(s) hadn’t been caught. From a nearby rooftop, Sailor V and Artemis watched the front of the Jupiter jewelry store, and notice two women checking the place out, figuring they are part of the criminal group. However, before she could follow them to their hideout, a girl ran out of Jupiter yelling “Aino Minako!” Thinking she had been seen and discovered, Sailor V jumped back from the ledge, asking Artemis how the girl had known who she was. Unbeknownst to her, Tuxedo Kamen was on the higher roof of the building next to her, and overheard her admitting that Aino Minako was Sailor V.
Sailor V does make her way to the headquarters of the criminals, via a tracking device she (actually Artemis) had attached to one of the cases of jewelry. She fights against the henchwomen, partially assisted by the girl from earlier (who had been captured, and that Artemis realizes is a senshi as well). Right as Sailor V is about to be attacked, the bumbling police men show up. She uses her Cutter to stop the sound effects confusing the police, and kicks the knife out of the thief’s hands. While everyone is being arrested, however, she notices the case of jewelry being taken, and follows the culprit out of the hideout.
Cutting him off by throwing the Cutter, Sailor V confronts Tuxedo Kamen, demanding he return the case. The two fight, but as they clash, Minako’s memories of the past are awakened. Tuxedo Kamen also has a vision, and escapes, leaving the case of jewelry. Artemis asks if she is alright, and Sailor V tells him that she has remembered about her past life, the princess, and her true name. Artemis tells her that he has discovered something as well, that the girl whom had been captured was Sailor Moon.
That fall, Minako’s second album, “Venus”, is released, and Minako sees that Sailor Moon has been awakened, although she retains no memories of her past life. As Sailor V, Minako continues to fight crime as a Guardian of Justice, as well as watch over Sailor Moon. She cautions her not to trust Tuxedo Kamen, that he’s an enemy, sentiments that are echoed to Sailor Moon by Luna and the other senshi (at least, that he could be an enemy). However, as Minako, she has to leave to travel to England, to do prep work for a new single.
In December, Minako returns to Japan, and again, as Sailor V, warns Sailor Moon to stay away from Tuxedo Kamen. Luna asks her if she is the princess, as they (and the enemy) have been suspecting, but V leaves before answering. However, the enemy knows that Aino Minako is Sailor V, and targets her. Zoicite uses his music to put a truck driver into a trance, in an attempt to kill her. Minako manages to escape with just some scratches, but is hospitalized anyway.
While in the hospital, Minako tries to sneak out, but her manager runs after her. Usagi (whom she knows to be Sailor Moon) and Makoto end up trapped in her hospital room with her and her manager (they were all shoved into the room while trying to avoid fans), and Usagi excitedly gets Minako’s autograph. Minako tries to ask her if there’s anything else more important, but Usagi, not realizing that Minako was referring to their roles as Senshi, says that Aino Minako is the most important thing to her. Minako’s manager kicks Usagi and Makoto out, and Minako is left wondering why they aren’t as serious as she is.
After everyone leaves, Minako realizes that Usagi left the notebook she’d had signed behind. Minako looks at it, and realizes that, even if she doesn’t pay attention to her life as a senshi, Usagi has one thing that Minako lacks: Friends. Artemis is worried about her, but Minako pushes that to the side, focusing instead on getting her work as “Minako” done.
The next day, Usagi comes back for her notebook, but Minako has realized that her manager is being possessed by a youma. Surprised that Usagi can’t sense it (and thinking that Sailor Moon is a real idiot), Minako accepts Usagi’s help in escaping from the hospital, although Usagi thinks it’s just to get away from the worries of a pop idol, not to escape from a youma. However, once the cab they’d taken got them far enough away, Minako tried separating herself from Usagi, wanting to investigate the enemy. However, she bumped into a freshly painted sign, getting her jacket covered in paint. Usagi accompanies her to a clothing shop to get new clothes, and when the two notice the crowds out front, Usagi takes Minako’s paint-covered jacket and her hat, and dashes out the front, pretending to be Minako. Minako shakes her head, knowing that they could’ve just used the back door.
Usagi meets up with Minako again, and the two go to ride a ferris wheel. While they’re up in it, Usagi thanks Minako for letting her see what being an idol is like. She pulls out the box with two strawberry shortcakes in it, and both girls laugh when they realize that they eat them the same way. Minako sings Usagi a bit of her new single, and tells Usagi that she doesn’t have to be so formal around her. They don’t exactly become friends, but Minako begins to see what draws people to Usagi. However, after they get off, Usagi gets a call from the others, who need her help fighting the youma. Usagi runs off, and Minako realizes that it’s time to reveal herself to the others in the group.
Minako transforms into Sailor V and helps them defeat the youma, then Sailor V reveals herself to be not only Sailor V, but the princess as well. She uses her Crescent Beam on Zoicite to defeat him, and tells the others that she cannot join them, because she has her own duty as princess. She orders them to simply continue protecting the Earth, and disappears.
