Sailor Name: Sailor Venus, Super Sailor Venus,
Sailor V
Human Name:
Japanese Name: Aino Minako, nickname Mina
Dub Name: Mina
Height: 5'2" (approximate)
Day of week associated with Kanji: Friday
Element: Gold
Age (at beginning of show): 14
Age (at end of show): 16
Birthday: October 22
Astrological sign: Libra
Blood Type: B
Gemstone: topaz
Favorite Color: yellow, red, orange
Favorite Food: curry rice, pasta
Least Favorite Food: shiitake mushrooms
Favorite Subject: Pysical Education
Least Favorite Subject: Math, English
(??? She's fluent in English!)
Favorite Pastimes: playing volleyball or any sport,
dancing
Favorite Animal: birds
Has Trouble With: showoffs
Strong Points: leadership, English (well, she lived in England!)
Sailor She's Usually Paired With: Sailor Jupiter, sometimes Sailor Moon
Club She's In: Volleyball Club (she couldn't join this in Junior High because of her school and Sailor priorities, but in High School she finally got to join it)
Dream: To go to the state championships as a volleyball player, to become an idol
Mythology*: Venus was the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
Sailor Venus is similar to Sailor Moon in many ways. She was created by Naoko Takeuchi before Sailor Moon, and had her own manga called Sailor V. This recalls her exploits as fighting evil in England. Later Naoko-sama created the series called Sailor Moon, and eventually added Sailor V to the series under the name Sailor Venus. Probably because Sailor Moon was modeled after Sailor Venus, they have many things in common.

Minako is a more out-going member of the group. She is always on the lookout for a boyfriend, much less than Makoto however. She also tends to concentrate a lot of her energy on things she loves, such as becoming an idol or playing volleyball. However, she doesn't spend much energy on things she doesn't like, which include school. While this is similar to Usagi in several ways, keep in mind that Minako has some talents, while Usagi is usually described at having no talents ^.^

One of Minako's dreams is to go to the state championships as a volleyball player. However, between her studies and being a Sailor Soldier, Minako doesn't have much time to follow her dream. Minako even considered quitting as a Sailor because she wanted to do volleyball, but, of course, she changed her mind :) Minako also wants to become an "idol" (which is how the Japanese label a popular person in pop culture, who usually sings and acts). At the end of the show, she tried out to become an idol, and got accepted to the final rounds. Then she said, "This proves my ability. I can be an idol any time I want. But right now, it's important to be with the others."

Minako likes to involve herself with the love affairs of others, mostly because she's the "Goddess of Love" (as she claims). Minako also has a habit of misquoting people, while Artemis can't resist correcting her. An example of a misquote can be found in the SuperS special, "Ami's First Love," when Minako says:
Minako: Ami, you know what they say: Life's short and love's a battle. (All the girls stare at her like she's crazy)
Minako: Was that wrong?
Artemis: I think the correct saying is: Life's short, love while you can.
Minako: I guess that's another way of putting it...

As Venus, she is supposed to act as the leader of the Inner Sailors, although Mars seems to take that position often. Venus' attacks are pretty powerful, although she seems to be behind Jupiter and Mars in powerfulness. Because Venus looks so much like Sailor Moon, she took part in disquising herself as Sailor Moon in one episode so she could fool the bad guy (who thought Usagi was Sailor Moon). Although she fooled Kaolinite, she also confused the MOTD by using attacks like, "Love-Me Moon Chain!"

Sailor Moon phrases:

• Venus Power, make up! (Venus Power)
  This was Minako's first tranformation to become Sailor Venus. It's assumed that Artemis gave her this transformation pen, since Sailor Venus never appeared before Luna before transforming. She also might have used the same transformation pen for Sailor V as she did for Sailor Venus... although Artemis never explained anything about that. Basically, Sailor Venus and Artemis appeared one day and saved the Sailors ^.^
  

• Crescent Beam! (Venus Crescent Beam Smash!)
  Sailor Venus says this when she creates a "crescent" beam of energy. Often she will team up this attack with Mars' fire or Jupiter's lightning. The beam acts like a laser, and will cut through things as well as hurt bad guys (of course :))

Sailor Moon R phrases:

• Venus Star Power, make up! (Venus Star Power)
  This was Minako's second transformation, given to her by Artemis and Luna, which is supposed to be 10 times more powerful. Her transformation sequence isn't much different either; except that at the end, when she poses, her planetary symbol glows in the background.
  
• Crescent Beam Shower! (Venus Meteor Shower)
  Sailor Venus says this to create several beams of energy. The beams appear above the bad guy, and then they rain down on him/her like a shower. Venus didn't use this attack much at all... I think she used it when she discovered the power, a second time when attacking Allan and Ann (although it didn't work), and a third time in a later Sailor Moon R episode.
  

• Venus Love-me Chain! (Venus Love Chain Encircle)
  Along with using her Chain in a similar way to using her Crescent Beam (sort of like a laser), Venus would use her Chain to steal objects away from bad guys. She also used it one time to save herself and Pluto from falling off a cliff; by climbing up the chain like a rope.

Sailor Moon SuperS phrases:

• Venus Crystal Power, make up!
  Mina says this to transform into Super Sailor Venus. In the manga, she looked deep inside of herself to find the ability to become "Super Sailor Venus," while in the series, Pegasus gave her the power to transform. The transformation sequence isn't much different from her old one, except that she throws her hair back in this one (in the last two she never threw her hair back... it always kinda fell back). Anyway, I'm sure you guys could care less ^.^
  

• Venus Love and Beauty Shock
  Super Sailor Venus says this when she does a kiss, producing an orange heart, which she uses to zap a bad guy. This attack is associated with the mythology of her planet, since Venus was the "Goddess of Love and Beauty."
  
  

In Japan, Mina's voice is done by Fukami Rica. Another talented singer, she also sang the inspiration songs of Macross Plus as Myun Fan Lon.

In North America, Mina's voice is done by Stephanie Morganstern.