Not much later, Minako’s house is broken into and some of her jewelry stolen, and she used that time to slip out from detection, so that she could work on her own without being caught by the enemy. She released a statement to the press that she was working on a new album, and hid with Artemis at a secret location. However, things were not right, as Minako passed out in front of Artemis.
A few days later, Minako is praying at a church, when one of the priests asks for help. He’s found an ill dog outside the church, and Minako offers to help. Also offering to help is Rei, whom Minako recognizes as being Sailor Mars, although the latter doesn’t recognize her. However, after seeing a magazine cover, Rei does recognize her as being Aino Minako, and Minako smiles, since Rei’s the first girl who hasn’t known who she was instantly. When a youma attacks the priest, Rei runs off and fights as Sailor Mars, but when Minako would have followed her, Artemis cautions her that she can’t fight right now. However, when Mars was having trouble in the fight, Minako ignored Artemis and transformed right in front of Mars, revealing her identity. However, when Mars favors protecting Sailor Venus, as the princess, over chasing the youma, Venus tells her off, saying that she doesn’t need protecting, antagonizing Mars. The two of them bicker over the care of the dog, as well, competing with each other over ridiculous things, but Minako realizes that the reason the youma attacked at the church, was to steal everyone’s energy at mass. The four senshi fight Jaedite, Nephrite, and the youma and start to lose, but Venus shows up to distract the enemy. She and Mars separate the youma from the other two, and work together to defeat it. Venus then orders Mars to never leave Sailor Moon’s side.
That night, as Minako is packing her things to move again, she and Artemis talk about the real reason why she stays away from the other senshi… It’s because she only has about 6 months left to live…
Rei, wanting answers, tracks Minako down, and helps her to escape from Nephrite, who is after the Mystical Silver Crystal. Rei asks her why she seems like she’s trying to get caught, and Minako tells her that when she truly awakens as a senshi, she’d understand, and that Minako is waiting for that. As she leaves, Minako tells her that she should be able to be the leader of the senshi. Walking down the street, she has another attack from her illness. Artemis encourages her back, and puts her in bed, nursing her himself. Minako knows that she needs to rest, but she argues that she has to at least awaken Mars.
When Sailor Mercury was transformed into Darkury, Venus was the only one who was willing to fight against her. However, due to her illness, she can’t fight with her full strength. Venus tries to order Moon to fight, but she refuses, transforming back into Usagi. However, when Usagi’s tears hit her transformation broach, it began to awaken her, and Venus told them that they had to awaken to their power soon, and left.
Worried that Mars hasn’t awakened yet, Minako tells everyone that she’s a fellow talent under the name of Mars Reiko, and arranges for Rei to perform at the hospital to cheer up the children. When a youma attacks at the hospital, Mars comes to the rescue of Venus and Moon, and her powers awaken (but not her memories). However, Minako knows that the time when they’ll fully awaken is soon. Her feeling is accurate, as Sailor Moon awakens as the princess in the next battle, after Tuxedo Mask is struck down. Venus then reveals herself to be the leader of the senshi, who had been posing as the princess to protect Serenity.
After Mercury is rescued, though Minako comes to the aid of the other four, she still does not work with them, remaining separate, not because she doesn’t want to work with them, but because she didn’t want them to be sad when she died. She’s also worried when Kuroki Miyo, an up-and-coming new idol (who is considered her rival), suddenly switches schools to Usagi’s school. Minako tries asking Mio questions about herself, but the girl puts up a fake crying act to turn the others in the studio against Minako.
Minako continues to distrust Mio, especially as she keeps pulling stunts to try to hurt Usagi and make her lose all of her friends, although Minako is able to get there in time to help Usagi. Minako warns Mio not to pull any more stunts, because even if Usagi forgives her, she’s not so kind. However, Minako overworks herself, and has to rely on emergency IVs to keep up her strength.
Knowing that, if history repeats itself, the Princess and Endymion will destroy the planet, Venus decides to work together with Zoicite, trying to make Usagi forget about Mamoru. Minako plans on using a music box to do this, but she can’t bring herself to use it… Unfortunately, the music box falls from her lap, and starts to work. Zoicite tries to get Minako to help him rescue Endymion when Mio tries to take him back to the Dark Kingdom. However, Usagi’s love is stronger than Zoicite’s spell, and the music box breaks. Venus and Moon fight together to rescue Endymion, and Venus realizes that she can’t fight against the two of them, so she gives Moon two tickets to Minako’s live show (Moon doesn’t realize how she had them, but Endymion tells her that Venus IS Aino Minako). However, at the live performance, Minako passes out on stage.
When Rei comes to visit Minako in the hospital, Minako tells her the truth, that she only has a couple months left to live. There is a surgery option she could take, but the chances of success are very slim, so Minako’s decided to use the rest of her time dedicated to her duty as a senshi, even if it means leaving behind her life as Aino Minako. The decision is hard for her, but she decides to quit singing, so that she can try to stop the princess’ feelings from causing the Mystical Silver Crystal to go out of control and destroy the Earth.
However, when she tries to tell this to her manager, he lists off a bunch of things they have scheduled, and she can’t bring herself to tell him she’s quitting. However, Artemis has a plan, and soon Mars Reiko is resurrected, as a new rival for Minako, even being given the song that was to be Minako’s next single. Minako won’t stand for this, and a competition program is started, with Ami and Makoto backing up Rei(ko), and Usagi and Luna backing up Minako. Minako is very serious throughout the whole competition, until the end when everyone gets involved, and she actually relaxes and has fun with her friends. Because of this, Minako realizes what her life as Minako means to her, and decides to fight, both as a senshi, and as Minako.
Mars tells Venus not to fight, but she ignores her and fights anyway. However, after the battle, Mars tells her that she refuses to fight with Venus, because Venus, while having her memories of the past life, has not awakened to her powers as a senshi. Mars tells her not to come fight until she’s awakened, and that she has other things to do. Mercury and Jupiter try to argue with her that she’s being harsh, but Mars points out that if they truly are comrades, Venus wouldn’t be lying to them.
Minako, however, has no plans on taking this sitting down, and challenges Rei at the Crown Karaoke, telling her that if she won’t follow the mission from the past life, then she has no place on their team. Unfortunately, during the next battle, Minako’s illness affects her, and she passes out. While she’s in the hospital, Artemis encourages her to take the surgery, because he doesn’t want to lose her. Minako teases him that he’s declaring his love to her, but he says that he wants her to cherish her remaining time. However, when Artemis tells her to give up the past life’s mission, she tells him to go away, just like Mars. She tells him that Aino Minako disappeared the day before, but that Venus wouldn’t. Minako and Makoto run from the hospital to fight a youma, but when Minako goes to transform, she finds that she can’t. As she watches Jupiter, Mercury, and Luna fight and lose against the youma, she wants to fight, but Jupiter tells her to stay back. Jupiter uses Minako’s own words (that if she dies, but the past mission is completed, it’s alright) back against her, and tries a suicide attack against the youma. Jupiter survives, and Minako is shocked to hear her talking so casually about being willing to die, but Makoto tells her that it’s the same as what she’s been saying. Talking with Makoto, though, Minako realizes what Rei had been trying to tell her.
Artemis comes and tells Minako to come with him, and he takes her to the temple Rei lives at, where she sees two children singing “C’est la Vie”. Artemis tells her that when they were crying and he asked what they wanted to do, they wanted to sing Minako’s song. He tells her that even if she disappears, “Minako” won’t, because she’s meant a lot to so many people. He reminds her that Aino Minako is not a weak part of herself, and that he, along with so many others, love her, which is what made her keep singing when she was about to quit.
Minako goes to the aid of Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter, even though she hadn’t been able to transform, and when Jupiter tells her to run, she refuses. She begins to glow with a golden light, and they realize that her power as a senshi has finally awoken. She transforms into Sailor Venus, and, when Moon shows up, the five combine their powers to defeat the youma, and return the energy to everyone all over town who it had been stolen from.
Minako decides, as Aino Minako, that she’s going to take the surgery, even though there’s very little chance of success. She heads off for an examination leading up to the surgery, and…
[ Personality ]
Unlike the manga and anime, Minako’s personality in PGSM is quite complex.
Minako has two sides that she shows. The first is the persona of Aino Minako. Aino Minako is, publicly, always helping people and being energetic for the camera. She’s also stubborn and a bit of a prankster, teasing Artemis and pulling pranks on him. She also hates losing, and is very competitive, when it comes to rivals.
As Sailor V/Venus, first as the decoy princess, and then as the leader of the princess’ guardians, she was very serious and strict, knowing from her memories of the past life that if they did not prevent the tragedy, it would repeat, and the world would be destroyed. Her knowledge of the past lead her to try to throw away her life as Minako, because she knew she had a limited time left.
However, hidden below is the “true” Minako. Underneath everything, even though Minako had said that fulfilling the past life’s mission was more important than her own life, she was really afraid. Minako didn’t want to die just as much as anyone else, but she was so obsessed with fulfilling her mission that she suppresses her feelings. She felt that if she could change the inevitable outcome of the Prince and Princess falling in love, perhaps her own fate of death would be adverted as well. When she finally accepts both sides of her, she is freed to be herself.
At her core, Minako wants friends and to have fun, the same as any other girl. As an idol, she’d had to grow up very quickly, but once she accepts herself, she becomes much more like the teenager she really is. She smiles and laughs with everyone else, and relaxes, accepting friends for the first time since she’d become an idol.
[ Specialties and Abilities ]
As Aino Minako, she is a talented singer and model, as well as being very athletic. As Sailor V/Venus, she has many attacks at her disposal, as well as the Crescent Moon Cutter and the Venus Love-Me Chain whip as weapons.